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From world-famous hot pot to a tiny fish shop, food critic Troy Johnson names his top new eateries of the year
Logically, the restaurant scene should’ve been dead-silent this year. Food costs went berserk. Labor costs swelled. We all knew how to cook because we were marooned in our own homes for a few years. And yet San Diego’s food scene unveiled a few dozen more pretty fantastic restaurants in 2023. This is what I love about restaurants and the people behind them. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Sure, money is to be Danny Meier’d for the few and the lucky and the ulcered.
But financial analysts who are not sadistic would advise you to put your money into the stock market, into real estate, into off-brand Beanie Babies before putting it into the restaurant industry. That means all you’re left with are people who do it because they have to, or because the dream of creating a hospitable place that makes humans happy is just too compelling to ignore.
Here are the new arrivals that won me over in 2023 and became part of my own personal hit list of the best new restaurants in San Diego.
Omakase-only sushi spots took over the whole dang scene (omakase means you eat what chef deigns their best and most creative stuff that day, with no menu to choose from). Azuki in Bankers Hill has long been one of the city’s favorite sushi spots. It was never hype-trained. It just quietly, consistently snuck up on us all, probably because of owner Shihomi Borillo and chef Nao Ichimura’s obsession with the good-food movement.
Kinme is their tiny (900 square feet), 10-seat, omakase-only concept a block up the hill. It’s a mix of Edomae-style sushi and kaiseke, a seasonal, multi-course Japanese meal. The menu changes all the time, but it has included things like grilled corn with koji miso and tomatillo salt, A5 wagyu in ginger shoyu, and chawanmushi, plus Japanese whiskys, rare sake, and top-notch tea to finish.
A hell of a fish-taco-and-sammy shop. San Diego born and raised, Pablo Becker helped open some of the bigger Mexican restaurants in the country with his cousin, famed Mexican chef Richard Sandoval. He needed a break, so he moved to Chicago for five years and became a line cook. He was offered management roles, refused. Head down, cooking. Five years.
Fish Guts is his return home, a small-but-mighty corner spot in Barrio Logan. It serves sandwiches during the day, tacos at night, using almost all sustainable fish from local boats. Get the blackened whitefish with the jalapeño-cabbage slaw, the mushroom taco, or the fantastic Negra Modelo beer–battered lunch sammy with Mexican tartar sauce.
MAKE Projects is one of the city’s most inspiring food nonprofits, helping low-income refugees and immigrant women learn farming, cooking, and catering skills and earn a living as they acclimate to their new life in the US.
During the weekends, the women cook and sell specialties from their native countries—East African mandazi (they’re like beignets), halloumi with farm veggies, pancakes with Cambodian orange syrup, Afghan chicken tacos with Haitian pikliz—made with ingredients from their urban farm. Now they have a permanent home in North Park.
I could hang on this back porch all day, joy-shoveling lumpia with a couple beers. Chef Spencer Hunter’s grandma owned one of the first Filipino restaurants in San Diego decades ago and was famed for her hand-rolled lumpia (being lazy, but real close to accurate, let’s call it the egg roll of the Philippines).
Spencer went to college for sustainable hospitality and cooked in huts in South America, then came home to work through some top-notch kitchens (Searsucker, Waters Fine Foods + Catering). He and his mom, Benelia Santos-Hunter, started doing lumpia pop-ups at festivals, including Coachella. They went on Great Food Truck Race, nearly and probably should’ve won (a contestable second place), and found a permanent spot in Barrio Logan in an old house filled with pop-culture and Filipino cultural knicknacks.
It’s a total work in progress, design-wise. This is two family members ad-hoc’ing a dream, and I like that. Spencer will do seasonal riffs (ramen lumpia, Thanksgiving lumpia), but get “Lola’s Lumpia,” stuffed with a mix of beef and pork marinated in oyster sauce and various things. And don’t miss their ube-coffee ice cream with white chocolate shavings.
Pietro Busalacchi is a damn likable hospitality guy—a real host—and he can make a hell of a cocktail. That alone set a good base, one that El Sueño delivers on. The Point Loma High grad (a cousin of iconic San Diego Italian food family the Busalacchis) worked at TomTom in LA before coming home to open two concepts in Old Town. El Sueño is a partnership with Gustavo Rios—a Mexican concept based on food from Baja, the Huasteca region in the Gulf (where Rios’ mother is from), and Busalacchi’s travels through Mexico. It’s designed like a sweeping jungle in a two-story, indoor-outdoor space. Sit at the edge of the bar overlooking the patio and order the enchiladas suizas and a Bad Bunny (jalapeño-infused arette blanco, Mandre espadin, and carrot juice).
