Often, readers and friends of Eater have one burning question: “Where should I eat right now?” The heatmap exists to answer that question — offering a prismatic view of what is new and notable in San Diego. While the restaurant and bar industry has faced
tremendous challenges, San Diego’s restaurants continue to persevere, with new and exciting openings springing up all the time. The restaurants featured on this list are typically less than six months old and give a sense of what’s hot and happening around town. For restaurants that have established themselves as one of the city’s best, check out Eater San Diego’s Essential 38.
New this update: Mi Pan Bakery, Oi Shiba, Oto Sushi, and Vella Brasserie join the list while Juice Holler, Make Projects, Pali Wine, and Mr. Charlie’s leave.
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Little Kiki Katsu and More
2958 Madison Street, STE 101, Carlsbad, California 92008, United States
(760) 637-5020
The local hospitality group behind Harumama, an Asian fusion restaurant known for its character buns, and Blue Ocean Sushi Bar recently opened a new katsu restaurant in Carlsbad. Little Kiki Katsu slings Berkshire Kurobuta pork, Jidori chicken, salmon, and Pacific cod, all dry-aged on the premises. Alongside breaded cutlets, the menu also offers dry-aged sashimi, Kumamoto oysters, house-cured salmon, and grilled hot stone steaks cooked tableside. Side dishes include pickled chayote, miso soup, and truffle-sea-salt edamame. For dessert, find matcha crème brulee and black sesame cheesecake. Currently, the restaurant only serves dinner, but it plans to add lunch service and takeout in the near future.
Oto Sushi
782 North Coast Highway, Encinitas, California 92024, United States
858) 471-1062
Encinitas’ Pacific Coast Highway is now home to the second outpost of Oto Sushi, a sustainable seafood–focused restaurant; Oto first debuted in Laguna Beach in November 2024 before expanding to Leucadia. The menu features robata skewers, nigiri, sushi boards, and sashimi, plus wasabi grated tableside. Diners can also find starters such as foraged seaweed from Monterey Bay and the Mendocino Coast, as well as three types of burgers packed with Snake River Farms wagyu beef. Pair the meal with a selection from the extensive sake list. Oto Sushi is currently serving a more limited menu, with a grand opening to come later in October.
Dubu Tofu
16761 Bernardo Center Drive, STE m1, San Diego, California 92128, United States
+18585883326
The team behind Convoy District’s Sot BBQ has opened a Korean soft tofu stew restaurant in Rancho Bernardo. Start with appetizers like homemade steamed kimchi dumplings alongside spicy raw skate wing and a frisbee-sized kimchi pancake. Order the yellow croaker to accompany tofu stews, such as seafood, brisket, or army stew. The rice order comes in a nurungji high-pressure metal vessel fixed in a wooden stand; the rice gets scooped out into an empty metal bowl, leaving a bottom layer to continue to cook and blacken at the bottom. At the end of the meal, diners pour barley tea into the pot for a post-meal light digestive soup. The combination options include LA galbi, bulgogi, mackerel, and bibimbap. In the fall, the restaurant group will open a second location in the former Ajisen space in the Convoy District.
Honor Bar
1404 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, California 92014, United States
(858) 284-1206
After nine years of design reviews, changing concepts, and construction delays, the eagerly anticipated Honor Bar finally opened its doors in August. Part of the Hillstone Restaurant Group, the Honor Bar occupies a prominent spot on the Pacific Coast Highway in Del Mar, whereBully’s North bar sat for over 50 years. The restaurant spans more than 4,000 square feet with ample bar seating, indoor booths, and outdoor patio seating, along with an underground parking garage. Menu highlights include the chuck patty burger topped with slaw, Ding’s Crispy Chicken sandwich with Swiss cheese and spicy kale slaw, Macho Salad, and a full sushi bar slinging the crowd-pleasing Osaka-style pressed sushi. Pair meals with a Crisp Martini, made with gin, Sauvignon Blanc, and lemon juice. Be aware that Honor Bar enforces a “smart casual” dress code.
Goop Kitchen
3725 Paseo Place, San Diego, California 92130, United States
+18585232298
Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen opened its first full-service dine-in location in San Diego; other locations across California and New York City only offer takeout. Opened on August 31 in One Paseo, the restaurant seats 86 and features indoor booths with striped banquettes and outdoor patio tables. Designed by architect Michael Hsu, the former Tender Greens space has been transformed with a looming white marble wall and translucent glass that shields the kitchen. The menu from chef Kim Floresca, who’s worked at Michelin-starred restaurants including Per Se, El Bulli, and Restaurant at Meadowood, includes the chicken teriyaki plate, Montecito turkey wrap, and Brentwood Chinese chicken salad. The Field of Greens, a Del Mar-exclusive pizza, gets served on a gluten-free crust, topped with mounds of arugula, stemmed oregano, and shaved Parmesan cheese. Drinks include passionfruit lemonade, strawberry-goji berry Palmer, and yuzu ginger tonics, which can be made as a spritz.
