Vulture Brings Vegan Continental Fine Dining to University Heights
The team behind Kindred and Mothership has done it again, but this time they’ve ventured into completely new territory. Vulture just opened in University Heights, and it’s unlike anything we’ve seen in San Diego’s vegan dining scene—or really any dining scene for that matter.
A Bold New Vision
Kory Stetina and his crew have created something that feels both nostalgic and revolutionary. Vulture takes inspiration from those classic Continental-style restaurants of mid-century America—think dim lighting, vinyl booths, and white tablecloths—but reimagines everything through a plant-based lens with their signature conceptual storytelling.
Executive Chef Pancho Castellón brings serious credentials from places like Michelin-starred Niku Steakhouse, and it shows in dishes that completely redefine what vegan fine dining can be.
The menu reads like a greatest hits of Continental cuisine, but every single item is plant-based and prepared with the kind of technical skill we’d expect from the city’s top restaurants.
The Menu That Changes Everything
We’re talking about dishes that sound impossible until we see them executed. The Diane features an 8-ounce wood-grilled lion’s mane mushroom steak that delivers all the richness and satisfaction of the classic Steak Diane.
The Rockefeller transforms grilled artichoke and spinach into an elegant presentation served in an edible blue corn shell.
Head of Pastry Amy Noonan, who previously ran the kitchen at Kindred, brings her expertise to dishes like the Picatta with pan-seared Impossible fillets in lemon caper sauce.
Even familiar items like French Onion Soup and Cocktail Meatballs get the full Vulture treatment with house-made apricot BBQ sauce and sophisticated presentations.
The tableside Caesar service deserves special mention—it’s dressed with chickpea-based cultured Parmigiana and seaweed caviar, creating an experience that feels both familiar and completely new.
Cocktails Worth the Trip
Lucas Ryden has crafted a beverage program that perfectly matches the restaurant’s philosophy. Classic cocktails get subtle modern updates, like a Gimlet with Japanese gin, fino sherry, whole lime, and celery salt, or a Manhattan enhanced with walnut and mission fig.
The martini program alone makes Vulture worth visiting. Their house martini uses a blend of three gins and four vermouths served at an obsessively cold temperature—something the team spent nearly a year perfecting.
We can order it classic style, as a “tiny-tini” for the martini-curious, or go all out with “The Works,” which comes with pickled accompaniments and its own truffle caviar-topped potato pavé.
The DREAMBOAT Experience
Getting to Vulture requires passing through Dreamboat, their 10-seat diner that operates from 7 AM to 11 PM (midnight on weekends). This isn’t just a clever entrance—it’s a fully realized concept offering vegan diner classics, from breakfast pastries to burgers and shakes.
The contrast between Dreamboat’s clean, nostalgic simplicity and Vulture’s surreal extravagance creates a journey that begins the moment we walk in.
Design That Tells a Story
Brooklyn-based Home Studios created interiors that support every aspect of the dining experience. Vulture’s neoclassical surrealism comes through in bold colors, surreal floral patterns, and detailed millwork that feels both elegant and slightly bewildering—exactly what this kind of conceptual dining experience needs.
See you there!
Vulture proves that vegan fine dining can be every bit as sophisticated and indulgent as any traditional restaurant.
📆 Open now | Sunday–Thursday 5 PM–10 PM | Friday–Saturday 5 PM–midnight
📍 4608 Park Blvd, San Diego
🎟️ Reservations on OpenTable
ℹ️ More info here
See you there, San Diego!
