A Local Guide to a Weekend in Little Italy, San Diego

Little Italy was the first neighborhood we lived in after our big move from the Midwest to San Diego. We weren’t going in sight unseen. On previous visits, we ate our way through that food lover’s paradise and took many walks along the harbor.

Yes, this is San Diego’s hub for Italian food, but it’s also one of San Diego’s liveliest business districts and home to the city’s best farmers’ market. That’s what made it one of our favorite neighborhoods in San Diego.

If you’re looking for a more local experience on your next trip to this sunny city, get away from the tourists in Coronado and partying coeds in Pacific Beach.

Spend a weekend exploring all the best things to do in Little Italy, San Diego.

Where is Little Italy in San Diego?

Little Italy is a neighborhood in downtown San Diego. It’s bordered by West Laurel Street to the north, Interstate 5 to the east, West Ash Street to the south, and the San Diego Bay to the west.

A Brief History of San Diego’s Little Italy

Italians — and a number of Portuguese folks — first arrived in the Little Italy neighborhood in the 19th century, looking for jobs in the tuna fishing industry. At that time, San Diego was the tuna capital of the West Coast.

When declines hit the tuna industry worldwide, Little Italy wasn’t immune to it. By the 1980s, rising costs of running a fishing business along the harbor priced out many of the old operations.

The construction of Interstate 5, a project that ran right through the neighborhood, didn’t help matters. More than a third of the neighborhood was destroyed to make way for the highway.

The neighborhood began to rebound in the 1990s, thanks to support from established residents and Little Italy’s business owners.

The Tuna Harbor Dockside Market in Seaport Village, just south of Little Italy, opened in 2015 to reinvigorate the local fishing industry.

Today, Little Italy is the oldest, continuous neighborhood business district in San Diego.

While there are pockets of more Italians around the United States, Little Italy in San Diego remains the largest “Little Italy” in the country, stretching over 48 blocks.

How to Get Around Little Italy

Little Italy is a very walkable neighborhood. You’ll find a lot of activity on its main thoroughfare, India Street.

If you drive to Little Italy, street parking is available on the main and side streets throughout the neighborhood. Just make sure you’re reading any posted signs and paying the meters if you’re in a metered spot.

Additional parking is available in the neighborhood parking garages at 610 W. Ash St., 1730 Columbia St., and 1536 Kettner Blvd.

Note: If you’re fancy or late for your dinner reservation, a number of eateries throughout the neighborhood offer valet parking.

If you’re coming from somewhere on a trolley line, Little Italy is on the Green Line. For trolley timetables and additional information, visit the Metropolitan Transit System’s website.

MTS buses 3, 11, 120, and 923 all pass through or near Little Italy. Route maps and schedules are available from the Metropolitan Transit System.

Things to Do in Little Italy

There’s plenty to do to fill up a day in Little Italy, from exploring sights along the bay to relaxing in Waterfront Park to eating the best Italian food in San Diego.

Everything I mention here I’ve done at least once, especially if it involves eating. Let’s take a closer look at where to go in Little Italy.

Have an Italian food crawl.

Little Italy is known for the best Italian food in San Diego. I’ll get into a detailed list of the best food overall, but I have to give a special shoutout to our favorite Italian restaurants here.

If you’re feeling traditional, try Mona Lisa Italian Foods. They’ve been operating in Little Italy since 1973, feeding all those hungry fishermen with their traditional Italian goods.

This is a great spot to pick up some fixings for that picnic lunch you’re about to have at Waterfront Park. Their sandwiches are huge and a really good time.

I haven’t eaten at their restaurant, favoring the deli for quick stops, but they also serve up pizzas and pasta you’d expect in a homey Italian eatery.

If your tastes are more modern, try Monello or Civico 1845. I probably give Monello the slight edge here, mostly thanks to their squid ink pasta.

If you’re there on a Wednesday, they serve a weekly special that I’m alarmed I haven’t tried: cheese wheel pasta. Reservations are recommended and available on the restaurant’s website.

