A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to go visit my sister who is in graduate school in San Diego. Unfortunately I was there during the random one week of bad weather Southern California seems to get in a year, so we weren't able to go out and explore quite as much as I was hoping to. However, I did find quite a few restaurants that you definitely need to add to your list for if you ever find yourself in San Diego!
Cloak and Petal:
If you like Asian food even half as much as much as I do, then you will love this restaurant! My family and I split the garlic edamame, salmon tostadas, ceviche roll, and the soft shell crab roll, and loved every bite of it! My personal favorites were the salmon tostadas and the ceviche roll. For anyone who wants some meat, my dad and sister ordered the BBQ lettuce cups with ribeye, which they both loved. If it weren't for the fact that my family and I had been stuffing ourselves full the entire weekend, I would have also gotten some of the sashimi and nigiri. I saw waiters bringing it out to other tables, and it looked phenomenal! We just could not eat another bite. The atmosphere of the restaurant was also incredible! As soon as you walk in the door, you are facing the bar with two beautiful, towering cherry blossom trees behind it (shown in the picture above). If you are a food nerd like me, you can also watch the chefs prepare the food through a long window along one of the walls that looks into the kitchen!
Born and Raised:
This steak house had unbelievably good food and an outstanding atmosphere! The interior of the restaurant has an Art Deco design with a nod to the '20s, making you feel like you are stepping back into the world of The Great Gatsby. To all my fellow vegetarians and pescatarians, there are many delicious options for you too - I got a simply prepared whole red fish with a light lemon butter sauce, and a side of the coal roasted leeks with goat cheese, both of which were phenomenal and reminded me of food I have had in Paris. I definitely recommend trying out this place!
Cafe Gratitude:
This place was amazing! Everything they serve is vegan and plant based, but even my carnivore father said he loved his meal! Many of the things in the restaurant were based on positive affirmations. For example, the glass water bottles on the table had words like "love" and "gratitude" etched into them. There were inspirational phrases written on many of the walls, and even the dishes were titled things like "devoted," "humble," "welcoming," "pure," and "giving." I got the "Whole" Macrobiotic Bowl, which contained braised garnet yams, adzuki beans, sea vegetables, sautéed kale, Kim Chee, garlic tahini, tasted almonds, quinoa, and avocado. It was FANTASTIC! I absolutely adored this place and will definitely be back the next time I am in San Diego.
Holy Matcha:
We stopped in this place for a few minutes, and I am so glad we did! I ordered a matcha latte with unsweetened almond milk, and it was amazing! For those of you that don't know, matcha is very similar to green tea, but while green tea is made by steeping the tea leaves in water, matcha actually contains the whole tea leaves; they are just ground into a fine powder. Because you are consuming the entire leaf when you drink matcha, it is higher in antioxidants than normal green tea. This little cafe was also picture perfect with everything decorated in pink and green, and there were roses and balloons everywhere!
Cafe 21:
This cafe only uses locally sourced ingredients, and they are willing to work around any dietary restrictions you may have. I ordered the Garden Cast Iron Omelet which avocados and a side of fruit, and it was all delicious! I feel like most restaurants don't really have the best fruit for their side dishes, but they gave me kiwi, strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, melons, and oranges! In other words, it was a nutritionist's dream! This was a great place to stop by for healthy, tasty breakfast!
Sun Deck Bar and Grill at the Hotel Del Coronado:
If you are interested in going to the beach, then I recommend visiting the Coronado Beach because it is not nearly as crowded as the other beaches in the city, and it has a gorgeous hotel there with lots of places to eat and shop. My favorite restaurant at this hotel was the Sun Deck Bar and Grill. It stretches out over the beach like a short pier and has glass walls that that block the wind but allow you to have a virtually un-interrupted view of the ocean. The open-roof-concept also allows you to get some fresh air and sunlight. While the menu was a little small, they still had several healthy options such as the Tuna Steak Bowl I ordered, which had lettuce, pickled ginger, grains, green onions, avocado, radish, and lightly seared tuna. It is definitely a great place to stop for lunch on a day at the beach!
Hopefully this list will give you some great ideas for whenever you visit San Diego! Please comment below if you have any questions or if you know of some other places I should check out the next time I am in San Diego!