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    Culinary Dropout

    4.2 (343 reviews)
    ModerateNew American
    Closed 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 1 month ago

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    CULINARY DROPOUT ATMOSPHERE

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    Dessert! Strawberry Torte
    Vivian B.

    Glad I made reservations. The evening summer outdoor atmosphere and the music makes for the start of a relaxing weekend. Wished the Brussels sprouts were a tad larger yet the balance of flavor was on point. The Chef Board is a perfect balance. I could eat the bread all day long and be happy! Drinks are well balanced. They do offer a military discount

    Undercooked chicken tender in a kid's meal
    Aiza B.

    This is for today's food.... I am so bummed to find one of my chicken tenders in a kid's meal to be undercooked. Mind you, I had already given one to my kid... this is unacceptable. I loved their food because of the freshness... minus the heavy salt, but to find this out is a bummer.

    Anna V.

    A nice spot in Del Mar with a relaxed atmosphere. They sometimes have live music, which makes the experience even more enjoyable. The restaurant has a warm, stylish vibe that's great for dinner or drinks with friends. The food was good overall, the service was friendly, and everything was well done. Nothing that completely stood out, but it was a solid experience.

    Shalini G.

    Losing Tilly's was a sad thing for all the teenagers in the neighborhood I was truly excited about culinary dropout coming to the space They did wonders as far as decor goes The place is beautiful open with tons of indoor seating The bar is enormous with ample seating both inside and outside There's patio seating also available They have a happy hour that has some great prices The food is good enough not great The service is unique. While it is casual and I do like and appreciate casual it's almost too casual. I think they're catering to a younger crowd maybe 20s to early 30s. The drinks are crafted well but menu items and happy hour drinks. Both are using lower shelf liquor. Yes I could change it up but asking the questions about switching. The Alcohol seemed to be very difficult for the staff to answer. I mean, the place is fine, but definitely not my first choice of where to go

    Steak frites .
    Nancy W.

    Good vibes, services are pretty quick and friendly. We ordered the chicken katsu and the steak frites (medium). The sandwich is pretty good, and fresh chicken katsu. Bread is nicely toasted with butter. The steak was a bit over cooked and delivered to us at medium well. Overall, we have a good experience.

    Egg whites and veggies
    Marissa M.

    We had a great experience with Ariel today for our family's Father's Day celebration. She was so attentive and pleasant, especially with our large party. We started with the tahini and bread, that was a neat refreshing dish. Prob my fav of everything. The bacon wrapped shrimp was pretty good. My husband got the grilled ham breakfast sandwich, he thought was ok. He thought there would be more ham in it. I got the short rib hash, that was pretty good. I didn't like the potatoes, they reminded me of pre-made potatoes like from Sysco or something. My mom got the egg white with veggies. She liked hers. They were so sweet to give us desserts. Would like to come back and try dinner.

    Jordyn J.

    I've been to the culinary dropout in az so I was excited to here they opened a location in San Diego. Definitely a different vibe than the Arizona location, but that's okay. The food was still good and they definitely have a great selection of beers on draft. The service was quite slow and our food came out before we ever received our beers. Overall we still had a good time and enjoyed a quick bite to eat.

    Fish and chips.  Taste like charcoal.
    Rafid D.

    Just another place that spent an abundance on the decor and not enough on the food. Nachos were good (has anyone had bad nachos at a restaurant before?). To spare the details, the fish and chips was inedible. The mac and cheese was inedible. Service was good.

    Spicy Avocado Roll
    Diane Y.

    We went to Culinary Dropout to watch the NBA finals and eat dinner. We loved our food, the service was excellent and the game was great!!! It was pretty packed but everything was handled smoothly and calmly. It is a good option to listen to live music and/or watch the games. The food was healthy and fresh.

    Preston a fabulous staff member !
    Sara D.

    I would like to totally recommend Culinary Dropout! It does not disappoint. We love their happy hour drinks and food selection! Great prices and value. Most of all we love the staff. Honestly, we can eat at home make our own delicious drinks but the vibe here is so fun it's an easy yes for our go to. Preston is fabulous! He's friendly, professional and exactly what every bar / restaurant wants! He chats when he can, he makes the experience a 5 star experience! We have told so many of our friends about this place! Never disappoints!

    Sushi
    Lucy P.

