Animae has been at the top of my San Diego restaurant list for a while now, so when the group chat…read morefinally decided to stop talking and actually make plans, this place was booked immediately. We went on a Saturday night and were seated right away. Our server, Carol, was super sweet and made our first visit even better. Even though I had practically memorized the menu already, I still had her explain everything and give us her recommendations. She shared her favorites, what's popular, and even what customers don't usually order. She felt very genuine and honest and never once seemed like she was trying to upsell us. Then I looked over and saw Chef Tara. I had already told my friends about her, only to find out they follow her on Instagram too. Eventually, we worked up the courage to talk to her, and she was incredibly nice. She took her time answering our questions about Filipino culture and explaining how her dishes came about. You can really feel her passion and pride in her work. I truly admired that. And the food? WOW. Easily the best meal I've had in 2026. It's been a week and I'm STILL thinking about it. I knew I wanted to write a review, but I honestly didn't expect the experience to exceed my expectations this much. Love at first bite. We started with the Tuna Kinilaw, Carpaccio, and Crispy Pig Ears. Carol taught us how to eat the kinilaw: put all the good stuff on the spoon for the perfect bite. Rich coconut, calamansi, cilantro, fish, jalapeño, and onion on a crispy wonton. It was an absolute explosion of flavor. My taste buds were not ready! The carpaccio was fresh and paired with what I believe was pear or another refreshing fruit. Then the crispy pig ears came out. I was hesitant because not everyone at our table is a pork fan, and I had already convinced them to order the pork tomahawk tocino. But after Carol and Chef Tara both recommended it, we gave it a shot. SO glad we did. The ears were incredibly crispy, with a sweet-and-sour tamarind glaze. Then I realized there was tofu in the dish and immediately thought, "Oh my God, this is the chef's version of tokwa't baboy!" Chef Tara later confirmed it. Such a creative and unexpected take on a Filipino classic. The Roasted Cabbage was supposed to be a side, but honestly, it could've been a main. Roasted perfectly with miso brown butter and lime. Simple but incredibly flavorful. The sauce was so good one of my friends started putting rice in it. Next was the Short Rib Kare Kare. I grew up not eating bagoong, so I usually just use patis with my kare kare. Chef Tara intentionally incorporated bagoong into hers instead of serving it on the side because she wanted people to eat it the way she intended. She was right. That sauce was AMAZING. I'm pretty sure the bagoong was homemade, and the combination had me dunking my rice straight into the sauce. The short rib was tender, flavorful, and practically falling off the bone. The Chicken Adobo sa Pula was another surprise. Chef Tara described it as her French-Filipino fusion take on adobo--and there's no soy sauce! The chicken was incredibly tender, the sauce was killer, and the crispy garlic on top added the perfect crunch. Then came the star of the show: Pork Tomahawk Tocino. Sweet glaze, mango sawsawan, a meaty portion on one side and pork belly on the other. The meatier part reminded me of classic tocino and home cooking, with just the right amount of sweetness. Then we got to the pork belly... It melted in your mouth. I've never shaken my head this much during one dinner. Every dish just kept coming out swinging. For dessert, we had the Sticky Rice Crème Brûlée, and this one completely blew me away. I expected a Thai-style sticky rice dessert with coconut milk and condensed milk. Nope. THE STICKY RICE WAS BIKO. OMG. Chef Tara stayed true to the Filipino dish and elevated it instead. Mind blown is an understatement. We also had the Buko Pan Dan, which was great, along with another dessert that was also delicious. But that sticky rice crème brûlée had me sitting there thinking, "Why did it take me so long to come here?" And the restaurant itself is such a vibe. I loved the anime-inspired artwork throughout the restaurant--even in the men's restroom! I cannot say enough about this place. I was telling everyone at work, my cousins, my friends, and pretty much anyone I passed on my walk back to the hotel that night. Animae is an absolute gem. Amazing food, amazing service, amazing atmosphere, but most importantly, you can feel the passion and pride behind the food. Chef Tara isn't just creating dishes--she's telling stories and bringing Filipino culture to the table in such a creative way. Thank you, Chef Tara, Carol, and the entire Animae team for an unforgettable night.

The service was impeccable! Tasha was an amazing waitress and took such great care of me as we…read morecelebrated my 40th birthday. I have an almond and walnut allergy and she went as far as printing a menu and crossing off all that I couldn't have. All servers were aware of the allergy as well. I felt so taken care of the whole time! The decor and ambiance was perfection and ube vanilla coconut cocktail was delicious. The star of the show was the mango sticky rice crème brûlée!! The food was good but it didn't outshine the service.

Nice to have a solid Peruvian spot in San Diego. The ambiance has a Latin vibe to it with all the…read morefoliage and decor. The presentation of the dishes were excellent. The dishes we had are not quite as they add a modern twist. The vegetarian soltado protein were "steak strips" versus just veggies/tofu/mushroom. It ate more hearty without a loss of flavor. We also ordered arroz chaufas de pato (Duck fried rice). The flavor was spot on but the duck was a tad dry. We did have Yucca Fritas and that was good. The spicy Aji had a long lasting kick and a smoky flavor. We definitely recommend this location for the food and experience!

