The Craving: San Diego Food + Drink — Week of May 18, 2026

The Balboa Park Inaugural Garden Party

Held inside the Botanical Building and the new Central Gardens, inspired by a 1915 garden party. Herb-infused cocktails, garden-driven seasonal bites, live music through golden hour, a DJ into the night.

Every ticket supports the park, which is more important than ever given the Mayor’s proposed budget. The inaugural edition is the one to be at.

📆 Saturday, June 6, 5-10 PM
🎟️ Get your tickets now
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Queenstown is Opening in Del Mar This Week

The group behind Bare Back Grill and Raglan Public House is bringing something new to Del Mar this spring: Queenstown, a New Zealand-influenced comfort food and cocktail spot on Camino Del Mar. The detail that has our attention: a glass pavilion with ocean views and indoor-outdoor seating.

They look to be on track for an opening before May wraps up.

📆 Opening this week
📍 1435 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar
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Edible Gold, Himalayan Salt, and a Tableside Carving at Galpão Gaucho

Galpão Gaucho‘s 24-karat Golden Steak is the kind of thing that makes everyone at neighboring tables turn and look. The cut arrives tableside on a dedicated cart, wrapped in edible gold leaf, then carved and finished right in front of you on a Himalayan salt block that keeps it warm while seasoning each slice.

It’s woven into the restaurant’s full rodizio experience – not a standalone add-on – so you get the spectacle alongside the complete spread of grilled meats, seafood, and delicacies. The kind of thing to keep in your back pocket for a birthday or anniversary that deserves a little extra.

📍 789 W Harbor Dr #134
🎟️ Book a table

New Reasons to Pull Up a Chair at North Italia

North Italia just refreshed their San Diego menus with a lineup that covers a lot of ground.

New dishes include a kale and goat cheese salad with strawberry and poppyseed vinaigrette, a grilled steak panzanella with charred ciabatta and heirloom tomato, agnolotti al pomodoro with ricotta and basil, a chef’s board with stracciatella, truffle honey, prosciutto di Parma, and speck, and limoncello bombolini with lemon curd and blueberry compote.

New cocktails include the Donatella (gunpowder fig gin, grapefruit, honey, lemon) and the Don Giorgio (Stranahan’s whiskey, mango, Italian orange, ginger).

There’s also a two-course prix fixe lunch and brunch for $25 – a solid deal for the quality. And if you’re heading to a Padres home game, bring your ticket: present it with a $50 minimum dinner spend and you’ll get a complimentary plate – crispy eggplant parmesan, grilled artichoke, cacio e pepe arancini, or house-made focaccia.

📆 Prix fixe: Daily until 4 PM through May 31 | Padres perk: Through June 28
ℹ️ View the full menu

Jazz Four Nights a Week at Madison on Park

Madison on Park might just become your new regular spot.

The University Heights restaurant has live jazz running four nights a week on their indoor/outdoor patio – Tuesdays with John Reynolds rotating through different Southern California ensembles, Sundays with Irving Flores on piano and Kaylee Daugherty on vocals, and Wednesday and Thursday nights going full Sinatra mode with Alejandro Enrich covering Ella Fitzgerald, John Coltrane, Dean Martin, Etta James, and more. The kind of vocals that make you want to order another glass of wine and stay a little longer.

Space is limited, so don’t sit on a reservation.

📆 Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays | 5:30 PM – 8 PM
🎟️ Secure your spot

The Tatis Homer Watch is On at The Smoking Gun

Fernando Tatís Jr. still hasn’t hit his first homer of the season, and The Smoking Gun in the Gaslamp is making it worth your while to be there when it happens.

The moment Tatis goes yard, the bar will randomly select winners from everyone with an open tab – first place takes home a $230 gift card, and 22 other open tabs each win a $23 gift card. If it doesn’t happen during this home stretch, the promo rolls until he finally connects. Reason enough to pull up a stool and keep an eye on the game.

