18 Best Restaurants in San Diego, California

Don't be put off by the name, or that it is part of a small chain. This fine-dining restaurant has won a devoted following for classic seafood, casual but sophisticated settings, and nightly live jazz. Chilled oysters and other shellfish compete with Maine lobster tacos and tableside steak tartare to start the meal. The polished staff helps with informed descriptions of almost two dozen entrées starring fish flown in fresh daily and prime steaks. Sea bass in a savory soy broth and Parmesan-crusted sole are favorites, and the wedge salad stands up to any steakhouse. Truffled mac and cheese and au gratin cheddar potatoes are not-to-be-missed sides. Nightly happy hours in the V Lounge offer $9 wines, $10 cocktails, and a variety of appetizers.  A second location in La Jolla has wonderful ocean views and the same dinner menu and happy hour specials. It also serves lunch on weekends.

One of several options inside the Pendry Hotel, Lionfish is a showcase for chef Jojo Ruiz's seafood-centric cuisine inside of a spacious, two-story room. The atmosphere is buzzy and hip, yet aesthetically pleasing, though the menu itself is what's worth returning for, from the butter-poached Alaskan king crab leg to the wild mushroom and potato gnocchi. Landlubbers would do well to order the half Peking duck, which comes with soft scallion pancakes and a sweet-savory house hoisin sauce for dipping.

One of the Hotel Del Coronado's more upscale restaurants, Serẽa serves market-fresh seafood with Mediterranean flavors. With tables featuring stunning views of the Pacific Ocean and a menu of sustainable seafood, Serẽa puts full emphasis on its seaside location. Sip a seasonal cocktail, indulge in a rich shellfish platter—either roasted or on ice—and let your server wow you with a tableside whole fish presentation, set to the sounds of nearby crashing waves.

Occupying a prime oceanfront lot just south of Crystal Pier, the views from the raised dining room are impressive. Throw in an excellent raw bar, a wide selection of shared plates, and a buzzy bar scene and you get Waterbar's "social seafood" concept.

Portions and prices are on point at this OB seafood corner restaurant where dining is a three-step process—choose your fish, pick your marinade, and decide how you want it prepared (sandwich, plate, salad, taco, or à la carte). There’s an on-site market serving wild, organic, and local seafood ranging from snapper and calamari to shrimp and scallops, and all the soups are from scratch including the New England clam chowder served in a bread bowl. The chilled seafood cocktail is refreshing on a hot summer day, especially when paired with local craft beer. For greasy comfort food, try their tuna melt, fish-and-chips, or beer-battered tacos.

Blame a television segment by Guy Fieri on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” for the long lines of fans from around the globe. But it’s the fresh seafood cooked to order that keeps them coming back to this no-frills fish market and restaurant.

This bustling café first opened as a full-service fish market in 1974, and has been popular with locals ever since. Step up to the counter and order the chargrilled, locally caught halibut, swordfish, or yellowtail on a toasted torta roll to enjoy in-house or to go for an oceanfront picnic. Other delicious choices include seafood cocktails, ceviche, Dungeness crab and shrimp salad, and fish and shrimp tacos. The fresh, sushi-grade fish arrives daily from local anglers, making it a great spot to grab your catch without getting wet. 

Don't let the name sway you—Pablo Becker's temple to fresh seafood may very well serve the best fish tacos in town (and that's saying something in San Diego). There's usually a line before the doors even open, and the kitchen almost always sells out by midafternoon on weekends. It's a small menu of locally caught seafood, such as Baja shrimp, swordfish, and white fish, but everything is painstakingly prepared at the highest level with the best ingredients, so try a little of everything before the last order is gone for the day.

Nestled in a quieter, less-touristy section of Pacific Beach, The Fishery is a local favorite for high-end, sustainable seafood. With a fish market incorporated into the restaurant's design, the freshness of their ingredients is proudly on display, and the extensive menu offers poke, sushi rolls, and other raw bar favorites alongside excellently cooked preparations of spot prawns, crusted halibut, lobster, and seasonal whole fish. The grand seafood tower is sure to make an impression. An engaging wine list and cocktail selection round out the exceptional offerings.

