I have a HS reunion in July and wonder if any of the San Diego crowd would give me their recommendations on favorite restaurants. Though I lived there for 25 years, it's been quite a few since I've spent any time there. My wife and i especially like seafood, Italian, and wine bars. We're staying downtown but can travel to La Jolla or North County. Thanks in advance
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Regularly mentioned around these parts is Solare. It will give you the wine bar and Italian restaurant in one. Easy street parking and you're in the interesting Liberty Station district which the site of the former Naval Training San Diego.
Also I should mention 3rd Corner Wine Shop a combination wine shop and restaurant. A very good selection of wines and if you buy one they charge $5 corkage and serve it in quality stemware. I actually recommend it for lunch. Either location, Encinitas or OB is good.
Thanks TOM. Those both are the type of places my wife and I like to frequent.
The usual lists of best places in SD consists of places in Little Italy like Juniper and Ivy (I love that place), Herb and Wood (owner/chef is a buddy, but I genuinely think it is a very, very good restaurant), and Kettner Exchange. Bencotto is a great Italian place in the same neighborhood. Cucina Urbana and 3rd Corner have the best wine at retail prices (I think they both charge around 7-10$ for corkage of those bottles).
I haven't been out and about for over a year, but in La Jolla, my favorite place was always Nine-Ten. Ironside is a cool place for seafood.
I did run into Little Italy for lunch with my wife, and there is a nice little piazza style area with food and drink available (and an English pub just to throw you off). Definitely a cool spot for an espresso, or better yet a late afternoon cocktail.
Spent last week in SD for my HS reunion and sampled some of the restaurants that were recommended. Thoroughly enjoyed 3rd Corner in Encinitas (love the retail/ $7 corkage fee plus close to where I grew up), Bencotto in Little Italy (need a better wine list), Nine-Ten in La Jolla (fabulous), and George's also in La Jolla (great views of the Cove). It was cool to see how things have changed since I left 30 years ago. Thanks to all for the recs.
Glad to hear Nine-Ten hit the mark. It’s been too long since I’ve been there. And 3rd Corner rarely disappoints, but that may be due to over indulging in vino due to the prices (and usually pretty interesting selections). Hopefully Bencotto was a decent meal. I should’ve prefaced my suggestion with the fact that Italian food is not super high on my favorite food list; and I probably always bring a bottle, so I couldn’t tell you about their list.
For future reference, definitely add Trust to the list of great restaurants in SD. I went there last night again, and it was delicious (sans one lamb shoulder dish, but the flavors were there, just a bit chewy). And Jeune et Jolie (despite being in BFE…aka Carlsbad) is the best meal I’ve had in SD outside of Addison
