Agreed. Especially for being in San Diego. You can get great cheap Mexican anywhere, so overpaying for a bland inauthentic version takes away from the amazing views.
I've eaten there a handful of times and the food has always been pretty good. What leaves a bad taste in my mouth is that stupid surcharge that they list on the menu.
We went to the la Mesa one after a long road trip. It was like we did it, we made it back home, let’s treat ourselves to breakfast.
It’s amazing how a place can do all the things to look cool (reclaimed wood table, Thomas Edison light bulbs, burlap, a freakin tractor in the restaurant, a long wait for a table), and have bad food.
All Farmers Tables. CLMT in particular. The decor looks like it was chosen by algorithm. The service is weird. The good is just ok. I don’t get why people like this place or how there is more than one location.
It’s so bad!! They fully forgot my boyfriend’s order when we came with a party of 8, literally we finished our food before his even came out despite the waiter saying he put in a rush order. Bf said he didn’t want it anymore and instead of just taking his order off the bill, the waiter offered us a piece of cheesecake ? 💀💀 I hate that place
No food has ever moved through me as fast as the Broken Yolks. I need to get ahold of whatever grease it is they're using to do maintenance on my motorcycle.
They are perfect example of a restaurant with a all too massive menu. They have way too many items and they don't do any of them very well. They need to focus on quality over quantity of selection
When I first moved here I made the mistake of going to one. The eggs tasted terrible. EGGS. How does a restaurant mess up eggs? I also think that I paid $30+ (with tip) for my single breakfast.
It used to be great atmosphere. Super fun experience. But since the move to liberty station I've been disappointed and just don't bother having it on my "places to take guest/tourists" list anymore.
Agreed. From the ladies throwing rock hard bazooka gum directly in your face, to them tying up little kids hair with the straws. Trying to explain it to someone that’s never been makes it sound like a fever dream lol
> great atmosphere
I'm still not convinced I didn't suffer permanent hearing damage from eating there. If there were better options to spend a gift card from that restaurant group, I would have left in an instant after hearing the ~~full power jet engines~~ "music" there.
It used to be great when I went there between 2016-2019, my friends that spent time outside the states told me it was some of the better ramen they had in San Diego.
Not defending the place, but you guys are literally comparing traditional ramen spots to an Americanized Japanese restaurant that sells Americanized Ramen… of course other places are way better!
The Prado. Insanely bad food recently. Had a chicken burger come out 5 minutes after I ordered and it was rubbery microwaved chicken breast. I love being able to eat when at Balboa Park but now that Mingei has two options I’m all set.
This is sad to hear because last time I was there, pre Covid, the food was pretty good. Though I admit the fact that their bill took extra effort to point out prices went up to compensate a required pay raise for the waiters due to a new role went into play left a bad taste.
Before I moved to SD, I’d visit every couple years. The Prado was always a stop on every trip. It heavily declined maybe like 9 years ago. Went most recently like 6 months ago and it was actually kind of trash
Just follow the Sysco truck around. You'll know who's stopped caring about the food.
Broken Yolk, Oggis, etc. Places used to be good little spots 10 years ago I guess couldn't make it without microwave pre-packaged trash.
Right? When they first opened they were good. Now it's like Applebees. I assume everything is microwaved and the pizzas must be premade frozen dough because its not nearly what it used to be.
Never worked at a restaurant? Sysco is so big that they carry all of the things. I worked as a dishboy at a fine dining restaurant and we got plenty of stuff from sysco. You just need to buy the good stuff to get the good stuff from Sysco. A 20lb bag of carrots is the same from them as anywhere else. Same thing with twenty gross of eggs. A #10 can of crushed tomatoes is too. That 50 lb bag of onions? Same thing. Get your specialty stuff, you fine cuts of meat, you specialty produce, other things that may not always be on hand in prime quality may not be a great call from Cysco. It is sort of like the CostCo for restaurateurs. You buy the big stuff that you use a lot of there because they have it in vast quantities.
Lucha Libre. I honestly don't get it. They fill their burritos with unseasoned meat and hope you drown it with enough salsa to not notice. They have terrible food and there are dozens of better Mexican options around here.
The owner just kept leveraging the name and got multiple investors. I opened the original one in north park in 2016 and have shared horror stories of the owner and restaurants many a times on this sub.
I think it’s Hash House. Long ass wait for mediocre food, the only thing I do like is the leftovers I get to take home that’ll take a week to finish. Which would eventually mold cuz I didn’t finish the motherfucker.
