Where Foodies Need to Eat and Drink in Little Italy San Diego

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Last updated: August 2026
We revisited this guide to make sure our favorite Little Italy restaurants are still worth recommending and updated the dining details throughout.

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Little Italy in San Diego is a chic pedestrian neighborhood that is located in downtown San Diego. This area of San Diego is packed with trendy bars, restaurants, and cafes and it just keeps getting better and better.

Little Italy Piazza Delia Famiglia Water Fountain

indoor bar at Born and Raised

We were spending the weekend in Little Italy, so we didn’t have the time to visit every place that was on our list, but did a pretty good job getting a little taste of what this quaint neighborhood had to offer. We broke down our list into five categories: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Cocktails, and Desserts.

Breakfast

Frost Me Cafe & Bakery
@frostmegourmet

Frost Me Cafe & Bakery

Freshly made Morning Bun

If you love pastries with your morning coffee or tea, Frost Me Cafe & Bakery is a must. Their pastries are made in-house so when we went in for breakfast, our Morning Buns came straight out of the oven. It was warm and flaky and just what we needed to start off our mornings. We loved this place so much that we went two days in a row.

Lofty Coffee Co.
@loftycoffeeco

Crystal eating her yummy almond Croissant

Almond Croissant & Latte

We found this community coffee shop when we were walking back to our accommodation at the Sonder. It’s bright, airy, and the patio overlooks the neighborhood. They roast their own coffee and bake their pastries in-house from scratch, yum! They also use organic ingredients from local producers, so their menu has a ton of fresh and healthy options.

James Coffee Co.
@jamescoffeeco

James Coffee

The Urban Shave

James Coffee is unique because its Little Italy coffee bar shares “The Space” with a collection of independent shops and businesses. You can grab a coffee and browse the surrounding retailers while you're there. It’s a space with a great mix of boutique shops and it’s also pet friendly.

Parakeet Cafe
@parakeetcafe

MATCHA WAFFLE

Parakeet Cafe in Little Italy is now officially open! We wanted to mention Parakeet Cafe as we dined at their cafe in La Jolla (about 25 minutes north of Little Italy) and it was awesome. Their menu consists of fresh, organic, health-conscious items and they serve breakfast all day. They also have a unique selection of beverages, so it’s definitely a place we would stop by again and again if we lived nearby.

Lunch

Rakiraki Ramen
@rakirakiramen

UPDATE: The RakiRaki Ramen location we visited in Little Italy has since relocated to Convoy. We're keeping our original experience below for reference, but it is no longer one of our current Little Italy dining recommendations.

Tonkotsu Ramen

Fun Artwork of John Lennon

Ramen isn’t Italian food, but we are ramen junkies, so when we heard that there was one in Little Italy we couldn’t resist. We are happy to report that the ramen was delicious! We really enjoyed their broth as it was a little different from the ones we are used to. The broth had a hint of citrus to it that tasted like yuzu. The appetizers were average, so we recommend skipping the small dishes and focusing on the ramen selections.

Queenstown Public House
@queenstownph

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Fried Chicken and Waffles

We walked past this restaurant when we were on our way somewhere else and ended up returning as it was just too cute to pass up. It’s a whimsical New Zealand themed restaurant and if you aren’t paying attention, you just might mistake it for someone’s home as it’s located right in the middle of a neighborhood. It’s a dog friendly establishment and their menu is not one for those who want to eat light. The entree portions are generous and they have an extensive draft beer selection.

Mona Lisa Italian Restaurant
@monalisalittleitalysd

Deli Sandwiches at Mona Lisa

We didn’t have dinner here, but we did stop by their deli next door during the day when we were walking around the neighborhood. It caught our attention as it had that classic Italian vibe, but also because there were so many people walking in-and-out of the store. We spoke to a couple of guys who were eating their sandwiches right outside and they said they love the deli here. Indeed, the shop was filled with tons of Italian products and the line for the deli was pretty long. Everything looked delicious and we learned that the establishment is family owned and is now in its third generation of ownership.

