Location: La Jolla
Top Restaurants in La Jolla
Countries
Most Popular American food in La Jolla, San Diego, California
Discover Restaurants offering the best American food in La Jolla, San Diego, California. Topnotch golf courses, art galleries and seals share the dramatic oceanside landscape of La Jolla, an affluent community 15 minutes from downtown San Diego. Swimmers, snorkelers and kayakers dip into La Jolla Cove, where the protected waters shield an abundance of bright orange Garibaldi fish and sea caves indent the cliffs. The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the family-friendly Birch Aquarium and the acclaimed La Jolla Playhouse deliver breaks from the sun.
Things to do in La Jolla
10. George's at the Cove
Overall Ratings
4 based on 3316 reviews
George's at the Cove is a renowned three-level dining destination located in the heart of La Jolla overlooking the Pacific Ocean and northern coastline. We offer three distinct restaurant and bar concepts â one fine dining and two casual â with stunning o
Reviewed By joeyrm7
Had lunch on the second level. Cirveche for my wife and a burger for me. Together with a glass of wine all was really good. Throw in the open air and great views and it makes for a great lunch. Only improvement they can make is to get the wind to change direction to lesson the smell from the sea lions and pelicans.
9. The Marine Room
Overall Ratings
4 based on 759 reviews
Embark on a culinary adventure featuring seafood creations made with globally-influenced flavors, and enjoy an elegant fine dining experience at our La Jolla restaurant on the surf. Take part in an over 75-year tradition and join fellow San Diegans, visit
Reviewed By Sergey S
View from the restaurant is unbeatable. Outstanding. Food mostly very good. Over-priced but very good. Service was definitely below average. For this price, we had to ask for waiter several times. We had to literally get up to call for waiter. Absolutely unacceptable for this price. We were celebrating wedding and it was especially annoying. Quality of service and wonderful view was absolutely over-shadowed by very non-attentive service.
8. Richard Walker's Pancake House
Overall Ratings
4 based on 446 reviews
Since 1948, the Walker family name has become synonymous with quality family dining. The family has since perfected its reputation for outstanding gourmet pancakes and breakfasts. We offer a large variety of gourmet breakfast and lunch items, including pa
Reviewed By PJagers
Wow...that's what you call a breakfast. Plenty and very very tasteful. Way too much but the remains take away and enjoy during lunch ;-) Reasonably priced. Waitress was great, the person walking around with the coffee pot was somewhat annoyed. You don't have to smile all day but a grumpy face? Other than that worthwhile the treat.Hi there,We've reached out to you in a private message to personally thank you for this review. We hope we have the chance to serve you again in the future!
7. Shorehouse Kitchen
Overall Ratings
4 based on 272 reviews
Reviewed By TrishYCO44
Food was good. Average, nothing amazing. Service was ok, food took a long time to come out. If you're hungry...you'll be hungry for awhile after you sit down. Staff was friendly. Can walk here from La Jolla Shores which makes it easy for a beach day.
6. The Promiscuous Fork
Overall Ratings
4 based on 136 reviews
Reviewed By Leesuzy71
Amazing restaurant...gorgeous food, great menu. I had the Mac n cheese with the short ribs (pictured), hubby had chicken tacos, eldest had ring of fire burger and youngest had a cheeseburger...all delicious. We also had a bottle of the local Chardonnay (also yum). Location and style is informal but also pretty cool. Will probably re-visit which is uncommon for us as we like to try out different places.
5. Harry's Coffee Shop
Overall Ratings
4 based on 380 reviews
Reviewed By leafpeeper-supreme
seated almost immediately, charming lady who served us " Jolene " it's quite full of old American memorabilia and a 50's turquoise and white car parked outside,Back to the food , it came up in good time and ended up more than I could manage.Classic bacon eggs toast etc. If I return I would be looking for it any morning.
