San Diego’s most anticipated new restaurants of 2020

San Diego’s restaurant scene is about to get a lot more interesting with new high-end and neighborhood restaurants countywide offering a mix of Middle Eastern, Italian, French, Mexican and vegan menus. Here are our picks for the most anticipated new restaurants of 2020, listed in alphabetical order.

Chef Travis Swikard, a San Diego native who made it to the top echelon of the New York dining scene as an executive chef and culinary director under the legendary Daniel Boulud, sits in the space formally occupied by Bottega Americano in the East Village, August 7, 2019, in San Diego, California. He’s in the process of removing what was left of Bottega Americano, and transforming it into Callie, his California-Mediterranean cuisine restaurant.

(Howard Lipin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Chef Travis Swikard, who left his job as executive chef at Manhattan’s Boulud Sud last year to return to his native San Diego to open his own restaurant, is getting closer to that reality this year. Callie is scheduled to open in the early summer months in the former Bottega Americano space in East Village. Cohn Restaurant Group’s David Cohn and Deborah Scott have partnered with Swikard on the large-scale project that will be an affordably priced, contemporary California-Mediterranean restaurant. 1195 Island Ave., San Diego. travisswikard.com

Early this year, Trust Restaurant Group will open Cardellino, a multi-concept concept in the former Brooklyn Girl space in Mission Hills. The 4,800-square-foot venue will offer an elevated Italian-American restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, a bar, a bakery, a grab-and-go market, a walk-up ice cream window and a bottle shop. 4033 Goldfinch St., San Diego. facebook.com/cardellinorestaurant

Brothers Brandon Ross and Ryan Ross are branching off from their parents’ Old Town restaurant business to open their own project with their wives, Carte Blanche Bistro & Bar in Oceanside, on Jan. 22. The siblings’ parents, Chuck and Gail Ross, took over and revitalized Fiesta de Reyes and the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Old Town. Carte Blanche will be a French-inspired Mexican bistro overseen by executive chef Alex Carballo. Some of the 160-seat, 4,300-square-foot restaurant’s dishes will include carne asada tartare, prickly pear ceviche, duck confit street tacos, chile verde moule frites and quinoa negra with beet and ricotta hummus. 339 N. Cleveland St., Oceanside. eatcarteblanche.com

L.A.-based Dave’s Hot Chicken has signed a franchise agreement with San Diegans Andrew Feghali and Lawrence Kourie to open 12 stores in San Diego County, beginning with the first location early this year in Pacific Beach. The Los Angeles-based chain was started in 2017 as a parking-lot pop-up in East Hollywood selling Nashville-style hot chicken tenders, sliders and sides. The company — now with four L.A.-area locations — is named for co-founder Dave Kopushyan, who trained in Thomas Keller’s Bouchon restaurant. 1001 Garnet Ave., San Diego. daveshotchicken.com

Cohn Restaurant Group will open the third and largest of its social drinking and entertainment venues in La Mesa in the second half of this year. First announced last year, Cohn’s Draft Republic will take over the unfinished brewery project that was known as Depot Springs Beer. The re-imagined, 2-acre, 25,000-square-foot project will feature a brewery and restaurant with a 19-hole miniature golf course and private event spaces. The culinary team will be headed by CRG’s Mike Camplin, who is known for his butchery and in-house charcuterie program. The brewery will have an on-site mill room with functioning storage silo where Draft brewers will mill their own grain. 9160 Fletcher Parkway, La Mesa. hcohnrestaurants.com

In 2020, Rise & Shine Hospitality Group will open two locations of this new fast-casual/grab-and-go concept that will open next door to the company’s existing Breakfast Republic restaurants in P.B. and East Village. The menu will include breakfast sandwiches, egg-centric entrees served in Mason jars, coffees and cajeta-stuffed churros. The first will open in the spring at the Pacific Beach location at 4465 Mission Blvd. Still to come: 707 G St., East Village. eggies.com

Italian restaurateur Matteo Cattaneo will open his fourth Buona Forchetta restaurant in San Diego early this year inside the historic 1904 El Cordova Garage building on C Avenue in downtown Coronado. The 4,100-square-foot restaurant will have an open kitchen, large chef’s table and a full bar. There will also be a 1,200-square-foot market selling imported Italian pastas, meats and cheeses as well as Buona Forchetta sauces and gelato. The location will have an outdoor patio and a children’s play area, and it will be the first Buona Forchetta location to serve breakfast. 1000 C Ave., Coronado. facebook.com/BuonaForchettaSD

