As a former theatre major at SDSU, Adam Parker knows the importance of backdrop and setting, which is why he wanted a distinct feel for patrons the moment they step inside South Park’s new Brabant Bar & Café. “When you walk in off 30th… I want it to feel like you walked into a café in Brussels or Bruges,” Parker says of Brabant. Parker and partners Tony and Randy Konja aren’t just opening a Belgian-inspired café, where you can sip Belgian ales and nibble on mussels, house-made sausage, and croquettes. They are offering a unique experience the land of IPAs hasn’t seen before. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Belgian beer; I love the culture, love the food,” says Parker, who was the general manager at K’nB Wine Cellars. “Every choice we’ve made; beverages, to all the food, the décor, the music, it’s all Belgian… with just a touch of our bombastic, weird personality.” Check the leg of that table; it’s the same you might see at a café in Belgium. The same goes for the glassware, lighting fixtures, and, yes, even some elements in the bathroom. “You can find an IPA anywhere, but nowhere is there a place with a serious dedication to Belgian ale,” Parker says of Brabant, which is located in the old Vagabond spot off 30th and Juniper streets.
If you’ve ever squeezed yourself into a pair of black skinny jeans with a studded belt, sported a track jacket under a band t-shirt, or swept your Manic Panic-hued hair so far to the side that your part got caught in your cartilage earring, I have good news: Ocean Beach will get a shot of emo and pop-punk nostalgia when Drink 182 opens this July.
The pop-punk bar and pizza spot comes with bonafide scene points. Co-founder Jay Nightride runs the music production studio Nightride Visuals, has worked with artists like Steve Aoki, Lil Jon, and Fall Out Boy, and also plays in Death Cab for Karaoke, a live karaoke band that performs every month at Soda Bar (among other venues). His partner Tony Jaw is easier to spot—he’s the guy with the sky-high mohawk manning the karaoke booth at Redwing Bar & Grill who’s been in the local bar and hospitality business for over a decade.
Nightride says he’s had the idea for an emo enclave for years, but it wasn’t until after Covid that he partnered with Jaw and got the funding to move forward. “What I was looking to build was a place that I would want to be, where would I want to go to remember these nostalgic songs,” he says.
Pending permits and final inspections, Drink 182 is slated to open the second half of July. The vibe will be dive bar meets emo night, with memorabilia from different bands who have supported the project splashed across the walls, plus a few arcade games, TVs, and (I assume) a decent sound system. The hours are still undetermined, but Nightride says they tentatively plan to be open until 2 a.m. on weekends and Wednesdays for the OB Farmers Market. In the mornings, they’ll serve fresh pastries and coffee from the similarly music-aligned James Coffee Company (whose co-owner David Kennedy is a member of Angels & Airwaves with blink-182’s Tom DeLonge).
But it’ll be the pizza that really stands out—or at least, they hope. “We’re doing New England beach pizza… a really niche pizza that not a lot of people would know about, unless you’re from North Shore, Massachusetts,” says Nightride, a former Bostonian. “It’s a thin crust, very sweet sauce, very simple, fast, go-to-the-beach kind of thing.”
“Beach pizza” is characterized by its rectangular shape, very thin crust, sweet tomato sauce, and slices of Provolone cheese with minimal toppings. Drink 182’s version will feature homemade dough and sauce, as well as freshly sliced Boar’s Head Provolone. And yes, they are aware there are already a lot of pizza options in the area. It won’t be the same, Nightride promises.
“Everybody’s first reaction when they hear ‘pizza’ is like, ‘Oh great, another pizza place in OB,’” he laughs. “But we’re trying to do something different, just enough to differentiate it and give people another option.” If you’re not keen on the style, try one of their “drunkables,” another nostalgic riff they hope the pop-punk and emo crowd will appreciate. And if you still need a reason to give Drink 182 a try, I have more good news—you don’t actually have to break out your old skinny jeans. (In fact, please don’t.)
