North Park is one of San Diego’s best neighborhoods for foodies, coffee lovers, and craft beer enthusiasts. With so many options in a compact area, we’ve made it easy to plan your next visit to North Park with our top picks for restaurants, coffee shops, and lively bars to satisfy every craving.
True to its name, this Michelin Bib Gourmand spot serves seafood-focused tapas—including oysters, mussels, and octopus carpaccio—in a cozy, European-inspired space. Order shellfish, obviously, but don’t miss the Spanish tortilla and one (or all) of the restaurant’s three different gin and tonics.
With a menu that combines two American favorites—cheeseburgers and New York–style pizza—this low-key neighborhood spot is a North Park staple. No modifications allowed on the restaurant’s “dirty flag top cheeseburger,” but for $8, who could complain?
Cantina Mayahuel is known for its extensive tequila collection and cocktail menu, which includes weekly drink specials (did someone say $5 shots?). Pair your margarita with a taco or torta, including several vegan options.
Carb lovers come here to linger over glasses of hard-to-find Sicilian wine and plates of cannoli. The pastificio (Italian for “pasta factory”) churns out housemade fresh pasta and signature dishes like the “fritelle”—savory donuts with cacio e pepe foam.
Simmered for hours with quadruple the typical amount of bones, Shank & Bône’s rich and flavorful phô broth is the base for comforting soups featuring a variety of proteins, including a beef-forward option with shank, flank, eye of round steak, oxtail, and bone marrow.
In this tiny, bustling bistro, Tijuanese chef Itze Behar draws upon her Mexican heritage, California produce, and French techniques to deliver shareable small plates. Order the four-course tasting menu to sample a range of bites.
Address: 2591 University Avenue Hours: Wednesday–Saturday, 5–10 p.m.; closed Sunday–Tuesday
Courtesy of The Wise Ox
The Wise Ox
Date night at home? Hit this Jersey-style butcher shop from chef Brad Wise of Trust Restaurant Group for a steak sure to impress your sweetie—or grab one of seven reasonably priced sandos with a side of beef fat fries for an easy park picnic.
Address: 2855 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite 1 Hours: Sunday–Monday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Wormwood
Meet the green fairy (and a menu of French-inspired bites like a foie macaron, a French onion tart, and steak with bourdelaise) at Wormwood, an absinthe bar laying down approachable and innovative cocktails featuring the anise-flavored spirit.
Address: 4677 30th Street Hours: Wednesday–Thursday, 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m.; Friday, 5–10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5–10 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5–9:30 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday
Louisiana Purchase
Wrangling in southern hospitality and damn-good drinks, Louisiana Purchase has brought New Orleans to North Park. Step into this upscale indoor-outdoor restaurant that mirrors the enchantment of the Bayou to try traditional dishes like gumbo and alligator andouille cheesecake.
Siamo Napoli boasts Southern Italian cuisine specializing in handmade pastas, traditional Napoli food, and Neapolitan-style pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven. The Michelin-recommended locale is helmed by Flavio Piromallo who helped open Buon Appetito and Sogno di Vino in Little Italy. Try the pappardelle con il ragù d’agnello with cabernet-infused pasta and slow braised lamb ragù.
Address: 3959 30th Street, Suite 105 Hours: Sunday and Tuesday–Wednesday, 4–8:30 p.m.; Friday–Saturday, 4–9:30 p.m.
Hanna’s Gourmet
On Sundays only, Hanna’s Gourmet opens for brunch from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. With a rotating menu each week, the restaurant serves dishes like eggs a la Marrakesh alongside chilaquiles and classic American breakfasts. If you can’t wait until Sunday, you can opt for Hanna’s delicious ready-made dinners or catering options available for pre-order by Thursday each week.
Falafel Heights is located inside a small storefront on 30th Ave. in North Park. After years of hosting pop-ups, owner and founder Lialie Ibrahim opened her first brick-and-mortar in 2023. Stop by the unassuming storefront to try Ibrahim’s Palestinian-style falafels, chicken or beef bowl or wrap, generously drizzled in different sauce options from classic hummus to spicy Iraqi mango amba.
Address: 4118 30th Street Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.
Courtesy of Underbelly North Park
Underbelly
The line between dining in and dining out is blurred at Underbelly, a funky ramen spot that has windows that flip all the way open to invite in that San Diego sun. Chow down on any of the ramens—including one with lobster red curry and a version with oxtail dumplings on top—under the glow of neon lights.
