I love a good wine bar. There’s something so Nancy Meyers about sitting underneath a string of fairy lights on mismatched patio furniture while swirling a crimson glass of a reserve blend, chatting about books and love and Tom Hanks. Wine bars are the perfect compromise when bumping elbows with sweaty strangers at a sports bar sounds abysmal, but you also don’t have time for a full course, napkin-on-your-lap dinner. While San Diego might be better known as the land of hazy IPAs and specialty cocktails, the city’s wine scene is just as lively and deserves its own moment in the sun. Check out our list of San Diego wine bars to try right now:
Courtesy of The Rose Wine Bar
The Rose Wine Bar
South Park
Walking into the Rose Wine Bar is not unlike walking into one of those epic renovated garages with colorful fairy lights lining exposed wood ceiling beams, a wall of mismatched board games, and hundreds of wine bottles. The Rose has a sunset-esque list of red, white, pink, amber, and bubbly natural wines served by the glass or bottle. If you feel a bit peckish, the woman-owned bar also offers a brunch, lunch, snack, and dinner menu with fresh fruit and veggie-forward dishes. It’s really the ideal date spot or girl’s night out joint.
Move over, margaritas—wine is a great pairing with Mexican cuisine. Thankfully, you can find both at Echale Wine Bar and Restaurant in Encinitas. A taco pop-up shop turned elevated restaurant, Echale offers bites like gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), duck confit, and Tajin frites. But you can’t leave without diving headfirst in Echale’s extensive natural wine list, which shines a spotlight on lesser-known wine regions in Mexico. Try some of their skin-contact wines (AKA orange wine), made with white grapes soaked in their skins, creating a funky, earthy middle-ground between white and red.
Courtesy of Wet Stone Wine Bar & Café
WetStone Wine Bar & Café
Bankers Hill
Wet Stone is your classic wine bar nestled in Bankers Hill, just west of Balboa Park. But once you’re inside, you get a first-class ticket to anywhere you want in the world. Italy? That’s a given. Portugal? They’ve got wine from there too. Austria…Chile? Yup, they’ve got it all. And the food is just as well-traveled. In a single happy hour (which runs Tuesday through Sunday), you can have steak and chimichurri crostini sandwiches, a cesar salad, a Spanish morcilla pintxo and Italian tomato bruschetta. With all the options available, it might be a bit intimidating to pick just one thing. Allow us to help: get their famous house sangria.
Photo Credit: James Tran
Finca
North Park
Opened in February 2024, the 3,000-square-foot North Park restaurant offers Spanish and California wines alongside a small plates menu including items such as duck confit croquettes, yellowtail crudo, bone marrow, and chicken liver cinnamon rolls (a must-try). Finca’s three owners hail from Juniper + Ivy (Dan Valerino and chef Joe Bower) and from the former The Hake (Ricardo Dondisch). Tuesday through Friday from 5-6 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 3-6 p.m., guests can enjoy happy hour selections including $10 tapas.
Zest is the perfect name for this wine bar because it truly emits the same vibes as citrus zest: bright, fresh, bold, and bursting with flavor. With a lengthy wine list and full Italian dinner menu, Zest is the perfect spot in Lemon Grove to kick back on a Friday night or celebrate a special occasion. The bistro also offers “zesty hour” from 4-5 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday with $5 wine glasses, $5 beers, and $5 truffles fries. Enjoy your treasures out on their large, modern-style patio.
They say the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and it rings true for so many combos. Peanut butter and jelly, Simon & Garfunkel, and now, yoga and wine. Vinya in Clairemont unites yogis and wine lovers by offering classes alongside their bar offering wines by the glass, draft beer, and food to enjoy post-downward dog. They also offer fun event nights, including paint-n-sips, trivia Tuesdays, or live music. As a small business owned by local couple Patrick and Victoria Border, Vinya is a comfortable place for the community to come together in mind, body, and spirits.