Considering how important it is for a museum to have good taste in art, art tasted terrible for decades. Restaurateur Tracy Borkum is fixing that. She got a degree in art history from UC Berkeley before she became one of San Diego’s top restaurateurs (starting with Cucina Urbana), so it makes sense that she’s becoming the city’s art-foodist. She and partner/chef Tim Kolanko are putting real-deal restaurants in culture temples. It’s a smart joining of forces, doubling the “attraction” of a cultural space and rehabbing the sector’s reputation for limp-sandwich cafés.
They opened Artifact at the Mingei Museum a couple years ago (Michelin gave it a Bib Gourmand nod), and this year they launched The Kitchen at MCASD as part of the La Jolla museum’s $100 million renovation, serving breakfast and lunch. Get the avocado bowl (with Aleppo pistachio dukkah, garlic creme fraîche, and carrot molasses) or the lamb burger with tzatziki and chili-mango chutney.
Chef John Hong first made his name by braving the nightclub-food scene at Bang Bang in downtown, a concept that dared to ask, “What if you could dance and drink and not have terrible food?” Then he became one of the first in San Diego to do omakase-only with Hidden Fish on Convoy. And now this, next door.
Hitokuchi returns Hong to his Japanese cooking roots. There’s a killer raw bar section (uni and caviar with soy-marinated salmon roe) and great toasts (toro tartare with wasabi crème fraîche) and entrées (creamy lobster basil, braised pork belly with mala sauce). It brought more national attention to the city when Esquire named it one of this year’s “Best New Restaurants in America.” Hong’s a talent.
The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe is one of the county’s classic resorts, tucked into those horsey, eucalyptus-shrouded backroads in North County. The whole property got new owners and a $50 million renovation recently, and Clique Hospitality (Lionfish, Serea) was tapped to do the restaurant (Lilian’s Kitchen) and bar (Bing’s).
Lilian’s is a stunner. Heavy woods and olive-green walls and hunter-green leather stools are patterned into a texturalist’s dream. In the kitchen is Moira Hill, a local talent who worked her way up through some of the county’s best (George’s, Juniper & Ivy, Trust, Campfire). The restaurant serves meals for all three rounds of the day, dinner being the main show: grilled octopus, peking duck tostadas, chimichurri lamb chops, oysters, grilled lobster frites in béarnaise, veal Milanese and ribeyes… you name it.
Ayaka Ito has been one of the main creative forces behind East Village for a while now. Originally from Nagoya, Japan, she’s a certified sake master and her original concept, BeShock Ramen, is one of the more underrated noodle bars in the city. This year she opened three distinct new concepts nearby: Asa Bakery (coffee, tea, Japanese sandos), Bar Kamon (a speakeasy), and Sushi Gaga, a 10-seat, omakase-only sushi room with nigiri, apps, and noodles that rotate according to the chef’s whim (but sometimes include oyster and lobster confit and ramen with sea bream chashu).
Since Anderson Clark and Brian Douglass opened Common Stock in Hillcrest in 2018, they’ve become some of the city’s better operators. Common Stock is retro comfort (Peruvian rotisserie chicken, pimento grilled cheese with roasted tomato soup, steak frites). Books & Records is their new dinner-and-drinks-and-jazz-and-culture concept that’s breathing life into an iconic space, the former Bankers Hill Bar + Restaurant (it was gutting when that closed during the pandemic).
The menu from culinary director Sam Deckman (son of Baja star Drew Deckman) is largely Baja-Asian: tuna crudo with kimchi-pineapple aioli and candied jalapeño; charred broccoli with labneh and yuzu ponzu; seabass al pastor; Coke-braised duck carnitas with shiso pancakes. Live jazz every Friday and Saturday night fills the city’s aching supper-club hole.
And now the greatest beach lawn smells like brisket. San Diego’s grand dame property is entering the final phase of its $550 million restoration and enhancement. It is exceedingly hard to mess with a classic. Pitchforks are at the ready. The gentry are emotionally vulnerable and allergic to change. One of the better things the Hotel Del did was retrofit the old laundry warehouse into a smokehouse with drop-dead gorgeous brick walls, ancient wooden beams, art and ironwork, and a bar with thirsty-sheriff vibes. Go in and get the smokehouse plate with options for brisket, pulled pork, ribs, jalapeño-cheddar sausage, smoked chicken leg, tater tots, the works. Load up a potato. Smoke the mac ‘n cheese. Go nuts.
