Staying with us and wondering where to eat? While you will have an amazing kitchen with every necessary amenity, sometimes you just want to eat out. Check out these spots, recommended from the Team at BeachFront Only! Most are located less than 10 minutes from our vacation rentals!

All of these restaurants have been personally reviewed by Beachfront Only staff, and are located within a few minutes of all of our properties, either in Encinitas, Carlsbad, or Oceanside.  If you are unfamiliar with the area, restaurants listed in Carlsbad are very close to our Oceanside rentals (about a 2 or 3 minute drive).  Restaurants are organized by type of cuisine, and then by recommendation.

BREAKFAST / LUNCH

St. Germain’s Cafe
1010 South Coast Highway 101 (at I Street), Encinitas / 760-753-5411 / website
The food here is all-American. Omelets are the café’s best-known dish — 14 variations of three-eggers (or Eggbeaters by request) served with toast or a muffin, plus tasty herb-strewn “café potatoes” or fresh fruit salad. But don’t overlook the Belgian waffles, scrambles, pancakes, Louisiana sausages, or the three versions of expertly poached eggs Benedict with genuine hollandaise. They also serve tasty sandwiches and smoothies. Open daily, breakfast to late lunch.  Great prices.  Expect a line on the weekends.

Beach Break Cafe
1902 South Coast Highway 101, Oceanside / 760-439-6355 / website
Great place for breakfast or lunch. Huge portions, inexpensive. Best coffee cake in town. Service is great…very friendly.  Try their daily specials written on the whiteboard.

Potato Shack Cafe
120 West I Street (off South Coast Highway 101), Encinitas / 760-436-1282 / website
American fries (served “All you can eat!”), French fries, potato patties, and baked potatoes with various toppings are the heart of the menu, along with eggs, omelets, biscuits with sausage gravy, and beer-battered onion rings made from sweet reds. If size counts, consider the daunting inch-thick “manhole” pancake that’s bigger than the plate. Lunch runs to “deli” sandwiches (with potatoes), or a hearty bowl of chili con carne. Arrive early on weekends. Open daily, breakfast to late lunch.

Cafe 101
631 South Coast Highway 101, Oceanside / 760-722-5220 / website
This is the oldest li’l eating establishment in Oceanside. Cooks have been flipping burgers here since 1928. The café is named after Route 101, the Pacific Highway. Open daily, three meals until midnight. Cash Only.

COFFEE

Pannikin Coffee & Tea
510 N. Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024 / 760-436-0033 / website
This cafe is home to a refurbished old train station. The ambiance is everything here. Coffee and baked goods are excellent. They also serve a range of gourmet breakfast items as well as lunch. They make homemade soups daily which are all excellent. Great outdoor patio – on the weekends, sip your coffee and watch all of the bikers go by on South Coast Highway.  Kitchen for food closes at 2pm.

Vinaka Café
300 Carlsbad Village Dr, Suite 211, Carlsbad / 760-720-7890 / website
Great local coffee shop, with espresso, organic coffee and teas, 100% natural ice cream, pastries, cakes, pies, fresh fruit smoothies, and a great lunch menu with fresh sandwiches and salads!  This place is always filled with a younger and seemingly hip crowd, all on their laptops or in some deep conversation.  Type of place you could spend hours at.

E Street Cafe
128/130 West “E” Street, Encinitas, CA 92024 / 760-230-2038 / website
Full service Cyber-Cafe with Dell workstations connected via high-speed fiber optics. They  offer a wide selection of beverages, featuring organic fair trade coffees, and a wide selection of loose leaf teas. Both vegan alternatives and the standard cafe fare are there to tempt you.

FUSION

Calypso Café
576 N. Hwy 101, Encinitas / 760-632-8252 / website
Great neighborhood restaurant with an eclectic menu and atmosphere.  Food is a fusion of Moroccan, Spanish, and French, with a variety of meats and seafood.  There is live music every night, which could be anything from reggae to jazz.  Happy hour is from 5:30 to 7:30pm Sun-Thurs.  Be sure to try the House Sangria.

Le Papagayo
1002 North Highway 101, Leucadia / 760-944-8252 / website
Perfect for a romantic date or family dinner, the menu is extensive with fresh seafood, meat, pasta, vegetarian dishes, and salads, borrowing the best influences and flavors from all over the world.  Choose from butternut squash raviolis, ahi crusted crab cakes, veal macaroni & cheese, and curry coconut scallops, just to name a few dishes! There is live music every night, from Blues to Island.

HEALTHY

Naked Café
300 Carlsbad Village Dr, Carlsbad / 760-720-7866 / website (Oceanside guests)
106 S. Sierra Ave, Solana Beach  / 858-259-7866 (Encinitas guests)
This is a breakfast/lunch, whole foods café with a healthy menu of great variety, sure to please any appetite.  All of their breads/muffins/tortillas/etc are baked fresh every morning.  They also make all of their own sauces and dressings.  May I recommend the Sesame Ginger Chicken Soft Tacos – amazing.  Reasonable portions and great prices.

Mozy Cafe
698 N. Coast Hwy , Leucadia, Ca 92024  /  760-944-9168 / website
Amazing gourmet burritos. Try the Erin Burrito…Rice, Beans, Chicken, Avocado, Jack Cheese and Plantains all wrapped in a whole-wheat tortilla. Yumm. The menu is mostly organic with a lot of vegetarian fare and tofu.  Great smoothies and fresh squeezed juices as well. Grab the food to go and take it to the beach, or sit at their garden and vine covered patio.