Drink 182 opens July 2026 at 5049 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach.
Courtesy of Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Beth’s Bites
If the steak hype wasn’t hot enough already, The Heritage Steakhouse in Santee just announced Meredith Manée will serve as executive chef of the New York-style steakhouse when it opens in August. Her star-studded kitchen resume spans over 25 years, with stints at the Hotel del Coronado, the Four Seasons, and The Ritz-Carlton Maui, so I think it’s safe to assume we’ll be in good hands.
Rather than waste away in Margaritaville, you have the chance to support the San Diego Music Foundation at the annual Jimmy Buffett-inspired Day of Service at Margaritaville Hotel San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. On September 4 starting at 5 p.m., the rooftop bar will be rocking with live music and plenty of flowing cocktails, plus a silent auction and other activations to raise money for the local music education organization. I’ll drink to that.
The early bird gets the worm and you can get the early ticket to Celebrate the Craft, the annual culinary festival that takes place at The Lodge at Torrey Pines on October 18. If you snag your ticket before the end of June, you can save $50 (which is nothing to sneeze at), plus you’ll be helping support the San Diego Food Bank.
Mani e Grani, the pizza spot from the same people behind Ciccia Osteria, seems to be inching ever closer to opening its doors in Barrio Logan. I know I’m not the only one anxiously awaiting sinking my teeth into some wood-fired, chewy but crispy, hot-from-the-oven, authentic Italian pizza.
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.
The Perfect Order:Vulture Martini | Potato Pavé | Crab Cake
Kory Stetina is a long way from learning what vegan food was through a pamphlet at punk-rock shows in his teens. He stands in his dream restaurant, Vulture, wearing a non-sportsy sports coat. He’s married with a child. There’s a very non-punk potato pavé on the monogrammed plate, the servers are in tux-adjacent attire, and this whole building in University Heights has been turned into a plant-based funhouse with formidable, obsessive style.
Photo Credit: James Tran Visitors stroll through the white-and-bright diner Dreamboat before stepping into Vulture’s moody bar.
Despite the earmarks of midcentury continental formalism, five out of 10 people in here wear arcane t-shirts. Word got out early on that Vulture was a fine-dining experience, and while there’s a tableside Caesar and velvet curtains and soft, artful furniture, that was never the intent. Stetina had to do some PR legwork to pop the “special occasion” balloon that floated over the project—another collaboration between himself and Arsalun Tafazoli of CH Projects—and it seems to be working.
One of the t-shirt people I recognize: Justin Pearson of The Locust and Three One G Records. A thoughtful and progressive punk force in SD, he’s seated at a corner table with individuals who look like they’ve at least dabbled in if not dedicated their lives to graphic design and can casually play a theremin near a rare fern. Vulture captures that same dinner-party-for-creative-people mood that the Middletown bar Starlite first brought to the city.
Photo Credit: James Tran Every upholstery in Vulture is tufted, every bust underlit for drama, every detail obsessively detailed.
It’s a place for grown-up punks, for ideas and ideals.
(Obtrusive but important note about punk rock and plant eaters: The rather genuine punk music of the 1970s and ’80s that eventually birthed Green Day and Nirvana and even, I guess, My Chemical Romance emerged from a philosophical and creative instinct to challenge status quos, which often meant expressing unpopular and political opinions in an excessively loud and urgent manner—pretty much exactly what Simon & Garfunkel were doing but far more invigorating and annoying. There were plenty of bands who got big because they had great hair and a good producer; there were other bands who got cult-famous based on the holy-wow way they expressed uncomfortable ideas, making people question the way they lived. Eating only plants was a part of this live-different worldview, and, like any good movement, it got co-opted by the tad too righteous, moral, and shame-mongery. It should be said that Stetina made his name in San Diego by being a philosophical vegan who’s un-mongery.)
Photo Credit: James Tran The Vulture martini, the result of a year of tinkering—a near-frozen booze concerto of three different gins and four vermouths.
