Check out the best San Diego restaurants and pubs to hit this week.
Edited by Lisa Kelley
San Diego is a hotspot for culinary creativity, and we can’t get enough of these fabulous menus. This week, enjoy dining and sipping at brand new concepts, outposts of popular eateries and even some older favorites that are celebrating noteworthy anniversaries.
Breakfast Republic
Liberty Station has been exploding with new dining concepts and outposts of popular established eateries for the last couple years. Newly opened in this dining metropolis is Breakfast Republic, first seen in North Park. The egg-centric menu features out-of-the-box creations as well as many of the same entrees from their original location, such as the shrimp and grits breakfast plate, breakfast mac ’n’ cheese, pancake and french toast flights and even a new cocktail menu. 2865 Sims Rd., Liberty Station, 619.693.5434. breakfastrepublic.com
Coin Haus
San Diego’s first beer-centric arcade just opened in La Mesa with a modern twist on favorite vintage arcade games and more than 40 craft brews at the self-serve tap house. The Cohn Restaurant Group concept is set up in an industrial garage right next to sister restaurant, Bo-Beau Kitchen + Garden. Guests can access more than 30 video game classics as well as beer, wine, kombucha and cold brew coffee, all using a pre-aid wristband key fob. 8361 Allison Ave, La Mesa, 619.741.2288. cohnrestaurants.com
Cusp
July 28. Views of La Jolla’s coastline from the 11th-floor venue at Hotel La Jolla are enough to entice guests for a happy hour or dinner. Add a live jazz musician to the mix and it’s truly an event. On the last Thursday of July and August, diners can swing their heads to the music of the Jazz Supper Club. This month, enjoy tunes from the talented Ben Wanicur while dining on the fresh coastal menu. 6:30-9 p.m. 7955 La Jolla Shores Dr., La Jolla, 858.551.3620. cusprestaurant.com
Urge Gastropub
July 29-31. Urge Gastropub Rancho Bernardo is turning six and decided to host its own weekend-long celebration. The festivities will include live music, giveaways, food specials, anniversary beers, raffles and more. The eatery is known for its creative burgers such as the Garbage Burger with grass-fed beef and wild boar bacon patty, sautéed mushrooms, onions, white cheddar and horseradish aioli; the Fahrenheit Burger with hot pepper relish, pepper jack and chipotle aioli; and their Burger of the Gods with grass-fed beef, smoked bacon, arugula pesto and green goddess aioli. urgegastropub.com
Cafe Gratitude
July 31. The San Diego outpost of the popular organic plant-based restaurant based in Los Angeles is celebrating its one year anniversary. The festivities will include a free, family-friendly community block party with high-energy live musical performances, on-site screen printing on t-shirts, local vendors, crafts and children’s activities, a cake cutting ceremony and more. 1-5 p.m. 1980 Kettner Blvd., Little Italy. cafegratitude.com
Ponsaty’s
Aug. 2. Rancho Santa Fe’s newest and highly anticipated restaurant opens its doors on August 2. As part of the Grand Restaurant Group, the new eatery combines elements of French and Spanish cuisine with locally sourced ingredients. Executive Chef Patrick Pansaty has curated a menu with signature dishes such as the California burrata and serrano ham, Baja scallops, veal cheeks and more, as well as signature cocktails. 6106 Paseo Delicious, Rancho Santa Fe, 858.771.1871. ponsatys.com
Grape Smuggler
Aug. 3. If we had to go back to school, Oenology 101 would definitely be our first choice class! This class with sommelier Greg Majors features five wines from the fast emerging wine region of Valle de Guadalupe. Access the ins-and-outs of wine pairing, decipher new notes and flavors and enjoy bites from Cecilia’s Taqueria at Grape Smuggler’s wine school. 6:30-7:30 p.m. $40/pp. 2820 Historic Decatur Rd, Liberty Station. grapesmugglersd.com
True Food Kitchen
Aug. 3. As the finale for its summer community dinner series, True Food Kitchen hosts “A Toast to Summer” in which Chef Nathan Coulon prepares an intimate four-course dinner with wine pairings. The menu features chilled tomato consommé, fresh bean cassoulet, braised short-rib with German butterball potato and almond cake with local fig, lavender honey, lemon curd and frozen yogurt. 6 p.m. $55/pp. 7007 Friars Rd., Mission Valley, 619.810.2929. truefoodkitchen.com
Notorious Burgers
Aug. 3. Take in the surroundings of a Prohibition-themed brewpub while dining through a beer paired four-course menu at Notorious Burgers. Executive Chef Brian Gruber and Guest Chef Andrew Leonard put together a seasonal menu featuring boules de biere, blue agave grilled heirloom watermelon caprese, roasted fennel, leek and jumbo lump crab gazpacho, trio of grasped beef and framboise sorbet with liquid nitrogen sorbet and nutella drizzle. All courses are served with brews from the San Diego-based Lost Abbey brewery. 6955 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, 760.431.2929. notoriousburgers.com
