Michelin but laid back? Sign me up. Perfectly orchestrated…read morestaff you literally don't have to ask for anything? I can get used to this for the evening. Expectacular experience at Jeune et Jolie. From the moment we arrived to the moment we left the service and overall experience was simply top notch. The patio space is beautiful and filled with fresh green foliage. The sage and rose colors stand out in the outdoor space. Definitely chic and modern. The food: We started off with the Plateau de fruit the mer: the selection of scallops, shrimp, prawn and oyster was fresh and the flavors they added to each piece made it for a complete unique bite. The three course menu was mainly a hit with the exception of one selection. The hits: Bavarois d'été - caviar , corn mousse Saint Jacques - rhubarb and vanilla Caille- morel was stuffed with sausage Vacherin - decadent and delicious The misses: Gnudi- (the dumpling like version) not bad, definitely not up to par with the rest of the courses. The beverage pairings were a fun add on. Their sommelier comes out for all four drinks and explains how they pair with the food. He also gives you a bit of history on each producer. I'm sad I waited so long to have this wonderful dining experience but I'm happy I finally decided to check it out. Our waitress was lovely too! She made good recommendations and even shared her favorites. I loved the Bavarois d'été so much and could see the dedication put into dish. This prompted me to ask her, "how long does this dish take to make?" She responded "24hours!" I gasped. To learn about the length of time it took to create my favorite course made me even more appreciative for the food I was enjoying. I can't wait to come back and try new items! Nothing but positive things to say about Jeune et Jolie.

Came here for an early dinner on Wednesday. Place got just pretty fast. Overall, food was good but…read morenot as good as last time. Some dishes were too salty. Food comes out very slowly but you can see the attention to detail. Took about 2 hours total. 1. Dozen oysters: not at good as before 2. Croque madame: good but not sure if with The price 3. Lamb tartare with mustard seed and kohlrabi 4. Corn with squash and caviar 5. Scallop with rhubarb, turnip, and vanilla 6. Sea urchin with English Peas and smoked tomato: too salty 7. Quail with morel, strawberry and pistachio 8. Wagyu with black garlic and oxtail: too salty 9. Bittersweet chocolate with malted milk, honey and hazelnut 10. Meringue with passion fruit and mascarpone 11. Bread with avocado butter: really good Overall taste wise 3.5.

Food is upmarket and delicious, the bartenders are really fun too- we sat at the bar a couple of…read moretimes and asked them to recommend some fun drinks and it was awesome. The vibe is kind of casual but people do tend to get a bit dressed up.

We made a reservation the day of. Around 6, I looked on open table and saw that the earliest…read morereservation was for 8:15pm. You have to put a credit card on file. We found street parking nearby. I read in other reviews there's a public lot nearby. The cornbread was interesting - it came out on a skillet with with goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. The crudo and broccoli were my favorite. I would get those again. The broccoli was crispy and there was a sweet buttery sauce underneath. The cavatelli was interesting - it comes with a soft poached egg. I'm not sure I would get it again. The market fish was salmon and it was delicious. It was cooked perfectly. Our server Katie was super friendly and let us take our time.

Our 20th wedding anniversary was spent at our true guilty pleasure: Dija Mara…read more We would have loved to get everything on the menu but honestly we get stuffed really quickly and tried to stick with the perfected dishes: Grilled Roti with Lamb Jus Curry Sea Bream Ceviche Actually we noticed the menu didn't mention "Sea Bream" anymore and just said "Local Ceviche". Did they change fish? Tasted the same basically. Still amazing as always. We also tried some new dishes: Beef Tartare Chicken Thigh Skewers Green Curry Mussels The Beef Tartare was just okay. It's the only dish I probably would not ever order again. It wasn't bad, but compared to every other banger on the menu, it's last. Something has to be last. The Chicken Thigh Skewers were AMAZING! OMG, so much flavor in the chicken but the sauce really drove it overboard. Wow. These are a must try, you won't regret it. And lastly, the Green Curry Mussels blew us away. I love mussels and always order it whenever I see it on a menu. We devoured all of the mussels (and added the $9 Roti) and even got a container to-go to save the broth, lol. Truly another banger from Dija Mara. I really appreciate that the menu changes periodically without removing the veteran dishes we continue to enjoy. Just want to mention something besides the culinary spectacles. Dija Mara's decor is every bit as memorable as its food. The artwork isn't an afterthought--it's part of the experience. The dining room manages to feel both trendy and intimate at the same time, while the graffiti-covered back wall adds a playful, street-art feel that contrasts beautifully with the polished food and cocktails. The result is a space that feels creative, unpretentious, and genuinely cool. The industrial concrete and reclaimed wood elements give it a modern edge, while the Indonesian-inspired art creates a sense of place that feels completely unique in North County. This is really our happy place and I hope it never changes.