Hundreds of piranhas cover one wall of this soaring, nautically themed dining room dedicated to fresh seafood in all its guises. At the raw bar with its refrigerated metal top, a half dozen or more varieties of oysters are available for slurping, along with drinks from the booklet-size cocktail menu. Platters for sampling and sharing—a mix of oysters, shrimp, mussels, and lobster—can be ordered for up to eight people. For entrées, day-catch fish caught by local fishermen and lobsters just plucked from a tank can be savored grilled or à la plancha. Other specialties range from smoked trout dip to a hefty lobster roll slathered with brown-butter mayo.

Three local families—with a fishing history—joined nets in 2008 to provide the best catch in Point Loma; a wall menu showcases sustainable seafood caught mostly by them, off the shores of San Diego and Baja. The fisherman’s stew and fish tacos are on point, loaded with swordfish, octopus, calamari, and rock fish, while the tuna melt and breaded shrimp beckon a cold brew to wash it all down. Regardless of the time of day, there’s usually a line out the door on Fridays. At low tide, you can see oysters under the pier, reminding you that you're as close to fresh seafood as it gets. Bypass the small indoor dining space for a patio table overlooking the dock, but keep an eye on your fries. If your neighbor doesn’t grab them, a seagull most certainly will. 

Owner Nico Gibbons has been a familiar face in the San Diego seafood scene for years, and he finally found a permanent location for his popular pop-up in 2024. Located just a block from the oceanfront, the small suite contains both a dining area and market case stocked with rotating cuts of fresh ahi tuna, shrimp, halibut, swordfish, red snapper, and more. It doesn't get any fresher than this.

Be sure to try Nico's homemade habanero-guava-carrot hot sauce, or purchase your own bottle to take home.

Also known as the Fish Shop, this is a favorite among locals. Peruse the customizable menu that lets diners select a type of fish, marinade, and preparation style (grilled or fried, and taco, sandwich, salad, or plate) that suits their tastes. You can dine on the heated patio, order your food to go, or buy the daily catch to cook at home.

When fishing boats unload their catch on-site, a seafood restaurant and market earns the right to boast that they offer “the freshest thing in town.” In the late 1950s, mostly sportfishermen came here, but word got out about the just-caught fried fish on San Francisco–style sourdough bread, and now locals and visitors come to enjoy bay views, sunshine, and a greatly expanded menu of seafood dishes. An efficient crew takes orders for food and drinks at the counter, keeping the wait down even on the busiest days. In addition to sandwiches, favorites include fish tacos, seafood cocktails, sushi, salads, and fried platters of fish, shrimp, and scallops. This is San Diego's top seafood market for those who like to grab live crustaceans to prepare at home.

Credited with popularizing fish tacos in the United States, Ralph Rubio brought the Mexican staple to San Diego, opening his first restaurant in Pacific Beach where it still stands today. The original beer-battered fish tacos have fried pollock topped with white sauce, salsa, and cabbage atop a corn tortilla.

This three-story-tall restaurant and bar in Ocean Beach looks like a typical sports bar from the outside, but inside is the place to eat what many consider to be the best fish tacos in San Diego. Grab a seat at the bar and choose from an ever-changing array of fresh grilled fish from lobster to mahi-mahi. Visit on Tuesday for $4 tacos, Friday for $1 oysters, and Sunday for $10 bottles of bubbly.

It’s hard to top this longtime, nautical-styled Harbor Island restaurant’s views across San Diego Bay to the Downtown skyline and Coronado Bridge. An alfresco dining deck and a contemporary seafood-focused menu ensure the dining experience at this working lighthouse doesn't take a back seat to the scenery. Sample the iced shellfish platter before moving on to traditional lobster bouillabaisse and paella or grilled prawns with spicy grits. The family-owned institution also serves a popular Sunday brunch that stars crab legs, peel-and-eat shrimp, smoked salmon, and oysters along with mimosas. Prefer beer? Choose from a long list of on-tap and bottled craft brews.

With its bay views from Point Loma to the Coronado Bridge, this upscale seafood house is just right for a memorable evening. The romantic teak-paneled dining room and a deck that sits over the water are popular spots for visitor splurges and locals celebrating special occasions. Starters include jumbo lump crabmeat cake or a chilled seafood platter with a half Maine lobster, Dungeness crab, clams, prawns, and oysters, shared with sips of champagne. For mains, choose from mesquite-grilled Pacific coast swordfish or specialties like the Alaskan halibut, zesty cioppino, or prime rib eyes and filets from Double R Ranch.  Do not confuse this with the tourist-oriented Fish Market downstairs, which can offer an uneven dining experience.