Global Indian Restaurant Chain Sankalp Set To Open First California Location In San Diego's North County

One of India’s most established and globally recognized restaurant groups is preparing to make its California debut in San Diego's North County. Sankalp The Taste of India is opening its first-ever Golden State location inside The Shoppes at Carlsbad, taking over the former Lucha Libre space at the regional mall.

Jaybird Superette Brings “Fancy Bodega” Concept To Soledad Mountain In La Jolla

A new neighborhood-focused specialty food shop is preparing to open above the coast in La Jolla. Jaybird Superette, a thoughtfully curated grocery, café, and wine shop, is set to debut on Soledad Mountain, offering a rare mix of grab-and-go convenience and linger-worthy hospitality in an area long lacking a true community market.

FIRST LOOK: Puesto Taco Bar Debuts New Fast-Casual Concept In San Diego’s Tech Center

Puesto has officially unveiled a new restaurant format in San Diego’s booming Sorrento Valley tech corridor, opening Puesto Taco Bar inside the San Diego Tech Center, marking the brand’s latest evolution nearly 14 years after its La Jolla debut.

San Diego’s Zero-Waste Plant-Based Pioneer The Plot Launches New Community Garden Nonprofit In Oceanside

San Diego County’s first zero-waste, fully plant-based restaurant has formally launched a new nonprofit aimed at expanding its sustainability mission beyond the dining room. The Plot Garden Project, a community garden and food education initiative developed by the team behind South Oceanside restaurant The Plot, was officially announced this week as an independent nonprofit organization.

San Diego's Ambitious Vegan Dining Duo Dreamboat Diner And Vulture Fine Dining Restaurant To Close In University Heights

Less than a year after opening with heavy design hype and outsized ambition, San Diego’s high-profile sister vegan dining destinations Dreamboat Diner and Vulture are officially coming to an end. The closures are believed to follow the recent sale of the two-story building that houses both restaurants, a property that quietly hit the market late last year.

Gusto Deli & Bistro Brings Italian Specialties, Sandwiches & Fresh Pasta To San Diego's Pacific Beach

A low-profile Italian specialty shop that quietly built a loyal following near Morena Boulevard has officially stepped into the spotlight. Gusto Deli & Bistro has relocated from its tucked-away business park location near Costco to the heart of Garnet Avenue in San Diego’s Pacific Beach, taking over the quaint former Flame Broiler space just off one of the neighborhood’s busiest corridors.

San Diego's More Than 300 Food Facility & Restaurant Closures And Downgrades Of 2025: A Full Year Of County Health Department Enforcement

From neighborhood taco shops to high-profile restaurants, markets, hotels, event venues and even the city's top tourist destinations, San Diego County’s health inspectors were busy throughout 2025, closing and downgrading more than 300 area food facilities and restaurants. Week after week, temporary closures and downgraded inspection grades revealed a persistent set of food-safety failures playing out across the region, many of them involving the same recurring hazards.

San Diego's Historic Tip Top Meats Sets Groundhog Day Reopening After 16-Month Hiatus In Carlsbad

After more than a year of delays, inspections, and mounting anticipation, San Diego's historic Tip Top Meats is officially preparing to reopen its scaled-down location on February 2, exactly 16 months after the beloved North County institution served its final meals and closed its doors to emotional farewell crowds.

San Diego Restaurant Week:The Necessary Evil Returns

Once upon a time, San Diego Restaurant Week was a beacon of culinary adventure, a golden opportunity for food lovers to dive into the city’s diverse dining scene at a fraction of the cost. But those days are long gone. The upcoming event, from January 25 to February 1, now feels more like a desperate plea for a business boost from restaurants struggling to fill seats rather than a celebration of gastronomy and an opportunity for value dining.

Are Tallow Fries A Political Signal Now? How A Food Trend Became A Cultural Flashpoint in San Diego

What used to be a quiet culinary detail has turned into a surprisingly charged cultural marker in San Diego’s dining scene. Beef tallow fries, once simply a nostalgic nod to old-school cooking methods, are now increasingly viewed by some diners as a political signal.

Another Culichitown Concept Collapses As El Rincon De Los Dolidos Quietly Closes In San Diego’s Gaslamp

After just about a year in operation, El Rincón de los Dolidos has quietly closed at the former Donovan's Stean space in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, marking yet another failed downtown venture for the restaurant group behind Culichitown, La Conde, and the long-promised but never-opened Mamá Por Dios.

A Dozen High-Profile San Diego Restaurants We Would Not Bet On Making It Through 2026

San Diego loves denial almost as much as it loves a soft opening. But restaurants don’t close because of vibes, bad Yelp reviews, or one slow month. They close because the math breaks, the narrative collapses, or the room stops making sense for the moment it’s in. With that reality in mind, we’ve compiled a list of twelve high-profile San Diego restaurants we would not bet on making it through 2026.

San Diego Restaurants Closures & Downgrades This Week (January 9 - 15) Due To County Health Department Inspections

This is the weekly list of San Diego County restaurants and food facilities that have faced temporary closures and downgraded status due to health inspections from January 9 - 15, 2026.

OP-ED: Free Parking on MLK Day? Balboa Park’s Tone-Deaf Gesture Lands Like A Slap In The Face

Balboa Park announcing “free parking” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not a gift. It’s an insult wrapped in a press release.

BeachLife Festival 2026 Brings Duran Duran, The Offspring, James Taylor And More Back To Southern California’s Coast

One of Southern California’s most reliable coastal music gatherings is returning in a big way this spring, and it’s once again shaping up as a can’t-miss weekend for local concertgoers willing to make the short trip north. BeachLife Festival has announced its 2026 return to Redondo Beach, taking over the city’s waterfront May 1 through May 3 with a stacked lineup that blends legacy icons, alternative rock mainstays, reggae favorites, and modern hitmakers.

Eyes in the Sky, Rights On The Ground: What San Diego’s Police Drone Boom Means For Privacy, Policing, And Public Safety

Law enforcement drones are now so widespread across San Diego County that the question is no longer whether police are watching from above, but how often, under what rules, and with whose consent. 

Cucina Enoteca Will Close Del Mar Location After 12 Years As Rising Costs And Oversized Lease Catch Up To Flower Hill Fixture

After more than a decade as one of Del Mar’s most visible dining destinations, Cucina Enoteca is preparing to close its Flower Hill location, bringing an end to a 12 year run that once symbolized the expansion era of North County dining. The two story restaurant, which opened in late 2013, is expected to shutter in mid March after its ownership elected not to renew the lease.

After Years Away, Chef Jason McLeod Returns To Lead The Kitchen At Ironside Fish & Oyster In San Diego’s Little Italy

Chef Jason McLeod is back in San Diego and returning to a familiar pass: Ironside Fish & Oyster in Little Italy, the restaurant that helped define Consortium Holdings’ early pivot from cocktail mythology into a group that could actually cook. 

Moe’s Bartender Seen Back In Public As Recovery Continues Months After Mission Beach Stabbing

More than three months after a brutal stabbing inside Moe’s Steakhouse shocked San Diego's Mission Beach, bartender Matthew Harnden is continuing his long road to recovery, and according to a recent encounter inside the very place where the incident occurred, is gradually reclaiming everyday moments of normalcy.