The Cravory has two flavors: an Irish Car Bomb cookie made with Guinness Stout dough, Bailey’s caramel, chocolate, brownie batter, and oats. At Ballast Point’s tasting room, get their Victory at Sea cookie. 3960 West Point Loma Boulevard, Point Loma
Yummy Cupcakes makes a Guinness cupcake, comprised of a beer-infused batter and whipped topping. Have a favorite brew in mind? Bring in your own bottle and let the bakers customize a batch. 1514 Encinitas Boulevard, Encinitas
A classic dessert gets a boozy update at San Diego Brewing Co., where its chocolate fudge brownie is baked with Nut Brown Ale and topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup.
Worth the calories! 10450 Friars Road, Grantville
Try the Portzilla, a Samoa cookie-like combo at PubCakes that pairs Stone Smoked Porter and chocolate coffee ganache with caramelized coconut. Available at North Park and La Mesa farmers markets, and first Saturdays of the month at Little Italy Mercato
Encinitas nigiri fanatics, I bring you good tidings. Oto Sushi is slated to open in late July. After nearly two decades of experience in operations for Tao Group Hospitality and Ace Hotel, Ash Cintas opened the first Oto in Laguna Beach in 2024. She focused on from-scratch dishes, fish sourced from Smart Catch and Seafood Watch–approved suppliers, and a wide swath of gluten-free options.
Year one worked, so she started eyeing her ideal second spot—North County San Diego. “I grew up spending time in San Diego visiting family, and my grandfather built a fishing business here, so the area has always felt familiar and meaningful to me,” says Cintas.
Cintas’ twin sister Alysha Rabb spearheaded the Japanese coastal design of the new Oto, which takes over the former Mrkt Space. The 3,200-square-foot eatery flows from the indoor dining room to large outdoor patio, as well as a private dining room—a total capacity of 95. Chef Connor Mathison has worked as a sushi chef for over 15 years at venues like Bamboo Sushi SW in Portland, Oregon. His menu includes classic sushi offerings like nigiri and sashimi, specialty rolls, bento boxes, tempera, karaage, Wagyu burgers, and robotayaki.
Robatayaki, sometimes called robata, is a method of slow-grilling meat, seafood, and various vegetables over premium Japanese binchotan charcoal. Basically, it’s the gold standard for grilling, thanks to its intense, clean heat that imparts a smoky, savory char on the outside and a rich, tender inside.
“One of the defining characteristics of Oto is that much of our sushi is served yakumi-style, meaning it arrives already seasoned with ingredients designed to complement the fish rather than relying on soy sauce,” Cintas explains.
Courtesy of Oto Sushi
There will also be a large number of vegan and vegetarian dishes, plus scratch cocktails with housemade syrup, fresh juice, sake, Japanese whiskey, wine, and beer selections curated by beverage partner Gavin Grum. Cintas says she hopes to continue expanding across Southern California, ideally opening six to eight locations in different coastal communities.
“The goal isn’t to build the biggest restaurant company,” she says. “Encinitas is the next step in proving that model can scale.”
Oto Sushi opens July 2026 at 782 N. Coast Hwy 101 in Encinitas. Initial opening hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
Courtesy of Silver Hoof Creamery
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Silver Hoof Creamery Coming to Old Town
First more sushi, now more ice cream? Someone pinch me. Later this June, Silver Hoof Creamery will open in Old Town at 2548 Congress Street, Suite G, bringing artisanal soft serve, waffle tacos and waffle bowls, sundaes, and milkshakes to the Old Town Urban Market food hall. Everything is made with 100 percent California dairy milk (except for the dairy-free options, of course), and the small-batch menu of flavors ranges from dark chocolate soft serve to blueberry lavender milkshakes, matcha garden sundaes, and the signature Silver Hoof sundae made with vanilla swirl soft serve, caramel drizzle, topped with candied pecans and various candy gems and topped with whipped cream. Personally, I’m a sucker for strawberry, so I’m looking forward to giving the strawberry fields milkshake a slurp once the doors open.
