In San Diego, where fall hovers in the mid-70s and roasting a turkey in a warm SoCal kitchen isn’t for the faint of heart, Thanksgiving takes on a whole new meaning. Fittingly, the city offers a cornucopia of restaurants for the holiday where chefs mix local California freshness with influences from around the world. Whether you’re gathering for a festive restaurant dinner or celebrating at home, there’s no shortage of options: prix fixe multi-course menus and lavish buffets to mouthwatering sit-down feasts and Michelin-approved take-home meals. This year, let San Diego’s natural beauty and culinary creativity do the work for you. Here are 30 of the city’s best spots serving Thanksgiving dinner in San Diego this year.
If you’re looking for traditional flavors with a coastal twist, then swing by George’s at the Cove for their ocean view Thanksgiving prix fixe menu. For over 40 years, the award-winning culinary team has wowed guests with locally sourced dishes and unbeatable sunset views…and this Thanksgiving is no exception. Chefs Trey Foshee, Masa Kojima, and Anna Adams are serving up an elevated classics, from roasted Diestel turkey with cranberry cornbread stuffing and smoked potato purée to sweet potato casserole and cheesecake topped with salted crème fraîche whip and pepita brittle.
Escape to Rancho Bernardo Inn’s picturesque gardens and rolling hills for a Thanksgiving dinner that has something for every mood. Guests can choose from an elegant buffet in the Aragon Ballroom, a carefully curated four-course dinner at Avant, or enjoy a cozy three-course meal at Veranda. Every option is thoughtfully prepared with Thanksgiving classics, seasonal highlights, and the warm flavors of fall, making it the quintessential setting to reminisce with family and friends in the Inn’s serene and scenic surroundings.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | Aragon Ballroom at 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Avant at 4-8 p.m. | Veranda at 1:30 a.m.-9 p.m
Price: Aragon Ballroom: $145 per adult, $60 per child | Avant: $125 per adult, $65 per child | Veranda: $75 per adult
Address: 17550 Bernardo Oaks Dr, Rancho Bernardo
Le Coq
For a lavish feast, Le Coq is offering its French-Asian twist on Thanksgiving classics featuring a four-course menu with tuna crudo with chili tamarind, lamb chops with sorrel and grape, and a turkey roulade with cranberry sauce and fried sage. Seasonal sides like pomme purée and roasted acorn squash round out the spread, while decadent desserts such as chocolate mousse cake or Mont Blanc make for a sweet ending to your festive gathering.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 1 p.m.–7 p.m.
Price: $107 per adult | $42 per child
Address: 7837 Herschel Ave, La Jolla
Old Hickory
At Old Hickory Steakhouse you can harness the beauty of modern California architecture for the finest Thanksgiving dining. Overlooking the Chula Vista Bayfront, they’ll be offering a refined three-course menu with options like chestnut agnolotti, bouquet of lettuces with honey whipped ricotta, prosciutto-wrapped turkey breast, dry-aged prime rib, or Chilean sea bass. And, end the meal with indulgent desserts including pumpkin pie, chocolate cinnamon millefeuille, or even a sweet potato ice cream sundae. Don’t miss out, grab your seat here.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | Time details coming soon
Price: $95 per adult
Address:1000 H St, Chula Vista
Provisional Kitchen at The Pendry
“Dine Diego,” are you ready for Thanksgiving twice this year? Dive into the season with a culinary celebration for a cause at the Pendry’s Chefsgiving dinner on Nov. 13. This community-centered evening supports the San Diego Food Bank and is hosted by San Diego Magazine’s co-owner and content chief Troy Johnson, featuring some of the city’s top culinary talents, including chefs from Provisional Kitchen, Ember & Rye, 31ThirtyOne, Serea, and more. Tickets include a $30 donation to the San Diego Food Bank and artfully arranged wine pairings. Reservations are required, so grab yours ASAP.
If you’re looking for round two, the Pendry is keeping the Thanksgiving spirit alive on Nov. 27. Executive chef Brandon Sloan at Provisional Kitchen will craft a specialty three-course prix fixe menu perfect for friends and family. Reservations are required for this experience as well.
Date & Time: Chefsgiving: Nov.13 at 6 p.m. | Thanksgiving Dinner: Nov. 27 from 2-4:30 p.m.
Price: Chefsgiving: $150 per person (ages 21+) | Thanksgiving Dinner: $100 per adult, $40 per child
Address: 425 Fifth Ave, Gaslamp Quarter
Lilian’s at Rancho Santa Fe
Lilian’s offers a storybook Thanksgiving dinner featuring tender roasted turkey, buttery mashed potatoes, savory and sweet stuffing, and pumpkin pie. With a four-course menu and flexible seating options, it’s perfect for family, friends who want a classic celebration without lifting a finger.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 1 p.m.-8 p.m.
