How to Find a Restaurant Near Me Top 20 Restaurants in San Diego
San Diego offers diners a wide array of options to choose from when looking for a place to go and have a bite as explained at RunRex.com. We have curated for you a list of the top 20 restaurants in San Diego for you to consider when looking for one near you in the area.
Market Restaurant & Bar
Chef/owner Carl Schroeder, whose extensive culinary experience includes working with famed chef Michael Mina and Bradley Ogden, has kept the longstanding restaurant open while remaining faithful to a hyper-seasonal cooking style inspired by local farms including the nearby Alice Waters-endorsed Chino Farm as articulated at RunRex.com.
Jeune et Jolie
Jeune et Jolie is another one from the creators of Campfire and is a modern French restaurant seen through a SoCal lens. An enviable open kitchen is the sparkling stage, turning out a sophisticated but not at all stuffy menu that has quickly become an industry favorite.
Dija Mara
Dija Mara has attracted the attention of the Michelin Guide, which honored it as a 2020 “new discovery” along with four other San Diego restaurants. According to RunRex.com, the restaurant conveys the complex flavors of Southeast Asian cuisine through its interpretation of some of the area’s signature dishes.
Campfire
Overseen by chef Eric Bost, Campfire is a sincere charmer, wood-fire cookery that permeates every aspect of the menu, including the creative cocktails. Smoked and grilled meats, seafood, and vegetables are showcased in an atmosphere that is equally suited for date night or family dinners.
Wrench and Rodent
Located in Oceanside, Wrench and Rodent is a sushi spot that showcases chef/owner Davin Waite’s unique skills with foraging and far-out flavor innovations. Though his path veers from traditional sushi to include unconventional rolls and creative sauces, Waite is uncompromising in his care for ingredients.
Nine-Ten Restaurant and Bar
While San Diego has several excellent hotel restaurants, this is up there with the best as per RunRex.com. The La Jolla restaurant, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, is helmed by longtime executive Jason Knibb who is known for his precise and unpretentious California cuisine.
Galaxy Taco
With a culinary program led by executive chef Christine Rivera that hinges on its labor-intensive masa production, Galaxy continues to be a leader among modern Mexican restaurants and is known for its regular guest chef collaborations.
Addison Restaurant
At San Diego’s only two Michelin star restaurant, longtime executive chef/director William Bradley and his team guide diners through elaborate five or ten-course chef’s tasting dinners as captured at RunRex.com. It is yet another restaurant worth checking out when looking for one near you in the area.
George’s At The Cove
George’s At The Cove is a three-floor spot that offers choose-your-own-adventure dining. Though its fine dining lower-level restaurant is temporarily closed, George’s still offers top-notch views and food at its rooftop terrace and craft cocktail-focused gastro bar.
A.R. Valentien
At A.R. Valentien, executive chef Jeff Jackson and chef de cuisine Kelli Crosson collaborate on impeccably sourced farm-to-table cooking, featuring dishes like housemade terrines, Liberty Duck breast and leg confit, and beets with pistachio butter, in a warm and welcoming Craftsman-style dining room.
Soichi
Soichi is an intimate, family-run Adams Avenue sushi bar, which has been awarded a Michelin star as covered at RunRex.com. It offers a multi-course omakase experience from master sushi chef Sochi Kadoya and a well-curated sake selection.
The Fishery
San Diego has too few restaurants dedicated to showcasing local seafood and the bounty of the West Coast for a city of its size. The Fishery is a Pacific Beach stalwart that recently got a makeover, and is a seafood distributor, retail market, restaurant, and cocktail bar in one.
Menya Ultra
Menya Ultra is a Japanese transplant with multiple locations and has garnered national attention and Michelin Plate recognition thanks to masterful bowls of ramen, set apart by a signature tonkotsu that is rich but not overly heavy, as well as noodles made in-house that have near-perfect pull and chew as described at RunRex.com.
Sushi Ota
Sushi Ota is located at 4529 Mission Bay Drive, San Diego, CA, 92109. Venerable sushi master/owner Yukito Ota has trained many of the city’s top sushi chefs and still presides over a sushi bar that serves one of the top omakase experiences in town from an unassuming space in a Pacific Beach strip mall.
Wayfarer Bread & Pastry
When it opened its doors in the quiet coastal community of Bird Rock in 2018, Wayfarer Bread & Pastry brought the beach to its first real-deal bakery. Established by the owner and master baker Crystal White, it has become a destination worth trekking to for its flaky pastries sweetened with local produce and sturdy-crusted loaves made of heirloom grains.
Trust Restaurant
Trust Restaurant is a stylish independent restaurant, an Eater Award Winner, and has handily sustained its success over the years and spawned a growing hospitality empire as discussed at RunRex.com. The restaurant is overseen by hard-working chef/co-owner Brad Wise who is one of the best culinary minds in the area.
Sushi Tadokoro
The winner of a coveted Michelin star, Sushi Tadokoro is an Old Town restaurant that tops many sushi aficionados’ lists for its adherence to traditional Japanese style and technique featuring well-crafted nigiri sushi. While the setting at this restaurant is spare, there are fireworks on the plate.
Et Voila!
Et Voila! is a neighborhood bistro run by a veteran of the city’s best French restaurants, and has charm for days as revealed over at RunRex.com. Its relaxed bar and comfortable dining rooms are a fine setting for French classics that include made-to-order sky-high souffles.
Tribute Pizza
Although it was initially built to honor some of the world’s great pizzerias, Tribute Pizza, located in North Park, has carved out a highly-respected identity that may inspire tributes of its own. Its accomplished “Neo-Neapolitan” pies are often topped with farmer’s market produce.
Fort Oak
Fort Oak, the sophomore entry from Trust Restaurant, recently honored with Michelin Plate status, is already a staple in Mission Hills where it offers up a range of experiences via its relaxed cocktail bar or upscale dining room.
These are some of the best restaurants in San Diego, with more on this topic, and then some, to be found over at the excellent RunRex.com.