The maxim is “everything in moderation,” but I make an exception for pizza joints, especially when they’re run by an Italian native known for his mastery of wood-fired Neapolitan pizza. Later this month, Encinitas will be the home of Isola Pizza Bar’s third location when it opens at 569 South Coast Highway 101.
Chef/owner Massimo Tenino hails from the Liguria and Piedmont regions in northwestern Italy, where his nonna taught him the art of cooking and set him and his brother Paolo Carlo down similar tracks (him in the kitchen, his brother as a winemaker for Pietro Rinaldi Winery in Alba, Piedmont). He opened the first Isola in Little Italy in 2012, followed by La Jolla in 2016, so it hasn’t been a rapid-fire expansion plan—but rushing has never really been the Italian way.
Like the other Isolas, food will center around the wood-fired oven. It’s used for everything from pizza to roasting vegetables, firing seafood, finishing meat, calzones, and goes along with housemade items like cheese, from-scratch pasta and sauces. As an added brother bonus, the wine program features Pietro Rinaldi wines produced exclusively to pair with Isola’s menu. Along with core menu items, Tenino says he plans to introduce some location-specific specials, like a seafood risotto, gnocchi pasta with eggplant and smoked mozzarella, and housemade ravioli with ricotta and spinach.
Courtesy of Isola Pizza Bar
Pizza is still the star of the show, made with double-zero flour imported from Naples, which gives the dough the ability to stretch without tearing for that signature Neapolitan airiness. It’s fermented for 48 hours to develop a deeper flavor and allow for a better gluten structure, then fired at 900 degrees in the fiery oven for char and chew. Then it’s topped with things like smoked mozzarella, parma prosciutto, or chile calabrese.
Eventually, Tenino says the Isola team plans to open a guest house and cooking school in the Piedmont wine region of Italy, to teach guests how to prepare local dishes and learn about the local wine scene. Whenever this pizza-wine pilgrimage from San Diego to Italy happens, I humbly volunteer as tribute.
Isola Pizza Bar will open at 569 South Coast Highway 101 on April 30, 2026.
Courtesy of GoodBar
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
New Blood Behind The Bar At GoodBar
At one point or another, every regular at every bar at least wonders what it would be like to run the place. But for Fonda and Todd Erwin and Kayla Kersey, they don’t have to wonder anymore. The former regulars at GoodBar are now running the show at the Point Loma watering hole.
Both born and raised in Point Loma, they raised their family in Temecula until 2017 when they decided to come home—landing about two minutes away from GoodBar. Needless to say, they were frequent visitors, Fonda laughs. Buying a bar wasn’t exactly part of their retirement plan, especially after the pandemic. But one night, she and Kersey discussed the possibility of buying a place (Fonda’s an event planner, and Kersey has bar and hospitality experience).
They don’t plan on making many changes—especially not the Philly cheesesteaks, Fonda promises. They’ll start showing more Padres games as well as Phillies and Eagles games, and maybe expand the hours. But for the most part, the trio is enjoying the YOLO lifestyle of non-retirement. “I don’t have any reason to be sitting at home,” says Fonda. “This was never in the plan, ever… [but] it is an absolute perfect fit.”
Courtesy of Tony’s Jacal
Beth’s Bites
Speaking of mo’ pizza mo’ happiness, Pizza Cassette is now open in Pacific Beach! Jimmy Terwilliger’s New York-meets-Italian style of pizza is not trying to be authentic Neapolitan, but if you’ve had the chance to swing by their permanent pop-up at The Gärten, you’ll know it’s authentically delicious.
80 years of Tony’s Jacal in Solana Beach is a mega-milestone to celebrate! All the way back in 1946, Tony and Catalina Gonzales opened the Mexican restaurant in the quiet beach community. Today, the family carries on the tradition with the same recipes (plus a few more). I’ll raise a margarita to the next 80 years.
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Dining and Cooking