Personally, the only design that gets me emotional is minimalism or maximalism. Inbetweenism makes me think of taxes and the greatest failure, which is trying to mildly please everyone. You wind up standing in a yawn of a room, the building equivalent of dentist music and being dead inside. The Lafayette Hotel is a maximalist art project on a grand scale, a chaos zoo of patterns and textures and oddities. I love it as much as others will get vertigo from it.
The signature restaurant is Quixote, a pagan’s dining cathedral with gothic arches and stained glass and drippy light fixtures, lit for secrets. The chef is José Cepeda, a young talent originally from Puebla, Mexico, who did time at LA’s Mexican standout Mirame. Quixote’s menu is roughly based on his mother’s recipes from Oaxaca: guacamole with chicharrones and chapulines (marinated and seasoned grasshoppers); Oaxacan fondue with chorizo and truffle; memelitas (duck carnitas with cotija adobado and mole). One whole dining room looks like a prayer room or a tomb. No ambition was denied.
This is a cute pink box of a French bakery and coffee house that adapts to a small-menu restaurant after dark. It’s the sort of neighborhood spot with espresso machines in the front and fermenting dough and cassoulets in the back. It’s the work of Melanie Dunn, a longtime English teacher at Crawford High who spent a few years studying dough art at Le Cordon Bleu. In the morning, it’s all espresso creations and viennoiseries (yeast-leavened treats like kouignettes, croissants, and chaussons), weekend desserts (bouchons, financiers, macarons, tartes), and brunch bites (croques and quiches). At night, it offers a very focused French dinner service (coq au vin, beef Bourguignon, cassoulet).
San Diego’s weather screams smoothies, but climate won’t deny us our cravings. Fact is, nothing deep-tissue massages your bones like soup. And this year, the city was riddled with ramen shops and phở shops and birria-in-consomme shops. Soup everywhere. The biggest arrival was Nagi, started two decades ago in Tokyo by chef Satoshi Ikuta as a pop-up that turned into an international phenomenon with dozens of locations across Asia. Now their benevolent encroachment has begun stateside, and UTC landed just the fifth US location.
It’s Hakata-style ramen, a southern Japan specialty anchored by the almighty pork cloud of tonkotsu. The Original King is the tonkotsu, the Red King is miso-minced pork, the Black King has black garlic and squid ink, and the Green King is basil and parm and olive oil in tonkotsu. Customization is Nagi’s USP: noodle thickness and al dente-ness and strength of broth are all adjustable to your whim.
With all due respect to hallowed Rose Donuts, Linda Vista was largely college food until the last couple of years. But in 2023, it got two great new Asian options: White Rice from Phil Esteban (SDM’s 2020 Chef of the Year) and Ichifuji. Ichifuji is the new project from Masato Fujita (who comes from two-Michelin-starred San Diego sushi restaurants Soichi and Tadokoro) and Hiroshi Ichikawa (Taka Sushi). The options are eight-course omakase or nigiri—both of which include sakizuke (seasonal apps), soups (like a dark red miso), three-day miso-marinated black cod, and dessert. San Diego’s sushi world is near the top in the US now, plain and simple.
Point Loma Heights’ Cesarina—which began a couple years ago as a farmers market booth run by a married couple of Italian expats—serves one of the best plates of pappardelle in San Diego. The pasta is handmade, all day long (got my vote this year for Best Pasta in the city), with the rest of the menu centered around chef Cesarina Mezzoni’s recipes. The demand far outstripped the size of their original restaurant, so now plans are afoot to sprinkle sister concepts across San Diego. Elvira is first, finally activating the iconic (and similarly petite) restaurant spot near Robb Field that was once home to Thee Bungalow and Bo-Beau. This is their ode to Roman street food: pizza, pasta, mains like cod and ground lamb cutlets.
Historians have often credited cooking as the beginning of civilization and culture, the idea being that ancient humans huddled around a fire cooking food, and, while we waited, we formed rituals and language and customs and secrets. Chinese hot pot is the closest restaurant experience to that old huddling.
