The newly opened Puesto Taco Bar introduces a streamlined, fast-casual version of the group’s familiar gourmet taco experience, pairing counter service with a full cocktail bar in a relaxed, modern setting designed to serve the area’s dense office and biotech workforce. The concept represents a strategic shift for the La Jolla-born hospitality group, which has traditionally focused on full-service dining rooms and destination-driven experiences.
Founded in La Jolla in 2012, Puesto began as a modern Mexican restaurant built around house-made blue corn tortillas, craft margaritas, and regionally inspired tacos by brothers Eric and Alan Adler and cousin Isi Lombrozo. The concept quickly gained traction, expanding across San Diego and Southern California into a recognizable brand with multiple locations and stadium outposts. In 2022, the group opened Marisi Italiano in La Jolla, a more formal, design-driven Italian restaurant that signaled ambitions beyond tacos. In 2024, the group launched Roma Norte, a cocktail-forward concept that earned national recognition, including a James Beard Award semifinalist nod, before closing in August 2025 as the company refocused on future projects.
Located within a newly developed commercial campus near Alexandria Real Estate’s tech properties, Puesto Taco Bar is a roughly 3,000-square-foot restaurant that seats about 100 guests and operates as a daytime-forward concept, currently open daily from late morning through early evening. The format emphasizes efficiency and accessibility while maintaining Puesto’s core culinary identity.
The menu centers on Puesto’s signature blue-corn tortillas and gourmet taco fillings, alongside burritos, bowls, and shareable sides, all served with casual tableware. While the food ordering experience is counter-based, the beverage program is anything but pared down. The bar features an agave-forward cocktail lineup overseen by Beau du Bois, the company’s James Beard-recognized vice president of bar and spirits, with margaritas and tequila-driven cocktails remaining central to the brand.
According to Puesto leadership, Taco Bar was designed to meet guests where they already are—both geographically and in how they dine - particularly in employment hubs where speed, consistency, and quality matter more than ceremony. The concept aims to capture lunch crowds, after-work drinks, and casual meetups without the longer dwell times of a traditional sit-down restaurant.
The opening further cements Puesto’s growing presence in North County and coastal San Diego, where the company continues to pursue high-visibility locations tied to business districts and mixed-use developments. Puesto currently operates multiple full-service restaurants across California, stadium locations in Petco Park, and is preparing to expand out of state for the first time with a Nashville opening slated for 2026.
Locally, Puesto Taco Bar arrives as the group balances innovation with expansion. In addition to the new Barnes Canyon Road concept, the team behind Puesto and Marisi Italiano is also preparing to debut Ikaria, a large-scale Eastern Mediterranean restaurant opening across from Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla later this year, signaling a diversified growth strategy that spans fast-casual, full-service, and experiential dining formats.
For Sorrento Valley, the arrival of Puesto Taco Bar adds another recognizable brand to an area increasingly shaped by tech campuses, fitness concepts, and daytime-oriented food and beverage offerings. For Puesto, it’s a calculated step toward adapting a well-established brand to changing dining habits without abandoning the quality and identity that made it a San Diego staple.
Puesto Taco Bar is now open at 9955 Barnes Canyon Road, Unit 110, inside the San Diego Tech Center in Sorrento Valley. For more information, visit eatpuesto.com.
Originally published on January 20, 2026.
Puesto Taco Bar is now open at 9955 Barnes Canyon Road, Unit 110, inside the San Diego Tech Center in Sorrento Valley. For more information, visit eatpuesto.com.
Originally published on January 20, 2026.