The San Diego Natural History Museum (a.k.a. The Nat) tends to make good use of its rooftop space with events like Nat at Night every Friday during the summer, but now it’s getting into the brunch game as well. Brunch at the Nat kicks off Sunday, June 14 with Wolf in the Woods taking over the menu from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., followed by Hash House A Go Go (July 12) and Wolf in the Woods making a sophomore appearance on August 9. (Yes, there will be Bloody Marys. How could there not be when Johnny Rivera is behind the bar?)
North County isn’t just getting more sushi—it’s getting a sweets upgrade as well. Desserts By Clément, the Pacific Beach-based French pastry shop is opening two new locations this summer in Del Mar and Vista. Owner (and French native) Clément Le Déoré has made a name for himself from his super realistic (and absolutely adorable beyond belief) desserts like these “Petit Bears” and fruit collection, but will also offer traditional pastries like croissants, macarons, kouign-amann, and chouquettes. There goes my summer bod… (just kidding).
Non-alcoholic options are gaining major steam on drinks menus across the country, and the gang at Cesarina and Elvira are cashing in. Both concepts just released new cocktail menus to be fully 50 percent alcoholic, 50 percent non-alcoholic so people can easily jump from one to the other, if they so choose. (Or just stick with one category—it’s just nice to have options.) Bar lead Sydnee West’s concoctions range from the Super Fico at Cesarina (made with porcini-infused rye, Nonino Amaro, Averna, and clarified fig demerara) on the hard side to the Roma Esotica at Elvira (with NA gin, pineapple, passion fruit, and lemon) on the soft side. As someone who actively enjoys zebra-striping (going back-and-forth between cocktails and mocktails), it’s very refreshing to have curated choices on either end that aren’t an afterthought.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
I spent time in a hot dog stand on the edge of San Diego Bay, looking out a window that mattered. Mattered to a kid whose mom taught him to fish on this pier. They’d turn on a little transistor radio, find a signal through the static, stare at the water, and talk life and his dad. Dennis Borlek’s dad was out there, somewhere, commanding a naval submarine through god knows what. When his dad would dock in Point Loma weeks or months later, Borlek biked down the street along Shelter Island to see him and steal back stolen moments.
Later, Borlek helped midwife the craft beer scene, managing seminal spots like Small Bar and Liar’s Club. Wondering what to do with the rest of his life, he went back to that pier and saw a for-lease sign on the bait and tackle shop. He tore through the public library and spent the whole night learning how to write a business plan (he had no clue). A couple days later he found himself at the intimidating end of a massive conference table, pitching his dream to the very official Port of San Diego executives.
They gave it to the San Diego kid. Not sure if they ever imagined Fathom Bistro—the tiniest, mightiest craft beer and hot dog stand, filled with spear guns, ocean monster figures, and seafaring oddities—would still be there 13 years later, let alone be a local’s favorite. It’s the most San Diego place in the world. Borlek taught himself to make kimchi and puts it on his Explodo Dog. His friend Kevin, who played with him in a punk band, dresses as a pirate and works the door on weekends. Has done so for years.
And when Borlek stares out the window, he can see the sub base and the memories of his dad.
Courtesy of Wayfarer Bread
Later, a few beach towns over, I sat in an employee break area—a shaded back-alley alcove with grape vines that serves as an escape garden for the crew. The place used to be a taco shop. Owner Crystal White points to a window of a single bedroom behind the dough-mixing part of the kitchen. She lived there when she started, often finding herself on the roof at midnight, staring at a broken compressor, trying to will it into working.
A blue-collar kid who fell in love with bread, she moved to San Diego with a business plan and zero cash. Banks don’t loan money to bread dreamers. Fate, kismet, and door-knocking found her enough investors. In the weeks leading up to opening that dream—perfect croissants, kouign-amanns, sandwiches, pizzas, baguettes fermented with wild La Jolla yeasts—she was outside hammering and painting. Locals would pause to ask what she was putting into the spot. “A bakery!” she’d reply.
