Our food & drink recommendations are our local favorites, and primarily skew casual, with some exceptions. They are places we have patronized and recommend for the food/drink, value, atmosphere, and/or service.

San Diego’s Mexican food is some of the best you’ll find. We tend love great tacos (fish tacos included!), chips, guacamole, slow cooked meats, and Mezcal drinks.

Jimmy Carter's Mexican Cafe - Banker’s Hill: Casual Mexican cafe good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Full bar. If You like carnitas and/or taco salads, try theirs - one of our favorites. Great salsas & sauces.

Lucha Libre - Lower Mission Hills & North Park: Casual seating & take-out tacos & burritos

Oscar’s Mexican Seafood - Pacific Beach & Hillcrest

Salud - Barrio Logan: Delicious birria!

Mike’s Taco Club - Ocean Beach: Great tacos & huge California burritos (take out with very limited seating)

Barrio Star – Bankers Hill

Best fish taco truck: most weekdays and Saturdays in the parking lot of the Del Mesa Liquor & Deli at 6090 Friars Road in Mission Valley.

El Comal - North Park: Big burritos, good margaritas

Ponce’s - Kensington: a little more Americanized, but good

TJ Oyster Bar (on Bonita Rd - a drive, but worth it). There are 2 of these on the same Bonita Rd - about 2 blocks apart: One is more “sit down/atmosphere” with a full bar and drink menu, and the other is counter service/beer only, slightly more limited menu. Excellent food.

Ramen: My favorite is Underbelly in North Park (also a location in Little italy); cool indoor/outdoor space

Pizza: URBN or Tribute in North Park and Bronx in Hillcrest are my favorites. I prefer NY Style pizza or thin/crispy pizza. If you like Chicago style, Lefty’s in Mission Hills is good. Sisters Pizza in Banker’s Hill is also good NY style and has a nice neighborhoody atmosphere for dine in.

Thai: My favorite is Thotsakan Thai & Vegetarian Cuisine in downtown San Diego. Excellent food and service, limited wine selection. Bahn Thai in University Heights or Amarin Thai in Hillcrest are also decent. Thai Time in North Park has amazing food (but no atmosphere, if you want that). Thai Joint in Normal Heights is similar to Thai Time but one step up in atmosphere.

Italian: Buona Forchetta in South Park is THE place, but many also love Cucina Urbana in Banker’s Hill.

BBQ: Grand Ole BBQ Y Asado (the BEST meat)

Sushi: Wonderful Sushi in Hillcrest (Richmond & University) and SoCal Sushi in Normal Heights. SoCal is very casual (and very small), but amazing. Both are great values for what you get. We also enjoy Ototo Sushi near Liberty Station.

Seafood: Blue Water Seafood market and Grill (3667 India Street, Mission Hills): best for lunch. Marine Room (LaJolla) and Bali Hai (Shelter Island near downtown) are iconic places to spend an evening as well.

Also, while not entirely seafood, Adrian’s Surf ‘n Turf Grill in Kearny Mesa is a small, very casual family owned place with amazing plates, sandwiches, and tacos made carefully with fresh ingredients.

Vietnamese: Goi Cuon (Hillcrest): super casual but delicious Vietnamese spring rolls, soups, and Banh Mi.

Ice Cream: Dixie Pops in Mission Hills (popsicles & homemade ice cream), Hammonds in North Park or Salt and Straw in Little Italy (Salt and Straw is UNIQUE), Baked Bear in Pacific Beach (ice cream sandwiches)

Desserts: Extraordinary Desserts: Banker’s hill: upscale, creative, limited seating. BabyCakes in Hillcrest has excellent cupcakes and a few other desserts - mostly take-out with a few tables.

Eclectic/comfort food/breakfast: Swami’s in North Park (breakfast), Encontro North Park (lunch & dinner), Morning Glory (not necessarily healthy, but super fun and great food) in Little Italy. Crest Cafe in Hillcrest is casual comfort food for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

British Pub & Restaurant: Shakespeare Pub in lower Mission Hills. Fun British Pub with good food selection (best fish & chips in San Diego, along with other comfort food staples like Shepherd’s Pie, Bangers & Mash, Steak and Ale Pie, and a solid burger.

Aero Club Bar: Lower Mission Hills; Local, old school pub with pinball, a pool table, and over 800 whiskeys. Need we say more? A classic.

Waterfront Bar & Grill: Little Italy; San Diego’s oldest tavern but still a great (but usually busy) dive bar with good food.

Healthy: LIV Juice bar & smoothies in Hillcrest

French: Parc Bistro-Brasserie in Banker’s Hill is one of our favorite restaurants in San Diego. Beautiful atmosphere (also has outdoor patio seating), superb (the best we’ve seen) service, and classic French along with specials including seafood. Incredibly capable sommeliers on staff.

Bougie/nicer but good/craft cocktails, food: Born and Raised (Little Italy), Craft & Commerce (Little Italy), Common Stock on 4th Ave.