To get to Vulture, you enter through Dreamboat, a well-lit, bright, Mr. Clean-ish, ’60s-era, plant-based, romantically American diner that’s all white and chrome and charm—poodle-skirt notions and connoisseur coffee and smoked potato latkes and Impossible burgers and baked goods and milkshakes and cocktails. Seating occupancy: one-and-a-half people on Ozempic (fine, it’s 10).
In the back corner of this tiny diner is an antique host stand. The host takes you through a velvet curtain, down the short hall, and through a door, until you enter into, what?
Photo Credit: James Tran Bedecked in red velvet, Vulture was five years in the making.
Some will call it a speakeasy, but it’s really just a fun surprise restaurant (“speakeasies” do still exist, but they’re not on OpenTable, and almost everyone with a project they call a “speakeasy” will, on their most honest days, admit it’s not a speakeasy).
You’ll step into cavernous, amber-glow, lava-lamp darkness. So, the first experience Vulture offers all of us is temporary blindness, followed by the opportunity to behold the shockingly slow ability of human eyes to adjust to radical shifts in light. The music is on point, a mix of obscure indie tracks and guilty-pleasure soft-rock bangers. Thanks to listening bars, restaurants have become the stereo-system showrooms of America. Remember that guy in high school who one day showed up with box speakers in his trunk and a $6,000 head unit, an amp, subwoofers, and EQs, and his car sounded like Dr. Dre’s and Rick Rubin’s place of business? That guy is restaurants.
Photo Credit: Arlene Ibarra The “crab” cake, made with hearts of palm.
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.
When it comes to zero waste, Origins Grocer owner Maria Herrera believes progress is better than perfection. She doesn’t even like the term zero waste—it sounds like an impossible goal, doesn’t it? But since opening Origins last year, her vision has been to help educate people how to take steps, even baby ones, to reduce their impact on the earth.
“What we’re trying to do is really just give people an option to shop with less waste and more intention,” Herrera explains. Origins sources close to 1,000 different products like locally roasted coffee, eggs from a farm in Ramona, all sorts of spices, herbs, nuts, seeds, grains, beauty items, and much more, all in minimal to no packaging to massively reduce waste and support local producers at the same time. It’s a one-stop shop for the most part, and it’s worked better than she dreamed. So well, in fact, she’s opening a second location at 2361 30th Street on Friday, September 12 (in time for Taste of South Park the next day).
Herrera wasn’t actively looking to expand quite so soon after launching the business. “I was approached by somebody in the neighborhood,” she says, so she started looking around. Even though the two locations are only two miles apart, South Park has comparatively fewer* grocery options for the hyperlocal community. When the former Plum Pottery building came up for lease, she saw an opportunity to both plug into the neighborhood and expand her vision of Origins.
Since the space in South Park is much larger than the North Park suite, she’ll have room to add more retail, more fresh and refrigerated goods, a few bistro tables for onsite consumption, and what Herrera calls a “community table” for workshops, group dinners, and various classes. “We’re always looking for local makers and creators in the food space, but also it doesn’t have to be food… if people want to reach out, please do, because we’re looking for opportunities to collaborate.”
Courtesy of Origins Grocer
Along with reducing waste, community and collaboration are keystones of Origins. Any opportunity for people to learn, connect, and create together is a golden one, and one Herrera hopes people keep responding well to. And hey, if you can help save the earth at the same time, so much the better.
Origins Grocer soft opens on Friday, September 12 at 2361 30th Street in South Park, and will host an official grand opening party later this fall. Its first location at 2855 El Cajon Boulevard, Suite 4 in North Park is currently open Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
*Yes, I am aware there is a Target and a Food Bowl in South Park. I said fewer, not none!
Courtesy of El Cajon Oktoberfest
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Yes, It’s September. That Means Oktoberfest Time.
