On June 4, San Diego gets a new force in Vietnamese food. Michelin-awarded, James Beard “Tastemaker” Michael Bao Huynh heads up Sovereign Kitchen + Bar, a concept from Asian restaurateur Alex Thao (Rama, Lucky Liu’s). Sovereign takes over the marquee corner spot at 5th and Island Streets in the Gaslamp (formerly Royal Thai). It’ll be the first and only Vietnamese restaurant in Downtown (outside of pho noodle joints), located right next to the incoming $100 million Pendry Hotel.
Huynh grew up in Saigon and learned to cook at the side of his mother. The family fled Vietnam by boat in 1982 and were rescued from open waters by the USS Midway, now stationed in San Diego. Once landed in New York, he changed his name to Michael (in homage to Michael Jackson), and eventually opened a series of restaurants in New York—OBAO, Baoguette, Bao 111, Mai House, Bia, Pho Sure, etc.—becoming one of the city’s top names in Vietnamese food.
New York Magazine once named Huynh the city’s “Best New Chef,” and Michelin twice gave him a Bib Award for OBAO. In 2013, he returned to Vietnam and coached the nation’s team for the 2014 Asia Pacific Bocuse d’Or.
Thao and Huynh also operate the to-go concept next door called Food Shop (already open), which serves banh mis, pho, etc. Sovereign’s menu will include rolls (crispy fried crab, grilled pork meatball, etc.), salads (spicy grilled hangar steak), meats and poultry (wok-seared garlic beef bo luc lac, stir-fried lemongrass, crispy pork belly, coconut-curry chicken, etc.), noodles (pho, mi quang, bbq pork vermicelli, etc.) and rice options (crab-and-lobster fried rice, roasted duck fried rice, etc.)
It’s scheduled to open to the public June 4. For now, please enjoy the first known photos in the universe of Sovereign Kitchen + Bar. If the art looks familiar, it’s the same intense gal that graced the walls at the recently shuttered Gang Kitchen.
Where to Eat in San Diego: New Restaurant Openings
White-Hot Tanner’s Burgers Readying First San Diego Location
Tanner’s Burgers is going to be very, very big. Possibly Crack Shack big. And they’re about to open their first brick and mortar in San Diego—in South Oceanside at the Freeman Collective. Chef/partner Brandon Rogers worked at French Laundry, then was chef de cuisine at Benu when it earned its three-star Michelin. But he cut his teeth in San Diego, and came back to partner with family-run good-meat company Brandt Beef for this project.
The burger was the runaway hit of last year’s Del Mar Wine + Food Festival, winning the culinary competition. The debut spot is set to open March-ish. Listen to the podcast where Rogers and Brandt co-owner Eric Brandt explain the whole project to food critic Troy Johnson.
Hotel Indigo in Gaslamp Getting a Redesigned Rooftop Restaurant
Hotel Indigo San Diego – Gaslamp Quarter’s Borrego Kitchen and Cocktails Rooftop Restaurant is in the middle of a revamp and is expected to open in May, just before the summer rooftop season kicks off. The ninth floor rooftop restaurant will focus on American Southwest flavors like yucca, prickly pear, and candied desert flowers. As for the cocktails and mocktails on the menu, the bar will carry the same desert theme and blend ingredients like aloe, sage, cacti, and even frybread.
Rendering courtesy of The Amalfi Llama
Next Big UTC Thing: Live-Fire Restaurant with Patagonia & Mediterranean Bend
The Amalfi Llama is debuting its first San Diego location at The Collection at UTC (second location after Miami) in March and adds to the live-fire scene (using wood instead of gas, a la Fort Oak, Sandpiper, Herb & Wood, etc.). Menu and ingredients are inspired by coastal cuisine from Patagonia to the Mediterranean. The large 7,000-square-foot space, with an outdoor patio, will let guests see their food cooked in real-time as the chefs use a live-fire grill and a wood-burning oven.
