Even for a Type A planner and researcher like myself, planning a family vacation, albeit exciting and fun, can be daunting and exhausting. And that’s for someone that actually enjoys it! Everyone in our family has different priorities for what they want to do on vacation, so balancing everyone’s expectations is always a balancing act. For me, food is king. When I visit a new city, I want to try the very best food. ALL. OF. IT.
My wife? She loves history and culture. Museums (me: yawn).
My kids? Fun. Fun. and more FUN.
When planning any of our vacations, and in this instance our San Diego family vacation, here is what my beginning Google and Reddit research always begins with:
- Best food in San Diego
- Best family restaurants in San Diego
- Best ice cream in San Diego (I love ice cream)
- What food is San Diego known for? And then once you find out that, the follow-up research:
- Best tacos in San Diego
- Best breakfast burritos in San Diego
- Best fine dining in San Diego
- What to do in San Diego with a family
- Best family hotels in San Diego
I keep a Google Doc with all the information I find in my initial research, and then I start to zone in on what attractions I think my family would like to do most as a framework for where to eat in San Diego!
After going through everything San Diego has to offer and taking into consideration our specific family, here’s the attractions that were a must see for us:
- San Diego Zoo
- Hop On/Hop Off Bus
- Old San Diego
- Seaport Village
- Legoland
- Seaworld
- Padres Game (unfortunately it was All Star week so the Padres didn’t have anything scheduled)
Note: there was also one other major factor when planning this specific vacation. We were going to San Diego specifically for my daughter’s figure skating competition. She had two days of competition, which ate up a large portion of both days. Figure skating is also a very EARLY sport, which means we had to be in bed the night prior nice and early for 4am wakeups.
Once I had decided on attractions, I started to do more detailed research for both where we were going to eat in San Diego:
- Where to eat by San Diego Zoo
- Best family restaurant by SeaWorld
- Best family restaurant by Leoland
- Best food by insert your hotel name
I then started to cross reference all the restaurants and eateries that kept popping up over and over again, which helped me make my short list of food I have to eat in San Diego.
From there, it was a simple matching game of what restaurants and eateries were closest to the attractions we were visiting, and then which San Diego ice cream spots were nearby (because you know I’m obsessed with ice cream.
See below for our travel itinerary, and then at the bottom see a complete list of San Diego food I had on my list.
One quick note - this is by no means a complete or exhaustive list. This is just one traveler’s findings on what was the best food options for my family, within our travel itinerary, by the attractions we were visiting. Sometimes I had to forego the BEST option for a secondary solid restaurant because it just worked better for my family’s schedule/location.
One more quick note: reservations at all sit-down restaurants we visited were a must, especially since we traveled with 7 people at the beginning of our trip (3 extended family members came to support our daughter at her competition)
Day 1. Travel Day
Knowing my family would be ravenous upon landing and the kids would need to unwind a bit after a long flight and rental car process, I wanted our first lunch to be somewhere they could spread out, eat pretty casually, and be close to the hotel
One of the best tacos in San Diego options was City Tacos, which has multiple locations throughout San Diego. City Tacos OB Playground is under 10 minutes away from our hotel (Mission Bay Resort) and was an outdoor “playground”. Seemed like the perfect casual spot where we could eat and stretch our legs to play a bit.
We found street parking within 5 minutes (parking was relatively easy throughout our time in San Diego, with a few exceptions I’ll mention as they come up) What struck us first was what a fun vibe this corner concrete lot had. It’s dog-friendly and very family-friendly. The kids could run around, be as loud as they wanted, and there were a bunch of lawn games to play (but no actual jungle gym playground fyi).
The food was a great start to my San Diego foodie vacation… I mean, our San Diego family vacation.
I appreciated that you could customize flour or corn tortillas, since our family definitely prefers flour. We loved the Quesabirria Taco and the Mexicali Taco. The Chile Relleno Taco was also solid, oozing with cheesy flavor.
Mexicali Taco - grilled angus steak, onions, and poblano peppers over melted asadero cheese and mashed potatoes, finished with a crema fresco and cotija cheese. I know, the mashed potato sounds weird… but it was shockingly fantastic!