Address: 3000 Upas Street Hours: Daily, 11:30 a.m.–11:30 p.m.
Chicken Pie Shop
Established in 1938, the Chicken Pie Shop has been serving comfort food to locals for nearly 90 years. Step inside the retro red and white storefront and into a place frozen in time, where you can still get a chicken pie, veggie, coleslaw, a house roll and dessert for $18.
Sporting a creative menu in both names and tastes, Tribute Pizza is a local favorite paying homage to the greatest pizzas and pizza-makers in the world. The restaurant calls its style “Neo-Neapolitan,” because it features a hybrid of New York and Neapolitan techniques.
Address: 3077 North Park Way Hours: Sunday, 3–9 p.m.; Tuesday–Wednesday, 4–9 p.m.; Thursday–Saturday, 4–10 p.m.
Flora
Start your day with brunch at Flora. This playfully decorated spot offers twists to your favorite brunch staples with dishes like peach compote waffles, breakfast carbonara, and a zucchini blossom frittata.
Address: 3021 University Avenue Hours: Daily, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Cocina De Barrio
Cocina De Barrio offers a vast menu of brunch, lunch, and dinner options, along with vegan alternatives to some of its staple dishes, such as a plant-based albondigas soup and tetelas stuffed with beans and cashew-based “cheese.”
We hesitate to call Mediterranean restaurant Leila unmissable—only because it might be nigh-impossible to get a reservation. A critic’s pick for 2025’s best restaurants of the year, Leila serves breads, dips, fire-kissed meats, and cocktails in a dimly lit space styled like a maximalist night market.
Baja icon Drew Deckman brings his sustainable, Michelin-starred cooking to North Park with 31ThirtyOne. Driven by a commitment to local sourcing, the menu leans seafood- and produce-heavy (with some really good steaks, too).
Birria tacos, birria fries, birria tortas, birria everything (including ramen!). Birrieria Enriquez specializes in its namesake meat, of course, but the Mexican restaurant also offers a variety of other menu options and taco meats like shrimp, chicken, and steak.
Get your New York bodega fix at Lou’s Deli, where sandwiches—chopped cheese, hot pastrami, turkey club, and more—are king. Each comes with a complimentary side of the shop’s housemade pickle popcorn, like a new-school salt-and-vinegar chip.
Address: 2940 Lincoln Avenue Hours: Daily, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.
Photo Credit: James Tran Finca
North Park Bars & Breweries
Bivouac Ciderworks
Post-hike, hit Bivouac for a rotating list of brewed-onsite tap ciders, an extensive cocktail menu, and an elevated bar food selection with items like cider-braised carnitas tacos and steak frites. The mural-adorned Adventure Lodge next door offers a coffee bar, a boutique, board games, and an artsy vending machine slinging goodies from local makers.
Address: 3986 30th Street Hours: Sunday and Tuesday–Thursday, 12 p.m.–9 p.m.; Friday–Saturday, 12 p.m.–12 a.m.; closed Monday
If California and Spain had children, Finca would be the favorite. This tapas-style restaurant combines the two cultures with dishes like patatas bravas and swordfish steak al pastor, plus a wine list packed with pours from both countries.
Address: 3066 North Park Way Hours: Tuesday–Thursday, 5–9 p.m.; Friday, 5–10 p.m.; Saturday, 3–10 p.m.; Sunday, 3–9 p.m.; closed Monday
A local haunt, Swan Bar on Adams Ave. is known for its unique cocktails such as the Mahogany & Leather made with gin, vermouth, chili oil, and kimchi onions or the Strawbery Milk Punch Horchata mixed with strawberry rum, overproof white rum, and horchata mix. Inside, a backlit golden bar is surrounded by leather sofa seating and bar stools while outside, guests can enjoy an enclosed patio with wooden slats and green foliage.
Fall Brewing’s North Park outpost is the flagship location of one of San Diego’s most popular breweries. The tasting room’s punk-rock theme extends to many of its on-tap beers, including the Goo Goo Muck IPA.
When the inevitable hunger hits after hours of karaoke singing, Redwing is ready for you. This seven-day-a-week karaoke dive bar and trivia hotspot is the perfect happy-hour destination for a friend group who thinks they’re Fifth Harmony. Enjoy its elevated bar food with items like a spicy Thai pork sandwich and a spiced Paloma on its outdoor patio or next to a microphone, whatever you choose.