This year, San Diego got a branch of Sichuan’s super mega international star, Hidalao (over 1,500 locations now worldwide), and it doesn’t disappoint. It’s massive (fits 300 people), and you choose your own adventure with noodles (vermicelli, fried tofu skin, udon, instant noodle, and so on), soup bases (tomato, Sichuan spicy hot, mushroom, pork tripe), and proteins that are both widely familiar (chicken, pork sausage, Spam) and not so much (beef heart, duck intestine). You’ll occasionally see workers decked in white hand-pulling noodles in the dining room, tableside, as if they’re effortlessly and magically manipulating the strands of time itself.
The fried chicken sandwich wars are still lingering, but a few clear victors have been named, and LA’s Red Chikz is one of them. TikTok fueled its rise, but it’s delivered on social hype with one of the crispiest, moistest Nashville-style options on the market. The first San Diego location landed at the Shoppes at Carlsbad this year. Even never-chain people are won over. The chicken is breaded and made to order, and Red Chikz uses halal chicken in tenders and wings (in terms of quality, halal is near apex). Each sandwich comes in seven different levels of pain (from “country” to “glow” to “inferno”), and the wedge fries may be even better than the sandwich.
PARTNER CONTENT
Rosemarie’s had a real successful run as a trailer, slinging “sliders” (an understatement, since each slider is massively packed with food) to the crowd at Harlan Brewing in Bay Park. This year, they got a permanent location in Mission Beach, and it’s a hell of a hangout. Owner Nick Balsamo went alley-diving in OB to find funk for the décor, and it looks like some very cool grandmother’s living room. Fitting, since it’s named after his Sicilian grandma. The sliders are mostly Wagyu on brioche buns, with hot chicken options and fried Korean BBQ eggplant options. And they serve beer. You have a new office.
The spread of Amalfi is a very good and expected thing for North County. Four Italian friends (a few who helped grow the Buona Forchetta empire) started their own concept at Lake San Marcos (a wild little world of human-made waterside life) and were so successful that they’re up to four locations in our oft-ignored northern burbs of San Diego. It’s all based on chef Marcello Avitabile’s Amalfi Coast–inspired cooking. He’s a six-time World Pizza Champion, so any pie coming out blistered from that oven is fantastic. But it’s the smaller gems, like his simple pan-fried Roman artichokes over arugula, that win over the day. The bar in Carmel Valley has amaros and negronis and old-fashioneds.
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.
Discover eateries, outings, and shops within this inland North County community
Just south of Lake Hodges near 4S Ranch and Poway, Rancho Bernardo is a suburban community that blends residential neighborhoods with industrial pockets, elevated by a decidedly diverse food scene.
Over 60 years ago, this North County neighborhood was once part of a family ranch. Since that time, big tech companies have taken up residence here, including Amazon, Sony Electronics, Oura Ring, HP, Teradata, and ASML. Rancho Bernardo Inn serves as a community hub, with locals frequently meeting at the hotel’s restaurants, golf course, and spa.
Whether it’s work or a round of golf that brings you to Rancho Bernardo, we’ve taken care of the agenda planning with our guide to the area’s best restaurants, activities, and shops.
Sample ingredients plucked straight from Rancho Bernardo Inn’s onsite garden and served at their signature restaurant Avant. One of the neighborhood’s most upscale dining options, they serve a French-inspired menu with nods to California, including many seafood options. Don’t miss their more casual sister restaurant Veranda for al fresco dining.
17550 Bernardo Oaks Drive
Wood-fired pizzas and handmade pastas are standouts at The Kitchen, Bernardo Winery’s counter-service restaurant specializing in Sicilian flavors. Charcuterie boards and bruschetta make for great starters or snacks while wine tasting.
13330 Paseo Del Verano Norte
Fast-casual and family-owned eatery Bushfire Kitchen recently opened a location in Rancho Bernardo, serving sandwiches, bowls, salads, burgers, protein plates, and housemade empanadas. Bushfire prepares comfort food with healthy ingredients, and offers plenty of vegetarian and vegan options.
11962 Bernardo Plaza Drive, Suite 110
Some might call The Cork & Craft an overachiever. This gastropub has an in-house craft brewery and winery: Abnormal Beer and Wine. The more, the merrier. Their sushi menu is definitely worth exploring, but don’t miss other specialties like garlic noodles, chicken wings, and pork belly.
16990 Via Tazon
You don’t have to leave Rancho Bernardo to get a white tablecloth steakhouse experience. Carvers Steaks & Chops has prime rib (their best seller), filet, ribeye, porterhouse, New York strip, and other cuts, served alongside crab-stuffed mushrooms, wedge salad, French onion soup, potato skins, and other steakhouse specialties.