Courtesy of Napatini
Napatini
Carlsbad
Everyone knows the best part of fro-yo shops is when you get to choose your favorite flavor from the wall and dispense the creamy cold goodness yourself. At Napatini, you get the same DIY experience, just with a different type of treat. Opened in December 2022, Napatini has since become a neighborhood favorite in Carlsbad, offering a wall of over 50 varietals that you can dispense yourself and enjoy with food options such as burrata-fig flatbreads, cheese boards, shrimp scampi toast, or a French cheese melt. If you’re the type to be told what to pick instead, opt for Naptini’s curated wine flights, giving you a Spark Notes version of the tasty white and reds available.
Courtesy of Clos Wine Shop
Clos Wine Shop
University Heights
Clos Wine Shop is a warm, inviting oasis nestled within the University Heights neighborhood, with hundreds of unique wines from across the globe to choose from (AKA the perfect place to pick up a last-minute gift). Visitors can also enjoy selected reds, whites, and rose by the glass out on the cozy shaded patio, complete with hanging lights and curly grapevines. Whether you pick a light sparkling wine or the richest red, every wine at Clos Wine Shop is individually chosen and tasted before entering the shop, ensuring not only its deliciousness but that the wine is sustainably made, or low-intervention (free of unnecessary additives, chemicals, commercial yeast, or the use of new oak barrels). If you need a snack to pair with your vino, Clos also carries a variety of tinned fish and mussels which pair perfectly with a dry white. Be on the lookout for their new pantry shop opening downstairs in their wine shop within the next couple weeks.
Courtesy of Postino
Postino
Little Italy & Del Mar
Last year, Postino came onto the SD scene with two locations, one in Little Italy and another in Del Mar. The chain—which was founded in Phoenix, Arizona—boasts an impressive wine selection handpicked by advanced sommelier Brent Karlicek. The eatery also focuses on winemaker collabs and features exclusive bottles specifically curated for the restaurant. Aside from wines, guests can enjoy a full menu of offerings such as tapas-style snacks, soups and salads, paninis, DIY-boards and charcuterie selections, and desserts.
3745 Paseo Place, San Diego | 2100 Kettner Blvd, Suite 1800, San Diego
Courtesy of Oddish Wine
Oddish Wine
Morena
Everything about Oddish screams fun and funky from its vibrant wine labels to unique bottle options (ever tried pineapple amaro before?). The winery was founded by local entrepreneurial couple Billy and Suzanna Beltz, who also run Lost Cause Meadery, one of the highest awarded meaderies in the world. After earning dozens of medals and essentially becoming the mead king and queen of the West, The Beltz’s ventured into the wine world with Oddish in 2023. Oddish primarily offers low-intervention wines made from San Diego County grapes, but if you’re wine-d out, you can also try their cider, cherry vermouth, pineapple amaro, or syrah. You can find Oddish in The Garten, a lively beer-garden-style space right off Morena Blvd that also offers beer, pizza, sandwiches, live music, and an overall damn good time.
Courtesy of La Jolla
LJ Crafted Wines
Bird Rock
What if we told you having a post-beach glass of wine can actually be your way to save the environment? At LJ Crafted Wines, you can support a low-waste, small-batch winery by enjoying your favorite chardonnay or cab straight out of the barrel, preventing the need for single-use wine bottles that inevitably end up in the landfill. The wine bar uses a patented technology called the Wine Steward, which replaces wine in the barrel with inert gas, keeping the wine fresh and oxygen-free. The wine then can be enjoyed by the glass in the tasting room or taken home in reusable wine “growlers.” Stop by the tasting room in Bird Rock, just off La Jolla Blvd, only a couple blocks from the ocean.
Courtesy of Pali Wine Co.
Pali Wine Co.
