Must-try in San Diego - visiting from LA

[KirkK]

If you enjoy Neapolitan style pizza; I like Bruno’s, but have not been since the pandemic started. It is pretty much like they serve in Naples…fork and knife-ish. My friends from Italy currently enjoy Cucina Caprese, which is currently located at Deft Brewing in Bay Park.

5328 Banks St, San Diego, CA 92110
My trips to Italy have kind of ruined most Italian restaurants in SD for me; here the pasta is usually over-sauced, the pasta lacks the wonderful texture of something truly made by Sfoglina.

Again, it’s Neapolitan style pizza.
As for Hawaiian, are you referring to stuff like laulau/kalua pork/pipikaula or just a plate lunch?
For plate lunches a lot of folks like Homestyle Hawaiian…the portions are fairly massive. My favorite item is the Korean Chicken. Though the Katsu is not bad. I’m born and raised in Hawaii, so there’s a distinct difference between Hawaiian Food and a plate lunch.
Island Style Cafe is also a good choice for plate lunch.

If National City is not too far away; you may want to try Mi Pana more for the Venezuelan items.

[krystle920]

We tried both Taco Stand and Oscar’s fish tacos. Taco Stand was much more flavorful. Oscar’s was larger in size but that’s it.

Caffe Calabria has 2 for $19 pizzas on certain days which we tried. Mostly dough and some toppings but they were delicious. The wait was much longer than quoted though so plan accordingly.

Homestyle Hawaiian’s lava chicken was great but I’ve had better kalua pork.

Super Cocina still had lots of food left around dinner time. Excellent mole and spicy pork.

El Pescador’s El Pescador sandwich was okay but would have preferred something toasted and hot.

Still a couple of days left here in San Diego!

[TheCookie]

Any dinner suggestions for Little Italy?

We’re driving to SD on a weekday to see friends vacationing from VA. They want to go to Little Italy. Doesn’t need to be super swanky but not a pizza joint. Recs?

Thanks!

[honkman]

Juniper & Ivy, Bencotto, Monello

[TheCookie]

Thanks @honkman!

[RedDevil]

I can’t think of anything outstanding but here are some decent options:

Ironside
Born and Raised
Mona Lisa (deli not restaurant)
Supernatural sandwiches
Pappalecco gelato

Not LI but nearby
Lola 55
El Tianguis
Tribute

[TheCookie]

@honkman

Bencotto, Monello

These two have the same address, same owners (?) but different phone numbers. Is it one restaurant or two in one location?

[TheCookie]

Born & Raised might work. Except “decent” doesn’t seem very thrilling.

[honkman]

Sane owner but two different restaurants - both Italian but Bencotto a bit more upscale/elegant with a bit more refined dishes whereas Monello is more of a play on simpler pasta dishes and street food.

[TheCookie]

I thought it was something like that. One has prices on the menu and the other doesn’t. Would you say it’s like the difference between Osteria Mozza and Mozza Pizzeria?

[honkman]

Kind of but they are closer to each other (gastronomically) than Osteria Mozza and Mozza Pizzeria.

[TheCookie]

@honkman

Kind of but they are closer to each other (gastronomically)

No kidding. I’m doing a deeper dive into both menus and it’s a tough choice. I found the menu with Bencotto’s prices and there’s not a big difference. Leaning towards Monello, as it seems a slightly safer choice for a group and there’s some yummy looking dishes on the menu. I guess the tie-breaker is which is more comfortable?

[DiningDiva]

I’ve been to both Bencotto and Monello, but not since before Covid. I like them both but prefer Monello. The interior ambiance at both restaurants is actually quite nice, Monello is just a bit more relaxed. They are literally right around the corner from each other, the entrances are only about 50 feet apart +/-

Born & Raised is probably the most upscale of the restos in LI. The interior is fancy. If you like red meat this is your place. Not a lot of options for vegetarians. I’ve had both dinner and drinks and apps there. I thought the food was very good, the steaks excellent and the drinks even better. It’s not Manhattan weather for me, but they have a drink trolley from which they do tableside Manhattans. It’s fun and the drink is a very good rendition. The drinks from the bar are equally as good. I’ve tried to do Happy Hour on their rooftop bar but there has never been available seating so we’ve always ended up having to go back downstairs to the bar.

Ironside is very good for fish and seafood altho’, for me, it gets a bit too noisy. What they do, they do well.

Some options that haven’t been mentioned yet:

Craft & Commerce - it reinvented itself shortly be Covid from a burgers and craft beer joint into a much more serious restaurant, meaning a more creative and upscale menu. (Unfortunately, you’ll have to look for the TINY word menu to view it)

Civico 1845 - is one of the top Italian restaurants in Little Italy, better than Bencotto or Monello. It features the cooking of Calabria, the toe of the boot. My Italian friends give it all thumbs and fingers up. In fact, I’m going to their sister restaurant on Bankers Hill tomorrow night for my B-day.