Choose your meat to cook over the wood fire, like a Wagyu tomahawk or a Patagonian roasted chicken. Or, try one of their wood-fired pizzas like the Positano using soppressata, finocchiona and hot honey. They’ll also have some woodsy cocktails (along with lighter options)—like Woodland Place using a Buffalo Trace palo santo-infused bourbon, amaro nonino, cacao, bitters and smoke.
Courtesy of Cardiff Farmer’s Market
Where to Eat in San Diego: Restaurant News & Food Events
Cardiff Farmer’s Market is celebrating its one year anniversary on Saturday, March 2 with a special birthday celebration between 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The first 150 people will get a free sweet from Chaupain Bakery and each purchase you make will give you a chance to win $100 in “Market Bucks” to use at the farmer’s market.
Elena Gomez is an Emmy-nominated reporter who has spent much of her journalism career working in broadcast news in San Diego and Los Angeles. She joined the San Diego Magazine team as a freelance writer in 2020.
A lazy but appropriate description of pho would be “a far more interesting chicken noodle soup.” Shank & Bone owner Han Tran’s family has been involved with Vietnamese restaurants for years. For S&B, she merely cranked up the investment in food—such as using Snake River Farms meat and doubling the amount of bones that steep in the broth in their pho. Bones are the life force of soup. And so S&B’s Smoked Wagyu Picanha Pho is luscious with flavor and collagen, which apparently (according to Instagram) prevents your face from falling off.
Calling this a hot dog is like calling chilaquiles “chips.” What an obscene and glorious gesture Barrio Dogg has thrown at the world: Start with hot dogs (good ones, 100 percent Brandt Angus beef) and then just unload a quinceañera buffet on them. They’re full Mexican feasts, with dogs of significant size shouldering the load. I drive there occasionally to stave off the pandemic sads, and the other night The Vaquero was everything the cold, rainy night called for: chile con carne, crisp melted cheese, jalapeño bits, red onion, salsa verde, sour cream, Cotija cheese, crunchy garlic, and cilantro. Get a fork ready.
Some people have religious texts. One of mine is The Elements of Life, the cookbook from Su-Mei Yu, founder and chef of Saffron. And the one recipe that I’ve cooked so much—and is so good that it’s keeping my family from begging me not to cook—is her panang curry. Coconut simmered with a bloom of ground ingredients like galangal, lemongrass, garlic, Thai chiles, coriander, cumin, you name it. A master and her dish.
Good restaurants can flash moments of divinity—a dish here, a dessert there. Great restaurants are those that are consistently excellent over a long stretch of time. When it comes to Italian in San Diego, that’s Bencotto. Chef Fabrizio Cavallini and his team make the pasta fresh every single day, and the pink sauce pasta is their catnip. Tomatoes and cream and—the difference maker—ground pork belly, which is fattier and more luscious and good for your chakras no matter how misaligned or bent.
If you know anything about the Braun brothers, who own Blue Water Grill, you know they were born and raised by parents, yes, but also by the sea. The top fishermen in Ocean Beach were their extended family. So hyper-fresh, high-quality fish was, and is, the whole idea behind their shop. So, get the sashimi. Order local tuna by the pound and grill it at home. But also, as the brutal 50-degree San Diego winter chills us to our super-sensitive bones, order a big cup of their clam chowder. Take it to the sea wall 100 feet from the shop and stare out at the gray ocean, moodily and contented.
Troy Johnson is the magazine’s award-winning food writer and humorist, and a long-standing expert on Food Network. His work has been featured on NatGeo, Travel Channel, NPR, and in Food Matters, a textbook of the best American food writing.
In our debut drinking column, we feature an exclusive spirit that's only poured at one bar in San Diego
By Marie Tutko
Top Shelf: The Lotus Cocktail at Fifth & Rose
If you missed this spring’s super bloom, you can still revel in the spirit of the season with The Lotus, a crisp floral cocktail at Fifth & Rose inside the Pendry Hotel. Served on the rocks in a globe glass and topped with a colorful pansy, the verdant drink looks more like a fairy-tale potion than an after-work libation. It features a bouquet of arugula, St-Germain, Chartreuse, and Hendrick’s exclusive Orbium gin.
