Here Are 11 Restaurants That Have Made North County the New Culinary Capital
The San Diego restaurant scene sometimes seems to suffer from a sense of inferiority. The energy and reputation of the scene have long been more about the casual than the formal. Certainly, back in the day, Coronado had the Prince of Wales Room at the Hotel Del Coronado, and San Diego had The Grant Grill and Mr. A’s. But to the extent that 20th century San Diego was recognized for its food, it was probably more for Jack in the Box and Roberto’s Taco Shop than for anything resembling fine dining.
It may still be. Despite having the only Michelin three-star restaurant in Southern California, San Diego’s culinary reputation always falls short in comparison to that of Los Angeles. Perhaps it’s time to recognize that is not entirely as it should be. Maybe it is also time to ask the critical question: why?
One answer to that question may be that the best restaurant scene in the greater San Diego area is probably not, for the most part, in the city of San Diego itself. Rather, the energy seems to be found more in the northern reaches of the County—particularly in Oceanside and northern Carlsbad.
While there are, no doubt, some great restaurants south of Del Mar—Animae, Callie, Soichi Sushi and Sushi Tadokoro, for example—what sets the San Diego restaurants of the North County scene apart is their energy, ambition and willingness to take risks. That, and an audience that wants those risks to be taken. With that said, allow us to indulge ourselves as we dive into the best restaurants in San Diego’s North County that have taken the culinary scene to new heights.
Valle
One leader of the pack is Chef Roberto Alcocer’s Valle. Perhaps the thing that distinguishes Valle is the fact that the food coming out of the kitchen is both exquisitely high-end and unabashedly Mexican. Indeed, Alcocer likely got the gig based on his exceptional work at Malva Restaurant in Mexico’s Valle de Guadalupe.
For those who might be unfamiliar with Mexican fine dining, it is indeed a far sight from Roberto’s tacos. It’s not even an upscale taco shop; it is fine dining done in the Mexican idiom. That, of course, is why Valle has a Michelin star. Among Valle’s signature dishes are the Charred Onion Tarte with Sterling Supreme Caviar, along with Alcocer’s take on barbacoa, featuring braised Niman Ranch lamb with avocado leaves, adobo and corn tortillas.
Location: Oceanside
Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub
Valle is not the only reason that the northern reaches of San Diego County may be the beating heart of San Diego’s restaurant scene. Indeed, it was not the first restaurant to draw diners north from San Diego and south from Orange County. The title of OG of the Oceanside restaurant scene goes to the Wrench and Rodent Seabasstropub, Davin and Jessica Waite’s iconic, suis generis punk rock sushi bar.
Surely, those words are not often seen in proximity to one another, but that is precisely what the place is: a punk rock sushi bar. There’s punk on the walls. There’s punk behind the sushi bar. There’s punk—both in attitude and in the sense of stripped-down honesty and boundless creativity—in every piece of nigiri that crosses the bar.
Order the nigiri, sashimi or sushi rolls at will, but to get a true sense of what the place is all about, it’s far better to go omakase and let the Waites and their team surprise you, astonish you and tell you the truth.
Location: Oceanside
The Plot
Just up the road from their sushi bar, the Waites own another restaurant, The Plot, which features exceptional vegan fare. If Wrench and Rodent is sushi reimagined, then The Plot is vegan cuisine recreated from the ground up. Like many vegan restaurants, The Plot prides itself on its social and environmental role: a sustainability-focused supply chain featuring regenerative agriculture and a commitment to keeping even an ounce of scrap from ending up in a landfill.
But where The Plot differs from some vegan restaurants is flavor. For many non-vegans, vegan cuisine may sound less than sexy. Virtuous? Sure! But while they are good for the planet, are they good for the palate? At The Plot, the answer is yes. It is tasty, fun and more joyous than earnest. That is something not often said of vegan restaurants.
Location: Oceanside
Jeune et Jolie
Travel slightly east and south of Oceanside to the northern reaches of Carlsbad, where Eric Bost offers high-end French cuisine filtered through a Southern California lens at the one Michelin-starred Jeune et Jolie. Bost worked for a number of top French chefs like Alain Ducasse and Guy Savoy—first in Paris then on American shores—before opening his highly respected Los Angeles restaurant, Auburn (a Covid casualty). Jeune et Jolie was recently named one of the 100 most romantic restaurants in the United States. If you’re lucky, the Lapin (rabbit) will be on the menu. It is, amusingly, a rabbit sausage served with what bunnies legendarily eat: carrots!