Contrary to popular belief, Oktoberfest almost always kicks off in September (and is my favorite event of the year). There are a few events you should have on your radar, though—I’m looking at you, El Cajon Oktoberfest, as well as the yodeling competition at Original 40—but the first one of the season runs from September 19 through 28 at Liberty Public Market. Craftoberfest features rotating brewery specials, live entertainment, games, specials, and all sorts of goodies to get into the Oktoberfest spirit. Remember: Oktoberfest season is a marathon, not a sprint. Good luck, and prost!
Pepino is still in the works, but it looks like it’s getting a lot closer to opening in La Jolla. You know what that means… it’s collab time! On Saturday, September 6, Pepino is popping over to Le Coq for a brunch takeover from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Get a sneak peek at the menu, enjoy cocktails, and come early—it’s first come, first served.
When I consulted my Magic 8 ball about upcoming restaurant openings in San Diego, its response was clear: “Outlook good.” And I’ve got to hand it to the mysterious forces this time—the outlook does look good. We’ve got Johnny Rad’z Pizza from pro skater Mike McGill coming to Encinitas, Tacos El Franc is opening its second San Diego location in Gaslamp this month, Round1 Bowling & Arcade prepping two more sites (Escondido and Mission Valley), Japanese cream puff legend Beard Papa’s is opening soon on Convoy, and Con Azucar Cafe just opened at 531 F Street last weekend. It’s a delicious bonanza! My list of places to visit keeps getting longer…
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
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.
Inspired by the effortless charm of French cafés, this taste of France on Orange Avenue invites guests to embrace the simple pleasure of taking their time.
Strolling down Orange Avenue on a sunny afternoon, you’ll hear the hum of beach cruisers rolling by and visitors making their way toward the Hotel del Coronado. Dogs pause to greet one another on the sidewalk, palm trees sway overhead, and for a moment, you’re convinced you’re living inside the postcard from the gift shop you just passed.
Then the scene shifts. Towering white columns, black café awnings and gold-trimmed windows frame Little Frenchie, where woven bistro chairs spill onto the sidewalk and servers deliver bubbling crocks of French onion soup. The scent of caramelized onions and melted Gruyère is practically an invitation to ask, “How long for a table for two?”
That feeling of pulling up a chair and staying awhile is exactly what inspired Little Frenchie. French cuisine has a reputation for feeling a little intimidating, but the restaurant is rewriting that narrative with food and wine that feels approachable.
“Sometimes when you read a French menu, you come across words you can’t even pronounce,” David Spatafore, the owner of Little Frenchie, says. “We wanted to create a restaurant where people felt comfortable.”
Little Frenchie was designed to capture the spirit of the French sidewalk cafés that inspired it. Dating back to 1917, the space already carried the charm of a Parisian bistro, with architectural details that felt more at home on a European street corner than in Coronado. The team saw an opportunity to create a restaurant that matched the character of the space while filling a gap in the neighborhood.
The result is a French restaurant that honors tradition without taking itself too seriously.
At Little Frenchie, classic French techniques are at the heart of the menu, but there is always room for creativity. A cassoulet featuring Toulouse sausage and duck confit pays homage to the recipes and regions that inspired it, while a rich hot chocolate made with ingredients imported from France brings a taste of French café culture to Coronado.
The team loves finding unexpected ways to make familiar dishes feel new. A burger becomes a showstopper when it is finished tableside with melted raclette, while a French Dip gets elevated with prime beef and Wagyu makes its way into the burgers. Even Eggs Benedict gets a French twist, swapping the traditional English muffin for a buttery croissant. The GB&J, Little Frenchie’s take on a grilled cheese, brings that same playful approach with seasonal jam and French Brie layered into a comforting classic.
Nearly everything at Little Frenchie is made from scratch, with ingredients carefully chosen to match the restaurant’s standards. Even the bread receives special attention. Each morning, the team sends a car to Prager Brothers Artisan Bread to pick up freshly baked loaves, ensuring every element of the meal reflects the restaurant’s commitment to quality.
