The culinary diversity of San Diego is evident within a few blocks – and even a few steps – of the city’s cruise ship port. Here is a rundown of our recommendations, most of which are very close to cruise port or an easy Uber, ferry, or walk to get there. San Diego is a vibrant city packed with incredible restaurants that are perfect for those visiting before embarking on their cruise as well as those wanting to get a taste of what makes "America's Finest City" one of the nation's top foodie destinations. From standout seafood options to colorful beach bars and taco shops, there's something here to tantalize all kinds of taste buds!
- Culinary Diversity Near the Cruise Port: San Diego's cruise port area offers a wide range of dining options within walking distance, from harborside eateries near Embarcadero and Seaport Village to diverse restaurant selections in Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter.
- Local Favorites and Craft Breweries: The area showcases San Diego's rich food scene with local favorites like Carnitas Snack Shack and craft breweries such as Hess Brewing in Seaport Village, emphasizing the city's status as a top beer city.
- Unique Dining Experiences: Portside Pier provides dining on the water with options like Brigantine seafood and Miguel’s Mexican food, and the area around the port features historic spots like the Top Gun Bar and casual, iconic settings like Point Loma's seafood joints.
- Diverse Neighborhoods with Rich Culinary Offerings: Nearby neighborhoods like Little Italy and the Gaslamp Quarter offer an array of dining experiences from high-end Italian cuisine and lively bars to casual street food and international dishes.
- Scenic and Cultural Dining Spots: Beyond the immediate port vicinity, places like Ocean Beach, La Jolla, and Coronado Island offer unique dining experiences in picturesque settings, enhancing San Diego's appeal to food lovers and tourists alike.
Harborside Eats - Embarcadero and Seaport Village
The Embarcadero area of San Diego is home to cruise ships, harbor cruise boats, the ferry to Coronado, the USS Midway aircraft carrier museum. As you continue walking towards the convention center, Seaport Village - a collection of shops, bars, restaurants, and entertainment offers a similar experience to what you might find in Caribbean or Mexican cruise ports except that it is open to everyone and far higher quality than the tightly controlled giftshops and corporate restaurants like Carlos and Charlies etc.
While not as built up as some more commercialized cruise ship ports from a restaurant and shopping standpoint, there are many places where you can experience a taste of San Diego without going too far from the ship. There’s even some cool history just steps away. While the USS Midway Museum and the Maritime Museum - including the iconic Star of India are obvious historic sites, smaller attractions are available too. For instance, at the park across Broadway is a plaque designating home plate for Lane Stadium, original home of the San Diego Padres which had a young slugger named Ted Williams.
Depending on the day you are in San Diego, the Lane Field Park Market (Sunday 10am-4pm) and Ruocco Park Market (Saturday 9am-4pm) offer a great opportunity to sample bites from some of San Diego's best food trucks and other local food vendors. These markets are located within a quick 10-minute walk from the cruise port ... perfect for burning off that extra queso birria taco you just had to have before returning to the ship!
Carnitas Snack Shack
Fast, casual and close and so convenient you can see your ship from there, is Carnitas Snack Shack. It’s a little to-go stand serving tacos, burritos, sandwiches (the pulled pork is great) and a pretty good burger. There’s plenty of seating on benches and also a full bar with San Diego craft beers on tap and a Monday-Friday Happy Hour 2-5.
Portside Pier
You have a view of the bay from the Embarcadero, but if you want to be on top of the water, the multi-restaurant Portside Pier is just to the north of the cruise ships. Here, you’ll find a good local beer bar, Ketch Brewing (food is items like fish & chips, burgers and plenty of tacos) with a M-F Happy Hour 4-6. They brew their own beer, which is a real “San Diego thing” considering there are 150 breweries in the city. Miguel’s Mexican food is there as well as two levels of a San Diego institution, Brigantine seafood. Brigantine has some of the city’s best fish tacos, good margaritas and fire pits by couches upstairs and downstairs. Tip: These are open-air places and can get chilly at night so have a jacket or sweatshirt with you.
