Five Reasons To Visit San Diego Now

There are few places in the country as reliable for warm, sunny weather and beautiful beaches as San Diego. The country's eighth largest city has long been popular for family attractions like the San Diego Zoo, Legoland and SeaWorld, plus great fish tacos, but in the last few years this relaxed, Southern California destination has become a lot more hip. Tony classics like the chef's tasting menu at George's at the Cove or red velvet baked Alaska plus killer city views at Mister A's will never get old, but here are five reasons to visit San Diego now. And if you're really craving tacos, Lola 55 is the best new place to get 'em.  

Hot New Hotels

The InterContinental San Diego is the newest luxury hotel in town, with sweeping waterfront views in the new BRIC mixed use development. The 400-room hotel includes 24 spacious and stylishly decorated bay view apartment-style suites. There's ample indoor and outdoor event space too. The health and wellness center offers a fitness on-demand studio with instructor-led classes on a video wall ranging from yoga and mat Pilates to kickboxing.

Pendry San Diego is a less corporate, trendier option opened just a couple years ago in the Gaslamp Quarter, with a nightclub and several restaurants and bars attached. Guest rooms have great amenities like JBL speakers and custom-designed toiletries by New York apothecary MiN in a unisex absinthe and bergamot scent with woody patchouli base notes.

Dining in Little Italy

Tourists still flock to the Gaslamp Quarter for restaurants, bars, clubs and theater but locals and savvy travelers are spending more time in Little Italy, which has seen many new restaurants and bars pop up in recent years, mixed in with the old-school Italian restaurants.

Carnivores (and surprisingly, herbivores) can't get enough of Born & Raised. Consortium Holdings' newest restaurant is an over-the-top steakhouse that could compete with the best in Chicago, where Chef Jason McLeod earned two Michelin stars at Ria. The ambiance and service can't be beat and the food is solid too. Start with a drink on the rooftop, then descend to the elegant dining room, all decked out in wood, marble and curved leather booths. Dozens of cocktails, and dishes both savory and sweet are served tableside in custom designed guéridons.

Servers don suits and bow ties paired with Converse or Nike Cortez sneakers. You can order a massive beef Wellington for two but Born & Raised is vegetarian friendly too, with beet and mushroom tartare that could stand up to its steak inspiration, along with a vegan riff on steak Diane. There are a slew of great veggie sides too, including coal-roasted leeks with goat cheese, hazelnuts and grapes.

Herb & Wood is another hit by one of San Diego's most renowned restaurateurs. Chef Brian Malarkey launched Herringbone and Searsucker to multi-city success, but now his focus is local once more and at Herb & Wood he partners with co-chef Shane McIntyre to churn out wood-roasted dishes, with an emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Everything including pizza dough is made from scratch. The large dining room is bright, light and airy, simply designed and very San Diego. If you visit for Sunday brunch, place an order for monkey bread with tahini gelato before it runs out. On the savory side, heirloom tomatoes with burrata and hemp seeds are a light segue into heartier filet and eggs with flat top potatoes or creamy polenta with wild mushrooms. Next door, Herb & Eatery is a fun all-day cafe and gourmet market great for picking up coffee, pastries or a more casual meal.

$790 Vintage Cocktails

San Diego may be the craft beer capital of the country, with 150 regional breweries, but you can get some pretty fancy cocktails here too. Raised By Wolves serves what are undoubtedly the most expensive mixed drinks in town. The reserve cocktail list features vintage classics like a French 75, Boulevardier and Highlander with ingredients dating back to the 1940s. The most expensive of all? A vintage old fashioned made with Very Old Fitzgerald 8yr from the 1960s.

The speakeasy's suburban shopping mall location is unique, drawing in die-hard craft cocktail fans as well as errant shoppers intrigued by the ornate French Nouveau bottle shop front. Swivel around the fireplace in what seems like the beginning of a Disney ride to enter the cocktail bar with its exquisite stained glass ceiling hidden behind the wall. It's worth noting that most of the cocktails, save for the reserve list, are actually very reasonably priced. Co-Founder Arsalun Tafazoli says the space is inspired by escapism and he sourced the French vintage bar stools and many of the objets d'art himself, including pet portraits on the wall that he found on eBay.

Outdoor Everything

Whether you're a surfer or golfer, swimmer or hiker, San Diego has so much outdoor recreation by land and by sea. In the past year, competing dockless electric scooter programs have launched, including Bird, Razor, Lime and Uber's Jump so you can maximize your time in the sun by zipping around town and along the boardwalk. Many locals are concerned about safety and consider the haphazardly abandoned scooters an eyesore, but the convenience is undeniable.

New wellness club AquaVie has the best rooftop pool in town and it's the only club pool in town with food and beverage service. There are year-round rooftop fitness classes and Saturday morning vinyasa flow yoga concludes with mimosas. Day passes are available, and it's basically like Equinox but less crowded and with a better spa. The HydraFacial incorporates not only the standard SkinCeuticals products, but also locally made botanical masques and flower waters by Beaute Nouveau.

Great Gelato & Ice Cream

You'll find the best gelato in San Diego in the most unassuming of storefronts in University Heights at An's Dry Cleaning. Just opened in June, they've already built an avid local fan base for their creative flavors, earnest service and whimsical atmosphere. Paying homage to the dry cleaning business formerly occupying the space, there are ironing board shaped tables with iron-shaped napkin holders and shirts hanging near the register. Instead of flavors, they serve “fabrics” including canvas (olive oil and rosemary), gabardine (banana and chocolate) and lustring (orange and carrot with a hint of mint). It's quirky, sure, but they take their gelato seriously, coming up with new flavors on a daily basis and storing all gelato in covered stainless steel Ponzetti cylinders to best preserve the soft, dense texture.

Like An's, Bobboi Natural Gelato in La Jolla also serves smooth, authentic Italian gelato. Some of their one-ingredient fruit sorbets somehow taste juicier than the fruit itself. Berry lavender is exquisitely delicate and creamy while the Mediterraneo – another signature flavor – blends hazelnuts, almonds and pistachios for a nutty trifecta.

Portland's cult favorite Salt & Straw also opened its first San Diego location in Little Italy last February and lines wrap around the corner on a nightly basis. Although they now have locations in six cities along the west coast, Salt & Straw seeks out local collaborations in every new location for unique city-specific flavors. In San Diego, local coffee from James Coffee is spiked with Greenbar Distillery Slow Hand Whiskey while Belching Beaver Brewery's peanut butter stout becomes a robust base for a malty, salty ice cream studded with dark chocolate-coated caramelized pork chicharrón. Look for a second Salt & Straw location within Del Mar’s One Paseo development later this year.