This walk-up Roman-style pizza slice and gelato shop will open early this year in North Park. One of three projects planned this year by the Buona Forchetta restaurant group, this 800-square-foot shop is a collaboration between Buona Forchetta founder Matteo Cattaneo, pizza chef Luca Zamboni and gelato chef Giovanni Bonomi. Unlike the traditional Neopolitan-style of thin-crust round pizzas, Roman pizza has a thick, airy crust and is served cut in large squares. The shop will serve 18 flavors of gelato. 3068 University Ave., San Diego. facebook.com/gelatiandpeccati

From the family behind Nick & G’s Italian restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe comes this full-service restaurant scheduled to open early this year in The Square at Bressi Ranch shopping center. The restaurant is the latest project for San Diego-based Grand Restaurant Group, which also owns the Bandy Canyon Resort in Escondido. 2668 Gateway Road, Suite 180, Carlsbad. giaolakitchen.com

After repeated customer requests, the wholesale production bakery in Coronado will open its first retail location in February in North Park. Owner/chef Roanna Canete of Coronado was a globe-hopping leadership consultant when her son was diagnosed as gluten-intolerant. In the process of learning to cook for him, she found her new vocation. With in-house cake designer Lisa Altfest, The Gluten Free Baking Company was featured on Netflix’s “Sugar Rush” series in November. The new bakery will offer same-day-order cakes, cinnamon rolls, bagels, cookies, cupcakes, doughnuts and custom wedding cakes. There will also be pour-over coffees and dairy-free and vegan items. 4594 30th St., San Diego. TheGFBakingCo.com

San Diego’s Sam Zien, better known as the TV chef “Sam the Cooking Guy,” is teaming up with Grain & Grit Collective to open this homey small-plates restaurant, bar and bottle shop as part of the expansion of the Little Italy Food Hall on the Piazza della Famiglia in Little Italy. The venue will have a glass-walled exhibition kitchen, a full-service bar and a living room-like lounge area meant to embody Zien’s Carmel Valley home. The menu will feature grazeable foods like sandwiches, salads and light pre-dinner fare. Scheduled to open early this year, Graze will fill a 1,646-square-foot space across the plaza from the food hall, where Zien and Grain & Grit collaborated on Zien’s Not Not Tacos stand in 2018. 555 W. Date St., San Diego. grazebysam.com

Chef John Hong, whose year-old Hidden Fish all-omakase sushi bar has been a runaway hit on Convoy Street, will take over the adjacent retail space next summer for a companion concept. Hitokuchi, which means “one sip” or “one bite” in Japanese, will be a sake lounge serving small bites of Korean-Japanese comfort food and crudo raw dishes with Japanese sakes and wines. 4764 Convoy St., San Diego. hiddenfishsushi.com

Delayed by nearly a year, RMD Group’s steakhouse Huntress will open in February in the former Grand Pacific Hotel Building in the Gaslamp Quarter. Executive chef James Montejano helms this “sophisticated steakhouse and whiskey society” venue, which will serve a variety of dry-aged steaks. It will also serve one of California’s largest selections of Japanese whiskey, with more than 100 rare bottles in stock. It will open at the same time and in the same building as sister restaurant Lumi by Akira Back. Huntress takes up floors 1 and 2 and Lumi is on floor 3 and the rooftop. 376 Fifth Ave., San Diego. huntresssteak.com

The Spring Valley-based maker of small-batch whiskey, bourbon and gin will open its first restaurant/distillery concept in Barrio Logan in February. The 3,000-square-foot quick-service indoor/outdoor restaurant/lounge will feature a menu by executive chef Miguel Valdez with California tapas dishes like a Cuban schnitzel sandwich, Tommy Gomes tuna melt, butternut squash hummus and duck confit papusas. 1985 National Ave., San Diego. libertycall.com

The latest in a global collection of 16 eponymous restaurants from South Korean-born Michelin-starred chef Akira Back, Lumi will serve innovative Japanese fare with Nikkei and Korean influences. Lumi opens in February in tandem with Huntress steakhouse, which are both located in the former Grand Pacific Hotel building. Back’s menu will feature nigiri, sushi and other Japanese fare paired with top-tier sake and beers from Japan. It will be the first San Diego restaurant to have a Toki highball machine, which makes sparkling whiskey cocktails. 366 Fifth Ave., San Diego. lumirooftop.com