“Oh, we don’t need one of those,” they’d say. Eight years later, White has moved out of the bedroom, and Wayfarer Bread is one of the best bakeries in the land. I ask if she’ll ever open another location. “I grew up dirt poor,” she says. “This has surpassed even my wildest dreams. This is enough. Please make sure you mention Emma Koehler, K-O-E-H-L-E-R, my kitchen manager. She deserves the credit now.”
These are the people and the stories behind “Best Restaurants.” This issue is dedicated to them, the culture they’ve gritted into being. On the surface, the annual tradition—naming a list of “winners,” my favorite places and my honest answers to “who has the best taco/pizza/Thai…”—is a good-natured competition among friends. But the deeper point is that it’s a way to highlight hundreds of places that have risked it all to build a little magic across the city. Sure, some owners were born in the stars and used that dust to make more stars. But many or most restaurants started with a scrappy go-getter or two. And now those places are filled with dozens or hundreds of people who love the work, show up day in and day out, for years. People like Koehler and the ones we feature in our story, “Behind the Line”.
So please use this list as a beachhead. Try these places, email me ([email protected]) to say “thanks” or “you truly messed up.” Eat, drink, commune, say hello, get to know the stories of the people making your favorite food. Make your own list, and share it with us.
(Note: Fathom didn’t win anything, probably because there’s no category for “Best Hot Dog Craft Beer Stand on a Pier with a Pirate,” which is a shortcoming on our part. So I put him here because he should be a part of any conversation about best San Diego things.)
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
If your dopamine rush comes from stepping into an experiential esoteric escape that also serves cocktails, then the newly-opened Arcana might just be up your alley. Brought to life by the owners of The Roxy Encinitas and Roxy on Broadway in Denver, Encinitas’ new hidden cocktail lounge spirals around the idea that nothing is quite as it seems. Stepping into the moody 47-seat space, which is tucked behind the retail store Archive, should feel like an out-of-this-world experience, says Paula Vrakas, one of the four partners behind Arcana.
Vrakas worked with architecture and design firm Tecture—which designed restaurants like Lucien, Haven at Fox Point Farms, and Kettner Exchange—to concoct an environment that begins when guests walk through the secret portal into a world of velvety folklore and myth. No two experiences will be identical, she promises.
“The concept itself is a changing concept, and so this sort of mysticism, the occult, or these dark arts, they’re ever-changing within themselves,” she explains. “So we can lean in…. at any given moment without completely changing the entire concept. That’s actually what we intend to do.”
If this sounds very abstract, that’s okay. Let’s center ourselves around the cocktails, which are very real and created in part by bar lead Sam Reinke.
Initially, there will be around 16 cocktails (and a few mocktails) in three sections. “Archive” features traditional drinks like Old Fashioneds and Manhattans, while “Myth & Memory” offers rotating cocktails inspired by Southern California folklore, like the monster of Proctor Valley Road or the legend of Charles “The Rainmaker” Hatfield.
Photo Credit: Gretchen Dunn
But the menu starts with “Sigils,” four drinks that break down Arcana’s logo into its individual features: the Celtic Knot, the tria prima (the Latin philosophy of three foundational elements of alchemy being salt, sulfur, and mercury), the All-Seeing Eye of Providence, and the Alchemist’s Stone. The ingredients in each reference key aspects of each concept; for example, the Alchemist’s Stone (sometimes called the Philosopher’s Stone) is made with red powder to mimic the same flaming hue of the legendary item. The Eye of Providence includes carrot juice, an ingredient rich in beta-carotene that also happens to be excellent for eye health.
The fifth drink, called “The Arcana” and based on the logo as a whole, will never be listed. “But if you ask, you can find out,” promises Vrakas.