Little Italy
Pali Wine Co. is a family-owned winery originally created by the Perr family two decades ago in Santa Barbara County. Since then, the winery has grown exponentially, now offering three locations across SoCal, including Little Italy in San Diego. Since Pali Wine is grown primarily in the Santa Rita Hills, it specializes solely in the grape varietals exclusive to the area: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But even with just those two, there are plenty of options to sip on while listening to the tasting room’s live jazz, comedy shows, or trivia on the rooftop patio.
Courtesy of Vino Carta
Vino Carta
Little Italy
Whether you’re walking through the Little Italy streets post-farmer’s market or pre-pasta indulgence, it’s worth a 30-minute detour to stop at Vino Carta. Started by Bottlecraft owner Brian Jensen, the wine shop highlights natural wines and small production labels. Sippers and swirlers can choose from 400 wines from all over the world, ranging from $15 to $1,600 (and everything in between). Once you’ve picked your bottle (or let Vino Carta’s knowledgeable staff pick one for you) enjoy it out on the patio with some small bites and good company.
Courtesy of Village Vino
Village Vino
Kensington
If you’ve ever avoided wine bars because the wine world seems like an exclusive, “no newbies allowed” club, you’re not the only one. Luckily, places like Village Vino exist where you can relax and have quality wine without the pressure to wear kitten heels or know what the hell “legs” are in a wine glass. Pop in for a glass after work or visit Village Vino for one of their monthly walkaround wine tasting, where you can try 12-15 wines and purchase at discounted prices.
Courtesy of Dorothy’s Wine Bar
Dorothy’s Wine Bar
Seaport Village
Located at the Headquarters in Seaport Village, Dorothy’s is a newly opened wine bar (2024) featuring small, new-world, and independent winemakers. Inside, guests can enjoy a home-like atmosphere with cozy seating along with books, artwork, and eclectic trinkets decorating the space. During the week, it also hosts recurring events such as yoga and mimosas, live music and painting, game night, and industry nights.
789 W Harbor Drive #122, San Diego
Courtesy of Le Charcuterie Bar
Le Charcuterie Bar
Downtown
Le Charcuterie Bar, located in between the Gaslamp and East Village, is a cheese featuring artisanal selections and charcuterie ready for pairing with a rotating list of 25 wines. Guests can create their own boards and mix and match their favorite cured meats, accouterments, crackers, cheeses, and even specialities like caviar and crème fraîche. The wine bar also has a regular trivia night on Wednesday nights as well as various events throughout the month such as reading parties, tastings, and art workshops.
Situated in a retro cottage from the 1800s, M Winehouse in the middle of Little Italy boasts wines, specialty drinks, beers and bubbles. Its internationally curated wine list features more than 50 selections and guests can snack on an assortment of meats and cheeses.
Lili Kim is a content coordinator and writer for San Diego Magazine, with experience highlighting local businesses and communities. When not writing or shooting film, she is likely brewing her seventh cup of tea of the day or strolling along Sunset Cliffs.
After running El Agave Restaurant & Tequileria in Old Town for 30 years and opening Nómade Tapas & Records in North Park in 2025, owner Juan Carlos Gomez wasn’t actively on the hunt for a new project. But sometimes, you have to grab the opportunities as they come, unexpected though they may be.
He was taking a stroll in Bankers Hill last year when he noticed Barrio Star was closing after 17 years. “[It] was a neighborhood staple for a long time,” he says. So he figured he’d take a look. “We were talking with ownership and threw out an offer, and then it was accepted. So we were like, ‘Okay, cool, guess we’re going to get a new concept going!” (Much respect to the YOLO business style.)
That new restaurant is nearing completion. Filo will open early in September. The restaurant’s name, pronounced fie-low, references phyllo, the Greek word for “leaf” and an unleavened pastry dough commonly used in Mediterranean (often Greek) cuisines. Gomez says the menu will range from all over the Mediterranean region.
“I’ve always been a fan of European cuisine, obviously, but I can’t land on just one,” he laughs. “I’m part Spanish, so we wanted to do something Mediterranean, have a little bit of Spanish, have a little bit of French, Italian, Greek… a lot of olive oil, a lot of sea salt, and very, very light seasoning.”