Wine is woven into the experience just as naturally as the food. Inspired by the effortless pairings found in French cafés and bistros, Little Frenchie’s by-the-glass selection invites guests to sip their way through different regions and discover new favorites without the pressure of knowing all the rules.
It can be hard to shake the specter of an icon. Just ask Brian Jensen, who is opening Bock later this month in the former Hamilton’s Tavern space in South Park.
“We’re trying to make our own path and respect that Hamilton’s was great… [but] we’re not trying to recreate it,” promises Jensen. Hamilton’s helped revolutionize San Diego’s craft beer scene during its 14 years in business, before unceremoniously shuttering in 2020 in the wake of a costly fire.
Jensen hopes to highlight the good part of the history, and leverage his experience owning all six Bottlecraft locations and Vino Carta in Little Italy. Of course, running a restaurant isn’t quite the same as operating retail locations, but he doesn’t see that as a problem. “It feels really natural,” he says. Plus, that space and that neighborhood felt particularly poised to support a genuine craft beer bar that he knew he could deliver.
It’s a risky move—beer bars aren’t exactly thriving—but he knew if anyone could pull off a space dedicated to beer rather than a mix of wine and cocktails, he could. (Yes, there will be some wines as well, but really, it’s going to be about the beer.)
Bock will be a 21+ German-focused neighborhood pub with around 65 seats spread over multiple booths, with around 15 of those seats along the bar. Biersal is behind the food program, with items like a Bavarian soft pretzels, cheese and charcuterie plates, bratwurst, schnitzel, potato salad and more. “We’re not going to go full German, like playing polka all the time and making our staff wear lederhosen,” Jensen jokes.
He does plan to emphasize Old World-style beers over 30 taps, though, like classic English styles such as bitters and brown ales; Belgian styles like dubbels and tripels; and of course; German hefeweizens, dunkels, and bocks (obviously). Around half of the taps will serve a rotating variety of what he calls more “New World” style beers. “Whatever the brewers come up with next—it might be smoothies, hazies, IPAs… we want to offer that as well, to stay part of that conversation,” he explains.
Courtesy of Bock
It’s taken far longer than he anticipated to open—around four years, to be precise—but Jensen has seen both the local craft beer scene and the surrounding area evolve over that time. “People are just drinking differently than they used to 10 years ago,” he says. “People are looking for experiences for sure, but they’re also bringing back some nostalgia when it comes to what we think bars are like.” He points to the proliferation of cocktail-centric bars and hyper-immersive dining experiences now commonplace in San Diego. “That’s great, it’s just not for me.”
Now at the cusp of finally opening, Jensen says he’s bullish on the future of the local neighborhood beer bars. “We want to bring that atmosphere, but do it in a new way, do it our way,” he says. “[We’re] meant to be here in South Park.”
Bock is slated to open this March at 1521 30th Street in South Park.
Courtesy of Russian River Brewing Company
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
A (Russian) River Runs Through It
It’s finally February in San Diego, which usually means our most inconsistent weather, Museum Month, and a variety of Russian River Brewing events around town. The renowned Sonoma County brewery commands huge lines and frantic texts whenever their most famous triple IPA Pliny the Younger hits taps, but there are plenty of places with public events for the pre-planning type.
O’Brien’s Pub is always top of Russian River’s distro list, and they’ll host their annual Russian River tap takeover on select dates this month (as well as at their sister businesses West Coast Smoke & Tap House in La Mesa, The Pub at Lake Cuyamaca, and San Diego Brewing Company in Mission Gorge.) Pizza Port Solana Beach will have their own showcase on February 13. Even without Toronado’s legendary Pliny days, there are plenty of chances to get your uber-hop on.
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 NFL 2024 season kick-off is here and with it brings Sunday festivities, heartbreaking upsets, and the sullen reminder that the Chargers are no longer in San Diego. With a gridiron-shaped hole in our hearts, the NFL season is an opportunity to don your other hometown’s team jersey, apply face paint, and follow your top fantasy league draft picks each week at a nearby watering hole. Send your grievances to the Spanos family and rejoice with these local sports bars catering to your favorite NFL team, even if it isn’t the Los Angeles Chargers. (Before you @ us, not all teams are listed. We had to go check on our fantasy drafts.)
