2025 was a busy year in San Diego dining, and we had lows, for sure, but we had many more highs. Here’s a look back at my favorite things, from best chefs to best restaurants.
Twelve-foot walls surround the entrance to Michelin-starred Lilo restaurant in Carlsbad. (Elodie Bost)
Best restaurateur & chef of 2025: John Resnick and Eric Bost
Since mid-2020, retaurant owner John Resnick and executive Chef Eric Bost have been working side by side to grow Resnick’s now four-restaurant company in Carlsbad Village. They include the wood fire-focused American restaurant Campfire, the French nouvelle fine-dining spot Jeune et Jolie, the huge all-day bakery/restaurant/bar Wildland and the 22-seat fine-dining restaurant Lilo.
Midway through the COVID pandemic, Resnick was looking for a new executive chef for Jeune et Jolie and Bost, a former San Diegan whose acclaimed L.A. restaurant Auburn did not survive the lockdown, was looking for a fresh start. Within months of partnering up, the two men — who are equally passionate about food, art, architecture and their families — were already mapping out future projects.
In mid-2021, Jeune et Jolie earned a Michelin star, which it retains today. Last December, they opened the perpetually busy 190-seat Wildland project. Then Lilo, an exquisite California-themed tasting-menu restaurant, debuted just four months later. Within two months of opening its doors, Lilo earned its own Michelin star.
Carlsbad’s newly opened Lilo restaurant crowned with a Michelin star
In September, Lilo was named to New York Times “50 Best” American Restaurants list. Last month, OpenTable included Jeune et Jolie and Lilo on its list of the Top 100 Restaurants in America, based on diners reviews. Three other San Diego restaurants also made the NYT list: Callie, Cesarina and Cowboy Star. And this month, the New York Times named Jeune et Jolie’s Fraise dessert, made with Mara de Bois strawberries, pink peppercorn sorbet and a bit of baked puff pastry, one of its dining critics’ 14 best resturant desserts of 2025.
Both Resnick and Bost are visionary leaders who complement each others’ skills in business, hospitality and cuisine. I’m not sure if they have any more restaurants in mind, but based on their track record, they’re likely to succeed.
Restaurant I’m most excited about right now: Fleurette
Ouefs & Eggs, a soft scrambled egg and San Diego-fished uni appetizer at newly opened Fleurette restaurant in San Diego’s UTC area. It opened Dec. 10. (Eric Wolfinger)
I haven’t had the opportunity to dine yetat chef Travis Swikard’s Fleurette restaurant. But I took a tour of the gorgeous space in November and the photos of some of the dishes coming out of his kitchen are spectacular. Take a look at one of the dishes he has created that combines a classic French dish with San Diego ingredients: “Ouefs & Eggs” is a soft-scrambled egg with black truffle and sherry sabayon topped with San Diego-sourced uni, served in the shell with a side of griddled sourdough bread. Swikard’s popular Callie restaurant in East Village holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand award. Perhaps Fleurette will earn a Michelin star. 4727 Executive Drive, Suite 100, San Diego. fleurettesd.com
Chef-owner Travis Swikard stands in the kitchen area of his new French restaurant Fleurette in the UTC area of San Diego. It opened Dec. 10. (Sandy Huffaker for The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Best new restaurant concept: Dora Ristorante
The interior of Dora Ristorante in La Jolla. (Kimberly Motos)
One my favorite restaurants in mid-city is Cori Trattoria Pastificio, owned by Sicilian chef Accursio Lota and his wife, Corinne Goria. It’s always reliably good with welcoming service and a true neighborhood atmosphere. Now the couple has opened their second restaurant, the elegant Dora Ristorante, a 100-seat coastal italian restaurant/bar at the southwest corner of the UCSD campus near La Jolla Playhouse campus. The restaurant is beautiful, the food is excellent and the service is just as warm as it is at Cori. Because I serve as both the Union-Tribune’s restaurant and theater critic, I love that Dora has created pre-show, pre-fixe menus for La Jolla Playhouse theatergoers. Each show in the Playhouse season will have its own themed dinner and cocktails. Coming up in February is a play about famed chef Julia Child, so I’m excited to book a Dora table for that dinner. 9165 S. Scholars Drive, UC San Diego campus, La Jolla. doralajolla.com
Best neighborhood restaurant: Ambrogio15
The Burrata e Proscuitto Crudo pizza at Ambrogio15 pizzeria and Italian restaurant in Pacific Beach. (Maurice DiMarino)
Ambrogio15 pizzeria in Pacific Beach turns 10 years in August. Launched in 2016 by a group of friends from Milan, it has built a loyal following for its modern Milanese pizza, which is now also served at a sister restaurant at the Sky Deck food collective in Del Mar Heights and at a food stall in San Diego International Airport’s just-opened Terminal 1. Managing partner Giacomo Pizzigoni is planning to introduce some new pasta dishes in the coming months, but its delicious pizzas are still at the heart of its menu, particularly its award-winning Burrata e Proscuitto Crudo and its meat-centric Hannibal Lecter. 926 Turquoise St., Suite H, San Diego. ambrogiopacificbeach.com
Best casual eats: Chick and Hawk
The Birdman, the spicy fried chicken sandwich that’s the signature item on the menu of newly opened Chick and Hawk restaurant in Leucadia. (Pam Kragen – The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Chick and Hawk, this fun skateboarding-themed fried chicken sandwich eatery was co-founded by skating legend Tony Hawk and Andrew Bachelier, the chef-restaurateur behind Michelin Bib Gourmand-honored Atelier Manna. The food is tasty, fresh and affordable and the restaurant building — from its bathroom sinks, to its swooped patio and counter walls to its graffiti art — is ingeniously inspired by skate park design. Although it took several years for this restaurant to go from dream to reality, it was worth the wait. 145 Leucadia Blvd., Encinitas. chickandhawk.com
Best hidden gem: BougieMana
The roasted duck platter at BougieMana restaurant in San Diego’s Serra Mesa. It was recently named No. 8 on Yelp’s list of America’s Best New Restaurants of 2024. (Timothy Gonzalez)
I hadn’t heard of BougieMana restaurant when Yelp picked it last January as the No. 8 best new restaurant in America. Hidden in an office park in Serra Mesa, it’s a friendly Mediterranean restaurant with an eclectic menu, flavorful food and fresh produce grown onsite. 3545 Aero Court, Suite B, San Diego. boujiemana.com
Best pastry program: Relic Bakery
A selection of the most popular sweet and savory pastries at Relic Bakery & Kitchen on Sunday, Oct. 26. Clockwise from top left, lamb rillette swirled pastry, jalapeno ham and cheese croissant, vanilla bean kouign-amann, potato cheddar tile and double pain au chocolat croissant. (Pam Kragen – The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Relic Bakery in East Village, owned by pastry chef Samantha Bird and savory chef Derek Hadden, is not new. It started out in the early days of the pandemic as a pop-up that Bird launched in her apartment after losing her job as pastry chef at Milles Fleurs restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe. Over the years, the couple has run the business out of a commercial kitchen, with online orders and weekly pop-ups. On Oct. 15, they opened their first bakery/restaurant in East Village. To say it’s been a smash is an understatement. Earlier this month, the restaurant ratings and mapping app Beli named Relic Bakery the No. 2 new bakery in the world (yes, you read that right) based on user reviews. Hadden is building a hearty lunch program and dinner service will arrive in 2026. 845 15th St., San Diego. Instagram.com: @relicbakery