Each month brings a slate of exciting new restaurants to San Diego, whether it’s a splashy new restaurant helmed by an iconic chef, a low-key neighborhood spot, or a pop-up settling into a permanent location. Consider this monthly rundown a go-to guide for the newest and boldest debuts across San Diego.
Miramar— The second location of the Cakery has opened after the launch of the Carmel Valley storefront in early 2024. The Cakery got its start during the pandemic before selling at pop-ups around San Diego. The larger cafe in Miramar has an indoor seating area decorated in a soothing minimalist aesthetic. The expanded bakery menu features Basque cheesecakes, French tea cakes, hojicha and matcha drinks, along with a wide array of sandwiches and pastries. Highlights include the Cakery grilled chicken, which comes with melted cheese, homemade mustard, and barbecue sauce on a toasted ciabatta. The full kitchen in Miramar serves as the central production facility for the cafe and the original Carmel Valley location.
Fleurette. Eric Wolfinger.
La Jolla— On December 10, the team behind Michelin-recognized restaurant Callie opened Fleurette, a French Mediterranean restaurant in La Jolla. Chef Travis Swikard focuses on “cuisine du soleil,” offering dishes like Hope Ranch mussels “vol au vent,” oeufs and eggs served in San Diego uni, egg yolk fettuccine studded with golden caviar and Meyer lemons from the on-site garden behind the 120-seat restaurant. Other menu highlights include Provencal lamb duo, San Diego bouillabaisse with spiny lobster and saffron bourride, and winter citrus vacherin with orange blossom meringue. Cocktails include the Nice, made with honey, lavender, and blue layers of mint, and the Eze, a blue cocktail made with tequila, lime juice, and foam.
Rosemarie’s Burgers. Gabriel Halvor
Encinitas— Rosemarie’s Buns and Brews debuts its third outpost in beachy Encinitas, offering wagyu beef sliders, hot chicken miniature sandwiches, duck fat wings, and chili pork-loaded fries. Located in a former burger restaurant that catered to cars, the drive-thru area has been replaced with a family-friendly turfed patio area with outdoor seating, games, and a large outdoor television screen to broadcast sports and movies. The concept started as a food truck that parked at Harland Brewing in Bay Park before opening restaurants in Mission Beach in 2023 and Ocean Beach in 2024.
La Corriente. La Corriente
Coronado— After the successful launch of the first U.S. restaurant in La Jolla, the second U.S. location for La Corriente opened in the former museum cafe space in the Coronado Historical Association building. The Tijuana-based restaurant chain specializes in red snapper tostada, made with raw snapper fish, red onion, avocado, and aioli. Other menu highlights include Baja maki rolls (only available in Coronado), with options like bluefin or Pacific rim, made with soft shell crab tempura, and clamato-based cocktails.
La Jolla— The first West Coast outpost of PopUp Bagels opened on November 21 on Pearl Street in La Jolla, taking over the former Breakfast Republic corner spot. Founded in Connecticut, PopUp Bagels serves the bagels hot and whole, which are then meant to be ripped and dipped into the branded schmears. The bagels are sold in packs of three, six, and 12 with schmears. While the shmear options always include plain and scallion cream cheese, there will also be rotating cream cheese and butter flavors — the menu will change every week. PopUp Bagels plans to open nine more locations in San Diego, but hasn’t firmed up its next location yet.
Chula Vista— In mid-November, the twelfth and final dining venue at the Gaylord Pacific Resort Hotel opened. Modern Mexican restaurant Marzul Coastal Cuisine sits as a standalone restaurant on the resort property with a view of the boatyard and the bay. Menu highlights include oyster michelada, lamb shank birria, and fideuà studded with Pacific lobster, baby squid, and Spanish chorizo.
Downtown— Anchoring the historic Westgate Hotel, a new French restaurant has debuted in place of the former Westgate Room restaurant. Bonne Vie Brasserie and Bar showcases northern French bistro dishes such as the Burgundy escargot in garlicky parsley butter, French onion soup in beef broth, and Icelandic cod Meunière that swims in brown butter sauce. “Bonne Vie introduces a more refined yet still approachable French bistro–influenced menu, incorporating California ingredients,” says executive chef Fabrice Hardel.
Oceanside—The fourth San Diego location for hot chicken restaurant Main Chick opens in North County. After the first Main Chick restaurant opened in late 2019 in Santa Monica, the poultry-only restaurant eventually expanded to San Diego in 2020 with spots in Clairemont Mesa, Linda Vista, and Carlsbad. The popular battered bone-in leg and thigh gets sandwiched between Hawaiian sweet buns, then topped with cabbage slaw and a tangy “MC” sauce. Other options are chicken tenders, dark meat chicken sandwich, and ube cheesecake. The newest location includes 2,000 square feet of space with indoor and outdoor seating.
Black Rock Coffee. Black Rock Coffee
Mission Bay— On November 21, Black Rock Coffee opened a cafe in Mission Bay on Garnet Avenue. With a drive-through and patio seating, the Oregon-based coffee shop offers coffees such as Mexican mocha; a “caramel blondie”; and the Jackhammer, a vanilla mocha with an extra double shot of espresso. Also on the secret menu are Fuel energy drinks with more than 20 fruit flavors.
La Jolla— The first San Diego location for a Brazilian gelato chain opened in the Shops at La Jolla Village. With more than a dozen outposts in Los Angeles and Orange County, Bacio di Latte was originally launched by Milanese brothers in 2011, who immigrated to Brazil and opened more than 200 locations in South America. The California gelato stores use organic milk from a family farm in Sonoma County. Every three weeks, there are new flavors, but popular ones include the signature sweet cream, pistachio, and Giandujotto.
Dining and Cooking