The Pendry is one of the few places in San Diego to sample the limited-edition gin from the Scottish distiller, which is brewed with lotus blossoms instead of the usual juniper berries—you won’t find it at your neighborhood liquor store, as just a few bars in the country even made the cut for distribution. “Other bars have it, but we are the only bar [in San Diego] that has a cocktail with it,” says Juliea Lannen, Pendry San Diego’s beverage director. “It’s invitation-only to put a cocktail on your list with the gin.”
Lannen says gin is about to have its moment, and you can expect to see it making its mark on cocktail menus this summer. “Looking at the history of traditional cocktails, gin is a fundamental spirit and it’s exciting to see it on the uprise.” The Lotus is available through the end of June. Cheers!
Renewable energy companies building hundreds of power plants. Biotech startups using artificial intelligence to create personalized medicine for children with rare diseases. Hospitality companies quietly powering thousands of local events. Consumer brands growing from beach-town startups into national businesses. These are the kinds of companies driving San Diego’s economy today, and the businesses recognized at this year’s San Diego Business Impact Awards offer a snapshot of where the region is headed.
Hosted July 23 by San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and JPMorganChase, the second annual awards event honored four local companies for innovation, growth, and economic impact. More than 100 nominations from San Diego’s middle-market businesses were reviewed by a 10-person judging committee, with winners selected across four categories: startup, early-stage innovator, rising star, and established heavyweight.
Two-time honoree Jimbo Someck, founder of Jimbo’s organic grocery stores, also joined the event for a fireside chat on buying local, supporting emerging brands, and giving back to the community.
“San Diego’s strength comes from its makers and builders—the resilient people who endure great risks and overcome obstacles to build and scale a company,” says Aaron Ryan, San Diego Region Manager and Middle Market Banking at JPMorganChase & Co. “These awards aren’t just recognition; they spotlight the talent, grit, and innovation shaping our region’s future. By celebrating those who create and build, we foster connections and fuel the growth that keeps San Diego thriving.”
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Building the Infrastructure Behind Clean Energy
Heavyweight honoree SOLV Energy has grown alongside the country’s rapid investment in renewable power. “It’s an exciting time for SOLV Energy as we are experiencing significant growth,” says CEO George Hershman. “The business has doubled over the last year and has almost double-digit growth since its inception.”
The Rancho Bernardo-based company designs, builds, operates, and maintains utility-scale solar and energy storage facilities. Since its founding in 2008, SOLV Energy has built more than 500 power plants.
Growth has translated directly into hiring. About 200 employees work from the company’s local headquarters, including roughly 20 interns. “Our intern program is a big part of the way that we grow our workforce,” Hershman says. “Last year, 43 percent of our interns became full-time employees. We believe San Diego is a great community to build and grow a high-tech infrastructure and technology company because of the incredible workforce—the ability to attract top talent and draw from world-class universities.”
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Developing Medicine One Patient at a Time
Startup honoree La Jolla Labs is tackling one of medicine’s biggest challenges by developing personalized RNA therapeutics for patients with rare diseases—many of them children with neurological disorders like ALS. Using proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, the biotech company develops treatments tailored to each patient’s specific genetic mutation.
CEO Tamar Grossman says the recognition reflects how far the company has come despite limited resources. “We’re honored to be recognized for our ability to change and save patients’ lives and turn our lean startup into a clinical company with very minimal resources,” she says.
Grossman credits San Diego’s concentration of research institutions—including UC San Diego, the Salk Institute, and Scripps Research—with creating a pipeline of talent and collaboration. “San Diego is one of the world-leading centers for technology, genomics, and RNA therapeutics,” she says. “We have over 30 RNA therapeutics companies here, and we support each other and help with anything related to drug discovery.”
She says that collaborative spirit extends beyond formal partnerships. “You can walk around Torrey Pines, go into a café, and find colleagues from the industry and have an ad hoc conversation,” Grossman says. “That’s something very unique to San Diego.”
