From impressive company soirees to intimate family gatherings, sometimes you need some professional flair to make your special event truly sing. Private dining pushes the envelope with exceptional service, and we have your go-to guide for all things dining outside the home. Leave the dishes in the cupboard and spoil yourself with these hospitality pros who will take the reins of your hyped occasion and take it to the level it deserves. Read on for all the styles and spaces that aim to give you the top-drawer treatment, just in time for the holidays.
La Puerta
Mission Hills
4021 Goldfinch Street San Diego, California 92103
Dine under our beautiful plant walls and disco balls at La Puerta in Mission Hills. For larger events, our private event space can hold up to 200 people. Our back room accommodates up to 50 people, making it a great space for birthdays, bachelorettes, baby showers, rehearsal dinners, meetings, or just a fun night out. A back room buy out can include either a seated meal or a serve-yourself taco and quesadilla bar and tray-passed appetizers. We also offer event coordination and customizable set food and beverage menus to help you plan the perfect event.
Open daily for lunch and dinner, and serving weekend brunch
Space for seated- or cocktail-style events
Space for private and semiprivate fiestas
Excellent menu offerings and award-winning margaritas
Centrally located, with close proximity to downtown, Old Town, and Mission Valley lodging
Piper
105 Mission Avenue Oceanside, California 92054
Located at The Seabird Resort in Oceanside is Piper’s garden-to-table dining room, steps away from the beach. Helmed by Chef Chris Carriker, Piper’s menu is a garden-to-table selection boasting seasonal ingredients and fresh takes on classic dishes from morning to night. With a bright and open dining room complete with flexible seating options, Piper offers unique private and -semiprivate dining spaces perfect for birthdays, team meals, reunions, bridal showers, corporate team retreats, or large family gatherings! Private parties can take advantage of Piper’s alfresco outdoor patio experience or indoor banquet table for a unique dining experience with their group, as well.
Indoor banquet table that can host up to 12 guests
Full dining room that can host up to 130 guests
Close access to resort amenities, including a spa
Ability to customize culinary and beverage offerings
Rancho Valencia Resort & Spa
5921 Valencia Circle Rancho Santa Fe, California 92067
Far from ordinary, simply perfect. Rancho Valencia is a renowned and favored destination in north San Diego County, with a variety of stunning indoor and outdoor dining and event venues—from our sumptuous Terrace Room and Wine Cave to our airy and lush outdoor garden locations, our individually designed private spaces provide the perfect backdrop for parties and events of all sizes.
Book your next private party or retreat at Rancho Valencia, and enjoy the exceptional 5-star service and luxury your event deserves. Rancho Valencia’s inspiring, romantic, and unique event and dining space opens through windowed doors to spacious outdoor patios and terraces surrounded by verdant foliage. Let Rancho Valencia curate your perfect private event.
Forbes 5-Star rated resort and spa providing exceptional service across our 45-acre Spanish Colonial hacienda-inspired enclave
Local and sustainably sourced Coastal Ranch cuisine with customized private dining menus
Multiple private and semi-private spaces for groups of 10 to 500
Dedicated private dining director to help plan your perfect event
Provides privacy and exclusivity for parties of any size
Roy’s Restaurant
333 West Harbor Drive San Diego, California 92101
Situated on the grounds of the Marriott Marquis, Roy’s San Diego offers sweeping views of the marina and San Diego Bay. From our intimate wine room to our breezy outdoor lanai to full restaurant buyouts, we have the perfect space for your next event.
Our seasonally inspired menu is an artful fusion of bold Asian flavors and classic French preparations, brought together to create Roy Yamaguchi’s signature Hawaiian Fusion cuisine. Enjoy one of our signature tropical cocktails or allow us to craft a custom cocktail just for your guests. Complete your dining experience with a selection from our expansive wine list.
For an event they’ll rave about, we invite you to experience Roy’s San Diego.