Come here on a Sunday with my friend for lunch. It has such chill vibe to it, beat away the heat of…read morethe day. I really enjoy it here. My friend ordered a beef saltado and i ordered a saltado vegetarian, both dishes are amazing, more than we expected. The services are good too, our server was excellent and very helpful. I would love to come again!

Great spot with wonderful service. Food is creative and delicious. Our favorite was the dry rub…read morechicken wings, super crispy. Would definitely recommend if you're in the area!

Dylan was an incredible server. We're visiting town and will be back before we leave…read more He was kind, patient, and very attentive. The food was great, and you can't beat the oyster happy hour. See you tomorrow, Choi's.

I came here to celebrate my birthday, and it was such a great choice! I absolutely loved the Asian…read morePinoy fusion--every dish was flavorful, creative, and beautifully prepared. You can really tell they put thought into combining traditional Filipino flavors with modern Asian influences. The atmosphere made the celebration even more enjoyable, and the overall experience exceeded my expectations. If you're looking for something unique and delicious, I highly recommend giving this place a try. I'll definitely be back!

My family stopped in today for a late lunch (around 2:30 pm) so the place was empty except for us…read more The lady at the counter took our order promptly and she later brought out our food. Water was self service but she did make sure to check in on us a few times. The establishment had a decent amount of seating/tables. They were the tall ones. I had the pork belly rice bowl whereas my husband and kids got the waygu burger, adobo bowl and chicken karage bowl. The waygu burger was done perfectly - juicy with a pretzel bun. The pork belly and chicken karage were tasty as well though I feel like the rice could have been a better texture/consistency. My son was just ok with his adobo bowl - he wasn't super fond of the consistency of the egg on top. Overall though, very solid spot to order food from.

A surprising gem! The inside is so gorgeous and wasn't sure about the food but I'm glad we decided…read moreto eat here. Ordered the FILET MIGNON POTSTICKERS which were incredibly juicy. Then the FLAT IRON STEAK which was cooked perfect. Our friends got the FILET MIGNON & CURRY CHICKEN & they both said it was fabulous. Deeeeelicious!

Went to AKA to celebrate a few birthdays and had a blast. We had a table of 8 and the staff was…read morevery accommodating. We were seated towards the back area but were able to still able to enjoy the views of the whole restaurant. We ordered shareable items off the menu. Food was delicious and cocktails were flowin. It was nice that the restaurant pretty much turns into a lounge/clubby vibe after. We stayed a little longer after dinner to grab a few more cocktails and dance a little. Place is great for celebrations. Drinks were a little on the pricier side but enjoyed them nonetheless.

Steamy Piggy is a great restaurant and their service was wonderful, the food was also great…read moreespecially the soup dumplings and kawaii buns, our waitresses Katherine was really kind and friendly when taking our orders, and the atmosphere of the restaurant was so nice it felt like you were getting served in a garden.

Our server was very good and attentive. The food came out…read morequick. The ambiance of the seating look great. We got the salt and pepper wings, red braised pork belly and beef chow fun. Red braised pork belly was good, just a bit too salty. Beef chow fun was good. Last is the salt and pepper wings. I felt like things were over cooked. I'm not sure if it's because we ordered at 8pm and they were cooking them fast to close the kitchen? We'd come here again to see if the timing of the day would change the food situation.

First time eating at this spot on cable street, and happy I was able to find parking as it seems it…read moremay be a bit tough on weekends/busy nights. 10/10 spicy garlic wings for me!!! I asked for the most spice possible and my server brought a side of the sauce, and it's indeed spicy in the perfect way :) the sauce is a bit cooked into the skin, so it's not a "saucy" wing, but I personally love that & it was cooked perfectly! The margarita fell a bit short but I didn't mind, the wings and dive-vibe this place gave me enough joy :)

am i picky... or just wrong? wasn't a huge fan of this place tbh. items on the menu sound great,…read morethey have great reviews, and the general consensus is that everyone loves it but i don't. it was fun to order a bunch of dishes and go family style but none really stood out to me. the famous wings were fine, i thought the short ribs were over sauced, fish was good, fried rice wasn't anything to write home about and the noodles felt a little mushy or overcooked maybe it's just not for my palette. fun place to go to with friends but food wasn't for me