    Delicious food and great service. What else can you ask for?:) first time at this yummy place and I already can't wait to go back. I like the low lighting and the way the tables are spaced out at a good distance. They had live music outside (which could also be heard inside) which was nice. All their food was delicious and their drinks too! Highly recommend!!

    Mor W.

    I really wanted to love this place because, honestly, much of the food was excellent. The burger was outstanding. Juicy, high quality, and one of the best items we ordered. The sausage rolls with the dipping sauce were absolutely delicious and probably my favorite appetizer of the meal. The dessert was fantastic and a perfect way to end the meal. The cocktail was very tasty and surprisingly strong. One drink was more than enough. The spicy salad was excellent for anyone who enjoys heat. Full of flavor and one of the better dishes we tried. The salmon was fine, but nothing memorable. It was good, just not something I would order again. The deviled eggs were disappointing and lacked flavor. The fried chicken looked amazing, but for me only the crispy coating was enjoyable. The chicken itself did not impress. Unfortunately, the service completely ruined the experience. I have visited twice with different servers, and both experiences were disappointing. Service was extremely slow, impatient, and came across as arrogant rather than welcoming. On more than one occasion, staff started clearing plates before we had even finished eating. Requests for simple items, such as hot peppers on the side, felt like an inconvenience, and when they finally arrived they came near the end of the meal. The overall atmosphere from the service team felt rushed, dismissive, and unfriendly. It's a shame because most of the food was genuinely very good. However, when service is this slow, inattentive, and unpleasant, it overshadows the entire dining experience. For that reason, despite enjoying several of the dishes, I would not return.

    Inside
    Debby L.

    What a disappointment! Went on a Sunday morning at 11:00am. We had a table of 8 on the patio and there were a couple of smaller parties also on the patio. There were maybe 5 tables inside. Our server just seemed kind of spacey and disjointed. We ordered about 4 cups of coffee, 2 the first time, then the other 2 a little later. The server brought the coffee, asked if we needed cream and sugar. The answer was yes. She actually came back to refill the coffee cups before we ever got the cream and sugar. We reminded her about it, and by the time she brought it, the coffee cups were empty again. Then she brought the other 2 coffees, but by this time, the tiny picture of cream was empty. She said she would get more, but didn't for quite awhile. They wanted a refill on their coffees, she poured about a 1/2 inch (all that was left) into one of the cups and said she would have to make more coffee.....what? And on a Sunday morning? The food servers brought our food but seemed completely mixed up about who ordered what. We ordered some breakfast burritos, chicken and waffles, the Louis salad, fish and chips, and one woman ordered a side of 2 scrambled eggs. Weird, she received 2 small plates with one egg on each plate. Food was good. My only complaint was that my burrito wasn't served very warm and there were way too many potatoes in it. Not sure that I would rush to go back, service was just not very good. It wasn't very busy and there seemed to be plenty of other servers just kind of milling around. It's a beautiful restaurant, nice patio and plenty of parking. Great place to watch football. Louis salad was a little disappointing. Expected it to be served on a bed of lettuce and it had quite a bit of dressing and not much seafood.

    My Mexican Dojo was delicious

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    9 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    Elijah K.

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    1 day ago

    Food and drinks were delicious. JoJo was our server and made the experience second to none! highly recommend!

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    3 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    6 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    7 months ago

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    7 months ago

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    8 months ago

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    1 month ago

    Food was a bit salty, ambiance was good, the pretzels did come out a bit late (but made up for with free dessert).

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    1 year ago

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    9 months ago

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    Page 2 of 9

    Ask the Community - Culinary Dropout

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    Nick's Del Mar - Asparagus Fries

    Nick's Del Mar

    4.3(640 reviews)
    0.2 miCarmel Valley
    $$$

    I'm more blown away by the great service than the food, but even the food was wonderful. Out of all…read morethe Nick's locations, this one was by far in the best location in terms of things to do around and accessibility with parking (though it is only 2 hours free). The restaurant was beautiful and extremely clean. The ambience was really inviting and warm. The service was definitely top tier. We ordered a lot, which we started with the asparagus fries and california salad. For entries, we ordered the sea bass, fried chicken, and bistro plate. All of them were super delicious! We really appreciated the portion sizes as well. Out of all the dishes, the sea bass was the best. The fish basically melted in your mouth. Lastly, 100% order the butter cake. It's what Nick's is known for. It comes with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can easily share this with 2-3 people.

