The greater Encinitas area is on a roll. From newcomers like Chick & Hawk, Necessity Coffee, and Isola Pizza Bar to institutions like the Michelin-rated Bib Gourmand Atelier Manna and “the most Leucadia restaurant in Leucadia,” Valentina, 92024 more than holds its own against other culinary hotspots around San Diego.
Later this year, Marbella Oyster Bar will be added to that roster once it opens its doors in the space that formerly housed Peace Pies, just behind Coast Thai-Way.
Marbella is the first restaurant for owner/partners Armando Martin del Campo and Jhonathan Velazquez. Martin del Campo, who’s also the chef, went to culinary school in Mexico before working his way through kitchens in Mexico and the US. His vision for the restaurant is simple food prepared elegantly and served without pretension.
As you might guess by the name, the menu will offer oysters, but will generally focus on simple seafood dishes prepared with Japanese and French techniques, sometimes with a bit of Mexican flair. The ceviches won’t be too spicy, Martin del Campo promises with a laugh. There will probably be at least one steak dish on the menu, thanks to his 13-plus years of exporting beef over the border, and they plan to source locally whenever they can.
It’ll also serve items like Spanish bomba rice, tacos made with non-GMO corn tortillas, crudo, sashimi, salads, and ceviches. To serve their fish at maximum freshness, Martin del Campo says they plan to use the ikejime technique. Ikejime is a Japanese method of instantly killing fish to ensure better flavor (the specific cuts allow for the blood to drain more naturally, resulting in a deeper umami experience) and longer shelf life (no lactic acid is released from the fish’s muscles from post-mortem thrashing). It requires specific tools and some practice, but ikejime is considered the most humane way to process and prepare fish for consumption.
Initial hours will likely be for lunch and dinner, with a wine list focused mainly on European wines with a few from the US and Mexico as well. Decor will be purposefully minimalist, with shades of beige, white, gray, and brown. “In San Sebastian, you go into all these [seafood] places… it’s like, yeah, they’re pretty, but it’s about just the food,” says Martin del Campo.
The indoor-outdoor space will hold around 30 guests with an open seafood bar where people can come sit by themselves just as comfortably as on a date or with friends. “In Mexico, you go to a taco stand and you just eat it in the bar by yourself and you just move,” he explains. There, guests will have a front-row seat for seafood prep, or can opt for table seating instead.
He hopes Marbella is the first of several restaurants under their purview. “I want to create a restaurant group,” he says, perhaps expanding to a more fine dining approach in the future. But for now, after a few locations fell through, he’s just happy their vision is finally coming to life.
“It took me so many years to have my kitchen in San Diego, up north in Encinitas,” Martin del Campo explains. “I feel more prepared and blessed and experienced and mature in other ways… the timing was just perfect.”
Marbella Oyster Bar will open in August or September 2026 at 133 Daphne Street in Encinitas.
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San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
National Burger Day or National Bummer Day?
A shadow is looming over National Burger Day on May 28. Ground beef prices hit record highs this year, up 77 percent since January 2020 and double what they were in 2013. The Washington Post reports that the cost of beef brisket is up 28 percent from last year, leading to menu price increases and even restaurant closures across the barbecue belt of Texas. San Diego burger joints are feeling the beef-lation as well, and with summer burger season just around the corner, the outlook feels as gloomy as the May Gray skies. So if you notice that the price of your favorite burger has gone up a couple of bucks, be kind—it’s an unavoidable reality of today’s economy, and one the whole industry is facing together.
Beth’s Bites
- First came Carlo in Cardellino, now Trust Restaurant Group is keeping the “hidden” bar concept going with the now-open Georgette’s at À L’ouest. Up the spiral staircase lies a cocktail bar designed for the curious, the travelers—basically anyone with a penchant for the mysterious, or if you’re just thirsty. Reservations are a must, and after peeking at the menu, I’m salivating for the Core Memory with bourbon, Calvados, lemon, Carondelet, and egg white. (Calvados, the apple brandy from Normandy, France, is my weakness… hint hint).
- Wellness center by day and non-alcoholic lounge by night, Andreane is now open at 1050 Garnet Avenue, Suite A in Pacific Beach. Guests can grab a matcha post-sound bath or imbibe on mocktails after dark—either way, I, for one, am glad to see the sober bar movement continuing to grow.
- Be there or be hungry—the annual Taste of Little Italy returns June 16 and 17! There will be pizza. There will be pasta. There will be live music. There will be belts ready to burst. Eat your way through nearly two dozen restaurants and wear loose pants (take it from someone with experience).