Seaport Village
Just to the south of the cruise ships, there are several small restaurants in a cute little area called Seaport Village. It’s an easy 10-15 minute walk past the USS Midway and the tuna fishing fleet (San Diego was once the Tuna Capital of the World). A popular Seaport Village spot is Hess Brewing, a San Diego craft brewery. It has two levels with great views of the bay. Inside and around the little “village” are all sorts of small spots (Crack Taco, Louisiana Charley’s, Mr. Moto Pizza and Malibu Farms to name a few) and taco and burger stands. Spill the Beans is a hugely popular coffee stand in the mornings and there’s even wine tasting at San Pasqal Winery.
(10-15 Minute Walk South Of The San Diego Cruise Port)
The Top Gun Bar
The famous "Top Gun Bar", officially Kansas City BBQ, is across the street from the Manchester Grand Hyatt on West Harbor Drive. While the original location burned in 2008, this location is restored to replicate the look of the original “Great Balls Of Fire” bar used in the 1986 movie. There is a jukebox and piano here so you'll probably hear someone singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" and "Great Balls of Fire" at some point during your visit. There is also a Top Gun Lager on tap. So if you love Top Gun, this is a must-visit stop, even if you are just grabbing a quick beer or two.
(15-Minute Walk South Of The San Diego Cruise Port)
Little Italy
Italian immigrants from San Francisco moved to San Diego in the 1920s, set up a tuna fishing industry and created Little Italy. Today it’s like being in a small Italian town with side-by-side restaurants and people strolling around daytime and nighttime. It’s walkable from the cruise ship dock or a very quick Uber/Lyft or Trolley ride (Green Line to Santee or the Blue line to UTC at the Sante Fe train station).
There are several outstanding Italian restaurants within a five-block walk on India Street (at Date), including some of San Diego’s most acclaimed spots, Born & Raised, Civico 1845 and the spectacular (and hard to get into) Morning Glory. Skip any waits, tho, for all the restaurants are excellent and possess that added Italian flare of having servers who speak with a thick accent, making you almost feel as if you are in Italy. The heartbeat of Little Italy is Plazza della Famigila, where you can grab a bite – or a glass of wine – at any number of places and sit outside for excellent people watching.
If you are looking for pizza, Filippis Pizza Grotto is a local favorite with locations throughout San Diego but this one is closest to the cruise port and one of the best.
If you are one who likes casual places, there is the Waterfront Bar & Grill on Kettner at Hawthorne. It’s San Diego’s oldest tavern and has super-cold beer at can-you-belive-this prices ($5 for Stella, for instance) and a limited but very good food menu. Our fav is the Chicken Chipotle sandwich, marinated overnight and with a slab of bacon added for even more flavor. Pay a tad extra and get the onion rings instead of fries.
(15-20 Minute Walk South, 5-Minute Uber/Lyft ride or 5-minute Trolley Ride From Sante Fe Station Of The San Diego Cruise Port)
The Gaslamp Quarter
The most lively place in the area – and in all of San Diego for that matter – is the Gaslamp Quarter, an easily-walkable area with restaurants of all kinds side by side. It also hosts Petco Park, home to the San Diego Padres and is an eating and drinking destination for conventioneers, tourists and locals. Just walk up Fifth Ave., and there are tons of options for visitors to grab a bite to eat or a strong drink.
Here are some of our picks:
- Las Hadas. Fun drinks and good food, this American-Mexican bar is our go-to Gaslamp spot for margaritas (pictured above)
- il Sogno Italiano. Outstanding Italian food with live jazz music.
- Cafe Sevilla. A Spanish tapas restaurant with live salsa music.
- Greystone. High-level steaks and seafood.
- barleymash. If you can’t just decide where to go, then go to barleymash. At the main intersection of Fifth & Market, it is an elevated sports bar with a huge selection of San Diego craft beers and the wildly popular Iron Fries, whic are french fries loaded with a mound of meats like short ribs, buffalo chicken and bacon.\
(20-Minute Walk, 5-Minute Uber/Lyft ride or 5-minute Green Line Trolley Ride From Sante Fe Station Of The San Diego Cruise Port)
An Uber Ride Away But Worth It
San Diego is incredibly easy to get around and so while you might be reluctant to plan a pre-cruise lunch or a pick a restaurant to visit that isn't right at the port during other cruise stops, San Diego is different.
