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Artifact At Mingei

4.1 (208 reviews)
Closed 11:30 am - 2:30 pm

Artifact At Mingei Photos

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ARTIFACT AT MINGEI ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Trendy
Classy
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed

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Recommended Reviews - Artifact At Mingei

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Shrimp Dumplings
Ed S.

Top notch Shrimp Dumpling and refreshing hibiscus tea! Tempura was spot on, too. Great lunch. Great service. If only they had more evening hours....

Beef choripan burger
Joyce R.

Great place for a date night! We went to balboa park for an event at the NAT. There weren't that many options to eat at the park and we found this new restaurant. It's a bit on the $$ side but it's totally worth it esp for nice occasions. The server was great, and they have plenty of wine selection. The seats are a bit uncomfortable and too close to each other but the ambience of being able to have dinner inside a museum late at night was truly special. The food add that perfect romantic vibe to it. We just wish there are more options on the menu. Menu also is always changing so it's hard to predict what they have. Always check the website before going.

1st course was good
Michelle F.

I came here for a friend's birthday dinner, so of course I said yes to the experience -- but honestly, the best part was the fact that it's inside a museum. That was the vibe. Everything else? Meh. We started with drinks, which were pretty underwhelming across the board. Nothing memorable, and definitely not what you'd expect at these price points. It was a three-course meal, and unfortunately none of us at the table (party of eight) were impressed. My first course was actually good -- probably the highlight of the meal for me. But it went downhill after that. The second course was brisket, and let me tell you -- I didn't even know brisket could be bad until I had it here. Super disappointing. Dessert was a bourbon cherry cheesecake. It was alright, but very heavy on the bourbon -- like, almost overpowering. The cheesecake base itself was decent, though. The menu just felt uninspired and flat. For a place located in such a cool space, I was hoping for a much better culinary experience. So no, I wouldn't recommend it -- unless you're just stopping in for the aesthetic. Otherwise, save your money and go elsewhere.

Appetizers on left a fava bean dip with pickled cauliflower, carrots etc. On right are Vietnamese meatballs.
Robin L.

I took my son for dinner to celebrate his visit from Spain. The service was impeccable from start to finish. Being open room and in the middle of the first floor of the museum I thought it might be noisy; it was not. We had two appetizers that were spectacular. My son had the burger which he devoured. I had the beet and Asian pear salad which was perfect and light. I would definitely recommend and can't wait to try the Dan Dan soup.

Yueming Q.

We wanted to try this place for a long time but we only had several times drink at here before. Mingei is my favorite museum in SD and a restaurant at here, it is gonna be good! Plus their drinks are pretty nice as I remember. And yes, I'll say here's food is worthy to try. We ordered a Vietnamese pork meatball and a choripan burger, they are all fusion style food, which I like - A lot of different culture inspired cuisine. Meatball is flavorful and burger is juicy and tender. I would like more Vietnamese flavor in the meatball like fish sauce I guess, now I feel the Vietnamese flavor is not enough. The service is nice and the atmosphere is great. I'll definitely recommend you come to try.

Menu
Jemiah J.

Located at Balboa Park inside the Mingei International Museum, I visited this restaurant with friends after exploring the park. The space is thoughtfully designed and customer service was great. The interior had a modern art vibe, with soleil ceiling accents, warm wood details, and industrial touches. Beverage: Lychee and Black Tea. Refreshing and unsweetened, just what I wanted. Appetizer: We shared the Crispy Green Bean Pakora with Garam Masala, Cilantro, and Mint Chutney. I really enjoyed it and would order it again. Meal: Crispy tofu, king oyster mushroom, gai lan, Chinese eggplant, green onion, fermented black bean sauce, and chili crisp. The flavor was fantastic, though a bit oily. Dessert: Coconut tapioca, roasted pineapple, strawberry, and mango granita. Absolutely delicious, 5 out of 5. I would definitely get this again. I would come back to try their Rock Shrimp Gyoza next time.

Leilei Z.

