Best Neighborhood Gem Restaurants in Old Town

El Agave is always great. When the restaurant is full (almost always) service can get slowed but it’s worth the wait. (Get another margarita or some more salsa!) the food and drinks award’s are well deserved. Worth the visit just to see the tequila “library”.

Mr. A's never disappoints. We love coming here to celebrate special milestones in our lives.

This is our favorite Italian restaurant in San Diego and it’s our favorite restaurant in Old Town. We are always treated like family when we go there. All the servers have been there for many years and take great pride in giving their best. The food of course is magnificent and is prepared perfectly. We always look forward to dining there when we are in the area.

We had a fantastic time at Herb & Wood. Since we were both busy on Valentine’s Day, we decided to celebrate on Saturday instead. From the moment we arrived, everyone at the restaurant greeted us warmly and made us feel truly welcome. Our reservation was at 5 PM, so the restaurant wasn’t too crowded yet, but even as it filled up, the level of attentiveness remained exceptional. Our waiter, Troy, was friendly, knowledgeable, and offered great recommendations. For appetizers, we had the Sicilian Crudo and one of Troy’s suggestions—a warm dinner bread served with butter, honey, and herbs. I don’t remember the exact name, but it was absolutely delicious! For our main courses, my husband had the Iberico Pork, and I had the Roasted Branzino. The Branzino was packed with herbs and flavors—I usually can’t finish a large meal, but I couldn’t stop eating it. We were too full for dessert, though I wish we had saved room! It was our first time at Herb & Wood, but it’s now on our list of favorite restaurants for special occasions.

My boyfriend and I came for an early Valentine’s Day dinner and we got a sangria and Old fashioneds which were great!!The food was AMAZING. The Parker house rolls, the mussels, the steaks 🤌🏼 The only negative thing I have to say is that because we had a later reservation (10:00) we felt pretty rushed to order our food, thus feeling rushed to leave. It didn’t negatively affect our experience too much because the food was so bomb but definitely expected a higher level of service (minus the bussers and food runners who were friendly and great).