Multiple private and semiprivate spaces for groups of 10 to 500
Dedicated private dining director to help plan your perfect event
Custom menus and cocktails available
State-of-the-art audio-visual equipment
STK Steakhouse
600 F Street San Diego, California 92101
STK Steakhouse San Diego artfully blends the modern steakhouse and chic lounge into one, offering a dynamic fine dining experience with the superior quality of a traditional steakhouse. Located in the Andaz Hotel in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, the restaurant offers brunch, dinner, and happy hour with an unparalleled selection of steak, salads, and other entrees. The social dining experience is enhanced by an in-house DJ on Fridays and Saturdays creating an infectious, high-energy vibe. The menu features reimagined classic American cuisine with signature dishes and innovative cocktails, like the Cucumber Stiletto featuring Grey Goose citron vodka, St-Germain, muddled cucumber, and mint. As anticipated, steak is the main attraction. STK’s one of a kind, curated experience offers a variety of cuts like filet, New York strip, Tomahawk, Wagyu, and cowgirl rib-eye. Outstanding poultry and fish entrées are also available plus signature items including Parmesan truffle fries, Lil’ BRGs, tuna tartare, and sweet corn pudding.
Tempest Storm & Candy Bar: Intimate private dining spaces for up to 36 guests
Blaze Starr: Private, open-air atrium for up to 60 guests
Mezzanine: Lively, semiprivate second floor space
Outdoor Patio: Outdoor experience that is perfect for a cocktail reception
Main Dining: Ideal for large parties and seated dinners
Cardellino Italian Chophouse
4033 Goldfinch Street, San Diego, California 92103
Cardellino’s warm and welcoming private dining room boasts one long, communal table that seats up to 16 of your friends and family, alongside a suite of audio and visual equipment. In the kitchen, Chef Brad Wise blends cuisines and traditions—a Midwest chophouse with an Italian trattoria—to serve wood-grilled steaks, handmade pastas, and seasonal antipasti and sides meant to please a crowd.
330 S Cedros Avenue, Solana Beach, California 92075
Invoking the lore of Rat Pack gatherings and raucous Sinatra dinner parties, Rare Society’s private dining room holds 24 friends across two tables. Opulent yet approachable, the tucked-away space boasts a gold-paneled ceiling, a black marble bar, oversized velvet chairs and state-of-the-art presentation technology. Feast on a custom menu of steakhouse classics grilled over the flame, while a full-service bar and wine cellar keeps the party going well into the night.
Fully private dining room that seats up to 24 guests
Customized food and beverage menus
Personalized event planner
The Marine Room
2000 Spindrift Drive La Jolla, CA 92037
San Diego’s iconic Marine Room pairs dramatic views with carefully crafted plates. From intimate group gatherings to large receptions, The Marine Room accents events with a masterful Coastal California menu, combining the region’s freshest ingredients with innovative culinary flair. Plan inspired gatherings at a landmark destination where an oceanfront setting and seafood-centric offerings set the tone for an unforgettable event.
Private and semiprivate spaces that accommodate 12 to 200 people
Curated and customized menus by the award-winning culinary team
Polished service for lunch or dinner from seasoned staff
The Shores Restaurant
8110 Camino Del Oro La Jolla, CA 92037
Step into a SoCal paradise at La Jolla Shores Hotel and Restaurant where jaw-dropping ocean views are paired with fresh and sustainable Baja-inspired cuisine. Sip curated cocktails and craft beers just steps from the sand at a variety of unique event spaces. Groups of any size can be accommodated on the new beachfront lawn, open-air patios or the private, ocean view Acapulco deck. Bring the whole gang and make memories at this seaside escape.