Address: 4012 30th Street Hours: Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–1 a.m.; Friday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–2 a.m.; Monday, 4 p.m.–1 a.m.
Modern Times Beer
Local craft brewery Modern Times is a staple in the city, with two locations including its North Park residence. Stop in for a cold one and browse the 20-plus taps, enjoy some local merchandise, and peek at the Yoda made of floppy disks. And, don’t worry, your furry family members are welcome on the patio.
This Philadelphia-loving bar is the perfect neighborhood spot to watch sports and have a cold one. However, for those who couldn’t care less about the game, Pretzels & Pints specializes in the art of the soft pretzel, cooking up several different options from the Philly Soft (duh) to the Jumbo Bavarian, all of which are served with beer cheese and mustard.
Address: 3812 Ray Street Hours: Monday–Friday, 12 p.m.–10 p.m.; Saturday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m.
Botanica
Botanica is your friendly neighborhood gin joint fused with experiential art, a creative concept dreamt up by Be Saha Hospitality. Indulge in pintxos with bar bites that can be paired with flights of gin or artisanal spirits and cocktails. Like the art on its walls? Guests can take home their favorite pieces or purchase an NFT (with donations to the nonprofit Create Purpose).
Address: 3139 University Avenue Hours: Tuesday–Thursday and Sunday, 5–10 p.m. ; Friday–Saturday, 5 p.m.–12 a.m.; closed Monday
Courtesy of Part Time Lover
Part Time Lover
Influenced by Japanese listening bars, Part Time Lover‘s unassuming façade hides a moody, art deco–inspired ambiance with DJs spinning vinyl on a hi-fi sound system and bartenders shaking up craft cocktails.
Address: 3829 30th Street Hours: Daily, 4 p.m.–2 a.m.
Original 40 Brewing Company
The Original 40 Brewing Company is a beautifully decorated space where you can settle into the comfy seating with one of the 14 house beers on tap and enjoy atypical brewpub eats like baby back adobo ribs, mussels, and strawberry-sage wontons for dessert. Cheers!
San Diego bar industry veterans Eric Johnson and Chris Siglin launched Happy Medium in 2024, slinging creative cocktails and bites both indulgent (fried cheese curds) and angelic (spicy broccolini) in a friendly, laidback space.
Saigon Coffee has mastered the art of slow and steady, thanks to its use of Vietnamese phin filters, which produce a highly concentrated and strong brew over a longer period of time. The menu features classic Vietnamese java and creative specialty drinks like iced coffee topped with egg cream.
Address: 3994 30th Street Hours: Daily, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Named Best Ice Cream Shop in America byUSA Today’s 10Best, An’s Dry Cleaning is a charming dessert destination located inside of a former laundry mat. The flagship location features a rotating selection of ice cream flavors named after things you’d find in a dry cleaner’s shop such as vicuna wool, full grain leather, canvas, sandal. Many flavors are also gluten-free and vegan options are available as well.
Coffee & Tea Collective opened in 2010 and features a minimalist design aesthetic inside, making its beverages the star of the show with unique flavor profiles and made-in-house cold brews. Seasonally, the shop also boasts exclusive menu items like a strawberry rose matcha, apricot sage tonic, or the watermelon dill cooler.
Address: 2911 El Cajon Boulevard Hours: Daily, 7 a.m.–4 p.m.
Dark Horse Coffee Roasters is another local favorite for getting your caffeine fix while in North Park. The shop’s coffee beverages boast a darker, bolder flavor, and the team sources direct-trade coffees from around the world. Psst—it also serves incredibly tasty vegan donuts to pair with your cup of joe.
Address: 3794 30th Street Hours: Daily, 6:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Courtesy of Communal Coffee
Communal Coffee
Perched in the center of University Avenue, Communal Coffee shop offers a variety of caffeine- or booze-boosted drinks for whatever kind of buzz you’re looking for. Enjoy specialty latte flights, summery cocktails, and light bites—or simply snap a pic by the outdoor mural wall for a quick Insta post. You can also buy local goods, merch, or flower arrangements in the onsite shop.
Address: 2335 University Avenue Hours: Daily, 6:30 a.m.–3 p.m.
Courtesy of Caffe Calabria
Caffe Calabria
Stop in to Caffe Calabria for some coffee with house-roasted beans, tea, and fresh pastries by morning and Neopolitan-style pizza, craft cocktails (including several with espresso, naturally), and antipasti by night.
