El Fandango, Old Town

One of the Mexican places in Old Town. Food quality was so-so, place wasn't too expensive (<$10 per head). Wouldn't go there again.

Apollonia Greek Bistro, UTC

Okay Greek place in UTC. Had a fish dish, which was so-so. Price range $10-$20 per head. Could go there again thanks to the proximity.

Melting Pot, La Jolla

Fondue place near the Hyatt. Part of a nationwide chain. Very expensive (>$50 per head) for a place where you're supposed to cook your own food. Except for the dessert fondue, the food was so-so. Service was extremely slow. Ambiance was average. Wouldn't go there again.

Sushi Itto, Hillcrest

Best described as a Mexican-Sushi fusion restaurant, Sushi Itto is one of the best Sushi restaurants I've been to in San Diego. We had three of their specialty rolls: CuauhtemItto, Coronado (both of which were spicy) and the Crunchy Sweet roll. All of them were excellent. Additionally, the appetizer (Yakitori) and drinks (Sangria) were also good. On the downside, parking in the restaurant is a bit of a squeeze and the service is a little slow. However, the quality of the food easily makes up for that.

Price: $65 (inc tip+tax) for appetizers, rolls and drinks for two.
Ambiance: Simple, yet stylish.
Rating: 3.5 out of 4.
Website: http://www.sushi-ittosandiego.com/

Elijah's, UTC

Jewish (though apparently not Kosher) restaurant and deli next to Landmark theaters. We had a pastrami sandwich and a grilled chicken sandwich, both of which were quite bad. The bakery is nothing to write home about either.

Price: $20 for two
Ambiance: Mostly senior citizens.
Rating: 1.5 out of 4.
Website: http://www.elijahsrestaurant.com

Gulf Coast Grill, Hillcrest

This is a Cajun-style restaurant off Hillcrest. We had the blackened prawn (excellent) for appetizers, and cedar-plank salmon (good) and jambalaya (bad) for the main course, the Gulf-Old Whiskey (interesting) for drinks and the peach cobbler (bad) for dessert. Service was reasonably prompt and the decor was nice, though the street where the restaurant was seemed a bit run-down compared to the rest of Hillcrest. Overall, this is a good restaurant to try out, but it's unlikely that I go there repeatedly.

Price: $70 for drinks, appetizers, entrees and dessert for two.
Ambiance: Pretty good.
Rating: 2.5 out of 4
Website: http://www.gulfcoastgrill.com/

Chow

On our first visit, we found this Hillcrest restaurant to be a chic pan-east-Asian noodle place. Since then, there seems to have been a change in management (or at least presentation). The old menu with a subtle mix of spring-rolls, udons, chow-meins, is now replaced by one which leaves no doubt about the approach. The entrees have been grouped into Vietnamese/ Thai/ Chinese/ Japanese, along with a Noodles-for-dummies extract preceding each category.
The appetizer veggie dumplings held no surprises. For the main course, we had the grilled eggplant, and thai fat noodles with tofu - both of which had been helped with some extra servings of cooking oil. Admittedly, the curry sauces and pastes were fairly tasty. In summary, okay for a cheap (all entrees cost less than 10 dollars) and very oily chow.
(The crowd seemed not-local, and in retrospect, i think it's easy to see why)
-rajiv.

Aladdin Mediterranean Cafe, Hillcrest

This is a little eatery on Cleveland ave. right opposite a starbucks nook. The decor is very ornate with inlayed furniture and ornate lamps...basically very middle eastern to look at. We struck up a conversation with the owner who suggested we try the following menu :
appetizer :
borak (this was a open 4 cornered pastry with mildly flavored kheema...very fresh and really good)
entrees:
1.chicken biryani (very Indian Tandoor-ish ...we later found out they had picked up the recipe from an indian cook !)
2.mixed sheesh kababs (chicken tikka was the best I've had in San diego, the lamb kabab was very chewy however the kheema kababs were really juicy and tender)
dessert :
baklava (nice ...hadn't eaten it in a while so I was happy to get some familiar comfort food)
Kunafa which is supposed to be a kind of a cheese cake(Ravi absolutely loved it and I absolutely hated it...so its up to the reader to try it :o)
All in all a good experience with interesting company from the owner..a really nice softspoken gentleman.
~Arati

Ba Ren

Reputedly one of San Diego's best Szechuan restaurants, Ba Ren is a great place if you're in the mood for spicy. On our last visit, we happened to be with a large sized group, and so we had the opportunity to sample several items on the menu. For appetizers, we had the Hot and Sour soup, and Szechuan cold noodles - the latter, rather unique in its flavors. Some of the entrees were really exceptional, including the Dry cooked lamb, and the Rice crust with sliced chicken (vaguely reminiscent of the original Indian Chinese food). The Hot pepper chicken is quite a sight - on this plate, you have higher odds of picking the red peppers than the popcorn style chicken. The twice cooked fish, boiled fish in spicy sauce, and the vinegar potatoes were very tasty as well. Located off of Clairemont mesa blvd, this restaurant has a nice authentic feel to it, and is one of the hidden gems of the San Diego food scene.
-rajiv.