Private indoor and outdoor venues from 40-300 guests
Event coordination from our friendly and experienced catering team
Customized and creative menus to accommodate all event types
Bali Hai Restaurant
2230 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego, California 92106
The Bali Hai Restaurant has been a favorite event venue in San Diego for 70 years. The spectacular view of San Diego Bay and the downtown skyline make it the perfect location for all private events. The versatile spaces provide accommodations for festivities of any type or size. Whether you’re planning a wedding, class reunion, birthday, anniversary, rehearsal dinner, celebration of life, fundraiser, business meeting, or corporate event, the Bali Hai provides an incredible canvas for moments that will last a lifetime. Offering extensive food and drink packages, from a luau buffet menu, plated meal service, or a private brunch buffet, we have many options available with friendly, efficient, and experienced staff on-site to assist in making your private dining experience one to remember.
Three private spaces to accommodate parties from 30 to 300 guests
Free parking for all restaurant and event guests and access to our private dock for boat arrivals and departures
A variety of plated and buffet menus available
Tom Ham’s Lighthouse
2150 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego, California 92101
Tom Ham’s Lighthouse, a San Diego landmark on Harbor Island, has been a destination for memorable events for decades. Featuring breathtaking views of the San Diego Bay, Coronado Bridge, and downtown skyline, Tom Ham’s has the perfect backdrop for any type of private dining experience. Offering guests three different private event spaces, both indoor and outdoor, for groups of 15 to 200 guests. This venue has been the go-to location for corporate luncheons, holiday parties, birthdays, weddings, private Champagne brunches, and so much more.
Three private indoor and outdoor spaces accommodating parties from 15 to 240 guests with free parking available
Corporate event amenities including black-out shades, podium, mic and speaker, and more
A variety of plated or buffet menus available
Understory Bar
12841 El Camino Real, Suite 209-210 San Diego, California 92130
Understory is a high-end central cocktail bar that exudes elegance and sophistication. Nestled within a bustling food court, it offers a unique and luxurious experience for the discerning palate. Patrons can enjoy a wide range of handcrafted cocktails expertly prepared by talented mixologists, while indulging in delectable dishes from nine top-class restaurants within the same food court. With its stylish decor, ambient lighting, and an extensive menu spanning various cuisines, Understory is the perfect destination to unwind, socialize, and savor the finest flavors in town.
Complete or partial buyouts for parties of 20 to 150 people
Private tastings and mixology classes with a cocktail-paired tasting menu
Customizable events with one-on-one event planning
Available for off-site parties—We’ll bring Understory to YOU with curated cocktail experiences delivered
Bronze Bird
910 Broadway Circle, San Diego, California 92101
BRONZE BIRD FOOD WINE & SPIRITS channels a contemporary San Diego vibe with urban-coastal décor, seasonal So-Cal cuisine, and craft drinks. The spacious private dining room offers versatile seating options and an adjoining patio.
Private dining room capacity for 36 people seated or 80 reception style
On-site valet parking available
Barrel and Board Social
1027 University Avenue, San Diego, California 92103
Slip into Hillcrest’s candlelit hot spot for chef-inspired sharable boards, craft cocktails, and sparkling chandeliers. We specialize in offering woman-forward and POC wine and spirits for something intimate or something eventful.
Finding a gift that feels truly personal can be surprisingly difficult. In a sea of generic options — flowers, gift cards, candles, and the like — Xplosion Box offers something more lasting: a customized keepsake built around the photos, messages, and memories that matter most.
Founded by Southern California entrepreneur Jay Vijay, Xplosion Box LLC creates fully customized explosion gift boxes that arrive professionally designed, printed, assembled, and ready to gift. Each box opens layer by layer to reveal personal photos, heartfelt messages, pull-out albums, origami-style photo pockets, and hidden notes, turning a simple gift into an emotional reveal.
The brand was built for people who want to give something meaningful without spending hours printing photos, cutting paper, folding cardstock, or assembling a DIY project. Customers simply choose a box, upload their favorite photos, add personal messages, and the Xplosion Box team transforms those details into a polished keepsake that feels thoughtful, personal, and beautifully made.