Address: 3140 University Avenue Hours: Daily, 7 a.m.–6 p.m.
James Coffee
This family-owned business features small-batch, handmade coffees, offering its own exclusive blends as well as single-origin coffee. James Coffee is also dedicated to prioritizing sustainability and ethical sourcing and offers a jar exchange program so that guests can drop off their used drink jars to be cleaned and sanitized for the next customer.
Address: 4379 30th Street Hours: Daily, 7 a.m.–5 p.m.
If I have to choose between letting a trusted friend pick a bottle of wine or some random algorithm boosted by a faceless entity, I’m gonna go with the human 10 out of 10 times. And when you have friends like Amanda Sarich and Robert Blair, it’s pretty easy to trust their picks are going to be unique, tasty, and probably something I haven’t seen before.
Between the two of them, they have over three decades of experience working in wine. From buying to operations to building wine lists, they’ve worked together, wined together, and now, are going into business together with the Word of Mouth Wine Club.
Word of Mouth is a members-only monthly subscription that sends you two handpicked bottles each month, chosen entirely by the duo’s palates. It’s less “build your own box” and more “enjoy the surprise.” “The goal with the wine club was basically to get members that want to turn over their faith in our collections,” Sarich says. “Trust us—we’ll send you the cool stuff.”
The two first met while working at We Olive wine bar and shop in La Jolla, where Sarich joined the opening team in 2011 before eventually becoming a corporate wine director overseeing stores and franchises throughout California. Blair arrived the following year, after stints at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido and Alternative Wines in Carmel Valley, later spending nearly a decade helping build Village Vino in Kensington.
When Village Vino closed last November, Sarich had recently returned home to San Diego after years in the Bay Area and brought Blair on board for a project she’s working on—Serafino, a cafe and wine bar slated to open in Mission Hills next fall. But to bridge the gap between Village Vino closing and Serafino opening, the two partners kept the momentum going by launching Word of Mouth.
Blair says once Serafino opens, the team will launch a wine club for that business that will focus on everyday drinking wines from anywhere. Word of Mouth is for us “to geek out a little bit,” he says, with more adventurous or hard-to-find options from small production family farmers. (But as a bonus, Word of Mouth subscribers will become Seraphino’s founding members, receiving exclusive benefits for supporting the project from day one.)
Current memberships include two bottles delivered monthly—usually a red and a white, though sparkling, rosé, orange, or skin-contact wines are always fair game. Members can choose three-month, six-month, or annual subscriptions, and every shipment includes detailed tasting notes, producer stories, pairing suggestions, and fun extras like playlists, puzzles, and the occasional surprise.
The selections often revolve around loose themes. For instance, they used the idea of what wines they’d drink at a summer barbecue to select the two bottles in the July box—which happened to be a pale French rosé and Mourvèdre from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.
Over the last decade, places like Rumi, Clos, and Vino Carta have helped transform the San Diego wine scene from mainstream labels and a stodgy vibe to eclectic discoveries that break a lot of the former rules. Word of Mouth hopes to continue that evolution.
“I think it’s fostered a more adventurous sense of exploration,” Blair says. “There’s room in San Diego to keep expanding people’s palates.” Sarich agrees. “We’re trying to bring our fun wine palate to the world.” Bottoms up.
An’s Gelato continues its march towards worldwide domination this weekend when it opens its fifth storefront at the Top Gun House at Mission Pacific in Oceanside. An’s Gate D5 opens on Saturday, July 25 with an airport-inspired theme that follows in the footsteps of its previous stores (An’s Dry Cleaning in North Park, An’s Hatmakers in Del Mar, etc.) and will offer rotating flavors like “Checked Bag,” “Carry On,” and global flavors like “Ho Chi Minh” with banana and Saigon coffee, or “McAllen” with strawberry and grapefruit.
Tony Gwynn Day returns to AleSmith Brewing Company on August 15 in celebration of Mr. Padres’ 2,000th and 3,000th hit anniversary. Grab one of the special beer releases and a bite from one of the onsite food trucks and watch the Padres take on the Guardians at 4 p.m. Go Dads!
Celebrate 10 years of the San Diego Sake Festival on September 27 at the Julep Venue, where guests can dive into over 100 premium sakes from 50 booths, plus food pairings, workshops, and kagami-biraki (the ceremonial opening of a sake barrel). VIP tickets get you in an hour earlier, plus a $10 food voucher, and that’s not even mentioning getting first taste of some of the rarest and most limited sakes at the festival. This is the real deal, so get your kanpai on and toast a decade of deliciousness.
