A few weeks ago, my family and I were in San Diego and I found myself asking my good girlfriend who lives there for recommendations down in the the La Jolla area. Luckily, she is an EXPERT and our group of friend’s “social chair.” 😉 She always knows the spots for everything eating, drinking and things to do. She ended up sending me the most extensive email with every recommendation you could imagine and I thought this deserved it’s own blog post. So in essence, this is a guest blog post by my girlfriend, Jooyoung.
The next time you’re heading to San Diego, keep this post in your back pocket 🙂
EATING & DRINKING
JUICE – cuz everyone needs to know where to get their morning green smoothie 🙂
Juice Crafters: probably my fave, good for juices and smoothies that aren’t just all fruit
Beaming: has good, healthy prepared food too
COFFEE – Starbucks is cool ya’ll but these coffee shops are better
Better Buzz: super cute for the ‘gram but also really good lattes/matcha; “best drink ever” is their insane “vanilla latte” that’s basically an entire cup of espresso/Americano with vanilla latte powder = CRACK.
Bird Rock Coffee Roasters: been around forever, really good coffee and cute indoor/outdoor vibe, locals hangout spot with all the dogs.
BRUNCH
The Cottage: my fave brunch place in La Jolla. The wait can be LONG on weekends but you can put yourself in “line” on Yelp well before as long as you’re in the area and walk around downtown La Jolla (shops to look at/explore) until you need to check in (it’ll tell you on Yelp when to arrive).
Parakeet Cafe: VERY grammable..think pink walls, neon signs, palm tree wall paper; best matchas, elixir lattes with the mushroom and ashwaghanda stuff, really good healthy vegan or gf options too; also good for lunch
Herringbone: Endless rosé brunch, sometimes they switch to mimosas too, super good food and menu changes often
Sugar and Scribe (haven’t had the best experiences but I know it’s really popular): good for sweets/cupcakes too
Brockton Villa: Right across the street from the water, really good views and food
Duke’s La Jolla: same as Duke’s in Hawaii so it has the Hawaiian food flare but the ocean views are unbeatable if that’s what you’re looking for
LUNCH
Taco Stand: SUPER popular, always has a long line but it goes fast, really good tacos
Cheese Shop: best sandwiches, they are HUGE, and also has fun candy from the past like every era starting pre 20’s that you can get (think like Abba Zabba, bubblegum cigs, bazooka, etc.). Also, best flourless oatmeal cookie.-
El Pescador Fish Market: best fresh fish plates/sandwiches, clam chowder, etc.
FANCY DINNER
Eddy V’s: FAVE steak house place, crab cake is amaze too
George’s: Included in HH below but good for dinner too
Marine Room: literally IN the ocean, the restaurant is built on the sand/water where waves crash against the walls if it’s high tide, best view hands down and food is amaze. I actually got seasick being right near the window b/c of the waves coming in and out LOL.
Herringbone: also good for dinner (and brunch and HH lol).
Casual Quick Dinner
Burger Lounge – best burgers/fries/onion rings!
HAPPY HOUR
George’s by the Cove: Make sure to sit on the terrace rooftop, there are three levels, and go before sunset. Really good spicy marg and good apps
Eddy V’s: If you don’t go for dinner, you can go for HH where it’s also right on the water (near George’s).
La Valencia: hotel where Kardashians always stayed when they visited Grandma MJ lol; if you luck out, you can grab a seat on their balcony for a sunset/water view and drink.
Herringbone: not near the water but super cute interior with indoor olive trees and twinkle lights; “oyster hour” also and every day has different specials (ie. Thursdays has $1 oysters and 1/2 off champs bottles all night). Also good for brunch that I mentioned above.
Whisknladle: HH Tapas specials till close in the bar/lounge area, really good craft cocktails.
DESSERT
Boiboi Natural Gelato – best gelato and they have vegan non dairy options.
TO DO
Torrey Pines Hike: easy “hike,” multiple trails, level 1-10 difficulty it’s like a 3 but super pretty along the Torrey Pines cliffs along the beach.
La Jolla Shores Beach: can get super crowded on nice days/summer, good for families as it has playgrounds and lots of activities to do nearby (rent kayaks and kayak through the cove with a guide, rent surfboards, etc.)
Children’s Pool (but it’s part of the beach, not an actual pool): super touristy beach spot with all the seals that people take pictures with, and has little tide pools in the ocean where you can see little sea creatures
Birch Aquarium: For the kiddos
Windansea Beach: My favorite beach but not too much sand and way smaller than La Jolla Shores..kind of a local spot and the local surf club sometimes has competitions at this beach b/c it has good breaks for surfers.
SHOPPING
La Jolla has your typical Lululemon/Benefit/Banana Republic/Sur la Table etc all on Girard Ave (one of the main streets in La Jolla).
Boutiques: Francesca’s (all the jewelry..so inexpense), Hi Sweetheart (gifts/home shop), Mimi & Red (in Birdrock, super cute), Gepetto’s (all the kids toys), Warwick’s (super cute bookstore), Sweet Paper (really cute greeting cards and little gifts), We Olive (olive oil/wine tasting).
There you have it.. all the hot spots right in one place so in the event you find yourself in San Diego, you can reference this post!
xx, H