Xplosion Box offers personalized gift boxes for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, graduations, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, proposals, bridesmaid gifts, long-distance relationships, and thoughtful “just because” moments.
Customers can choose from flexible customization options starting at $27. The Mini Surprise Box includes 10 photos, three message cards, and one hidden secret note, while the Mega Surprise Box offers a fuller keepsake experience with 40 photos, three message cards, and one hidden secret note.
What sets Xplosion Box apart is its high level of customization combined with convenience. Filled with personal photos, custom text, decorative details, and layered surprises, each box gives customers the freedom to create a gift that feels one-of-a-kind — without having to make it themselves.
At its core, Xplosion Box helps people turn favorite photos, stories, and words into something tangible: a keepsake that can be opened, revisited, and remembered long after the occasion has passed. asion has passed.
If you’re anything like us, it can be easy to get so caught up in taking care of everyone else, that your own needs get lost in the ether. But while this may be a cliché, that doesn’t make it any less true: You can’t give your best self to other people unless you’re taking care of yourself.
Sometimes, that looks like stopping in for your regular acupuncture or chiropractic appointment. Other days, it means giving your body the fresh, organic fuel it needs to truly feel and function at its best. And some other times still, it involves leaving your responsibilities behind for a weekend to pamper yourself at an incredible resort and spa.
Only you can decide what your truly need. We’re just here to help you find the best ways to get it.
Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa
Island living meets desert luxury at the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa in Indian Wells. When you step onto the 11-acre property, you’ll be surrounded by sweeping view of the Santa Rosa Mountains with olive trees and fragrant citrus groves decorating the grounds. In other words, everything about this relaxed but refined resort is primed to help you let go of the stress from home and enjoy easy sun-soaked days and gorgeous starry nights.
The rooms blend calming, woven textures with Tommy Bahama’s signature tropical prints and feature private lanais, making it easy unwind the moment you walk in the door. If you book one of the four Villa Suites, you’ll be treated to exclusive Tommy Bahama furniture and unique personal touches to further that feeling of instant ease.
At the award-winning Spa Rosa, the expert team will help reset and recharge your body and mind using methods and rituals inspired by the desert. The 12,000-square-foot retreat includes outdoor soaking pools, eucalyptus steam rooms, and outdoor cabanas, as well as massages, facials, and body masks—all aimed at creating a day dedicated to you. We’re particularly partial to the Day Long Escape, an indulgent all-day affair of CDBs soaks, renewing scrubs, life changing massages, and transformative facials.
Following your treatment, continue the experience with a meal on the patio at Grapefruit Basil. We love the Hamachi Crudo, a light, citrus-forward dish featuring premium yellowtail, house-made ponzu, creamy avocado, and fresh seasonal garnishes.
Whether you’re strolling the gardens, relaxing beside its saltwater pools, or indulging in a restorative treatment, you’ll be able to escape in style and relax in luxury at the Tommy Bahama Miramonte Resort & Spa.
Healcove Chiropractic
There’s no shortage of ways to stay active in San Diego—but if you really want to enjoy everything the city has to offer, you’ve got to make sure you’re giving your body its tune-ups. Enter: Healcove Chiropractic. The board-certified chiropractors and wellness professionals at Healcove are experts at addressing that stage where you’re not injured, exactly, but you’re not at 100%, either. Maybe you’re feeling a bit tense or stressed out. Or it could be that you’re not quite moving the way you want to. Sometimes, it’s just that the accumulation of days, weeks, or even years of daily strain is starting to take a toll. No matter what stage you find yourself at, the Healcove Chiropractic team can provide integrated, preventative care centered on long-term, science-backed approaches that ensure you can always stay active and live the life you want to live pain-free.
This starts by providing truly individualized care. Every patient can expect a thorough 60-minute consultation session that includes a posture and movement screening. This allows the team to develop a completely personalized plan. That plan might include chiropractic care, acupuncture, or massage therapy, as well as functional fitness training, vibration and sound therapy, and Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization, a clinical rehabilitation method that retrains the body’s stabilization systems. Whatever the team recommends, you can be sure that it’s tailored to meeting your body’s needs today and the future.
