San Diego's Most Anticipated Restaurants For 2023
There's an abundance of new San Diego restaurant openings on the horizon for the rest of 2023, so we've compiled a list of more than 70 spots we're excited for this year.
2023 is a big year for America's Finest City! There are so many new restaurants in the works for San Diego County, and we have the scoops on what's coming. From celebrity chef-driven projects to pro boxer-backed taquerias, below is our list of the restaurants we can't wait to try in the near future.
Prince Street Pizza - Known for its around the block lines at its original branch in New York City, Prince Street Pizza took over part of the space previously occupied by Mariscos El Pulpo on Market Street in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. Expected to open in early 2023, the San Diego branch will offer a classic New York City slice shop experience with a menu of "Neapolitan-style" round pies and "Original SOHO Square" pizzas, including their iconic Spicy Spring with fra diavolo sauce, fresh mozzarella, spicy cupping pepperoni and Pecorino Romano cheese. Like the Los Angeles location, there will also be a small selection of salads, 10" pizzettas, Mozza mozzerella balls, sauces to-go. and bundled family meals.
Chick & Hawk - Skateboard legend Tony Hawk and San Diego Chef Andrew Bachelier, who was integral in the launch of dining destinations Campfire and Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad, have joined forces for the launch of this "fast-fine" restaurant and bar concept. Chick & Hawk is currently under construction in the 1,421 square-foot space that long housed Fulano's Restaurant in the Leucadia area of Encinitas. Local design firm Starch Creative Studios is spearheading the renovation with the final product set to offer indoor and outdoor dining with a design inspired by 90s surf and skateboard culture combined with a chicken motif. The incoming restaurant will integrate facets of fast-casual and fine-dining, offering an unpretentious menu centered around elevated fried chicken sandwiches made with locally sourced poultry, as well as oysters, seafood, and approachable versions of Bachelier's globally-driven Southern California cuisine, complimented by a full bar with craft beer, wine and cocktails.
California English - Celebrity chef Richard Blais, known for leading roles on Bravo's Top Chef and Fox's primetime hit Next Level Chef, has signed on to open two new restaurants in San Diego. Chef Blais recently partnered with Longfellow Real Estate Partners, a privately held developer of life science buildings, and will bring a pair of new restaurants to the company's two incoming San Diego sites in Sorrento Valley. The first restaurant will install within a 6,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor space at the Biovista Life Science Campus off Mira Mesa Boulevard. Dubbed California English, expect an approachable, all-day menu of "SoCal meets Great Britain" cuisine that will combine British classic dishes with Southern California flare and local ingredients. The restaurant is expected to open in February 2023 and will have a full bar, expansive outdoor patio and veranda.
Roscoe's House of Chicken N Waffles - A project teased for more than a half decade, the San Diego debut of Los Angeles-based soul food chain Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘N Waffles will finally unveil in 2023. Opening at the corner of National Avenue and Sigsbee street in Barrio Logan, the San Diego branch of Roscoe's will include a 6,000 square-foot restaurant on the base floor of a standalone building with a second-story, rooftop dining deck and its own parking, as well as a crave-worthy comfort food menu with fried chicken, waffles, grits, gravy and other Southern dishes.
The Lafayette Hotel - After purchasing the decades-old boutique hotel in 2021 for $25,815,000, San Diego's Consortium Holdings hospitality company closed The Lafayette this past fall for a $26 million makeover that will add eight new bars & restaurants to the historic property. New concepts coming to the historic hotel include a lobby bar & cafe, a classic diner, a luxurious Parisian-style restaurant, a live music venue, an old-school bowling alley, a swanky new pool bar, an intimate chef's table dining experience, and an Oaxacan-inspired eatery & mezcal bar. Consortium Holdings founder Arsalun Tafazoli has moved into The Lafayette to oversee construction, which is being spearheaded by NYC-based Post Company and is anticipated to be completed by mid-2023.
