San Diego recs (in the beach and downtown areas)

I am looking for family-friendly (casual) San Diego dining.
Here is what I have so far:

Hodads
Corvette Diner
George's Ocean Terrace
The Linkery
Point Loma Seafood
Blue Water Grill
South Beach Bar & Grill

Any other recommendations? Super Cocina looks interesting, but my husband already said that he does not want to drive into any shaky areas (if you know what I mean). I am also looking for fish taco recommendations (at some non chain restaurant).

Is Sushi Ota worth going to? If it is not better than most of the sushi restaurants in the Chicagoland area, I will probably skip it. I have seen on the boards that Kaito Sushi is really good, but I probably need to go somewhere which is good for the people in my family who don't like shellfish/sushi.

shorty wrote:I am looking for family-friendly (casual) San Diego dining.
Here is what I have so far:

Hodads
Corvette Diner
George's Ocean Terrace
The Linkery
Point Loma Seafood
Blue Water Grill
South Beach Bar & Grill

Any other recommendations? Super Cocina looks interesting, but my husband already said that he does not want to drive into any shaky areas (if you know what I mean). I am also looking for fish taco recommendations (at some non chain restaurant).

Is Sushi Ota worth going to? If it is not better than most of the sushi restaurants in the Chicagoland area, I will probably skip it. I have seen on the boards that Kaito Sushi is really good, but I probably need to go somewhere which is good for the people in my family who don't like shellfish/sushi.

The Super Cocina neighbourhood is perfectly safe - I'd go for lunch if possible.

Sushi Ota is quite good, but I really don't think it's worth it unless you sit at the sushi bar (which will be near impossible with a family). It's always busy as hell, and I feel that the sushi made for the tables tends to suffer because of that. Kaito is extremely accomodating and is actually quite family-friendly. It's my favourite sushi place in terms of bang-for-the-buck, and is definitely better than any place in Chicago. The only issue is, it's quite a drive from San Diego...

Lots of people like the Linkery, but I just don't get it. I find the food bland and relatively overpriced (they recently overhauled their menu to reduce prices, but I still feel it's not worth it). Certainly, there is much better food with a similar ethos in Chicago. George's Ocean and Point Loma are great destinations for visitors - food is decent and the views are nice. For fish tacos, try the Brigantine.

Where San Diego actually shines is Japanese food. There're excellent izakayas, robatayas, and ramenyas in the city.

Puppy wrote:

shorty wrote:Where San Diego actually shines is Japanese food. There're excellent izakayas, robatayas, and ramenyas in the city.

Thanks a lot for the info. What do you suggest for Japanese food?

I am still trying to figure out if I can stop by Kaito Sushi on the way back from Legoland (or on the day we arrive).

If you make it to La Jolla, I highly recommend El Pescador Fish Market. You order at the counter, pay, and wait for your order to be made. There is minimal seating inside, but you can also take it to go for a picnic. Everything was incredibly fresh - it was probably the highlight of our trip. I find that San Diego is not much of a foodie destination.

Give this place a try for breakfast:

http://www.cafechloe.com/

A friend was there recently, and it sounds as if it is still very good.

For Japanese food, Google places like Robata-ya Oton or Wa Dining Okan. They specialize in things that, as far as I know, can't be found in Chicago (at least not at the point when I moved last year).

Pucca's suggestion of El Pescador is great, actually. We usually buy something from there and go to nearby Scripps Park, sit on the grass and eat while watching the ocean. It's also great for kids because they can run around and watch the seals. For us, Cafe Chloe is very normal bistro food. Not worth a trip, especially in comparison to places like Bouchon or even Comme Ca

I was in SD earlier this year for a Griswold family-esque trip myself.