Have yourself an Italian food crawl with all of the offerings in the neighborhood, and then it’ll be time for a nap in the park.

Enjoy the green space at Waterfront Park.

Little Italy is close enough to Balboa Park and the San Diego Zoo to easily get your green space fix if you want to visit those neighborhoods.

If you don’t want to leave Little Italy, Waterfront Park is a public space on the harbor and home to Little Italy’s scenic side. It also hosts some of the best city-wide festivals, like the SoCal Taco Fest.

Waterfront Park is also a great place to have yourself a delightful picnic, with hidden gardens and ample green space to take a load off.

Fun fact: Little kids love to splash around in the water features, too, but I’ve seen some diaper explosions in there, so wouldn’t do so myself.

Imagine you’re in Italy at Piazza della Famiglia.

The Piazza della Famiglia has only been open to visitors since 2018, but it’s quickly become the neighborhood’s gathering place and a frequent spot for local festivals and events.

Modeled after the European variety, the piazza is 10,000 square feet of public space, complete with a beautiful fountain on the east side and cobblestoned walking paths.

Educate yourself at the local museums.

Little Italy has two museums of note for visitors looking to do more than carb load.

The San Diego Firehouse Museum boasts related firehouse memorabilia dating back to the late 1800s. One artifact of note is a piece of steel from the World Trade Center.

The Maritime Museum of San Diego, a collection of historic ships on the San Diego Bay, is where you can become one with the pirate within you.

The most impressive is the Star of India, an 1863 vessel that holds the title of the world’s oldest active sailing ship.

Admission fees depend on what you’re after, as the museum also hosts some on-board adventures, some of which are pirate-themed. While I’ve never partied like a pirate on the boat, the museum is a good time for an hour or two in Little Italy.

Take a self-guided walking tour.

Little Italy was made for walking.

No, really. It was in the city plans.

The trees in Little Italy are planted on the sidewalks about 10 walking strides apart. Try it out. The flowers you’ll see while you’re there are planted intentionally, too, so you’re likely to see something blooming during your visit no matter the time of year.

Little Italy is one of San Diego’s busiest urban neighborhoods, but it still feels like a walk in the park.

The best way to experience the neighborhood then is on walking tours of your own making. Pay attention to not only the adorable boutique shops but also the little things along the way, as there are markers throughout Little Italy to note its historic past.

If you need some hints, here are a few:

• Fancy a glass of wine? M Winehouse, a fun stop on its own, has been around since 1888 when it was the A.W. Pray House.
• Fancy macaroni? Well, you won’t get any here, but the sidewalk outside of the Hyde Edwards Salon and Spa is marked in honor of the site’s former tenants, the San Diego Macaroni Factory.
• Spy the imprinted ring on the sidewalk of Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, but keep on walkin’. The pizza’s just OK.
• Walking past Mimmo’s Italian Village, notice the sausage stuffer on the outside patio. It’s the original tool with which the sausage was made in 1968.
• Finally, there’s that Little Italy sign. It’s not secret by any means, but if you look at the mosaic tile around it, you’ll see the story of the neighborhood.

Indulge in happy hour at a Little Italy bar.

Most of my San Diego itineraries include a stop (or two) at a local bar or brewery at some point. Here are my picks for where to drink in Little Italy:

• Ballast Point Brewing: This brewery has changed hands multiple times in the last few years, but remains an institution on the craft beer scene in San Diego. The food there is decent, too.

• Bolt Brewery: The brewers here actually opened their first brewery in 1987, but then closed shop two years later, returning again with a new location in La Mesa, their flagship, after decades away. Did you get all that?
• Bottlecraft: This is the bottle shop’s original location. In addition to taking home some unique brews and wine, you can also drink whatever you purchase there, on top of what they have on draft that day.
• Carruth Cellars Wine Garden: This urban winery and tasting room has grapes sourced predominantly from Northern and Central California. You can order a build-your-own charcuterie board to go along with your wine tasting.
• Craft & Commerce: Come for the fun cocktails — the Lay Lady Lay and Brokedown Palace are noteworthy — and stay for their inventive food menu. Reservations are available on the restaurant’s website.
• False Idol: This is the tiki bar hidden speakeasy-style inside a water cooler at Craft & Commerce. Reservations are strongly encouraged and are available on their website.