There’s a reason that San Diego Magazine named Healcove the “Best Chiropractor in San Diego”—don’t wait until you’re struggling with an injury to find out why. Book an appointment today for holistic, integrated care that helps ground and heal your body before it reaches a crisis point.
Juice Holler
West Coast wellness culture meets the community feel of Southern Appalachia at Juice Holler. Juice Holler’s menu consists of made-to-order smoothies and smoothie bowls, as well as grab-and-go cold-pressed juices, wellness shots, salads, and more. It operates from the blissfully simple premise that fueling up with food and drink that’s guilt-free and good your body should be simple, accessible, and, above all else, delicious. And if you haven’t yet made it out to the Encinitas café, which opened just this year, let us be the first to tell you: Juice Holler delivers on each and every of these fronts.
We love the Supercharger smoothie, a mood-lifting and body-fueling option made with banana, almond butter, blue spirulina, maca, grass-fed whey protein, raw cacao nibs, medjool dates, and coconut milk. We’re also partial to the Thrive Alive smoothie bowl, where avocado, mango, sea moss, spirulina, mint, coconut milk, and agave are mixed and topped with coconut, chia seeds, strawberry, mango, and chocolate drizzle. The wellness shots include the Detoxifier, a cleansing blend of kale, cucumber, lemon and spirulina, plus a shot specially designed to fight inflammation (named, fittingly, Anti-Inflammation). Probiotic overnight oats, lemon turmeric bars, and strawberry shortcake chia pudding are other standouts on the grab-and-go menu.
Much of the vibe feels beachy North County chic—think green tile with orange and pink accents, grounded with greenery and natural wood—but Juice Holler founder Kelly Sergott, a longtime Encinitas local, has also enfused the space with her Kentucky roots. In Appalachia, a holler is small valley between hills and mountains, where nature reigns, community is king, and nourishment comes right from the land. At Juice Holler, Sergott has created a holler for the busy modern times, using local ingredients to create a spot for people to come together and enjoy fresh, fast, feel-good fuel for their day.
Everwell Acupuncture
We’ve all had that experience with a medical professional where we’ve felt rushed, ignored, or misunderstood—and ultimately, like we didn’t get the answers that we needed. But at Everwell, the holistic acupuncture practice located in Solana Beach, the care team wants to transform your understanding of what healthcare can look like.
Patients at Everwell experience care rooted in intentional listening and radical empathy—and trust us, those aren’t just corporate buzzwords. This place actually puts those ideas into practice. You will always be given the time you need to tell your story— initial in-take appointments are two hours long—and you can rest assured that your story will be believed. Every single question and concern will be addressed by a dedicated practitioner who wants to find the specific solutions that work best for you, and you’ll receive care that’s aimed at healing the body, mind, and spirit.
Everwell’s highly trained, doctorate-level practitioners blend evidence-based acupuncture with the practice of classical Chinese medicine. (If you’ve never tried acupuncture before or aren’t sure if the team will be a fit, we’d highly recommended Everwell’s complimentary 20-minute consultations.) Research shows that by stimulating specific points on the body, acupuncture activates a natural healing response in the body, helping to restore balance, regulate the nervous system, and improve overall wellbeing. This allows the practice to address an incredibly wide range of conditions from chronic pain and autoimmune disorders to digestive issues, from stress and burnout to headaches migraines, fertility and postpartum struggles, hormonal imbalances, sleep concerns and more.
At Everwell, you can expect to feel heard, trusted, respected, and cared for. This is a space that doesn’t want to be just another healthcare provider you visit; it wants to provide patients with dedicated partner who will be there for their entire health journey.
You’ve Tracked Your Macros, Your Sleep, Your Steps. What About Your Drinking?