Since the concept is meant to be cocktail-forward, only a few small bites will be available, like chocolate-covered strawberries and wasabi pea pub mix. “It’s fancy snacks,” laughs Vrakas. But considering how Encinitas’ dining options have upped their game as of late, she says focusing on providing a high-end cocktail experience will fill a void in the area not yet overwhelmed with similar choices. Once inside, it’s an intimate space, with seating for 47 guests over 800-square-feet lit by candles and cocooned with dark velvet curtains sewn by Vrakas’ mother.
For now, Arcana is reservation-only, but will likely introduce opportunities for walk-ins in the future. In the meantime, expect surreality and perhaps a bit of discombobulation, says Vrakas. “It’s just meant to [feel] like, ‘Wait, where was I? Where was that? And how do I get back?’”
Arcana opens May 28 at 517 S. Coast Hwy 101 in Encinitas. Hours are Tuesday through Wednesday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Thursday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; and Friday through Saturday, 5 p.m. to midnight.
Rendering courtesy of JG Color by Design
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Black Mizu Café Opening Inside Cloak & Petal
Call it the Michelin effect—after earning Michelin recognition in December, Cloak & Petal in Little Italy is ready to expand its Japanese-inspired offerings by launching a coffee shop-slash-cafe experience this August.
Called Black Mizu Café, the 1,000-square-foot space situated within Cloak & Petal will serve Torque Coffee and Compa Coffee beans and Asa Bakery pastries, as well as Japanese comfort food dishes like a tamago sandwich, bánh mì panini, edamame hummus toast, and various parfaits. Signature drinks include specialties like a honey yuzu sparkling matcha, cherry blossom latte, white miso caramel latte, and a cardamom cinnamon latte. Next spring, Black Mizu will also launch a Pacific Rim-inspired brunch menu by executive chef Robert Cassidy.
With space for 25 to 30 guests, the Japanese-meets-Scandinavian minimalist design will also be able to accommodate a private dining space for Cloak & Petal during non-café hours. Managing partner Cesar Vallin anticipates the initial hours of operation will be daily from 6:30 or 7 a.m. through around 2 p.m., with extended hours on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until approximately 9 p.m. It’s not a pop-up, per se, but it’s certainly a creative way to make the most of the restaurant’s off-hours floor space.
After nearly four decades in Del Mar, Pacifica Del Mar announced it will close its doors at the end of their lease this December. No one knows yet what will replace it, but whatever comes next has some pretty big culinary shoes to fill. Side note: thank you to the PDM team for the multi-month heads up before closing! There’s nothing worse than finding out your favorite spot closed yesterday, so plan your last hurrah (or hurrahs) accordingly.
El Pueblo officially opened at 564 Pearl Street in La Jolla this week, which is good for two reasons. One, that old Jack in the Box was a mega-eyesore and two, now we can all get $1.39 fish tacos that much easier. Win win! Hours are 6 a.m. to midnight daily, and yes, that means you can get a breakfast burrito before the sun is up.
A Roman-style pizza place with wine, beer, and a small market coming to La Mesa? Yes, please! Pinsarella Market is slated to open late this year at 8131 La Mesa Boulevard (the former Kratom Kava Bar space) and if successful, may be the first of many across San Diego. If that’s a pizza-eating challenge, I happily accept.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
In this city, chef Brian Malarkey and restaurateur Chris Puffer are kind of like peanut butter & jelly, tacos and Tuesday, Padres and Petco—they just go together. This month, the duo celebrates 10 years of partnering on some of San Diego’s top restaurants including their first venture, Herb & Wood.
To celebrate this milestone, we stepped back and revisited their journey becoming some of this city’s most successful restaurateurs.
But first, let’s go back to the beginning. The duo met at Oceanaire in 2007 where they both worked. Malarkey was still riding the high from his stint on Top Chef Season 3 where he won runner-up. He was a great chef, Puffer recalls, if not a tad arrogant. Whatever he was doing, though, it worked. Sales doubled under his watch.