I am so happy I was able to make last minute reservations to Kingfisher for right when they open at…read more5pm on a Saturday! They only had a table for 5 but we ended up having 6 people in our party. They were so kind to be able to accommodate the additional person! They had personalized menus that greeted my party and it wished my friends a happy birthday!! They actually got to take the menus home! This was really a nice touch, I appreciated the details. We family-styled everything which is honestly the way to go so everybody can try a little of everything! It was majority of our party's first time dining there. We started off with some drinks, I got the Non-alcoholic Guava Mocktail and I got to try what was the equivalent to an espresso martini too. Definitely liked the guava drink better because it tasted like guava nectar juice (kind of like Kerns or Jumex). The Expresso Martini had fresh mint in it and it tasted earthy which wasn't my cup of tea. For food we started off with the Heirloom Tomato Salad which was DELICIOUS!! I don't know what they put in the Vietnamese Green Goddess (probably fish sauce since all the dishes basically had this) but it was magnificent and one of my favorite dishes of the night. Then the Scallops and the Black Cod came out. The Scallops came in a set of 3 and we cut them in half so we could all have a taste. The sauce on this was DIVINE!!! It was citrusy but still really flavorful bursting with umami. I'm literally starting to drool reminiscing about it xD We wanted to keep it to use on other dishes because it was so good. The Black Cod was also delicious. It had fried skin attached and a sesame soy glaze. Next up came the Beef Tartare and the Wagyu Steak. The Beef Tartare was probably the least flavorful out of everything we ordered, but it was still well seasoned. My friend said it was really spicy but it might have just been her bite because I didn't think it was spicy at all. I like that the give you the option of leafy greens or shrimp chips to eat it with. The Wagyu though, was an all-star dish. It was the crowd favorite for sure, we all enjoyed not only the steak but the picked baby eggplants that come with it, and the sauce was phenomenal!! Lastly came the Dry Aged Duck which is what they're known for. It was definitely the biggest fish out of all. You were able to eat the duck with two different sauces, one they called a "Fish Sauce Chimichurri" and "Vietnamese XO sauce" which is more so satay. My friends liked the XO sauce but I liked the Chimichurri better. They had actually forgotten about the side of Buttered Rice but I was told it was incredibly flavorful on its own so we still asked for it. It had more than just butter in it, there was dried shrimp and sesame seeds, and it was made with coconut milk or something because it had a sweet but savory taste to it. I saved some of my duck and Wagyu to eat with it which was actually pretty good. Overall I liked that they brought out the dishes from lightest to heaviest and especially after they brought out out 2 sides of Buttered Rice we were all satisfied and full. It was the perfect amount of food. Honestly EVERY dish was different but amazingly dank and I think it's the fish sauce in everything. They were also sweet and kept the cake we brought in the fridge, placed the candles on it for us, and even after we sang they cut the cake for us!! 10/10 would recommend coming here for not only the food but the impeccable service!! Since we had a larger party there's an automatic 20% gratuity already added to the bill, which came out to be $555! (Look at that angel number!)

Came here in December of 2024, to celebrate receiving an award with my friends before going to turf…read moreclub. Near closing so we all got one drink and the kitchen was closed (we were all seated at the bar). Wouldn't let us to pay for our own drinks and we had to pay as a group; so they could hit us with the auto gratuity. Then they had the audacity to ask to tip the kitchen staff as well. Like excuse you, your kitchen is closed, why would I tip the kitchen staff on top of the 20% automatic gratuity when I'm seated at the bar. We couldn't even order food if we wanted to! Now I'm writing this review 2 years later because it rubbed me the wrong way on what was supposed to be a night to remember after winning an award. And I do remember and anytime asks if I would recommend coming here, they get a solid no.

Replacing Soda & Swine, Fortunate Son opened in late 2020 and is definitely one of the best Chinese…read moreoptions in North Park and surrounding. They did a great job with the decor on the inside, it feels as if you're eating under a garden and you can tell they pay a lot of attention to detail with the design. Parking in this area can be a bit tricky, North Park does not really have many parking lots available, so your best bet will be free street parking. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, but the best tables are indoor. The other tables are on the street in the front so it can get a bit noisy, and there are flies. Our server was very polite and everything is family style so everything comes out as it is ready. That is nice sometimes but one issue we had was that we were a group of four and one person's two items did not come until well after everyone else had theirs so timing can be a bit tricky here. Aside from that the menu is not very large, but it does have a lot of great options on it. I chose the Beef & Broccoli and really enjoyed it. I tried many other dishes here from other people at the table and we all enjoyed ours as well. The portion sizes are a bit large so I think two per person is plenty. I would recommend if you are searching for a great casual Chinese option in North Park.

Fortunate Son is such a decadent experience--perfect for date night or even a solo treat. I had an…read moreamazing time here. The food was genuinely delicious, and the atmosphere made the whole evening feel special. Our waiter left a great impression on me: attentive, personable, and really added to the experience. I've also picked up takeout from here, and it was just as good--fast, efficient, and perfectly packaged. Whether you're dining in or grabbing something to go, Fortunate Son delivers every time. Highly recommend. Coach Yoly

We had such a great experience at Sago! The ambiance is beautiful and makes it the perfect date…read morenight spot. The cocktails were amazing, and every dish we tried was so fresh and flavorful. Our favorites were definitely the tuna tartare and the lobster bao buns but everything was absolutely delicious. We'll definitely be back!

Bella Wright was our waiter she did such a fantastic job! The ambiance and food such made the whole…read moreexperience. Would definitely go back! 5/5 stars