The Ultimate Guide to Dining in La Jolla

Also behind the nearby Italian aperitivo bar Ciao Ciao Piadino, the team at Ambrogio15 is introducing diners to a unique take on modern Italian cuisine with their latest opening in La Jolla. Chef and Chopped grand champion Daniela Martinez (Ironside Fish and Oyster) is at the helm, crafting memorable dishes with seasonal ingredients sourced from local farms. You’ll be stumped over which items to order with standouts like Wagyu Carpaccio, Scallop Salad Acquerello, and a selection of hand-made pastas, risottos, and large-format Secondi dishes (Lamb Loin with Black Truffles!) sharing space on the summer menu. We recommend opting for the five-course chef’s tasting menu and trusting that chef Martinez will whip up something outstanding. An optional wine pairing is also available.

With its sweeping vistas of La Jolla Cove from either inside or on the deck, Brockton Villa is perfect for when you have visitors who want to brunch with an ocean view and flights of bubbly mimosas to sip. Do not pass up the award-winning Coast Toast, a fluffy, souffle-like French toast with lovely orange zest notes. Other offerings include house-made, beer-braised Corned Beef with Eggs and a chive horseradish creme fraiche, warmly spiced Cinnamon Roll Pancakes, and a Buenos Dias Breakfast Burrito, a yummy concoction with carne asada, cheddar-steamed scrambled eggs, brown rice, smashed avocado, black beans, and cilantro pepita pesto, all wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.
How to book: Reservations are recommended but walk-ins are accepted if seating is available. Order online via Toast for pickup.

Handmade stone-ground blue corn tortillas, sustainable meats and seafood, slow-cooked guisados, scratch-made salsas, and Mexican lagers brewed at their Mission Valley cerveceria make the Puesto experience memorable. Choose a la carte tacos or order them in trios—Tamarindo Shrimp, Maine Lobster, and Filet Mignon make a great surf-and-turf pairing. There’s plenty of cocktail options as well—margaritas come in nearly a dozen fun flavors, and there’s a fine selection of high-end tequila and mezcal available in tasting flights or by the shot. Local paletas are a refreshing finish.
How to book: Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

Harry's Coffee Shop opened in 1960, and judging from the wall of fame in the back of the place, has sponsored every sports league in the city since. They serve up exactly what you expect: Bacon Pancakes come with chunks of bacon in the batter and a couple of slices on top, and they still serve that grilled chicken with the Greens, Strawberry, Feta, and Pecan Salad that was all the rage in the early aughts, and is still pretty delicious today. Harry’s isn’t one of those places that never updates its menu though, you’ll also find espresso drinks and cold brews, as well as gluten-free options.
How to book: Indoor seating is on a first-come basis.

Parakeet Cafe serves up an extensive, fresh, and healthy Early Bird All Day menu seven days a week. Choose from bennies, Belgian waffles, scrambles, various toasts, chilaquiles, pastries, and bowls. Don’t forget the dozens of specialty coffees, elixirs, and teas. There’s also just as many choices on the non-brunchy side of the menu, think: shareable mini-skillets of roasted potatoes or Brussels sprouts, soups, gorgeous salads, Buddha bowls, and sandwiches.
How to book: Indoor and patio patio seating is on a first-come basis. Order online for pickup or delivery.

You can always tell a good restaurant by how they treat their side dishes and condiments. The Taco Stand makes their tortillas, guacamole, and salsas fresh daily, and every dish is made to order. Hand-carved al pastor has the right hit of tangy/sweet pineapple; savory Angus carne asada is meltingly tender; and seafood choices like grilled mahi mahi, spicy shrimp, and batter-fried white fish are fresh and light. Fillings can also be rolled into burritos or grilled as a quesadilla, and local paletas provide a cool cap to your meal.
How to book: Indoor and patio seating is on a first-come basis and varies by location. For takeout, call your location or order online via Toast for takeout.

Part fish market, part seafood restaurant, it's no surprise that the freshness of El Pescador's marine fare is its calling card. The Clam Chowder here is legendary, and the Sea Bass Sandwich only slightly less so, but El Pescador’s Cioppino—California’s classic, vaguely Italian, catch-of-the-day fisherman’s stew—is reason enough to try the place all on its own.
How to book: Indoor and patio seating is on a first-come basis. Call 858-456-2526 for pickup orders.

