San Diego Restaurant Help!
 

Hi, Fodorites!

We will have one weekend in San Diego. Where to eat?

We're not big eaters, but we do like good food.

We'll be staying in La Jolla.

Maybe a Sunday brunch place.

Maybe an evening place - remember reading about somewhere with flamenco dancing - is this worth it?

A Happy Hour place? After munchies during happy hour, we'll porbably need just an easy tapas-like place to have a light dinner.

The Green Flash used to be one of our favorite hangouts. Is there something like it along the ocean to view a sunset and watch people?

It's been two years since my last trip to San Diego, so really looking forward to another trip to one of my favorite West Coast cities!

Please help! TIA! :)

anyone?

La Jolla:

Breakfast/lunch- The Cottage, La Velencia Hotel

Happy Hour- Alfonzo's, Nine-ten

Light Dinner- Spice and Rice Thai Kitchen, Nine-Ten

Dinner with a View- The Marine Room, George's at the Cove, Top of the Cove

Not sure about the Flamenco dancing place.

Have fun!

We think Humphreys on Shelter Is or the Sunday Brunch at the Coronado Hotel Del are great Brunch places...

EasyTraveler - when are you going and where are you staying?

I always recommend the terrace/roof top dining at Georges. The food is good, moderate priced and the view is amazing. You will feel like you are in the south of Italy... :-)

I lived in S.D. for most of my life and adore it.

Not sure on the Sunday brunch..do you have a car?

The flamenco dancing place is probably Cafe Sevilla cafesevilla.com
I've never been and can't recall anyone I know ever mentioning the place.
Have fun in San Diego, hope we have some nice weather for you. It's raining today.

Hi, all!

Thanks for the great suggestions!

I was thinking of George's too for one night.

dawn: Yes, of course, we'll have a car. We're Californians and cars are just an extension of our feet! :)

This long weekend is when we'll be there! Yah!


someone mentioned on another thread - something about taking some kind of water vessel to Coronado and having their fish tacos along with their Happy Hour? The last time we went to the Coronado years ago we went for beer and mud pie (yes, the wait staff thought we were nuts too!). Either fish tacos or their Sunday Brunch.

Maybe it was a belly dancing place...

Many moons ago I worked for about a year in San Diego and some days, after work, I'd just drive down to Sunset Beach and watch the sun sink into the ocean in a blaze of glory. There was a small Mexican place on the way where they made the most humongous burritos for $3 apiece! Oh, I can't wait!

Sunday Brunch at the Hotel Del Coronado. Won't have to fight traffic on Sunday. If you intend to stay the whole weekend in La Jolla, then you are wasting money on a rental car. You can walk everywhere.

garybear: thanks for the recommendation of the brunch at Coronado! we will definitely be driving some part of the time. We'd like to do a bit of hiking/walking in Torrey Pines, but we'd also like to drive around and see the other places - Gaslamp District, Old Town (love the hand made tortillas!), Seaport Village, Balboa Park - We've been so many times to the zoo, etc. all those years with kids in tow - this time it's strictly grownup stuff! :)

A new exhibit is opening at the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park tomorrow through June 15. It's called A Day in Pompeii and it looks very interesting. If you've actually been to Pompeii, it might be old stuff, though.

http://www.sdnhm.org/pompeii/index.html

Have you been to Trattoria Aqua in La Jolla?

Also, the Brockton Villa is great for breakfast.

http://www.brocktonvilla.com/1.html

When are you coming?

Hi, Barbara!

Fantastic recommendations!

That breakfast at Brockton's look absolutely luscious!

I'm leaving tomorrow with a couple of stopoffs along the Central Coast.

This would have been an occasion to ask for a GTG with San Diegan Fodorites except that I'm going to be with family and friends and probably wouldn't be able to break away. I'd love to have been able to meet with you as I tend to agree with a lot of your postings - umm- elsewhere. :) Maybe soon, tho, as I'm due to come back down in a couple of months - would that be a good time for you or will you be travelling?

et, LOL! "elsewhere"? :)

I'll be here in a couple of months, so let's arrange a GTG when you're here.

Have a great trip this time. Did you see our weather yesterday on the news!!! Today is lovely - so far -sunny and chilly.

HI, Barbara!

San Diego sounds irresistible!

It's a deal, we'll try for a GTG in a couple of months!

Gotta get going! Was going to start at 8am this morning! San Diego here we come! :)

ET - you are already on the road - have a fabulous time!!! San Diego remains one of my favorite Cities!

If you check this during your trip, I would recommend Island Prime as a splurge dinner spot. The views of SAn Diego skyline are stunning....and the food is very good. The bread they serve is a popover, unique; and, we order the appetizer "menage a trois" which was outstanding. Also, a great wine list especially for wines by the glass. It is too short a trip but for happy hour monday thru friday, I love the Lei Lounge. The BEST drinks for only $4 each!! Hang out at the back patio, it is supercool.

Just got back last night, tired but had a wonderful time in San Diego!

Thanks so much for all the great food recommendations!

We DID go to Georges and sat upstairs on the deck with that wide-open view of the ocean. The food was great - what I remember - fish tacos, calamari appetizers, great steak dinner - Lake Sonoma Zinfandel. Oh my!

Sunday we went to the Crown Room at Hotel Del Coronado for their sumptuous brunch. They couldn't find our reservation, no matter which name we "thought" we had made the reservation in, but they seated us anyhow - close to the seafood buffet! Wow!

The whole buffet brunch at the Hotel Del must rank as one of the best buffets I've ever had!

The lobster bisque (it's hiding behind the carving table) was absolutely superb! The blackened, seared ahi tuna was the kind that was so delicate it melted in my mouth. There was arctic char ( a kind of salmon) done with two sauces, very fresh peeled shrimp that crunched as we munched, and a number of other very good seafood offerings, like Alaskan crab legs. The only thing I didn't go for at the seafood table was the oysters which looked more brown than grey (too warm).

On the other tables there was also a lamb dish that was great. There was the usual beef and ham carving table and a host of other great food that I didn't sample.

Then it was on to dessert. There's a chocolates only table apart from the "usual" dessert table. The chocolate table had, along with chocolate mousse, etc., a chocolate fountain and, on a platter, great big strawberries. Even after a full brunch I just had to have three huge strawberries drizzled with chocolate! :S-

The drinks were a continuous stream of mimosa, coffee, or water or whatever (I can't remember what the others ordered).

The taste of the food is as gourmet as one can get with a buffet. Wonderful!

We were so stuffed we really couldn't eat any more the rest of the day, even though we wandered around the Gaslamp area after 8pm that night and tried to get excited about eating again!

San Diego has so many great places to eat that it is simply calling out for another visit! Thanks again for all the great suggestions! I'm filing them away for my next trip! :)

Hi!

I'm glad you had a good time. I hate brunch buffets because I can never eat enough! I love George's Terrace, their fish tacos are the best in SD, IMO, but you didn't have their signature soup?!

Hi, barbara!

Personally I didn't have the soup which was a rave by the two people who did order it.

I had more than I could handle with one fish taco and the steak - oh, and the zinfandel as well. :)

A couple of us had the nightly special, which was a fish dish (can't remember - lo!). Another had the penne lamb dish which was gorgeous.

I was sort of carried away gazing out at the ocean...

sounds like a fabulous time! so much to try. Thanks for the followup; I'll have to do brunch at the Del for a special occasion. Next time, try Island Prime. Amazing view.