📆 Be here when it happens
📍 555 Market St, San Diego

A Rooftop Escape in the Gaslamp

Rustic Root‘s downtown spot has a new look for the season – and honestly, it’s worth seeking out on its own. They’ve transformed the rooftop into a garden-style hang with cascading wisteria that makes the whole space feel like somewhere you’d want to spend a few hours.

The cocktail lineup is new, and a few of them sound interesting: Pretty in Purple is a clarified ube punch with citrus brightness, The Bitter Passion pairs bourbon with Aperol and passion fruit, and Princess Jazzy goes the refreshing route with vodka, jasmine, and cucumber.

The kind of place to land after work when you don’t want to try too hard but still want it to feel like an occasion.

📍 535 Fifth Ave San Diego
🎟️ Reserve your spot

Last call: AANHPI Eats Weekends on Sunday

Seven AANHPI-owned restaurants across San Diego, exclusive prix-fixe menus, including Marufuku Ramen’s Hakata-style Tonkotsu, Kingfisher’s Vietnamese-French cooking, and Kalei’s Kitchenette’s Hawaiian fusion. Many are family-run. Five days left to hit one or two.

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A Rooftop Worth the Elevator Ride

Leave of Absence opens atop Alma San Diego in the Gaslamp – skyline views, a pool, a firepit, and wood-fired pizzas with double-fermented dough. The Funky Pepperoni with ricotta, green olives, and hot honey is a good place to start. Cocktails are all $18, and the rooftop runs Thursdays through Sundays all summer.

The opening weeks include a Painting & Vino skate deck session (May 23), a Native Poppy flower arranging workshop (May 30), and a Mocktail and Mingle x Hiraya Haus matcha afternoon (May 31). We’ll be back.

📆 Opens Friday, May 22, 2026
📍 1047 Fifth Ave, Gaslamp Quarter
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Farm-to-Table Gets Literal at Solare

MICHELIN-recognized Solare Ristorante in Liberty Station is hosting a four-course Italian lunch built entirely around strawberries – picked that morning at Carlsbad Strawberry Company and brought straight to the kitchen by farmer Robyn Ukegawa. Executive Chef Denice Grande works them into each course, with an optional wine pairing available. $68 per person.

📆 Sunday, May 24 | 1 PM
🎟️ Make your reservations

Meet the Founders Behind Fierce & Kind at Seven Grand

Fierce & Kind is a San Diego-born whiskey brand with a social enterprise model baked in from the start. Think Patagonia energy, but for your bar cart. Founders Basem Harb and Cyndi Smith built the brand around the idea that award-winning spirits and a genuine sense of purpose don’t have to be mutually exclusive.

This is a chance to meet them both in person at Seven Grand, taste what they’ve been working on, and hear the story firsthand over hors d’oeuvres in one of the city’s best whiskey bars. Intimate and exclusive – the kind of event where you get to talk to the people behind the bottle.

📆 Monday, May 26 | 6 PM – 8 PM
🎟️ Secure your spot
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Kura Sushi is Opening in Mission Valley

Kura‘s conveyor belt sushi concept is opening its second San Diego location at The Valley in Mission Valley. Over 100 items – sushi, sashimi, tempura, noodles, desserts – circle the room at $3.95 a plate, drink delivery robots bring anything you order through the table’s touch panel, and a prize machine rewards every 15 empty plates.

First 150 seated on opening day get a commemorative t-shirt. Rewards members who dine May 29 to 31 are entered to win a “Kura Sushi for a Year” gift card – five winners, $300 each.

📆 Friday, May 29, 2026 | Doors open at 11:30 AM
📍 1640 Camino Del Rio N, Suite 218, San Diego

Vino Carta is Turning 10 and Taking it to the Streets

Vino Carta is celebrating a decade with a block party, and it sounds like the right way to do it. They’re taking things outside – one block north – and filling the space with live music, food pop-ups from over the years, and a specially curated Party Flight of deep cut hits and staff favorites.