Location: Carlsbad
Addison
Unquestionably, the most prestigious restaurant in San Diego County—indeed, technically in the city of San Diego in the Fairmont Grand Del Mar hotel—is Addison. It’s not just the only San Diego restaurant with three Michelin stars, but it’s the only California restaurant south of the Bay Area with three Michelin stars! And it deserves every one of them. Helmed by Chef William Bradley, a Thomas Keller protégé, Addison’s food is characterized by one fundamental thing: perfection. Much like Keller’s food at The French Laundry, the style at Addison is modern French cuisine featuring absolutely exquisite ingredients that are both cooked and plated with utter precision.
Location: Del Mar
Dija Mara
Over the last decade or so, San Diego County has grown from what it once was: a sleepy stretch between Camp Pendleton and the Mexican border. The same can be said for its cuisines from around the world. San Diego’s Asian food scene, in particular, is light years better. Of those, Southeast Asian cuisines have shown particularly brightly with excellent Thai, Lao and Vietnamese options.
One of the less well-known of the Southeast Asian cuisines is the food of Bali. At the Michelin Bib Gourmand Dija Mara on South Coast Highway, Chef Jason Ambacher offers Indonesian-inspired cuisine that persuaded the Michelin Guide to identify Dija Mara as an “inspector discovery.” The Nasi Goreng—a fried rice featuring kepac manis (a sweet soy sauce)—is Indonesia’s national dish and is easily reason enough to make the trip north (or south) worthwhile in and of itself.
Location: Oceanside
Matsu
One of the understated treasures of San Diego County’s food scene is the elegant fine-dining Japanese cuisine of Chef William Eick’s Matsu. So often—no, too often—Japanese cuisine in America is identified with sushi or ramen. Matsu puts to rest any such notions. Is Matsu a fine-dining restaurant with a Japanese obsession or a Japanese restaurant with a fine-dining conundrum? The answer is yes. Matsu’s food is every inch fine dining and is also entirely true to the spirit and essence of Japanese cuisine. It is evident in the minimalism of the decor, the purity of the flavors and the simple elegance of the presentations. If it’s on the menu when you go, do not fail to order the cabbage gyoza with caviar and cabbage juice.
Location: Oceanside
Campfire
Under common ownership with Jeune et Jolie, with whom they share Chef Eric Bost, Campfire substitutes in some outdoorsy fun, whereas its sister serves up a gauzy dose of romance. But Campfire is not just smoke and mirrors. The San Diego restaurant offers creativity and a level of technical expertise and precision that earned it a Michelin Bib Gourmand. But there is something sexy about it all. Maybe it is the allure and primal connection to the hot lick of open flames and the kiss of smoke. That is what makes the koji-aged ribeye steak with fermented Fresno chiles and chimichurri an absolute must-order.
Location: Carlsbad
Ember & Rye
The headliners at Ember & Rye at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa are celebrity chef Richard Blais—with deep runs on “Top Chef”—and Executive Chef Jonathan Bautista, who earned a James Beard nomination at Kingfisher in San Diego’s Golden Hill. The food at Ember & Rye is that of a serious foodie take on the steakhouse. The headliner is the beef rib chop “Storm Breaker cut” featuring 40 ounces of Imperial County’s Brandt beef. But befitting the steakhouse theme, Ember & Rye takes its cocktail program seriously, too—as the Smoking Ember cocktail shows: mezcal, grapefruit, agave, lemon and lime all encased in a citrus smoke bubble.
Location: Carlsbad
Lilian’s
Lilian’s is the signature restaurant of the beautiful and luxurious Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, located just north of San Diego. The charm and beauty of the location are an integral part of the restaurant’s sense of luxury. The star of the experience, though, is the modern cuisine created by Chef Moira Hill (who recently left the restaurant). Start with the warm crab salad of butter lettuce with pickled shallots, avocado, radish and a citrus vinaigrette. Continue with the lamb chops with chimichurri and whipped blue cheese. But save room to finish with churro beignets featuring dulce de leche, vanilla anglaise and a chocolate mezcal fudge.
Location: Rancho Santa Fe
Atelier Manna
Atelier Manna is the passion project of Chef Andrew Bachelier following his departure from Jeune et Jolie. This San Diego restaurant is romantic in a completely different way from traditional French dining. No fancy French? No problem. No dinner? No lunch either? It’s a brunch restaurant. But wait? No cocktails? Nope! Atelier Manna is a bluefin tuna interpretation of a Peruvian tiradito, an Asian take on beef tartare. Its scallop and grits, and its albacore tuna poke. Oh, there are whispers of fine dining, but unmistakably in the brunch idiom.
Location: Encinitas