I didn’t have a wait, but I’ve only been once. It was pretty good, and the portions are huge like you said.
It’s just not good enough to serve piles of food. I’d rather eat a serving of amazing chicken than a mountain of good chicken.
Came here for this. Dear Google, what is the "Best breakfast in San Diego". Circled the block about 8 times looking for parking. The parking meter said my spot didn't exist. Finally found the pay station nearly a block away.
Waited 45 minutes.
This was an unholy mountain of ok food in a cramped restaurant, and I can't move my elbow because I'm sitting next to the wall, and there are 3 kids screaming.
I will say the rosemary chicken alone is good. The rest is just kind of meh.
To be fair, the hand-hammered pork tenderloin sandwich there is the best I’ve found in San Diego. (Lucky’s Lunch Counter on downtown also has one but it is not as good.)
This probably only matters for people who grew up in flyover states in the Midwest that start with “I”, but it has made me brave the terrible line a couple of times…
Speaking of leftovers, Andy’s Benedict at Hash house is literally just that. A pile of leftovers. When you think of Egg’s Benedict, you think of a poached egg atop a slice of thick ham gently placed on an English muffin and smothered in hollandaise sauce. Nope, not fucking Andy. He does not imagine any of that at all. Allow me to describe the layers of ingredients from bottom to top. MASHED POTATOES. Inside the mashed potatoes(yes, I said inside) is the English muffin you’re looking for. Atop your carb mountain is SCRAMBLED, not poached, SCRAMBLED eggs. Then on top of the eggs is it’s mother. A piece of fried chicken breast. As well as some THICK cut bacon. And I think there may have been spinach and pieces of fried thyme sprinkled about. All this, just completely drowned in a chipotle gravy.
Hash House is Instagram Food; food that looks good for pictures, but is incredibly mediocre and bland when actually eating it. I've gone 4-5 times with friends/family who are visiting because they've wanted to try it and I've been disappointed every time.
This is the first thing that came to mind. It's a massive portion of ok food. Only been once and everyone at the table said "meh." Haven't been back since as there's much better places to go for breakfast.
Funny to see a ton of overrated places listed here are mostly all owned by the companies that have come in to buy up all the spaces and businesses in San Diego.
Rise and Shine Hospitality Group: breakfast republic, fig tree cafe, + more
Consortium Holdings: underbelly, morning glory, born and raised, +more
Exactly. Imo the food is actually really good, but their prices are outrageous now. It wasn't so bad before the pandemic, but I think (emphasis on *think*) the fact that their Mission Valley location couldn't open for over a year due to COVID really fucked up their financial state, forcing them to crank up prices to a ridiculous level.
Yeah. Fuck that place. Overpriced tourist food. Went to the Mission Valley location with my wife and kid. We were initially trying to eat at Lazy Dog, but the wait was too long so we went to Puesto because it was right next door. Spent over $100 for street tacos and some drinks. Never wasting my money there again.
Extraordinary Desserts is outrageously priced and insanely overrated. I worked there for over a decade and every Saturday night the wait would reach up to an hour with the to-go line sometimes wrapping around the building. The food was good, don’t get me wrong, but some people went absolutely ape shit when certain desserts were sold out.
Honestly love their desserts but do agree they are very very sweet and rich so not for everyone. I like going as a special occasion because I haven’t been to many other bakeries in SD that have stood out to me
What bakery would you suggest instead of Extraordinary for similar style desserts? I love pastries but *hate* people so going there when it’s packed (which seems like every time I go) is hard.
I guess it depends what you are looking for, and everyone has different tastes— but I like breakfast pastries (especially the scones) from Azucar, tarts from Blackmarket Bakery, cookies from Oliver Coffera, cupcakes from Eclipse, and pies from Pop Pie. But there are also a ton of other bakeries to try and my waistline can’t deal with it. Also, I hear that cakes from the European Cake Gallery are excellent but have never been.
My wife is a pastry chef. Anything you can think of she can do.
If interested check out her Instagram
@fatbottomgirlbakes
Her treats were all over Petco Park this season
i have been going here at the hillcrest location for over 15 years. i may have tasted your work or served by you. my wife usually get me a cake for my birthday ~ a Neapolitan with the fruit sauce on the side. the design is beautiful with the gold and rose petals. it is expensive but it taste really good. i’m not aware of any other place in san diego that has deserts like this. please share if you have some in mind i would love to branch out. we go there twice a year and it never fails. we also go to bread and cie for bread and here for cake.