Matteo Cattaneo, founder of the Buona Forchetta family of restaurants, will open his passion project, Matteo, in the former Rebecca’s Coffee House space in South Park early this year. All of the profits from Matteo will be donated to rotating quarterly causes, beginning with the community’s McKinley School Foundation. The 2,800-square-foot cafe will serve American breakfast fare along with house-baked pastries by head baker Joanne Sherif, former proprieter of Cardamom Cafe & Bakery in North Park that closed last summer. Matteo will have a grab-and-go market selling Italian groceries and house-made pastas and sauces as well as an event space that will host classes for children. 3015 Juniper St., San Diego. instagram.com/matteoforacause

Chef William Eick and restaurateur Cameron Braselton are hoping to turn their wildly popular Japanese-inspired tasting menu pop-up concept into a brick-and-mortar location in mid- to late 2020 with potential locations being considered in Leucadia and Encinitas. Braselton owns Mission Ave Bar & Grill in Oceanside, where Eick has been executive chef since June 2016. With a shared dream of opening a more elevated restaurant, they started testing Matsu this year with one-table-a-night seatings Sundays-Tuesdays at Mission Ave. It’s usually booked months in advance. Their goal is to open a 45-seat tasting menu restaurant with a small a la carte menu, followed eventually by a more casual counter-service option. Location to be determined. eatatmatsu.com

San Diego’s Social Syndicate hospitality group will open a 5,600-square-foot indoor/outdoor social dining restaurant/beer garden concept on the top floor of the Del Mar Plaza shopping center early this year. Social Syndicate’s other projects include Grand Ole BBQ, Blue Water Seafood, Wonderland Ocean Pub, The Bootlegger, The Local and OB Surf Lodge. 1555 Camino Del Mar, Del Mar, socialsyndicate.com

Nick’s Restaurants will open its first San Diego County location in May in the One Paseo shopping center in Carmel Valley. Founded in Laguna Beach in 2008 by fourth-generation restaurateur Nick Nickoloff, the American classics restaurant has seven locations in Orange and L.A. counties. Nick’s Del Mar will occupy the glass-walled A-frame building near International Smoke and will feature an island bar and exhibition kitchen. The menu features sandwiches, salads, appetizers and entrees with a rotating menu of soups. It will serve lunch and dinner on weekdays with breakfast on weekends. 3377 Del Mar Heights Road, San Diego. nicksrestaurants.com

Pacific Coast Spirits, which quietly opened in December but planned a grand opening in January, is a craft distillery and restaurant/bar in Oceanside that serves farm-to-table food and grain-to-glass cocktails under one roof. The restaurant/bar/distillery occupies a former 12,000-square-foot furniture store which has been renovated by the people behind the effort, led by founder and distiller Nicholas Hammond. The Farmhouse restaurant and cocktail bar occupies 3000 square feet of seating, event space and indoor/outdoor patios. The menu consists of “California comfort” shareable plates. Pacific Coast Spirits distillery makes American single malts, California bourbon, heirloom corn whiskey, vodka, gin, brandy and agave spirits, all served in cocktail form or in tasting flights. Future distilling plans include making schnapps, amaro and other small-batch products. 404 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. (760) 453-7150. paccoastspirits.com

Chef/owner Melanie Dunn’s popular Patisserie Mélanie will move and expand next summer, when it replaces its small home-based French bakery in Hillcrest with a larger custom bakery/pastry shop and bistro in North Park. The shop will offer hot and grilled dishes, sandwiches, appetizers and lunch specials as well as a full case of fresh-baked regular and chilled pastries. 3750 30th St., San Diego. patisseriemelanie.com

Married Oceanside restaurateurs Jessica and Davin Waite and chef/consultant Christopher Logan have teamed up on this ambitious “proudly” plant-based and zero waste-ethos restaurant slated to open in late January on Coast Highway. The Waites run Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub, a sushi bar, and The Whet Noodle ramen shop, which offer vegan dishes, but The Plot menu is entirely vegan-friendly. Jessica, a longtime vegan and sustainable food advocate, is president of the Berry Good Food Foundation. She’s leading the restaurant’s minimal-waste initiatives, which include an on-site garden. The 4,400-square-foot restaurant will have 150 seats. 1733 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. theplotrestaurant.com

