Pan Roasted Local Halibut with wild mushrooms, green garlic puree, spring vegetables, and shaved radish at Nine-Ten

Yellowtail in Israeli sauce at Callie

Zucchini taco at City Tacos

Ube pandesal at White Rice

Overall |  Specific Cuisines | Specific Dishes |  Ambience  | Drinks

Ever walk into a restaurant or bar and get that feeling that it’s exactly the place you need at that exact moment in time? That’s how I feel when I look at the cover of this year’s “Best Restaurants” issue. We’ve tempered our joy for a while now. But nothing is tepid or restrained about Wolfie’s Carousel Bar. Nothing is cautious about a slowly turning carousel that includes a fully stocked bar and ice cubes engraved with pole ponies. It makes me want to stay awhile in the awe of a room that’s actively trying to enchant me; to curate a light buzz, cavort with strangers, loosen the propers.

The comeback has not been swift. Starts and stops. It sometimes feels as if we’re rebuilding Maslow’s pyramid of human needs. And now we’re at the third level: love and belonging. Core to that is connecting, being part of a group, forming relationships. Humanity doesn’t peak without its gatherings.

And—all deference to places of worship and sports teams—restaurants and bars are the gravitational force that pulls us together on the day-to-day. I’ve been naming San Diego Magazine’s critic’s picks for 13 years now, and this year they lean to the spaces that facilitate the gatherings. For “Best Restaurant: Fancy,” Callie chef Travis Swikard has built a beachhead for San Diego farmers and ranchers, fishers, foragers, and foodmakers. I believe the San Diego native and former right-hand of legendary French chef Daniel Boulud will have the city’s next Michelin star. For “Best of the Best: Casual,” it’s hard to explain how much Monarch transformed Del Mar.

Ube pandesal at White Rice

They took one of San Diego’s most prized and frustrating spaces (the location is dreamy, the original design a nightmare) and blew it wide open. I’m not sure they possess a single wall or window. And now it’s a teeming epicenter, a whole community reforming on its rooftop.

In North Park, a vital gathering spot has regained footing at Awash—where the strong Ethiopian community near El Cajon Boulevard can get berbere and injera and other hard-to-find ingredients for cooking the country’s famed dishes. My “Best New Restaurant,” Matsu, is what happens when a chef puts his life savings into honoring his lifelong fascination with Japanese cuisine and culture.

There are a couple hundred ways San Diego shines in this list. A city without Cross Street’s fried chicken sandwich is no place to raise a child. A city without Menya Ultra’s ramen slurps with less vigor and joy in its heart. A city without White Rice’s ube pandesal is less delicious and less purple.

As I always say, this list isn’t about dominating or apexing. For my part, I’m merely pointing at places that really captured me this year. We cover food and drink culture extensively every day at digital SDM. Every day, we poke our heads into new kitchens. But this issue, especially, lets us spend a couple months making restaurants and bars the absolute center of our universe. I urge you to make your own list. Go gather.

Yellowtail in Israeli sauce at Callie

Critic's Pick: Monarch Ocean Pub 

Readers' Pick: The Kebab Shop 

Pan Roasted Local Halibut with wild mushrooms, green garlic puree, spring vegetables, and shaved radish at Nine-Ten

Readers' Pick: (TIE) Vaga & Nine-Ten  

Readers' Pick: The Wild Thyme 

Readers' Pick: The Kebab Shop  

Critic's Pick: Maya’s Cookies 

Readers' Pick: Sunny Side Kitchen 

Readers' Pick: Pacifica Del Mar  

Critic's Pick: Le Parfait Paris 

Readers' Pick: Le Parfait Paris 

Critic's Pick: Grand Ole BBQ

Readers' Pick: Grand Ole BBQ  

Readers' Pick: Miss B’s Coconut Club  

Critic's Pick: Dumpling Inn & Shanghai Saloon 

Readers' Pick: Zen Modern Asian Bistro 

Runner-Up: Dumpling Inn & Shanghai Saloon 

Readers' Pick: Muzita Abyssinian Bistro  

Critic's Pick: Jeune et Jolie 

Runner-Up: Taste of the Himalayas 

Runner-Up: Sahara Taste of the Middle East 

Readers' Pick: Bud’s Louisiana Café  

Critic's Pick: The Original Sab-E-Lee  

Runner-Up: Supannee House of Thai 

Readers' Pick: Shank & Bône  

Critic's Pick: Devil’s Dozen  

Readers' Pick: Broad Street Dough  

Critic's Pick: An’s Dry Cleaning  

Critic's Pick: Shank & Bône  

Readers' Pick: OB Noodle House  

Critic's Pick: OB Noodle House  

Readers' Pick: The Crack Shack  

Critic's Pick: The Taco Stand  

Readers' Pick: The Taco Stand 

Critic's Pick: Cocina de Barrio  

Readers' Pick: Tuétano Taquería  

Critic's Pick: Ali’s Chicken & Waffles  

Readers' Pick: The Kebab Shop  

Critic's Pick: It’s Raw 

Readers' Pick: PB Poke House 

Runner-Up: Poki One N Half

Critic's Pick: Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub  

Runner-Up: Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub  

Readers' Pick: Pacifica Del Mar  

Zucchini taco at City Tacos

Critic's Pick: The Wise Ox

Readers' Pick: RoVino the Foodery  

Runner-Up: Rocky’s Crown Pub 

Critic's Pick: Wolfie’s Carousel Bar 

Critic's Pick: Little Lion Café

Critic's Pick: The Grill at The Lodge at Torrey Pines 

Critic's Pick: The Dog Society 

Readers' Pick: Pacifica Breeze Café  

Critic's Pick: Herb & Wood

Readers' Pick: Herb & Wood  

Runner-Up: Little Italy Food Hall 

Critic's Pick: Grand Ole BBQ 

Runner-Up: George’s at the Cove 

Critic's Pick: Mister A’s 

Readers' Pick: Mister A’s  

Critic's Pick: The Leucadian Bar  

Critic's Pick: Hash House A Go Go 

Runner-Up: Miss B’s Coconut Club 

Readers' Pick: Casa de Pico  

Critic's Pick: Stone Brewing Liberty Station

Readers' Pick: Por Vida Café & Galería  

Critic's Pick: Raised by Wolves  

Readers' Pick: Pacific Coast Spirits  

Critic's Pick: Mujeres Brew House  

*Bivouac won the readers’ poll for Best Brewpub... but they’re a cidery. So we’re giving them a shout-out with their own category.

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