1940 Bernardo Plaza Drive
This no-frills Burmese restaurant is known for its traditional tea leaf salad that’s topped with sesame and sunflower seeds, garlic chips, peanuts, tomatoes, jalapeños, fried yellow beans, and fermented green tea leaf dressing. Tucked into a nondescript strip mall, Burma Place is a great takeout option when you want to eat garlic noodles, fried rice, chicken curry, and samosas from the comfort of your couch.
16719 Bernardo Center Drive, Suite A
Find authentic Vietnamese cuisine at Phở Ca Dao, including favorites like phở noodle soup, vermicelli noodles, broken rice dishes, and spring rolls. One of eight locations throughout San Diego, this family-owned chain uses robot servers for food delivery.
11808 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 100
It’s all about the sauce at fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant The Kebab Shop. Smothering your chicken shawarma, gyro, or falafels in garlic yogurt, cilantro jalapeno, fire chili, and dill yogurt sauce is practically a rite of passage. The hardest part is deciding whether to order a wrap, bowl, or salad.
11980 Bernardo Plaza Drive
Get a taste of South Asian flavors at Casa Lahori, a Pakistani restaurant noted for its grilled meat kabobs. Other best-selling dishes include beef nihari, chicken biryani, and shahi paneer— best enjoyed with naan bread.
11975 Bernardo Plaza Drive
Grill your own meat on the tabletop at Kangnam Korean BBQ, an interactive, all-you-can-eat experience that’s well-suited for large groups. Marinated beef bulgogi, grilled galbi short ribs, and spicy pork are served alongside traditional banchan dishes like kimchi, japchae glass noodles, and flavorful stews. Weekday lunch specials provide a nice discount on these filling meals.
11828 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 117–119
Dig in to your favorite curries and kebabs at Curry & More Indian Bistro. Most entrees are served with a choice of two side dishes, including basmati rice, potatoes with cumin, daal, naan, or mixed greens. Help offset the spice with one of their sweet mango or strawberry lassi drinks.
11808 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 123
Kai Oliver-Kurtin is a San Diego-based writer who covers travel, dining, events, and culture. Her writing has been published in USA Today, Condé Nast Traveler, Fodor's Travel, Marie Claire, and HuffPost, among others.
The city's pet-friendly courses combine scenic greens, wagging tails, and a round that’s as much about your pup as your swing
Golf doesn’t have to mean stiff collars, pleated khakis, whisper-talking on the green, or pretending your sand trap fails aren’t actually hilarious. Around San Diego, a handful of rebel courses are quietly rewriting the rules of an afternoon round, making them more relaxed, more social, and yes, more dog-friendly. These are the fairways where leashed pups pad alongside their people; where a suspenseful search for a golf ball in the bushes or—no!no!no!no!no!—in the water hazards are part of the fun; where every polite golf clap comes with a smiling, panting audience. If your ideal golf day includes a walk, a drink, and your dog riding shotgun, this is your teeing ground.
For proof that a golf course can be approachable without being boring, look no further than Emerald Isle Golf Course in Oceanside. The executive course delivers consistently beautiful greens, rolling elevations, and just enough challenge to keep you engaged, not stressed—unless your pup breaks free and runs for the rolling elevations, in which case you’ll be very engaged and maybe a little stressed. Locals love holes like the canal carry on No. 3 and the wildlife-dotted pond on No. 16, while golden-hour sunsets steal the show most evenings. Dogs are genuinely welcome here, not an afterthought. Grab them a slice of watermelon from the clubhouse, pose in the cart for Instagram cameos with an Emerald Isle scarf (it doubles as an adorable bandana for your four-legged friend), or introduce them to the course’s resident pups like Bogey, the assistant director of instruction, and shop dogs Karl and Frank. Affordable, friendly, and no-frills, Emerald Isle feels like golf you and doggo can’t wait to play.
