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A listing of the very best eating places in Old Town San Diego appears to be like quite a bit completely different now than once I first began going there to eat (dare I say) just a few many years in the past.
Sure, some are touristy, however that’s a part of their appeal. People weave Mexican meals and maybe a fishbowl-sized margarita into their itinerary after sightseeing all through this historic neighborhood, often called the birthplace of California.
Nowadays, you’ll be able to go to Old Town San Diego only for the meals. To provide you with an concept, one of many Old Town San Diego eating places we like has a Michelin Star. You’ll additionally uncover nice spots for sushi, pasta, seafood, vegetarian and even Venezuelan fare.Â
Have you ever dripped your personal bone marrow over a birria taco? I like to recommend you come to Old Town to strive it. The fresh-off-the-grill tortillas with recent honey butter that you’ll find in just a few spots (together with primary under) are additionally private favorites.
1. Café Coyote
I really feel like a conventional Mexican restaurant must high the record. People search out Mexican meals in Old Town San Diego. Café Coyote has been voted Best Mexican by the California Restaurant Association for twenty years.
It’s family-friendly and simple to search out. As with another Old Town San Diego Mexican eating places, you’ll wish to strive the scrumptious handmade tortillas ready each day by pleasant tortilla makers — you and the youngsters can watch as they’re made.Â
The festive environment has strolling mariachis, effervescent water fountains, and pleasant workers. The colourful papel picado banners (cut-out paper sheets, a Mexican folks artwork traditional) adorning the out of doors patio eating space add to the jubilant temper and match the informal Old Town vibe.
Café Coyote is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. House favorites embody rolled tacos, albondigas soup, fajita veggie bowl, chimichanga, margarita shrimp tacos, chipotle camarones, and buñuelos for dessert.Â
2. Sushi Tadokoro
If you’ve had a busy day of buying and sightseeing and wish to wind down away from the exercise of the extra touristy Old Town San Diego eating places, Sushi Tadokoro is a terrific selection.
Located simply south of the historic district, this one-Michelin-star venue prepares conventional Japanese-style sushi in an intimate setting that places you face-to-face together with your sushi cooks.Â
This mini sushi counter provides a rotating collection of fish and limitless creations to maintain patrons blissful. Fresh substances embody California coast sea urchin, British Columbia oysters, and Hokkaido scallops.Â
Some of the numerous sushi potentialities right here embody grilled Chilean sea bass, saba salmon toro, omakase sashimi, and nigiri aji. Give the San Diego roll a strive—it comes with recent salsa and a lemon slice—and assist your self to some house-made gyoza, too. Sushi Tadokoro is THE place for seafood lovers and true sushi connoisseurs.  Â
3. Old Town Urban Market
- 2548 Congress St, San Diego, CA 92110
- (619) 995-5510
- oturbanmarket.com
- Closed Sundays
If you’re a foodie who likes to strive somewhat of this and somewhat of that, you’ll love Old Town Urban Market. It’s a . This vibrant meals corridor is a set of a number of counter-order eateries serving award-winning culinary creations, simply outdoors the state historic park.
Tuetano Taqueria serves birria tacos with spicy sauce and bone marrow — the final word consolation meals — and several other different gadgets, together with fish tacos and tortas. At Ruth’s No. 5, you’ll be able to load up on specialty model salsas, equivalent to roasted salsa verde and spicy piña, and handmade tortilla chips, all vegan, gluten-free, and kosher (many are additionally halal and it’s also possible to discover them at a number of native farmer’s markets).Â
Elote serves tasty corn-centric creations—Mexican-style corn on the cob avenue meals—plus refreshing agua fresca. Mar Rustico provides plates and bowls with sea-inspired recipes. Try their fish tacos, shrimp ceviche, or the tremendous decadent smoked marlin burrito (the letter is a specialty).
You can sip wine from sustainable, family-owned wineries at The Wine Shop. Check again sometimes as new eateries are set to open on this eclectic corridor (and a few have already rotated out).
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4. Tahona Bar
- 2414 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110
- (619) 255-2090
- tahonabar.com
- Open for dinner/blissful hour solely and closed Mondays
Tahona Bar is an Old Town San Diego Mexican restaurant centered round a curated assortment of over 120 sorts of mezcal. The Baja California and Oaxaca-focused menu is excellent and a bit extra upscale Mexican than you’ll discover in different close by eating places.