In 2009, Malarkey was approached by some patrons to start what would become Searsucker. He knew he wanted Puffer to be his partner. They had great chemistry and loved hospitality and food. “We both came to this with a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” says Malarkey. “We wanted to prove it to other people that we know what we’re doing.”
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
Searsucker, Gabardine, and Herringbone (under the Fabric of Social Dining restaurant group) were born through the new partnership. But in 2012, they sold their concepts to Hakkasan and soon partnered on a new lease.
That building would eventually become Herb & Wood. “We were going to do it differently this time around,” says Malarkey as he reflects on Wood’s early days. “And we [wanted to] build it to last.”
The vision: Great food. Great music. Great service. It’d be a place where diners would let go, put their phones down, and be fully present to enjoy a meal together. When they walked into 2210 Kettner Blvd, they knew they had found their spot.
The only problem was that, at the time, that area of Little Italy was still severely underdeveloped. In a 8,500-square-foot space, they were going to have 230 seats to fill. “It may as well have been on Mars,” says Troy Johnson, San Diego Magazine publisher, content chief, and the city’s longtime food critic.
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
And, of course, there were the naysayers. The prevailing feeling in the dining world was, “Let’s see what these f**king idiots do,” recalls Malarkey. The duo let all the noise be noise. In fact, the noise fueled them. “We weren’t going to cater to the haters,” Puffer says.
Their next hurdle would be to tackle the restaurant’s design. “There was nothing. It was literally a box,” says Puffer of the former space. Design teams were too expensive or didn’t quite get their vision—no, they didn’t want exposed beams or wooden tables made from reclaimed barns. “Then, Puffer was like, ‘f**k it, dude, I’m going to design this restaurant.’”
Having never really designed something like this before, he decided not to work in the programs that most professionals use to create their layouts. 3D mockup? Didn’t need it. CAD? That’s what a paper and pencil are for.
Courtesy of Herb & Wood
“It was all in my head,” he recalls. “I had this moment where I was like, ‘If I died right now, no one would know where any of this shit goes.’”
“Yeah, it made no sense,” Malarkey says.
And it still doesn’t if you hear him explain it. A mishmash of vignettes from the inner workings of his memory bank, evoking everything from Mississippi riverboats to Eiffel tower ironwork, Kensington home façades, an old theater he frequented, and a canoe, because why not? Yet somehow, it all worked.
“It’s a sense of nostalgia,” says Puffer. “People might say, ‘Oh, my gosh, this feels good’ and they don’t realize it reminds them of the time they were in Paris.’”
“We don’t play trends,” Malarkey says. “We play timeless.”
Courtesy of Herb & Wood
Over the course of many years and plenty of trial and error, the partnership has continued to thrive. And, the Puffer Malarkey Collective has found its sweet spot within their restaurants: The service had to be kind and unpretentious and the food had to come out quick, delicious, and consistent. “Consistency is key!” says Puffer.
They also learned to balance out one another. “He’s a go-go-go-go [person],” says Puffer, “I’m a let’s-take-a-deep-breath-and-sleep-on-it [type of person].”
So, when they opened the doors to Herb & Wood in April of 2016, with those lessons in place, everything was just right. “We knew it had to fire on all cylinders,” says Puffer. “And it did.”
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
There was no pretense and the dress code was exceedingly simple. “Money in your pocket,” says Malarkey. “That’s all you need.”
The phones rang, the seats filled, and the haters had to give it to them, those gnocchi hit. People began embracing every aspect of the place, even the edgier ones.
“We thought people were going to complain about all the paintings with boobs,” says Puffer of the many John Lanes on the wall. “But the amount of people who take pictures in front of the boobs is amazing.”
They even had a middle finger statue that Puffer had picked up from a yard sale. If a table was rude or antagonistic toward the staff, he’d walk over to them with the finger. “Congratulations,” he’d say, handing it over. “You’ve won asshole of the night.”