Quesabirria Taco - traditional Guadalajara style pulled beef with cilantro and onions over a bed of melted asadero cheese finished with a creamy serrano salsa on a semi fried a just infused corn tortilla. I turned this into a mulita (it was an upgrade option the employee recommended) and it was basically more like a quesadilla… AMAZING.
Chile Relleno Taco - beer battered chile guero filled with oaxaca and cotija cheeses topped with arugula, tomato, onion, cilantro, and lime aioli. So much cheese in the best way possible!
Frijoles Charros - pinto beans with chorizo, bacon, and carnitas, topped with asadero and cotija cheeses, tomato, onion, cilantro, and grilled chili pepper. This was FANTASTIC and honestly really impressive. Highly recommend it. For an at home version, check out my Frijoles Charros recipe.
Guacamole - it was actually very good. If I sound surprised, it’s because I am. Usually I find restaurant guacamole either needs more lime and/or more salt, but this one was well seasoned.
Margarita - it was just okay. I wouldn’t get it again to be honest.
I loved their little salsa bar, where you could customize and sample as many sauces as desired. The mango habanero hot sauce was exceptional. It had tremendous flavor for that perfect sweet heat kick, without the overbearing spiciness a habanero can sometimes bring.
After lunch we took the opportunity to explore the hotel (i.e. the kids wanted to go in the pool and of course check out every square inch of our hotel room).
Dinner was planned at the super cute and delicious Cesarina. Only about 10 minutes from our Mission Bay Resort, it was one of the family-friendly San Diego Italian Restaurants that I saw pop up on multiple lists. We dined outside on their nicely decorated patio and everyone loved Cesarina’s colorful, eclectic plates!
The meal started off strong with a solid bread basket along with fantastic cocktails and mocktails. Looking back at the menu, it looks like the drink list does rotate seasonally, but we sampled several and they were all fantastic!
For appetizers we ordered:
Polpo Croccante - honey glazed crispy octopus, romesco sauce, “patate cacio e pepe”, crispy broccoli, capers, roasted cherry tomatoes, red onions, almonds. If it sounds like a lot of ingredients… it is. But they all worked so well together and also provided great textural components! The octopus was also very tender!
Ricotta e Caponata - traditional Sicilian caponata, whipped basil ricotta, “Lingua croccante sale e pepe”. This was good, but we didn't realize it had olives, which we aren’t a fan of. Totally our faul. If you like olives, this will be a home run.
One of the reasons Cesarina was perfect for a family was that they have lots of options, including a robust kids menu. Both our kids went with classic pasta and meatballs, which we all loved (I had to have a taste… dad tax). For the adults, besides a set menu of dishes, they offer a pick your own pasta shape and sauce option. So much fun, albeit a bit overwhelming for the indecisive ones in the family. I had Arrabiatissima, which is a spicy tomato sauce with Calabrian peperoncino, traditional Calabrian pork “Nduja”, and burrata. I asked for a pasta shape recommendation, which they suggested lumache. So comforting, so good.
We skipped dessert here because right around the corner was an ice cream shop that was high on my list to try… Stella Jean’s.
For those that know me, ice cream is my thing. It’s probably the food I’m most passionate about, so believe me when I tell you, this place is special. It is definitely in my all-time top 5 ice cream shops I’ve visited in the country, and it hands down one of the best ice cream in San Diego (and San Diego has a lot of great ice cream from what I experienced in my week there)!
Stella Jean’s has a solid mix of standard flavors along with globally inspired flavors. My kids loved the s’mores and milk & cookies. My wife was feeling something light and went with the strawberry oat crumble, which was surprisingly vegan. Usually vegan ice creams are… well… let’s just say you can tell they are vegan. This was delicious.
However, the star of the show, and honestly, my whole vacation… the ice cream flavors I still am thinking about 6 months later… are the Ube + Pandesal Toffee along with the Guava + Cream Cheese. The ice cream was super creamy, with the most perfect mouthfeel and texture you want in your ice cream, and the flavors were so vibrant and incredibly balanced and unique. I loved it so much that I had both of these flavors at least 3 other times during our trip at some of the various other Stella Jean locations.
