San Diego Restaurant
 

My husband and I will be in San Diego on Sunday for a week long conference and while there are planning on taking our best friend's son who is a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton and some of his friends to dinner one night. Any suggestions on a restaurant? Want something fun and not too fussy. We are staying at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Are they driving down to San Diego, or are you going north towards Oceanside?

They are meeting us in San Diego....

I would meet them at Jakes in Del Mar..Not too far of a drive for either of you, and a pretty lively place. Great food- not the kind of place young marines usually head toward, but i think they'd like it too.

Hometown Buffet is an all-you-can place where the food is good and very reasonably priced. The Old Spaghetti Factory also is a good value. In Old Town there are several good Mexican restaurants. Anthony's has excellent seafood.

They might enjoy Dick's Last Resort in the Gaslamp. It's not very far from your hotel. Or Buco di Beppo (sp?) also in the Gaslamp. My late-teen and early-20s sons like it. I like the garlic bread.

I'll ask my sons in the morning for other ideas.

Dave & Buster (by freeway 8) may be a place for fun; the food is OK (my husband said). Or more casual and funky is Corvett (sp?) in Hillcrest. Rei do Gado downn town is a good all-you-can eat for canivore folks if you like the Brazilian style BBQ; a large selection of meat is served at the table until you stop! A good salad buffet included + 2 types of soup, some delicious fish dishes, cold cuts, fruit, etc.) It is ~$26/dinner (Fri, Sat, Sun); lunch is ~$18(?) on the weekend. I can't rememebr their web site; you may want to look it up for more details. :> Or if you like Irish food & beer, try Dublin Square:
http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/185596. Their corned beef and shepherd's pie are good. I remember the waiter looked at me when I ordered a juice drink (my pregnant belly was hindered by the table).


I second the idea dining in Oldtown on the weekend. The atmosphere at some large Mexican restaurants is very festival; prepared for the weekend crowd, though. You might want to make reservation in advance since it is the weekend; some of the good/popular restaurants in town would not have tables until after 8PM or you have to wait for a min 30' w/o res. (during the peak hrs 6:30-7:30PM).

Enjoy!

Patsye,
I think a lot would depend on the ages and experiences of the Marines.
Are they recent "boots"? New brown bars? Senior NCO's? Older officers?
M

dick's last resort is usually lively - only ok food.
casa de bandini in old town has a great atmosphere.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I have been away from the computer for the last couple of days because my father-in-law passed away on Friday and we had to cancel our trip to San Diego. Really appreciate all of your replies though.

patsye-I am very sorry to hear about your father-in-law. I will certainly keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.

EEk! Don't eat at the Home Town Buffet! Awful food! The last time someone dragged me there I vowed I won't go again even if it's free. The food is just like eating a TV dinner...and NOt a gourmet TV dinner, either. This would NOT be a treat for a Marine who already must eat too much mess-hall-style food.

The Old Spaghetti Factory is a fun and inexpensive place. Your whole dinner is included in one price...about $10 for your dinner with salad, bread, coffee, and spumoni for dessert.

Aesop's Tables in the Costa Verde shopping center across from UTC (University Town Center, La Jolla, on Genesee Ave. and La Jolla Village Dr.) has good Greek food and fun appetizers, and good service. Aesop's would cost you more than the Old Spaghetti Factory. A dinner at Aesop's would be maybe $12 and you would get a choice of soup or salad. Coffee and dessert would cost extra. Appetizers would cost extra and they are good here.

IF it's a sunny day and you want to get a good view of the ocean at La Jolla Cove, eat out on the outside patio at George's at the Cove in La Jolla. Dining on the patio would cost about $15 for your entree, and salad or soup and bread would cost extra. (If you dine inside at George's it would cost you even more.)

Lots of good choices in San Diego. If you like spicy Thai food there's a tiny family-run restaurant in Kearny Mesa area on Convoy called Chile's Thai Gourmet. A friendly couple do the cooking and the serving. Has faithful regular customers. It's in the same shopping center as the Original Pancake House, which has a terrific Apple Pancake and a gigantic German pancake.

patseye, so sorry for your loss.

I hope you get to come to San Diego some time in the future.

Patsye, sorry to hear of your father-in-law's passing. Sympathy to you and your family.

Thanks to all for the kind words.