San Diego, CA

Contributors residing here:

• gogobunny

Chinese

• Dumpling Inn: 4619 Convoy Street (San Diego)
  • Tiny hole-in-the-wall place with awesome food and low prices. One of the best Chinese restaurants in San Diego. Try to get there early, the dining room is tiny and there's often a line outside for tables.

• Jasmine: 4609 Convoy Street (San Diego)
  • Also one of the best Chinese restaurants in SD, Jasmine has an enormous dining room that often hosts wedding receptions and is therefore often full, so come on a weekday or with alternate dinner plans in case the restaurant's been rented out that evening. It's not on the menu but try the crispy fried long beans with garlic salt, they're delicious. Jasmine also serves excellent Dim Sum.

Desserts

• Extraordinary Desserts - 2929 5th Ave, San Diego, 92103
  • Delicious cakes and baked goods with amazing floral presentation. Big crowds after dinner every day, so get there early. Great date place.

Fine Dining

• George's at the Cove: 1250 Prospect St. (La Jolla)
  • Lovely ocean views and great food. Comparable to Pamplemousse.

• Pamplemousse Grille: 514 Via De La Valle (Solana Beach)
  • My favorite upscale restaurant. It's been voted best San Diego restaurant three years running by the Zagat Survey, and I tend to agree. The cuisine is Californian/Continental and truly excellent, and the place itself is elegant and cosy, not stuffy. I won't recommend specific items as their menu changes frequently, but I've never ordered a bad (or mediocre) dish there.

Greek

• Greek American Family Restaurant: 392 N El Camino Real (Encinitas)
  • Family-owned and operated Greek place that makes the best Spanakopita ever.

Indian

• Monsoon: 729 4th Ave. (downtown San Diego)
  • Tasty Indian food and neat decor. They sometimes have bellydancers during the evenings.

Italian

• Borelli's: 285 N El Camino Real (Encinitas)
  • American-style Italian food. Inauthentic but delicious.

Jamaican

• Jamroc 101 Caribbean Grill: 101 N Coast Highway 101 (Encinitas)
  • Pretty much the only Jamaican place I know of in San Diego, it's tiny but delicious, and they serve goat curry (which is excellent).

Sushi

• Kaito: 1476 Encinitas Blvd (Encinitas)
  • Supposedly a Japanese/Italian restaurant, but I've never tried any of their Italian dishes. Good sushi, and discounted during happy hour.

• Samurai: 979 Lomas Santa Fe Dr. (Solana Beach)
  • One of the longest sushi bars in the state, they usually have at least 4 or 5 sushi chefs working simultaneously. Great sushi, and if you're a regular the chef might make you something delicious that's not on the menu, like marinated maguro sushi with fried garlic slices on top. They also have a few Teppanyaki tables, also very good.

• Tomiko: 87 Encinitas Blvd (Encinitas)
  • Good sushi with a spectacular ocean view.

Vietnamese

• Phuong Trang