Within striking distance of downtown and nextdoor to Balboa Park is Yakitori Yakyudori in Hillcrest. The original owner Nabe-san left that location to open up a ramen-ya in Kearney Mesa called Yakitori Yakyudori & Ramen, but I found the yakitori at the original location to still be a worthwhile stop, especially for something family-friendly and more interesting than the Rainforest Cafe. They're still importing binchotan, though the kids handling it now haven't mastered the art of tending smoke, but it's still top-tier yakitori (at least for a Chicagoan ).

chicken hearts


beef tongue


pork belly


meatball


chicken thighs


deep-fried chicken leg cartilage


Yakitori Yakyudori
3739 6th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 692-4189
http://www.yakyudori.us/

Here's a link to a very helpful guide for all things San Diego from a local;
http://www.localwally.com/

PJ Murphy wrote:Here's a link to a very helpful guide for all things San Diego from a local;
http://www.localwally.com/

Wow. I won't comment on his other sections, but I essentially completely disagree with his food guide Might as well look at Zagat.

If you are looking for breakfast ideas,

The Mission
The Big Kitchen (Grape street)

Does anyone have more recent recommendations for San Diego? We'll be taking our 5 year old, so I'm hoping for something kid-friendly. But it's also my husband's 45th birthday (yikes!), so we're also going out somewhere nicer just the two of us. Thanks in advance!

I was there this past summer and ate at Richard Blais' restaurant Juniper & Ivy. Overall, very good food, but not over-the-top creativity as you might expect (some though). We shared a number of items but perhaps my favorite was the burger (not on the menu), one of the best I've ever tasted. But most everything was very good. One note: if you choose to eat outdoors, you might be frequently interrupted by planes preparing to land.

BR wrote:I was there this past summer and ate at Richard Blais' restaurant Juniper & Ivy. Overall, very good food, but not over-the-top creativity as you might expect (some though). We shared a number of items but perhaps my favorite was the burger (not on the menu), one of the best I've ever tasted. But most everything was very good. One note: if you choose to eat outdoors, you might be frequently interrupted by planes preparing to land.

Thank you for the rec. My husband loves Richard, so he would be excited to go.

Just came back from SD
Had an excellent dinner at the Gaslamp Fish House (previously Spike Africa's)
actually dinner for 16 LOL...
they did a great job.

Also had dinner down the street at Sushi 2
it wasn't bad although the menu was a bit overwhelming.
Super reasonable.

If you're down at Seaport Village don't miss having a fish taco at Margarita's.
One of the originals.

irisarbor wrote:Just came back from SD
Had an excellent dinner at the Gaslamp Fish House (previously Spike Africa's)
actually dinner for 16 LOL...
they did a great job.

Also had dinner down the street at Sushi 2
it wasn't bad although the menu was a bit overwhelming.
Super reasonable.

If you're down at Seaport Village don't miss having a fish taco at Margarita's.
One of the originals.

Thanks, Elaine! I think we're staying near the Gaslamp district, so those are perfect.

I also had an awesome time at the SD Zoo...
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 1b5f75d530
that's my FB pics
Also stop at the Donut bar if you can-
they give freebies to kids.
I had an awesome creme brulee donut.

LauraS wrote:Does anyone have more recent recommendations for San Diego? We'll be taking our 5 year old, so I'm hoping for something kid-friendly. But it's also my husband's 45th birthday (yikes!), so we're also going out somewhere nicer just the two of us. Thanks in advance!

Two more fun places I'd go back to were Hodad's in Ocean Beach which is a loud beachside burger place with very good burgers (huge portions). They have two other locations - do not go to them. You get the beach atmosphere at the original location (which is right down the street from the ocean). The other was the Corvette Diner a retro diner complete with 1950's and 1960's rooms plus a video game arcade. Basically like Ed Debevics with sassy attitude and better food.

Hodad's
5010 Newport Ave
San Diego CA
(619) 224-4623
https://hodadies.com/

Corvette Diner
2965 Historic Decatur Rd
San Diego CA
(619) 542-1476
https://www.cohnrestaurants.com/corvettediner