    Nick's Del Mar provided my partner and I with a memorable experience this evening. Unfortunately it…read morewas a memory I wish I could forget. Let me just say right up front that there won't be a next time for me. We had 7:15PM reservations. We arrived a good thirty minutes early. We were greeted warmly and invited to have a seat at the bar until our table was ready. My partner enjoyed a Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita. He said it was very good and loved how forward the Jalapeño flavor was along with the watermelon. He also had a Vesper which he said was even better than the Margarita. Little did we know that we should have stayed at the bar for a couple drinks and grab some fast food on the way home. We were seated at a high top table on their covered patio a few minutes prior to our reservation. After several minutes our server approached our table and asked if we were ready to order. I asked for the Heirloom Roasted Artichokes. He advised us that this appetizer was out of season and not available. We requested a few minutes to peruse the menu to selection our entree choices. My partner ordered the fried chicken and I selected The Prime Rib Dip without the Brioche bun. It only took a couple of minutes before for our server returned and advised me that the kitchen will not serve the Prime Rib Dip without a bun. Apparently it ruins the integrity of the entree. I requested a menu to make another selection. Apparently The Original Prime Rib melt isn't available without the bread either. Eventually I decided to have the Asparagus Fries appetizer as my entrée. I requested a side of blue cheese dressing instead of the Buttermilk Ranch. The Asparagus Fries I was told are made in house. I am not certain I believe that as they lacked any flavor and seasoning. The batter on the outside was fried golden brown but the asparagus was cold, watery and had no flavor. I had to ask for the blue cheese dressing several times before I received it. The server did take the initiative and had the manager remove them from our bill. My partner said the Fried Chicken was quite good and I noticed numerous tables had ordered it as well. The corn on the cob, biscuit and mashed potatoes that accompany the chicken were mid at best. The consistency of the potatoes reminded me of wallpaper glue. They also lacked any flavor or seasonings. He did enjoy the roasted corn on the cob (1/2 ear). However, it was roasted very unevenly. The biscuit was doughy and void of any flavor. I enjoy eating out and don't mine spending more money for great quality, tasting and well seasoned food. Nick's is not cheap. My suggestion is go, sit at the bar, have a cocktail or two and then leave. On your way home stop by In & Out, Jack in the Box, McDonald's or your local Mexican drive thru and order something to eat. It will cost less, be better quality and have more flavor. The ambiance is okay. The restaurant is small and they have done their best to get as many tables in as possible. The restrooms were hideous. They smell bad and there is trash and paper towels all over the floor in the bathroom and outside on the floor. The parking at One Paseo is limited. Luckily, I have a handicapped placard so I got parking right outside their front door. However, I heard several people at the bar and the table next to ours on the patio complaining about how far away they had to park. Thinking about Nick's Del Mar? Skip it and go anywhere else. I promise you will have better food, pay a lot less and have a much better experience.

    Photos
    Nick's Del Mar
    Nick's Del Mar - Spinach & Artichoke Dip

    Spinach & Artichoke Dip

    Nick's Del Mar - Asparagus fries on the appetizer menu. Really good!

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    Asparagus fries on the appetizer menu. Really good!

    Craft House at Sky Deck - Del Mar - Shrooms+Truffle Burger

    Craft House at Sky Deck - Del Mar

    3.9(416 reviews)
    0.2 miCarmel Valley
    $$$

    My wife told me about coming to the Sky Deck and i didn't imagine it would look nicer than other…read morefood halls that i had been to, but it truly did. We walked all the way around and decided to have our first dinner out on our mini-moon at Craft House. It was very well decorated with marine netting and jungle style greenery hanging from the ceiling. We were brought to a nice booth and given choices to try things out. She tried the Coco Loco Margarita with coconut tequila, coconut syrup, toasted coconut and lime juice. I had an amazing French Martini, with titos vodka, chambord, lemon juice and a raspberry to bring it all together. Quite an astounding drink. I cant wait to have one again. For an appetizer, we did the short rib mini tacos and they were really good. They put small drops of salsa next to them for an added kick and they were pretty great additions. I wanted a steak dinner so i had the closest french dish to it, in streak frites. While i wasnt crazy about my steak being cut up beforehand, the chimichurri that came with it was very good, and the fries were perfect. Just enough for a very filling dish. My wife went with the Seafood Linguini and she stated that it was the best one that she had ever had. Mixed well with butter and chili oil, the entire dish came together, leaving her to use the crostinis to lap up all the liquid when she ran out of protein and pasta. It was a pricey dinner but nothing bad to be said about it. Every thing we got was perfectly worth every penny I put into this date out. The service was great and I will definitely come back here again.