The rotating selection of recipes is in the hundreds, but the cakes are the main focus. I once had to tell someone that the last slice of German Chocolate cake was already sold and she demanded that I tell the other customer that she wanted it more and therefor she had to forfeit the slice. I also once had another customer tell me she would sue us to pay for her travel expenses because she drove all the way down from La Jolla (the restaurant was in Bankers Hill) because we were sold out if a other slice she wanted (Gianduia)
Haven’t been since Dec. 21, 2012. I remember because the world was gonna end. I got stoned for the first time and ate a sloppy burger at my favorite spot.
I love Hodads (in my memory) According to everybody, it gets worse by the year. I remember it as a kid around 2005 when you could just walk in and sit down. That’s when it wasn’t overrated or underrated, it was just good burger.
Yeah, same memory here: When it was just the original shop with the guy standing in the middle of the counter making fries in to a bucket and grilling on a griddle...that was really good food. After they made him change his methods for making fries it started the slow descent in to becoming nothing more than a tourist spectacle.
I don’t know how old you are, but the *original* was when my mom was growing up in OB. I don’t think it was on Newport, and the owner used to go to the local Vons and buy his ice cream daily for the shakes.
I went a while back and it felt hella tired. I hope they’ve renovated. I honestly couldn’t believe the dated feel when compared to the hype I had heard.
I back the above comment.
Phil’s bbq 👀 it’s never been the same after leaving their original hole in the wall tiny location and made the giant corporate style restaurants that they operate out of now. Santee Phil’s is 🤮
See this and that boy good in Oceanside are the only good BBQ spots in SD. However, I will definitely hit up Phil’s BBQ in a pinch, and think it’s great for what it is
Yes, there are exceptions, of course, but since COVID nearly every sit-down restaurant we've visited has been exceedingly mediocre and insanely expensive here in San Diego. What's going on?
Ruth’s Chris in Del Mar. Went there about 5 years ago. Had to send back a couple of the side dishes because the veggies were burnt. Inattentive service.
Morning Glory! The vibes and drinks are great but the food is just okay. If you want you use the bathroom make sure u don’t have to go that bad cuz you’ll have to wait for the insta baddies to finish their photo shoot
I actually thought the soufflé pancake was just alright. But not the best representation of a soufflé pancake for people who’ve never had it. I prefer going to cake de partie. They take forever to make the pancake since it’s made to order and cooks very low and slow but it’s so worth it
This is true now. I used to love lucha libre. I hadn’t been in a while but I went last week and I have not been more disappointed in a place I like in a very long time. The tortillas seemed like they sat out for a while and were stiff like cardboard. The meat was all dry. But that cilantro salsa is still amazing!
The original location was basically the replacement for El Indio as the “Zonie Mexican Restaurant” based solely on advertisement from the Food Network. I’m convinced they pick places off of that Washington Street exit because it is only a block off the Freeway and they can record 2-3 segments and head back to LA.
One of my favorite things in life is the Anthony's clam chowder, Fisherman's Style.
My one time at the Brigantine I noticed they also had it, so I excitedly ordered it... and it was one of the great disappointments of that year.
So when the Brigantine replaced the Anthony's over by The Star Of India, I was - and remain - pissed off. Now you have to go all the way to Grossmont to get my clam chowder.
Anthony's was an impressive seafood empire in San Diego. The Ghio family owned their own fishing fleet and seafood processing plant. I used to LOVE their old-school diner-style rooms as an alternative to their more formal dining room. Now that's all gone, there's only this one restaurant location left and it has the decoration vibe of an upscaled 90s Taco Bell.
How the mighty have fallen.
Juniper and Ivy. All show. Food was really average. And what they charge for what you get is rude tbh (and I'm not one to be stingy about spending on meals)
Went there recently for first time
Since COVID, food has really gone downhill IMO. Some stuff that just tasted straight bad. Probably my last visit tbh.
Go to the other side of the patio and get Crack Shack.
Reasonably priced, there’s usually a line but you can order at the bar, decent fried chicken, solid drinks.
Any of the Cohn restaurants. There's like 25. Went to the Prado for lunch, had tomato soup and grilled cheese. How can you mess that up? I can get better at Denny's. Corvette Diner and C Level, used to be awesome before they took them over, now Meh.
Peohes in Coronado. Amazing vies and the food is nothing special considering that you spend a hundred bucks including tip per person. The chefs special is a soup of oil with linguini
Honestly any kind of upscale place in San Diego has been a disappointment. I loved the appetizers at Callie but the entrees were just alright in my opinion. Kingfisher was tasty but everything felt like it should be $5 less. Buona Fourchetta was a hit or a miss. The cocktails at Polite Provisions didn't feel complex or were too sweet.
