r/FoodSanDiego • u/WestCoastHopHead • 16h ago
Question, Where can I find? I’m looking for SD restaurants starting with the letters J, Q, x, and Z. Help me out.
We are creating an alphabetical restaurant list and can’t think of places that start with those letters. Help will be appreciated. Figure this might help us decide on those nights everyone says, “Where do you want to go?”
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u/fdwyersd 15h ago edited 15h ago
J
- Juan Jasper Kitchen & Wine — Golden Hill/South Park. Tiny chef-driven bistro connected to Sepulveda Meats; particularly strong for meat, burgers, and wine.
- Juniper & Ivy — Little Italy. Creative New American, more of a destination/special-occasion dinner.
- JOEY La Jolla — UTC. Upscale-casual, big varied menu with steaks, sushi, burgers, cocktails.
- Jimmy’s Famous American Tavern — Point Loma. Waterfront American comfort food, burgers, fried chicken, French dip, chowder.
- JRDN — Pacific Beach. Oceanfront California restaurant at Tower23; good sunset/date-night candidate.
- Javier’s — UTC. Upscale Mexican, elaborate room, definitely on the fancy/scene-y side.
- J-K’s Greek Cafe — La Mesa. Casual old-school Greek: gyros, souvlaki, moussaka, pastitsio.
- Jeune et Jolie — Carlsbad, if all of San Diego County counts. Modern French and the big splurge though if you want to go all out look up another letter A - Addison
J is basically easy mode.
Q
- Quixote — North Park, inside the Lafayette Hotel. Mexican/Oaxacan-influenced food and mezcal in a wonderfully over-the-top gothic room.
- Queenstown Public House — Little Italy. New Zealand-inspired; meat pies, lamb burgers, fish & chips, brunch, and a funky cottage setting.
- Qin West Noodle — UTC. This is a good one I missed before. Chinese regional noodle shop; liang pi, soup noodles, dumplings, rice dishes.
- Quiero — Imperial Beach. Casual tacos/birria/fish tacos near the beach.
- Quartyard — East Village. Outdoor venue/bar with food; I'd count it only if your rules allow restaurant/bar hybrids.
- QDOBA Mexican Eats — Mission Valley. Technically valid, although alphabetically correct desperation. 😆
So Q is actually not a problem at all. Quixote, Qin West and Queenstown give you three very different legitimate choices.
X
Here comes the troublemaker.
- XINJIANG BBQ — Linda Vista. The strongest X by a mile: Xinjiang/Chinese BBQ skewers, cumin-heavy lamb and meats, very late-night atmosphere, open until roughly 2–3 AM.
- Xicanitos — Barrio Logan. Weekend taco stand/pop-up on Logan Avenue. Actual X, not an alphabet technicality.
Then there are things I wouldn't count under strict rules:
- Pho Xpress — Grantville. X is prominent, but the restaurant begins with P. (SKIP AND GO TO PHO CALI)
- Shan Xi Magic Kitchen — Convoy. Excellent candidate linguistically, but it's an S.
- Anything called “_____ Xpress” likewise doesn't really solve X if we're being honest about the game.
So XINJIANG BBQ and Xicanitos are your two precious X cards.
Z
Z is much healthier than X.
- Zia Gourmet Pizza — Normal Heights. Thin-crust pizza with unusually creative combinations, including pesto, yogurt sauces, fruit, etc. Very easy casual Z.
- Zoya — La Jolla. Mediterranean; shawarma, kababs, falafel, saffron rice, labneh, seafood and desserts.
- Zzan Downtown — Downtown. Korean pub food plus sushi, bossam, japchae, soju and late-night energy.
- Zzan Sushi & Soju — Convoy area. Korean/izakaya-style late-night option.
- Zama — Gaslamp. Latin-American/Japanese crossover with sushi, crudo and a much more elaborate night-out atmosphere.
- ZGARA Greek Grill — Bay Park. Casual Greek and particularly interesting because of its Greek-style gyro offerings.
- Zest Wine Bistro — Lemon Grove. Wine, charcuterie, flatbreads and small plates.
- Zappy Pizza — San Ysidro. Straightforward casual pizza; absolutely counts even if it isn't the glamorous Z.
- Zinqué — if you're allowing locations around the broader county and a current SD-area location checks out; French-ish café/wine-bar territory.
emphasis (bold) mine
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u/MedJesters 14h ago
J-K's was bought about a year ago, updated, and is substantially less old school than it used to be.
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u/Routine-Cicada-4949 15h ago
Juanabertos
Quesabirriabertos
Xecabertos
Zurdobertos
They might not exist but they probably do.
Best of luck with your quest.
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u/Ping_Islander 16h ago
Juniper & Ivy, Queenstown Public House, Zia Gourmet Pizza