Top 10 Best Restaurants in Hillcrest (Review)

Hillcrest is located just a few miles north of downtown San Diego and northwest of Balboa Park, Hillcrest is one of San Diego’s most vibrant and lovely neighborhoods, with Famous restaurants, cafes and bars.

Hillcrest is a place that has a number of restaurants that are located just a short walk away from Epic on Center. Full of cafes, bistros and five-star dining restaurants, Hillcrest is a connoisseur’s delight with more than 200 restaurants featuring international delights and American favorites.

From fine dining at Maestoso, Crest Cafe and Arrivederci Ristorante to late-night classics at Cali “O” Burgers. Hillcrest has something for everyone and you can feast on grass-fed beef from Bronx Pizza or sip on craft cocktails from La Posta and Khyber Pass restaurant. Indulge yourself in decadent sweets from Uptown Tavern, whatever you choose, you are sure to have an extraordinary experience. If you crave mojito, lasagna or paella then I am here to show your how to find it. What if you just want to find restaurants with happy hours or are pet friendly?

Best Restaurants in Hillcrest

Maestoso In Hillcrest

The highly anticipated modern Italian Chef-to Table dining experience in San Diego. Creative dishes of Italian cuisine with an intentional touch. Featuring handmade kinds of pasta, the Roman Pinsa and an Italian dim sum style Passaggi cart. Maestoso is located in the heart of Hillcrest, near the bustling neighborhoods of North Park and University Heights and a stone’s throw away from Downtown San Diego and Balboa Park.

Reservations are recommended and I advise you to make sure to specify in your reservation if you want to be seated at an indoor table, at their chef’s counter or on their partially covered and heated Garden Patio. They always try to accommodate your seating request as best as possible but please be aware that it will not always be possible to do so.

Crest Cafe In Hillcrest

Crest Cafe has been featured on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. This restaurant is run as a family business and has been open for years. The Crest Cafe owners, Cecelia and Ruben would give you free rein over the menu, allowing you to pick whatever caught your eye. Crest Cafe is located in San Diego, California and this restaurant opens every day of the year, the vibe of the restaurant is fun and casual, with neon lights on the outside to assure you of the restaurants you are about to step into.

For daily soups, desserts and pasts are available at Crest Cafe, including a number of comfort food that patrons enjoy. Crest Cafe offers a number of craft beers for adults at the party and children can order from the menu just for youngsters. Grilles cheese sandwiches, chicken strips and cheese quesadillas are some of the best offerings for those under five to enjoy.

Arrivederci, Ristorante In Hillcrest

Arrivederci Ristorante is located in the heart of Hillcrest and voted the best Italian restaurant in San Diego many years in a row. This restaurant saw its first day in 1995 thanks to the Mastellone Family. They deliver simple food at a reasonable price with friendly service.

Arrivederci Ristorante, has a casual ambiance, traditional Italian cuisine and an atmosphere that transports you directly to Tuscany and the middle of Campania. Their Italian homemade cuisine is an ideal inexpensive recipe, a little bit of tradition, and an ounce of modern Italian cooking inspired by various regions and a big cup of love from their chef and his team.

Some of the Arrivederci Ristorante specialties are Osso Bucco, Melandzane Sorrentina, Carpaccio Classico, Rigatoni Piccnati, Homemade Tiramisu, Gnocchi, farfalle Vodka and Salmone, Vitello Picatta and many more to discover.

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Best Restaurants in Hillcrest

Cali “O” Burgers In Hillcrest

  Cali “O” Burgers was established in 2014 to deliver the best burger that you have ever had. Grass-fed organic with no hormones added is what beef should be, just like it was in the old days. Their great burgers are made of the best ingredients such as Grass-fed Beef, Pastured Chicken, Elk, Bison, Ostrich and locally sourced organic produce.

They are committed to using the finest ingredients in everything they make. Nothing but the best for their guests. Their burgers are made with love and they are a scratch kitchen, which means everything they make or serve is made fresh. Their bread and produce are delivered fresh daily, while their saices, aioli and dressing are made in-house every day.

Their shakes are made with ice cream and organic milk, nothing else is added and they have a large selection of craft beer from local breweries and a great coke machine that offers 155 flavors.

