I’m not going to sugarcoat it—2025 was a tough one for the restaurant business. At times, the year felt more punishing than an Ironman triathlon and seemed to last longer than the line to merge onto the 163 North. (Seriously, who designed that?)
That’s not to say it was all bad. San Diego had our fair share of bright spots with a new Michelin star for Lilo after being open for just six weeks, a whole bunch of places landing on Yelp’s Top 100 list for 2025 (including Big Jim’s Roast Beef at #33 and Rosemarie’s Buns & Brews at #46), and Animae/Le Coq executive chef Tara Monsod making it to the final round of the James Beard Foundation awards for Best Chef: California. Plus, a bunch of fun new restaurants opened up: Dora, Lucien, Chick & Hawk (finally), Una Más, and even the gorgeously reimagined Starlite, an especially special moment for the local hospitality scene.
As we look back at 2025 and look ahead at 2026, it may be a mixed bag, but here are some of the best, worst, brightest, and biggest San Diego food trends we saw—and what we predict is coming next.
This Year, Prices Went Up
Between the uncertainty of tariffs (I don’t even know what I’m supposed to pay for a cup of coffee anymore), the rising cost of groceries (has the price of beef come down yet?), and the economic squeeze in general, going out to eat in 2025 was a hard sell for a lot of people—and don’t even get me started on the Ozempic effect. More people stayed home or opted for more affordable, fast-casual restaurants over full-service to save a few bucks, which led to some chefs reevaluating their menu prices (like Deckman’s North at 3131, formerly 31ThirtyOne) and more than a few restaurateurs to make very public pleas on social media for people to come in before it’s too late.
And Sometimes, It WasToo Late
A dismaying amount of restaurant closures dogged the city this year, from Comedor Nishi in La Jolla to the lauded cocktail bar Roma Norte at Seaport Village. Even Barrio Logan’s longstanding icon, Las Cuatro Milpas, is shuttering this month after 92 years. For a while there, I was scared to open Instagram to see who was next.
On The Bright Side, We Finally Got A Bunch of Good Bagels
It took a long, long time, but this East Coast transplant can finally stop whining. From Marigold Bagels in North Park to New Wave Bagels in Leucadia, it seems like now no matter where you are in the county, at least one decent bagel option is now within a reasonable distance. And we didn’t just get good bagels. A whole slew of new bakeries like Relic Bakery, Sourdough & Moore, and Christophe Rull Patisserie joined our already pretty robust community of bakers like Wayfarer Bread, Michi Michi, Bread & Cie, and all the others we love and list in the Best Restaurants issue. It was a great year for carb lovers.
Pop-Ups Kept Popping Up
I know I said 2024 was the year of “collaborations,” but 2025 took it to a whole new level. People weren’t just swapping ideas or getting together for one-off events every now and again. 2025 was when everyone banded together to thrive and survive (see Trend #1), especially sharing spaces to help each other build food brands into something big enough to sustain on its own.
New Wave Bagel is one example, showing up at places like Ironsmith Coffee until they could manage to open their own location. Scoopy Scoopy actually built their entire ice cream business model around the idea of using someone else’s restaurant space after they close—a win for the restaurant, who gets a cut of the profits, and a win for the Scoopy team, who deals with minimum overhead and investment. It’s creative. It’s collaborative. Frankly, it’s genius. What will they think of next?
College Area Glows Up
Last year, it was La Jolla. This year, it’s College Area that’s shining with all sorts of delicious potential. We’ve still got the stalwarts like Woodstock’s Pizza (who just celebrated 40 years of pies and pints) and Sala Thai, who’s not far behind them at 30 years and counting. But signs of new life are springing up everywhere, from a Cali-Asian fusion burger joint (Kinchana) just down the street from one of the best new pizza joints in town from the folks behind Scrimshaw Coffee and Majorette. (It’s since been renamed Love Letters Pizza, and you should really try the meatballs.) Charoen Krung Thai Cuisine opened next to one of my favorite coffee shops (Ultreya) earlier this year, and that’s just a hop and skip away from The Mesa, a sports bar in the former Effin’s Pub space. Between new eateries and an ambitious community expansion plan, College Area is on the brink of blowing up.
Predictions for 2026: More Stars and More Plants
Lilo got their first Michelin star, joining luminaries like three Michelin-starred Addison by William Bradley and one Michelin-starred Soichi, Valle, and Jeune et Jolie. But we’ve got a whole bunch of Michelin-recognized restaurants on the cusp, like Callie, Cesarina, and Atelier Manna. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new name or two added to the list next year.
San Diego also has a pretty decent vegetarian and vegan food scene already, but it seems like every year we up the ante. Recently, Val’s Vegan Kitchen joined Donna Jean and Evolution Fast Food as a third partner in the shared space (See Trend #4), and plant-based fast-food parody Mr. Charlie’s is opening at least two locations in Pacific Beach and Hillcrest next year. Even restaurants that aren’t fully vegan are adding more and more vegan options to their menus—Mesa Agricola in Escondido centers their entire ethos around sustainable comfort food largely made from food from their farm, and plenty of it happens to be plant-based. Even Odie’s Pizza’s menu of sourdough pies can be made vegan, and I’d venture to say even the most meat-loving pizza fan wouldn’t miss it.
PARTNER CONTENT
All in all, there’s a lot to look forward to. Plenty of exciting restaurants are on the horizon, like Chef Brad Wise’s French brasserie A’L’ouest coming to North Park, Travis Swikard’s Fleurette in UTC, and maybe even the long-promised second outpost of TNT Pizza in Chula Vista. At this point, we can afford to dream. 2026 is wide open.
