Fine Dining

The Restaurants of San Diego Provide Appetizing Fine Dining Options for Your Every Mood

San Diego County’s fine dining establishments are as varied in cuisine and theme as the surrounding landscape, and just as intriguing. Each community provides ample opportunity to sample exciting new cuisines or enjoy traditional dishes prepared to perfection. And what is a fine meal without fine wine to accompany it? From the broad range of Napa’s boutique wines to the best of the rest, your palate is sure to be pleased.

Visitors and locals alike should make a point of enjoying the vibrancy of downtown from famous Mister A’s outdoor balcony, which looks out over the entire San Diego cityscape. Or you might prefer the dramatic ocean views afforded by the cliffs of La Jolla instead. The crashing surf and breathtaking sunsets may attract many diners, but it’s the Marine Room’s spiced Kobe beef carpaccio that you’ll end up telling your friends about. When it’s the call of sumptuously fresh seafood that beckons, you’ll have a host of choices up and down the coastline as well. You can opt for the elegance of coastal cuisine and the beautiful views of San Diego Bay that you’ll find at Sally's Seafood on the Water, where you might chose the remarkable pan seared porcini crusted ahi. Always a sure bet, the renowned Tom Ham’s Lighthouse Restaurant sits at the tip of Harbor Island, a location that provides a magnificent bayside vista. Or perhaps you’d rather head to the waterfront for an evening cruise and an unrivaled view of “America’s Finest City” aboard one of San Diego Harbor Excursion’s fine dining vessels.

Consistently recognized for the excellence of food, wine and service, Donovan’s Steak and Chop House in La Jolla’s Golden Triangle area is fine dining exemplified, regularly serving prime cuts of beef grilled to perfection. If casual elegance and California cuisine is more your style, it’s hard to beat 1500 OCEAN, the new, sophisticated and contemporary signature restaurant at the Hotel Del Coronado. An acclaimed, trend-setting Executive Chef has drawn rave reviews and international attention for J. Taylor’s Restaurant at L’Auberge Del Mar Resort and Spa. Whether you decide on the fresh Alaskan halibut with baby artichokes, or the herb crusted rack loin of Colorado lamb with goat cheese gratin, you are sure to be pleased. For those having a hard time deciding, there is a tasting menu available each evening.

Of course there is plenty of international influence on San Diego’s dining community as well. The delicate flavors of Nouvelle Cuisine draw rave reviews for Mille Fleurs in Rancho Santa Fe, where you should be sure to enjoy two San Diego staples: outdoor dining and a Chino’s salad. Make an evening of it and enjoy the Piano Bar while you’re there. There are numerous opportunities to savor the flavors of many cultures from around the globe, from the ever-present, genuine Mexican dishes, to the sashimi and shabu-shabu of the Japanese; from the culinary joys of Little Italy, to a new twist on a traditional Peruvian ceviche, the food choices of San Diego County would take a lifetime to explore and enjoy.

For those visiting the area to evaluate your San Diego real estate options, there may seem too many wonderful fine dining restaurants from which to choose. Please feel free to contact Realtors Brenda and Dan Wyatt for an insider’s personal recommendation based upon the location of your accommodations, food preferences, time frames and the time of year.