Try the corn croquetas, tempura squash blossom, carnitas bao bun, ahi tostada, or tempura nori tortilla taco. Check out their menu for different fusion creations, and save room for dessert—just like the chocolate plantain served over ice cream.Â
Happy hour (presently Wednesday—Friday) is a superb time to strive what Tahona Bar is greatest recognized for: its mezcal. Order a mezcal flight together with your meal, or take part in a mezcal tasting (reservations are required for the tasting).Â
We’d place it greater on this record, however it’s solely open from blissful hour onward, and most of the people go to the historic neighborhood in the course of the day.
5. Harney Sushi
Harney Sushi serves a big selection of sushi, sashimi, and different Japanese delicacies favorites, together with tempura and miso soup. Offering conventional and inventive fusion flavors, this place is right for date nights, or anytime you’re within the temper for wonderful sushi. It’s a favourite of locals.
The menu is in depth. In addition to serving common specialties—orange crush, lightning roll, Maui wowie, Bruce Lee, mellow yellow nigiri, moon dance, dragon roll, tuna maki, and extra—Harney Sushi provides cooked entrees, equivalent to katsu hen, Mongolian beef stir fry, and even a bento field for the youngsters.
Add a conventional soup or salad—strive one in every of their specialty miso soups or the Chuka seaweed salad—or an appetizer, equivalent to oysters, traditional tempura, or specialty edamame.
Some vegetarian and vegan choices are listed on the menu, together with avocado maki, mushroom roll, vegetarian roll, vegan rainbow, and others. The beverage choice contains alcoholic choices, together with beers, sake, wines, and cocktails, and non-alcoholic sodas, teas, and juices (strive the lychee juice). Â
6. Casa de Reyes
What makes Casa de Reyes the most effective Old Town San Diego eating places is the festive backyard setting you’ll take pleasure in whereas eating right here. It’s only a good place to take pleasure in conventional Mexican favorites outdoors in good climate. It’s a straightforward cease whereas strolling across the Old Town State Historic Park.
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free choices are marked on the menu for comfort. Vegan decisions embody gentle corn tacos and veggie enchiladas with plant-based cheese. Gluten-free gadgets embody shrimp ceviche, enchiladas, tacos, and hen mole poblano. On the drinks menu, you’ll discover many various specialty margaritas, which you will get for the desk by the pitcher. Horchata can also be on the menu.
You’ll discover all of your favorites at Casa de Reyes: hen rolled tacos, quesadillas, steak and shrimp burritos, chile rellenos, fajitas, and extra. On the weekend, you’ll be able to order breakfast gadgets till midday. Try the machaca burrito with scrambled egg or the egg, potato, and cheese — a well-liked breakfast burrito (or all-day burrito in my household).Â
7. Old Town Tequila Factory
A whole lot of first-timers come for the view—which is spectacular—however it’s the meals and heat hospitality that retains them coming again. (Okay, and the views.)Â
Perched excessive above the historic district, overlooking rooftops, metropolis lights, and a panoramic view stretching from Mission Valley to the airport, Old Town Tequila Factory is a superb place to deliver out-of-town visitors. It’s additionally a improbable selection for celebrations — or simply as a result of.Â
Despite the prime location, the restaurant is just not pretentious. It serves scrumptious Mexican fare in a colourful setting, together with indoor seating in ample eating rooms and wonderful out of doors patio areas. You can sit in a comfy, secluded nook or at a desk with views that make you say, wow! The lighting and décor add to the nice ambiance.Â
Menu gadgets embody Mexican fiesta ensalada, carne asada Tampiqueña, hen or beef tamale, enchiladas del mar, blackened Hawaiian mahi mahi, Baja fish tacos, and deep-fried ice cream sundae.Â
8. Old Town Mexican CaféÂ
Serving Mexican fare since 1977, Old Town Mexican Café is as genuine because it will get. Handmade tortillas are ready each day and are considered a few of the greatest on the town.
You can watch them being constructed from scratch. Every day, groups of tortilla girls put together over 3,000 corn and 5,600 flour tortillas the normal means.Â
But it’s not simply in regards to the tortillas. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Old Town Mexican Café serves varied favorites, together with carnitas, avenue tacos, spicy tequila ribs, and shrimp tacos. Vegetarian burritos, tostadas, and fajitas are additionally on the menu.