Day 2. Zoo Day
This was something the wife and kids were incredibly excited for. It’s a MUST SEE San Diego attraction, and the one attraction that anyone and everyone will tell you that you must visit when you mention you are going to San Diego.
A few quick tips for visiting the zoo that I found helpful:
- Get there when it opens
- Download their app and check it for the daily schedule, including shows and feeding schedule
- Take the 35 minute guided bus tour first to get the layout of the zoo. The top deck has better views
- Skyfari Tram is included in admission… do this at the end to go from the back of the zoo to the front without walking with tired kids
- You can bring in snacks!!! This was incredibly helpful for the
wifekids (but really wife)
Although you can leave and come back (some people recommended walking around Balboa park to find lunch and then return), that was too much for the kids. We just ate the standard park food, which tasted as expected.
We didn’t actually have reservations for this night because I was unsure how the day would unfold with zoo time, but the kids were done exploring after about 4-5 hours. I consulted my list of restaurants I wanted to potentially try, and was pleasantly surprised I could get an early dinner reservation at Herb and Wood the same day for a large party of 7. Bonus points for being only about 10 minutes from the zoo and our hotel!
This ended up being one of our favorite dining experiences. Parking was a bit more difficult in this neighborhood, so leave a little extra time for that. This is definitely a bit more upscale for a family-friendly restaurant, but they welcomed us with open arms and our kids had an excellent fancy dining experience here.
The space is stunning. It’s open and airy with layers of beautiful details. You immediately are struck by their grand bar that serves as an anchor to their barrel-vaulted dining room.
The cocktail menu changes seasonally, but the Strawberry Basil concoction I had was the best cocktail I had on the entire trip. It was amazingly smooth, with what I believe contained clarified milk. If you see it on the menu… get it.
The Baba Ganoush, which is a classic roasted eggplant dip, was topped with these amazing pickled peppers and an addictive wood fired pita. Everyone at the table raved about this appetizer. My only complaint was I wish it came with two (or three or ten) of those pita!
The seasonal Melon Salad with farmer’s market melon, stracciatella, lemon, lime, mint, pistachio, and basil oil was extremely fresh and was a home run. Our daughter, who is a budding wannabe foodie, loved trying something “new” and gave this a 10/10.
I was shocked that she also wanted to try the Pork Belly appetizer, which had a vadouvan mustard aioli, stone fruit, red onion, and pickled mustard seeds. Be still my heart, she is now a huge pork belly fan thanks to this dish. I don’t blame her. This appetizer is special! Usually my wife hates pork belly because she finds it overly fatty, but this was the most perfect ratio of meat to fat. The flavors, which I know look like a lot, were perfectly balanced. Truly one of the best appetizers in San Diego!
I was so happy with my main course. The Beef Cheek Tagine with tomato, saffron, chickpea, goIden raisin, aleppo, yogurt, and dill was the declared the best entree at our table. SO good.
A few people at our table ordered their pastas. The flavors were definitely more delicate and subtle than the other items on the menu we tried, but it was all thoroughly enjoyed.
Although there wasn’t a kids menu here, they were very accommodating with making the kids a cheese pizza!
We skipped dessert here, because, you guessed it, there was an ice cream shop right across the street I wanted to try (it’s like I actually researched all of this ahead of time or something).
Bobboi Gelato, which I know is not technically ice cream, is a small San Diego chain with locations in Mission Beach, Little Italy, and La Jolla. The kids loved that they were welcome to try flavors. The Stracciatella was excellent. The Olive Oil was also very good (although I had a better olive oil gelato at Mario Batali’s Otto in NYC back in the day). The Chocolate Sorbet (non-dairy option) was surprisingly very good and rich in chocolate flavor.
Side note: we all were intrigued watching the planes fly overhead as we walked back to our cars. One comes every 60 seconds, and we later found out that the San Diego airport is home to the busiest single lane runway in the United States. I hope residents are able to tune out the airplane noise after a while!
Day 3. Competition Day
Early morning for our daughter’s skating competition (so proud… she earned the bronze medal in this national event that had a lot of amazing skaters). On the way back to the hotel, the 4am wake up time caught up to the kids and they fell asleep in the backseat. We figured we’d be having a relaxing pool afternoon and the kids were excited to order food there… but me, not so much. I took this as the perfect opportunity to stop for a San Diego must… BURRITOS!
