San Diego's dining scene maintains a lively pace, with a steady stream of new restaurants opening their doors across the region. Despite industry challenges, local and expanding concepts are rolling out fresh options for residents.
Up north in Carlsbad, the team behind Harumama and Blue Ocean Sushi Bar has launched Little Kiki Katsu. This new eatery specializes in dry-aged katsu, featuring Berkshire Kurobuta pork, Jidori chicken, salmon, and Pacific cod. Beyond breaded cutlets, diners can find dry-aged sashimi, Kumamoto oysters, and grilled hot stone steaks prepared tableside. It's currently dinner-only, with plans to expand to lunch and takeout service.
Encinitas is seeing its own share of new culinary endeavors. Pastaria Vivi has opened as a casual pasta café and Italian market. The team, with experience from acclaimed kitchens like San Francisco's Lazy Bear, prepares 75 rotating varieties of pasta in-house daily, from tagliatelle to ravioli, alongside homemade sauces. Meanwhile, an Appalachian-themed café on South Coast Highway 101, conceived by owner Kelly Sergott from rural Kentucky, aims to create a community “holler.” The charming 1,300-square-foot space, decorated with local art, offers smoked salmon salad, bone broths, and unique smoothie bowls. Rounding out Encinitas's new offerings, Orange County’s Coffee Dose Brunch Club has expanded with a new location, joining outposts in Costa Mesa, Irvine, and Laguna Hills. Owners Jeni and Oscar Castro serve their usual breakfast plates and wagyu burgers, plus San Diego-exclusive Disco Cakes, a soufflé-style pancake.
Moving south, San Diego’s Convoy District welcomes Hongdae Dakgalbi, the first U.S. outpost of the popular Seoul-based Shin Mi Kyung Hongdae Dakgalbi. Taking over the former Nice 2 You Chuan Chuan Hot Pot space, this spot focuses on its signature spicy chicken, stir-fried tableside on a cast-iron grill and blanketed in mozzarella and cheddar cheese fondue. Not far, in Rancho Bernardo, the team behind Convoy’s Sot BBQ has opened a Korean soft tofu stew restaurant. Appetizers include homemade kimchi dumplings and spicy raw skate wing, followed by a range of tofu stews and unique rice service that finishes with a barley tea digestive soup.
July 8 marked the opening of the first San Diego location of Telefèric Barcelona at the Westfield UTC Mall. This family-owned restaurant, which started in Barcelona in 1992, brings its signature shareable paellas, including a socarrat-style option, and an extensive tapas menu. Highlights include jamón Ibérico sliced tableside and slow-cooked Spanish octopus. Co-founder Maria Padrosa plans to relocate to Encinitas to manage the Southern California branches. Pacific Beach now hosts Taconora, a Sonoran-style taqueria. The menu features carne asada, grilled New York strip loin steak, pork belly, and chicken, served in street tacos, lorenza, or costra-style with a crispy grilled cheese crust.
Adding to the list of recent additions are Throne Room, Dubu Tofu, One of Us, Grandson Steaks, Mr. Charlie’s, and Make Projects, further diversifying the region’s restaurant landscape.