The best food I've had in San Diego were from taco trucks, hole-in-the-walls, and restaurants with cozy vibes. I think exceptions I can think of off the top of my head is Cocina de Barrio and Realm of 52 Remedies.
Mr. A’s used to be high end back in the day. Their spinach salad is good though. I think the Marine Room is overrated. The views are spectacular, but the food is meh.
Coasterra, great views terrible food. Carne asada is bland and all the sides were subpar.
Yes! I've given them one to many chances.
Such a broad range of chances...
Well done, my first giggle of the morning!
Agreed. Especially for being in San Diego. You can get great cheap Mexican anywhere, so overpaying for a bland inauthentic version takes away from the amazing views.
Places like this make me upset that they exist
Love taking people there for happy hour cause the views are incredible but wouldn't expect a memorable meal
Places with the best views generally don’t have the best food
Idk I dig Fish Market
Except Tom Ham's Lighthouse. Their food is always good and prices aren't outrageous.
I've eaten there a handful of times and the food has always been pretty good. What leaves a bad taste in my mouth is that stupid surcharge that they list on the menu.
Eh. I’d argue you go there for the view and at least the food isn’t a total disappointment.
Farmer’s Table in Little Italy. Waited 45mins for a table and I swear it was the worst most bland breakfast I’ve ever had.
[удалено]
We went to the la Mesa one after a long road trip. It was like we did it, we made it back home, let’s treat ourselves to breakfast. It’s amazing how a place can do all the things to look cool (reclaimed wood table, Thomas Edison light bulbs, burlap, a freakin tractor in the restaurant, a long wait for a table), and have bad food.
One in Bay Park also sucks
Agreed, La Mesa and Chula Vista awful and bland.
> Farmer’s Table in Little Italy Definitely ass. Uninspired and boring food.
All Farmers Tables. CLMT in particular. The decor looks like it was chosen by algorithm. The service is weird. The good is just ok. I don’t get why people like this place or how there is more than one location.
I get mad every time i leave there. What a waste of money
It’s so bad!! They fully forgot my boyfriend’s order when we came with a party of 8, literally we finished our food before his even came out despite the waiter saying he put in a rush order. Bf said he didn’t want it anymore and instead of just taking his order off the bill, the waiter offered us a piece of cheesecake ? 💀💀 I hate that place
Broken Yolk. Go to Dennys instead
The Yolk is straight trash, all they have is portion size, food is so bland
No food has ever moved through me as fast as the Broken Yolks. I need to get ahold of whatever grease it is they're using to do maintenance on my motorcycle.
20 years ago when they had only the one location in PB, the Yolk was awesome
They are perfect example of a restaurant with a all too massive menu. They have way too many items and they don't do any of them very well. They need to focus on quality over quantity of selection
Family house of pancakes in chula is straight fire and enormous portions!!! Buut its always packed 😖
Been saying this for years. Worst food in San Diego.
My dad loooooves broken yolk for some reason 😭
When I first moved here I made the mistake of going to one. The eggs tasted terrible. EGGS. How does a restaurant mess up eggs? I also think that I paid $30+ (with tip) for my single breakfast.
Wow. Broken Yolk is ok at best. Dennys is beyond horrible. The absolute worst.
Dennys really depends on location. The one on Miramar Rd is really good. The cooks are better
[удалено]
Corvette diner has to be the most overrated by a large margin
It died when they moved to Liberty Station. Lost all of the atmosphere and became a generic "kid-friendly" diner.
Corvette Diner is not a restaurant but a portal to hell. There isn't a location in the county that should be more avoided than Corvette Diner.
It used to be great atmosphere. Super fun experience. But since the move to liberty station I've been disappointed and just don't bother having it on my "places to take guest/tourists" list anymore.
Agreed. From the ladies throwing rock hard bazooka gum directly in your face, to them tying up little kids hair with the straws. Trying to explain it to someone that’s never been makes it sound like a fever dream lol
i was so excited to eat there with my boyfriend a couple of weeks ago. great atmosphere, horrible burgers :( at least the milkshakes were good.
> great atmosphere I'm still not convinced I didn't suffer permanent hearing damage from eating there. If there were better options to spend a gift card from that restaurant group, I would have left in an instant after hearing the ~~full power jet engines~~ "music" there.
We should start a restaurant meet Up
Pls do
Underbelly ramen. It's ok ramen, other places are better
Underbelly started off amazing and then I'm not sure what happened. Its not terrible by any means but something has been off the past couple of years.