Bronx Pizza In Hillcrest

Bronx Pizza is a restaurants has achieved iconic status in San Diego for its New York-style thin-crust pizzas. On the East coast, every neighborhood and in some places every block had its own pizza shop where the locals knew the guys working there and the same faces were seen for generations.

They are that place. So you must come in for a slice and share a table with a stranger, enjoy the atmosphere, witness their legendary customer service or tell them how your day went while your pizza cooks.

Urban MO’s Bar and Grill In Hillcrest

Urban MO’s Bar and Grill used to be Hamburger Mary’s and the name of the restaurant may have changed a few years back but it is still the place to go in Hillcrest if you want to experience the, shall I say, the gay atmosphere of the neighborhood. As the restaurant says, Urban MO’s is a gay-friendly restaurant that makes the best hamburgers in the town.

They are colorful and they are fun as well. At this place, you will have the best time in any given afternoon and an even better time in the evening. And they believe that cocktail glasses must be adorned with plastic farm animals.

The founders of Urban MO’s Universe Doug Snyder and Chris Shaw have been together since 1983 and they both have been involved and extremely active in the GLBTQ community since 1979, is the last 40 years they have donated and or raised hundreds or thousands of dollars for their community and their philosophy has always been you can not have a successful business without a strong successful community that is why they have always been active helping create an incredible Hillcrest Community.

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Bread and Cie In Hillcrest

The cinnamon rolls and the bread are all flaky, crusty and delicious. Bread and Cie is the city’s most distinctive producer of artisan bread, supplying the bread to a number of local restaurants.

In fact, if you have been dining out and have said yummy bread then it was probably supplied by Bread and Cir. Baked seven days a week in a European stone hearth oven using age-old artisan bread-making techniques.

The sheer variety of bread, as well as parties, make it worth visiting but there are also soups, salads and sandwiches on the menu. You can also order some coffee and pastries and imagine you are having a leisurely meal in an Italian restaurant.

La Posta In Hillcrest

Every neighborhood has to have a taco shack and Hillcrest has many but one of the favorites is La Posta. If you are not looking for it then you would probably miss it. Unless you are driving around late at night and looking for a place to get a carne asada burrito, Then you will notice this restaurant because there is always a late-night crowd wanting to satisfy their after-hours munchies.

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Khyber Pass In Hillcrest

In these days, we all can associate more with Afghanistan than war. Its rich culture is the origin of some tasty dishes and Kyber Pass serves up the favorite dishes from the Near East, Afghanistan, India and Turkey presented in a chic colorful ambiance. At this place, you can enjoy healthy, fresh ingredients that are blended with exotic spices created to excite your senses.

The Nasery family opened the Khyber Pass Restaurant over 16 years ago after coming to the United States of America to escape the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The food you will have there miraculously varies, representing local modifications in Afghanistan and Iran. Their objective is to caress your taste buds with the flavors and scents of a civilization with more than a hundred years of history and cultural heritage.

Cherishing hundreds of years of history and tradition attached to this cuisine makes this restaurant a must dine that is located in the heart of Hillcrest in beautiful sunny San Diego. They enthusiastically serve freshly prepared and delicious meals, combining quality ingredients to bring a memorable and different dining experience. Their dedicated team sincerely thanks their precious guests for their continued support and patronage. You must visit this place and surprise your taste buds with its delicious gourmet dishes that are prepared with care, love and passion.

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Hash House A Go Go In Hillcrest

Hash House A Go Go is always busy and the portions are huge and the parking sucks. But this restaurant is such an institution because it takes comfort foods, tweaks them and turns them on its head. Flapjacks include flavors such as Snickers, apple cinnamon, butterscotch almond, mango coconut and strawberry frosted flake There is also sage fried chicken, one-pound stuffed burgers, stuffed meatloaf and a slew of hashes such as mushroom, sundried tomato, artichoke hearts and fresh spinach.

They serve twisted farm food and crafted cocktails and they have been bringing you Midwest-inspired food for more than two decades. When you are in Hillcrest then you should visit this place for the full Hash House experience. It is a Midwest thins and there is nothing else like it. Hash House A Go Go is a place where old schools meet new and get twisted. This place brings people together with good food and good fun. This restaurant is a proud part of their local community and they strive to be a positive force in their neighborhoods. They support a number of charitable causes and are always open to new community programs. They believe in using teh best of ingredients and sticking to their culinary values.

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