Good dining in San Diego?

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#1 Post by **Nate Simon** » November 25th, 2017, 1:12 pm

Will be staying in the Mission Bay/Sea World area, and looking for good eats in that general area (reasonable Uber distance is fine). Doesn’t have to be fine dining or any particular style, just good grub! Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Z. Hu · #2 Post by **Z. Hu** » November 25th, 2017, 4:56 pm

Juniper Ivy
Herb and Wood
Tons of hole in the wall Mexican restaurants everywhere
Tom Ham's Sunday Brunch is pretty good if you like crab legs and mimosa

#3 Post by **Chris Freemott** » November 26th, 2017, 11:51 am

While not San Diego per se as in 'the city', I had a really fantastic meal and service at Addison recently. Cost me an arm and leg, but, really enjoyed it and was very pleased.

Z. Hu · #4 Post by **Z. Hu** » November 26th, 2017, 10:25 pm

Addison is my favorite restaurant in San Diego County. About 30 minutes without traffic from Mission Bay/Sea World.

#5 Post by **John Webber** » December 6th, 2017, 11:24 am

Sushi Ota

#6 Post by **Bryan Cottriel** » December 6th, 2017, 11:36 am

Bluewater Sea Food is really close to there. Great prices and good portions.

#7 Post by **Mark Y** » January 14th, 2018, 9:46 pm

Z. Hu wrote:Addison is my favorite restaurant in San Diego County. About 30 minutes without traffic from Mission Bay/Sea World.

Does Addison allow kids? have a kids menu?

and what is the approximate price of a tasting menu?

thx!

#8 Post by **alan weinberg** » January 15th, 2018, 8:26 am

Mark Y wrote:
Z. Hu wrote:Addison is my favorite restaurant in San Diego County. About 30 minutes without traffic from Mission Bay/Sea World.
Does Addison allow kids? have a kids menu?

and what is the approximate price of a tasting menu?

thx!

kids allowed, no kids’ menu, prices vary and are on their website.

#9 Post by **alan weinberg** » January 15th, 2018, 8:27 am

Pamplemousse Grill is pretty good.

Robert Dentice · #10 Post by **Robert Dentice** » March 20th, 2018, 3:14 pm

Has anyone tried Cloak and Petal?

Enroute to San Diego now and need a dining recommendation in that area. Looking for the best food and wine possible for a solo dinner around 9.

#11 Post by **Otto Dobre** » April 4th, 2018, 12:44 pm

My new favorite inexpensive French restaurant is Et Voila, in the North Park area. The Cassoulet is perfect. On Wednesdays they have 30% off the price of wines, so you can get something from their wine list. Very good cocktails too.

Here's a link to their menu:

https://etvoilabistro.com/wp-content/up ... nu-WEB.pdf

Robert Dentice · #12 Post by **Robert Dentice** » April 4th, 2018, 1:59 pm

I ended up going to Juniper and Ivy the first night. Sat at the bar and after two horrible appetizers I gave up.

Flight was cancelled due to the east coast storm so I went to a new place called Himitsu in La Jolla. The chef worked at Sushi Ota for a long time. It was very good. The winelist was horrible which is par for the course at most Japanese restaurants.

#13 Post by **Jeff Bloom** » August 20th, 2018, 7:19 am

Bumping this up to see if there are any updates or new favorites. We're taking a break from upscale tasting menu restaurants so we're not going to Addison.

We'll be staying in Carlsbad so suggestions in North County would be most appreciated.

#14 Post by **alan weinberg** » August 20th, 2018, 7:48 pm

Jeff Bloom wrote: ↑
August 20th, 2018, 7:19 am
Bumping this up to see if there are any updates or new favorites. We're taking a break from upscale tasting menu restaurants so we're not going to Addison.

We'll be staying in Carlsbad so suggestions in North County would be most appreciated.

if you like prime rib, Koko Beach can’t be beat for the price quality ratio.

#15 Post by **Brian G r a f s t r o m** » August 21st, 2018, 5:40 pm

I went to Juniper and Ivy once. Thought it was good-not-great. This dishes were more complicated than they needed to (should) be, and many of the sauces overpowered the food. Better for beer than wine. Granted, this was a couple years ago, so who knows the extent to which that experience even applies today.

#16 Post by **Pete Lawley** » August 22nd, 2018, 4:47 pm

Hi Jeff-

A few recommendations for you based on our recent experiences:

Dija Mara on Coast Highway in Oceanside. Bali and Indonesian influences on the food and unique cocktails with house made syrups, etc. If you go, try the eggplant small plate!