Courtesy of Juan Carlos Gomez
Although the menu feels European, Gomez says expect the vibe and ingredients to feel very Southern Californian. There will be tapas, of course, and other small plates, along with housemade pastas, salads, with lots of seafood (like a whole branzino) coming from local purveyors. The accompanying beverage program will feel equally breezy, “fresh, very light, citrusy, salty,” he says. “We’re going to have a pretty hefty wine list and full bar.”
Gomez’s goal for Filo is for it to feel like a laid-back, seaside eatery on the craggy Mediterranean coastline—light colors, white oak, lime wash, flowing between the indoor dining room and outdoor patio. Personally, a European escape sounds pretty awesome right about now.
Filo opens at 2706 Fifth Avenue in early September. Initial operating hours are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily, with lunch and happy hour coming soon. (Subject to change.)
Courtesy of Nobu Del Coronado
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Beth’s Bites
It’s hotter than a mile of Georgia asphalt in July, but relief is on the horizon. No, I don’t mean autumn (or as we San Diegans call it, “second summer”). I’m talking about the Sails & Ales Beer Fest at Kona Kai San Diego. The annual brew fest takes place on Saturday, September 12 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Polynesian-themed Shelter Island resort, with over 30 local beverage makers bringing their most refreshing products to the hot and thirsty masses. Look for names like Pure Project, Coronado Brewing, Ketch Brewing, and a whole lot more, all of whom are donating a portion of the proceeds to Surfrider Foundation San Diego. Tasty waves? A cool buzz? Sounds just fine.
If you seek edible respite before September 12, Hotel del Coronado has you covered. On Friday, September 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the man behind global sushi powerhouse Nobu—Chef Nobu Matsuhisa himself—will host Taste of Nobu, an immersive evening of sushi and signature cocktails on the Paseo Lawn. Prepare yourself for the famous black cod miso, Wagyu dumplings, hand rolls galore, and much more. (Personally, I will also prepare myself to be somewhat star-struck.)
I love a group grilling get-together, something Kingfisher must have known when the Golden Hill restaurant launched its Nướng Nights series. The recurring patio grill event brings patrons to the curb with a casual, but ridiculously delicious collection of skewers alongside special cocktails, this month coming from Realm of the 52 Remedies. Keep August 26 open for grilling glory (and save September 29 for the Mid-Autumn dinner with chef Helen Nguyen of NYC’s Saigon Social).
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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.
You have to be crazy or a genius to name a restaurant Fish Guts. You have to be even crazier to open a restaurant that holds maybe two dozen people at a time—if you don’t mind elbowing one other while scarfing down some of the best fish tacos in San Diego.
And yes, “best” is a relative term. But in Fish Guts’ case, it’s for real—and that’s saying something in a town literally world-famous for fish tacos.
Ever since Pablo Becker opened up his diminutive eatery in 2023 at the corner of Logan Avenue and Sampson Street in Barrio Logan, Fish Guts has been named one of the city’s best new restaurants in 2023, Critic’s Pick for the best fish tacos in San Diego in 2024, 2025 and 2026, as well as readers’ top pick in 2024. It’s like if Rubio’s married into the royal family.
Most of his ingredients come straight from the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean, which happens to be down the street. His de espada (blackened swordfish) taco is the stuff of legend. He’s kept Fish Guts operating at an elite level, which tends to happen when you work for five years in Chicago under chef Richard Sandoval (who, by chance, is also his cousin) and open an ahead-of-its-time high-end modern Mexican restaurant in East Village (El Vitral Restaurant & Tequileria, 2009-2013).
Now Becker is branching out again, opening two new concepts in Barrio Logan this fall.
The first will be upstairs from Fish Guts, which at one point was destined to become an intimate omakase counter. Santo Poco will be a lunch-only sandwich shop, offering takeout and delivery (no dine-in), and the sandwiches will be a little Mexican, a little French, a little Italian, a little from Chicago, a little from New York. Basically, a bunch of different styles all on really, really good bread.