Your ticket covers entry, a take-home glass, and eight party pours. The other draw: they’re debuting their very own wine, made in collaboration with Brocc Cellars, for the first time at this event. Tickets are already 60% sold out – $60 single, $100 for two, $40 for Wine Club members.

📆 Friday, May 30
🎟️ Lock in your spot

New Restaurants Opening in San Diego in 2026

7 new restaurants just landed on our 2026 Openings list — Verise (Carlsbad), Georgette’s (North Park), Queenstown (Del Mar), An’s Gelato Gate D5 (Oceanside), Telefèric Barcelona (UTC), The Heritage Steakhouse (Santee), and Black Mizu Café (Little Italy) all just got added to the running tracker.

Bookmark the post – it’s the master list of every notable opening, organized by month, updated at the start of each month so you always know what’s new and what’s coming.

ℹ️ Check out our full guide

A Roll Inspired by the Zodiac Calendar

Cloak & Petal in Little Italy is marking Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a special roll from Executive Chef Robert Cassidy, who is half Korean.

The Zodiac Roll – inspired by the zodiac calendar – layers yellowtail, blackened shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and asparagus, finished with sambal vinaigrette, honey wasabi crema, smoked paprika, and cilantro.

It’s $22 and on the menu all month.

📆 Open daily
🎟️ Book a table now

Farm-to-Table Gets Literal at Solare

MICHELIN-recognized Solare Ristorante in Liberty Station is hosting a four-course Italian lunch built entirely around strawberries – picked that morning at Carlsbad Strawberry Company and brought straight to the kitchen by farmer Robyn Ukegawa. Executive Chef Denice Grande works them into each course, with an optional wine pairing available. $68 per person.

📆 Sunday, May 25 | 1 PM
🎟️ Make your reservations

Fresh Plates and Taco Tuesdays at Daffodil Café

Daffodil Café in La Jolla has a new seasonal menu, and Chef Sarah Palomares is leaning into what San Diego does best this time of year: fresh, abundant local ingredients.

The new lineup covers a lot of ground: a sweet and spicy chicken bánh mì bowl, a chicken tortilla salad with creamy cilantro lime dressing, a crunchy veggie sandwich with pesto, hummus, and hatch cheddar, a hot burrata ciabatta with honey-drizzled burrata and sun-dried tomato aioli, and a spinach salad with candied pecans, goat cheese, and apple cider vinaigrette.

Taco Tuesdays are now a weekly staple – rotating vegetarian and classic-inspired tacos with house-made agua fresca – and the grab-and-go section has grown to include fresh pasta salads, chia pudding, fruit, and more.

📆 Monday to Friday | 7 AM – 2:30 PM
📍 4747 Executive Dr, San Diego

Tiki Season is Back on the Omni’s Rooftop

The Omni San Diego‘s rooftop Tortuga Pool Bar has gone full tiki for the summer. Back for its second year, Tiki Social was put together in collaboration with Jeff “Beachbum” Berry – a legitimate tiki cocktail historian – and the result is a palm-studded, skyline-view setup just steps from Petco Park.

The cocktail menu leans into the retro-tiki playbook: the Coconutty Islander arrives in a fresh coconut with Myers’s Platinum Rum, passion fruit liqueur, and macadamia; the Omni Zombie stacks three rums with falernum and cinnamon; and the Tropical Tease splits the difference between tequila and mezcal with raspberry and crème de cacao. Zero-proof options like the Designated Diver and Dry Tai hold their own, too.

📆 Daily through Labor Day Weekend | 11 AM – 8 PM
🎟️ Book a table now

Memorial Day Specials Around San Diego

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and many San Diego businesses will be offering great specials!

Honor the occasion with friends by taking advantage of tasty food specials and raising a glass to the outstanding men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

Our full guide has everything you need to know.

The Blank Table’s 2026 Season Starts May 28

The Blank Table returns for its seventh season in San Diego, kicking off a new chapter of immersive dining.

Designed as a secret dinner experience, this evening brings together 60 curated guests for a multi-sensory night of cuisine, cocktails, and culture. The secret location, revealed only 24 hours before, is transformed into a thoughtfully designed environment where every detail is intentional.