660 S El Camino Real, Oceanside
The Loma Club is where golf goes social. Set in Liberty Station, this historic 9-hole par-3 course trades country club stiffness for an easy, neighborhood energy that feels distinctly San Diego. The course is walkable and unintimidating, with skyline and harbor views doing most of the heavy lifting. The Loma Club is just dipping its paws into the dog-friendly trend, and welcomes them on the mini course and off the fairways. Though your pup is the epicenter of your world, the patio at Loma Club is the real star, hosting live music, trivia (even the smartest dogs are stumped), and cocktails that rival golf itself. You don’t even need clubs to enjoy it. Show up with your dog, wander the course, grab something from the clubhouse, and stay for hours. You’ll feel like you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
2960 Truxtun Rd, San Diego
Calling Goat Hill Park a golf course almost undersells it. Known as the “People’s Park,” this historic Oceanside staple operates more like a community space where golf happens. Expect dogs strolling alongside the players, music streaming from magnetic speakers attached to golf carts, beginners smacking balls alongside serious talent, and locals and tourists sharing the same teeing grounds with a few four-legged besties trotting alongside. Saved from redevelopment in 2014, Goat Hill embraces a raw, unpolished look that’s both intentional and refreshing. With ocean views, a “19th-hole” fire-pit, and zero pretense, it’s golf at its most human…because: dogs.
2323 Goat Hill Dr, Oceanside
Ready to add your pup’s name to the illustrious list of golf greats? Same. At the iconic The Club at Omni La Costa, the vibe is equal parts championship-caliber and casually fabulous. Emerald fairways so perfect you’ll hesitate to step on them, palm-lined paths practically begging for a golden-hour strut, and rolling greens that ripple in the sun. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, your four-legged plus-one enters the chat: For members and overnight guests, the La Costa lifestyle rolls out the (very chic) welcome mat for your (leashed) pup, turning tee times into a social affair of breezy, citrus-kissed luxury and leisurely strolls. Really—what are you waiting for? Even your dog’s got a standing invite.
2100 Costa Del Mar Rd, Carlsbad
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Telefèric Barcelona will open its first San Diego location early this summer
Westfield UTC mall is adding yet another “first” to the ever-growing roster of restaurants. The first US location for China’s stir-fry sensation Chef Fei is on the way later this year, Japan already reinvented crispy rice pioneer Katsuya by opening the first Katsuya Ko, and now, it’s Spain’s turn—Telefèric Barcelona opens early this summer.
The family-owned, Barcelona-based tapas joint first opened in the US 10 years ago in Walnut Creek, California, but co-founder and CEO Xavi Padrosa says they’ve had their eye on San Diego for years. Westfield UTC “just clicked,” he says, pointing to the burgeoning collection of world-class eateries already within the mall’s walls. Plus, La Jolla’s breezy vibe echoes Spain’s easygoing tapas culture.
The indoor/outdoor space spans 5,526-square-feet, with seating for 150 inside, 60 on the patio, and 16 more at the bar. Xavi’s sister and co-owner Maria Padrosa designed the Mediterranean-inspired space as a contemporary take on coastal Catalonia, using imported furniture and materials from Spain like hand-glazed tiles and wood accents. And if all the dining spaces are planets, the center of the suite’s universe is the bar.
Padrosa points to signature favorites like patatas bravas (fried potatoes drizzled with a spicy red sauce and house aioli), jamón ibérico de bellota (Spanish ham from free-range pigs raised on acorns, cured for 38 months and sliced to order), gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), pulpo Telefèric (octopus with potato purée and pimentón XO, a spicy Spanish/Cantonese fusion sauce), and croquetas (a popular fried tapas dish coated in breadcrumbs and made with béchamel mixed with fillings like jamón or king crab.
There are a very small handful of legit paella spots in San Diego (Costa Brava in Pacific Beach and Cafe Sevilla in Gaslamp Quarter come to mind), so I’m personally looking forward to giving Telefèric’s a go—especially the squid ink paella negra, which is perhaps the most goth paella of all. Every location also offers different weekend specials, La Jolla’s being seafood-driven and meant to pair with beverage director Alex Serena’s drinks. There are over a hundred Spanish wines, Spanish-inspired cocktails, sangria, and of course, plenty of twists on the iconic gin and tonic. The restaurant will also have a gourmet market called The Merkat with imported Spanish sundries.
With more US locations in the works (Newport Beach will open soon after La Jolla), Padrosa says the company hopes to open more across California, but are open to anywhere in the country that feels right. “We don’t know exactly what new cities will appear on our map in the coming years,” he says. But in true Catalan fashion, anywhere they go should be ready for big plates of hearty Spanish cuisine.
