BEST RESTAURANTS IN LITTLE ITALY
Where to eat in Little Italy, San Diego — what each place is good at, and what you're walking into.
Little Italy has more restaurants per block than anywhere else in San Diego, which makes it harder to pick, not easier. The list below covers a range — a tavern kitchen, a pizzeria, a raw bar, a food hall, a pub — with a note on what each one does well and when it's worth the walk.
WATERFRONT BAR & GRILL
San Diego's oldest tavern, and a full kitchen rather than a bar with a fryer. Breakfast starts at 8am and the kitchen runs to last call, so it covers the hours most of the neighborhood doesn't. Burgers, sliders, tots, salads, tacos, and a Mexican brunch menu on weekends. Walk-ins only, 21 and over, dogs welcome.
BUONA FORCHETTA
Wood-fired Neapolitan pies and pasta. Busy most nights, and the wait is real on weekends — put your name in and walk the block.
IRONSIDE FISH & OYSTER
Raw bar, whole fish, and a cocktail list that holds up. Bar seats are first-come, and they're the better seats.
JUNIPER & IVY
The bigger-ticket room in the neighborhood. Reservations well in advance, tasting menu available, and a kitchen that changes the card often.
LITTLE ITALY FOOD HALL
Several counters around an open piazza. Useful when everybody wants something different, and the seating outside is the point.
PRINCESS PUB & GRILLE
The neighborhood's British pub. Cask ales, pub plates, and football on early on weekend mornings.
COME SEE FOR YOURSELF
Waterfront Bar & Grill · 2044 Kettner Blvd, Little Italy · Open daily 8am–2am. Walk in.