Restaurants in La Jolla

Welcome to Groupon San Diego! For our inaugural deal, $25 gets you $50 worth of grub and guzzle at Sea Rocket Bistro, located at 3382 30th St.

Sip wine, snack on paninis, and devour small plates in the heart of San Diego’s Italian district. With today’s Groupon, $25 gets you $50 worth of food and drink at Enoteca Style, an upscale café and lounge brought to you by the folks behind East Village spot Salad Style.

Olivetto Café & Wine Bar welcomes patrons with its homey ambiance and selection of contemporary Italian- and American-influenced cuisine. In 2008, the San Diego Reader claimed "it has all the virtues of a 'neighborhood Italian joint' – warmth, spirit, informality, prices not too bad – but the food is better than most," and Zagat's menu rating of "very good to excellent" supports this assertion. The chefs keep their flavors fresh and their business sustainable by sourcing seasonal ingredients whenever possible. They make their own ravioli and pesto in-house and bake fresh loaves of bread. To accompany meals, the café also features a wine selection with refreshing whites and heartier reds from around the world.

The high-ceilinged dining room features a rustic combination of exposed brickwork, Tuscan-yellow walls, and dark, wooden furniture. Exposed ductwork lends a more modern vibe to the space, as would mimicking the conditions of the space shuttle by simulating gravity and giving each occupant a PhD.

Café Paris offers its patrons a taste of France, a place where people step into charmingly uncluttered neighborhood bistros to share plates and wine with friends, dining in an unrushed manner. French native Loris Compiano re-creates that vibe at Café Paris, crafting dishes such as toasted, open-faced baguettes with ingredients such as spicy tuna and curry shrimp, bruschetta topped with goat cheese, and roasted herbed potato with three homemade dipping sauces. He also helps complement meals with a list focused on organic, unsulfured wines from California and France.

Not long after beginning their relationship, Fabrison’s co-owners Fabrice and Alison—from Marseilles, France and Columbus, Ohio, respectively—traveled to Europe together, seeking a change of scenery. Inspired by the warm hospitality of European cafés, they returned home to open their own cozy shop, combining their first names to form its distinctive moniker.

Crepes are the specialty at Fabrison’s, with customers perusing a menu of sweet, savory, and breakfast iterations of the traditional French food. The La Galette combines ham, mushrooms, and spinach with a fried egg, whereas the L’Isabelle keeps its ingredients as simple as Count von Count’s locker combination, mingling sugar, butter, and a topping of powdered sugar. Patrons can begin their mornings with a spot of espresso and Fabrice’s Breakfast Crepe, filled with sausage, bacon, and spicy harissa sauce. Rounding out the menu is a selection of patisserie-style desserts and pastries.

The couple’s friends and family helped them plan their café’s look, with Fabrice’s mother sending over photos and swatches from European cafes, which influenced its bright palette of crimson, gold, and washed turquoise. Alison’s mother sewed the gingham curtains on the windows, and artist Derek Little created the vivid painting on the front window. Fabrison’s also shares French culture with the community through regular evening events that include crepe-cooking classes, French movie nights, French speaking classes, and French kissing workshops.

In 2008, Guy Fieri proclaimed that the German-born owners of Tioli’s Crazee Burger would “make a burger out of just about anything” on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Four years have passed, but Guy’s claim still holds true at Tioli’s, which marries American’s favorite staple food to the atmosphere of a European bistro. The eccentric menu does include some familiar patties, crafted from premium Angus beef or veggies, but also forays into the unusual with burgers made of wild boar, antelope, and even ostrich and kangaroo. Imported beers and wine from Spain and Italy, as well as brews from the United States, wash down burgers or bratwursts and make it easier to forget about your childhood pet, a wild boar.