10 Best Restaurants in San Diego, California

Amid surf shacks and hippie beach bars, this restaurant perched on stunning Sunset Cliffs feels like a hidden European bistro. The sisters who run the show come from a long line of successful local restaurateurs and have brought their passed-down expertise to the thoughtful service and simple, healthy menu that features entrées like plant-based tacos, quinoa bowls, and the Bistro Burger with Hatch Chile cheddar on a brioche bun. The morning menu features chia seed puddings and baked eggs, which are a welcome contrast to the typical indulgent brunch fare.

Urbanites craving a hip casual setting and gourmet menu pack architectural salvage–styled Prep Kitchen Little Italy, tucked upstairs above a busy corner in this thriving neighborhood. With first-date cocktails, after-work brews, or birthday champagne, diners relish familiar choices like meatball sandwiches, chops, and pork belly with kimchi Brussels. Generously sized dishes like spicy Carlsbad mussels or fusilli Bolognese could serve as dinner for two. Farmers’ market flatbreads, changed daily, are made for sharing, too, while the hefty WNL Burger topped with bacon and egg is a staple lunch, brunch, and dinner. There are also locations in Del Mar and La Jolla.

Old-school wood-fire techniques meet modern architecture in this busy bistro where comic book–style art covers the concrete walls and the bottle-lined bar beckons locals and visitors alike. Locally sourced ingredients and smoky, savory flavors feature in the well-balanced menu; be sure to save room for one of the inspired desserts.

Step inside this restaurant, part of a tropic-style hotel complex and concert venue on Shelter Island, and discover a dining room that’s contemporary in look and outlook with amazing vistas of bobbing sailboats, seabirds, and sunsets. Hotel guests, concertgoers, yachties, and a few locals enjoy the contemporary menu featuring classic American fare like crab cakes, lobster mac and cheese, and skirt steak (regulars request the macadamia-crusted halibut). Sunday brunch from 10 to 2 draws a crowd. After sharing an in-house dessert, stop by the bar next door to work off the calories dancing to live music.

Reservations are needed during concert nights; check the website for schedule.

Two restaurants in one share this enviable spot on the shore of Harbor Island: the splurge-worthy Island Prime steak house and the relaxed C Level with a choice terrace. Both venues tempt with unrivaled views of Downtown San Diego's skyline. Island Prime's surf-and-turf dinner menu offers a trio of fillets topped with blue cheese, wild mushrooms, and Alaskan king crab. At C Level, sharable plates are often Asian fusion-inspired, like the ahi stack with mango salsa and taro chips, or comfort food like lobster and fontina BLT. Of the nearly dozen desserts, don't miss the potted brownie banana split: homemade peanut butter ice cream over a warm brownie with dulce de leche, fudge, and brûléed bananas.

Celebrity chef Richard Blais’s addition to San Diego’s restaurant scene fills an open-beamed space with seating for 250 and an open stainless-steel dream kitchen where diners can watch the chef and team in action. Blais sources local farm-fresh ingredients for his “left coast cookery” with a molecular gastronomy twist. Oysters on the half shell are dotted with liquid nitrogen-frozen citrus “pearls,” and the popular yodel dessert is a chocolate cylinder topped with hot Valrhona fudge to reveal nitrogen-frozen balls of chocolate inside. Even familiar carne asada surprises as spicy steak tartare on toast. The comfort-food crowd might want to order from the “secret menu” with its “In & Haute” burger served with fries.

Restaurant valet parking is only $7.

This trendy La Jolla restaurant “plays” tribute to the past with its location inside William Kesling’s historic piano showroom where live music still plays during cocktail hour. The casual yet refined menu features dry-aged cheeseburgers, pan-roasted chicken, and unconventional Caesar salads topped with jalapeño rings and Parmesan shavings; be sure to request a side of the creamy coconut rice pilaf. Its corner location offers patio seating as well as a mid-century-meets-tropical-style lounge with a magnificent mural by artist, Eva Struble, and a travertine bar where mixologists pour Oaxacan negronis and the “Ring of Fire,” a spin on the whisky sour. Arrive by 5:30 to hear an hour set of live piano on Wednesday and Sunday and live saxophone on Thursday.

As the sister restaurant of La Jolla’s Georges at the Cove, this laid-back restaurant is the perfect spot to chill with friends after a day in the sand and share oysters from the raw bar or rosemary Parmesan fries dipped in jalapeño ranch. Grab a seat on the dog-friendly patio or head indoors for grilled favorites including octopus, prime rib, and cast-iron focaccia with honey ricotta. A smoky element takes flavors up a notch, with nearly every dish touching the wood-fired grill. Rounding out the menu are house-made pastas and desserts prepared by Aly Lyng, the pastry chef at George’s at the Cove. Sunday brunch and happy hour (4–5:30 pm) are both on point, especially with tempting offers that include a dozen oysters on the house with any purchase of a bottle of Champagne.

It’s hard to dine closer to the Pacific than at this venerable La Jolla Shores mainstay whose two-story-tall windows capture beachgoers, kayakers, snorkelers, and swooping gulls; if the tide is high, waves race across the sand and crash against the glass. The Maine lobster bisque comes coated in Meyer lemon cream, while the bluefin tuna is dressed in a togarashi aioli and the truffle yuca fries are topped with shaved Parmesan.

This hip eatery has won national acclaim for its combination of casual comfort and a menu of ever-changing local fare. In nice weather, request a patio table to enjoy the people-watching along with cocktails like the London's Burning with gin, jalapeño, avocado, and lemon or house sangria. The menu shines with dishes like the Spanish octopus, pork Bolognese, seared scallops, and roasted chicken. Desserts include mud pie, but the butterscotch budino with brown butter blondies is a solid staple.