While Snake Oil Venue Company may not be a household name, chances are many San Diegans have attended one of its events. The early-stage innovator honoree has expanded from beverage catering and mixology consulting into venue management, operating Julep Venue in Mission Hills, Bramble Bay Venue in Imperial Beach, Vesper Venue, the Chapel at Liberty Station, and five outdoor venues throughout Liberty Station—more than 500,000 square feet of event space altogether.
“We do a lot of launch parties for corporations and new products,” says CEO Mike Esposito. “I really like working on the entrepreneur side of things, where new businesses are entering the San Diego market and looking to make a splash.”
Snake Oil has executed more than 16,000 events, employed more than 1,000 people, and partnered with more than 900 local vendors, including caterers, florists, photographers, entertainers, and other hospitality businesses. The company also works with many of San Diego’s nonprofits, museums, and cultural institutions. “We get to celebrate people’s most important moments,” Esposito says. “Whether that’s a wedding, celebration of life, or quinceañera, we’re fortunate to be involved in the community in so many different ways.”
Photo Credit: Matt Furman
Growing a Beach-Town Brand into a National Business
Rising star honoree ALOHA Collection is proof that a simple idea can grow into a thriving company. Founded by two roommates who wanted a better way to carry wet swimsuits after a day at the beach, the lifestyle brand has grown into a business while maintaining strong year-over-year growth.
Now headquartered in Carlsbad, ALOHA Collection employs more than 100 people and operates its California flagship store in Encinitas, which is slated for a remodel. With roots in Hawaii, the company is known for its lightweight, splash-proof travel bags that have become a familiar sight on beaches in San Diego and beyond.
“‘Aloha’ is part of our name, but it’s also how we move through the world,” says CEO Lynna Barnard. “It’s how we show up for people, the way we travel, the way we give back.” Since day one, the company has maintained a 5 percent giveback to Hawaii conservation efforts, contributing millions of dollars over the years.
“I think what’s so inspiring about ALOHA Collection, and the founders in particular, is when you dream big, those dreams can come true when you work hard and trust in the universe,” Barnard says. “It’s inspiring to be a role model for other people wanting to start businesses from humble beginnings. Start small and watch it grow.”
Together, businesses like these form a cornerstone of San Diego’s economy—not only through the jobs and revenue they generate—but through the local workers they hire, vendors they support, and investments they make in the region. Their growth doesn’t happen in isolation; it ripples outward, strengthening the broader business community and the people who call San Diego home.
Underground 1920s NYC-style social club is now open
By Troy Johnson | Photography by Paul Body
Two months ago, we showed you the first half of the ambitious Gaslamp project, Queensborough, an ode to 1920s cocktail culture from the Brethren Collective. Designed by Bluemotif Architecture’s Matthew Ellis (Cowboy Star, Kettner Exchange), it’s a classy throwback to F. Scott Fitzgerald romanticism. But the downstairs, deemed Downtown Queensborough, is even more elaborate, and is now open.
Here we’ve got the first photos of the 6,000 square-foot underground social club designed like an NYC subway with white tiled walls, subway-inspired signs, metro booth seats, a custom DJ booth, private whiskey lockers, full-service bar, roving cocktail cart, live jazz (starting in October, on Wednesdays), and build-your-own barrel-aged cocktail program. It’s a beauty. Take a gander. Queensborough, 777 Fifth Ave., queensboroughsd.com.
Many might say the Ra Sushi chain was one of the first to do “social dining,” in which loud music played in a place where reasonably high-end/gourmet food was sold. Some loved it for the party. Some loathed it for the party. And now it’s gone. We’ve been unable to reach Ra, but our sources confirm that, after 10 years in the Gaslamp, Ra has packed up and left its location at 474 Broadway. The Gaslamp isn’t an easy place to make a living for a restaurant, as recent years have seen. Many have just been trying to hold on until the Horton Plaza Park opens. Looks like Ra stopped holding its breath.
San Diego is home to world-class aestheticians, plastic surgeons, and dermatologists who can help turn back the hands of time and revitalize tired, damaged skin. Enhancing your look is a spectrum. Treatments range from noninvasive procedures like lasers or injectables to the big guns, like a deep-plane facelift—many with better results and less downtime than ever thanks to advanced techniques and technology. Whether you’re a Botox beginner or an aesthetic medical care veteran, San Diego aestheticians and aesthetic medicine providers can help you look and feel like the best version of yourself.