Pisco off Palomar Airport Rd in Carlsbad. The atmosphere is so-so, but the food is Peruvian and very good! Try the pisco cocktails. Very unique.

Fish 101 in Leucadia on 101. Simple offerings of fresh local fish but excellent! The fish tacos are the best in the area IMHO. Small and gets crowded. Don’t let a line out the door discourage you! There’s a reason.

#17 Post by **Jeff Bloom** » September 11th, 2018, 6:01 am

Thanks for the recommendations. Wanted to circle back to give some feedback for anyone reading the thread.

Juniper & Ivy was a major disappointment and probably the worst meal of the week. We ordered a bunch of small plates to see what the kitchen could do. Notwithstanding the descriptions on the menu, there was a sameness to almost every dish in flavors and textures, both of which were generally bad. My wife, who is much more sensitive to textures than I am, absolutely hated it. (Also on the celebrity chef front, although Brian Malarkey is no longer associated with it, Searsucker was awful for lunch.)

We did much better in North County. Pisco was very good for cocktails (and I'm generally not a cocktail guy) and ceviche. On the mains, sticking with the rotisserie chicken seems the best idea.

Fish 101 was excellent and just what we were looking for. Simple but very good preparations of fresh fish in a casual setting. The happy hour oyster and fish taco specials make it worth dining early.

Koko Beach is really old school. It reminded me of several restaurants I used to go to in the '80s and '90s, both in decor and presentation. Definitely a good value play for the prime rib and crowded as a result.

#18 Post by **Joshua Kates** » September 11th, 2018, 4:42 pm

Z. Hu wrote: ↑
November 26th, 2017, 10:25 pm
Addison is my favorite restaurant in San Diego County. About 30 minutes without traffic from Mission Bay/Sea World.

This; we were there in August. It aims at being a 3-star experience, so you have to be prepared for the elaborate, but friendly, service and the pricing--beautiful place in its way. In La Jolla, Georges at the Cove is pretty good (and nice spot), as is The Marine Room, though quirky.

Tried Trust in San Diego proper, which was getting a lot of buzz. Kind of hipster place and space, which can be fine by me (e. g., Contra NYC), imho they were not ready for prime time. Good sushi to be had in a number of spots of course and some low key respectable Italian--never made it to their chinatown, which seems to be northeast of the city, but for me the 3 above were the fine dining highlights.

#19 Post by **Tom G l a s g o w** » December 28th, 2018, 6:22 pm

Bump, we will be staying in the restaurant desert of Coronado. Any suggestions?

#20 Post by **Brian G r a f s t r o m** » January 27th, 2019, 11:08 am

Brian G r a f s t r o m wrote: ↑
August 21st, 2018, 5:40 pm
I went to Juniper and Ivy once. Thought it was good-not-great. This dishes were more complicated than they needed to (should) be, and many of the sauces overpowered the food. Better for beer than wine. Granted, this was a couple years ago, so who knows the extent to which that experience even applies today.

Went there last night. Dishes are still very sauce-centric. I'd say our meal last night was better than the one we had 4 or 5 years ago.

Corkage is $25, and is waived with purchase of bottle off the list. The list is limited, but very well-curated, imo. Sommelier was a young man who was very nice. He recommended one of the whites I was considering, and it was awesome (1995 Poco do Lobo - Arinto). Our red was the 2015 Rosi Schuster - Sankt Laurent.

We ordered:
Baja yellowtail bite
Stuffed mushroom bite
Duck neck croquette bite
Buttermilk biscuit
Crispy sweetbreads
Uni carbonara
Pork tenderloin
Chanterelle mushroom rigatoni

An deviled egg amuse bouche was delicious.

Yellowtail was very tasty, but the flavor was dominated by the cracker, unfortunately.

Mushroom bite was delicious, but spicy, so not particularly wine-friendly.

Duck neck croquettes were excellent, and paired very well with both wines.

Buttermilk biscuit was fine, but forgetable.

Sweetbreads were a but variable, with some bites having a pronounced iron/liver note, which I didn't particularly enjoy.

Uni carbonara was excellent. Came with a poached egg and was heavily sauced with what tasted like a seafood bisque. Over-sauced, but the sauce was delicious, so who cares?!

Pork tenderloin was excellent. Cooked to a medium, so it is up to the patron to cut thin slices so as to avoid difficult-to-chew bites. Pork was smoked a touch too much, if I'm going to be really picky. Fantastic pairing with the Schuster.