• Kettner Exchange: They have a full menu, including an inventive brunch — their chef, Brian Redzikowski, has competed on Iron Chef America — but I’m including it for its rooftop cocktail party vibes.
• M Winehouse: I’ve already mentioned this one as a stop for both wine lovers and history buffs. The wine bar is a great place for wine from around the world alongside a delicious cheese board.
• Nolita Hall: This beer hall’s cocktail program is what I’m after. Order something off their effervescent menu if you’re celebrating something or you just like bubbles.
• Waterfront Bar & Grill: I’m not sure whether this is verified in any official capacity, but the Waterfront Bar is known as San Diego’s oldest tavern. It’s a budget-friendly divey sort of place, with the usual pub food on the menu.

Best Little Italy Restaurants

Little Italy is a foodie destination for both visitors and San Diegans. Here are my top picks for where to eat in Little Italy. I’ve tried all of the eateries on this list, so verify that they’re delicious.

Barbusa

Barbusa offers up modern takes on traditional Sicilian cuisine. Highlights on their handmade pasta menu include a spaghettini with crab and rosa sauce and a gnocchi dish in black truffle oil.

Reservations are recommended and available on the restaurant’s website, but they have a mean takeout game, too.

Bencotto

Bencotto is in the same family as Monello, my preferred Italian spot on this list, but it really is just a personal preference. Try their homemade pasta, made fresh daily, and decide for yourself.

Reservations are recommended and available on the restaurant’s website.

Born & Raised

Born & Raised is a special occasion type of place, unless you’re there for their amazing happy hour, in which case please order two of their fancy Slim Jims. We were lucky enough to dine there as a treat from our traveling buddies.

If you have friends who are that generous or enjoy a steakhouse from time to time, do go. Choose one of their classic meat cuts, with the table-side Caesar salad. Reservations are expected and available online.

Buon Appetito

My local friend would be peeved if I didn’t include this Italian eatery on the list.

The portions are hearty and the service is friendly. You can’t go wrong with any specials they’re offering the night of your visit, or the arancini to start.

If you don’t know what that is, it’s basically a fried risotto and cheese ball. Yep, delicious.

Cloak & Petal

Cloak & Petal is one of those see-and-be-seen kind of places with a little bit of edge, a stellar cocktail menu, and delicious Japanese-inspired bites.

Start with their gyoza and follow that with their specialty rolls. Their La Jolla roll is big on spice and flavor. Reservations are recommended and available online.

READ MORE: This one is on my list of the best sushi in San Diego. Check out my guide if you love those rolls!

The Crack Shack

When Richard Blais wants to open a fried chicken shack, you let him. This is the celebrity chef’s ode to all things chicken, and it is SO good.

The setup of The Crack Shack is also just fun. There’s a giant rooster beckoning you inside, and I usually listen.

Whatever you order, whether it’s chicken and sides or one of their chicken sandwiches, don’t forget the chicken oysters and the biscuits.

Fun fact: Chicken oysters are the two small, oyster-shaped pieces of dark meat on either side of a chicken’s backbone.

This one’s the original, but there are additional locations in Encinitas, Costa Mesa, Los Angeles, Pasadena, and Las Vegas. There are no reservations here, but service moves quickly. Stand in line like everybody else!

Davanti Enoteca

Davanti Enoteca is a popular spot for patio dining, with a lively wine bar and a menu of Italian classics. If you have at least eight friends with you, you can ask for Table 80, which sits in the restaurant’s secret dining room.

If this place sounds familiar, there is an additional location in Del Mar, along with two Illinois locations in Western Springs and Chicago, my hometown.

Reservations are on the restaurant’s website.

Extraordinary Desserts

Extraordinary Desserts is where you go when you’ve left room for dessert after dinner. They have all kinds of lunchtime toasts and charcuterie-type snacks that I’m typically all over, but the stars of the show here are the oh-so-pretty sweets.