The Unconscious Moderation app is helping health-conscious professionals take an honest look at their drinking, without pressure, and without quitting as the only option.
San Diego runs on optimization. Early mornings, clean eating, training logs, sleep scores. The people here take their health seriously and the results usually show. Most of them also have two drinks most nights, not because anything is wrong, but because the day was long and the glass is right there and it has always been right there.
That routine doesn’t get the same scrutiny as the rest of the stack. It doesn’t feel like something to examine. It feels like a reward.
Which is exactly what your brain has decided it is. When something reliably moves you from one state to another, your brain files it under things to repeat. Do it consistently enough and the cue stops requiring a decision. It’s 6pm, the laptop is closed, and some part of your brain has already placed the order.
Most habit-change tools work on the number. They count drinks, set weekly targets, send check-in texts. That’s useful for seeing what the pattern looks like. It doesn’t tell you where the pattern came from, or change it at that level.
Unconscious Moderation works underneath the habit. The app uses guided hypnotherapy sessions, structured journaling, and daily movement to address the subconscious associations that make reaching for a drink feel like the obvious next thing. The journaling isn’t a diary. It’s built to surface what your brain is actually reaching for, so you can meet that need directly rather than through a substitute.
The program runs 90 days. At day 30, you choose your own direction: cut back, drink more intentionally, or stop altogether. The app treats both as equally valid outcomes. The point isn’t to follow a rule you set on a Sunday. It’s to understand the pattern well enough that whichever path you choose, you’re choosing it clearly.
The people who tend to get the most out of it are not in crisis. They’re the ones who have tried tracking apps and found the count drifting back up regardless. They know exactly how much they drink and why. The awareness just hasn’t moved the habit. At some point, the work needs to happen somewhere the count sheet can’t reach.
San Diego’s wellness culture already knows that surface numbers tell only part of the story. What you eat matters, but so does why. How much you sleep matters, but so does the quality. The same logic applies here.
Chemotherapy and radiation have long been considered gold standards of cancer treatment, but they can cause severe side effects. A promising new approach called theranostics—a combination of “therapeutics” and “diagnostics”—could offer patients with certain types of metastatic cancers new hope. It’s a two-step process that uses a drug that binds to specific receptors on cancer cells. Advanced imaging detects this radioisotope, allowing doctors to then use a second radioisotope that binds to the cancer cells and destroys them. Click here to learn more about how specialists at Scripps Cancer Center are using theranostics.
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Daniel A. Kaplan is a founding partner of Panakos LLP with more than three decades of civil litigation experience in both state and federal courts. Mr. Kaplan pursues and defends legal claims on behalf of companies, entrepreneurs, and business owners in high-stakes disputes. He focuses on business disputes including breach of contract, unfair competition, trade secret theft, securities disputes, fraud/misrepresentations, and employment matters.
“The best advocacy combines preparation, perspective, and a client relationship built on trust and candor.” — Daniel A. Kaplan
His clients include real estate investors, private and public corporations, and individuals seeking sophisticated legal counsel. Known for practical judgment and strategic advocacy, he works closely with an experienced and diverse legal team to protect, enforce, and defend his clients’ interests.
555 W. Beech Street, Ste. 500, San Diego, California 92101 619-8000-LAW Panakos.law
At Naumann Law Firm, PC, William Naumann and his team have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages litigating construction defects, insurance, and government claims. Mr. Naumann has spent his career fighting for people in their hardest moments, from winning $7 million for homeowners after landslide damage to advocating for victims of 9/11.
“We always believe in working as hard as we can to maximize the recovery for the client.” — William Naumann, Esq.
Combining a personalized approach with a results-driven strategy, he’s helped homeowners associations, property owners, and individuals win against the largest developers, builders, insurers, and municipalities. His commitment is to secure the best possible results efficiently, whether through settlement or at trial.
10890 Thornmint Road, Suite 200, San Diego, California 92127 858-792-7474 naumannlegal.com