“There’s probably going to be a Cuban-style sandwich in there with a touch of Mexican, some cold cut Italians, too, putting my touch on them,” he says. “That’s what I feel like is my style of cooking.”
Things will be traditional, but inventive. Like his fish & chips taco at Fish Guts: two classic dishes, one killer mash-up. There will also be a hat tip to the late, great Anthony Bourdain, a sandwich called the Antonio Bourdain.
The second will be across the street from Fish Guts in the former Lia’s Lumpia space. Concrete Cowboy will be a taco-driven joint on the same wavelength as Fish Guts (keep it simple, keep it special), but featuring land animals rather than sea brethren. Think tacos made with duck confit, ribeye, pork belly, skirt steak.
The inspiration behind Concrete Cowboy comes from Becker’s father, a lifelong Western obsessive, despite growing up in Mexico City’s urban metropolis. “He always liked that cowboy life, that vibe,” he says. “I always say ‘Dad, you just grew up in the wrong city.”
He’s aiming to open Santo Poco in October and Concrete Cowboy in November. Neither require massive renovations, and while the former Lia’s Lumpia space will keep the cabin-esque aesthetic, he’s creating more of an adobe-style exterior and an interior lined with Western-themed wallpaper and taxidermied animals. He’ll also tweak the bar layout to move from a fast-casual feel to full service.
Local designer Dane Danner is designing both spaces and visual direction for menu layouts, logos, and packaging, going for low-key, but high on vibes. Once Concrete Cowboy opens, Fish Guts will temporarily close to remodel the space to switch its white palette for a warmer feel, plus introducing a refreshed menu featuring some new tacos and other items.
Could another Fish Guts be on the way somewhere else in San Diego? Not likely, says Becker. “Fish Guts is cool, “ he says. “I feel once you start branching out, it’s more forced, not as organic.” So for now, count on Becker staying in the neighborhood.
Santo Poco opens for lunch daily October 2026, 2222 Logan Avenue (above Fish Guts). Concrete Cowboy opens Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner November 2026, 2219 Logan Avenue.
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.
Ten years ago, restaurant design centered around sleek minimalism. Fonts lacked serifs, clean lines dominated, and any manufacturer that made globe-shaped chandeliers must have made an absolute killing.
Things have changed since then, and Jeff Fink says it’s time for Madison on Park to glow up. On September 7, Madison will temporarily close its doors for a top-to-bottom renovation of the space and concept. Fink hopes to reopen this fall ahead of the busy holiday season, with a new look he calls moody mid-century maximalism.
“We have to take into consideration what’s going on culturally,” he says. When Madison first opened, TikTok wasn’t a thing in the U.S. and craft cocktails felt relatively cutting-edge. Today, he sees a resurgence in the vintage look, handmade goods, and low-to-no ABV drinks dominating menus everywhere.
Courtesy of Madison on Park | Photo Credit: Andy McRory
Fink and his partner Matt Sieve have already dabbled with that sort of motif at Sonny’s Pizza, their Brooklyn-inspired joint around the corner. Fully half of the cocktail menu is made up of spritzes, mocktails, and Negronis. Madison 2.0 will take it further.
The new concept doesn’t have a name yet—Fink says they have to feel out the vibes as they make progress with the design. “The name comes when you see it appear,” he says. But he has a few design elements in mind: things like more artwork and more uplighting. “Not cluttered and overstuffed… I want to keep it intimate, sexy, and immersive.”
Madison rightly earned its rep as one of the best-dressed eateries in San Diego, nabbing an Orchid Award for interior design its first year. The returning designers Anna and David Sindelar originally transformed the space from weird padded walls and fake greenery at Lei Lounge into a mid-century modern wonderland, complete with a signature arched ceiling and geometric patterns aplenty. Michelin-recognized chef Mario Cassineri (Ciccia Osteria, Bice Ristorante) built a menu heavy on Mediterranean flavors mixed with California classics.