Price: $175
Address: 5951 Linea Del Cielo, Rancho Santa Fe
Mister A’s
Give thanks with a side of San Diego skyline at Mister A’s, the iconic 12th-floor dining destination where its views make indulging in extra pie feel effortlessly glam. On November 27 only, start with appetizers like Vidalia sweet onion soup and baked carbonara mac & cheese. Then move into mains such as herb-crusted lamb loin with squash purée or an 8 oz prime beef filet, alongside sides like truffle fries and more. Oh, and did I mention the pumpkin sticky toffee pudding and apple cranberry cobbler? Mister A’s three-course prix fixe has it all. Reservations are open now.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 12 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Price: Buffet: $110 per person
Address: 2550 Fifth Avenue, Ste 406, Bankers Hill
Sea & Sky
Take your Thanksgiving to the next level at Sea & Sky, where breathtaking ocean views meet a meticulously crafted two-course experience with dessert. Partake in a culinary journey through the freshest seafood and locally sourced ingredients with dishes like fairy tale pumpkin soup, grilled apple and Pt. Reyes blue tart, or baby kale salad piled high with local pear, serrano ham, and spiced candied pecans. Then choose your main event: heritage roasted turkey with all the classics, coffee-dusted filet of beef, grilled red snapper, or butternut squash Casareccia pasta, all paired with family-style sides. Top it all off with pumpkin pie or mixed berry crostata with pistachio gelato and you’ve got a Thanksgiving worth savoring.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 11:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
Price: $85 per adult | $50 per child
Address: 7955 La Jolla Shores Dr, La Jolla
Café Sevilla
Experience Thanksgiving “from another feather” at Café Sevilla, where Spanish flair meets holiday tradition. Enjoy a three-course menu featuring Thanksgiving classics with a Spanish twist, from champiñónes y crema soup, Spanish beer-glazed duck, and pumpkin empanadas. These bold, flavorful dishes are available all day, either à la carte or as a full menu (dinner menu also available). Reservations aren’t required, but you won’t want to miss the authentic Spanish ambiance, tapas, Spanish wines, and refreshing sangrias, all bringing the flavors of Spain to your Thanksgiving table.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | All day
Price: $49.50 per adult
Address: 353 Fifth Ave, San Diego
Herb & Wood
For a rustic Thanksgiving that doesn’t involve doing the dishes, join celebrity chef Brian Malarkey’s flagship for a traditional menu featuring shrimp cocktail with smoked sauce, beef tartare, pork belly with roasted apple and squash purée, lamb lollipops, and roasted turkey with all the classic sides. Secure your spot, sit back, and enjoy a timeless yet approachable fall celebration.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 1 p..m.-7 p.m.
Price: $92 per adult | $38 per child
Address: 2210 Kettner Blvd, Little Italy
Animae
At Animae, Thanksgiving takes on a new form where sleek modern design meets culinary theater. Chef Tara Monsod brings her Filipino-American perspective to the holiday with a four-course feast featuring scallop crudo, duck confit arroz caldo, soy-glazed turkey roulade, and pumpkin and coconut profiteroles. Make this year a futuristic take on Art Deco, where time and space feel suspended. The full menu and reservations are available now.
Skip the hours of prep and cooking (that feel like days) this Thanksgiving and treat yourself to bold Indian flavors at Charminar in San Diego. While the exact menu changes each year, past holiday offerings have included traditional dishes and special weekend treats like Goat Dum Biryani and Tandoori Fish Pomfret. Follow along online for this year’s holiday menu and special offerings, perfect for adding spice to your Thanksgiving table.
Date & Time: Nov. 27
Price: To Be Confirmed
Address: 6755 Mira Mesa Blvd Ste 111, San Diego
Giardino
The 2025 Critics’ Pick and Runner-Up for The Best Restaurant in Lemon Grove, Giardino is a casual Italian-inspired cucina where San Diegans gather for fresh, flavorful classics from across Italy. This Thanksgiving, enjoy a three-course preset menu for $55 per adult, with a kids’ menu available for $19. Secure your spot early and check its website to view the full menu with details coming soon.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 12–8 p.m.
Price: $55 per adult | $19 per child
Address: 7067 Broadway, Lemon Grove, San Diego
Courtesy of Catamaran Resort
Thanksgiving Buffets in San Diego
Brickmans Restaurant and Bar
Skip the stress of cooking this year and let Brickman’s do the work. Its Thanksgiving Day Buffet at Lakehouse Resort features a towering spread of fall classics like apple cider and clove-glazed ham, citrus maple–glazed salmon, lemon oregano seasonal squash, mini corn dogs for the kids, and more, all accompanied by live music on the patio and in the dining room. Gather with family and relax with serene lakeside views; it’s a chaos-free yet classy way to celebrate. Reservations are now available.
Thanksgiving at The Del is the kind of holiday scene that belongs in a rom-com: Seaside windows, families dressed in their fall best, and a table that feels straight out of a dream. Dine in the beautifully restored Crown Room and Coronet Rooms, or the Ocean Ballroom (home to a newly uncovered 1888 fresco mural) and enjoy a lavish buffet of favorites, regional specialties, and mouthwatering desserts.
Beneath the Crown Room’s 33-foot sugar pine ceilings and chandeliers designed by The Wizard of Oz author L. Frank Baum, guests can savor every bite surrounded by the hotel’s signature grandeur. After dinner, explore the resort’s “A Holiday in Oz” celebration, complete with oceanfront Skating by the Sea, thousands of twinkling lights, and stunning seasonal décor. The menu is coming soon, but reservations are open now.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | Crown Room at 12:30-7 p.m. | Ocean Ballroom at 1-6 p.m.
Price: Adults: $274.25 (prices increase by $25 on Nov. 1), $125.36 per child (ages 5–12)
Address: 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado
Rumorosa
A Cali-Baja Thanksgiving? Sign me up. At Rumorosa’s bountiful buffet overlooking the water, expect Turkey Al Pastor, Rumorosa paella, specialty cocktail stations, and all the festive favorites imaginable. Even add in an Apple Cider Hot Toddy or Ferrero Rocher martini for a chef’s twist on tradition. Reserve your table for a flavorful holiday celebration on Harbor Island.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 12 p.m.-5 p.m.
Price: $89 per adult | $45 per child
Address: 1380 Harbor Island Drive, San Diego
Rancho Valencia
Thanksgiving at Rancho Valencia is a full-on family affair. The buffet features a legendary raw bar, carving stations, and endless seasonal favorites, plus a dessert spread that’s as rich as it is impressive. Kids can roam the lawn with a petting zoo, bounce house, carriage rides, face painting, and arts and crafts.
Maybe you prefer to celebrate at home. Thanksgiving To-Go lets you bring the feast to your kitchen table. Order online by Nov. 21 for pickup on Nov. 26 for a dinner serving four or more, with oven-ready dishes including Diestel Farms herb-brined, free-range turkey, plus vegan and gluten-free options, all designed for effortless holiday entertaining. Call 858-759-6246 to reserve.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Price: Thanksgiving buffet: $245 per adult, $95 per child (ages 3–11) | To-Go: $350 minimum order
Address: 5921 Valencia Cir, Rancho Santa Fe
Ember & Rye
At Ember & Rye, Thanksgiving starts at brunch overlooking the 18th green at the Arnold Palmer–designed Aviara Golf Club. Guests can enjoy poached jumbo shrimp, Peruvian ceviche, lobster roll verrines, and a rotating selection of sushi and sashimi, followed by carving stations featuring cedar-plank Ora King salmon, and mala-spice crusted prime rib. Hot dishes and sides include brown butter sweet potato tartlets, roasted root vegetables, veal scallopini with shaved truffle, and charred lemon chicken gravy. The dessert spread is equally insane with pumpkin pies, pistachio orange blossom tartlets, raspberry lime cheesecake, and pumpkin macarons.
