If you missed it, we shared our favorite areas to hang out in when checking out San Diego, and now we’re back with all the hottest places to grab a bite to eat!

Where to eat in San Diego

Donut Bar

This famous little hot spot is the perfect stop if you have a busy day ahead. There are SO. MANY. DONUTS. And they are GIANT. We snagged two Monte Cristo donuts, a maple bacon, a pop tart donut (donut with a pop tart in the middle), a lemon blueberry and a Homer- which is exactly what you might think! All of them were delicious, and I am SO glad we had four people to help even out the tasting!

Juice Wave

If theres one thing San Diego has no shortage of, it’s acai bowls! We saw so many spots around San Diego, but Juice Wave was easily the best acai bowl in San Diego, and possibly the best acai bowl I’ve ever had!

Miss B’s Coconut Cafe

Stopped in here while on a recent girls trip to San Diego and it did not disappoint! I was with a big group and they got us in super quick! There wasn’t a single thing we had that wasn’t delicious. I ordered their plantain coconut shrimp and it was delicious! We also shared the coconut seafood ceviche that i’m still dreaming about.

Madison on Park

Madison on Park is one of the most beautiful restaurants I’ve ever been to! They have a semi-open air concept that looks almost like a giant wine cask. It was absolutely stunning! But the amazement doesn’t stop there. The food was absolutely delectable. I went here on that same girls trip and was able to taste a few different dishes. We started with the brie and mussels with toast – both were absolutely stellar. For my entree, I ordered the Ravoli Rossini which was filled with spinach and ricotta and came topped with lobster meat… Talk about pasta heaven. I was also insanely impressed with their gnocchi! Possibly the best gnocchi I’ve ever had, making this spot a shoe-in for our list of the best restaurants in San Diego.

The Crack Shack

Crack Shack is one of those spots that easily flies under the radar, but there’s no question that it should be on our list of the best restaurants in San Diego! This open-air chicken spot is perfect anytime of day. Every single thing we’ve ever had here has been totally mouth watering.

Island Prime

If you’re looking for a steakhouse in San Diego, Island Prime should be at the top of your list! We went here for Thomas’ birthday and it absolutely blew us out of the water. A portion of the restaurant jets out over the water, providing the ultimate views of the bay! We ordered all of our steakhouse favorites – ahi tuna, tons of sides and a decadent filet. All lived up to our high steakhouse standards.

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Liberty Public Market

Liberty Public Market is actually a food hall – but it definitely deserves a spot on this list. There are so many delicious spots. We’ve eaten at Chris’ Ono Grinds, Latin Chef, Mama Made Thai, Parana Empanadas and the ice cream spot! All of which are fantastic.

Barley Mash

Brunch Brunch Brunch. If you’ve been following along for any amount of time, you know I have a serious love affair with brunch. We had actually received a rec to go here for dinner and enjoy the nightlife from a friend, but never made it. So we popped in for brunch and fell in love. If you enjoy all of the typical brunch items, but amplified this spot is for you! A few of our favorites included the super sticky cinnamon roll appropriately called the Sin-A-Bun, a veggie sweet potato hash, the breakfast burger, and lots and lots of bloody Mary’s from their extensive bloody Mary bar! Barley mash is easily one of the best restaurants in San Diego.

Pacific Beach Fish Shop

This is one of those super local spots that Thomas dug up. Tucked away outside of the city is this little fish market and shop. The main attraction (for us) was the halibut fish tacos. Sort background- Thomas’ family is from Alaska, and his mom really knows her fish, especially halibut, so we were on the hunt for halibut fish tacos. Unfortunately they were out of halibut, so we opted for the Ono fish tacos and they were amazing! Actually, all of the tacos we got were amazing. I loved how you chose your fish, then your seasonings and then if you wanted them fried or grilled! Options make me happy!

Casa de Reyes

This delicious spot in the heart of Old Town San Diego is fabulous for some Al Fresco dining! We love sitting in the open patio area munching on chips and salsa, and margaritas. Lots of margaritas. We all shared their tortillas soup and enchiladas. They were good and definitely reminded me of some of our favorite restaurants at home!

Buon Appetito

This spot in Little Italy is perfect for a nicer dinner out. We came in for our one nice dinner of the trip, by nice I mean we got dressed up, wore something other than comfy shoes, and drank lots of wine. Thomas’ mom and I shared their risotto and it was one of the best risottos I have ever had. She and I also shared the insulate tricolor, and holy YUM. The boys shared some kind of meat & pasta dish and it was fabulous. Definitely a great stop if you’re in the mood for something a little more formal- don’t forget to make a reservation!

Rust General Store

I mentioned this spot in our Places to explore in San Diego post, but this general store is just too fabulous to miss. Both Thomas’ mom, Janet and I love finding unique things, aka walls filled with tons of different spices and chocolates. So as you can imagine, we were both in heaven. The ladies in the general store were so friendly and incredibly helpful. We ended up taking home lots of their chocolates, unique salts and other goodies!

Extraordinary Desserts

If you are willing to look for it, you will find it. This immaculate spot is hidden away in somewhat of an industrial area. They have cases and cases of gorgeously decorated desserts and fun sweets to see!