Wheat & Water is La Jolla’s go at great artisan pizza, and it’s a pretty dang good one at that. While the charcuterie and cheese plates are excellent choices, you’re definitely here for the pizza and beer. There’s no better choice than the new Roasted Mushroom Pizza, paired with a local IPA, Belgian ale, or refreshing hard kombucha. Between its impeccably thin crust and deep, rich, mushroom and sunchoke umami flavors, it's no wonder this is the first pie on the menu.
How to book: Reservations for indoor, patio, or bar seating can be made online. Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available. Order for pickup via Toast.

Brian Malarkey may not be involved with Herringbone anymore, but Hakkasan Group’s “Fish Meats Field” concept still drives this seafood-centric restaurant housed in a renovated warehouse. The best choices might just be the raw ones: oysters, Halibut Aguachile, and Tuna Poke Tacos, but there’s a case to be made for the Pacific Snapper Fish & Chips too. Visit on Sunday for dinner service and score half-price bottles of select wines.
How to book: Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available. Call 858-459-0221 for pickup orders.

The view from the reimagined dining room at The Mediterranean Room (formerly The Med) at La Valencia Hotel is spectacular, and the décor and atmosphere are opulent, but of course, the food is the main attraction. A contemporary eye and approach to the Mediterranean cuisine gives this place its name—try the Striped Bass with saffron orzo, campari tomato, olive salmoriglio, saba, and herbs, or Roasted Salmon atop basque pepper stew, fennel salad, spring leeks, confit potato, and shishito.
How to book: Reservations for indoor and patio dining can be made via OpenTable.
Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

Executive chef Mike Minor, who took over the kitchen at The Marine Room after the longtime and legendary Bernard Guillas retired, ought to be the headline of any story about the Marine Room, but somehow it always ends up being about the view. Since the restaurant is located right on the ocean, at high tide, the sea does more than lap up against the bullet-proof glass windows—it crashes into them at full force. What you're eating is equally exciting, though, with the head chefs' remarkably omnivorous palates resulting in entrees like Nordic Halibut with charred artichoke, mushroom quinoa, and citron, or Szechuan Pork Chop over charred radicchio, roasted kohlrabi, and seasonal squash. That said, no matter how good the food is, and no matter how touristy it sounds, the drama and spectacle of High Tide Dinner (and Breakfast) just can't be upstaged.
How to book: Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

Just over a month ago, executive chef Kelli Crosson replaced Jeff Johnson, who had helmed the iconic A.R. Valentien for more than two decades, advocating the concept of farm-to-table and nose-to-tail before either of those sensibilities were cool. The menu continues the tradition of classic and refined French cuisine with a modern edge, from the remarkable Roasted Liberty Duck Breast and Confit Leg over beluga lentils, spring onion, persimmon, and walnut, to the Root Vegetable Tarte Tatin with stone ground mustard, cider vinegar, puff pastry, and heirloom carrot and frisée salad.
How to book: Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

George’s at the Cove’s duo of restaurants, Ocean Terrace and Level 2, (the ground floor venue, California Modern, hasn’t reopened yet) both have stunning panoramic views of La Jolla Cove from nearly every seat in the house—their website even posts each day’s sunset time for your convenience. The upscale cocktail menu by Trey Foshee features all the summery drinks you’d imagine, from margs and martinis to mojitos and micheladas. Stop by at lunchtime for Yellowtail Tacos on heirloom corn tortillas or a crispy Halibut Sandwich, simply embellished with shredded lettuce, tomato, tartar sauce, or at dinner for Grilled Salmon with a roasted carrot salad, herbed yogurt, and summer herbs.
How to book: Reservations are recommended and can be made online. Pre-paid, premium seating is also available for groups of one to four. Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

No dish says more about Nine-Ten Restaurant than its Jamaican Jerk Pork Belly appetizer. This centerpiece pays homage to executive chef Jason Knibb’s Jamaican heritage, albeit in elevated form, and the pairing with baby carrots, swiss chard, plantains, and black-eyed peas with sweet potato purée gives it a California feel. It’s a variation on a theme repeated throughout the menu: flavor combinations that make sense, offered in surprising and refined ways.
How to book: Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.