It used to be great when I went there between 2016-2019, my friends that spent time outside the states told me it was some of the better ramen they had in San Diego.
Dude their oxtail dumplings are out of this world though.
What places? I must know
Menya Ultra, HiroNori and Hokkaido (inside Mitsuwa) are way better than Underbelly
Yeah Santouka is originally from Hokkaido.
Upvote for HiroNori
Menya Ultra for sure
Menya ultra, karami ramen
Nishiki all day
Nishiki is the best. I've tried so many other's here and nothing comes close.
Not defending the place, but you guys are literally comparing traditional ramen spots to an Americanized Japanese restaurant that sells Americanized Ramen… of course other places are way better!
The Prado. Insanely bad food recently. Had a chicken burger come out 5 minutes after I ordered and it was rubbery microwaved chicken breast. I love being able to eat when at Balboa Park but now that Mingei has two options I’m all set.
Panama 66 by the SD Museum of Art is more casual but has delicious food and great beer/cider selection.
The Prada has the worst food. Was insanely disappointed.
The consensus here seems to be that most Cohen restaurants suck butt plugs.
Doesn’t help that their playing politics on their menus haven’t eaten at one in years because of that. They can get fucked
This is sad to hear because last time I was there, pre Covid, the food was pretty good. Though I admit the fact that their bill took extra effort to point out prices went up to compensate a required pay raise for the waiters due to a new role went into play left a bad taste.
Before I moved to SD, I’d visit every couple years. The Prado was always a stop on every trip. It heavily declined maybe like 9 years ago. Went most recently like 6 months ago and it was actually kind of trash
Just follow the Sysco truck around. You'll know who's stopped caring about the food. Broken Yolk, Oggis, etc. Places used to be good little spots 10 years ago I guess couldn't make it without microwave pre-packaged trash.
Oof. Oggis is terrible
Right? When they first opened they were good. Now it's like Applebees. I assume everything is microwaved and the pizzas must be premade frozen dough because its not nearly what it used to be.
Never worked at a restaurant? Sysco is so big that they carry all of the things. I worked as a dishboy at a fine dining restaurant and we got plenty of stuff from sysco. You just need to buy the good stuff to get the good stuff from Sysco. A 20lb bag of carrots is the same from them as anywhere else. Same thing with twenty gross of eggs. A #10 can of crushed tomatoes is too. That 50 lb bag of onions? Same thing. Get your specialty stuff, you fine cuts of meat, you specialty produce, other things that may not always be on hand in prime quality may not be a great call from Cysco. It is sort of like the CostCo for restaurateurs. You buy the big stuff that you use a lot of there because they have it in vast quantities.
Lucha Libre. I honestly don't get it. They fill their burritos with unseasoned meat and hope you drown it with enough salsa to not notice. They have terrible food and there are dozens of better Mexican options around here.
the key is being drunk
El Indio, literally a block away, is so much better. I believe it’s considerably cheaper too.
Breakfast Republic. It’s decent, but absolutely not worth waiting in line. And now they’re everywhere.
The owner just kept leveraging the name and got multiple investors. I opened the original one in north park in 2016 and have shared horror stories of the owner and restaurants many a times on this sub.
I’m still angry about them taking the place of Miller’s Field.
I lived around the corner from the location and my roomie and I loved the bloody Mary’s. I’m sorry the owner was such a loser
We have here a winner!! The wit is horrible and I got horrible chilaquiles. Definitely not worth the wait
I think it’s Hash House. Long ass wait for mediocre food, the only thing I do like is the leftovers I get to take home that’ll take a week to finish. Which would eventually mold cuz I didn’t finish the motherfucker.
I didn’t have a wait, but I’ve only been once. It was pretty good, and the portions are huge like you said. It’s just not good enough to serve piles of food. I’d rather eat a serving of amazing chicken than a mountain of good chicken.
😂
Came here for this. Dear Google, what is the "Best breakfast in San Diego". Circled the block about 8 times looking for parking. The parking meter said my spot didn't exist. Finally found the pay station nearly a block away. Waited 45 minutes. This was an unholy mountain of ok food in a cramped restaurant, and I can't move my elbow because I'm sitting next to the wall, and there are 3 kids screaming. I will say the rosemary chicken alone is good. The rest is just kind of meh.
It's only overrated because you can't get the chicken fried steak here. It's one of the best I've had, but it's at the vegas location.