Courtesy of Puffer Malarkey Collective
The point is, they were ready to laugh (and not take shit from anyone). When someone wrote a review of Herb & Wood and called it Weed & Boners, they both had a laugh. It’s one of the keys to longevity.
Along with the fun and deliciousness, they’ve also served as a culinary talent incubator for San Diego. “It’s like a centrifuge,” says Johnson about Herb & Wood. “They train up all these young chefs and start spinning all this talent into different parts of the city.”
There’s Sebastian Becerra with Pepino, Samantha Bird of Relic Bakery, Aidan Owens at Herb & Sea, and Tara Monsod of Animae and Le Coq (San Diego’s first James Beard award finalist) to name a few. “They’ve expanded the footprint of the food revolution in San Diego,” says Johnson.
Their plans for the next 10 years?
“We’re just going to keep the magic going,” says Malarkey.
Hospitality-centric businesses are starting to work smarter, not harder. Some are leaning into experiential concepts, like Harland Brewing’s golf course taproom. Some are joining up with other businesses to share space and costs, like Scoopy Scoopy. Then there’s the multi-hyphenate approach, using food and drink as a jumping-off point for bigger aspirations—like Infusion Lab, a specialty dessert and coffee shop opening in Pacific Beach this summer.
The name is strategically vague, explains co-founder and finance director Baran Aydin. Initially, the space will offer a menu of specialty coffee—traditional espresso-based drinks, plus matcha and signature ube beverages alongside breakfast, lunch sammies and desserts like cookies made in-house and European-inspired desserts.
Aydin and co-founder/coffee director Aselin Bay plan to expand into a lifestyle brand with streetwear-inspired merch—shirts, hats, bags, socks, and more that are “designed to reflect the lifestyle and culture behind Infusion Lab,” he explains.
“The goal is to create a space where people can work, socialize, create content, and become part of a growing community,” says Aydin.
Infusion Labs’ design is elemental white-and-maroon, with line drawing art. Their space, next to the now-closed Copper Top Coffee & Donuts, will feature some Chesterfield-style seating (deep button sofas) and a dedicated social media area.
Sungold Point Family Diner Soft Opens in Bird Rock
The owners behind Hermosa Surf in Bird Rock soft-launched their new cafe, Sungold Point—right next door at 5632 La Jolla Blvd. It’s a modern take on an old-school diner, explains Stirling, with seating for around 35 people and lots of pink, burgundy, turquoise, checkerboard, and terrazzo to feast your eyes on. Owners Stirling and Benny Walter designed the breakfast and lunch menu to use organic ingredients whenever possible and make everything from scratch, including breakfast sandwiches, salads, bowls, and a full espresso menu.
Courtesy of La Valencia
Beth’s Bites
San Diego classic La Valencia Hotel is hitting 100 years. Dubbed the Pink Lady for her antacid-colored blush exterior, the hotel kicks off centennial celebrations on May 28 with the launch of 1926 Social Club, a Roaring Twenties-themed weekly event on the Med Patio each Thursday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Expect Prohibition-era cocktails (always felt like an oxymoron to me, but I guess cocktails were being sipped behind well-placed walls), plus a limited-time Centennial prix-fixe menu for two by executive chef Ernest Lopez.
When does Chef Aidan Owens sleep? On top of being the culinary director for Herb & Wood and Herb & Sea, he appears on the new Survivor-meets-Iron Chef series Chopped: Castaways, which premiered on the Food Networkon May 12. Owens is competing for a $100,000 prize through physical and cooking challenges against 11 other chefs on a remote island, and with judges Marcus Samuelsson, Gabe Bertaccini, and Maneet Chauhan at the head of the table. This might be the show that actually gets me to watch reality TV.