Wasabi Sushi on Garnet Ave.

We were supposed to go to Sushi Ito but at the last minute Wasabi Sushi aroused my curiosity.The restaurant is very plain to look at from the outside. However you really get a very spacious feel when you enter. We had the following sushi rolls :
Samurai Roll (awesome)
Wasabi Roll ( good)
Volcano Roll (the fish was very tender the roll itself was prepared very well !)
Lobster Roll (A let down... I am convinced that Yoshi Sushi makes the best Lobster Roll)
Green Tea Ice cream (Good but Yoshi's is better)
By far the rolls were very elegantly made I was very happy with this place.
Down side :
The service is really slow so if you are in no hurry to go this is the place for you. (3 waitresses serve about 30 people !!)
~ Arati :o)

Saigon on 5th

Hillcrest does Pho. And predictably, it's with style. You're met by an imposing faux marble Buddha as you enter, and looking around, you catch women in flowing ao dais.
The menu is quite reasonably priced, and while the food may not quite match the ambience, it's still quite good (as a matter of fact, Zagat rates it 'Very good to excellent').
The chicken pho was faultless (and msg-less), and the appetizer spicy lemongrass soup was delicious. Opinion on the flat Spicy noodles was divided however (I found it a bit bland)
Since, we don't do Vietnamese very often, every visit ends up being an occasion to get a pho-fix, but to the more adventurous gastronome, there're many options on the menu.
-rajiv.

Sally's Cafe, UTC

This is the breakfast place that replaced Le Peep. Standard breakfast menu, but the food quality was pretty bad. $20 for breakfast for two.

Kous Kous

It's easy to miss this Moroccan eatery tucked away in the basement of a Hillcrest office complex. And that probably explains why this 4th avenue restaurant, while serving some truly delectable food, doesn't see the same kind of crowds as the joints along University Avenue.
The appetizer sampler plate is a great way to start this meal. Bursting with flavors, finely chopped/grated/minced eggplants, potatoes, carrots, and bell peppers are served in four mounds, a la kimchi, along with pita triangles. As far as main courses go, the Lamb Tagine - served in a clay pot, where it stewed for several hours before making its way to your table - would have to be the signature dish. The service is always friendly, and the owner Moumen will most likely stop by and see how you liked the food.
[Oh, and the Kous Kous isn't bad either].
-rajiv

El Torito, La Jolla

El Torito is a large chain of Mexican restaurants; we went to the one of Villa La Jolla Drive. We went there on a Friday night as a friend who now lives in Asia wanted Mexican food and didn't want to go far. The restaurant was average, and while I have no complaints, I probably would not go there again. I had a margarita, nachos and "Chef Pepe's special combo." All of these were decent sized and reasonably tasty. Service was pretty good and quick.

Price: $15-$25 per person.
Ambiance: Ok for a quick meal.
Rating: 2.5 toros out of 4.
Website: http://www.eltorito.com/

Donovans, La Jolla

Fine dining steakhouse on La Jolla Village Drive (they also have downt. We had Cajun lamb chops (strongly recommended) and shrimp cocktail (very good) for appetizers, salmon (OK) and halibut (OK) for entrees and creme brulee (good) and complimentary port (awesome) for dessert. They also had a good cocktail list, and I'd recommend the Continental.

Price: Free. The manager waived our bill as there was a hair in one of the dishes. Otherwise, it would have been close to $150 for drinks, appetizers, entrees, desserts for two.
Ambiance: Good. Pleasant waitstaff. Short wait even on a Saturday with no reservations.
Rating: 3.5 ribs out of 4.
Website: http://www.donovanssteakhouse.com/

The Cottage, La Jolla

The Cottage is a small restaurant that operates out of a bungalow in La Jolla. We visited for brunch on a Saturday noon, and had to wait 15-20 minutes for seating for our party of six. Though located in La Jolla, the crowd was quite young.

The breakfast menu includes the usual omelettes, pancakes and french toasts. The Oatmeal Pancake was an interesting option on the menu, promising a more healthy pancake. The stuffed french toast was also quite tasty.

The food was quite good, and the prices pretty reasonable, particularly compared with other brunch options on Prospect near the cove. Admittedly, The Cottage has no ocean view, and one does pay for the jaw dropping view as in places like Top of the Cove.