    It's located in the skydeck food hall in del mar heights (near one paseo), next to Jimbo's and…read moreHandles ice cream. There's a bunch of little food joints inside. Bartender was great, made a few delicious cocktails and service was prompt. Looks like they have some good HH specials too (I posted the menu in case it's helpful). Very cute and decorated atmosphere. I personally enjoyed it.

    Photos
    Craft House at Sky Deck - Del Mar - Craft House Bar

    Craft House Bar

    Craft House at Sky Deck - Del Mar - Guest Favorite-Charred Octopus!

    Guest Favorite-Charred Octopus!

    Craft House at Sky Deck - Del Mar - Short rib poutine

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    Short rib poutine

    Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas - Burger and fries

    Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas

    3.4(1.8k reviews)
    0.0 miCarmel Valley
    $$

    I really enjoy coming to this theater when I'm looking for a different viewing experience. My last…read morevisit was to see the Odyssey. We chose to watch it here because it's a 3 hr movie and the chairs fully recline, so it was more comfortable. The service was good, however the chairs need some repair because my call button didn't work. So I initially thought that the service was taking a long time. My husband's button worked and they came quickly after we pressed his. They have a decent menu, but I wish that they had some more candy options. My favorite is Junior Mints and it's not on the menu, sadly. I like coming here on occasion but they get 4 stars because they could really use some upgrades or refurbishing. Some bigger screens would be a nice upgrade too.

    I've been coming to this theater for years, but over the past year I've noticed a steady decline in…read morethe quality of the seats, service, food, and overall experience. On my last two visits within the same month, the AC was not working properly. During The Odyssey, I sat through nearly three hours as the theater continued to get warmer. With the humidity we've been experiencing in San Diego, it was extremely uncomfortable. The same issue occurred during a movie I saw three weeks earlier, and the visit before that as well. At this point, I'm not sure if the AC is actually broken or if Cinepolis is simply not prioritizing the repair. If you're planning to see a movie during these hot summer months, I'd recommend calling ahead to confirm the AC is working in your theater. And don't be fooled by the freezing lobby--the individual theaters can be a completely different story.

    Photos
    Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas - 3-1-24

    3-1-24

    Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas - Popcorn & m&m peanut

    Popcorn & m&m peanut

    Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas - Ordering food and drinks

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    Ordering food and drinks

    Rustic Root - Meatloaf is a great comfort food but it's not gourmet.

    Rustic Root

    4.0(405 reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    I give rustic root five stars because tonight is probably not indicative of what this restaurant…read moretruly is. Samantha and Cat at the front desk are truly accommodating and wonderful. We started at the bar and then wanted to table inside and they did their best on the incredible soccer night to accommodate us which they did and we thank them for that. The happy hour menu is truly fabulous and a whole bunch of ways. Sandy was our server and I just have to say she was as overwhelmed as the rest of the restaurant. She had 11 tables to look over and we were just happy that she took our order and it came out and it was great. I really can't comment on the food because we only had our table for a half an hour. But what we had was delicious and we will certainly come back on a non-soccer night to get the best of the rustic..

    I went there for happy hour. Our lovely waitress looked like Sabrina Carpenter…read more They were out of mint so they couldn't make our Mojitos. I ordered a substitute one she suggested and it tasted like a watered-down margarita. It was terrible. Our daughter had a rum-coconut drink that was ok (like a hurricaine). Even though I told the lovely waitress (who looked like Sabrina Carpenter) that we were there for happy hour we ended up paying full price for 3 cocktails because drinks on the menu are not included in happy hour (only crappy well drinks? "rum and coke?") You really need to read the fine print. When our drinks were finished they sat on the bar for a long time... no one brought them to us. One of them was not as cold as it needed to be. The garnish was crusty. Now the food... We had a slider, a burger, scallop crudo, fries and shrimp. The scallop was not fresh at all. The leaves they put on top were wilted. The food was very disappointing. I think the shrimp could be bought in the frozen section at Trader Joes and put in the microwave. On the posiitive side, the location is nice. It is the first restaurant you see when you cross the bridge from Cedros. On the negative side - the place is a ripoff and neither the food or the drinks are anything special yet the price is top shelf. I won't be back. Be warned.