What a disappointment. I had high expectations due to the Michelin bib Gourmand award, but the…read moreflavors fell extremely short. The restaurant was fairly empty although Resy wouldn't take reservations. Plenty of bar seating. The service was fair, not particularly warm or engaging, which was fine. The food was alluring and beautiful, but the flavors were salty, flat, and mushy. Starting with the Paloma, it was nothing special. Just something you could get with a well happy hour special. Serviceable but unremarkable. Very Instagrammable, however. The pork belly was nicely charred and had nice bite sized morsels on the skewer, good texture, but the sauce was very salty, almost bitter. Forced myself to eat the 2nd skewer, but could not push through the last 2. In contradistinction, the beef rendang was almost bland, like a microwaveable peanut butter Hormel beef stew, and the cardinal sin - the rice underneath was mushy. That was what sealed the nail on the coffin. Bland, albeit tender short rib, on top of smushy rice. Dead. I barely ate one of the 2 pieces of ribs and couldn't do more. The staff wanted to see if I wanted a take out container. When you see a customer that disengaged with the food, you'd better be wary. Being Asian, I don't like to waste food, but when it's so not good, I'd rather walk away and get something else than to finish a terrible meal. Many diners have a millennia of choices in this price point. Sadly, not sure how this restaurant got recognition because it's half as delicious as your typical neighborhood Thai restaurant. Banana Leaf at the Original farmers market in LA is better, though humble and homely. Just very disappointing. Hope it was an off night and that others have a better experience.

Mia's is one of our favorite spots in Solana Beach for a celebratory drink. The vibe is always fun,…read morestylish, and energetic, with one of the best people-watching locations in town. Their specialty margaritas are absolutely delicious, but the coconut margarita is next level, hands down our favorite. It's the perfect mix of refreshing, smooth, and unique. Between the great atmosphere, amazing drinks, and prime location, Mia's has become one of our go-to spots to unwind and celebrate. Highly recommend stopping in if you're in Solana Beach! Ferry/Jones/Bohnsack Team

3.5 but rounding up. Beautiful restaurant, warm and…read morefriendly service, street parking so can be busy, and gorgeous looking food. Seriously the plating is lovely. Everything needed salt. Fish tacos needed more sauce or salsa and also I tried Pueblo's the other day and the price and size of their fish tacos can't be beat. Well fried but like fancy fish sticks. (No hate, I love fish sticks). Personally for me needed fat. Octopus plate was gorgeous. Potatoes had a nice garlicky kick. Octopus I've had more tender and flakey elsewhere. Here the cooking was uneven. Lovely when everything combined together. Needed salt. Pork belly taco was almost completely topped with parsley. Ceviche was made with cooked fish. Enjoyed the lightness and brightness. Needed salt for balance. Great acidity. Flautas looked nice but he said it was fat on fat with pork belly, egg yolk, and crema. Coconut Margarita was refreshing.

Food was amazing. The attention to detail in every little thing made it a great experience. Great…read moreworkers and using beef tallow really makes it healthier and taste amazing and fresh

This place never ceases to amaze me. Food absolutely…read moredelicious. Cocktails and margaritas done just right. Customer service-on point. Kylie is seriously the BEST. She served us in the bar area and she's super friendly and efficient. So glad we had her again. However, there were other nice & kind helpers that brought other food & dessert out and cleared our table. These employees really add to the wonderful dining experience. The vibe in this place is warm but lively, makes you just want to hang out. We missed the salsa class that was going to start in 45 minutes which they have every Saturday night. They cleared out some of the tables in the bar area to accommodate it. So cool they have these events. We'll be back!

