Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [268]
1500 Ocean (Map; 619-435-6611; Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave; mains $30-42; dinner) It’s hard to beat the romance of supping at the Hotel del Coronado, especially at a table overlooking the sea from the verandah of its 1st-class dining room, where silver service and coastal cuisine with local ingredients set the perfect tone for popping the question or fêting an important anniversary.
Point Loma Area
Point Loma Seafoods (Map; 619-223-1109; 2805 Emerson St; mains $7-13; 9am-6:30pm Mon-Sat, 11am-6:30pm Sun) Order at the counter at this fish-market-cum-deli and grab a seat at a picnic table for off-the-boat-fresh seafood and icy cold beer. Located in the Shelter Island Marina, it’s a San Diego institution. Great sushi, too.
Brigantine (Map; 619-224-2871; 2725 Shelter Island Dr; mains lunch $8-17, dinner $12-45) Ships’ wheels and captains’ chairs decorate the original location of this respected local seafood chain. Sit on the balcony and you can peek through palm fronds to the harbor. Lunch is heavy on sandwiches (and famous fish tacos), while dinners are fancier with dishes like marinated swordfish. Awesome happy hours. Other locations in Coronado ( 619-435-4166; 1333 Orange Ave) and Del Mar ( 858-481-1166; 3263 Camino del Mar).
Ocean Beach
OB is great for dining on a shoestring. Most places are on Newport Ave.
OB People’s Market (Map; 619-224-1387; cnr Voltaire & Sunset Cliffs Blvd; 8am-9pm; ) For vegetarian groceries, check out this organic cooperative with bulk foods, fresh soups, and excellent pre-made sandwiches, salads and wraps, most under $5. No meat.
Hodad’s (Map; 619-224-4623; 5010 Newport Ave; burgers $4-9; lunch & dinner; ) OB’s legendary burger joint serves great shakes, massive baskets of onion rings and succulent hamburgers wrapped in paper. The walls are covered in license plates, grunge/surf-rock plays (loud!) and your bearded, tattooed server might sidle in to your booth to take your order. No shirt, no shoes, no problem.
Ortega’s Cocina (Map; 619-222-4205; 4888 Newport Ave; mains $3-13; breakfast, lunch & dinner) Tiny, family-run Ortega’s is so popular that people often queue for a spot at the counter. Seafood, moles and tortas (sandwiches) are the specialties, but all its dishes are soulful and classic.
Rancho’s Cocina (Map; 619-226-7619; 1830 Sunset Cliffs Blvd; mains $4-12; 8am-10pm; ) Two blocks south of Newport Ave, Rancho’s makes its own mole – a spicy sauce made with chilies and chocolate. In addition to Mexican standards, it also serves healthy and flavorful vegetarian and vegan dishes.
Portugalia (Map; 619-222-7678; 4839 Newport Ave; mains lunch $6-12, dinner $17-20; lunch & dinner Tue-Sun) San Diego’s only Portuguese restaurant slakes cravings for bacalhau (salt cod), linguiça sausage and Portuguese-style bife (steak). It caters to a growing local Brazilian community – try the açai frozen drink. Entertainment (nightly) includes Brazilian, reggae and blues.
Mission Beach & Pacific Beach
Kono’s (Map; 858-483-1669; 704 Garnet Ave; dishes from $5; breakfast & lunch) This place makes $5 breakfast burritos that you eat out of a basket in view of Crystal Pier (patio seating available). It’s always crowded but well worth the wait.
Mission Café (Map; 858-488-9060; 3795 Mission Blvd; dishes $6-9; breakfast & lunch; ) Down in Mission Beach, you can have French toast or homemade cinnamon bread at breakfast, or Chino-Latino specialties at lunch, such as rosemary potatoes with black beans, salsa and eggs, or ginger sesame tofu. Famously good coffee, too.
Green Flash (Map; 619-270-7715; 701 Thomas Ave; mains breakfast & lunch $4-13, dinner $8-30; 8am-10pm) A terrific breakfast or lunch spot for eggs, meaty burgers, big salads and triple-decker clubs, the Flash also has a weekday sunset specials (4:30pm to 6pm Sundya to Thursday). Score a table outside