When researching the best burritos in San Diego, one place that was recommended several times was La Perla Cocina #2 and La Perla Cocina #3. #2 was on the way home from the rink to the hotel, so I stopped in for some takeout.
La Perla #2 is a no frills establishment that doesn’t have a budget for their exterior or interior design, yet looks exactly how I would want an epic burrito spot to look and feel. I already knew exactly what I had to order from my fact-finding mission during the planning phase of finding the best San Diego food.
We were here for the Oaxacalifornia + the King Kong.
The Oaxacalifornia Burrito is stuffed with carne asada, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, and French fries all wrapped in a cheese quesadilla. You heard that right. A quesadilla-wrapped burrito.
The King Kong Burrito is jam packed with carne asada, chile relleno, cheese, guacamole, and pico de gallo.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel to dive into these two monsters… literal monsters, these things were HUGE. Even with 4 of us we couldn’t finish them! The high cheese quality was apparent, and the chile relleno in the King Kong was spectacular. I asked for red salsa (not spicy) and green salsa (little kick) for the burritos. Both were very good accompaniments.
After a quick dip in the pool, we decided to make the most of the rest of the day without having to really do anything because we were up early for skating… sitting on a trolley while it took us around San Diego sounded perfect! We hopped on the San Diego Old Town Trolley at the Old Town stop, which was a really quaint side of San Diego full of your typical tourist souvenir shops that our kids loved. We were able to relax on the trolley while our guide talked through all the major sights as we were guided throughout the 90 minutes or so. You had the option to hop off and explore each neighborhood if you wanted (and hop back on another trolley), but we were all very content to just sit and relax. We did explore Coronado for about a half hour, which honestly we weren’t too impressed with because it reminded us a lot of the higher end towns and villages in our native Long Island (i.e. the Hamptons area).
Upon returning to Old Town, we ate a restaurant right in town for convenience, and that was a big mistake. It was mediocre at best! To make up for the meal, we headed over to try one of the closeby ice cream shops on my list. Just six minutes from Old Town, Wild Child Ice Cream is a simple walk up window with a small flavor list that rotates throughout the year. It’s worth the visit for sure if you’re in the area. The Red, White, and Blueberry Crisp Ice Cream had a nice mixture of ice cream, sorbet, and granola crumble. It was creamy and refreshing simultaneously!
Day 4. More Skating, Plus Mom + Dad Date Night
Another early start to the day at the rink for her jump competition and spin competition (in which she earned silver and gold, respectively), followed by a lazy pool afternoon. Asheley and I decided to not have a big lunch because we were saving all available stomach space for our big date night out. One of the perks of traveling with other family members is they are usually very gracious in allowing us the opportunity to enjoy a date night out while they take the kids for an overnight sleepover in their hotel room. I made them reservations for Siamo Napoli, a highly rated San Diego Italian restaurant that they all seemed to enjoy.
Meanwhile…
This was the hardest night of food to select for reservations, because San Diego is home to many high quality fine dining restaurants that I wanted to try. Usually I’ll narrow down all my options into two recommendations, from which I’ll then let Asheley pick the final winner. There were lots of potential winners, but it ultimately came down to Animae or Callie and Asheley chose the latter.
Before heading to dinner, I wanted to make sure to check out one of the several amazing San Diego tiki bars and cocktail bars that I read all about. I had several on my list to try and get a reservation, including Younblood and False Idol, but they were all booked even weeks in advance.
Even though we could only secure an early reservation at the bar stand-up tables, Mothership was an awesome cocktail tiki-esque bar. An unassuming exterior leads way to something completely different and surprising on the inside. As you walk in the rather ordinary looking facade on the outside, you are immediately transported to a crashed starship containing reinspired tiki cocktails along with vegan nosh. Lighting is dim and the extraterrestrial theme is in full effect. There is SO much to look at, and don’t you dare pass up on visiting the restroom for some more thoughtful interior design (it wins best bathroom in San Diego from what I saw). We didn’t partake in any food, but the entire menu resembles a flight manual. We loved the fruity Polaris as well as the refreshing non-alcoholic Tang and Tonic. Next time I’d ask to add vodka to that drink to make it into a great cocktail. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Warbird. It was okay but had a weird flavor we couldn’t pinpoint.