If they have a fresh carrot cake going, go for that. Their version comes with all kinds of dried fruit bites that add intrigue to this classic.

Farmer’s Table

Farmer’s Table is a farm-to-fork eatery with excellent views of any happenings on the Piazza della Famiglia. Come in for brunch and some of the most intense Bloody Marys you’ll find in the city, or some of that grilled octopus featured in the photo above.

We’ve been to this one multiple times as it’s a good second choice when restaurants nearby are packed. That sounds worse than it is. It’s a GREAT second option, but you should pick it first at least once, too.

Reservations are recommended and available on the eatery’s website.

Frost Me Cafe & Bakery

Even the cupcake traditionalists among you will develop a thing for the sweet treats at Frost Me. If you’re lucky, they’ll have a fresh batch of lemon lavender blueberry cupcakes waiting when you arrive.

The cafe also serves breakfast sandwiches, salads, and light lunches if you need some midday sustenance.

Harumama Noodles & Buns

They serve delicious noodles and buns at Harumama, some in cartoon animal shapes. They’re not just whimsical, though. I found them less about gimmicks and more about having fun with delicious food.

They also have ramen, sushi, and all kinds of fun sides, in addition to beer and sake. You’ll find additional locations in La Jolla and Carlsbad.

READ MORE: Headed to Carlsbad? Check out my detailed guide for more than just LEGOLAND!

Herb & Wood

Herb & Wood was celebrity chef Brian Malarkey’s first San Diego restaurant and remains a solid option for special occasion dining. I liked having Brian’s old boss take us here when he came through town, as it was on the company dime.

If you’re not quite so lucky, I promise it’s worth the coin. The menu’s seasonal, so expect a different experience on every visit. Their brunch is special too, served every Sunday.

Reservations are recommended and available online.

Ironside Fish & Oyster Bar

Oh, hello there, delicious lobster roll. We loved taking visitors to this one when we still lived in Little Italy because of the food and the ambiance. You’ll feel like you’re at sea in this place without the seasickness.

I’m not into oysters, but if you are, they offer them for a buck apiece at happy hour on weekdays. Luckily, Ironside has all kinds of other fishy delights, including the aforementioned lobster roll.

Reservations aren’t necessary but are available online via OpenTable.

Isola Pizza Bar

Isola is the best pizza shop in Little Italy. It also holds a special place in our hearts as the second pizza place we ever tried in San Diego after moving there. (Filippi’s Pizza Grotto was the first, and woof. I didn’t love it.)

Try the prosciutto e arugula pizza and tell me I’m wrong.

There’s another location in La Jolla if you’re in those parts. Reservations aren’t necessary but are available on the pizza shop’s website.

Juniper & Ivy

Juniper & Ivy is my favorite restaurant in San Diego and certainly one of the best restaurants in Little Italy. I put this one at the top of my San Diego bucket list for a reason.

I’d call it fine dining, but prices are more reasonable than you might expect for the kind of food Chef Richard Blais is serving up. Yes, I’m talking about the celebrity chef again.

We always get something fancy off their seasonal menu and then the not-so-secret off-menu item, the “In-n-Haute” burger. It’s a play on that burger, and it’s awesome.

Reservations are recommended at this one and available via OpenTable.

Little Italy Food Hall

The Little Italy Food Hall is the neighborhood’s freshest gathering place, with six food stations serving up Italian staples like Milanese cuisine and gelato, but also tacos, lobster rolls, and good vibes.

Yes, I went there.

There’s truly something for everyone there alongside some of the best food in Little Italy. If you really can’t decide, Wicked Maine Lobster serves up mac ‘n cheese in a bread bowl, with lobster on top.

The Lion’s Share

Approaching the harbor south of Little Italy, The Lion’s Share boasts a different kind of menu than the Italian-heavy offerings in these parts. The focus here is on exotic meats.

I’m talkin’ crispy pig ears, venison, and braised boar to complete a fun cocktail menu with all the vodka, tequila, etc. you can handle. I loved it, but all the meats I picked came alongside some of their cheeses and I love a good charcuterie board.

