This LA-based sensation specializes in classic Texas-style breakfast tacos based on homemade flour tortillas and pastured eggs. Besides its bestselling tacos, HomeState is also getting high marks for its creamy queso dip and refreshing house cocktails like frozen spicy Palomas and tequila highballs.

Chef Andrew Bachelier (Jeune et Jolie, Cucina Enoteca) is behind this stylish cafe and test kitchen in Leucadia where the eclectic and craveable daytime menu ranges from coconut milk-soaked Spanish-style French toast to blue corn chilaquiles in mole negro and Turkish poached eggs served alongside fresh juices and tonics. Its 25-seat patio will also be used for special events, including preview dinners for Chick & Hawk, his highly-anticipated North County restaurant with Tony Hawk.

Does San Diego need another ramen shop? Apparently yes, judging from the ever-present line outside this new ramen-ya at Westfield UTC. Though Ramen Nagi is famous in Tokyo for its niboshi (dried fish) ramen, its stateside restaurants specialize in pork-based tonkotsu, with other broth options ranging from spicy miso to squid ink or pesto. Customers are also able to select the thickness and firmness of their noodles, as well as a preferred level of garlic or oil for their bowls Don’t miss the lacy-edged gyoza, too.

Another recent arrival that’s consistently drawing crowds is the first local outpost from a time-tested Korean chain whose comforting menu includes its namesake dish, a spicy beef and vegetable soup that can be augmented with fresh noodles, as well as tender-skinned homemade mandu (dumplings), pork belly and cabbage wraps, and chilled buckwheat noodles that are the perfect warm weather refresher.

Finding its footing in Kearny Mesa is this family-owned Southeast Asian restaurant centered around Lao cuisine, with standouts that include lemongrass-studded Lao sausage, Lao-style papaya salad, a crispy rice dish called nam khao, and khao piek sen, a lesser-seen Lao noodle soup. A spice level of five is powerfully, properly Lao spicy but dishes can also be ordered with less heat.

The first solo restaurant from chef Nate Horton (Swagyu, Animae) highlights his background in wagyu beef and Asian cuisine, mixing high-end steaks with modern izakaya dishes and influences and ingredients that reflect his Hispanic heritage. Bringing a rare tasting menu opportunity to East County, the bar also offers creative cocktails that showcase Japanese whisky and agave spirits.

Chef Phillip Esteban’s first stand-alone restaurant for his Filipino rice bowl chain pairs the fast-casual menu with beer and natural wine. Its silog bowls come topped with everything from crispy pork belly to grilled chicken and a vegan mushroom and tofu sisig. Filipino flavors extend to desserts and drinks, including taho (sweetened tofu and fruit) and ube milk tea.

In a dark and moody church-like space within the newly-resurrected Lafayette Hotel, Quixote applies a modern outlook to Oaxacan cuisine with a compelling menu that includes tetela —triangle-shaped masa pockets filled with duck confit — grilled octopus with mole pipian, crab corn doughnuts with burnt chile emulsion, and Oaxacan cheese fondue. Overseeing the open-hearth kitchen is chef José Cepeda, who cooked at contemporary Mexican spots like Mirame in Beverly Hills.

The Japanese tradition of kaiseki is on display at this intimate and special new spot in Bankers Hill from the team behind Azuki Sushi. The 10-seat restaurant hosts two seatings per night for its 10-course seasonal tasting menus that combine sushi and sashimi with grilled and cooked dishes.

Acclaimed LA chef Jason Neroni of Venice Beach icon, the Rose, has been spending significant time in San Diego where he created this sleek new restaurant for downtown’s revamped and renamed Kimpton Alma. Supported by chef de cuisine Aldo Negrete and pastry chef Erin Steidley, Neroni’s seasonal menu for the dinner-only space includes everything-spiced Parker House rolls served with black sesame and smoked eggplant dip and local black cod prepared in the style of Japanese unagi. The chef, who is in the process of opening a highly-anticipated pizzeria in LA, will reportedly be bringing his pizza prowess to a new poolside bar opening at the hotel later this spring.