Heritage Craft Barbecue & Brewing - San Juan Capistrano's Michelin-recognized Heritage Craft Barbecue & Brewing is opening a massive location in San Diego County. Heritage Craft Barbecue & Brewing will soon open a new location in the more than 7,000 square-foot building in Oceanside, CA, that last housed the short-lived Municipal Taco. Expect a menu featuring an array of smoked meats like sausage, pulled pork, chicken, tri tip, char siu pork belly, spare ribs, brisket, and pastrami, as well as sandwiches, sides and cornbread. The company will also brew their own craft beers from the onsite 10 barrel brewing system. There will also be a full bar with cocktails and possibly an onsite speakeasy.
Hart House - Comedian Kevin Hart is planning to open a location of his Hart House vegan fast-food eatery in San Diego. The first San Diego location of Hart House will open in the space that last housed a Pure Burger in Carlsbad's Bressi Ranch community. The Hart House menu will feature only plant-based items, including vegan burgers, mock chicken sandwiches, salads, nuggets, fries, tots and oat-milkshakes that are completely free of hormones, artificial colors, preservatives, and high fructose corn syrup. The brand also embraces green initiatives by using recyclable and compostable packaging.
Le Coq - In a true full circle moment, San Diego celebrity chef Brian "Mr. Cocky" Malarkey has taken back his former Herringbone restaurant in La Jolla and will remodel and rebrand it into a French-inspired fusion restaurant & bar named Le Coq. While the concept is still very much in development, the restaurant will be a French bistro & high-end steakhouse restaurant with a menu of globally-inspired fusion dishes and dry-aged meats. Herringbone will serve its final meals on New Years Eve, December 31, 2022, and at that point Malarkey is expected to perform an interior remodel with Le Coq bar & restaurant anticipated to reopen in summer 2023.
Johnston's - The team behind now-defunct Waypoint Public and Park & Rec in San Diego's University Heights has completely renovated the building last occupied by Small Bar for more than a decade and will soon open a new bar and restaurant concept called Johnston's. Originally planned to be called The Regular, the name has been changed to Johnston's as a nod to the history of the building. During renovation of the building's facade, an old hand-painted sign for Johnston’s Variety Store was revealed under the former Small Bar signage. It turned out that there was once a family-owned department store at the space from 1926 until the store owner's passing in 1940. Johnston's is anticipated to unveil in early 2023 and will offer a pub-style menu from consulting chef Peter Ziegler, who previously worked at Charles + Dinorah at the Pearl Hotel in Point Loma and Wolfie's Carousel in Little Italy. There will also be a full bar with craft cocktails, beer, and wine.
Bock - The former Hamilton's Tavern space in San Diego's South Park has been taken over by Brian Jensen, the founder of six locations of Bottlecraft craft beer bar and bottle shop, as well as branches of Vino Carta Wine Store and Bar in Little Italy and Solana Beach. Jensen is in the process of construction Bock Bar in South Park, which will will offer a German tavern vibe and be heavily inspired by Hamilton's Tavern and other Old World neighborhood pubs. Nextdoor to Bock, Papalo eatery will be helmed by former Lola 55 chef Drew Bent and will serve a menu of traditional a la carte BBQ menu centered around Sonoran-style Mexican barbecue.
Wildland/Lilo - The team behind San Diego's Michelin-starred Jeune et Jolie have announced the forthcoming opening of two new restaurant concepts set to unveil in 2023 in Carlsbad. Wildland will be a casual, all-day eatery and bar featuring handmade pastas and entrees cooked via rotisserie grill and wood-fired pizza oven. Next door, Lilo will be an upscale, reservations only fine dining restaurant with only 22 seats. Named after a term from author John Koenig's The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, Lilo is a portmanteau of 'lifelong' and 'lie low' that means a "friendship that can lie dormant for years only to pick right back up instantly, as if no time had passed since you last saw each other."
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