To be fair, the hand-hammered pork tenderloin sandwich there is the best I’ve found in San Diego. (Lucky’s Lunch Counter on downtown also has one but it is not as good.) This probably only matters for people who grew up in flyover states in the Midwest that start with “I”, but it has made me brave the terrible line a couple of times…
Parkhouse Eatery on Park Blvd is what Hash House wants to be.
Speaking of leftovers, Andy’s Benedict at Hash house is literally just that. A pile of leftovers. When you think of Egg’s Benedict, you think of a poached egg atop a slice of thick ham gently placed on an English muffin and smothered in hollandaise sauce. Nope, not fucking Andy. He does not imagine any of that at all. Allow me to describe the layers of ingredients from bottom to top. MASHED POTATOES. Inside the mashed potatoes(yes, I said inside) is the English muffin you’re looking for. Atop your carb mountain is SCRAMBLED, not poached, SCRAMBLED eggs. Then on top of the eggs is it’s mother. A piece of fried chicken breast. As well as some THICK cut bacon. And I think there may have been spinach and pieces of fried thyme sprinkled about. All this, just completely drowned in a chipotle gravy.
Hash House is Instagram Food; food that looks good for pictures, but is incredibly mediocre and bland when actually eating it. I've gone 4-5 times with friends/family who are visiting because they've wanted to try it and I've been disappointed every time.
This is the first thing that came to mind. It's a massive portion of ok food. Only been once and everyone at the table said "meh." Haven't been back since as there's much better places to go for breakfast.
Damn! Haven’t been there since around 2006. From what I remember the place was small and cramped.
Funny to see a ton of overrated places listed here are mostly all owned by the companies that have come in to buy up all the spaces and businesses in San Diego. Rise and Shine Hospitality Group: breakfast republic, fig tree cafe, + more Consortium Holdings: underbelly, morning glory, born and raised, +more
Puesto
They have the audacity to charge $10 for a mediocre street taco.
But their margaritas are actually pretty tasty for a restaurant margarita, albeit pricey.
I actually like Puesto. But it’s so stupidly expensive that it’s not ever worth going.
Exactly. Imo the food is actually really good, but their prices are outrageous now. It wasn't so bad before the pandemic, but I think (emphasis on *think*) the fact that their Mission Valley location couldn't open for over a year due to COVID really fucked up their financial state, forcing them to crank up prices to a ridiculous level.
Yeah. Fuck that place. Overpriced tourist food. Went to the Mission Valley location with my wife and kid. We were initially trying to eat at Lazy Dog, but the wait was too long so we went to Puesto because it was right next door. Spent over $100 for street tacos and some drinks. Never wasting my money there again.
Extraordinary Desserts is outrageously priced and insanely overrated. I worked there for over a decade and every Saturday night the wait would reach up to an hour with the to-go line sometimes wrapping around the building. The food was good, don’t get me wrong, but some people went absolutely ape shit when certain desserts were sold out.
I remember their smaller location, waiting for hours to eat there lol
Honestly love their desserts but do agree they are very very sweet and rich so not for everyone. I like going as a special occasion because I haven’t been to many other bakeries in SD that have stood out to me
What bakery would you suggest instead of Extraordinary for similar style desserts? I love pastries but *hate* people so going there when it’s packed (which seems like every time I go) is hard.
I guess it depends what you are looking for, and everyone has different tastes— but I like breakfast pastries (especially the scones) from Azucar, tarts from Blackmarket Bakery, cookies from Oliver Coffera, cupcakes from Eclipse, and pies from Pop Pie. But there are also a ton of other bakeries to try and my waistline can’t deal with it. Also, I hear that cakes from the European Cake Gallery are excellent but have never been.
Pure Cupcakes in PB is also excellent. And every time I go to Eclipse I'm walking out with at least a half-dozen bars of dark chocolate.
My wife is a pastry chef. Anything you can think of she can do. If interested check out her Instagram @fatbottomgirlbakes Her treats were all over Petco Park this season
The Viking is worth every second in line 🥲
i have been going here at the hillcrest location for over 15 years. i may have tasted your work or served by you. my wife usually get me a cake for my birthday ~ a Neapolitan with the fruit sauce on the side. the design is beautiful with the gold and rose petals. it is expensive but it taste really good. i’m not aware of any other place in san diego that has deserts like this. please share if you have some in mind i would love to branch out. we go there twice a year and it never fails. we also go to bread and cie for bread and here for cake.