Anyone of a certain age who grew up in San Diego has probably spent at least an afternoon or two in El Cajon’s Parkway Bowl, sucking down soda and crushing nachos between gutter balls. The dated destination finally got a long-overdue facelift and reopened earlier this week—with 68 redone bowling lanes and the new Parkway Social restaurant which boasts a full bar, axe throwing, and golf simulators. Twenty more refreshed bowling lanes are on the way, plus pool tables—but based on the first pictures, it’s about to regain its title as the de facto destination for kid’s birthdays and Friday night family fun.
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
Your cup of coffee shows up exactly how you like it. The fully booked restaurant suddenly has a table. The last-minute, once-in-a-lifetime experience somehow comes together without a hitch. In the world of hospitality at top resorts, there’s an iceberg of scrupulous planning for each guest.
A concierge is in charge of that iceberg. There’s even an award for the best in the world: the Les Clefs d’Or Young Leader Award. It’s a months-long, multi-stage process with interviews, tests, and international competition, culminating at a global congress. Each member country only gets one nominee. Representing the US this year? Simona Marciulaityte from San Diego.
As Chef Concierge at Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa—a Relais & Châteaux retreat with Forbes Five-Star and AAA Five Diamond, a highly accoladed place with commiserate expectations—Marciulaityte is equal parts doer, fixer, and project manager for guests’ sometimes wild travel dreams.
“We see hospitality as theatre,” she explains. “There are a lot of moving parts, but when we arrive to the stage, it’s always with grace and a performance to create an incredible experience for the guests.”
That impossible-to-get reservation with custom cake and balloons at the table? She’s already texted three people. A guest calling on their way to the Zoo requesting a VIP-tour in 15 minutes? Booked in seven. The usual ‘Hey can you schedule me an appointment with Hermès to buy a $30K Birkin bag and plan my proposal in Italy’ request? Oddly specific, true story—and fully handled.
Courtesy of Rancho Valencia
“Great concierge work truly begins long before a guest ever steps on property,” Marciulaityte says. “Who is traveling, notes from prior visits, special occasions, and dining history help me understand the nature of the stay. For new guests, I read between the lines: the questions they ask, the pace they seem to want, the kinds of experiences they gravitate toward.
“Curation draws on something that can’t be replicated by a search engine. It’s years of genuine relationship-building with partners across San Diego and beyond.”
Nearly a decade ago, Marciulaityte was juggling life as a personal stylist at Nordstrom and hostess/server at Brian Malarkey’s Herringbone and Searsucker. After working an event for the San Diego Concierge Association, she had a moment of clarity: “I remember thinking, oh my god—this is exactly what I want to do.”
Being a part of Les Clefs d’Or grants entry to a global network of concierges who operate like a very discreet, very efficient hotline (“In service through friendship,” as their motto goes). When local super-chef Tara Monsoud was nominated for a James Beard, Marciulaityte worked with the SD Concierge Association and Le Coq to send flowers and photos to Chicago where the chef was staying.
“It’s not only guests—we hope to touch everyone with our concierge magic.”
Lili Kim is a content coordinator and writer for San Diego Magazine, with experience highlighting local businesses and communities. When not writing or shooting film, she is likely brewing her seventh cup of tea of the day or strolling along Sunset Cliffs.
Implementing a farm-to-table model hardly deserves acknowledgement these days. It’s not a stretch. It’s not innovative. “It’s the bare f**king minimum,” says Herb & Sea‘s executive chef Aidan Owens.
When I arrive at the Encinitas restaurant, I’m ready to talk sustainability, farm-to-table stuff, with Owens. “Did you see the chin on that?” he says of the extra big jiggly chin on the sheephead that just arrived with the day’s fresh catch. I did. It was Jay Leno adjacent.
I learn quickly that he somehow oozes both charm and stone-cold honesty. Maybe he could construct a new dish with chin goo, like he did when he had a bunch of tuna scraps and voila’d it into a smooth and crowd-pleasing ‘nduja. “I want to know what’s in there,” he says.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
The instinct to look closer, to dig into what others might discard, says a lot about the chef’s approach. I guide him back to our topic, but he has something else on his mind. “We’re overcomplicating food—what happened to just cooking good food and having fun with it?”
