Gaslamp District Dining

American

Asti Ristorante
Address: 728 Fifth Ave. 619-232-8844 San Diego, CA 92101 619-232-8844 Description: Huge murals that depict the historic pageantry of Asti, Italy (the home of Asti-Spumante wine) set the tone in this colorful restaurant that specializes in fine Northern Italian cuisine. Celebrity sightings aren't unusual since Asti is a favorite dining destination for many stars who are performing in San Diego. (The brick walls are lined with autographed photos of many of the restaurant's frequent celebrity diners.) Count on a warm welcome, excellent food and festive atmosphere.

Aubergine Grille
Address: 500 Fourth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-232-8100 Description: No boundaries international cuisine in a casual urban sophisticated setting aptly defines Aubergine Grille. The décor is very "Casablanca" — ceiling fans, lots of palms, soft lights and shadows, making it intimately romantic. Aubergine is very popular among Baby Boomers, who can mingle at three bars, sidewalk tables, and interior table. A private area can accommodate up to 30, and a separate events center (complete with stage and dance floor) can accommodate up to 240 for dining or 450 for an event function. Live music, usually a low-key variety of jazz, is provided Friday and Saturday. Though a romantic atmosphere the restaurant's norm, the events center is a little different. It serves as the centerpiece for Aubergine's Friday Night Salsa Fever, where dance lessons and live salsa are provided. On Saturday night after the dinner hours, Aubergine becomes a sophisticated nightclub where the dress-code is sharp, DJs are energetic, and the multiple bars are ready to go. Reservations can be made by fax or telephone. Valet parking is provided.

Blue Point Coastal Cuisine
Address: 365 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-233-6623 Description: Blue Point was named for a New York oyster, and the seafood theme abounds in just about every corner of this handsome fish house. An aquarium with beautiful and exotic fish greets you as you enter. The upholstery on the booths features fish in its subtle design. And the ambiance harks back to the vintage supper clubs popular in San Francisco and New England during the 1950s. Although seafood is king in this kitchen, Blue Point balances its menu with three cuts of hand selected prime aged beef (including a bacon-wrapped Stilton-crusted filet mignon). Meat eaters can sink their teeth into rack of lamb, roasted pork loin, or duck breast and leg confit as well. The restaurant is almost as famous for its martinis as it is for its upscale cuisine, so you might want to unwind with one of these “Dean Martin-style double martinis” before you tackle your dinner.

Juke Joint Cafe
Address: 327 Fourth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-232-7685 Description: This sophisticated restaurant features the best of two worlds: classic Southern-style cooking in what may be San Diego's premier jazz and blues club. Guests are treated to live entertainment featuring both local and national jazz, blues and urban contemporary music while dining on cuisine that is unique to the region. The restaurant boasts two distinct environments. The down-home Bistro Cafe, with its quaint charm, warm mustard-colored walls and 15-foot-high French doors, promotes quiet dining and conversation. The blue-accented showroom Supper Club features an imposing brick-walled stage that makes it well-suited for listening to music under the soft glow of handmade paper lanterns.

Asian

Bandar
Address: 825 4th Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-238-0101 Description: Specializing in Persian cuisine, Bandar is a handsome Gaslamp Quarter establishment that richly deserves all the accolades it has earned. It's close to the Lyceum at Horton Plaza, and offers al fresco dining.

Sadaf
Address: 828 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-338-0008 Description: "Royal" Persian cuisine is the specialty at this pleasant but unfussy restaurant that's very popular both at lunch and dinner. The fare is prepared in a healthy manner, portions are generous and flavors are intriguing but not so exotic that your taste buds won't be able to relate. Dine at sidewalk tables or in the nicely appointed dining room.

Taka Sushi
Address: 555 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-338-0555 619-338-0898 fax Description: Taka's large, exquisite sushi bar is a place for gourmet seafood and sushi eaters to crown themselves king or queen. Customers should dine early, as the restaurant serves its fish fresh and does tend to run out. Reservations are recommended.

Continental

Chive
Address: 558 Fourth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-232-4483 619-232-4489 fax Description: Chive has clearly redefined how the words sophisticated and chic are applied in the Gaslamp Quarter. The 3,500 square-foot, 100-seat restaurant incorporates cutting-edge architecture and design themes from European and American culinary capitals. Close your eyes, soak up the ambiance, and it's easy to imagine that you are sitting in the finest high-style, hip London or New York dining spot. Open them and it's difficult to convince yourself that you aren't. This provocative contemporary concept may stress simplicity but stunning visuals are the byproduct. The bar, basked in an orange glow, is a popular hangout. Friday nights jam with a live DJ after dinner hours. Reservations are recommended, especially on the weekends. Catering is available.

Royale Brasserie & Bar
Address: 224 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-237-4900 Description: Elegance with a French accent. That's what you'll find right near the Convention Center, when you dine at the Royale Brasserie, located in the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter. In fact, you would have to return to the turn-of-the-century brasseries of Paris to equal the grandeur and exquisite craftsmanship that abounds in this downtown dining spot. The interior décor is a marvel of leather-etched ceilings and magnificent paneled walls that look like they have been in place for years (although the restaurant is a relative newcomer). The rich appointments in this one-of-a-kind establishment include a sweeping pewter bar with hand-carved designs, intricate patterns of hand-laid mosaics on the floors, and striking chandeliers that infuse the dining rooms with golden light.

Italian

Seafood

Cafe Sevilla
Address: 555 Fourth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-233-5979 Description: This lively Spanish restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter specializes in tapas, paella and sangria.

Croce's
Address: 802 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101-6108 619-232-4338 Description: Croce's has it all — it offers several different dining experiences to excellent food coupled with live music. You can choose either outdoor dining to watch the Gaslamp scene up close, or a table indoors, either in the main dining room or the "loft" upstairs. Croce's is owned and operated by the musician's widow, Ingrid, and you'll feel Jim Croce's presence as you dine, from photos of the late singer/songwriter on the wall to his music playing in the background. Dinner at Croce's gives you free admission to the jazz bar nextdoor, where you can sit at the bar or at tables where food is served as well. There's music nightly, but there's no dance floor per se; it's an atmosphere that encourages listening to who's performing rather than shaking your wild thing.

Spanish/Latin

Cafe Sevilla
Address: 555 Fourth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-233-5979 Description: This lively Spanish restaurant in the Gaslamp Quarter specializes in tapas, paella and sangria.

Fred's Mexican Cafe
Address: 527 Fifth Ave. San Diego, CA 92101 619-232-8226 Description: A longtime favorite in Pacific Beach, Fred's also has this Gaslamp Quarter location, along with its PB partner, Moose McGillcuddy's bar. Atmosphere is casual and fun. (Check out the Tijuana-style velvet painting of Elvis.) In spite of the jokey, bar-style ambience, Fred's offers quality Mexican food prepared in a healthy manner.

Ole Madrid
Address: 751 Fifth Avenue San Diego, CA 92101 619-557-0146 619-557-0511 fax Description: If you love Spanish tapas and traditional dishes from Spain, you'll say olé! For Olé Madrid, an old-world style restaurant and nightclub, that has the look and feel of old Madrid. The restaurant retains the flavor of a vintage downtown building, with high ceilings, an old-fashioned bar area, an antique mirror, and a huge Picasso mural over one wall. Along with its large first floor space, Olé Madrid offers diners a chance to watch the show and enjoy a meal from the balcony area. The restaurant also has a large sidewalk patio that's just made for people watching — and there are always plenty of strollers along the Gaslamp streets until well into the night.

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Gaslamp District Dining