The new menu shouldn’t feel completely jarring, but will take cues from Fink’s recent travels in Spain with his family. Expect shareable plates with lighter ingredients. “Americans eat way too much, and our portions are way too big,” he says. “I like the idea of smaller plates, healthier plates, and being creative… I’d rather see 15 items on the menu that are all less than $20 so that I can try different ones.” Bar manager Danny Kuehner will continue developing craft cocktails and mocktails for the new venture, as well as curating a selection of wine from Europe and locally.
Courtesy of Madison on Park | Photo Credit: Haley Hill
This isn’t the only project on their plate. Besides running Sonny’s in University Heights and Madi in Normal Heights, later this fall, Fink and Sieve will also open Josie’s, a modern all-day, Midwestern-style diner inspired by Sieve’s Minnesota roots. Like all their restaurants, it’ll hold a special part of their families’ legacies—something Fink hopes people feel as soon as they enter.
“You walk into Sonny’s, you’re like ‘Oh, Jeff’s at home,’” Fink laughs. “[Josies’] will be ‘Matt’s at home.’” The next version of Madison? We’ll have to wait and see.
Madison on Park will temporarily close on September 7 until October (barring any unexpected delays). Keep up with the newest updates on Madison’s Instagram.
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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.
When I was pregnant, my food craving was singular and intense. If I didn’t eat at least one thing doused in cinnamon every day (ideally, more than one), I was—to put it gently—a complete monster.
Since then, my obsession has tempered somewhat. But cinnamon buns still perch high on my top treats list, so I’m always on the lookout for the next great place to indulge. IMO, The Huddle in Mission Hills’ mondo cinnamon roll remains top-tier, but after eyeing the ooey, gooey goodies from Sinner Buns, we might have a contender.
Originally from Ukraine, Daria Nadar had already done everything one can do at a bakery—business operations, wholesale contracts, actually baking, you name it—so during the pandemic, she started dabbling with perfecting her cinnamon rolls. After she got a couple fans over social media, she threw her first pop-up to see how they’d be received. She sold out.
After a few false starts with a couple storefronts and business deals, Nadar officially launched Sinner Buns in October 2025 with her partner Filipe Pazi. After making it through an unexpectedly hectic season stuffed with holiday orders, the team closed temporarily to get everything in line and reopened this April. Business has remained in full swing ever since.
There are only so many ingredients in a cinnamon roll, but “the process is what makes it special,” she says, adding they use fresh yeast rather than powder and a 48-hour process for each batch of brioche dough made to order. (Thus the need for pre-orders.) Customers can preorder until Thursday each week for pickup Friday, Saturday, or Sunday from Sinner Buns’ ghost kitchen at 780 Hollister Street, just east of Imperial Beach.
You can also catch her at various pop-ups around San Diego. Eventually, Nadar opens to offer nationwide shipping (once she figures out the logistics and quality control) and one day, her own storefront.
But it’ll be on her terms, not the whims of social media. “We already learned how to not only rely on virality of the product, because you go viral and then it fades,” she says. “It’s a slow burner, and I know eventually, it’s going to grow much more.”
Courtesy of San Diego Spirits Festival
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Beth’s Bites
Get spirited away at the 17th annual San Diego Spirits Festival. If you understood that reference, I regret to inform you that it is not a Studio Ghibli watchathon, but it’s still a win with a bonanza of craft makers pouring libations at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla for two full days. On September 26-27, try sips, glugs, and guzzles from brands like Condesa Gin and Uncle Nearest (with some bites to wash it all down, of course). Could you ask for a more picturesque venue? Spoiler alert: no.
You love to see a longtime employee take the reins of a beloved local institution. That’s exactly what happened at Konito’s Cafe in Pacific Beach, which is currently transitioning to Pablo’s Cafe, which is now under new ownership. (Yes, his name is Pablo.) Will their breakfast sandwich still slap? Guess we’ll have to go find out.
