Origen opening in Hillcrest: On Sunday, Origen restaurant will open in Hillcrest.
The 90-seat, Mexican coast-inspired contemporary restaurant will mix vibrant Mexican flavors with Southern California laid-back cultural vibe.
Origen is the latest project from Franco Mestre and Sebastian Berho, who are part owners of Trattoria da Sofia in Kensington.
The menu, created by chef Tomás Fernández, features dishes like slow-braised short rib quesadillitas, soft shell crab croquetas with poblano chiles, Mexican-style fresh-caught tuna tartare, crab tostada, salmon ceviche with leche de tigre, and Spanish-style grilled octopus and more.
Origen has taken over the indoor/outdoor 3,000-square-foot space at 3831 Park Blvd. that was formerly occupied by Breakfast & Bubbles. Visit origencocina.com.
After one year of construction, Buca di Beppo has opened at 440 J St. in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. It s existing locations in Mira Mesa and Carlsbad.
The Italian family-style restaurant chained closed its Sixth Avenue location in 2022 after more than 20 years in San Diego’s East Village. But it has now reopened downtown at the 180-seat space formerly occupied by the long-shuttered Du-par’s Restaurant & Bakery. For details, call 619-233-7272 or visit dineatbuca.com.
Chef Jun opens second location: Chef Jun, a Japanese sushi restaurant that opened in 2019 in San Diego’s Bay Ho neighborhood, has expanded this month with a second location in Point Loma. Like the original location, the new Chef Jun at 3309 Rosecrans St. is open from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, but the Point Loma location offers extended hours on the weekends, operating from noon to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday, rather than 4 to 9 p.m. weekend hours in Bay Ho. Chef Jun’s specialty is its wooden sushi/sashimi tower plate and omakase options at three price points. Visit instagram.com/chefjun.sushi.
Municipal adds Urth coffee bar: Urth Caffé, a 36-year-old heirloom coffee producer and coffeehouse chain based in Los Angeles, is now running the coffee bar inside Municipal, a newly opened retail clothing store in Oceanside. Municipal was co-founded by film star Mark Wahlberg. Municipal is headquartered in the 50,000-square-foot building once home to the Blade-Citizen and North County Times newspapers at 1722 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Municipal is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, but the coffee bar’s extended hours are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit municipal.com.
Urban Plates heads to Mission Valley: Urban Plates, with locations in La Jolla, Del Mar Highlands and Carlsbad, will open its fourth San Diego County location next month in Mission Valley. The restaurant chain, which serves scratch-made plates, sides, salads, sandwiches and bowls, will open at 11 a.m. March 17 at 1620 Camino de la Reina, Building E, San Diego. The first 50 people in the store that day will receive a free entrée. Visit urbanplates.com.
Marisi x KOLI x Ixi’im: Cameron Ingle, executive chef at Marisi restaurant in La Jolla, has teamed up with Salty Magazine to present a special dinner on March 11 where he’ll cook with two high-profile chefs from Mexico. The dinner, with seatings at 6:30 and 7 p.m. March 11, will feature six courses prepared by Ingle, chef Rodrigo Rivero Rio of Michelin-starred KOLI restaurant in Monterrey, Mexico, and Luis Ronzón of Ixi’im, a fine-dining restaurant at the Chablé Yucatán resort in Mexico. Tickets are $234 with tax and gratuities plus optional wine pairings. For reservations, visit opentable.com/r/marisi-la-jolla.
Sunny Side Kitchen hosts anniversary event: Escondido’s California cuisine café owned by Bob and Kate Carpenter will mark its 10th anniversary on Monday with free grilled cheese sandwich bites, cookies and punch and a city proclamation ceremony. Sunny Side has made the list of Yelp’s Top Restaurants three times, including 2017, 2018 and, most recently, 2024, when it was ranked No. 3. Festivities run from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday at 155 S. Orange St., Escondido. sunnysidekitchen.com