The only thing we could accept is the flat bread , even the bread is just so so. The presentation looks great, but the flavor is so bad! We were wondering how could be so salty, the weird flavor doesn't match each other, fish doesn't taste like fish, just plain. We feel like the food is from the fridge premade, then warm them, decorate the plate. Very disappointing!

rock shrimp gyoza
Allison P.

In theory and in concept, this would've been the perfect date. I mean, what's cuter than a museum date followed up by a dinner at a restaurant on the Michelin Guide? Located on the bottom floor of the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park, Artifact is a trendy upscale restaurant with an open concept. Amazing food, amazing vibes, not-so-amazing service. They have a pretty good course menu deal- 3 courses for around $90-$100 if I'm remembering correctly. TLDR- the food is pretty great! We ordered the rock shrimp gyoza, short rib + egg noodles, yassa cornish hen, and basque cheesecake. All great choices with generous portion sizes. Onto my qualms. The service here was exceptionally slow, but only for our party. We had made a reservation, were prompt with arriving, AND were quick to order, yet we sat for over an hour watching everyone around us, many of which arrived after us, get served, eat, and leave. It was ridiculous! Our waitress was nice and respectful, but we just weren't getting served. I don't know if she forgot to put in our order or if we were getting discriminated against. If it was the former, I would've really appreciated it if she owned up to it and offered some sort of compensation.

Lamb burger and side salad
Maurice A.

My friend and I were at the park walking around on a Saturday and got hungry. Although I do love the Prado the wait for it was hours and the other places you had to wait in line, then find a seat and there were none because there were thousands of people on the park on a sunny Saturday. So...what a lovely surprise when we found this option to be seated and served on with absolutely no wait to be seated! Yes please! We had a nice simple table in the middle of the museum and gift shop so there are people walking by, but the hustle and bustle never bothered me. The service was prompt and kind. They explained the food and alt options. My lamb burger was simply delicious and my friend loved her dish as well. We were very happy and continued to walk through the park and found some great art in the Spanish Village! I loved it and highly recommended it.

Short Rib with Egg Noodles
Jenny V.

The place inside is very nice. Staff was friendly. My lemonade was delicious and refreshing. I gave them a 3 star because my food was salty. The green beans had a lot of salt and my short ribs were also salty. The food would had been more enjoyable without all that salt. Wish I would had known I would had asked for no salt. Overall is a cute place.

Dumplings
Diane S.

Along with the outstanding service and exemplary food choices we had, I forgot to mention it was our anniversary lunch celebration! Kelly generously brought us each a glass of champagne to toast our 35th year of marriage! It was an unexpected and generous gesture! We lingered through closing and left the beautiful venue happy and satiated. We will return very soon for dinner!

Rock shrimp gyoza
Rebecca C.

I wish I could give this place 5 stars because the food is excellent and it's one of my favorite newer places in San Diego. The service is slow though, and I've been maybe 4 times and it's consistently been slow. I also wish they would leave a carafe of water because their water glasses are on the smaller side. They did not fill them unprompted, and whenever we would request refills it would take a while. On my most recent visit, I had the rock shrimp gyoza which I thought were excellent. The person I was with thought they were on the saltier side, especially because of the sauce they were in, and that they were too fishy. I could see both of those criticisms, but as someone who loves both seafood and salt I quite liked them. The avocado bowl was fantastic and probably one of the best things I've eaten so far in 2025. I'll definitely get this next time again. The roasted beet and pear salad was nice, but it seems like every restaurant has a beet salad on the menu right now so it didn't feel as exciting. It's definitely a little sweeter because of the pear and I would maybe order it is a dessert, actually.

Chris Y.