Point Loma
Originally a village of Portuguese fishermen, it is now the best place in San Diego for hungry cruise ship visitors to get some fresh-caught fish. It is also home to one of San Diego’s best outdoor beer gardens!
Our Picks For Lunch In Point Loma:
- Mitch’s Seafood - A local and fresh casual seafood spot, Mitch’s is a family-run restaurant on a small pier.
- Point Loma Seafood - A freshly-caught seafood market, it was featured on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives and is the most popular restaurant in Point Loma Marina.
- Eppig Beer Garden - An ideal place to drink beers from a San Diego brewery. It has a big patio overlooking the large fleet of commercial chartered fishing boats.
- Bali Hai - This Polynesian bar dating back to the 1950s is famous for its you-can-only-have-two Mai Tais.
(10 min Uber Ride From San Diego Cruise Port)
Ocean Beach
OB, as locals call it, is San Diego’s hippie beach. Its main street, Newport Ave., is lined with funky shops, restaurants and dive bars. The beach is a mix of surfers, people who refuse to let time take them out of the 60s and guys strumming guitars.
- Hodads. No place portrays the hippie culture of OB like Hodads. A burger joint, it has old street signs, license places and one of the tables is cut out from a VW Microbus. Be sure and get the huge stack of onion rings to share. Note that there is usually a line to get into Hodad’s.
- OB Noodle House. OB locals swear by this place. Pho is its signature dish with a blend of spices and meats that led Guy Fieri to claim it is “hard to beat.”
- South Beach Bar & Grill. Some locals claim this dive-ish bar has San Diego’s best fish taco, the Mahi Fish Taco. That’s upstairs; downstairs is a classic wooden bar with a very good Mai Tai for about 10 bucks.
(20-min Uber Ride From San Diego Cruise Port)
La Jolla
The Beverly Hills of San Diego, La Jolla is one of the most gorgeous locations in all of California. It is most famous for La Jolla Cove, a snorkeling spot that is full of barking and lively sea lions; tourists line the walkway above them to watch the aquatic animals lay on rocks and swim in the ocean.
- Georges At The Cove. The most popular restaurant in La Jolla Village, George’s is an upscale destination with a beautiful deck overlooking the Cove. Lunch choices include mussels, salmon and Geroge’s famous soup (smoked chicken, broccoli and black beans).
- Duke’s. Named after Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku, an Olympic swimming and water polo medalist and the father of modern surfing, this restaurant has Hawaiian foods such as coconut shrimp, Hawaiian plate lunches and its volcanic-looking Hula Pie.
- The Taco Stand. The appropriately named Taco Stand is the quintessential San Diego taco stand, a simple but delicious place serving tacos to hungry surfers, locals and tourists in the know. A couple of favorites are the Al Pastor with marinated rotisserie pork and pollo asado. The tortillas are made on site.
(20-30 min Uber Ride From San Diego Cruise Port)
Coronado
Across the bay is upscale Coronado Island, which is not really an island but is a very popular high-end tourist destination. It is most famous for being the home of the Hotel Del Coronado and its main street of Orange Ave,, is rumored to be the inspiration for the Yellow Brick Road in the Wizard Of Oz. The carriers you see are real; they are Nimitz-class carriers as part of the Naval Air Station.
- The Hotel Del Coronado. One of the top landmarks in San Diego, the Hotel Del is a magnificent beach hotel with several high-end restaurants and a beach shack taco stand. It gained international fame as being the location for the Marlyn Monroe movie Some Like It Hot and has hosted several presidents and nearly every big dignitary ever to pass through San Diego. It was also where the pilot episode of the 1960s TV show The Monkees was filmed.
- Coronado Brewing. More San Diego craft beers are poured at Coronado Brewing Company, a mere two-minute walk from the ferry dock on Orange Ave. It is known for its IPAs and the food includes pizza, salads, wraps and burgers.
- Peohe’s in Coronado. Just to the left of the ferry dock, this outstanding restaurant features a stomach-growling menu with sesame-crusted salmon and a blackened ahi salad. Dining is on a large patio with an incredible view looking across the bay at the San Diego skyline.
(10-min Ferry Ride From San Diego Cruise Port)
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