Callie was an incredibly special meal.
We ordered A LOT of food, but no judgment because remember, we didn’t eat lunch. Here’s a rundown of what we got:
C’est La Vie - this cocktail contains California vodka, bergamot, cucumber, lemon, and mediterranean tonic. It was VERY cucumber forward, which my wife loved.
Kook Juice - with mezcal, blanco tequila, passion fruit, aleppo pepper, and lime, was also great.
Hummus - roasted garlic + spicy green zhoug
Babaghanoush - smoky eggplant,roasted onion, za’atar
Avocado Labneh - pistachio, nigella seeds, and local vegetable crudité
Both the hummus and babaghanoush was incredible with a really good depth of flavor. The included pita was light and fluffy, and felt like heaven on earth.
I was shocked how much we loved the super bright and creamy Avocado Labneh. We knew we’d like the labneh, which if you’ve never had before, it’s a must try. It’s a thick, tangy, spreadable Middle Eastern dip made from strained yogurt. The addition of avocado (and I’m guessing some lemon) was incredible. What made it really memorable, though, was the vegetable crudité. The vegetables were SO flavorful, nothing like what you get at the food store. The pickled watermelon radish, banana tomatillo, and lemon cucumber were ridiculous!
Watermelon, Feta & Mint - candied walnuts, summer pickles, temecula lemon oil
Tomato “Fattoush” - spicy red pepper hummus, pita chips, sumac dressing
Corn & Shishito Ravioli - pecorino romano, grilled morel mushrooms, crispy caraway onions
Harissa Grilled Lamb Chops - cucumber, tzatziki
Aleppo Chicken - sumac pickles, yogurt, coriander honey
Both the salads were excellent. The perfect fresh and bright bites we needed to complement the chicken + lamb. I’m amazed how much corn and shishito flavor they were able to cram into those little delicious pasta pockets. SO SO SO good.
Full disclosure - we were going to order the hanger steak, and our waiter told us that missing out on the lamb chops would be a huge mistake. With that kind of confidence, we had to go with his recommendation. I’ve never been so happy being wrong in my life. The lamb chops were MAGICAL. The chicken, which my wife said was just okay, I found to be equally MAGICAL to the lamb chops. The aleppo spice rub combined with the sweet and herbaceous coriander honey was such a unique and satisfying combination. I’d order both again in a heartbeat.
Passion Fruit Pavlova - rose meringue, honey labneh, pistachio havla
Warm Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookie - fig leaf-labneh gelato
Both desserts were thoroughly enjoyed, although I think we liked the pavlova more. This was most likely due to us being absolutely stuffed and the pavlova being a lighter and brighter dessert.
Day 5. La Jolla
When looking for the best San Diego bakery, Wayfarer Bread & Pastry kept creeping into the conversation. They sell out of many items, so you either need to show up early to get in line or you can also pre-order items. We tried to pre-order one day in advance and unfortunately several items I wanted to try were no longer available, so if going that route make sure to order a few days in advance.
We arrived at 8:25am on a Saturday (they open at 8am) and thankfully nothing had sold out yet, even though there was a line of about 15 people down the street. Typical Chris… I ordered way too many pastries. Asheley grabbed a latte and said it was the best she’s ever had. As you can see in the photo above, we tried a BUNCH of different gluten-laden delicacies, including their famous almond croissant, chocolate chip cookie, and pillowy English muffins.
We actually kept these pastries for a snack later in the day, as we had a reservation at Shorehouse Kitchen for brunch before heading to La Jolla Shores.
I’m not a big breakfast person, but this was a solid choice if visiting La Jolla Shores. We ordered:
Pork Carnitas & Poblano Cornbread Eggs Benedict
Mango Pancakes with Lemon and Blueberries
Caramelized Tahitan Vanilla Bean French Toast
Parking was incredibly difficult at La Jolla Shores, and to be honest, we were highly underwhelmed by the beach. It was very crowded and incredibly foggy, even though the weather app said La Jolla would be sunny all day. As we soon learned, La Jolla has its own microclimate and the weather app is rarely accurate there. Maybe if it was sunny and if we weren’t spoiled from having tons of beaches right by our home on Long Island, we’d be more impressed?