Telefèric Barcelona La Jolla opens early summer 2026 in Westfield UTC. Opening hours will be Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Most of the time, you have to be 18 years old to change your name. In Arcana’s case, it was about a month. The immersive speakeasy behind Archive in Encinitas updated their moniker to Animga (a play on “enigma”) earlier this month, after what one can only assume was an upset letter from a similarly-named business. However, partner Paula Vrakas promises that the concept remains the same—mystery, cocktails, and a forthcoming bottle locker membership club. Since the only constant is change, Anigma is off to a good start!
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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.
The 29-year-old culinary director at Herb & Sea is making seafood sexy (and approachable) again
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
No buzzwords required.
Talking farm to table, fraud-to-table, and the feasibility of the movement with the beloved restaurateur who saw it all
Garden Kitchen was special. During its seven-year run on a quiet street in Rolando, even the farmiest-to-table devotees were pointing to chef-owner Coral Strong and slow-clapping. When a dramatic rent-hike forced her to close in 2022, Strong wasn’t sure what to do next.
Farm-to-table wasn’t new by any means—chef Alice Waters spawned the movement at her pioneering restaurant Chez Panisse in Berkeley in the early ‘70s, and many San Diego chefs did it right. But by the mid-2000s, the idea had been so co-opted by the mainstream that the meaning was almost completely lost.
“In the beginning, I used to get very honestly angry and upset when I would go to other restaurants that were claiming they were farm-to-table, but knowing some of the chefs or prep cooks inside [telling me] ‘Oh no, that comes from Restaurant Depot,’” she says.
Food critic Troy Johnson’s cover story in 2015 documented the fraud, titled “Farm to Fable.” At Garden Kitchen, Strong only used produce and meat sourced from local San Diego farms—an honorable, if not arduous endeavor.
Strong grew up in Cardiff before her parents moved the family to Costa Rica in 1989. They’d bounce between the two countries for months at a time, but when they lived in a motel by the beach while building their own house, she witnessed an incredibly tight-knit food culture. “As a Latin American country, everyone kind of cooks together,” she says. Everyone chopped, prepped, prepared, and served as a unit. “[That] definitely shaped my adolescence as to how I thought about food and the community of food.”
When her father, a commercial fisherman, brought the family back to San Diego, Strong leaned into an entrepreneurial streak, moving from coffee to accounting and eventually bartending to pay the bills. But food remained a passion, especially after she met her future husband, who was working at a farm and ranch in Escondido.
“We were just always disappointed with the vegetables out at restaurants and were like, ‘Why can’t they just make vegetables taste good?” she wondered. She realized that despite having more small farms than any other county in the country, most restaurants in San Diego simply weren’t using local ingredients.
So she decided to do it herself.
Strong opened Garden Kitchen without any formal culinary training—just a commitment to getting the freshest vegetables, meat, fruits, and other produce onto people’s plates. Her first chef quit within a month, telling her it was impossible. “So I got in the kitchen one day and said, ‘I can do this, let’s figure it out.’ I taught myself how to cook.”
She already had connections with farmers, fishermen, and ranchers, and designed a different menu almost daily based on what she could get. “My farmers sometimes delivered in the middle of dinner service,” she laughs.
Garden Kitchen lasted until after the pandemic, but before the current economy cut into already razor-thin margins. Could Garden Kitchen exist today? She’s not sure.
“The biggest thing right now is just looking at the finances and how expensive it is,” says Strong. “Obviously, the cost of food is up right now, gas is crazy right now… it just crushes you.” Despite that, she believes that committing to the true farm-to-table ethos is as easy as one decides to make it.
“If you think it’s hard to order directly from your farmer, if you don’t understand the absolute pleasure in doing that and you’d rather order from a computer, then that’s your own difficulty,” she says. “People say they’re into it, but are they willing to make the effort like I am, to drive an hour to go get my meat, or drive 35 minutes to go to my farm to go pick it up? I don’t know.”
Today, Strong works as a private chef, hosts pop-ups, and offers catering services, all still using seasonally available ingredients from San Diego. And while she has no intentions of opening another restaurant, she says we might see even more of her in the future.
“I have a large property [in Valley Center], and let’s say that there will be more of my food to come,” she promises.
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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.
We rounded up the city’s best events, activities, and restaurants to celebrate Dad on June 21
Father’s Day is often the overlooked summer holiday that doesn’t quite get the extravagant brunch treatment or overflowing bouquets that Mother’s Day does. Sure, there’s the annual pair of socks, Padres hat you’re convinced he doesn’t already own, beer subscriptions, phone case doubling as a wallet, plus the classic “Best Dad” keepsakes. But this year, let’s flip the narrative with events, activities, and specials made with Dad in mind.
