Richard Blais's San Diego flagship — the 2014 Little Italy opening that helped redefine San Diego fine dining for a decade. Contemporary California menu, produce-forward, with a dining room and cockta...
92
2
Born and Raised
Steakhouse / Classic · Little Italy
Consortium Holdings' proper classic-steakhouse throwback in Little Italy — red leather booths, tuxedoed waiters, tableside Caesar, bananas Foster. The San Diego steakhouse that made the classic format...
91
3
False Idol
Tiki Bar / Speakeasy · Little Italy
Entered through Craft and Commerce's walk-in beer cooler — Martin Cate's Polynesian-pop-tiki temple, routinely ranked among America's best tiki bars. Rum program that runs 400+ bottles, storm effects ...
91
4
Herb & Wood
Mediterranean / Wood-Fired · Little Italy
Chef Brian Malarkey's Little Italy Mediterranean — open wood-fired kitchen running the entire dining room's menu, a beautiful bar that fills nightly, and the Little Italy dinner that visitors have bee...
90
5
Polite Provisions
Cocktail Bar · North Park
Consortium Holdings' North Park cocktail anchor — routinely named one of America's best bars (Spirited Award Best US Bar 2015). Draft cocktail system at the bar, 100+ rare spirits, and a dining room t...
90
6
Raised by Wolves
Cocktail Bar / Speakeasy · La Jolla / UTC
CH Projects' Westfield UTC speakeasy — a retail spirits shop fronting one of the country's most-serious cocktail back rooms, with a rare-spirits library that bartenders travel for. A national cocktail...
90
7
Ironside Fish & Oyster
Seafood / Oyster Bar · Little Italy
Consortium Holdings' Little Italy seafood temple — the famous 1,600-piranha-skull wall behind the bar, oysters flown daily, and a raw-bar program that legitimized San Diego as an oyster city. One of L...
89
8
Cowboy Star
Steakhouse / Modern · East Village
East Village steakhouse with an in-house butcher shop attached — dry-aged program visible through the window, wagyu tomahawks carved tableside, and a cocktail bar that holds its own. The San Diego cho...
89
9
Grant Grill
American / Contemporary · Downtown
Inside the 1910 US Grant Hotel — a historic grill room with a century of downtown San Diego business-and-power dining behind it. Mock turtle soup on the menu as the house classic, dry-aged steaks, and...
89
10
Cucina Urbana
Italian / Contemporary · Bankers Hill
Tracy Borkum's Bankers Hill Italian-modern kitchen — the restaurant-plus-wine-shop hybrid that has defined San Diego casual-but-serious dining since 2009. Handmade pasta, wood-fired chicken, and a ret...