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.
Ask any local, human or shark—San Diego summer doesn’t really start until August. After June Gloom lifts and children file back into the halls of academia, our coastline comes to life with more space on the sand and a water temperature that finally rises above muscle-clenchingly frigid.
What better way to welcome Local’s Summer than by celebrating the bounty of the sea? At least, that’s what the gang at Puffer Malarkey Collective (PMC) figured when they launched Dockside Night Market four years ago.
Despite being born and raised in San Diego, Lillian Dang (the event’s co-producer and marketing director for PMC) says she didn’t know how abundant our local seafood scene was until she left and came back. “We are spoiled here,” she says, pointing not only to our plentiful produce from local farms, but also our sea-borne treasures.
When she and her co-producer Lucien Conner (PMC’s director of operations) brainstormed over what they felt the city’s food scene lacked, they realized: “What’s missing is an event that really celebrates the local seafood,” explains Dang.
Photo Credit: Enrique Espinoza
Dockside Night Market is meant to be a “San Diego summer party on the pier,” she says, bringing together local fishermen and local chefs to highlight the fruits of the local seas. Chefs from some of San Diego’s best restaurants clamor to be a part of the 15-chef-max roster, including Travis Swikard (Callie and Fleurette), David Sim (Kingfisher), Aidan Owens (Herb & Wood), Chianne Mallari (Herb & Sea), Tara Monsod (Animae), Jacob Ruck and Eric Bost (Jeune et Jolie), not to mention Mabel’s Gone Fishing, Bica, The Lion’s Share, Nine-Ten, Marisi… you get the idea.
Part of the intrigue is not knowing exactly what seafood will appear—in past years, there’s been uni, bluefin tuna, halibut, black cod, but it ultimately comes down to what’s fresh and what’s available. And with a chef lineup like that, it’s fun to imagine what sorts of surprises await. (If you’d like a small hint, there arecalendars of seasonal availability in the area.)
The one-night-only annual event takes place at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Tuna Harbor Pier (598 Harbor Lane), the same spot as the weekly fish market every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. or sellout (it’s usually the latter). VIPs get in at 6 p.m. and general admission is 7 p.m., and 100 percent of all ticket profits go to support the San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to support the best interests of the region’s commercial fishermen. There’s also four cash bars and a live DJ (but leave the kids and pets at home).
“I think this is an event that can only happen in San Diego,” says Dang. Our city’s culinary cache is on the rise, and our proximity to some of the best fishing waters in the world make it a pretty dynamic duo. “It’s curated, it’s intimate, it’s all the things,” she promises.
The future of one of San Diego’s quintessential restaurants is up in the air. For 50 years, Kearny Mesa’s 94th Aero Squadron has slung its signature champagne brunch buffet, lunch, and dinner from a WWI-inspired restaurant and events space that looks like it was dropped straight from the French countryside. Recently and without fanfare, the restaurant added a message to its website that reads “Our restaurant is closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Mysterious, alarming, and vague—one can only hope it takes flight once more.
Apparently July is “National Pickle Month,” and if I’d known sooner, I would have celebrated accordingly (by stealing all the leftover pickles from people’s plates at lunch). I’m already deeply devoted to TNT’s pickle pizza any month of the year, but Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley is joining the briny fun with two specials at the lobby bar Monkeybar through the end of June—the Monkeybar Spicy Pickletini (vodka, spicy pickle juice, dry vermouth, the the resort’s housemade Riki Tiki hot sauce) and the “What’s the Big Dill” pizza, a not-terribly-creatively-named pie with mozzarella, red sauce, dill pickles, bacon bites, and a dill garnish. I’ll admit I haven’t had a pickle pie with red sauce before, so I’m interested in checking it out for that novelty alone. (Have you tried either? I’m genuinely curious how they are, so drop me a line at [email protected] to let us know!)
Since 2009, restaurateur Tracy Borkum’s Urban Kitchen Group restaurant collective has operated places like Cucina Urbana, The Kitchen at MCASD, and more, racking up local likes and an IYKYK reputation for solid food at decent prices. Now, all three of her Cucina locations (San Diego, Newport Beach, and Irvine) are offering new price-conscious specials that help ease the financial stress for people who just want to eat some damn good food without going broke. One example: for $145, their Sunday Supper special feeds four people with a family-style Italian feast of focaccia, salad, a whole spatchcock chicken, veggies, polenta, a choice of Rigatoni Bolognese or Bucatini Amatriciana, and tiramisu to finish things up. For a casual pizza and wine night, their happy hour bar special from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. gets you a margherita or pepperoni pizza, plus a bottle of red or white wine for $45. Simple? Yes. Savings? Also yes. Scrumptious? Undoubtedly.
