Then & Now: An’s Dry Cleaning

Even if you haven’t gotten your Real ID yet—which you should really do, like, yesterday—you can travel by proxy through food. To take a vacation to Turkey, head over to Normal Heights, where chef Seckin Sage Anlasbay is opening Bosforo, his modern meyhane-style Turkish restaurant in the former El Zarape location.

Seckin first launched Bosforo a few years ago as a wood-fired pizza catering concept, showcasing flavors from his childhood home in southern Turkey near the Mediterranean, alongside influences from places like Spain and Italy. But for his first brick-and-mortar, he’s focusing far heavier on Turkish culture with dashes of Mediterranean, Mesopotamian, and Anatiolian.

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“You’re going to feel like you’re having dinner in [an Istanbul] meyhane, [a traditional Turkish restaurant],” he promises, down to the kebabs and Turkish ice cream and décor.

He kept El Zarape’s open dining room to ensure everyone can see everyone else and peer into the kitchen with the fire of the pizza oven. “The layout fosters openness and connection, echoing the communal spirit of traditional meyhanes while reimagining it for a contemporary audience,” he explains. The space seats 90 guests over 2,500 square feet, with lots of warm lighting and a homey feel across four different areas: the dining room, bar, kitchen, and pizza bar.

Bosforo’s menu centers around a family-style feast of hot and cold mezes (Turkish for “snacks” or “appetizers”) like olive piyaz (olive salad dressed in herbs and a vinaigrette), girit (cheese and pistachio spread), spicy ezme (vegetable-based chopped salad with tomatoes, peppers, and onions), and Albanian liver (a tender side of lamb or veal liver seasoned with hot peppers).

All of the kebabs are made with hand-ground meat cooked in the same wood-fired oven that cranks out pizzas like the “Anatolian” (Kayseri pastrami, Turkish sausages, aged Kaskaval cheese). Desserts are simple, including gelato and sutlac (Turkish rice pudding). 

Seckin says a small menu is the point. Even if you’ve never tried Turkish food before, you can try everything. “And after, like, two hours, you’re going to find out what’s Turkish food,” he laughs. “So, I want to show San Diego Turkish hospitality [and] Turkish culture.”

All the cocktails have a Turkish twist—think gin, lemon, and Aperol, but with rose water—and a variety of Turkish spirits like the country’s national drink, raki, an anise-forward spirit made with grapes and raisins. After dinner service, Seckin says he’s hatching plans for nightlife with DJs or live music until midnight or 1 a.m., plus weekend brunch. 

Bosforo opens May 27 at 3201 Adams Avenue.

Juan Carlos Gomez opened El Agave Restaurant & Tequileria in Old Town almost 30 years ago. He’s dabbled in other eateries since then—a second El Agave in Del Mar and a Spanish restaurant in La Jolla—but never found the next big thing for him to throw himself behind. 

Now he has. 

“Nómade” unsurprisingly translates to nomad—a restless wanderer, picking up bits and pieces of community and culture wherever they roam. That idea inspired Gomez, who wanted to blend Spanish tapas with European-style wine bars, mid-century and Scandinavian design, and a splash of Japanese listening bar culture—add a dash of Italian, French, and Peruvian influence.

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Nómade Tapas & Records will open by the end of this month. “We’re adding a little bit of dishes from everywhere into one specific place,” he explains.

The all-day menu starts with breakfast dishes like avocado toast (it’s still San Diego, after all), tortilla española, and an Italian focaccia sandwich. Snacks and appetizers range from French croquettes to Spanish patatas bravas, while main courses range a bit more continental (like smashburgers and a fried chicken sandwich). The menu will always be in a state of flux, always nomading. 

One thing will remain the same—there will always be plenty of wine—old world, new world, plus some natural orange wines and biodynamics. For cocktails, Nómade will lean flavor over strength, using things like infusions and other housemade ingredients to create a number of lower ABV options. Since the restaurant will be open at 10 a.m. daily, it’ll have coffee, matcha tea, and other AM options. 

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But after dark, Gomez wants to lean into the experiential nature of listening bars. Inspired by travels through Japan, he’s building a sound system for audiophiles. “It’s going to be more of a chill vibe—no nightclub, no loud music,” he promises. “It’s going to be ambience more than anything.”

Befitting the listening bar vibe, Nómade will be open ’til 11 p.m. on weekdays, and 1 a.m. on weekends. For now, the intimate seating (50 people) is inside, but he’s looking to expand to an outdoor area. 

Nómade is slated to open by the end of March at 3027 Adams Avenue, just a few feet away from Hawthorn Coffee, An’s Dry Cleaning, and the intersection of Adams and 30th Street. Wanderers welcome. 

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

A Night To Help End Hunger

In the past, local author and writer Madhushree Ghosh has used words to make change. Now, she’s using food through her supper club series about food equity, access, and social justice. KhabaarCo Conversations with Changemakers series brings together the community for conversations about the deeper issues in the food world and how they relate to San Diego. Her next one is on Tuesday, March 11 with Kate Garrett from Feeding San Diego, who’ll talk about local foodways and how the average person can do to reduce food waste and improve equity in neighborhoods. 

Beth’s Bites

• Congrats to Accursio Lota of Cori Pastificio Trattoria for earning yet another accolade to his already long list of awards. Only 18 restaurants in the world received the acclaimed Three Forks (Tre Forchette) distinction from Italian magazine Gambero Rosso this year, and only five of them are in the US. Of course, we expect nothing less from the Best Pasta in San Diego winner. Next up: a Michelin nod?
• Liberty Station is a bastion of brand-new restaurants like Wildflour, as well as longtime favorites like the Corvette Diner. But on March 6, another familiar name will open in the already traffic-congested destination—Chick-fil-A. It won’t have a drive-thru, so if you find parking a tad or incredibly harder soon, that’d be why. 
• This week marks one year of Green Cheek Beer Co. in Oceanside, and while I still miss Bagby Beer Co. terribly, it’s fantastic to know that the sprawling indoor/outdoor venue at 601 South Coast Highway got new tenants and fresh life. It’s where I know I’ll always have a Vienna Lager waiting for me.

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].

Polite Provisions is the shiny new thing from Consortium Holdings—the slightly demented, infectiously creative group behind Craft & Commerce, Noble Experiment, Underbelly and Neighborhood. To get the full story, read our interview with chief cocktail man/partner Erick Castro here »

Art and design have always been a huge part of Consortium’s appeal. Local designer Paul Basile is on the case once again, as he was with Craft & Commerce. And SDM got a private first-peek at his new space. We could blather on about our impressions, but make your own.

Without further blathering…

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). 

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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. 

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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.

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. 

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.”

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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. 

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.

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].