COVER IMAGE: ENCORE SUSHI
Carlsbad
Taste Craft Eatery | 2668 Gateway Road, Suite 170
Taste Craft Eatery brings its Central Coast roots to Bressi Ranch with a menu made for mixing and matching. Choose a Duo, Trio, or Quartet of items spanning sliders, salads, soups, and customizable mac and cheese, rather than committing to a single entrée. Founded by Gretchen and Scott LeMiere in San Luis Obispo in 2013, Taste appeared on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2024. The Carlsbad restaurant joins locations in San Luis Obispo and Paso Robles, with lunch, dinner, and a separate cocktail menu.
Momo Sando & Omakase | 2521 Palomar Airport Road, Suite 103
Momo Sando & Omakase gives the omakase experience a portable format, with sushi sets, sashimi, rice bowls, rolls, and Japanese sandwiches. Behind the concept is Chef Changjin Oh, whose career includes executive sushi chef roles at Nobu in Chicago and at the Hotel del Coronado. The menu moves from a Toro Trio and maki-and-nigiri sets to salmon truffle maki and sandos filled with tonkatsu, chicken katsu, egg, or shrimp katsu. Carlsbad is the concept’s second location, following its Mira Mesa Boulevard restaurant.
AN’S GATE D5, PARC LOUNGE, PASEO PIZZA + GELATO
Oceanside
An’s Gate D5 | 216 North Pacific Street
An’s Gate D5 gives Oceanside’s historic Top Gun House a new role: a gelato shop with an airport-inspired identity. The San Diego company’s fifth concept serves a scratch-made menu that changes every two to three weeks, with flavors named after destinations. Past offerings have included Ho Chi Minh, combining banana and Vietnamese coffee, and Greensboro, pairing buttermilk with chocolate. The travel theme carries through the shop’s ordering language, from its “Current Arrivals” menu to “Oversized Baggage” pints available to take home.
Rancho Santa Fe
Parc Lounge | 16081 San Dieguito Road
Parc Lounge takes over the former Dolce Pane e Vino space with a French menu led by Executive Chef Benjamin Navarro. Restaurateur Garo Minassian, also behind Parc Bistro in Bankers Hill, describes the restaurant as a sister concept with its own identity. The kitchen combines classic French dishes with modern interpretations, guided by seasonality and ingredients sourced locally where possible. Alongside the food, wine is a central part of the concept, reflecting Minassian’s background as a sommelier.
Paseo Pizza & Gelato | 6024 Paseo Delicias, Unit D
Paseo Pizza & Gelato adds a pizza-and-gelato stop beside Paseo restaurant in the village. Its 12-inch pies use Caputo flour, Rega San Marzano tomatoes, and Grande mozzarella, with combinations ranging from pepperoni to the Paseo, featuring burrata and prosciutto. The PPG layers pepperoni, pesto, stracciatella, and hot honey. Beyond pizza, the menu includes freshly baked panuozzo sandwiches, salads, starters, and gelato, with dine-in, takeout, and delivery available.
ENCORE SUSHI, THE GREEN OLIVE, + LOBSTER LAB
Solana Beach
Encore Sushi | 112 South Cedros Avenue
Encore Sushi brings Chef James La and partner Chris West to the former Kai Ola Sushi space at the entrance to the Cedros Design District. The menu includes nigiri, sashimi, poke bowls, and signature rolls grouped under “The Setlist,” while the drinks selection spans sake, wine, and local craft beer. Guests can sit at the sushi bar to watch La work, reserve a table, or order pickup. Its Cedros Avenue location also puts it steps from the Belly Up.
Escondido
The Green Olive | 1650–56 East Valley Parkway
The Green Olive joins Escondido’s dining lineup with Mediterranean kabob plates, wraps, salads, and dips. The menu includes chicken, beef, and kofta kabobs alongside shawarma, falafel, and hummus, with options for dining in, takeout, delivery, and catering. The Escondido restaurant is part of a group with additional locations in Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura, and Santa Maria.
Encinitas
Oto Sushi | 782 North Coast Highway 101
Oto Sushi has expanded from Laguna Beach to Encinitas, bringing a sushi concept built around responsible sourcing and a scratch kitchen to North Coast Highway 101. The family-run restaurant makes its sauces and marinades in-house and offers gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan choices. According to Oto, its seafood sourcing draws on certified fisheries and farms, along with seafood sustainability programs—a focus tied to the family’s background in fishing and boating.
Carmel Valley
Lobster Lab | 12841 El Camino Real, Suite 206
Lobster Lab joins the restaurant lineup at Sky Deck in Del Mar Highlands Town Center with a menu centered on coastal comfort food. Lobster rolls are the starting point, joined by crab and shrimp rolls, seafood sandwiches, soups, salads, and melts. The Sky Deck location has its own food-and-drink menu and happy hour menu, distinguishing it from the company’s food hall outposts. Among the dishes highlighted by the center is a lobster grilled cheese.
Scripps Ranch
Vella Brasserie | 10785 Scripps Poway Parkway, Suite 785 B
Vella Brasserie brings French and Italian influences together in a locally owned, family-run restaurant in Scripps Ranch. The menu spans pastas, steak frites, braised short rib, seafood, flatbreads, and seasonal specials, with lunch and dinner service. Created by Scripps Ranch locals, the restaurant centers its concept on neighborhood dining, with wine, daily happy hour, reservations, and online ordering rounding out the offering.
