Best Restaurants for People Watching in La Jolla

The Whaling Bar is hands down our favorite local spot, whether it’s for a cozy date night or an evening out with friends. The atmosphere is fantastic, the cocktails are exceptional, and the food never disappoints. We love everything on the menu, but our personal favorites are the celery salad, Caesar salad, the baos, and the chicken—each dish is perfectly executed. We’re also lucky enough to have George as our server every time we dine here. He’s simply the best, making every visit even more memorable with his friendly demeanor and excellent service. And don’t forget to save room for dessert! The burger dessert is an absolute must-try. We can’t wait to come back again soon!

Love this place! Freddie was an excellent server, and we will be asking for his section from now on! Loved the steamed eggs—healthy and light and delicious!!

We were led to believe this was an upscale restaurant, country club casual. We expected this atmosphere. Next to us was a a husbands, donned in a baseball cap, his wife and two children. The children were loud, obnoxious, and continued with antics sprawling about there space. Other diners were shouting for attention at their tables, the noise level was over the top. I wanted to stand up but I’d have to scream, Quiet Down…. It was deafening, unbearable.

Amazing old school chop house. The table side Caesar salad was perfect. We also shared the Manhattan pasta trio and a Veal Florentine chop which was juicy and delicious. We had no room for dessert but the selection looked great. Definitely a place to come back to next time in San Diego. Service and atmosphere were excellent and rivals our favorite chop house Golden Steer in Las Vegas.

Came in on a Taco and Tequila Tuesday with a great special featured tequila from Dobel. This was a great night for quieter dining -- no big crowd or music -- but still great food and service, plus got to try the new Crystalino from Dobel that is very smooth and got deals on cocktails made with it too. We could easily converse at our table and enjoy ourselves with good food and drink. What is not to like about that ?