Industry Pros Pick the Best Dining Neighborhood of 2015

Frank Sabatini, Jr., San Diego Community News Network: Hands down Little Italy with its heightened influx of newbies (Bracero, The Crack Shack, Entrada, Kettner Exchange, Sirena Gourmet Latin Seafood Restaurant, Civico 1845, Café Gratitude and others). But watch out for Bankers Hill and Pacific Beach to follow suit with similar surges in the coming year.

Michele Parente, San Diego Union-Tribune: Little Italy: The Crack Shack and the might-as-well-be-crack Devil’s Dozen Donut Shop at Kettner Exchange brought a needed lower-brow funk to the neighborhood, but this place has such serious dining cred, it almost feel like a cliché to keep talking about it. Between Kettner’s genius Brian Redzikowski, Civico 1845, for freshening up the neighborhood’s Italian fare, the buzztastic Bracero, standard bearer Juniper & Ivy, and the too many others to mention, is there anywhere else like it in San Diego?

Amy T. Granite, Discover SD: Little Italy has it all in terms of variety, but let’s face it—it’s not exactly affordable to eat there all the time. It’s certainly the best dining neighborhood for progressive concepts and has grown to offer more of what San Diego has long been criticized for missing: a restaurant scene. Though it might be the "best" by all standard definitions, my favorite dining neighborhood—and where I spend the most time eating off the clock—is undoubtedly Kearny Mesa. The Convoy District is all about food, not chefs, trendy restaurants or hype, so it’s a place of solace when I’m feeling like a jaded food writer whose inbox is stuffed with one too many repelling press releases.

Darlene Horn, Zagat: Little Italy

Barbarella Fokos, San Diego Reader: Little Italy.

Michael Gardiner, San Diego CityBeat: Little Italy. Clearly this was one of the big stories of 2015.