Modern Jewish Delicatessen Gold Finch Opens in Torrey Pines

One of San Diego’s premier hospitality groups is continuing to grow and diversify with the emergence of Gold Finch, which brings a modern perspective on the traditional Jewish deli to a state-of-the-art life science campus off Torrey Pines Road. The full-service restaurant, market, and delicatessen is just the latest in a steady expansion spree for the Urban Kitchen Group, which runs CUCINA urbana, CUCINA enoteca, and Artifact at the Mingei, as well as an acclaimed catering business; next up is a brand new cafe at the Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla.

Gold Finch, which opens on Wednesday, September 21, has been long in making for the group’s founder, Tracy Borkum, who sees this project as an opportunity to celebrate her Jewish ancestry and share family recipes while bringing San Diego some good deli, which the city is perplexingly short of.

Part of the Muse, the RMR Group-owned development, the restaurant rings in at 1,800 square feet with a breezy front patio, but Borkum tells Eater that she’d like to open a larger version of the delicatessen down the line.

The team of chefs interpreting these classic dishes, which include staples of Ashkenazi and Sephardic-style cooking, consists of chef-partner Tim Kolanko alongside chefs Jeff Armstrong, Frankie Becerra, and pastry pro Adrian Mendoza. Their extensive menu ranges from breakfast dishes like shakshuka with poached eggs bathed in a tomatillo, spinach, and za’atar sauce and a plate-sized latke topped with a fried egg, mushroom, broccoli rabe, horseradish, and labneh to lunch options that include crispy chicken shnitzel with artichoke, tomato, arugula, and lemon caper vinaigrette, matzo ball soup made according to a recipe passed down by Borkum’s grandmother, plus salads and grain bowls.

Its impressive selection of housemade baked goods spans from savory bialys and knishes to sweet apricot pecan rugelach and baklava flavored with rose water and cardamon.

Kolanko tells Eater that he hopes diners will also take advantage of its quick-service deli counter, which is stocked with everything from smoked white fish, pastrami, and chicken liver pate to egg salad, tuna rillettes, and pickled herring, all ready to bring home by the pint or pound.

Though they’re getting started with weekday breakfast and lunch, the group will be adding weekend brunch soon. Gold Finch is also participating in San Diego’s upcoming Restaurant Week, offering multi-course menus for $20 or $25.