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.
When Rigo Munoz opened a weekends-only taco stand on Market Street in 2018, at first, he was just hoping to sell his tacos to however many customers he could. That low-key, word of mouth approach worked well for a couple years. Very well.
“Then, the line started,” he laughs. He began to double his sales week after week, until an influencer from Tijuana paid them an undercover visit in 2024. Munoz was hanging out in his backyard the next Monday when his phone started pinging and ringing off the hook. “So I go onto my social media and there, lo and beyond, the video already had 10,000, 12,000 views in like, less than an hour,” he says. The next day, there was a line of customers waiting for him before he opened at 5 p.m. The Chula Tacos revolution sparked there.
Now, he’s ready to open his third location on August 1 at 4994 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. It wasn’t an easy or straightforward path—the city shut down his original location citing too much noise and traffic. But Munoz was looking ahead, already in talks with a restaurateur to take over his space at 1719 Palm Avenue in the Nestor neighborhood of southeast San Diego. From the time he got shut down to getting the keys of his first brick-and-mortar was less than two days.
The second location in Chula Vista caught fire on Valentine’s Day and is slated to reopen later this fall (689 H Street). Munoz says he also plans to open a fourth location somewhere between the Ocean Beach and Morena Boulevard areas, but has aspirations for more.
“I’d like to become the In-N-Out of tacos,” he says. He’s actively looking for places that could support either a drive-thru or the typical fast-casual taqueria style, but no matter what, he’s going to keep his menu simple.
Each location has the same menu, except labio, which are ox lips, and beef intestines. They’re top-sellers at Palm Avenue, but might not translate as well to the OB crowd, he says. But guests can still get their fix of vampiro tacos, tacos de trompo, and from-scratch horchata and jamaica.
Chula Tacos is best known for its kekas (pronounced keh-kuhs), which are extra-large quesadillas stuffed with your choice of meat. “It’s a hefty thing,” Munoz promises. It’s such a trademark that he filed for a patent, which is still pending.
Building a taco empire has been a long time coming. Munoz first started making tacos at age 12, and has operated a number of cafes, delis, and other businesses on both sides of the border ever since. “We’re a family business,” he says. He’s been trying to hit that mother lode for years—and all it took was one video to light the fuse.
The newest location of Chula Tacos opens August 1 at 4994 Newport Avenue, Suite A in Ocean Beach. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to midnight daily. (Opening date subject to change.)
Courtesy of Oceanside Sustainable Food Festival
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Beth’s Bites
Everyone (clap) watches (clap, clap) women’s sports! (Thunderous applause!) San Diego’s first women’s sports bar, One of Us, opened this week in the former URBN Pizza space in North Park. I stopped by the preview and can confirm the Big Ass Fan is still there, but now there are tons of TVs lining the walls ready to broadcast women’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, and all the other sports events you could ever dream of. (And yes, they’ll be showing the men’s World Cup on Sunday, because I guess people watch men’s sports, too.)
Rolando’s ears must have been burning, because a month after interviewing chef Coral Strong of the now-closed Garden Kitchen, Campus Burgers announced plans to turn the formerly hyperlocal farm-to-table restaurant into a spot for affordable smashburgers. I’m sure the local college kids will appreciate the $1.99 smashburger special—although let’s face it, in today’s expensive times, everyone is ready for a wallet-friendly outing.
A few months ago, I gave Navore Market’s farm-to-front door delivery service a try and as a longtime former CSA subscriber, I have to admit it felt nice to leave the produce purchasing to the pros. But as of July 12, you can now head to Navore’s second community pickup hub at Mission Valley YMCA (5505 Friars Road) every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Having a centralized drop-off point makes it easy for farmers, and buyers don’t have to commit to a subscription—sounds like a farm-to-table win to me.
Keeping on with the farm-to-table news, the 4th annual Oceanside Sustainable Food Festival is scheduled for July 25 in downtown Oceanside, bringing 50-plus vendors together for a day of global food and drink, artisan products, home goods, live music, and more. The event usually draws in a couple thousand people, so might I suggest arriving close to the 11 a.m. kickoff for the best chance at maximizing your nom?