If breakfast isn’t your thing, swing by the vintage clubhouse in the evening for dinner specials of smoked turkey with yuzu cranberry sauce or Kurobuta porchetta with Wagyu tallow gravy. Finish with pecan pie drizzled in maple passionfruit caramel and served with brown butter ice cream.
Date & Time: Nov 27 | Brunch: 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. | Dinner: 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Price: Brunch: $165 per adult, $65 per child (ages 2-12) | Dinner: À la carte
Address: 7447 Batiquitos Dr, Carlsbad
ARLO
The 2025 Reader’s Choice winner for Best Hotel Restaurant, ARLO, is hosting an all-day Thanksgiving buffet where you can chow, sip, and catch every NFL play without missing a bite, whether you’re inside or out on the patio. Start with Agrumato and Aleppo pepper poached shrimp or a roasted butternut bisque before digging into the carving, Santa Maria, pasta, and plancha stations. Expect rosemary-crusted prime rib, butter-roasted turkey thighs, pan-seared Skuna Bay salmon, and sides like chestnut and sage stuffing and buttery mashed potatoes. And if you’ve still got room, don’t pass up the apple pie, just one of several dessert options. RSVP for your plate.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 12p..m.-8 p.m.
Price: $95 per adult | $45 per child under 12
Address: 500 Hotel Circle North, San Diego
The Lodge at Torrey Pines
Celebrate Thanksgiving with the smoky flavors of The Grill at Torrey Pines. From chimney-roasted turkey with traditional fixin’s to pumpkin pie with candied cranberries and whipped crème fraîche, plus chimney-smoked carrots, creating your own staple feast is a breeze. Your chair (and plate) are ready for a dinner to remember.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
Price: Buffet: $75 per person
Address: 11480 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla
Fairmont Grand Del Mar
Thanksgiving at Fairmont Grand Del Mar is an experience made for indulgence. Choose between Amaya’s refined three-course tasting menu or the Grand Ballroom’s lavish family buffet, both set against the resort’s elegance. Amaya’s menu leans sophisticated, with scallop ceviche, rosemary turkey roulade, and black pepper king salmon, followed by pumpkin crémeux or apple tarte Tatin.
The buffet features baked brie with Grand Del Mar honey, vibrant winter greens with roasted squash and persimmons, a raw bar of Carlsbad oysters and citrus ceviche, and even carving stations with prime rib, porchetta, and roasted turkey. Whichever you choose, this is Thanksgiving served with a touch of style.
Price: Amaya: $175 per adult, $75 per child (ages 3–12) | Ballroom & Solana Buffet: $195 per adult, $85 per child (ages 3–12)
Address: 5300 Grand Del Mar Court, San Diego
Vessel – Kona Kai
This year, let executive chef Ethan Brown do the cooking while you soak up the Vessel waterfront. Let the morning unfold over a buffet brimming with mini crab cakes and prime rib with horseradish cream or settle in for a refined prix fixe dinner featuring pumpkin velouté, Chioggia beet salad, turkey roulade, salmon en croûte, and an array of desserts from pumpkin and Southern pecan to chocolate peanut butter and classic apple pie. With flavors that nod to tradition but carry chef Brown’s signature finesse, this is Thanksgiving done effortlessly and deliciously. Reserve your table here.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | Buffet 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Prix fixe 5–9 p.m.
Price: Buffet: $89 per adult, $39 per child (ages 5–12), free for kids under 5 | Prix fixe $55 per adult, $19 per child
Address: 1551 Shelter Island Dr., San Diego
The Bahia Resort Hotel
Spend Thanksgiving by the water at Dockside 1953, where the celebration comes with panoramic Mission Bay views and more dining options than you could possibly taste in one sitting. Dockside 1953 has a holiday-themed brunch followed by a signature dinner with à la carte offerings and a traditional turkey plate.
Want to sample it all? Don’t worry, the Thanksgiving Buffet Feast in the Mission Bay Ballroom features oysters with apple mignonette, a build-your-own poke bowl, apple cider and citrus-brined turkey breast, seafood or pumpkin risotto, tender beef medallions, and desserts like coffee and pumpkin pie crème brûlée, all paired with a complimentary glass of bubbles. Families can also climb aboard the Thanksgiving Day Cruise for a festive spin around Mission Bay complete with face painting, balloon art, and holiday crafts for the kids. For any additional questions, call them at (858) 539-7634.
Price: Brunch and Dinner à la carte | Buffet: $115 per adult, $50 per child (5–12), complimentary for ages 4 and under | Bay Cruise: $24.05 per adult, free for ages 0–4
Address: 998 W Mission Bay Dr, San Diego
Courtesy of Juniper & Ivy
Thanksgiving Take-Home Meals in San Diego
Juniper & Ivy
Spend Turkey Day at home with Juniper & Ivy. Back by popular demand, their highly anticipated Thanksgiving Take-Home packages deliver a no-fuss feast featuring fresh ingredients and elevated flavors that have made Juniper & Ivy a San Diego favorite. This year, the culinary team is putting a chef-driven spin on holiday classics while keeping the flavors you know and love. Every hyper-local, show-stopping dish comes ready to heat and serve, taking the stress out of hosting so you can actually enjoy the day (outside of the kitchen). Last year, packages sold out fast, so bookmark this page and snag yours in time.
Elevated comfort food meets seasonal at Great Maple’s Thanksgiving pickup. This modern American eatery has crafted a sustainably sourced, crave-worthy Dinner Box featuring fall squash soup with caramelized apple and toasted hazelnuts, thyme-rosemary roasted turkey breast with pan gravy, maple mash yams with golden raisins, an all green apple margarita for two, and pumpkin pie with a gingersnap graham cracker crust.