Taste and Thirst is a New Yorkers home away from home when it comes to football. This Jets’ fan homebase is always packed during game days—and win or lose—the bar serves happy hour from 3 p.m. – 8 p.m., which is a win-win in our opinion.
Bring those red, whites, and blues out. The Local PB shows up for Bills games in a big way. Arrive early on game days, though, the line to get upstairs fills up quickly. But with TVs indoors, outdoors and a spacious pet-friendly patio, there are plenty of ways to cheer on your favorite team.
Originally a 1920’s era bike shop that was transformed into a bar 60 years ago, Saddle Bar is the quintessential San Francisco bar in town. Wear your Rice or Montana jersey and stick around for live music from local rock bands and DJs weekly.
A block away from the beach on Bacon street, Arizona Café is the local spot for Cardinal fans to catch the game. With a kitchen that’s open till 1 a.m daily., it’s the ideal spot for your post game discussion, late-night fantasy football trades, and an opportunity to win back your failed parlay bet during pool.
Catch the reigning 2022 Super Bowl champs at Kansas City BBQ take on the Detroit lions at this legendary outpost Downtown. Gather with local Chiefs fans to relish in historic San Diego memorabilia, recount your favorite Top Gun lines and watch Patrick Mahomes score six while enjoying their daily happy hour from 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Immerse yourself in Philadelphia sports at this tucked-away gem in North Park ideal for America’s most passionate sports city. Like the name implies, Pretzels and Pints has an excellent selection of hot pretzels baked daily paired with local craft beer and even an irresistible beer cheese to fumble over as Jalen Hurts scrambles for another touchdown.
Watch Sunday night football with the remnants and hold-outs from the Chargers fan base at Park 101 in Carlsbad. With large outdoor LED screens, a spacious outdoor patio, a rooftop deck complete with a bar, this BBQ joint is the perfect space for parents, dogs, and kids to enjoy a bolts game.
Come see if the New England Patriots can earn themselves another Super Bowl ring this year at The Sandbox in Ocean Beach. Wear your Patriots jersey, paint your face red and blue, or don your signature Bill Belichick hoodie to this island-themed bar. Order one of their specialty pizzas like their meat lover’s Hungry Surfer and enjoy a game of skeeball or pool while you count down to kick off in Foxborough.
Despite a disappointing 2022 season following their 2021 Super Bowl win, Ram’s fans can rejoice at this three-story hotspot on the beach. On game day, members of the “ramily” can gather at Ocean Beach Brewery featuring a rooftop bar with oceanfront views, plenty of activities to after a quarter, and even their own microbrewery offering up craft beer brewed daily.
Cole Novak is an award-winning writer with a passion for highlighting local figures, small businesses, and nonprofits. Born and raised in San Diego, Cole is passionate about photography, surfing, art, the local food scene, and the great outdoors.
Growing up, Laika Nur, MD, Scripps Clinic sports medicine specialist, loved watching beach volleyball when the Association of Volleyball Professionals tour came to her hometown of Chicago. A talented volleyball player herself, she remembers sitting in the stands all day, and once, even got a couple autographs. Years later, Dr. Nur was attending a professional event focused on women’s sports, and the discussion turned to a new professional women’s volleyball league. The general manager and coaching staff for San Diego’s team, the Mojo, happened to be in attendance, and Dr. Nur took the opportunity to ask them if they needed a team doctor. Flash forward to the Mojo’s inaugural 2024 season, when Dr. Nur officially became the team physician. Click here to read more about Dr. Nur and how she incorporates lessons she learned on the court into her practice.
For more nutrition, wellness, and healthy living tips, sign up for the San Diego Health newsletter here.