Vella Brasserie
10785 Scripps Poway Parkway, STE 785b, San Diego, California 92131, United States
Vella Brasserie, a new Italian French restaurant, has opened in Scripps Ranch in the former Sammy’s Woodfired Pizza location. The menu includes dishes such as bucatini Bolognese with short rib and beef, rigatoni studded with crispy prosciutto and chives, and red oak wood-fired oven flatbreads topped with prosciutto and Cambozola. Diners will also find a robust kids menu and plenty of shared plates, including a charcuterie board, mussels, and roasted pork belly drizzled with a pomegranate reduction that’s finished in the wood-fired oven. Starting in November, the North County restaurant will host a bimonthly wine dinner paired with European wines.
Don Maguro
8155 Mira Mesa Boulevard, STE 3, San Diego, California 92126, United States
858-288-5515
Charming Japanese restaurant Don Maguro is now slinging kaisen bowls in Mira Mesa’s the Village. The restaurant offers kaisen don sets that include a bowl of seasoned short-grain rice crowned with raw seafood, plus nori sheets to make your own sushi wraps. The sets also include egg yolk with a drizzle of soy sauce and a bowl of ushiojiru, a clear fish bone broth. Diners can sip the soup on its own, then add it to the kaisen don to finish off the last remnants, or mix the egg yolk directly into the soup and pour it over the bowl. Other dishes include salmon fried rice, uni pasta, and lemon sours. While the restaurant initially opened with a limited menu, the owners tell Eater they plan to add grilled unagi, wagyu roast beef bowls, and omurice in the future.
Teleferic Barcelona
4489 La Jolla Village Drive, store number 2550, San Diego, California 92122, United States
+18582890676
On July 8, the first San Diego outpost of Telefèric Barcelona opened in the Westfield UTC Mall. Originally started in Barcelona in 1992, the family-owned restaurant has launched branches throughout California and Arizona. The star dish remains its shareable paella dotted with Canadian lobster and shrimp or with pork belly and chicken, which can be ordered socarrat-style, featuring a crispy, smoky bottom layer of rice. Tapas highlights include jamón Ibérico hand-sliced at the table, slow-cooked tender Spanish octopus, and Iberian oysters drizzled with chilled Gazpacho. Expect an expansive wine menu with more than 200 wines from Spanish wineries in the Catalan region. One of the co-founders, Maria Padrosa, will relocate to Encinitas to manage the Southern California Telefèric branches.
Chef Fei
4301 La Jolla Village Drive, STE 2040, San Diego, California 92122, United States
(858) 352-6453
The first U.S. location of China-based stir-fry restaurant Chef Fei has landed in San Diego at the Westfield UTC Mall. In La Jolla, menu highlights include stir-fried Snake River Farms wagyu beef mixed with crunchy broccoli florets and colorful bell peppers, golden pan-fried eggs topped with Berkshire ground pork, and pork stir-fry with Chinese screw peppers. In China, where Chef Fei operates more than 200 locations, the restaurant has become known for its pork dishes; in the U.S., the menu focuses more on its beef. For dessert, find a steamed pumpkin roll with red bean paste served in a bamboo steamer.
Oi Shiba
4428 Convoy Street, STE 120, San Diego, California 92111, United States
(858) 737-4333
The team behind Steamy Piggy, Flama Llama, and Formoosa debuted a new ramen and inari restaurant in the Convoy District, taking over the former Da Nang Corner space. Oi Shiba originally opened in Pacific Beach in 2024 before closing in 2025. The ramen menu is carried over from its former location, featuring creamy tonkatsu, duck, and vegan options. In the latest iteration, the menu includes inari with fillings such as salmon, hamachi, and yuzu ponzu tuna. End on a sweet note with a matcha parfait layered with strawberries, cream, cornflakes, and topped with a scoop of matcha ice cream. For drinks, find options including ceremonial matcha and sake.
Mi Pan Bakery
6435 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego, California 92120, United States
Mi Pan, which began as a micro bakery out of Alejandro Gomez and Alejandra Ruelas’s home kitchen in 2022, now has a permanent location in Grantville. The menu revolves around naturally leavened pastries made with organic flour and French butter. Mi Pan offers a variety of sourdough loaves, including country, jalapeño and cheddar, and Oaxacan mole sourdough. Other pastries include Parisian flan with a laminated croissant dough base, medialunas, and cromals (chicken tamal in a croissant). Gomez and Ruelas will continue to sell their pastries and loaves at local farmers markets.