Founded by award-winning restaurateur and San Diego native Johnny Rivera, Great Maple brings Michelin-guide flair right to your home. The Hillcrest spot is also offering Thanksgiving 2025 whole pies, ready for pickup. Pick one, or both—either way, it’s a Thanksgiving win.
Pre-order a pasture-raised, naturally-fed turkey from Diestel Farms at The Wise Ox in North Park or La Costa this Thanksgiving. Birds come 16–18 pounds and can be paired with homemade gravy, meat butters, Italian sausage, and a pumpkin or apple crumble pie by executive pastry chef Jeremy Harville. How it works: Place a $50 deposit (open now) to reserve your bird and pick it up at the shop the week of Thanksgiving, starting Tuesday, Nov. 25 through Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Price: Turkeys $8.99/lb | Pies $35 each
Address: North Park: 2855 El Cajon Blvd | La Costa: 7755 El Camino Real
Tribute Pizza
Tribute Pizza might just make pizza a mandatory dish at every Thanksgiving table. Last year, owner Matthew Lyons served two versions of Thanksgiving dinner: a comforting vegetarian option featuring a decades-old family recipe for a savory cheese and nut loaf, and an all-natural turkey breast lightly smoked and roasted in the wood oven. Both were paired with porcini mushroom gravy, Aunt Lynette’s Southwest stuffing, wood-fired focaccia with butter, and an organic greens and walnut salad. While this year’s menu is still being finalized, Tribute Pizza is expected to offer a Thanksgiving dinner package in 2025. Keep an eye on its website and socials to snag your pre-order spot for a casual yet elevated holiday feast at home.
Date & Time: Thanksgiving Dinner Pre-Orders TBD
Price: TBD
Address: 3077 North Park Way, Suite 100, San Diego
Mama’s Pies
San Diego’s sweetest tradition is back. Mama’s Pies, the annual Thanksgiving bake sale from Mama’s Kitchen, returns for its 21st year, each pie funding 12 healthy meals for locals facing critical illness. Choose from pumpkin, traditional apple, pecan, Dutch apple, or the oh-so-secret mystery flavor, back by popular demand. Pies are $35 and on sale through Nov. 21 (or until they sell out) on its website. With pickup on Nov. 26 at nine sites across the county. With help from some of the city’s top culinary names—Sugar & Scribe, Bahia Resort Hotel, MIHO Catering, and more—Mama’s Pies proves that doing good can taste even better.
The charmingly chic neighborhood restaurant Finca is preparing a family-style feast to-go, taking all the work out of menu planning on the stress-cooking-induced holiday. The Thanksgiving spread is intended to feed 3 to 4 people, and chef Joe Bower and the culinary team are including whole roasted duck and leg confit with black pepper honey glaze, potato dauphinoise with parmesan cream, local honey nut squash with Calabrian chile, lemon, and almond crumble, rosemary duck gravy, and fresh baked Parker House rolls. Plus, all dishes will be par-cooked and sent with warming instructions. Meals will be available to reserve via OpenTable soon!
Date & Time: Pick up Wednesday, Nov. 26 | 12p.m.-6 p.m.
Price: $165 per family-style feast
Address: 3066 North Park Way, San Diego
Courtesy of Pop Pie Co.
Local Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving
Pop Pie Co.
What’s better than a cozy Thanksgiving? One that smells like turkey pot pie straight out of the oven. Pop Pie Co.’s Thanksgiving tradition is back, and it’s basically the shortcut to an at-home holiday feast. Last year’s menu brought pumpkin cream cheese, vegan apple cranberry ginger, and salted caramel apple crumble pies that had San Diegans lining up early. This year, expect the same mix of sweet, savory, and everything in between. Grab them hot and ready, or take them home frozen to bake once the food coma wears off.
Date: Pies available during business hours leading up to and on Thanksgiving Day.
Price: Check their website starting November 1 for this year’s price breakdowns
Addresses: 4404 Park Blvd. Suite A | 4195 Voltaire St. | 829 Garnet Ave. | 1517 30th St. | 2956 Roosevelt St. #3, Carlsbad
A true San Diego classic, Big Kitchen Café has been a South Park staple for over 40 years. Run by Judith “Judy the Beauty on Duty” Forman, this neighborhood spot is built on fresh ingredients and local love. With house-baked muffins and coffee cake, honey-baked hams, and freshly roasted turkey, Big Kitchen feels like a hug from Golden Hill itself.
Regular’s favorites include Whoopie’s Breakfast (eggs, bacon, potatoes, toast, and fresh orange juice), Nova’s Favorite (spinach, eggs, and cheese with fruit, tortillas, and salsa), and Judy’s Favorite Scramble with spinach, mushrooms, and sherry. Pancakes come piled high with chopped walnuts, strawberries, or creamy peanut butter. So if you’re looking for a Thanksgiving brunch out without the green bean casseroles, Big Kitchen Café is your place.
Date & Time: Nov. 27 | 8 a.m.–2 p.m. (normal business hours)
Isabella Dallas is a freelance writer for San Diego Magazine and the Arts and Culture Editor at The Daily Aztec in her final year at San Diego State University. She previously worked as an editorial intern for SDM, but when she’s not writing, you can find her trying the best coffee spots in SD, devouring the latest rom-coms, and indulging in anything and everything pop culture.
Most San Diego spots serve phở bò—the dark-brothed, beef-boned Southern Vietnamese specialty, loaded with the loud spices (star anise, cloves, cardamom, etc.). But Kim Pham, one of the sisters behind Crab Hut and perennial best-restaurants list-maker Kingfisher, is doing her mom’s phở gà.
The Northern Vietnamese original has a lighter, cleaner broth, using runner chickens (free-range diet and action means more flavor), the garlic from Gilroy’s famed Christopher Ranch (intense garlic-garlic), organic ginger, and housemade noodles. For condiments, Phở Gà Go uses Red Boat (the gold standard, barrel-aged 12 months). It’s essentially the same broth made at Kingfisher, served casual in Mira Mesa.