The Cravory

After we filled up on Fish Tacos we needed a little something sweet. So to The Cravory we went! The Cravory had tons of artisan cookies that I could have never dreamed up, and of course, some of the traditional ones! Stop in, grab a dozen and enjoy them for a few days at home, that’s what we did!

It’s easy to see the list of the best restaurants in San Diego could go on forever! Did we miss any of your favorites?SaveSaveSaveSave

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Thomas’ mom outside of the front door of our AirBnB in Sunset Cliffs

1. Sunset Cliffs

This is actually the neighborhood our AirBnB was in. We probably never would have found it if we hadn’t been staying there. This quaint little spot, nestled right on the water (literally) had so many cute stops and fun places to walk around. While we were there, they were hosing a Christmas parade and tons of other Christmas festivities! If you want to hear more about AirBnB check out my AirBnB do’s & don’ts post!

Going for a ride on The Giant Dipper

2. Belmont Park

Don’t let the look fool you, this little amusement part hosts some amazing times. We stopped here, only looking to ride the Giant Dipper and ended up having an amazing time! The Giant Dipper may look like an old rickety roller coaster, but it is so much fun. We ended up riding it three times and probably would have gone another ten times if we weren’t freezing! There is also a few other smaller rides and shops along the way, not to mention a hilarious photo booth that we took FULL advantage of!

3. Little Italy
This little area is every foodie’s dream. There was so much food y’all! We had an amazing dinner and checked out some of the adorable shops (can you tell I like food and shops?). (Almost) Everything is down one long street so you’re able to see tons of stuff in on long strip. Definitely a must stop if you’re looking for some fabulous Italian food.

4. Gaslamp Quarter
This area if fabulous. It reminds me of some of the other ultra trendy areas of places we have visited, minus the over abundance of chain restaurants. The Gaslamp Quarter had tons of neat bars and pubs, mixed with lots of cool shops. I would definitely recommend a night in The Gaslamp Quarter, or brunch there! We went with the latter because we spent too much time exploring Little Italy one night, but the brunch scene was just as amazing as the night scene! 

5. Balboa Park

This magnificent park reminds me of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco or Central Park in New York. It is giant! We were visiting during the Balboa nights festival and were amazed at the number of vendors and fun activities there were to do. Balboa Park is also home to THE San Diego Zoo – Hello bucket list! With so much to do and such a huge area, this is the perfect spot to hang out in all day, we sure did!

6. Old Town San Diego

This little area is the absolute best. It reminds me of a little Mexico with tons of Spanish tiling, adobe style buildings small shops and of course, delicious foods. I highly recommend grabbing lunch here, and spending the rest of the afternoon browsing the shops. Parking is a little hairy, but there are a couple free parking areas, and know your car is 100% safe!

Other notable areas:
Unconditional Surrender Sculpture
USS Midway & Museum
Hotel del Coronado
La Jolla Cove

Follow me on Instagram this week to see lots of other awesome shots from our time in San Diego!

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Before heading out to Napa, we booked a wine tour driver so we wouldn’t have to worry about having too many glasses of wine. Our tour driver’s name was Barry, and he was absolutely fabulous. We chose our wineries, but he had some great suggestions on other things to see and do.

Our first stop was Del Dotto Winery. A few weeks before our trip, Thomas and I were trying to nail down the wineries we wanted to make reservations at, so I posted on social media asking if anyone had any great recommendations… Cristina from Cristina Was Here came to the rescue, and suggested we check out Del Dotto, as it was one of her dad’s favorites. Within moments of entering this fabulous winery, we knew exactly how and why it landed a spot on Cristina’s Dad’s favorite list.

Like many places in Napa, Del Dotto Winery (the Napa Location) is lined with gorgeous ivy and tons and tons of hydrangeas that created the perfect ambiance to walk up to. We showed up a few minutes early and were able to get started on our wine tour almost immediately. With our wine glasses in hand, and our fabulous tour guide Dan, we were ready for some wine!

At Del Dotto, not only did we taste some delicious wines, but we learned so much about the wine making process, origins, burning oak and so many other things. Did I mention our tour was IN the wine cave? Our samplings were straight from the barrels, and have not even been bottled yet… Crazy to think all of the wine we purchased is not even bottled yet!

After a whole lotta wine, some cheeses, bread and chocolates, we were in business. We could not have asked for a better place to start our wine tour that day. Del Dotto had so much to offer and such incredible wines, we will definitely return!
I only found out after we returned home that Del Dotto Winery was featured on a recent episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians… How cool is that?

Our next stop was one that our wine tour driver, Barry, recommended. V. Sattui, the picnic capital of the world, at least thats what the sign said. We had consumed our fair share of the wine from Del Dotto, so our main concern was getting some food in our systems. We had the most delicious lunch at V. Sattui. Thomas and I shared ravioli, an Italian sandwich, and a crab cake. Holy yum, it was all beyond delicious.

 

 

Our last winery of the day was Sterling Vineyards. Our main reason for checking out Sterling was to ride their famous gondolas up to the top of their vineyard. Unfortunately, the wine was lacking and we were a little let down with the quality of wine, but we made the best of it.

 

Despite the wine, Sterling had some amazing views!

We had the most incredible time in Napa, and I couldn’t have imaged a better day. Now, I’ll just sit here patiently and wait for my wine to arrive!

 

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