Kettner Exchange - does creative cocktails and creative food.

Juniper & Ivy has a new chef, one with Michelin credentials. I haven’t been in quite a while and definitely not since the new chef started. I like J&I but it’s always been VERY noisy and I’m not big on having to yell, or at least speak very loudly, in order to have dinner conversation.

I should note that Born & Raised, Ironside, Craft & Commerce along with quite a few other SD restaurants are all owned and operated by Consortium Holdings. All of their properties and holdings are very well done and cosistent from design, to menu, to service. They pay attention to detail and aren’t afraid to spend the money needed to create a good dining experience. The webpages for their places, however, are maddeningly awful and provide very little usable information.

And I should also note…India St., the main drag through LI, has been closed due to Covid and is currently a pedestrian promenade wth most restaurants providing outdoor dining areas. Parking sucks (Uber/Lyft or the trolley). And you will definitely need reservations wherever you decide to go.

If you really want Italian, Cesarina in Point Loma is your best bet. It’s really good and the staff and service warm and well trained. (Yes, their website intro is annoying)

If I was looking to do "must-try"in San Diego it wouldn’t be in Little Italy. My choice would be either Fort Oak or Trust

Good luck, I’m sure you’ll end up with something fun and delicious.

[butteredwaffles]

@DiningDiva

Civico 1845

Yeah I had lunch here a few years ago really enjoyed it

[DiningDiva]

I should add Callie to the list. It’s fairly new, in the East Village. Buzz is strong, food appears to be living up to the buzz and reservations are a couple weeks out at this point.

[TheCookie]

Nice list and info! Wish I had seen it before our trip, lol. But we still had a nice meal at Bencotto and an all around lovely day in SD. I’ll report soon. I’m also sending your recs to our friends who will be there until Thursday. Thanks!

[TheCookie]

A Day in San Diego…

Checked into the hotel and met our visiting friends for dinner at Bencotto @honkman (no photos). We dined on Ciopinno, Squid Ink Pasta and Lasagna. I thought everything was good, but hubs and our friends thought everything was really good and that’s what counts.

The next day hubs & I decided to get some seafood and checkout someone else’s beach before heading back to LA. We made it as far as the harbor.

A few photos are from the internet because we were too busy looking to take a lot of photos.

Carnitas’ Snack Shack

I only had a Margarita. Hubs had an Old-Fashioned & Carne Asada Tacos. No complaints - it’s outside w/a view, has decent tacos and a good DJ.

Must be my perfume…

The Fish Market - Harbor Drive

We wanted to checkout @DiningDiva & @CeleryVictor’s rec of Blue Water Seafood but neither locale seemed to be near the water. We took a chance on The Fish Market on the pier. Who needs an original name when you’re right on the water? I agree with @CeleryVictor that usually the better the view the worse the food. But! You’re also right that this is an exception.

Smoked Fish Plate - Salmon, Nova Lox, Trout, Albacore, Crostini, Capers, Red Onions & Tarter Sauce

Rockfish Chevichi - Lime, Coconut Milk, Red Onion, Tomato, Serrano, Avocado, Tortilla Chips

The line was impossibly long for sit down which turned out to be a blessing because we had our tasty lunch on a bench without the crowds, looking at the harbor and skyline.

A little sightseeing…

Bought a cute tote from a sidewalk vendor.

We stayed at the Klimpton Palomar in DTSD. It could use some refreshing but served our purpose - big room & bath, clean and the floors were bare with no carpet. The staff is super accommodating. I think the hotel must still be at limited capacity because the pool wasn’t crowded and they are still not offering food service.

Back on the road home…

[honkman]

Good to hear that you had a nice stay in San Diego.
If you are ever back at Carnitas Snack Shack you could try their famous Triple Thread Sandwich which is a lot of pork but actually more balanced than one would expect.
The Kimpton Downtown is quite nice and for many years the hotel restaurant JSix had some quite good chefs like Christian Graves and Anthony Sinsay who did much more than you would expect from an hotel restaurant

[TheCookie]

Thanks @honkman!

We had a really good trip and want to plan a longer one.

Since we only had a day seafood was on my agenda, but I would certainly eat at CSS. My husband really enjoyed his tacos.

[DiningDiva]

The Fish Market is surprisingly good. I was there about 10 days ago for lunch wtih a friend. I can’t say much for their crab cakes (Mitch’s are FAR better), but the rest of our meal - halibut and a Louie Salad - were both very, very good. I think it sometimes gets overshadowed by some of the glittizier and flashier places downtown and along the Bay, but it’s still a pretty solid choice for fresh fish and seafood.