Best Fish Party for a Purpose
Dockside Night Market
This issue isn’t about shame, but let’s add a touch for emotional tension. We live on the water, but only about 10 percent of seafood eaten in San Diego is caught locally. Meanwhile, the local fishing industry that once employed 40,000 people is down to about 130 commercial fishers. Local fishing families are a crucial (my words, and they feel right) but endangered species. And three groups have joined forces for one pretty killer event that does a lot about it.
Puffer Malarkey Group (operator Chris Puffer and celeb chef Brian Malarkey) joined with Tuna Harbor Dockside Market—the spot where local boats drop their catch every weekend, a waterline treasure. Each year, Dockside Night Market gathers live musicians and the city’s top chefs who cook with local boat fish on the water. Even better: 100 percent of the profits go to the San Diego Working Fishermen’s Group (the third group—the actual fishers). Make it a quarterly/monthly thing, for chrissakes.
Best Home Away From Home
Make Cafe
Hard to find a more special place to eat lunch than Make Cafe. Finally with a permanent address, Make is where refugee women new to life in the US cook recipes from their various home countries: like mandazis (East African fry bread, like a beignet), koftas, congees (Asian ginger-rice bowls), lemongrass soda waters, and clean-eating creations. Exec chef Ashley McBrady (who helped turn Cellar Hand into a farm-obsessive hit) oversees the operation and teaches the women everything she’s learned.
Make Projects (which includes a farm and a training center) is a nonprofit that director Anchi Mei spun off from the International Rescue Committee—and now includes the cafe, a farm, and a training center. The idea is to help women refugees—often those who’ve worked fields and didn’t get great access to education—develop job, language, and cultural skills to adjust to this radically new and disorienting life. Even if you’re immune to an emotional backstory: Normal Heights has a charming new 5,000-square-foot bistro with a talented chef.
Courtesy of This Musubi Love
Best Way to SPAM Your Friends
This Musubi Love
The slander of SPAM is part of its allure. Those who have either been raised in the musubi arts or converted to the minor food religion tend to exude a higher-than-expected life happiness. This Musubi Love, a Leucadia musubi speakeasy (you heard that right), focuses exclusively on the Hawaiian/Asian tradition of SPAM “sushi.” It’s a MEHKO (Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operation) from founder Roger Post, serving classics and riffs like the Cordon Bleu-Subi made with panko-fried SPAM, shredded rotisserie chicken, Swiss cheese, and Bachan’s Japanese BBQ sauce. Or try the Dawn Patrol with SPAM, egg, bacon, cheddar cheese, and spicy mayo.
Best Lead Restaurant Singer
Todd Henderson, General Manager at Valentina
How many of your favorite bands don’t have a talented lead singer? Due respect to Charles Mingus, but kinda hard to get emotional without someone expressing a story in a compelling way. The same is true for restaurants: a likable storyteller who deeply knows their stuff and can translate the stories of the food, drink, people, and place is both key and exceedingly, exceedingly rare. Well—found one.
Valentina General Manager Todd Henderson is a likable certified sommelier who can wax on about the history of the breed of pigs used to create the famed jamón (Cinco Jotas), trace each Spanish pintxo back to its origin tale, or orate the Ken Burns doc of 20 different types of Champagne. Valentina had the design charm and the roots (Leucadia locals wanted better restaurants, so they built them). But with Henderson and chef Enrique Ñol (who trained under Davin Waite at Wrench & Rodent), Leucadia’s date-night bistro feels like it pulled up a rung.
Some local legends engrave so deep that it’d feel wrong if even their original locations they outgrew became, like, some chain lamp store. Kiku Room feels like a rightful heir to the Casbah’s first throne. Kurt Cobain played in this tiny box on Kettner, dammit. Kiku’s a minimalist steel-concrete-and-punky-wheatpaste box, loaded with enough red lights to summon some beanie diehards and chill demons. One “bar” is a DJ deck (dark disco, Balearic house, everything), and the other is proper craft cocktails. They even brought back Midori Sours. The room is small and the line is not, so plan ahead or amiably accept fate.
Some locals would prefer if Coronado’s historic charms were flash-frozen and preserved. Others feel that Elisha Babcock and Hampton Story (the 19th-century developers who modernized the “island” and birthed the Hotel del) were radical change agents, and that spirit should be renewed. Undoubtedly, Baby Grand is a renewal. The newest hotel from CH Projects (Lafayette Hotel) turned an old, meh motor lodge (La Avenida Inn) into a freshly feral cocktail lagoon with Greek food and statues and plus-sized plant life, a tuckaway bar (Fallen Empire), and rooms with clamshell beds and obscenely giant bathrooms. All due respect to our hearts’ desire to embalm old magic—this feels like a grand Coronado win.
Best Places to Visit Captain Keno’s Ghost
Anigma and Breakers
Two local dreamers truly understood the emotional voltage of Captain Keno’s, Leucadia’s affordable family restaurant/dive bar (a real hospitality mullet). When owner Gerry Sova closed it after 54 years, they basically battled it out to buy Keno’s beloved bones—knickknacks, plucky furniture, signage—and memorialized that old meatloaf-and-vodka-cranberry voodoo in their own places. The first is Encinitas’ tuckaway bar, the highly designed, Tarot-fied Anigma (from the DIY industry vets who own The Roxy). Second is Breakers, the Hawaiian-inspired hang from pro surfer Benji Weatherley, who grew up between Encinitas and Oahu. Long live Cap.
Photo Credit: James Tran
Best Homecoming for Food City
Ironside Fish & Oyster
When it opened in 2014, Ironside Fish & Oyster hit all the right notes. A giant fish house and craft cocktail spot dedicated to local fishing lore—created by locals. They put in the area’s first oyster bar at the time. It didn’t make the rapid evolution of Little Italy feel like a cheap land grab, and filled holes rather than piling more glitter on already-filled holes. A key part of that magic was opening chef Jason McLeod, who was in charge of Ria in Chicago when it earned two Michelin stars. Twelve years later, after bouncing between big projects, he came back this year and set down permanent roots in a landmark kitchen.