4. A.R. Valentien at The Lodge at Torrey Pines
Overall Ratings
4 based on 619 reviews
The Lodgeâs signature restaurant, A.R. Valentien, highlights regional San Diego cuisine served in an elegant, timbered indoor-outdoor dining room overlooking the 18th hole of Torrey Pines Golf Course. Executive Chef Jeff Jackson sources only the best loca
Reviewed By SoCalTravelBirds
This restaurant is incredibly popular for their standout dinner events when they do monthly seasonal showcasing of âArtisan Table Seriesâ featuring a talented guest chef whoâs invited to work with The Lodgeâs culinary team to craft up a unique menu with wine pairings. Most of these signature events are quite expensive and their ticket-price varies from $165-$200/person. We've enjoyed a couple times and as much as we would like to dine-in at their Table-Series, especially the summer events since the sunsets are late and guests are seated on heated deck outdoors, weâre lately overawed by their sticker-price. And although, some of these are the best of SoCalâs tasting events (arguably one can postulate $$$), we do not always enjoy communal seating.In view of that, for the first-time we decided to try out their special menu for a family event. On Motherâs Day, instead of brunch, they posted a â3-course Lunch-menuâ for $95 with free-flowing sparkling wine. They also require you to call for your credit card info, a must for special event reservations only. Not knowing (after I reserved a table online more than a month in advance) that the special menu for lunch was offered for only 3 hours in the afternoon (this was posted very late), I called to change for an afternoon 2 pm outdoor table.At check-in, there was no Motherâs Day greetings from an amateurish young hostess âStuttiâ who seated us on a high trafficked booth inside nearly empty dining room. When I said, we requested for an outdoor table, she answered in pretentiously sweet voice that we donât seat party of 3 on the deck outdoors, hence she removed our special request from our online reservation. Totally flabbergasted, I couldnât believe I was hearing such a lame excuse in a classy dining venue. I peeked outside from my booth and told her that at least 4 empty tables to seat 4 or more guests on each are available. To which she answered, those are for guests coming âlaterâ than our reserved time. Refusing to make a request with a young dolt, I asked a matured server to kindly let us sit outdoors on a sunny afternoon since we prior requested and tables are available on the deck. He called the manager who first checked our initial online request, then said thereâs one table-guests whoâve already paid, and we are just waiting for them to leave but we do not know how long theyâll take to get up. Unlike most high-end dining, I for once agree with this restaurantâs relaxed policy of not enforcing any time-limit on guests who want to sit and chat after being served. In the meantime, right before our eyes, hostess Stutti seated guests outdoors whose reservations were 45 minutes after ours, at two separate sets of 4-seater tables each. Unanticipated, after 50-minute long wait, our table became available. As a matter of principle, I remained resolute and calm, just so they know I didnât mind waiting. No apology or logic-explanation offered as to why âourâ request to sit outdoors was removed. This was so unfair and highly unprofessional. Not sure, why they make it so difficult. Why not do it, first-come first-sit/first-serve? If all the tables outside were occupied, I wouldnât mind dining inside even though I requested to sit outside on my reservation. It was just âa requestâ. I would understand, when no tableâs available why quibble? That would be an accepted fact that thereâs no table up for grabs. Seating a guest should be that simple! Pre-fixe lunch menu for a 3-course meal was limited on options. To start off, three choice of bread was good, but the house sparkling wine didn't taste as good. Other than a collection of Californian vineyards to choose from, they have very little imported wines if at all any. Food presentation on rustic plates looked good, but each course meal itself were small portioned with little to no side dish on the main course. Avocado cream soup Amuse Bouche topped with bright orange salmon-roe caviar was winner for the eyes; its bland taste went well with the bread. First course of 3-piece Lobster Ravioli was the best tasting food out of the 3-course served. It was my son's favorite dish. Ravioli itself was totally bland but the spicy sauce over it was bodacious. The main course of Halibut was served on wilted lettuce. It fell short of