    Photos
    Rustic Root - Inside dining area

    Inside dining area

    Rustic Root - Chicken Cesar

    Chicken Cesar

    Rustic Root - Margarita and kiwi sangrias

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    Margarita and kiwi sangrias

    Farmer & The Seahorse - Buddha bowl is with tofu, farro, kale, squash, edamame, cucumber, and pickled ginger. SO fresh!!!

    Farmer & The Seahorse

    4.0(1.1k reviews)
    3.3 mi
    $$

    What a super chill venue!…read more Went here with my sister's friends for Sunday brunch this past weekend. The venue is pretty stellar! They're dog friendly, have large grassy areas and corn hole; it's such a vibe. It's all about the outside dining area and that awesome wall of jasmine flowers. It was breezy and the scent traveled making the experience super unique. We were famished and everything on the menu looked next level good. Our waitress Cynthia answered all our annoying questions. I got the lavender lemonade to start and it hit the spot. The lavender was perfect, not too perfumy (not a word apparently but it is today) but enough to say ok, there's lavender in there and I like it. It was refreshing. My main meal was the chilaquiles which had a nice kick to it so beware if you can't tolerate any spicy flavors. It was more of a soup in presentation but I love sauce and may have licked the bowl because I'm classy. We also desperately wanted the side of potatoes because we kept seeing it and all of us ended up getting an order and did not regret it. The potatoes include the skin, salted and super crunchy. It's like fry well fries and I'm all about it. We will be back!!!

    This was not our first time at The Farmer and The Seahorse in La Jolla, but unfortunately, the…read moreexperience has gotten worse instead of better. We came for Sunday brunch and arrived about 15 minutes early. Although about half the tables were empty, the host told us, "You can't sit until it is your appointment time." The greeting felt unnecessarily unwelcoming and set a disappointing tone for the visit. We were also looking forward to the live music, but the singer was placed far away from the guests, seemingly performing for a separate area rather than the restaurant as a whole. As shown in the attached photo, he was left alone while performing. It did not feel respectful of his talent, and it did not match the live-music atmosphere we expected. The food was okay, but overall we would rate it 3/10. The highlight of the visit was the service: Sunny and the other servers were truly amazing and deserve 5/5. Their kindness and effort prevented our overall rating from being even lower. We hope the restaurant can return to the warm, welcoming, fun atmosphere it used to have. It has so much potential, and we would love to see it get back to its original good vibes

    Photos
    Farmer & The Seahorse - Inside restaurant.

    Inside restaurant.

    Farmer & The Seahorse - Mediterranean Shrimp Salad - Avocado replacing shrimp upon request

    Mediterranean Shrimp Salad - Avocado replacing shrimp upon request

    Farmer & The Seahorse - Lavender latté

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    Lavender latté

    Jake's

    Jake's

    4.1(3k reviews)
    2.2 mi
    $$$

    We had a great birthday dinner celebration at Jake's. The location is awesome. Right on the beach…read morein Del Mar with spectacular sunset views. We started at the bar Jesus was behind the bar. He was attentive and made a great Manhattan. We were seated right at the glass overlooking the beach. Stance was our server. He was attentive and friendly. The food was excellent. Don't pass on the calamari, its strips, not rings and tentacles. I had the burger, it was tasty and cooked to perfection. The rest of the table had the halibut special. They all raved about it. And of course, no meal at Jake's is compete with a slice of Hula Pie! One piece was enough for the table. Valet parking is available for $10 after 4:00 pm.

    My coworker and I chose Jake's in Del Mar to celebrate our birthdays and I'm so glad we did! The…read morebeachfront location and ocean views were incredible. We lucked out with a table right by a huge open window, letting in the cool sea breeze. The food was fantastic! We started with the appetizer Crispy Calamari, which was a bit small on the portion size, but thick, tender, and quite flavorful. My Spanish Frittata with a lobster claw was amazing and the birthday Hula Pie they brought out for us was massive and tasted divine! Our waiter was friendly and attentive. He recommended the Sesame Chickpea Roasted Local Fish for my coworker, which she enjoyed. We just wish he knew what kind of local fish it was. He wasn't able to tell us. After lunch, we loved being able to walk straight out onto the sand for a beach stroll. Just be warned that parking can get a bit crazy and packed. Would recommend either getting there early or using the public parking across the street. The public parking ended up being full so we used valet. It was reasonably priced and saved the day! Overall, we had a wonderful time and I would definitely come back!

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    Culinary Dropout - newamerican - Updated September 2026

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