Whether he wants a quiet dinner, a big screen full of San Diego sports and wings, or a weekend that somehow includes NASCAR, a jazz festival, and a Broadway reimagining, there is something for every dad. Here’s your guide to a memorable Father’s Day in San Diego.
Jump To: Activities | Bars & Drinks | Dining Specials
Nothing says “Happy Father’s Day” like the sound of engines ripping across Naval Base Coronado. NASCAR is turning this into a historic race weekend that feels less like a casual outing and more like a full-scale San Diego moment people will be talking about long after June is over. This is the first time a NASCAR Cup Series race has ever taken place on an active military base, which instantly puts it in “you had to be there” territory.
It’s fast, loud, and very on-brand for a Father’s Day where Dad suddenly becomes an expert on tire strategy, pit stops, and track positions. The bar might be set unreasonably high for every Father’s Day that follows, but that’s a next-year problem, right?
Price: Tickets available on Ticketmaster
Dates: June 19–21 | Weekend Schedule
Address: Naval Base Coronado
At Humphreys, Father’s Day gets a little more sophisticated. Roger Friend and an all-star lineup of jazz musicians bring decades of international experience to the bay, where dads can lean into their musical side with head nods and shoe taps. It’s smooth, layered, and exactly the amount of jazz you didn’t realize your playlists were missing.
Price: Tickets available on Ticketmaster
Time: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Address: 241 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego
Belmont Park is rolling out a Father’s Day lineup that basically turns Mission Beach into a living garage scene, with a free car show featuring everything from polished 1960s Camaros to classic Bel Airs and lowriders. If he has a ride of his own, vintage car owners can join the lineup for $35 per vehicle. After the chrome tour, it’s straight into a Mission Beach classic: boardwalk strolls, fish tacos on the sand, and rides at Belmont Park.
Price: Free to attend | Register vehicle here
Time: 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Address: Belmont Park, 3146 Mission Boulevard, San Diego
I think it’s an unspoken rule that dads love Bob Dylan. Mine is already figuring out how he’s getting to San Diego for this. But this isn’t just a Father’s Day activity, it’s a cultural event that happens to land on Father’s Day weekend and immediately becomes the plan. Bob Dylan at The Rady Shell means you’ll be surrounded by city lights sparkling across the harbor, legacy music, and at least one moment where Dad leans over and whispers, “You know, this guy wrote everything.” And honestly? He’s not wrong.
Price: Tickets available on Ticketmaster
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Address: 222 Marina Park Way, San Diego
The San Diego County Fair returns with fried everything, questionable decisions, rides that definitely looked safer in the 2000s, and Dad’s very confident plan to “just walk around for an hour” that somehow turns into an entire day. It’s also the biggest, longest-running community event in San Diego County, running Wednesday, June 10 through Sunday, July 5, with a “Once Upon a Fair” theme. It basically becomes part of the Father’s Day season whether you planned it or not. So, consider this your annual reminder that “happily ever after” can, in fact, involve Cajun honey dogs, cinnamon rolls, a Ferris wheel you swore you wouldn’t go on, and Dad somehow knowing exactly which booth has the best Spam wonton tacos.
Price: Tickets available here: website
Date & Time: June 10 – July 5 (closed Mondays & Tuesdays) | 11 a.m.
Address: 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
The 53rd Annual National Philanthropy Day Takes Place on November 21. Join us from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the new Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center!
Once yearly, AFP San Diego joins with others worldwide to celebrate National Philanthropy Day (NPD), a special day set aside to recognize the great contributions of donors and nonprofits that enrich of our community and the world. San Diego’s NPD is one of the largest and most successful in the U.S., attracting nearly 900 participants, including philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, CEOs, board members, development professionals, and business, community, and civic leaders.
Sponsorship proceeds from National Philanthropy Day are reinvested in education, training, scholarships, career development, and the advancement of fundraising professionals throughout San Diego. These resources and training provide fundraising professionals with the tools necessary to support our region’s diverse array of nonprofit organizations, which rely on charitable giving for close to half of their annual revenues.
The National Philanthropy Day Honorees are selected by the NPD Honorary Committee, a group of highly respected, diverse nonprofit and business leaders. Our 2025 Honorees include:
National Philanthropy Day San Diego provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of giving and to celebrate the selfless contributions of individuals and organizations across the region. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets are available. Please visit www.afpsd.org for more information.