side-veggies to complement its perfectly cooked filet with crispy top and soft flakes on your fork. The plate was huge but looked mostly empty with small portioned entrée. The 3rd course dessert was the worst of all 3-courses. I've never liked any of their desserts before. This time the tempting title: Black Forest Mousse was intriguing. This chocolate cake tasted so bad, that at first bite I didnât want to swallow it. We couldâve done without their unappetizing, stale, densely-firm chocolate cake dessert that had overwhelmingly strong and bitter aftertaste of poached-cherries. Black forest mousse cake means it should melt in your mouth! I wouldâve complained if it didnât come with yummy Stracciatella gelato. But the scoop was too small, it matched the size of the tiniest Wiffleball you can think of. No more than 1â in diameter, and yes the gelato scoop was hollow on the inside just like a plastic Wiffleball. Although service was excellent by our cheerful server Andy, but for $100+/person without modest size servings, the food was average at best for a special day meal. We weren't surprised, no special menu was offered for Father's Day, although it's a perfect après-golf dining venue for a father-son/ families chill-out time.We appreciate you sharing your detailed experience and thank you for choosing to dine with us on Motherâs Day. We strive to provide an exceptional dining experience for every guest, and we are very disappointed to learn about the issues you encountered during your visit. We sincerely apologize for falling short of our standard and we have shared your concerns and feedback with our management. We truly hope you will consider dining with us again.
3. Eddie V's Prime Seafood
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1382 reviews
Reviewed By Alice M
This is a beautifully situated restaurant in the heart of beautiful LaJolla. We were there on a Saturday evening. We had made our reservation weeks ahead, which I would recommend. We were seated promptly, and the service was very good. The menu is definitely classic steakhouse, with nothing innovative or interesting (to me) on the menu. It is very pricey, but thatâs to be expected. The smallest steaks available were the filets. They were properly prepared and cooked. The sides we ordered were ok, nothing special or outstanding.
2. The Cottage La Jolla
Overall Ratings
4 based on 1503 reviews
The Cottage La Jolla has been serving delicious breakfast, brunch, and lunch to the citizens of La Jolla, CA for over twenty-five years. Our restaurant specializes in traditional American and Southern Californian cuisine, with a clean, Victorian-style int
Reviewed By Wheretogowhattodo
We had to wait for a table because this place is popular! It was well worth the wait. Breakfast was plentiful and delicious. Staff was attentive and quick. The only negative is that we wanted to sit on the patio instead we were seated upstairs next to the bathroom. Not exactly the view I would have liked to have had. At least there were plenty of windows to look out of.
1. NINE-TEN Restaurant & Bar
Overall Ratings
4 based on 624 reviews
At NINE-TEN, guests will enjoy the unique seasonal style of "Evolving California Cuisine" with menus dictated by the local harvest. The menu is created daily to take advantage of fresh products discovered during daily excursions to local artisan providers
Reviewed By winemanNapaCa_
This without a doubt is the best hotel restaurant combo in La Jolla. Dinner was perfect outside with warm weather. The ocean view makes everything better.All starters and mains were well prepared with spot on flavors. The wine list is outstanding with wines from around the world. Our waiter, Chris was also the wine buyer. When I asked for a red to pair with our main course he brought a real treasure out that was under $75.We just had a great and an easy walk down the hill to our ocean front room. Pure magic. We will return.Dear winemanNapaCa_: On behalf of Chef Jason Knibb and our entire team here at NINE-TEN, thank you very much for the wonderful feedback you provided about your recent dinner. Thanks also for pointing out the wine service you received from our Sommelier and Wine Director, Chris Russo. We take pride in what we feel is a well-balanced cellar and a list that is truly a carefully selected excursion of local and global vineyards. And for the indecisive, our well-trained staff members, including Chris, are here to assist with a varietal that best complements the menu selections. I appreciate you taking the time to share your comments and we look forward to seeing you back. Sincerely, Terrence Underwood, General Manager