Modern Kabob
1118 Morena Boulevard, San Diego, California 92110, United States
(619) 798-2002
Modern Kabob, a family-run, casual counter-service restaurant, opened in the Linda Vista neighborhood in early September. Run by an Iraqi-American mother and her four sons, the restaurant offers house-made falafel, chicken shawarmas, beef kabobs, gyros, dolma, and small flatbread pizzas like lahmacun. Starters include homemade hummus, tabbouleh, and beet salad with raisins, walnuts, and honey. Along with an expansive menu of fruit smoothies, such as pistachio delight, diners can also find baklava made from a family recipe. The family behind Modern Kabob has run Garden Fresh Grill and Smoothie near San Diego State University for more than a decade before opening their second restaurant.
Carne and Hueso
3140 University Avenue, #102, San Diego, California 92104, United States
(619) 756-7545
Sisters Chantelle and Crystal Godinez have opened Carne and Hueso, a new Mexican restaurant in North Park focused on Indigenous dishes from Puebla, Jalisco, and Oaxaca. Open for dinner and weekend brunch, the restaurant serves moles including blanco, negro, and rojo; huitlacoche tetelas; oxtail shakshuka accompanied by fresh tortillas; and birria based on a family recipe from the Godinez’s grandfather’s restaurant in Guadalajara. On weekend mornings, the first dozen tables to sit get complimentary pan de muerto fresh from the kitchen. An expansive drinks menu focuses on Mexican spirits paired with cordials and syrups made in house. Pair dinner with drinks such as the Manguito, made with Armonico Mexican gin, mango, and chile, or the Parmesano Verde with Parmesan-infused vodka. Carne and Hueso marks the second restaurant from the Godinez sisters; the duo is also behind the Sunday Breakfast Society in Chula Vista’s Eastlake neighborhood.
One of Us
3085 University Avenue, San Diego, California 92104, United States
+16194311329
On July 16, a new sports gastropub dedicated to showcasing women’s sports opened its doors on a busy corner spot in North Park. While professional women’s games, such as soccer, basketball, ice hockey, basketball, and softball, are streamed daily, men’s sports also get broadcast on the restaurant’s screens for big-game occasions. The menu’s highlights include salads, coal-fired smoked wings, and coal-fired pizza made with 72-hour fermented dough such as She Reigns Supreme, which uses a red sauce base layered with pepperoni, sausages, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Pair with wines, beers, and cocktails, like Yellow Card, made with vodka, apple and pear liqueur, lime juice, and celery bitters, or Hat Trick with lychee liqueur and dark rum float, topped with passionfruit foam.
Grandson Steaks
2690 Historic Decatur Road, STE B, San Diego, California 92106, United States
+16193105246
A casual all-day Sonoran steakhouse and butcher shop opened in Point Loma. Childhood friends Tomas Gomez and Roger Canez partnered to bring the tradition of northern Mexican grilling they grew up on with the launch ofGrandson Steaks in the Arts District in Liberty Station. In 2024, Canez took over theMarket on 8th food hall in National City, spotlighting diverse culinary offerings that range from Chinese and Thai food at Ping Yang to Canez’s similar steakhouse concept at Brasa Norte Steak and Tacos. Canez brings the model to Liberty Station, slinging affordable, shareable steak feasts that include ribeye steaks, adobada, birria, and quesadillas. Other highlights include citrus-cured ceviche, grilled oysters and marrow, yellowfin tuna tostadas, and octopus and bone marrow tacos. Also on site, find a bar featuring wine, beer, and cocktails.
Swells Sourdough Bakery
2254 India Street, San Diego, California 92101, United States
(619) 273-3244
Swells Sourdough Bakery debuted its first storefront in Little Italy after starting in local farmers markets, including the nearby Little Italy Mercato and La Jolla Open Aire Farmers Market. The bright shop has a takeout counter, a dough room, and a window so people can watch the kneading process. Partners in life and business, Pamela and Erik Ramos Peraza, use organic flour without bleaching, bromates, or unnecessary refining in their sourdough bread loaves and sourdough cookies. Each loaf ferments for 36 to 48 hours and uses heritage grains. The family plans to continue to operate their stands at farmers markets.
Sugarfish
2100 Kettner Boulevard, Suite 1100, San Diego, California 92101, United States
(858) 326-1294
Sugarfish, the iconic Los Angeles sushi restaurant known for its Trust Me omakase, has finally landed in San Diego, making its debut in Little Italy. Located on a corner, the 40-seat restaurant has a sushi counter in the back and dozens of tables in the main dining area. Since opening the first Sugarfish restaurant in 2008, the team has set out to introduce high-quality, approachable omakase and sushi to the masses. (Nozawa first established his namesake sushi restaurant in a small Studio City strip mall in 1978.) Known for excellent fish sourced from its own fleet, the kitchen slings three different styles of toro, Japanese hamachi, New Zealand sea bream, pink lobster, and Southern California sea urchin, served on loosely packed warm rice, as part of the omakase and a la carte menu. Greenberg says the team is looking to open the first KazuNori location in San Diego, possibly in North County.