I’ve yet to visit Tigawok, the small California-based chain serving mini bowls like Kung Pao chicken and Mapo tofu. But the latest storefront (and the first in San Diego) is now soft open in La Jolla, and it’s only a matter of time before their Sichuan shredded chicken gets in my belly.
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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 San Diego launched Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO), it changed everything. Riverside County first established the experimental program in 2019, with San Diego introducing its own countywide pilot program in 2022 and granting it permanent status in 2024. The new category allowed people to launch at-home retail food operations—basically, home restaurants—with special requirements and restrictions to ensure food safety and smooth operations. Over two dozen counties across California have since adopted their own versions with over 1,200 permits issued, around 100 of them in San Diego alone.
Some have a dizzyingly long waitlist (Warung RieRie), others are still getting their name out there (The Hidden Gazebo Eatery), and still others use MEHKO for pickups rather than fully opening their home as an onsite dining facility. Love Pupusas falls into that category.
Yanira Majano came with her family from El Salvador to the United States when she was 11 years old, bringing a love of cooking and desire to share the country’s cuisine along with her. “There’s a lot of similarity [between Salvadoran food and] Central, South America, even Baja Mexico,” she says. Salvadoran cooking tends to be less spicy than some Mexican cuisines, with an emphasis on ingredients like corn, staples like yucca root (cassava), meats like crispy pork (chicharrón), and sides like curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw that’s typically either naturally fermented or vinegar-based.
And of course, the signature dish of El Salvador—pupusas.
In San Diego, Salvadoran food lacks the widespread availability of other Latin American cuisines like Mexican or Peruvian food, but Majano says she’s seen pupusas gain popularity over the past few years. But she likes to think her recipes, which have been passed down by her mother and kitchen partner Martha, contain a certain special something.
Some pupuserías use rice flour to create the handheld stuffed tortillas, but she prefers the more traditional gluten-free corn flour. Still, it’s what’s inside that really counts. “That’s where we put our own touch,” she explains. Most of Majano’s pupusas come with cheese and different fillings like carnitas, black beans, mushrooms, or zucchini, but she also offers vegan options. Every one comes with a side of curtido and salsa, each made fresh daily.
Showing people the magic of home-cooked food might not have been possible without the MEHKO program or The Cook Alliance, a MEHKO support and advocacy coalition. Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant requires a huge amount of start-up capital—at least six figures, generally. Not exactly pocket change. “But when the MEHKO program started in 2022, I said, ‘Oh my God, this is for me,’” says Majano.
Now with four years under her belt, she says she’d love to bring Love Pupusas to more food festivals, host more pop-ups, and eventually open a food truck to keep serving the humble dish of her homeland, taking pride in every bite. “[I put] a lot of love in everything I do. You see it when you taste the food,” she promises.
Pre-order Love Pupusas for next day pickup in Rancho Peñasquitos between noon and 5 p.m.
It’s not the end of the road for Catalina Offshore Products—just the end of an address. The local family-owned fish market announced that come September, they are moving from their longtime location in the Morena District to The Old San Diego Seafood Building at 1842 McKinley Avenue in National City. Normal business operations will resume in October with the same retail market fully stocked with premium seafood and local catches, so it’s not goodbye, it’s just “see you later.” (And yes, 5202 Lovelock Street is still open until moving day.)
Don’t come at me with complaints about autumnal seasonal creep—I got an email this week about holiday shopping. In August. In comparison, the 2026 release of Karl Strauss Oktoberfest seems right on time. For the 38th year in a row, ahead of the Munich-inspired festivities, the 5 percent ABV malty amber lager is now available in bottles, with draft coming to the brewpubs in September. Despite the lack of chill in the air, there’s no reason why your fridge can’t be stocked with this frosty German delight.
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.
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.
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