August is San Diego at full volume. Summer crowds are still chasing sunshine, but the calendar belongs to locals who know this is when the city really shows off. One night you’re dancing under the stars, the next you’re watching thoroughbreds with a plate of oysters in hand, catching Broadway hits, wandering gallery exhibitions, or rallying on a downtown pickleball court. Whether you’re looking for live music, festivals, theater, food, or an excuse to spend as little time indoors as possible, these are the August events worth putting on your calendar.
On the heels of Cross Pollination II’s release, house musician Lane 8 will co-headline FNGRS CRSSD x Cross Pollination, a day of back-to-back grooves at Waterfront Park.
Cross coasts at the Civic Theatre for a jukebox musical rooted in family, coming of age, and blossoming talent in Alicia Keys’ Hell’s Kitchen, inspired by the 16-Grammy Award-winning singer’s NYC upbringing.
August 23
Jeff Goldblum is a classic man. In his show at The Rady Shell, Goldblum will accentuate his old-school charm with his Mildred Snitzer Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
Photo Credit: Aaron Rumley
Theater & Art Exhibits in San Diego This Month
August 1–October 10
Explore gallery walls lined with artwork juried by acclaimed artist Paul Mpagi Sepuya and chosen by the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library for its esteemed 34th Annual Juried Exhibition.
August 7
As you already know, we adore San Diego. That’s why we’re assembling the city’s crème de la crème—including over 90 curated vendors—in Liberty Station for our annual Best of San Diego Party, presented by Pechanga Resort & Casino.
Helado Negro and Reyna Tropical each specialize in bilingual music, songs overflowing with proud markers of Latinx identity. Hear the ear-tingling transmissions from their collaborative LP at Epstein Family Amphitheater.
August 16
Country music superstars, proud Georgians, and close pals Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan are doubling down on their summertime stadium tour with a boot-stomping concert at Petco Park.
August 27–September 6
The one-woman play Eleanor—told via the eloquent perspective of Eleanor Roosevelt—will make a limited return to the North Coast Repertory Theatre.
More Fun Things to Do in San Diego This Month
Now Through September 3
For six straight Thursdays, downtown’s Fifth Avenue will shut down and become the city’s first-ever street-style pickleball event. Bring a paddle and enjoy DJs, a wellness market, and zero-proof drinks at Gaslamp Urban Pickleball.
August 8
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s newest foodie event, the buttery Turf & Surf Festival, offers a luxurious combo of land and sea, built for watching trackside with a loaded plate in hand.
August 22
For the first time since 2019, the free Chula Vista HarborFest will hit the shores of Bayside Park with a classic car expo, lucha libre showdowns, and the chance to meet a mermaid.
August 29
Celebrate the seven decades (and counting) spent upholding Point Loma’s coastal landmark during Cabrillo Under the Stars, a 21-plus fundraiser with bites, Beatles covers, and, best of all, twinkling lights.
Ryan Hardison is a freelance arts and entertainment writer and recent graduate of San Diego State. When he's not staring at his laptop, he's likely eating an adobada burrito or getting sunburnt at the beach.
If I have to choose between letting a trusted friend pick a bottle of wine or some random algorithm boosted by a faceless entity, I’m gonna go with the human 10 out of 10 times. And when you have friends like Amanda Sarich and Robert Blair, it’s pretty easy to trust their picks are going to be unique, tasty, and probably something I haven’t seen before.
Between the two of them, they have over three decades of experience working in wine. From buying to operations to building wine lists, they’ve worked together, wined together, and now, are going into business together with the Word of Mouth Wine Club.
Word of Mouth is a members-only monthly subscription that sends you two handpicked bottles each month, chosen entirely by the duo’s palates. It’s less “build your own box” and more “enjoy the surprise.” “The goal with the wine club was basically to get members that want to turn over their faith in our collections,” Sarich says. “Trust us—we’ll send you the cool stuff.”
The two first met while working at We Olive wine bar and shop in La Jolla, where Sarich joined the opening team in 2011 before eventually becoming a corporate wine director overseeing stores and franchises throughout California. Blair arrived the following year, after stints at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido and Alternative Wines in Carmel Valley, later spending nearly a decade helping build Village Vino in Kensington.
When Village Vino closed last November, Sarich had recently returned home to San Diego after years in the Bay Area and brought Blair on board for a project she’s working on—Serafino, a cafe and wine bar slated to open in Mission Hills next fall. But to bridge the gap between Village Vino closing and Serafino opening, the two partners kept the momentum going by launching Word of Mouth.
Blair says once Serafino opens, the team will launch a wine club for that business that will focus on everyday drinking wines from anywhere. Word of Mouth is for us “to geek out a little bit,” he says, with more adventurous or hard-to-find options from small production family farmers. (But as a bonus, Word of Mouth subscribers will become Seraphino’s founding members, receiving exclusive benefits for supporting the project from day one.)
Current memberships include two bottles delivered monthly—usually a red and a white, though sparkling, rosé, orange, or skin-contact wines are always fair game. Members can choose three-month, six-month, or annual subscriptions, and every shipment includes detailed tasting notes, producer stories, pairing suggestions, and fun extras like playlists, puzzles, and the occasional surprise.
The selections often revolve around loose themes. For instance, they used the idea of what wines they’d drink at a summer barbecue to select the two bottles in the July box—which happened to be a pale French rosé and Mourvèdre from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France.
Over the last decade, places like Rumi, Clos, and Vino Carta have helped transform the San Diego wine scene from mainstream labels and a stodgy vibe to eclectic discoveries that break a lot of the former rules. Word of Mouth hopes to continue that evolution.
“I think it’s fostered a more adventurous sense of exploration,” Blair says. “There’s room in San Diego to keep expanding people’s palates.” Sarich agrees. “We’re trying to bring our fun wine palate to the world.” Bottoms up.