Throne Room
1503 30th Street, San Diego, California 92102, United States
A maximalist medieval speakeasy with an indoor waterfall has finally landed in South Park. Launched by the team behindKindred andMothership, access toThrone Room comes by way of a chain-mail curtain in a dark passageway at the back of Kindred. First conceived as a Kindred pop-up at Coachella in 2017, the escapist cocktail bar with tapas begins its experience with a rolled-up menu scroll. The drinks menu includes non-alcoholic elixirs and cocktails inspired by Dungeons and Dragons; the Silver Queen is made of Kina L’Aero D’or aperitif, scotch, myrtle berries, and knotweed; and the Dwarf Elder is a version of a gimlet comprised of Monk’s Secret herbal liqueur, Poitin, apricot, and elderflower. The Mystic Mezze menu includes a cave-aged cashew brie nestled in artichoke leaves, grilled flatbread, and whipped five-layer fava bean dip studded with pomegranate and accompanied by labneh. Reservations are highly recommended.
Zuma San Diego
500 West Broadway, San Diego, California 92101, United States
+16194131000
London-based Zuma Restaurant has finally landed in California,opening its first West Coast location in downtown San Diego. First opening in London’s Knightsbridge neighborhood in 2002, the Japanese izakaya chain expanded to destinations worldwide, including Istanbul, Dubai, Rome, Cannes, Las Vegas, Riyadh, and Vail. Anchoring the historic Guild Hotel, Zuma evokes a maximalist vibe with a monolithic boulder wall, woven handcrafted glass from Germany, and timber screens featuring Japanese motifs. The space features a sushi counter, robata grill, and courtyard terrace seating surrounded by leafy palm trees. Two large indoor and outdoor bars serve more than 40 varieties of sake, as well as cocktails like the Zuma paloma, made with tequila and clarified yuzu, and the Osaka spritz. Find dishes such as miso black cod wrapped in hoba leaf, salmon and tuna tartare with ossetracaviar on rice crackers, torched salmon nigiri, and Norwegian king crab marinated in ponzu sauce. End with the elaborate dessert display, which includes tropical fruit, like passionfruit, dragonfruit, and rambutan, and molten lava cake.
Rei Do Gado Brazilian Steak House & Seafood
939 Fourth Avenue, CA 92101
(619) 702-8464
After two years of reconstruction, longtime Brazilian steakhouse Rei do Gado reopened in the Gaslamp Quarter. In July 2024, a devastating fire during Comic-Con ripped through the four-story building and forced the restaurant to close. Rei do Gado has been a fixture since 1999, serving churrascaria-style dishes grilled over mesquite charcoal. At the reopened restaurant, diners can expect meats sliced tableside, including picanha (top sirloin cap), tri-tip steak, sausages, chicken thigh with cheese, and barbecue pork ribs. Other dishes include Brazilian cheese bread, a make-your-own-salad at the salad bar, and cinnamon honey-glazed pineapple.
House of Mandi
332 J Street, UNIT 102, San Diego, California 92101, United States
+19497492093
House of Mandi, which opened its first location in Anaheim’s Little Arabia in 2020, has expanded to San Diego. Inside the restaurant, find majlis seating with low tables surrounded by colorful, intricately decorated red-and-black floor sofas and murals of Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, with its multi-storied, geometric brick towers. Diners can find halal dishes such as slow-cooked lamb mandi; lamb haneeth, which is typically cooked underground; and Hrada of Fahsah, a bubbling stew of shredded lamb and beef served with Yemeni bread. Don’t skip the mova fish, flattened and generously seasoned with Middle Eastern spices and cooked in a tandoori oven. For dessert, go for the date fatteh, a bread pudding made from mixed dates and topped with cream and honey.
By the Sea
1300 Orange Avenue, Coronado, California 92118, United States
(619) 313-4570
The husband-wife team behindNolita Hall in Little Italy opened By the Sea, a new Mediterranean-leaning restaurant in Coronado, on August 12. Designed by San Diego firmTecture, the 6,500-square-foot restaurant evokes coastal charm with white oak, reclaimed wood beams, rattan and velvet seating, and cobblestones imported from Italy. The menu features a meze platter centered on 48-hour-fermented pita, with hummus, herbed labneh, and miso baba ghanoush. Diners can also find customizable seafood platters, bay scallop crudo dressed with fermented chile sauce, linguine and clams, and 28-day dry-aged rib-eye steak and frites. Don’t skip cocktails such as the smoky Coastal Campfire with mezcal, lemongrass, honeydew, and chai coconut, or the Mariner with rum, Chinola passionfruit liqueur, and pineapple.