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.
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.
There’s a place in heaven for a steakhouse that remakes chicken nuggets but uses Jidori instead of whatever glum bird is proffered in the children’s section. And then they top it with caviar. That, plus an editor with an obsession-level ranking of chai in Carlsbad, and a whole fish from one of San Diego’s OG top chefs who has mercifully returned to the kitchen. These are the very best things we’ve found from another month of eating professionally in San Diego. Go get some.
Stake Chophouse & Bar
Caviar Chicken Nugget
One of my favorite experiences at Stake in Coronado is that—if the patio is chilly enough to warrant heaters—they’ll surround you with towers of flame. Paired with the retaining wall of heat against the glass railing overlooking Orange Avenue, there is so much surrounding fire that it feels like dining in a much nicer version of the Elmo meme, in which the nasally puppet’s whole world has amusingly arsoned.
Three things you have to get here: first, the Wagyu popcorn (kernels popped in melted Wagyu beef fat, salted with paprika); second, the Snake River Farms Wagyu skirt steak (its Gold grade means incredibly high marble), one of the best steaks in the city; third, the Jidori chicken nuggets with herbed crème fraîche, pickle, and a perm of caviar. A childhood food, deliciously adulted. —Troy Johnson
Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen
Tri-Tip Sando
It’s been 15 years since married folk Aaron and Roddy Browning opened Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen in a hidden south Oceanside hovel—using vinyl records as placemats, the decor an assortment of welded metal weirdities. One thing has always remained: Pork is their native tongue.
This sandwich pries open long-dormant pleasure receptors in most alive human bodies. Brandt Beef tri-tip is rubbed with its “Pig Spice” (hint: good paprika and celery seed do wonders), sleeps for 24 hours, then is seared and rested for an hour—sliced and seared again, placed on a mini baguette wet with fresh chimichurri and smoked tomato aioli, then topped with melted aged provolone, grilled peppers, onions, and gremolata (parsley, garlic, lemon zest). Order two, or be prepared to fight. —Troy Johnson
Valentina
Pan Tomaquet
Pintxos are Basque-country bar snacks, finger foods for Real Sociedad games. The appropriate utensils are a couple of fingers and a toothpick. But Valentina’s in Leucadia are done with just enough culinary school ambition (not too much, fuss has no place in pintxos) from exec chef Enrique Ñol, who worked at the estimable Wrench & Rodent.
Its tomaquet (tomato bread) could be underestimated as a stacked pile of quality ingredients, but it’s undeniably great—toasted pan de cristal (light, airy, Catalan “glass bread”) dressed with tomato, garlic, salt, EVOO, and a layer of one of the world’s greatest meats: Cinco Jotas Iberian jamón. Eat it with a minor winefall of porrón, and ask for Todd—a certified sommelier and one of the most knowledgeable food minds in the local scene. —Troy Johnson
Ironside Fish & Oyster
Whole Fish
Get the whole fish. Doesn’t matter the catch, just trust that chef Jason McLeod’s got you. When CH Projects opened Ironside in Little Italy in 2014, the restaurant group took over the old Farkas furniture store and turned it into a replica of an ocean liner, tapping McLeod (a chef who’d earned two Michelin stars in Chicago) to oversee its menus.
It quickly became a San Diego staple for seafood. After leaving for a few years to help concept and launch some big-name restaurants in Vegas, McLeod is back again getting his hands dirty in the kitchen. And his fish? They come in fresh from local fishermen who he’s established relationships with over the years. So yeah, get the whole damn thing. —Nicolle Monico
Steady State Roasting
Indian Summer
I have a running spreadsheet of chai rankings in Carlsbad. The chai that stays on the highest shelf? Steady State’s gingery, nutmeggy Indian Summer with an almond milk base and fresh nutmeg shavings on top. Juiced ginger gives the drink deeper, warmer notes, but not so much spice that your throat closes on the first sip.
Too often, coffee shops advertise authentic chai, then uncork that carton of sugar-bomb concentrate from an artisanal wholesaler called Costco. This is the real deal; it’s mildly sweet, a little more spicy, and in my opinion, best served hot. If I could order a keg of it, I would. (Can I?) —Emma Veidt
After 10 years of rooftop dining and brewing award-winning beers, OB Brewery is for sale. A local fixture on Newport Avenue, OB Brewery owner Mike Tajran is ready to retire and hand over the reins. “It’s got so much potential,” he says, pointing to the accolades the brewpub has collected throughout the last decade (it’s more than a few).
