After 3.5 years of living in San Diego, I finally feel like I can confidently recommend restaurants to visitors. I also consulted Ollie to get his opinion (he is a bigger foodie than I am). So here’s where to eat in San Diego based off where we love to eat and what mood you’re in!
Where to eat in San Diego if you want to overeat:
Phil’s BBQ–This is probably the restaurant we’ve eaten at the most since moving here. It’s soooo good, and you get so much food at a good price.
Karl Strauss Sunday brunch– This is the brunch we’ve done the most. It’s affordable, the food is awesome, and the live music is a really nice touch.
Crack Shack–So filling and delicious! If you love chicken you have to eat here.
Where to eat in San Diego if you want to brunch:
Le Papagayo–This north county spot has all those laid back, beachy vibes complete with outdoor seating and live music.
The Patio on Goldfinch–The meal I got here was probably my favorite meal at a restaurant in all of 2018. We also loved the cute and trendy interior.
Hotel Del–This is where to go if you want to splurge on a really fancy, 3 hour brunch. The Hotel Del is iconic but be warned: it does feel a little dated inside. I still highly recommend it for special occasions though.
Karl Strauss: see above
Tom Ham’s Lighthouse–You can’t beat the view from this place, plus the seafood and champagne are high quality.
Where to eat in San Diego if you want Mexican food:
The Taco Stand— Classics done right.
Rudy’s— our favorite breakfast burritos are made here all day long.
Las Olas— right across from the ocean on Hwy 101 🙂 perfect spot for dinner & drinks and the beach/sunset.
Rockin Baja Lobster (or really anywhere in Old Town)– Old Town has great Mexican food but we’ve always enjoyed our meals at Rockin Baja. They also have a serve-yourself bottomless chips and salsa station. It’s heavenly.
Salud— The food here blew me and Ollie away! Authentic Mexican in a funky interior.
Where to eat in San Diego if you want to drink at a brewery and need to eat to prevent blacking out:
Stone Brewing Company–a San Diego classic that also does really yummy food.
Ballast Point–a brewery that started in a garage and sold to Constellation Brands (they own Corona) for 1 billion dollars. You read that right. ONE BILLION. Anyways they have tons of great beer and really good food.
Belching Beaver–We were all really impressed by the food here.
Viewpoint–views on point, brews on point, food on point.
Where to eat in San Diego if you want to really feel like you’re in SoCal:
In N Out Burger– Most classic place you could go in California.
Encinitas Fish Shop–My favorite restaurant in San Diego.
Water Bar–Right across from the ocean in Pacific Beach with views of the pier as well as lots of other bars nearby if you want to do a beach bar crawl. We prefer this area during the day, as it becomes more of a college-age spot at night.
Where to eat in San Diego if you want to be hipster:
Head to the neighborhood of North Park and you’ll have many options but here are two to start with:
Other places to eat in San Diego:
Liberty Station is an old army barracks (military is huge in San Diego) that they’ve changed into bars, restaurants, theaters, museums, and shops. It’s a great place to go if you want to hop around, and a lot of the spots mentioned above have locations in Liberty Station.
If you are downtown in the Gaslamp Quarter you’ll most likely be fine with anything. We don’t have any stand out favorites, but everything there has been decent. Little Italy is also close to downtown and has tons of cute bars, restaurants, and breweries. You can’t go wrong in Little Italy.
I hope this helps you decide where to eat in San Diego! The options really are endless.