Casual Hawaiian: Chris’ Ono Grinds Island Grill (North Park)

Greek: Olympic Cafe (good for breakfast/lunch): 2310 University Ave (highly recommended by other guests!)

Breweries & tasting rooms: Border X (Barrio Logan), Ballast Point (Scripps Ranch brewery and Little Italy tasting room), Alesmith in Mira Mesa, Pizza Port/Lost Abbey, Stone Brewing, Modern Times (North Park), Thorn St Brewery, Bottlecraft in NorthPark & Little Italy (there are a LOT more)

Farmers Markets: North Park on Thursday evenings, Little Italy on Saturday mornings, and Hillcrest on Sunday mornings.

When in Rancho Santa Fe:

Thyme in the Ranch is a great cafe and bakery - breakfast, lunch, coffee. Their sweets/baked goods are amazing.

Gelson’s Market is an excellent grocery store - the closest located in Del Mar.

Gas Station: Chevron, 4180 Park Blvd (there’s also a good car wash right around the corner; about 1 mile)

Grocery stores:

Traditional: Ralphs @ 1020 University Ave (about .9 mile)

Organic/specialty: Trader Joe’s @ 1090 University Ave (about .9 mile) & Sprouts @ 4175 Park Blvd (Sporuts is the best, in my opinion; about 1 mile); there’s also a Whole Foods very near the Ralphs and Trader Joe’s.

Drug store: Walgreens @ 301 University Ave (about 1.2 mile). There is also a CVS 1 block away from Walgreens.

Gyms/Fitness/Pools:

MJ’s cyclery is the place for bikes or biking recommendations <1/2 mile from house

YMCA in city heights (Copley Price YMCA) or Mission Valley YMCA are equal distances from the house (about 2.9 miles); both have excellent outdoor lap pools

Morley Field at the north end of Balboa park, not far from the house, has tennis courts and an outdoor lap pool (check schedules and access online)

Crossfit/Bootcamps: Crossfit Humanity (lower Mission Hills), Hillcrest Athletic Club, Barry’s Bootcamp

AquaVie (downtown - upscale with rooftop pool); Broadway Athletic & Swim Club (downtown); Broadway’s pool is better than AquaVie

Liquor store: Ralphs has a decent selection, but Servall liquor at 1279 University is more full-service liquor store (about .6 mile). The largest liquor stores in San Diego are the BevMo chain (several locations)

The San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park and The Prado (museum campus) are within walking distance or a very, very short Uber/Lyft ride. Don’t miss walking through The Prado while in San Diego. Additionally, the Spanish Village Art Center between the Zoo and The Prado is a great place to visit independent art/pottery/jewelry shops and studios. The Old Globe Theatre is inside Balboa Park.

The Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park is one of a kind, and the largest outdoor pipe organ and musical instrument in the world. You can hear the organ most Sundays at 2pm, along with other special events. Absolutely worth checking out (even if you don’t think you’re into organ music!)

Coronado is a great day trip (by ferry/bike or ferry/walking or ferry/cab/uber; you can also drive over the Coronado bridge to get there); there is a beach, the Hotel Del Coronado, and numerous restaurants, along with pretty residential neighborhoods. Don’t miss the sandcastle builders often on the beach in front of Hotel Del. I’d recommend taking the ferry to Coronado and rent bikes while there (or take bikes over on the ferry). You can also uber/lyft around once there.

Gaslamp Quarter: Lots of mainstream nightlife

Little Italy: a bit more sophisticated with lots of great restaurants and shops

Embarcadero: Seaport village is the main draw here

The Shell: The San Diego Symphony’s new outdoor venue on the water. A spectacular setting to see and hear the San Diego Symphony among other music. Check out sandiegosymphony.org for The Shell programming along with other indoor venues for the San Diego Symphony. Copley Symphony Hall (their primary indoor venue) is the old Fox Theater built in 1929, and converted to a symphony hall in the 1980s, with recent interior renovations.

Beaches: Ocean Beach (OB) is hippy/hipster and dogs are allowed, Pacific Beach (PB) is super popular and draws a surfer crowd, Mission is very popular and Coronado is best for families, Black’s is gay (accessible by a cliff walk), and La Jolla Cove (in addition to the seals) is for hardcore swimmers, while La Jolla Shores is great for families.

USS Midway is touristy, but a pretty cool opportunity to explore a retired aircraft carrier. There are also yoga classes and movies shown on the Midway deck. Check the schedule (a very cool location for either)

Cabrillo National Monument and park: history and great views of San Diego and the ocean

Old Town San Diego: open air museum dating to 1800s with lots of restaurant options (but not the best Mexican food in San Diego). There is a trolley tour you can take (very touristy, but if you prefer avoiding walking around a bunch, this could be a good option)

Cinema Under the Stars (Mission Hills): indoor/outdoor food/drink movie experience (check their schedule)

LaJolla is a 20 minute trip from San Diego. La Jolla Cove and Torrey Pines State Reserve are great outdoor activities (light hiking, kayaking, swimming) along the rugged coastline. Check out restaurants and upscale art galleries as well, along with LaJolla Playhouse.