A five-course pre-fixed menu is paired with bespoke cocktails, sound, design, and storytelling crafted by some of San Diego’s most innovative culinary, beverage, and entertainment talent.

📆 First dinner of the season is May 28
📍 To be revealed May 27
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San Diego Has Over 100 Wineries and This Dinner Celebrates Them

Most people don’t realize San Diego County has over 100 wineries tucked into its hills, and Vintner’s Table at Cordiano Winery in Highland Valley is a good reason to start paying attention.

Part of San Diego Wine Week 2026, it’s a multi-course dinner built around spring produce by Chef Coral Strong of Garden Kitchen, with each course paired by the winemakers themselves – Cordiano, Mermaid Valley Vineyard, Mia Marie Vineyards, Oddish Wine, and Woof’n Rose Winery pouring wines you won’t find anywhere else in the city.

VIP ticket holders get a private cellar tasting before dinner with limited editions, award winners, and personal favorites in a candlelit setting.

📆 Thursday, May 28 | 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM
🎟️ Secure your spot
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All You Can Eat Tuna at Lumi

Lumi‘s rooftop is running a two-hour Endless Tuna Experience – premium bluefin, live chef demos, and nonstop sushi service, all with downtown San Diego spread out below you.

For $100 a person, you can eat as much as you want, and a $25 add-on covers unlimited sake, Sapporo, and their Nikkei Nectar cocktails for the whole session. Reservations are required and availability is limited, so don’t sit on this one.

📆 Thursday, May 28 | 2 PM – 4 PM
🎟️ Book your table via OpenTable
ℹ️ Know more

A Southern Italian Wine Journey at Cori Pastificio

Cori Pastificio Trattoria in North Park is hosting Coast to Coast Wine Dinner, an evening dedicated to the wines of Campania and Puglia, guided by Italian wine expert and sommelier Petra Belliti.

The night movsdes through the volcanic heights of Sannio down to the limestone plateaus of the Mediterranean coast – two distinct regions, one very good reason to clear your Thursday.

📆 Thursday, June 4 | 5 PM – 7:30 PM
🎟️ Reserve your spot

A Night 5 Years in the Making at Callie

Travis Swikard is marking five years of Callie the way you’d want him to – by bringing back the chef who started it all. Swikard is hosting his mentor, Gavin Kaysen, a two-time James Beard Award winner, for a single-night collaboration dinner.

The menu pulls from chapters of their shared history: Kaysen’s early days at El Bizcocho right here in San Diego (where Swikard first encountered his cooking), their time together at Café Boulud in New York, and dishes from Kaysen’s Minneapolis institution Spoon and Stable. Plus new plates the two are creating specifically for the night.

It’s a five-course, family-style dinner at $145 per person, with a $65 wine pairing available. Every guest goes home with a signed copy of Kaysen’s book The Synergy Series, and all book proceeds go to Ment’or, an organization supporting emerging chefs.

📆 Thursday, June 5 | Dinner service
🎟️ Snag your spot now

KEX Fest is Back for its 8th Year and the Lineup is the Best Yet

Kettner Exchange’s annual food and beverage festival returns to Little Italy for its eighth edition, and the 2026 lineup is the most expansive one yet.

Executive Chef Brian Redzikowski leads the culinary side alongside guest chefs, restaurant pop-ups from The Waverly Cardiff, The Whaling Bar, and Devil’s Dozen Donut Bar, plus a full pig roast and whole fish breakdown on-site.

The drinks program covers just as much ground. Wine, beer, and spirits tastings, sommelier-led pairings, a Condesa Gin Bar Takeover, Hendrick’s Lemonade Stand, Bombay Sapphire martini masterclass, and a Tiki Speakeasy, among others.

Live music, an aura photo booth, tarot readings, and a glitter bar fill out the rest of the afternoon. New this year, VIP tickets include early entry, a welcome cocktail, chef’s amuse-bouche, and access to a dedicated Sake Chef’s Table.