Chanterelle mushroom rigatoni was excellent. It included some bland burrata which really didn't serve any meaningful purpose beyond visual appeal.

We sat at the chef's bar in front of the pastry station, and enjoyed our end-of-the-bar location.

Dishes were pretty much very good, albeit not refined. This is not fine dining, nor does it really pretend to be. I really wish the dishes were.less sauce-based and preparation-based, and instead focused more on the ingredients (I felt it a shame I could hardly taste the yellowtail through the stronger flavor of the cracker). This place strikes me as safe --- the food is going to be good, not bad, but also not incredible. Not sure if I'll ever go back.

#21 Post by **Tom G l a s g o w** » January 27th, 2019, 2:13 pm

Went to AR Valentien for lunch, fish special was very good wished I ordered it. They had Liquid Farm by the glass at a reasonable price. Pizzette and duck with lentils were very good.
Sushi Ota was very good, wine glasses were not the worst. Byo’d Vilmart.
Herb and Wood was good but didn’t meet expectations.

Dave McCloskey · #22 Post by **Dave McCloskey** » January 28th, 2019, 11:05 am

I'll be in San Diego this weekend. The Addison, Et Voila and Fish 101 all look interesting to me.

julianseersmartin · #23 Post by **julianseersmartin** » January 28th, 2019, 1:44 pm

Does Koko Beach do corkage? Presumably stemware isn't great?

#24 Post by **Colin Haggerty** » August 10th, 2019, 5:10 pm

Joshua Kates wrote: ↑
September 11th, 2018, 4:42 pm

Z. Hu wrote: ↑
November 26th, 2017, 10:25 pm
Addison is my favorite restaurant in San Diego County. About 30 minutes without traffic from Mission Bay/Sea World.
This; we were there in August. It aims at being a 3-star experience, so you have to be prepared for the elaborate, but friendly, service and the pricing--beautiful place in its way. In La Jolla, Georges at the Cove is pretty good (and nice spot), as is The Marine Room, though quirky.

Tried Trust in San Diego proper, which was getting a lot of buzz. Kind of hipster place and space, which can be fine by me (e. g., Contra NYC), imho they were not ready for prime time. Good sushi to be had in a number of spots of course and some low key respectable Italian--never made it to their chinatown, which seems to be northeast of the city, but for me the 3 above were the fine dining highlights.

We recently had a phenomenal dining experience at the Marine Room in La Jolla. Below is a link to my CellarTracker write-up for the evening.

CellarTracker: Celebrating at the Marine Room

Colin

#25 Post by **Joshua Kates** » August 10th, 2019, 5:49 pm

Colin Haggerty wrote: ↑
August 10th, 2019, 5:10 pm

Joshua Kates wrote: ↑
September 11th, 2018, 4:42 pm

Z. Hu wrote: ↑
November 26th, 2017, 10:25 pm
Addison is my favorite restaurant in San Diego County. About 30 minutes without traffic from Mission Bay/Sea World.
This; we were there in August. It aims at being a 3-star experience, so you have to be prepared for the elaborate, but friendly, service and the pricing--beautiful place in its way. In La Jolla, Georges at the Cove is pretty good (and nice spot), as is The Marine Room, though quirky.

Tried Trust in San Diego proper, which was getting a lot of buzz. Kind of hipster place and space, which can be fine by me (e. g., Contra NYC), imho they were not ready for prime time. Good sushi to be had in a number of spots of course and some low key respectable Italian--never made it to their chinatown, which seems to be northeast of the city, but for me the 3 above were the fine dining highlights.
We recently had a phenomenal dining experience at the Marine Room in La Jolla. Below is a link to my CellarTracker write-up for the evening.

CellarTracker: Celebrating at the Marine Room

Colin

Thanks for the notes, Colin,

We ate at the Marine room as well last summer, of which we were in walking distance. The food was better than we expected to be honest, but not sure it was ultimately worth the considerable coin. Whole experience was slightly odd--slightly stiff, formal service, but the other patrons were way informal. Still, you folks popped some serious bottles and I am glad to see you enjoyed yourselves--do you live nearby?

All best,
Josh

#26 Post by **Colin Haggerty** » August 12th, 2019, 8:09 am

Hi Josh:

We live in Las Vegas. The birthday girl and her husband invited us to be their guests at the Marine Room. The trip to La Jolla was well worth the effort!

Colin