The idea of driving to La Jolla Cove to try and find parking again for the next part of the day was not desirable, so we decided to go back to our hotel and take a $30 uber to the cove. After walking through the town, we headed to the cove to see the seals and sea lions. This was AWESOME, as you can get pretty darn close to these beautiful creatures. We also recommend taking the short walk to Shell Beach. The kids (and grandma) loved searching for shells and we were one of only like 5 people at this small beach exploring.
When looking for La Jolla family friendly restaurants, I was between Georges on the Cove or Dukes, and we settled on Dukes purely because the reservation time available worked better for us. I was also interested in trying Puesto, but I felt the menu was too adventurous for some of the people in our party.
Was it spectacular or memorable? No. But was the food totally fine and was it a solid choice for a La Jolla Cove family friendly restaurant. You betcha. By the way, the Lavender Yuzu Lemonade and Lavender Colada were both very good for cocktails!
Before heading back to the hotel, we also made sure to finish off the night with some gelato at the La Jolla Cove location of Bobboi!
Day 6. Relax and Family Photo Shoot
Even though I don’t love breakfast, I am a big fan of donuts! On our way to Seaport Village to do some souvenir shopping for the kids (and to check out the USS Midway), we stopped at a San Diego donut shop called Devil’s Dozen Donuts. A simple walk up window with a huge display of the rotating selection of daily doughnuts, I went for the Guava Cream Cheese and it was GOOD. The excellent crunch of the exterior gave way to a tender interior crumb and a really fresh tasting guava topping.
One of the San Diego fine dining restaurants that way high on several lists was Trust. I didn’t think it was a great choice with our kids for dinner, so we decided to try them for a late brunch (i.e. really it was lunch). Bad idea. It was truly mediocre. I have a hard time fully judging the quality of a restaurant based on their brunch, as they usually don’t have their “A team” working in the kitchen for this shift, but at the same time a place of this supposed caliber should be capable of a higher quality product for brunch service.
The Ultimate Sticky Bun, which rotates in flavor and is limited per day, was very good. Was it worth $16? No, but still very good. The Smoked Pork Shoulder Hash, which was recommended to me by the server, was very one note and underwhelming in both flavor and texture. This was shocking considering the amount of flavorful ingredients listed in the dish. Our kids ordered the wood grilled burgers cooked medium… they came out well done. At $20 for each burger… unacceptable. This, to me, is a great test of the quality of a restaurant. If you have a small focused menu, you have to do everything great. Greatly overcooking both burgers, which is a most basic kitchen skill for a restaurant, is a giant fail.
Whenever we go on vacation, we love (well, I love… the kids tolerate it) a family photo shoot with a local photographer. It’s a great way to update the yearly growth of our family, support local business, and it’s my favorite souvenir from each trip we take. Because we were focused on the photo shoot at sunset, we didn’t really eat a proper dinner (grabbed the kids some sushi to eat in the car on the way), but you better believe we made sure to head to a local Stella Jean’s on the way home!
Day 7. Legoland
The final two days of our trip were all about the kids having fun. And for them, fun = amusement parks.
On the way to Northern San Diego for a day at Legoland, we stopped for a San Diego breakfast burrito at JV’s Mexican Food. The unassuming restaurant is in a small strip mall very close to the Mission Bay Resort, and you can tell everything is made fresh to order. The Chipotle Crunch Breakfast Burrito was legit. It was hearty, flavorful, and the perfect way to start the day. If I had this for breakfast every day… I think I may become a breakfast person!
After a family fun day at Legoland, we headed to Campfire, one of the highest rated San Diego family restaurants, conveniently located very close to the amusement park. With a market-driven menu cooked over live fire in a semi-open kitchen and a nicely decorated interior (albeit the wire chairs which were uncomfortable), this was one of the restaurants I was looking forward to most on our trip.
Flamekeeper - gin, blood orange, pomegranate, sirene, lime, soda. This was fantastic!!!