We had a great experience here! We were staying at the hotel and decided to order room service from…read moreVerise since we had been out all day. I got the fettucine and it was lovely. Flavorful, good portion, and tasted amazing. If we had been at the restaurant I definitely would have wanted to try a dessert. We came down another night around 8:30pm for the bar. It was beautiful! It's technically outdoors, but does have a roof directly over you. So you felt covered but still felt like you were outside, it was nice! Service at the bar was spectacular. There were a couple of other people around and he was doing a great job balancing everything. Overall great service from the bar staff, good food, the drinks were tasty, and it was a beautiful restaurant.

It's too bad the restaurant has such a lovey setting because it's largely getting wasted. The…read moreremodel is just lovely. They also gutted the staff and hired people that seem less than thrilled to be there. As someone who's been coming here five plus years I'm disappointed. It's a little harsh, but true. If I didn't have the Bonvoy status at the Marriott to get free breakfast I'd skip it entirely to be perfectly honest. The menu isn't bad, just limited. I don't understand why they slashed the epic breakfast tacos from the menu or made the kid menu three items. The hotel is next to LEGOLAND you won't get away from families. What bugs us most is that Every. Single. Time. I've come in this stay the hostess acts like she's slammed and makes us stand there. No one else around. Then tells us to wait in the "lounge" while she finds table. I don't know what genius taught her to do that, but when you can see open tables in a relatively quiet restaurant it's very off putting. Maybe it's her, maybe it's managements dumb idea. I have some pics and a video so you can se for yourself. I decided to update this a bit to be fair.... Dinner is a whole other story. I think they put the A team on dinner. The Chicken Parm is delicious, just odd that it didn't come with any pasta or even a veggie. Still, Very good. The dinner service is definitely better than the breakfast service. Bread service is also unexpectedly delightful. The gnocchi is well prepared and tastes amazing. Again, just served by itself so maybe a broccolini or something would really be nice. Still can't up the stars because breakfast is that much of a bummer. A whole week of days for redemption and there were truly zero days that made me think I was unfair. The nicest person working breakfast is the guy bussing tables, swap him with one of the wait staff.

We came here for dinner on a Friday evening. It was very hot. I wasn't sure what the outdoor…read moreseating was like so I had selected inside. It was definitely cooler in the shade outside. As the night drew on it got cooler inside but just be aware. The decor is adorable and the DJ was super fun. Our waitress said most of their serving dishes and glasses are antiques that the owner has collected. Love that. We ordered a glass of Gamay (because it was served cold) and beer to start. We ended up getting a bottle of the Lester Pinot Noir also because it was cold. They will let you taste any wines even before you order a full glass and that's super awesome. Note they only have beer and wine. The food was good and as everyone else has said, the portions are small. We started with the pastrami gougeres which was definitely my favorite thing that we ordered. Very, very good and not nearly as heavy as I thought they would be. I was afraid to order them because I didn't know if they'd be super filling (they are just the right amount). The summer tomato salad had an amazing ginger dressing and I thought was a pretty decent size for a small plate. The salad changes and uses seasonal ingredients. The peach was great with the tomatoes though I wish the peach had been a little more ripe. The bbq potatoes were great, my boyfriend liked those the most. And we ended with the scallops which were good but only two pieces. Definitely ask for a spoon if you get the scallops so you can make sure and get all the sauce. Overall, it's a very cute spot. Not sure if we'll go back only because it is pretty costly for the amount of food you get. But I do recommend it.

Cute and cozy spot! You must have reservations on a Friday night. It's hard to find a kind of…read moretrendy hot spot in this area (although I can't speak of this since I don't live in North County). Parking is a bit tricky since it's residential or you can park near the train tracks. Read the reviews before you go. Not all dishes are stellar. I made sure to look up the photos and reviews. I was happy with what I ordered with 2 glasses of wine, the tuna tostada, pastrami gougeres, fried mushroom, and pasta dish. The flavors were fun and the textures were fresh. I was surprised that their desserts are so underwhelming; you would expect more creativity from this place than fruit and sweet cream. We went to get ice cream in Carlsbad to end the night.