📆 Sunday, June 7, 2026 | 1 PM – 7 PM
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5 Years of Agave, and Estancia Is Not Playing Around

Three hours of unlimited pours from a lineup that spans Patrón and Cazadores on the familiar end to craft bottles like Cazcanes and Fosforo Mezcal worth actually knowing.

Distillery reps are on the floor to walk you through what you’re drinking, and the food runs Baja-inspired – street tacos, ceviche, the kind of stuff that holds up against good tequila.

If you want to make a night of it, Estancia has a room package bundling two tickets with accommodations and an agave-themed amenity. $95 per person, 21+.

📆 Friday, June 19 | 6 PM – 9 PM
📍9700 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla
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North Park’s Sweetest Day is Back with the Scoop San Diego Ice Cream Festival

The 8th Annual Scoop San Diego Ice Cream Festival takes over North Park with 30-plus local ice cream, gelato, paleta, and frozen treat vendors.

Every dollar of net proceeds goes to Feeding San Diego, which provided over 31 million meals last year.

General Admission is $45 and includes ten shareable two-ounce samples to work through the vendor lineup.

The First Scoop Experience at $90 gets you early entry, priority vendor access, exclusive small-batch flavors, ice cream-filled Korean cream puffs, and a live-printed custom tote.

Celebrity judges include Sam the Cooking Guy, Top Chef alum Zuliya Khawaja, and Bachelor Nation’s Becca Kufrin and Thomas Jacobs – all on hand to crown the Best Flavor Award. A good afternoon for a great cause.

📆 Sunday, June 28, 2026 | 12 PM – 4 PM
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San Diego’s Best Chefs, One Afternoon, All on Fire

Heritage Fire is a walk-around tasting event where top chefs cook over live flame and you eat everything. No assigned seats, no formal courses – just great food, curated drinks, and the energy of watching talented people work over fire in real time.

The lineup includes Brian Redzikowski of Kettner Exchange, Chris Hutten of STK Steakhouse, Mark Kropczynski of Grant Grill, Ethan Yang of Glass Box, and a handful of other heavy hitters from across the San Diego culinary scene.

After tasting through the lineup, the crowd votes for their favorite. The winner takes home the Heritage Hero title, with top finishers advancing to a national Grand Finale.

📆 Sunday, June 28 | 3:30 PM – 7 PM
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Cloak & Petal is Getting its Own Coffee Shop

We’ve got another reason to swing by Cloak & Petal. The Little Italy favorite is opening Black Mizu Café this summer, bringing a dedicated coffee concept right to the front of the restaurant.

The new spot will serve beans from Torque Coffee along with a simple menu that’s perfect for an easy morning stop or midday pick-me-up. Later this fall, Executive Chef Robert Cassidy will roll out a Japanese and Pacific Rim–inspired brunch, giving us yet another reason to linger.

Black Mizu will have its own entrance and large retractable doors that create an airy, patio-like feel. When the café isn’t open, the space will double as a private dining room – a smart move that keeps this Little Italy staple evolving.

📆 Opening July 2026 | Brunch launching fall 2026
🎟️ Reservations coming soon

An’s Gate D5 is Coming to Oceanside

An’s Gelato – two-time winner of USA Today’s 10 Best “Best Ice Cream Shop in America” – is opening its next concept inside the historic Top Gun House at Mission Pacific Beach Resort, right on the Oceanside waterfront.

Gate D5 transforms the 1888 cottage into a full airport terminal experience: walk through a “security” checkpoint, order at a flight-style counter, and choose between a “carry on” or “checked bag” serving size.

Seven rotating destination-inspired gelato flavors (think Milan pistachio) swap out every few weeks, alongside sorbetto, coffee drinks, and affogato. If you’ve been to any of their North Park, OB, Del Mar, or Petco Park locations, you already know this one’s going to be good.

📆 Expected to open late spring to early summer 2026
📍 250 N Pacific St, Oceanside
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