Porridge Bread - whole wheat, rye, sea salt, charcoal butter. Excellent, although not sure if the charcoal in the butter actually added any flavor.
Quail - grilled & skewered, rum glazed pineapple, tamarind. Sounded good, but extremely small with minimal meat (less than a chicken wing). Not worth the $9.
Crudo - blue fin, cherries, celery, pine nut, urfa biber. VERY good, would definitely order again.
Asparagus - grilled, burrata, peach, focaccia, basil. FANTASTIC… MUST ORDER
Broccoli - chermoula, lime, peanut. GREAT… MUST ORDER
Kids Brisket - overcooked and dried out, chewy. One of the things that drew me to Campfire was that they had a thoughtful kids menu that included more than your typical kids menu fare. Our daughter wanted to try the kids brisket, and unfortunately she received a dried out piece of chewy meat. Very disappointing, so we ordered her the grilled cheese (definitely elevated from your standard grilled cheese) and it was excellent.
Chicken - charred, chipotle, cacao, yogurt, grilled eggplant, oaxaca spices. Good solid entree.
Brisket - smoked, steady state coffee rub, polenta, pickled green tomato. Just like my daughter’s, it was dry and overcooked, but the polenta and pickled green tomato wa great.
Yes, We Have S’mores - chocolate, mallow, graham. Very cool and fun. Every part of this was homemade.
All in all, I think this is a solid restaurant if you’re in the Northern San Diego area, but the appetizers were actually better than the mains.
Although Handel’s ice cream is literally a 2 minute walk from the restaurant, I wanted to check out another highly suggested San Diego ice cream shop on our way back to the hotel: An’s Hatmakers. The line was decently long (out the door and almost to the curb), and it moved very slowly as most people wanted to sample different flavors. I honestly forget what flavors we ordered, but I remember it being SOLID.
Day 8. Seaworld
Seaworld Day! The kids were very excited, we had a great time. We had a terrible experience with food here. I’m hoping it was just a bad day with a lack of staff but just be forewarned even if you mobile-order and they text you that the food is ready, it won’t be. Along with a ton of other people, we waited in line for 30 minutes for the “ready to be picked up” food, and after seeing no progress in the line, I gave up and got a refund. Thankfully we brought snacks and then found a very quick lunch for my very hangry family outside the park at none other than In N’ Out Burger.
In N’ Out Burger is a must for anyone that is a fan of fast food. They are an icon in the fast food world on the west coast. It always hits the spot, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the very reasonable prices.
For dinner, we headed to one of the best San Diego pizza restaurants that I found in my research: Tribute Pizza. Located in the old North Park Post Office and retaining the original signage and barrel vault ceiling with exposed steel trusses, Tribute Pizza has a full seasonal menu of “Neo-Neopolitan” pizza (hybrid of New York and Neopolitan techniques) and appetizer inspired by local Farmers markets.
Here’s a run down on what we ordered:
Seven Caves Saturn - local San Diego tropical gin infused with passion fruit, pineapple, and orange, shaken with passion fruit, fresh lemon, almond orgeat, and velvet falernum. This was AWESOME!
Seasonal Special Drink - totally forget what it was, but I remember it was equally great.
Stone Fruit Panzanella Salad - this was a seasonal appetizer and it was absolutely incredible. We were all fighting over the last bites, and Asheley won.
Wood Fired Focaccia Bread - as you can see in the photos, the focaccia had a fantastic crust and hole structure, leading to a beautifully crisp exterior with a light and fluffy interior. You can also order dips with the bread: we got the Burrata Stracciatella and Balsamic, which was incredible. The Vodka Sauce, however, had way too much garlic and was served cold. Pass.
Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts - deep fried and dressed in roasted garlic, whole grain mustard, white balsamic, chili flakes, and pecorino romano. This was ridiculously amazing and quite possibly one of the best Brussels sprouts we’ve ever had, which is saying a lot because we typically order a brussels sprouts app/side every time we see it on a menu.
Pizzas - they were both very good, but honestly the apps were even better and the highlight of our meal.