An’s Gelato continues its march towards worldwide domination this weekend when it opens its fifth storefront at the Top Gun House at Mission Pacific in Oceanside. An’s Gate D5 opens on Saturday, July 25 with an airport-inspired theme that follows in the footsteps of its previous stores (An’s Dry Cleaning in North Park, An’s Hatmakers in Del Mar, etc.) and will offer rotating flavors like “Checked Bag,” “Carry On,” and global flavors like “Ho Chi Minh” with banana and Saigon coffee, or “McAllen” with strawberry and grapefruit.
Tony Gwynn Day returns to AleSmith Brewing Company on August 15 in celebration of Mr. Padres’ 2,000th and 3,000th hit anniversary. Grab one of the special beer releases and a bite from one of the onsite food trucks and watch the Padres take on the Guardians at 4 p.m. Go Dads!
Celebrate 10 years of the San Diego Sake Festival on September 27 at the Julep Venue, where guests can dive into over 100 premium sakes from 50 booths, plus food pairings, workshops, and kagami-biraki (the ceremonial opening of a sake barrel). VIP tickets get you in an hour earlier, plus a $10 food voucher, and that’s not even mentioning getting first taste of some of the rarest and most limited sakes at the festival. This is the real deal, so get your kanpai on and toast a decade of deliciousness.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
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.
Ask any local, human or shark—San Diego summer doesn’t really start until August. After June Gloom lifts and children file back into the halls of academia, our coastline comes to life with more space on the sand and a water temperature that finally rises above muscle-clenchingly frigid.
What better way to welcome Local’s Summer than by celebrating the bounty of the sea? At least, that’s what the gang at Puffer Malarkey Collective (PMC) figured when they launched Dockside Night Market four years ago.
Despite being born and raised in San Diego, Lillian Dang (the event’s co-producer and marketing director for PMC) says she didn’t know how abundant our local seafood scene was until she left and came back. “We are spoiled here,” she says, pointing not only to our plentiful produce from local farms, but also our sea-borne treasures.
When she and her co-producer Lucien Conner (PMC’s director of operations) brainstormed over what they felt the city’s food scene lacked, they realized: “What’s missing is an event that really celebrates the local seafood,” explains Dang.
Photo Credit: Enrique Espinoza
Dockside Night Market is meant to be a “San Diego summer party on the pier,” she says, bringing together local fishermen and local chefs to highlight the fruits of the local seas. Chefs from some of San Diego’s best restaurants clamor to be a part of the 15-chef-max roster, including Travis Swikard (Callie and Fleurette), David Sim (Kingfisher), Aidan Owens (Herb & Wood), Chianne Mallari (Herb & Sea), Tara Monsod (Animae), Jacob Ruck and Eric Bost (Jeune et Jolie), not to mention Mabel’s Gone Fishing, Bica, The Lion’s Share, Nine-Ten, Marisi… you get the idea.
Part of the intrigue is not knowing exactly what seafood will appear—in past years, there’s been uni, bluefin tuna, halibut, black cod, but it ultimately comes down to what’s fresh and what’s available. And with a chef lineup like that, it’s fun to imagine what sorts of surprises await. (If you’d like a small hint, there arecalendars of seasonal availability in the area.)
The one-night-only annual event takes place at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on Tuna Harbor Pier (598 Harbor Lane), the same spot as the weekly fish market every Saturday from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. or sellout (it’s usually the latter). VIPs get in at 6 p.m. and general admission is 7 p.m., and 100 percent of all ticket profits go to support the San Diego Fishermen’s Working Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to support the best interests of the region’s commercial fishermen. There’s also four cash bars and a live DJ (but leave the kids and pets at home).
“I think this is an event that can only happen in San Diego,” says Dang. Our city’s culinary cache is on the rise, and our proximity to some of the best fishing waters in the world make it a pretty dynamic duo. “It’s curated, it’s intimate, it’s all the things,” she promises.
The future of one of San Diego’s quintessential restaurants is up in the air. For 50 years, Kearny Mesa’s 94th Aero Squadron has slung its signature champagne brunch buffet, lunch, and dinner from a WWI-inspired restaurant and events space that looks like it was dropped straight from the French countryside. Recently and without fanfare, the restaurant added a message to its website that reads “Our restaurant is closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Mysterious, alarming, and vague—one can only hope it takes flight once more.
Apparently July is “National Pickle Month,” and if I’d known sooner, I would have celebrated accordingly (by stealing all the leftover pickles from people’s plates at lunch). I’m already deeply devoted to TNT’s pickle pizza any month of the year, but Town and Country Resort in Mission Valley is joining the briny fun with two specials at the lobby bar Monkeybar through the end of June—the Monkeybar Spicy Pickletini (vodka, spicy pickle juice, dry vermouth, the the resort’s housemade Riki Tiki hot sauce) and the “What’s the Big Dill” pizza, a not-terribly-creatively-named pie with mozzarella, red sauce, dill pickles, bacon bites, and a dill garnish. I’ll admit I haven’t had a pickle pie with red sauce before, so I’m interested in checking it out for that novelty alone. (Have you tried either? I’m genuinely curious how they are, so drop me a line at [email protected] to let us know!)
Since 2009, restaurateur Tracy Borkum’s Urban Kitchen Group restaurant collective has operated places like Cucina Urbana, The Kitchen at MCASD, and more, racking up local likes and an IYKYK reputation for solid food at decent prices. Now, all three of her Cucina locations (San Diego, Newport Beach, and Irvine) are offering new price-conscious specials that help ease the financial stress for people who just want to eat some damn good food without going broke. One example: for $145, their Sunday Supper special feeds four people with a family-style Italian feast of focaccia, salad, a whole spatchcock chicken, veggies, polenta, a choice of Rigatoni Bolognese or Bucatini Amatriciana, and tiramisu to finish things up. For a casual pizza and wine night, their happy hour bar special from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. gets you a margherita or pepperoni pizza, plus a bottle of red or white wine for $45. Simple? Yes. Savings? Also yes. Scrumptious? Undoubtedly.
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
When Rigo Munoz opened a weekends-only taco stand on Market Street in 2018, at first, he was just hoping to sell his tacos to however many customers he could. That low-key, word of mouth approach worked well for a couple years. Very well.
