New & Coming-Soon Restaurants in North County San Diego: 2026 Dining Guide

North County San Diego is in the middle of its biggest restaurant boom in years. Between Del Mar’s Honor Bar finally opening its doors this month, a Michelin-starred chef anchoring La Jolla’s Girard Avenue, and a new French brasserie settling into Rancho Santa Fe’s Del Rayo Village, 2026 has brought a wave of openings that’s reshaping where locals eat and entertain. Here’s what’s new, what’s coming, and where to find it — organized by neighborhood.

What’s New in Del Mar?

Del Mar Village has waited nearly a decade for its two biggest restaurant stories of the year, and both finally arrived in 2026.

Honor Bar, from Hillstone Restaurant Group, opened in early August at 1404 Camino Del Mar — the longtime site of Bully’s North, which closed in 2017. The concept marks Hillstone’s first restaurant anywhere in San Diego County, serving the group’s signature hand-rolled sushi, burgers, and martinis in a casual, tightly run dining room just blocks from the racetrack.

Queenstown Del Mar opened in May at 1435 Camino Del Mar, bringing New Zealand–inspired comfort food, a patio bar, and dog-friendly indoor-outdoor seating to the former WestBrew space. It’s the fourth location for the local hospitality group behind Raglan Public House and Dunedin, and its glass-pavilion dining room has quickly become one of the Village’s most talked-about tables.

Just outside the Village at One Paseo in Carmel Valley, Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Kitchen is also slated to open its first San Diego location in 2026, with plant-forward, Certified Clean dishes like a blackened salmon bowl and curry cauliflower soup.

Del Mar’s restaurant scene has always been part of what makes the Del Mar Beach Colony and the wider Del Mar community so appealing to buyers — walkable, coastal, and constantly evolving.

What’s New in Solana Beach?

Solana Beach’s Cedros Avenue design district added a new wine bar this year. WetStone Wine Bar opened in January at 346 S. Cedros Avenue, bringing globally inspired small plates and a wine list built around organic, biodynamic, and small-producer selections, most available by the glass. It’s the Solana Beach expansion of the original WetStone Wine Bar in Bankers Hill, led locally by hospitality veterans Jennifer Dermer and Graham Zimmerman (the latter a CIA-trained chef with a background that includes Morimoto Napa). The space offers both indoor and outdoor seating and is already rolling out monthly wine tastings and winemaker events.

Explore more of what makes this stretch of coast so livable on our Solana Beach community page.

What’s New in Rancho Santa Fe?

Rancho Santa Fe’s dining scene added real depth this year with the debut of Parc Lounge at Del Rayo Village (16081 San Dieguito Road), taking over the space long occupied by Dolce. The concept comes from restaurateur Garo Minassian, whose original Parc Bistro-Brasserie has been a Bankers Hill fixture since 2016 — and whose San Diego career actually began in the Del Mar–Rancho Santa Fe corridor back in the late 1980s. Parc Lounge serves brunch, lunch, happy hour, and dinner built around classic French brasserie dishes — steak frites, escargot, fresh seafood — alongside a heated patio and private event space, led by executive chef Benjamin Navarro.

It’s a notable full-circle moment for the neighborhood: a chef-driven French concept returning to the same stretch of Rancho Santa Fe where its founder got his start nearly forty years ago. Learn more about life in the Covenant and beyond on our Rancho Santa Fe community page.

What’s New in Encinitas?

Encinitas has quietly become one of North County’s most active dining corridors in 2026:

• The Brant, a coastal-inspired restaurant from Huntington Beach, opened its second location this summer at 806 Coast Highway 101, complete with a 1,500-square-foot rooftop bar overlooking the coast.

• Isola Pizza brought Neapolitan pies and handmade Italian cooking to South Coast Highway, in the former Death By Tequila space.

• Mon Cheri Cafe & Bistro revived the French café concept at 947 S. Coast Highway 101, pairing pastries and espresso by day with an elevated French dinner menu by night.