This is among the greatest eating places in Old Town San Diego as a result of you’ll be able to have brunch right here on daily basis of the week till midday. This is the place to go when you’re craving a breakfast torta, chorizo con huevos, or breakfast tacos. Â
9. Barra Barra Saloon
Many of the very best eating places in Old Town San Diego provide good patio seating day and evening, however it’s possible you’ll wish to sit inside indoors at Barra Barra. It’s a interval saloon from the mid-1800s, a timeframe that noticed Mexican and American traditions mix, situated inside Fiesta de Reyes on the north finish of the historic district.
The coated patio eating space contains hearth pits and neat hanging lighting fixtures, which is good, too. Go for the margaritas and tequila choice. Order from varied specialties, together with queso fundido, vegetarian empanadas, Indian flatbread tacos, and Barra Barra seafood paella.
A variety of the menu gadgets might be modified to make them vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free, so verify together with your server beforehand for ideas. Kids 10 and below eat free (one baby per paying grownup), making this restaurant an awesome selection for households.  Â
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Where to go Shopping in Old Town
We put collectively a listing of the place to search out enjoyable presents and souvenirs when you discover this historic neighborhood.
10. Casa Guadalajara
Casa Guadalajara is among the many greatest eating places in Old Town San Diego due to the mixture of festive decor and meals.
Whether you dine inside or outdoors on the patio, you’ll have a pleasant sensory expertise. The colours are shiny and cheery but stress-free, with beautiful tile work, intricate wooden carvings, stained glass options, New Mexico colour mixtures, and Puebla-style furnishings.
The enclosed Garden Room patio is charming, with its hanging ferns and exquisite Mexican mosaic tables. The courtyard provides an equally pretty setting, full with a 200-year-old shade tree.Â
The recipes pay tribute to the regional villages of Mexico. Try the camaroncitos fritos, hen tortilla soup, tostada de Jalisco, shrimp fajitas, steak ranchero, mango chipotle hen, tostada vegetariana, or Guadalajara omelet. Vegetarian dishes are marked VG.Â
11. Jack & Giulio’s
- 2391 San Diego Ave, San Diego, CA 92110
- (619) 294-2074
- jackandgiulios.com
- Closed Monday and Tuesday
If you’re hungry for excellent Italian meals, head to Jack & Giulio’s, one of many district’s eating places that doesn’t concentrate on Mexican fare. This Italian restaurant provides every thing from antipasto classico to hen marsala.
With indoor and out of doors seating, this restaurant takes satisfaction in delivering nice service. The vibe is pleasant, and the meals is improbable. Formerly a well-liked restaurant in Pacific Beach, this renamed and relocated eatery has been round in some incarnation since 1961.
At its present location, the family-owned and operated restaurant has been acknowledged as serving artisanal Italian cooking by pleasant workers in a welcoming environment.
Other menu gadgets embody Brutus salad, tortelloni verdi, lasagne della casa, angel hair mediterraneo, scampi al pesto, spaghetti al burro, and hen piccata. An in depth wine record is offered, together with different signature drinks (you will get a house-special margarita). Hand-rolled pasta is made recent each day onsite.Â
12. Congress CaféÂ
Rounding out this record of greatest eating places in Old Town San Diego is Congress Café, a Venezuelan restaurant behind The Whaley House Museum providing Latin American fusion creations.
Open for breakfast and lunch, the café makes a speciality of conventional Venezuelan cooking, sandwiches, salads, and farmers’ breakfasts.
You can dine in or take your meal to go. Offerings embody Venezuelan starters—mini empanadas, tequeños (cheese sticks), fried plantains, and cachapas (corn pancakes). Main plates include scrambled eggs, arepa, grilled tomatoes and onions, avocado, latin cream, and your selection of shredded beef, black beans, or seasoned fish.Â
Try a grilled arepa—an artisanal dish good for brunch, fabricated from corn flour and crammed together with your selection of substances, together with ham, chorizo, avocado, or salmon. The Platanera arepa has Venezuelan cheese and fried plantains, whereas La Vegana has black beans, avocado, and fried plantains.
Specialty drinks embody Mexican spiced mocha and chai tea latte, amongst different decisions, or take pleasure in a refreshing pure juice constructed from mango, pineapple, or ardour fruit.Â
What are your favourite Old Town San Diego eating places?
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