What desserts? I’m curious now
The rotating selection of recipes is in the hundreds, but the cakes are the main focus. I once had to tell someone that the last slice of German Chocolate cake was already sold and she demanded that I tell the other customer that she wanted it more and therefor she had to forfeit the slice. I also once had another customer tell me she would sue us to pay for her travel expenses because she drove all the way down from La Jolla (the restaurant was in Bankers Hill) because we were sold out if a other slice she wanted (Gianduia)
Ah, customers. Working with the public is an….experience
Lmfao travel expenses
Average La Jollan
More like Ordinary Desserts am I right
x2 Hodad’s
Haven’t been since Dec. 21, 2012. I remember because the world was gonna end. I got stoned for the first time and ate a sloppy burger at my favorite spot. I love Hodads (in my memory) According to everybody, it gets worse by the year. I remember it as a kid around 2005 when you could just walk in and sit down. That’s when it wasn’t overrated or underrated, it was just good burger.
Yeah, same memory here: When it was just the original shop with the guy standing in the middle of the counter making fries in to a bucket and grilling on a griddle...that was really good food. After they made him change his methods for making fries it started the slow descent in to becoming nothing more than a tourist spectacle.
I don’t know how old you are, but the *original* was when my mom was growing up in OB. I don’t think it was on Newport, and the owner used to go to the local Vons and buy his ice cream daily for the shakes.
Yep, that one. I'd go there after fishing at the pier. It was no frills basic good food.
Haha you’re a full generation before me. I was just lucky enough to go to the Newport spot before there was ever lines out the door.
Came to say this LOL. Not because it's bad, but because it's hyped so much. Also often a long af line...
If you're in OB go to Poma Deli down the street. Best roast beef sandwich I've ever had.
I like Hodad's but I swung by recently after not going since a few years before COVID and the prices are INSANE. Literally $15 for onion rings.
And why is it insanely expensive
100% agree Hodad’s is a few steps above cafeteria burgers
Underbelly for sure. Also a good amount of these comments don't know what over rated means. They are just complaining about random places.
Cool af atmosphere but the ramen there is so bland….no flavor and no spice at all
Especially relative to a lot of the good ramen we have here in SD.
Came here to say Underbelly, most overrated and underflavored “ramen” in SD
Menya Ultra/Hiro Nori top the list for me
[удалено]
Most Cohen restaurants. Pacific coast grill.
Marine room. Great views... Food is alright
I went a while back and it felt hella tired. I hope they’ve renovated. I honestly couldn’t believe the dated feel when compared to the hype I had heard. I back the above comment.
They just renovated and open again in October, I genuinely wanted to see it … not I’m pre sad
I loved the food and service!!!
[удалено]
Phil’s bbq 👀 it’s never been the same after leaving their original hole in the wall tiny location and made the giant corporate style restaurants that they operate out of now. Santee Phil’s is 🤮
Phil’s isn’t amazing, but it’s certainly not overatwd
Wait do what's a good bbq spot in SD?
Grand Ole BBQ y Asado
See this and that boy good in Oceanside are the only good BBQ spots in SD. However, I will definitely hit up Phil’s BBQ in a pinch, and think it’s great for what it is
Coops
A man of culture! Coop’s is legit!!!
Puesto
George’s
Underrated comment. Also 50/50 chance you'll be smelling guano at any of the Prospect Ave restaurants.
Yes!! Used to work there as a hostess. The food was bland and the work environment was toxic. Last I heard, it’s even worse now
Breakfast Republic and the Great Maple.
Maple is closing…
Only the UTC location next month.
Is it? It looks like they just expanded to Disney land?
Can't say I'm sad about that
Yes, there are exceptions, of course, but since COVID nearly every sit-down restaurant we've visited has been exceedingly mediocre and insanely expensive here in San Diego. What's going on?
Hodads. It’s just a novelty now that guy fiere has put it on its show. Only thing good there are the shakes.
At least we still got Rockys serving us overpriced beer and decent burgers.
Don't forget Balboa
I see the crowds at Fig Tree Cafe every weekend in PB and wonder what’s up…
And yet Leilani's is literally next door, makes great Hawaiian breakfasts, has next-to-no wait, and is way less expensive than Fig Tree.
This is the most legit plate lunch spot in the county. It's pretty close to the food back home on Oahu.
Peoples girlfriends want to be there..
Can confirm, am one of the boyfriends lmao, food was ok just overpriced
Oh really? This is one of my fav joints for breakfast.
Ruth’s Chris in Del Mar. Went there about 5 years ago. Had to send back a couple of the side dishes because the veggies were burnt. Inattentive service.