The kids and Asheley got the Kevin McCallister, which is your classic pizza. I got a half and half pie custom pie (love that I could do this), with half Dirty Dancin’ and half Bees Mode. The Dirty Dancin’ had red onion, jalapeno, fresh pineapple, and ranch. The Bees Mode had pickled sweet peppers, ricotta, soppressata, mike’s hot honey, and parmigiano reggiano.
Highly recommend getting to Tribute Pizza for a great family dinner in San Diego!
There’s several after dinner San Diego ice cream options by Tribute Pizza:
Hammonds - you can do ice cream flights here!
Stella Jean - you already know I’m obsessed
Mutual Friend - this is one ice cream joint I really wanted to get to, but I just didn’t have enough time
Ans Dry Cleaner - one of the highest rated ice cream shops in San Diego, but even on the weeknight we attempted to go here, the line was VERY long and barely moving. I overheard from a local in the line that this was actually a SHORT wait time, and that weekends are much longer. The line was at least 30 minutes long. With tired kids, we decided to pass and headed to Stella Jean (again).
Day 9. Go Home (the end)
As you’re planning your own amazing San Diego Foodie Family Vacation and are planning your eating itinerary on a family vacation in San Diego, here’s some things to remember:
What are your must haves? Mine were:
- Tacos
- Seafood/Fish Tacos (didn’t get to this because the kids don’t love fish)
- Ice Cream
- San Diego Family Friendly Restaurants with exciting menus for adults
- Upscale Restaurant
- Breakfast Burrito
- Tiki Bar / Mixology Bar
What are your must go-to attractions? My short list (and we didn’t get to all of this because of my daughter’s figure skating schedule):
- Hop On/Off Trolley
- Beaches (Coronado, La Jolla, etc.)
- Gaslamp - USS Midway, PETCO Park for a Padres Game
- Balboa Park - playgrounds, carousel, science museum
- Old Town San Diego - The Whaley House, El Campo Cemetery
- San Diego Zoo
- LegoLand
- Seaworld
Here’s a full list of San Diego eateries and restaurants I researched and were on my list:
BREAKFAST
- Morning Glory - some people swear by it, some say it’s overrated. Highlight dishes are the japanese pancakes, wagyu and eggs, dirty tots
- Shorehouse Kitchen
- Wayfarer Bread & Pastry
- Parkhouse
- Dodo Bird Donuts
- Little Frenchie
- Cotixan - breakfast burritos, has 3 locations
- Donut Bar
- Sayulitas - breakfast burritos
- Werewolf - breakfast balls, homer pancakes
TIKI/MIXOLOGIST
- False Idol - reservations needed
- Young Blood - reservations needed
- Mothership - reservations needed
RESTAURANTS
- Herb & Wood
- Callie
- Campfire
- Juniper and Ivy
- Cicera Ostrai (has a kids menu)
- Jeune Jolie
- Market Del Mar
- A.R. Valentien at Lodge Torrey Pines
- Fort Oak
- Kettner Exchange
- King Fisher
- Animae
- Cowboy Star
- Rare Society
- Trust
RAMEN
- Menya Ultra - tonkotsu ramen
- RakiRaki
- Underbelly
TACOS / MEXICAN
- City Tacos Ocean Beach (has multiple locations around San Diego)
- JV’s Mexican Food
- La Perla #2 or #3
- Ed’s
- Tacos el Gordo
- Tacos el Trompo
- Tacos el G on Highland Ave. In National City for adobada tacos and mulas
- Juanita’s Encinitas
- Oscars Mexican Seafood - fried fish taco, taco especial
- Seafood Kikos Place - fish taco
- Lola 55
- Las Cuatro Milpas
- TJ’s Oyster Bar - fish tacos
- Tahona
- Lucha Libre
- Lolitas - carne asada fries
- Tacos el Gordo, downtown location specifically
- Rubio's Mission Bay - fish tacos
ICE CREAM
- Stella Jean
- An’s Hatmaker
- An’s Dry Cleaning
- WIld Child
- Mutual Friend Ice Cream
- Hammonds
- JoJos
- Sunday Ice Cream
- Handel’s
- Niderfranks
- Mariposa
ITALIAN
- Cesarina
- Siamo Napoli
- Buona Forchetta
- Cori Pasta
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