“Then, the line started,” he laughs. He began to double his sales week after week, until an influencer from Tijuana paid them an undercover visit in 2024. Munoz was hanging out in his backyard the next Monday when his phone started pinging and ringing off the hook. “So I go onto my social media and there, lo and beyond, the video already had 10,000, 12,000 views in like, less than an hour,” he says. The next day, there was a line of customers waiting for him before he opened at 5 p.m. The Chula Tacos revolution sparked there.
Now, he’s ready to open his third location on August 1 at 4994 Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach. It wasn’t an easy or straightforward path—the city shut down his original location citing too much noise and traffic. But Munoz was looking ahead, already in talks with a restaurateur to take over his space at 1719 Palm Avenue in the Nestor neighborhood of southeast San Diego. From the time he got shut down to getting the keys of his first brick-and-mortar was less than two days.
The second location in Chula Vista caught fire on Valentine’s Day and is slated to reopen later this fall (689 H Street). Munoz says he also plans to open a fourth location somewhere between the Ocean Beach and Morena Boulevard areas, but has aspirations for more.
“I’d like to become the In-N-Out of tacos,” he says. He’s actively looking for places that could support either a drive-thru or the typical fast-casual taqueria style, but no matter what, he’s going to keep his menu simple.
Each location has the same menu, except labio, which are ox lips, and beef intestines. They’re top-sellers at Palm Avenue, but might not translate as well to the OB crowd, he says. But guests can still get their fix of vampiro tacos, tacos de trompo, and from-scratch horchata and jamaica.
Chula Tacos is best known for its kekas (pronounced keh-kuhs), which are extra-large quesadillas stuffed with your choice of meat. “It’s a hefty thing,” Munoz promises. It’s such a trademark that he filed for a patent, which is still pending.
Building a taco empire has been a long time coming. Munoz first started making tacos at age 12, and has operated a number of cafes, delis, and other businesses on both sides of the border ever since. “We’re a family business,” he says. He’s been trying to hit that mother lode for years—and all it took was one video to light the fuse.
The newest location of Chula Tacos opens August 1 at 4994 Newport Avenue, Suite A in Ocean Beach. Hours of operation are 11 a.m. to midnight daily. (Opening date subject to change.)
Courtesy of Oceanside Sustainable Food Festival
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Beth’s Bites
Everyone (clap) watches (clap, clap) women’s sports! (Thunderous applause!) San Diego’s first women’s sports bar, One of Us, opened this week in the former URBN Pizza space in North Park. I stopped by the preview and can confirm the Big Ass Fan is still there, but now there are tons of TVs lining the walls ready to broadcast women’s soccer, basketball, volleyball, and all the other sports events you could ever dream of. (And yes, they’ll be showing the men’s World Cup on Sunday, because I guess people watch men’s sports, too.)
Rolando’s ears must have been burning, because a month after interviewing chef Coral Strong of the now-closed Garden Kitchen, Campus Burgers announced plans to turn the formerly hyperlocal farm-to-table restaurant into a spot for affordable smashburgers. I’m sure the local college kids will appreciate the $1.99 smashburger special—although let’s face it, in today’s expensive times, everyone is ready for a wallet-friendly outing.
A few months ago, I gave Navore Market’s farm-to-front door delivery service a try and as a longtime former CSA subscriber, I have to admit it felt nice to leave the produce purchasing to the pros. But as of July 12, you can now head to Navore’s second community pickup hub at Mission Valley YMCA (5505 Friars Road) every Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Having a centralized drop-off point makes it easy for farmers, and buyers don’t have to commit to a subscription—sounds like a farm-to-table win to me.
Keeping on with the farm-to-table news, the 4th annual Oceanside Sustainable Food Festival is scheduled for July 25 in downtown Oceanside, bringing 50-plus vendors together for a day of global food and drink, artisan products, home goods, live music, and more. The event usually draws in a couple thousand people, so might I suggest arriving close to the 11 a.m. kickoff for the best chance at maximizing your nom?
Listen Now: The Latest in San Diego’s Food and Drink Scene
Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].
Beth Demmon is an award-winning writer and podcaster whose work regularly appears in national outlets and San Diego Magazine. Her first book, The Beer Lover's Guide to Cider, is now available. Find out more on bethdemmon.com.
National Philanthropy Day, presented by PNC Bank, Celebrates the Best of Philanthropy in San Diego
The 53rd Annual National Philanthropy Day Takes Place on November 21. Join us from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the new Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center!
Once yearly, AFP San Diego joins with others worldwide to celebrate National Philanthropy Day (NPD), a special day set aside to recognize the great contributions of donors and nonprofits that enrich of our community and the world. San Diego’s NPD is one of the largest and most successful in the U.S., attracting nearly 900 participants, including philanthropists, nonprofit leaders, CEOs, board members, development professionals, and business, community, and civic leaders.
Sponsorship proceeds from National Philanthropy Day are reinvested in education, training, scholarships, career development, and the advancement of fundraising professionals throughout San Diego. These resources and training provide fundraising professionals with the tools necessary to support our region’s diverse array of nonprofit organizations, which rely on charitable giving for close to half of their annual revenues.
The National Philanthropy Day Honorees are selected by the NPD Honorary Committee, a group of highly respected, diverse nonprofit and business leaders. Our 2025 Honorees include:
Outstanding Development Emerging Leader – Taylor Thompson Self-Nominated
Outstanding Development Professional – Sharyn Goodson Nominated by: AJ Steinberg & Jeanne Schmelzer
Outstanding Organization for IDEA – Accessity Self-Nominated
Outstanding Philanthropic Institution – Life Science Cares San Diego Nominated by: Blair Search Partners
Outstanding Philanthropist – Dan & Phyllis Epstein Nominated by: CSU San Marcos & KPBS
Outstanding Student Volunteer – Camden Hall Nominated by: Curebound
National Philanthropy Day San Diego provides an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of giving and to celebrate the selfless contributions of individuals and organizations across the region. We look forward to celebrating with you!
Sponsorship opportunities and individual tickets are available. Please visit www.afpsd.org for more information.