• Blank Slate, a chef-driven prix fixe concept from husband-and-wife team Aron and Pam Schwartz, opened at 101 North Coast Highway 101 with a rotating weekly menu built around local farms and purveyors.

• Pastaria Vivi, from Michelin-trained chefs Brandon Jennings and William Treff, is bringing a fresh pasta counter, retail market, and pasta-making classes to the Encinitas Village Shopping Center.

• Coffee Dose, the Southern California coffee brand known for its cult-favorite lattes, is opening its first North County location on Rancho Santa Fe Road.

What’s New in Carlsbad?

Carlsbad’s restaurant growth has leaned into both casual neighborhood spots and elevated newcomers:

• Little Kiki Katsu & More opened in Carlsbad Village with an elevated tonkatsu menu built around dry-aged Berkshire pork and Prime beef.

• Carlotta Brunch brought a California-meets-Mexico brunch concept to La Costa, known for its poblano chilaquiles and tres leches French toast.

• Nómada, a Baja- and Oaxacan-inspired restaurant from Chef Alex Carballo, opened earlier this year with a wood-burning oven, fire-pit patio, and space for up to 250 guests.

• Verise, an Italian-influenced concept with a full bar and al fresco patio, is set to debut at the new Hotel Solea.

What’s New in La Jolla?

La Jolla has landed the two most talked-about restaurant projects in San Diego County this year.

Roseacre is now open at 7766 Girard Avenue, in the historic building that housed Adelaide’s flower shop for decades. The 5,000-square-foot, multi-venue concept is led by two-Michelin-starred chef Erik Anderson, whose résumé includes The French Laundry, Noma, and Coi in San Francisco. Roseacre has already drawn national attention, including a spot on Robb Report’s list of San Diego’s best new restaurants.

Ikaria, from the team behind Puesto and Marisi, is targeted to open this summer at One Alexandria Square, near Torrey Pines Golf Course. The 250-seat, two-story restaurant will focus on Eastern Mediterranean cuisine with Middle Eastern influences, designed by New York’s Rockwell Group — the firm behind Nobu and Din Tai Fung’s interiors worldwide. Beyond dinner service, Ikaria is planned as a cultural hub offering wine classes, cooking instruction, and fermentation workshops.

Also on the way: STATION8 Public Market, a 20,000-square-foot food hall with ten vendors, is slated to open in the UCSD Theatre District this August.

For more on the world-class dining and lifestyle that make this neighborhood so sought-after, visit our La Jolla community page or contact us to talk through the market.

Quick Reference: New & Coming-Soon Restaurants by Neighborhood

Opening dates for restaurants shift frequently — we’ll continue to update this guide as new details are confirmed.

FAQ Section

Is Honor Bar open yet in Del Mar?
Yes. Honor Bar opened in early August 2026 at 1404 Camino Del Mar, marking Hillstone Restaurant Group’s first restaurant in San Diego County.

What new restaurant opened in Rancho Santa Fe in 2026?
Parc Lounge, a French brasserie from the team behind Bankers Hill’s Parc Bistro, opened at Del Rayo Village in the space previously occupied by Dolce.

Is Ikaria open in La Jolla?
Not yet as of this writing. Ikaria, an Eastern Mediterranean restaurant from the team behind Puesto and Marisi, is targeted to open this summer at One Alexandria Square near Torrey Pines Golf Course.

What is the newest restaurant in La Jolla?
Roseacre, a multi-venue concept led by two-Michelin-starred chef Erik Anderson, recently opened at 7766 Girard Avenue in La Jolla Village.

What new wine bar opened in Solana Beach in 2026?
WetStone Wine Bar opened in January 2026 at 346 S. Cedros Avenue, bringing globally inspired small plates and a natural-leaning wine program to the Cedros Avenue design district — the Solana Beach expansion of the original Bankers Hill location.