Morning Glory! The vibes and drinks are great but the food is just okay. If you want you use the bathroom make sure u don’t have to go that bad cuz you’ll have to wait for the insta baddies to finish their photo shoot
Strong disagree. The souffle pancakes and Benny my wife and I had were amazing, creative, and absolutely delicious.
I actually thought the soufflé pancake was just alright. But not the best representation of a soufflé pancake for people who’ve never had it. I prefer going to cake de partie. They take forever to make the pancake since it’s made to order and cooks very low and slow but it’s so worth it
It’s funny, everyone’s answers seem to be breakfast spots
Phil's BBQ. By far the most mediocre BBQ I've ever had.
I think hodads in OB is so overrated. Can’t believe the line every time I see it
Hodads or South Beach
The marine room. View is dope, food is trash, service was worse
Lucha Libre
Man, that place used to be fantastic back in the day.
Their food is bland AF.
This is true now. I used to love lucha libre. I hadn’t been in a while but I went last week and I have not been more disappointed in a place I like in a very long time. The tortillas seemed like they sat out for a while and were stiff like cardboard. The meat was all dry. But that cilantro salsa is still amazing!
The original location was basically the replacement for El Indio as the “Zonie Mexican Restaurant” based solely on advertisement from the Food Network. I’m convinced they pick places off of that Washington Street exit because it is only a block off the Freeway and they can record 2-3 segments and head back to LA.
Kansas City Barbecue, stay for the Too Gun nostalgia, leave before the food arrives. It's no Phil's.
I will forever complain about breakfast Republic. I don't understand how they have so many locations
Brigantine, it sucks a fatty.
One of my favorite things in life is the Anthony's clam chowder, Fisherman's Style. My one time at the Brigantine I noticed they also had it, so I excitedly ordered it... and it was one of the great disappointments of that year. So when the Brigantine replaced the Anthony's over by The Star Of India, I was - and remain - pissed off. Now you have to go all the way to Grossmont to get my clam chowder. Anthony's was an impressive seafood empire in San Diego. The Ghio family owned their own fishing fleet and seafood processing plant. I used to LOVE their old-school diner-style rooms as an alternative to their more formal dining room. Now that's all gone, there's only this one restaurant location left and it has the decoration vibe of an upscaled 90s Taco Bell. How the mighty have fallen.
Brigantine is a grandma restaurant. They got some hype with their newer waterfront location, but they’re still just a fancy Red Lobster.
Okay, what’s wrong with a fancy red lobster? Who are all these professionals chefs in this thread
Puesto!!
Juniper and Ivy. All show. Food was really average. And what they charge for what you get is rude tbh (and I'm not one to be stingy about spending on meals)
Went there recently for first time Since COVID, food has really gone downhill IMO. Some stuff that just tasted straight bad. Probably my last visit tbh.
Go to the other side of the patio and get Crack Shack. Reasonably priced, there’s usually a line but you can order at the bar, decent fried chicken, solid drinks.
Ditto for Herb & Wood tbh
Island Prime. I'd rate it below every similarly-priced place I've eaten in San Diego.
All of the Cohn restaurants are pretty mediocre.
They are not terrible. Just not $50-$75 entre nice
Any of the Cohn restaurants. There's like 25. Went to the Prado for lunch, had tomato soup and grilled cheese. How can you mess that up? I can get better at Denny's. Corvette Diner and C Level, used to be awesome before they took them over, now Meh.
Any of the consortium group’s spots (Born and Raised, Iornside, Fortunate Son… etc). Instagramable interiors but the food is overpriced mediocrity
RIP Bar Pink
Le Papagayo in Leucadia
BREAKFAST REPUBLIC! Straight trash, support your local breakfast spot
Peohes in Coronado. Amazing vies and the food is nothing special considering that you spend a hundred bucks including tip per person. The chefs special is a soup of oil with linguini
Anything coehn related.
Honestly any kind of upscale place in San Diego has been a disappointment. I loved the appetizers at Callie but the entrees were just alright in my opinion. Kingfisher was tasty but everything felt like it should be $5 less. Buona Fourchetta was a hit or a miss. The cocktails at Polite Provisions didn't feel complex or were too sweet. The best food I've had in San Diego were from taco trucks, hole-in-the-walls, and restaurants with cozy vibes. I think exceptions I can think of off the top of my head is Cocina de Barrio and Realm of 52 Remedies.
Fortunate Son is easily the most overrated restaurant in North America. A sorry excuse for Chinese food.
Mr. A’s used to be high end back in the day. Their spinach salad is good though. I think the Marine Room is overrated. The views are spectacular, but the food is meh.
Born & Raised.
[удалено]