Dinner

Nonna + Zucchero
@nonna.zucchero

Seating both indoors and outdoors at Nonna + Zucchero

Imbottiti - Bucatini, Rolled Eggplant, Bufala Mozzarella, Pomodoro

This restaurant is located right in the heart of Little Italy and they are known for their Italian comfort food (they even offer gluten free options). We both ordered pasta and they were cooked al dente just the way we like it. We appreciated that our dishes weren’t super heavy and really enjoyed our freshly baked bread appetizers.

Cocktails

Born & Raised
@bornandraisedstk

The Rusty Nail - Japanese Whisky, 15 YR Drambouie, Lemon Twist

Born & Raised Bar on the Second Floor

If you want to sit outside and soak in the gorgeous sunset and views of Little Italy, Born & Raised is an excellent spot to grab some fancy cocktails. We had a couple of drinks here before we headed to our dinner reservations and really enjoyed our craft cocktails. If you want to dine here, located below is their steak restaurant. Even if you skip on dining here, we highly suggest popping your head in to view the IMPRESSIVE interior. It is so grand that it exudes luxury and it should considering that it cost an astounding 6.5 million dollars.

Cloak & Petal
@cloakandpetal

Japanese to English Cocktail - The Flagship of Cloak & PEtal

Gorgeous cherry blossom tree

We initially stopped in here for drinks, but ended up having a light meal as well. Their menu consisted of a variety of small Japanese dishes that ended up being our dinner for the night. What we really liked about this bar was the massive cherry blossom tree that draped the entire bar. The bartender was super friendly and we watched him craft a ton of beautifully decorated drinks. We both enjoyed our drinks and food at the bar and would love to come back and sit at one of their tables next time.

Desserts

Extraordinary Desserts
@extraordinary_desserts

A beautifully decorated cake from Extraordinary Desserts

If you search Google for “desserts in San Diego”, Extraordinary Desserts will be on every list you find. The desserts here really are exceptional and the attention to detail is phenomenal. We walked in this place and spent nearly 15 minutes just looking at all the dessert options that were so beautifully decorated. We both decided to dine in and enjoy our desserts instead of taking it home. They have a variety of exotic herbal teas to pair with your dessert which is a nice change from the usual coffee and tea. The portions are also quite large and can definitely be shared. I’m usually the type that takes a few bites out of my desserts, but I couldn’t stop eating my Caramelized Apple Pie and almost made myself sick. It was that good.

Salt & Straw
@saltandstraw

Honey lavender ice cream in a waffle bowl

Crystal loves ice cream and I have heard so many great things about Salt & Straw so we were pretty excited to try their small batch ice creams. When we walked in, we were a little overwhelmed by their ice cream selection.

We’re so used to the classic ice cream menu consisting of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc. and that is not what you will be getting here. The selection of flavors isn’t long, but the flavors they do have are quite unique. We both tried a variety of samples before we settled on the Honey Lavender and Gingerbread Cookie Dough.

We both enjoyed our ice cream and want to go back and try some of their other fun flavors. If you don't live near a Salt & Straw location, they also offer nationwide shipping and ice cream subscriptions.

Extras

We were only in town for the weekend, so we obviously couldn’t try everything we wanted to. Below are places we’d like to try the next time we are in Little Italy.

Filippi's Pizza Grotto

Filippi’s Pizza Grotto

When we were walking around Little Italy, we couldn’t help but notice the huge line at Filippi’s Pizza. The line was longer than any of the other restaurants in the area and the line never dwindled. They are known for their traditional Northern Italian cuisine and they've been serving San Diego since 1950, so they must be doing something right!

Nolita Hall
@notlitahall

Nolita Hall

We were on our way to James Coffee when we walked by Nolita Hall. We couldn’t help but notice their huge selection of beer on tap and the beautiful decorations. The Christmas decor definitely added a lot to the space, but even without the festive ornaments this place stood out from afar. One thing that we noticed from standing outside this establishment was the number of airplanes that flew by at really close range. It’s quite loud, but seeing the aircrafts so up-close was fun to watch.

More Little Italy Restaurants on Our List

There is always something new and exciting to discover in Little Italy. Below are a few spots we’d love to check out the next time we’re in town:

Herb & Wood

Craft and Commerce

Juniper and Ivy

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