Changes Plastic Surgery & Spa
Changes Plastic Surgery & Spa is San Diego’s premier destination for aesthetic surgery, led by world-renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Rossi. Celebrated for his artistry, precision, and natural-looking results, Dr. Rossi is known for creating customized Mommy Makeovers that help women restore confidence and reclaim their bodies after pregnancy. His expertise also extends to comprehensive post-weight loss body contouring, addressing excess skin and skin laxity with sophisticated surgical techniques tailored to each patient’s unique anatomy and goals. From breast and body rejuvenation to deep plane facelifts and eyelid surgery, every treatment plan reflects Dr. Rossi’s commitment to surgical excellence, personalized care, and transformative results that look as beautiful as they feel.
Cosmetic Laser Dermatology
At Cosmetic Laser Dermatology, the board-certified, internationally acclaimed team has the power to erase 10+ years of aging in a single treatment. The center’s 60+ laser, light, and energy devices do it all—refining texture and tone, calming acne, minimizing pores, and erasing that ill-advised spring break tattoo of yesteryear. Their dermatologists take it further by stacking multiple devices in one session for synergistic results—the philosophy behind their signature Take5 and Take10 treatments, the latter capable of removing a decade-plus of aging in just one visit. Add a full suite of injectables, body sculpting, and vein treatments for every skin type and tone, and it’s no wonder the practice’s medical director was named the #1 cosmetic dermatologist in America by Newsweek two years running.
Cultivé Medical Aesthetic
If it’s subtle, lasting results you’re after, Cultivé Medical Aesthetics has you covered. Cultivé purposely combines aesthetics and wellness. The Bankers Hill practice offers a full menu of services designed to improve skin health and support the three pillars of aesthetic aging: skin tone and texture, volume loss, and laxity. Cultivé offers a wide range of aesthetic treatments, including collagen boosting powerhouse Morpheus8, biostimulators like Sculptra and Radiesse, PRP therapy, laser hair removal, VI peels, and regenerative skincare treatments. They also provide wellness-focused services such as hormone replacement therapy, IV therapy, and medical weight management programs.
Starlite Aesthetics and Wellness
Starlite Aesthetics and Wellness focuses on enhancing natural beauty through science-backed treatments tailored to each client’s goals. Michelle Langston, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, founded Starlite on the principle that aesthetic medicine should be precise, personal, and rooted in wellness. The boutique aesthetic practice in La Jolla combines modern medical aesthetics with holistic wellness principles for refined results personalized to each patient. Langston has spent more than a decade honing her skills in advanced injectables, regenerative therapies, and anti-aging care. Starlite offers regenerative therapies rooted in science, promoting skin rejuvenation using a multiple modality approach. Service offerings include RF microneedling, wrinkle relaxers, facial balancing and more.
The “It” List
In the rapidly advancing field of aesthetic medicine, it can be hard to tell what’s worth the hype. Here are some of the latest, most advanced, and most popular options out there.
Morpheus8: This combination of microneedling and radiofrequency (RF) energy activates your skin’s own collagen and elastin without the downtime associated with some laser treatments. It can be used to reduce wrinkles, tighten skin, improve skin tone, contour the jawline, and minimize acne scars.
Exosome Therapy: This cutting-edge treatment uses protein-packed nanoparticles to trigger repair and rejuvenation at the cellular level. Often used post-microneedling or lasers, exosomes penetrate deep into the skin to stimulate collagen production.
Post-GLP-1 Skin Removal: Rapid fat loss prompted by GLP-1 medications, including semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide, can leave users with sagging skin. Skilled surgeons can remove excess skin and reshape the figure.
Treatment Stacking: Sometimes it’s the more the merrier when it comes to aesthetic procedures. Combining multiple non-surgical treatments in a single session allows users to address several issues efficiently, with less downtime.