San Diego’s family-owned gourmet Mexican restaurant company will open its third location in the former Gordon Biersch restaurant-brewery in Mission Valley. The new location, scheduled to open early this year, will include the company’s first craft brewery featuring Mexican lagers called Puesto Cerveceria. Head brewer is Gordon Biersch’s former chief brewer Doug Hasker. The 10,000-square-foot venue, now undergoing remodeling by Basile Studio, will be the largest of Puesto’s six locations. The menu is designed by chefs Marco Arreguin and Edgar Chong, with cocktails by Beau du Bois. 5010 Mission Center Road, San Diego. eatpuesto.com

In the spring, The Sky Deck — an upscale food and beverage hall — will open on the second story of the Del Mar Highlands Town Center above the Jimbo’s ... Naturally! supermarket. The A-frame hunting lodge-style venue will have eight to 10 restaurant vendors and an outdoor brewer’s deck featuring Northern Pine brewery, Rough Draft Brewing and a Boochcraft kombucha tasting bar. Among the restaurant tenants signed to occupy the hall are Lobster West, Urbana Mexican Gastronomy, Ziziki’s Greek restaurant, Thai Extraordinary, Ambrogio 15 and Le Parfait. 12925 El Camino Real, San Diego. delmarhighlandstowncenter.com

In June, the Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar will open at the Fashion Valley shopping center. The 7,200-square-foot space will be a combination restaurant and retail outlet selling the company’s brand-name beachy swimwear, sportswear, accessories and home decor. The menu features islands-inspired appetizers, burgers, tacos, entree salads and seafood-focused entrees. Its cocktail-focused bar specializes in rum-based drinks, margaritas and martinis. Tommy Bahama has more than 160 retail locations but only 16 include the full-service restaurant/bar concept. 7007 Friars Road, Suite 305, San Diego. tommybahama.com

In the spring, SDCM Restaurant Group will open Waverly Restaurant & Lounge, an all-day restaurant in Cardiff with menus designed by SDCM’s executive chef Brian Redzikowski (Kettner Exchange, Devil’s Dozen). Proposed dishes include wild mushroom toast, sweet potato pancake, chicken schnitzel and butter roasted turbot. The restaurant hours will be 9 a.m. to midnight Sundays-Wednesdays and until 1 a.m. Thursdays-Saturdays. The restaurant’s coastal chic design is being created by Leucadia-based Design 4 Corners. 2005 San Elijo Ave., No. 1726, Cardiff. thewaverly.com

The award-winning Huntington Beach seafood bar Ways & Means Oyster House will open its first San Diego County location early this year in the former Alfonso’s space in La Jolla. The restaurant is known for its fresh seafood sourcing program that includes its own house brand oysters, with prices starting at $4 and nightly seafood specials. 1251 Prospect St., La Jolla. wmoysters.com

The latest daytime work/eat venue from the Puffer Malarkey Collective will serve workers, as well as the public, in Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ Torrey Ridge Science Center, beginning in late January. Opening in a former office lobby, the lushly decorated Wood Yu will serve a menu of Baja Asian street food. Dishes by chefs Brian Malarkey and Jordan Davis will include bao bun tacos with Korean beef, pork al pastor pad Thai and guacamole with shoyu. The indoor/outdoor restaurant will have a central bar that serves breakfast and coffee in the mornings and wine and cocktails during lunch and happy hour. 10578 Science Center Drive, San Diego. brianmalarkey.com

Several restaurant concepts with multiple locations in San Diego County will open additional outlets this year. Here’s a list:

• Mendocino Farms: (pictured) Fast-casual gourmet sandwiches and salads with three local locations, will add two more: In February at 180 Broadway Suite 102, downtown San Diego. In early 2020, 1640 Camino Del Rio North, Mission Valley. mendocinofarms.com/locations
• Farmer’s Table: Sicilian-inspired all-day full-service restaurant has three locations. A fourth will open in August at 330 F St., Chula Vista, myfarmerstable.com
• Breakfast Republic: Hip breakfast/brunch chain with nine locations will open a 10th spot in May in the current Fig Tree Cafe space at 416 University Ave., Hillcrest, breakfastrepublic.com
• Richard Walker’s Pancake House: The traditional breakfast/brunch chain opens its fourth San Diego County location in April in the former Swell Coffee space in Flower Hill Promenade, 2670 Via de la Valle, Del Mar, richardwalkers.com