My wife and I recently took a trip to San Diego, and for one night, we stayed at the Alila Maria…read moreBeach Resort Encinitas. There are three restaurants onsite. One is a nice pool-side bar. One is a coffee house. The third is a very nice restaurant, which turned out to be a highlight of our stay at the Alila Maria Beach Resort Encinitas. We found the service to be amazing and the food to be spectacular! Even prior to arriving to the resort, I had called the resort and VAGA to inquire as to whether they had salmon or other dishes that my wife could eat. While there wasn't anything on the menu, they did say that they may be serving salmon if they run out of the fish on the menu. We figured there were vegetarian dishes for a backup, so we went ahead and made a reservation on Open Table. I was delighted to even have a manager give me a call to ask questions and to note that we were celebrating my birthday. We later learned at check-in that World of Hyatt Globalist members (which I am) receive a complimentary Amuse-Bouche at VAGA with dinner service and a complimentary wellness juice shot with breakfast service. Upon arriving to our dinner reservation, we were greeted at the check-in counter by the manager who happened to be the one who called me. He recalled my name and wished me a happy birthday. He then escorted my wife and me to a lovely table inside with a nice view of the water. Between the manager and the server, we had a lot of attention and people checking in on us to ensure our meal was great. We declined the Amuse-Bouche (as I don't eat fish) and instead received a complimentary order of Yuzu Honey Parker Rolls, which consisted of garlic butter, chives, and honey Yuzu butter. They were absolutely delicious!! We then ordered the Sage Hill Heirloom Tomato & Cucumbers consisting of red olive, onion, feta mousse, and dill ladolemono dressing, which my wife really enjoyed. I ordered a tasty and filling dish of the Stout Braised Short Rib (charred leek polenta, Granny Smith salsa, rainbow chard, and roasted root vegetables). My wife ordered the salmon dish after all since they were out of one of the fish dishes; she enjoyed it! For dessert, we were brought out a birthday dessert of the Malted Chocolate Bomb (malted milk semifreddo, milk chocolate feuilletine, and black salt cocoa gems). This dessert was delicious! The next morning, we went bright and early on a Monday morning for brunch, and we were among the only guests there at that time. We sat right near the window inside to see the water and the sun having just risen. We both tried the wellness juice shots though they weren't our thing. My wife enjoyed a VAGA Scramble dish consisting of scrambled eggs, oven roasted tomato, crispy herb potatoes, and instead of a choice of meat, she ordered some fresh fruit. I went for the Sunrise Sandwich with a folded egg, morita aioli, smoked cheddar, apple, arugula, miso dressing, crispy herb potatoes, rockenwagner English muffin, and Bok Choy. Instead of the house-made Maple-Thyme pork, I went for chicken sausage. I asked for fruit instead of the potatoes. I also ordered orange juice. We both later ordered an incredible chocolate croissant to go. Again, we were delighted with each meal we ordered. VAGA explores San Diego's ever-changing confluence of culture and wanderlust from ocean food to farm food. They offer dinner, brunch, and a lounge and bar with outdoor and indoor spaces. Breakfast is Monday through Thursday from 7 AM to 11 AM. Brunch is Friday from 7 AM to 2 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 7 AM to 3 PM. Dinner is Sunday through Thursday from 5 PM to 9 PM and Friday and Saturday from 5 PM to 10 PM. The bar and lounge is open Monday through Thursday from 3 PM to 10 PM, Friday from 11 AM to Midnight, Saturday from 10 AM to Midnight, and Sunday from 10 AM to 10 PM. Being a Globalist member, you receive a complimentary breakfast for up to two adults and two children. Having paid with the American Express Fine Hotel & Resorts program, we receive breakfast for two along (valued at $45 per person) along with a $150 resort credit, which we applied to the dinner. Should we visit the Alila Maria Beach Resort Encinitas again, we will DEFINITELY visit VAGA again for a tasty meal!! We certainly recommend this amazing restaurant with great service to others.

Dining at Vaga was a letdown. Dinner was overpriced for what it was, and we waited over an hour for…read moreour food to arrive. Therefore, I couldn't really tell if the food was good or if I was just extremely hungry. We decided to give the restaurant another chance for breakfast the following morning, but it was even more disappointing. The food wasn't even served hot, and once again the service was lacking. We were forgotten about multiple times and spent much of the meal trying to get someone's attention. The best part of the restaurant is the ocean view and the atmosphere. It's a beautiful setting and makes for a relaxing dining experience. Unfortunately, that's where the positives ended. This would be a great place to relax and have some drinks, however, based on the experience I wouldn't recommend dining here.