At the 2017 Great American Beer Festival, OB’s Hidden Gem Dunkelweizen won silver in the German-Style Wheat Ale category, followed by a World Beer Cup silver medal as a South German-Style Dunkel Weizen in 2026. In 2018, GABF named OB Brewery Small Brewpub of the Year, brewer Jim Millea earned Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year, and the B. Right On pale ale nabbed a gold medal in the American-Style Pale Ale category. The Elevator Red IPA also took bronze that year at the San Diego International Beer Festival, and earlier this year, they won gold for Couple’s Therapy chili beer and silver for Rauch Me smoked beer at San Diego County Fair Craft Brew Competition.
It’s a solid foundation for the right buyer, he says—someone with brewing and business chops ready for a turnkey operation in a favorable location a block from the beach on Ocean Beach’s busiest street. (And while he’s letting go of the brewpub business, he’s also open to selling the building as part of the deal.)
Originally from Iraq, Tajran’s family ran restaurants in Baghdad, but “they were decimated by Saddam Hussein,” he explains. Once in the United States, he launched Giant New York Pizza at 5050 Newport Avenue in 1984, which eventually became Newport Pizza & Ale House. Newport Pizza felt long ahead of its time, proudly proclaiming they served “no crap on tap” years before the craft beer craze caught fire in San Diego.
Courtesy of OB Brewery
When the building’s owners passed away and their son cut his lease short in 2020, Tajran says he was disappointed, but he had a nagging feeling that would happen eventually—which is why he already purchased 5041 Newport Avenue back in 2009 and opened Ocean Beach Brewery in 2016.
“For 42 years, I have been in this location in this area, the same block,” he says with pride. Ocean Beach has gone through some changes since 1984 (the OB farmers market launched in 1992, Starbucks came in 2001 and left in 2022, ADUs crept in, and the iconic OB Pier closed in 2023), but Tajran says the heart of the beachside town has remained the same.
So has most of his staff. Millea has been brewing since day one, and longtime manager Megan Schuster has worked for Tajran for 19 years, first at Newport, then at OB Brewery. Most of the employees are locals, and Tajran says he doesn’t plan on closing the business until he finds the right buyer to carry on the baton.
The property itself comes with some unique features for the area—three stories with a rooftop deck and ocean views from every level. And if you’re wondering if those uninterrupted views will remain that way, Tajran assures me they will. Part of his original building purchase included language that prohibits the three buildings between him and the ocean from building up. He also leases space next door, which would allow a new owner to expand brewing capacity with more tanks and fermenters.
“I just wanted to make sure this goes in good hands,” he says. He and his wife both hope to retire soon in order to spend time with their children. But he’ll make sure his other baby is taken care of first.
“I love Ocean Beach,” he says. “I can say nothing but thank you, OB.”
OB Breweryis still open at 5041 Newport Avenue. Hours are Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Interested parties should contact Next Wave Commercial.
Along the same vein of iconic businesses, Tribute Pizza is celebrating 10 years in North Park this week with different events every night. Good luck getting a reservation if you haven’t already, but you can still take part in the silent auction on behalf of Feeding San Diego. Owner Matt Lyons’ goal is to raise $100,000 for the nonprofit and is offering some pretty sweet stuff to do so—think a full weekend buyout of Tribute, a private event with Lyons and chef Travis Swikard of Callie and Fleurette, a year of access to a VIP hotline for reservations, and even more. Time is ticking away on your chance to bid, so be sure to make your best offer before time runs out.
La Corriente continues its expansion across San Diego with lucky number three coming to Oceanside. Located next to Tanner’s Prime Burgers and PopUp Bagels, a restaurant rep says that at the rate the restaurant is opening new spaces, it wouldn’t be wild to see a few more pop up along the coast in the future.
Kitchens for Good has big plans on the horizon, including their sprawling new Culinary Impact Center coming to Bankers Hill next year. Now, it should be a bit easier to accomplish their (many) goals with the help of a $50,000 grant from the Jacques Pépin Foundation. Kitchens for Good is one of four awardees this year and will receive the funds over the next two years, allowing them to launch their Market Cafe initiative in the new center and continue their mission of hospitality training programs and ending food insecurity across the city. It’s a pretty awesome award, given by a pretty awesome group to another pretty awesome group, so it’s just mega-awesome all the way around.
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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.
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