Had a wonderful lunch at Artifact at Mingei today, and it was a total delight the refined flavors, artful presentation, and a calm, beautiful setting right in Balboa Park. We started with the shrimp mandu dumplings, perfectly delicate with a juicy filling, brightened by sweet-sour soy, ginger scallion oil, sesame, and just the right kiss of gochugaru heat. The roasted beet & Asian pear salad was stunning so fresh, vibrant, and layered with creamy whipped feta, crunchy pistachios, watercress, and a fragrant orange blossom vinaigrette. Every bite felt so thoughtfully composed. For the main, the California sea bass moqueca was exceptional sooo tender, flaky fish in a silky coconut broth with roasted tomato and piperade, lifted by culantro, lime, and peanut for depth and brightness. Comforting yet elegant. We enjoyed everything with a crisp French Rosé, which paired beautifully with the entire meal and the museum setting. And we couldn't leave without dessert. We shared the mousse and the Basque cheesecake, both beautifully plated and absolutely delicious so light, silky, and the perfect sweet note to end a gorgeous lunch. T'was a lovely and serene dining experience with attentive and excellent service combined with very flavorful, creative, and visually gorgeous libations. Perfect pre or post museum indulgence. Will happily and definitely return when we visit SD again.

"Hostess Table" with non existent host. Happy Hour: Friday & Saturday  & Sunday (not listed on website) 2:30 - 5:00 pm AT BAR ONLY.

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2 months ago

Love this menu!!! Will go back!!! Staff and food are fantastic!!! If you like cocktails the choices are so unusual and good.

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1 month ago

Nice place in the park and good food. Nothing fancy, decent bar and good service. Would return

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Ask the Community - Artifact At Mingei

Do you need reservations?

Yes and no. I have been there several times without a reservation on non - busy days for example after the lunch rush. But a reservation was required on a busy day in between going to the Old Globe. It's not a fast food service kind of place... so… 

Are dogs allowed outside? In patio seating?

Do you serve wine, or have corkage fee?

They have wine, beer and a craft cocktail menu

Two questions Do you need to have tickets for the museum to go to the restaurant?…

It's all indoor seating in the ground floor lobby of the museum. You don't need tickets to dine there.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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Such a cute little pink decor Japanese based restaurant, really reminded me of Japan not just for…read morethe food but the overall vibe. Even the bathroom had a heated toilet lol that's very Japan like. The food was pretty good. We got the omurice which my husband ate so fast, it's on the sweeter side, the egg could've been a little more runny but it was still good overall. We got the karage chicken, it was very flavorful and the breading was light which I liked and it didn't taste too oily. The curry was super good, the meat was tender and the curry sauce itself had a little spicy kick in it but still super flavorful. Also we got that huge tuna mayo onigiri which was like super sized but it was $8 so yea. It had a lot of tuna and it was packed really well. I was so full but the dessert looked amazing. We tried the matcha latte it was good but tasted just like sugar and milk lol There is no parking, u have to find street parking and there's no cross walk so u basically gotta jay walk if u park on the other side. Also the place isn't that big so it's not great for big parties, maybe for a family of 6 is the most you can accommodate. There is bar seating and limited outdoor seating. The service was great tho, and it's such a cute spot.

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Interior view from front to back
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Great service. We…read moreloved this a few months ago and came back. Immediately when we walked in a manager we recognized said "welcome back". Let me tell you.... When you only ate somewhere once but they remember you that makes you want to keep coming back! One big draw for me is the kids meal and options/service for kids. If a kid is under 7 they don't charge for them to split your meal with you and they can still get their own soup bowl and chair. Also, they have a kids meal option for 10 and under. My kids absolutely love being treated like real customers. They get to cook their own food and the team addresses them kindly and tends to them. By the nature of this type of meal there is a decent amount of checking in the waitstaff has to do like adjusting cook temps, delivering plates and drinks, coming back for add ons etc so it is a good restaurant experience for kids. They even have high high chairs (not a typo) for the babies. The food is good. Everything is prepped to order... you can literally see people slicing your meat or putting your vegetables together in the back. I come here because I want quality and not the volume of an ACYE place. I'd prefer to spend my calories wisely. I was surprised that it was full but no wait on a weekday. It's hard to find somewhere with a vibe on a weekday but this place has one. It's a short drive from the zoo and Balboa park so I'm sure the team will see us again.

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Matcha Latte Tiramisu, love it
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Artifact At Mingei - newamerican - Updated July 2026

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