Summary: This is a good place for a relaxed brunch followed by an oceanside stroll.

Cafe Zanzibar, PB

We've usually thought, and found PB to be too... well... let's just say - not our sort of place. So, during our recent internment during the wildfires spent at a friend's, we were pleasantly surprised to find the softer side to this rowdy neighborhood.
One of our 'discoveries' was this cafe by the corner of Garnet and Cass (they also have a branch downtown). They serve up good lattes, great cocoas, warm hospitality, and an awesome bowl of fruit-filled granola for breakfast/brunch. Their omelettes (including a broccoli-laced egg-white omelette appropriately called 'health-nut') are pretty yummy too.
[And if you make it before, say 1pm, chances are the loud college party crowd hasn't gotten over last night's binge drinking yet, and you'll find the atmosphere quite refreshing]
-rajiv

Wired Cafe

Wired Cafe is located on Towne Centre Drive, across from UTC Mall. It is a small neighborhood cafe with European owners and a nice relaxed atmosphere. The menu includes Paninis, Pancakes, Pastries, Salads, Quiches etc, all very tasty. The wine list is also pretty big, though we did not try any. San Diego can certainly do with more places of this type. Compare with St. Tropez in Encinitas.

The place can get crowded on weekends, but the wait is worth it. And the coffee is very good too.

See more reviews here

Dumpling Inn

Dumpling Inn is a small Chinese restaurant on Convoy, just north of Balboa. We figured Dumplings are just the right thing to eat on a cold rainy Saturday afternoon. The restaurant has about 10 tables, and was moderately crowded at 330pm. There were many people stopping by to pick up take-out, so the restaurant is quite popular.

We ordered the Fish and Chive Dumplings, which tasted a bit bland to begin with. But a nice dipping in Soy Sauce and Chili Pepper brought out the taste really well. I was expecting the dumplings to be served in a Bamboo dumpling steamer, but they came in a regular plate.

We also ordered the Chicken Chowmein with the crisp noodles. The noodles themselves tasted a bit like Indian bhajiya, with a crispy/salty/oily feel. But after a while being dipped in the excellent sauce, they started to feel very Chinese.

The Schezwan Pork entree was not as good as the other two items, but it was comfortably edible.

Summary
Decor: Hole in the wall Chinese
Food: 3 stars in 4
Service: Competent, but the water had some dirt in it.
Price: $30 for two people
Menu: Reasonable sized menu, includes several vegetarian options.

Casa Guadalajara

This is one of many "we-are-oh-so-close-to-Mexico" restaurants located in Old Town San Diego that you can take your visiting relative to. We went there with a cousin who was in town for a conference of 8000 statisticians at the Convention Center (apparently statisticians really do believe in the law of large numbers).

The restaurant was extremely crowded (Sat night, around 7pm). The restaurant does not accept reservations and the wait time was about 30min. Parking in the restaurant lot was a nightmare, but we could find relatively easy parking on Calhoun Street. The unending "Last Call for Dick, Party of 4!!!" announcements more than drowned out the live music where we were sitting. It might be worth it to ask for a seat in other parts of the restaurant, especially the courtyard (which was unusable on this day due to rain) where the Mariachi band plays.

On the plus side, the food was good and the margaritas were huge. We had crab cakes (excellent) and chipotle chicken tacos (avoidable) for appetizers and the fiesta fajitas (good) and camarones rancheros (excellent) for entrees. The portions are big here, so 2 entrees were more than enough for 3 people.

Website: http://www.bazaardelmundo.com/guad2006.shtml
Ambiance: Looks nice, but sounds like LAX.
Price: $70 for appetizers, drinks and entrees for 3 people.
Overall Rating: 2.5 burros out of 4.

Zinc Cafe

Where: Located in the Cedros Design District of Solana Beach, a block from the train station, this is a small easy to miss place... It has a very bohemian family run feel to it with vines and creepers adorning the walls and roof...

What: This is another one of those quaint brunch places. It has a fully vegetarian menu with a variety of omelettes, breakfast cereals and sandwiches. We got the House special Zinc burger, a vegetarian patty on Focacia bread and a baguette with Mozzarella tomato and basil. Both the sandwiches were very tasty, fresh.. The serving size though was more Europe than America... The house coffee was also very good.. We finished with a Banana Nut Espresso cake which was excellent..

Service: It was a first-order-pay-then-eat kind of place so not too much serving involved but the staff very very friendly and helpful...

$$: Quite an affordable place. Sandwiches and omelettes run $5- $10. Deserts are $5 a piece typically but well worth it..

Overall a good place for a lazy weekend brunch in a very fashionable part of town...

http://www.zinccafe.com/