Reservations are recommended and available online.

Morning Glory

Morning Glory is an adorable, airy breakfast spot that serves the usuals, like Belgian waffles and classic flapjacks, and the more unique, like soufflé pancakes and their Morning Glory Ginger Fried Rice.

If anything, visit their website for a laugh.

They do not take reservations, so get there early if you’re someone who gets angry. The lines here are legendary. They’re SO legendary, in fact, that we left the line once to go eat at Farmer’s Table.

We went back, but I wouldn’t blame you. If it’s over 45 minutes or so, just eat elsewhere. You have other things on your list of what to do in Little Italy than wait in lines.

Queenstown Public House

We were frequent visitors to Queenstown when we lived in Little Italy. As they have a similar restaurant by the same name on 30th Street in our old stomping grounds of North Park — Dunedin New Zealand Eats — we survived after moving out of the neighborhood.

They have a great happy hour that includes their slider menu, which are mini versions of burgers on their dinner menu. Try the lamb burger slider, complete with blue cheese crumbles and mint jelly, or just have the regular-sized burger. It’s delicious!

Reservations are available online.

Salt & Straw

Salt & Straw is a hipster ice cream shop to the max, but that doesn’t mean the scoops here aren’t delicious. I’m not even all that into sweets, but I’ve been known to house a full pint of their sea salt with caramel ribbons.

They always have vegan options available, too, with all of the flavor of their full-dairy ice creams. There’s another location up in Del Mar if you find yourself there.

Little Italy Events

You may want to plan your visit to Little Italy around some of their regular events, or you may want to avoid them if you don’t like crowds or want to make parking easier along the main drags, including Grape Street.

Check out some regular Little Italy, San Diego, events below:

• Labor Day Stickball Tournament: Teams compete for something called the Jillie Trophy, but the real fun is amongst the spectators. People. Get. Rowdy. Expect multiple street closures for the event.
• Little Italy Mercato: This is my favorite farmers’ market in the city. It’s fun to mingle and support small businesses, but they serve some excellent breakfast burritos here, too. Live music is a regular occurrence.
• Little Italy Wednesday Market: Demand is so high for all of those fresh ingredients that Little Italy can sustain two farmers’ markets. This one is known as the market where chefs shop, but I promise you’re still welcome there.
• Marine Band San Diego Summer Concert: Visitors are treated to more than military standards at this summer show on the Piazza della Famiglia. This marine band does the latest pop songs, too.

Note: If you’re interested in having some dinner while you listen to the marine band, make sure you get reservations ahead of time. It’s a popular local event among San Diego attractions.

• Taste of Little Italy: If you want to get an overview of all the delicious things Little Italy has on hand to eat (and drink), the Taste of Little Italy every summer is a great way to do that. We only did it once, but we had such a fun time!

Little Italy Safety

San Diego is generally one of the safest larger cities in the United States, and Little Italy in San Diego is one of the safer areas downtown.

As with everywhere else, don’t flash your valuables like you’re some celebrity. Be extra cautious when it’s late at night and folks around you have been indulging in some libations. If you’re driving, don’t leave anything on the front seat that might make you an easy mark for a break-in.

Where to Stay in Little Italy

We lived in Little Italy, so we weren’t checking out San Diego hotels while we were there. That doesn’t mean I don’t have suggestions for you on your San Diego trip.

Browse the map below for Little Italy hotels and apartment-style options:

What is so special about Little Italy?

Little Italy’s delicious food scene, high level of walkability, and vibrant business district make this a special place to visit in San Diego. Its rich Italian history is what I love most about it.

Here’s more proof that this is a more legit Little Italy than most. Bocce ball is a favorite Italian hobby, so naturally, Little Italy has its own set of bocce ball courts in Amici Park.

Are you a believer now?

I know I’ll return to Little Italy on any future San Diego trips if only to revisit some of my favorite eateries. It’s one of my favorite things when I think about what to do in Little Italy. I need to get my hands on that cheese wheel at Monello, people.

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