Owens grew up on a farm in Byron Bay, Australia, where sustainability wasn’t a concept you chat about so much as a way of life. Think dirt roads, backyard chickens, pulling vegetables straight from the ground, and a mother who believed that if you couldn’t pronounce the ingredients on a package, you shouldn’t eat what was inside.
Food wasn’t precious or performative. Making it was what you did because you were hungry and that’s still what inspires Owens today. “I like to cook good food because I like to eat good food,” he says.
His approach to sustainability at Herb & Sea began so naturally that it felt just like instinct. “I was just like, ‘Let’s order food from the people who live and work here,’” he says.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
And why wouldn’t he when lives in San Diego? Cities all over the world vie for our goods. Our tuna is sent overseas. Our spiny lobsters hit dinner plates in China and Japan. Not to mention California’s producing a third of the country’s vegetables and three-quarters of its fruits and nuts.
“Why would we outsource when it’s all here?” Owens asks.
Sustainability, in this context, is about cooking what exists in abundance, nearby, right now. “I love the local fish here. It’s f**king delicious and San Diego citrus, I mean, it is so f**ing good,” he says.
Instead of importing ingredients, Owens also looks for nearby alternatives. “You can find really cool things in the local waters,” he says, pointing out that stingray cheeks taste similar to scallops.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
Whatever he finds in that sheephead chin might just be the next substitute for marrow. But to make this work, it means getting diners amped up about the slightly unfamiliar.
Tasting menus, where diners are completely in his hands, become an opportunity to gently push boundaries. “I’ll serve mackerel, because people think they hate it,” Owens says, noting that the abundant local fish can have some fishiness. “But when it’s fresh, it’s arguably one of the best fish in the ocean.”
He also tweaks the language on the menu so people might feel more compelled to give dishes a try without preconceived notions. He might use “lengua” instead of “tongue.” “Whelk” instead of “snail.” When he puts “stingray throat” on the menu, he disarmingly calls it “skate.”
To reduce waste, scraps aren’t always discarded but rather turned into something new. Sometimes they’re smoked, cured or fermented. Apples going bad turn into apple ponzu. Lemons turn to marmalade, which stretches their usefulness far beyond peak season. “And it’s super tasty on our pizza,” he says.
What makes the food even richer, is the relationships he’s built with farmers. Though it didn’t always feel natural, Owens sought personal connection first. He recalls approaching a fisherman at the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market. “I was awkward,” he says. “I went up to him and said, ‘I like your fish.’”
Owen’s is now so close to his suppliers—like fishermen Ryan Sebo and Joe Daly—that he gets texted pictures of fresh catches right as they flop on the boat. The messages always ask if he wants first dibs. “I say yes to a lot of fish,” Owens says, noting that Herb & Sea can go through 2,000 pounds of seafood a week.
Courtesy of Herb & Sea
The next evolution of sustainability, in his view, will be chefs working directly with producers such as his alliance with Sebo, cutting out middlemen and purveyors where possible. “It will put more money in the pockets of the people doing the work,” he says.
It will mean that chefs can’t just know their local farmers and producers, but they’ll choose to work with the ones who have the best practices. Dining and sustainability will become much less about the final plate. “It will be more about the impact that plate has on the Earth,” he says.
Ultimately, he believes sustainability doesn’t need to be loud. It doesn’t need hashtags. It just needs to be honest.
“We aren’t saving lives. We’re feeding people good food,” he says.
And yet, in feeding people well—simply, thoughtfully, responsibly—something meaningful happens. Guests leave satisfied. Ingredients are respected. Local ecosystems are supported and food returns to what it has always been at its core: nourishment, pleasure, and a quiet reflection of the place it comes from.