Swami’s Café
1163 S. Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, / 760-944-0612 / website
Named for the beach, it’s about beans, tofu, rice and fresh vegetables — and serenity.

Cream of the Crop
2009 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside / 760-433-2757 / website
One of the few organic and natural food markets in Oceanside, this place will not disappoint.  While it is great for groceries, the best part is their fresh juice bar and deli.  They have a full selection of “ready to go” salads, soups, wraps, etc, plus a full sandwich and juice menu.  One of the best sandwiches in Oceanside – reasonable and amazingly fresh, pick one up to go and take it to the beach!

ITALIAN

Firenze
162 South Rancho Santa Fe Road, West Village Center, Encinitas / 760-944-9000 / website
Firenze is a beautiful restaurant with a cozy interior and romantic fire-lit patio. Multiregional Italian cuisine, portions are huge, reasonably priced wine list. Plenty of vegetarian selections.

I Trulli Trattoria
830 South Coast Highway 101 (between G and H streets), Encinitas / 760-943-6800 / website
An enduring hit in Encinitas (where there’s no shortage of Italian restaurants), I Trulli serves modern Italian food with fashionable new ingredients. Best bets are the daily specials, which offer the greatest chance for fresh ingredients and creativity. Always busy. Reserve for dinner on weekends or expect an hour’s wait. Open daily, lunch and dinner.

Vigiluccis Trattoria Italiana
505 S. Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas / 760-942-7332 / website
Authentic Italian dining, great atmosphere.  Menu offers more than 20 fish, veal, beef and pasta creations, all at reasonable prices.  Reservations are recommended on weekends.  If it is a nice night, eat outside on the charming sidewalk patio.

MEXICAN

Norte
3003 Carlsbad Boulevard, Carlsbad / 760-729-0903 / website
Sit down Mexican where you can order pretty much whatever you want (as long as it is Mexican). Whether you try the chicken-and-rice soup with fresh cilantro and avocado chunks (my favorite), fluffy chile rellenos, a crab enchilada, carne asada with all the trimmings, or a lonely à la carte chicken burrito, you’re going to be a happy camper. Add a reliable margarita or a beer and you’re set at this popular North County mainstay. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

Juanita’s Taco Shop
290 North Coast Highway 101, Encinitas / 760-943-9612 / website
Enticing aromas of fresh tortillas and fragrant frijoles greet you as you enter this busy little taqueria. Quick and good, open daily, three meals until 2 a.m. Very Inexpensive.

La Especial Norte
604 North Coast Highway 101 (at Leucadia Blvd.) / Leucadia , 760-942-1040 / website
This big, brightly lit roadhouse sports highly whimsical decor and boasts a five-page menu, including a page of a dozen regional soups and another full page for seafood. The soups are superb.  So are the margaritas. Open daily, breakfast through dinner.

MIDDLE EASTERN / MEDITERRANEAN

Bird House Grill
250 North Coast Highway 101, Encinitas / 760-944-2882 / website
This is a family owned place serving up amazing Turkish food (think gyros, kebabs, yogurt sauce). Hummus here is amazing.  If they have any lentil soup or baklava, be sure to order it, you won’t be sorry!  Service is great…be ready to chat. Open Monday through Saturday. Belly dancers on weekends. Very Inexpensive.

The Armenian Cafe
3126 Carlsbad Boulevard (at Pine), Carlsbad / 760-720-2233 / website
Menu offers Armenian specialties cooked with a Lebanese accent as well as generic Middle Easter crowd pleasers, including gyros made from scratch. Don’t miss the garlic dip. Belly dancers on weekends put on quite the show.  Remember to bring your dollar bills.

PIZZA

Knockout Pizza
2959 Carlsbad Boulevard, Carlsbad / 760-434-4468 / website
It’s New York pizza only here. If you want a gourmet, California style pizza, you’re out of luck. They make the pies with traditional thin, crisp crusts and toppings like pepperoni, meatball, and garlic. Open daily.

Pizza Port
571 Carlsbad Village , Carlsbad, CA 92008, / 760-720-7007 / website
Excellent gourmet pizzas and home brewed beer. Order a pizza anyway you like it.  Don’t miss the beer buddies.

Leucadia Pizzeria
315 S. Coast Hwy 101, Encinitas / 760-942-2222 / website
This place has everything from traditional Italian dishes to California contemporary style pizzas.  Open for 20 years now, this is a local favorite.  If you are in the mood for eating in, they do deliver (for our Encinitas guests), and this is definitely the place to order from.  Every topping imaginable is available, and pizzas come in 6 different sizes to choose from.

Oggi’s
305 Encinitas Blvd, Encintas, CA 92024  / 760-944-8170 / website
If you want Pizza, Beer, and Sports, Oggi’s will not disappoint.

STEAK AND SEAFOOD

Argyle Steakhouse at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara
7100 Four Seasons Point, Carlsbad / 760-603-6908 / website
San Diego’s premier steak and chop house overlooks the eighteenth green with astounding panoramic views.  Indoor or al fresco seating, perfect for casual fare and cocktails at sunset.

BlueFire Grill at La Costa Resort and Spa
2100 Costa del Mar Road, Carlsbad / 760-929-6306 / website
Chic dining at its best.  Menu filled with local produce, fish, and meats, everything light, flavorful, and fresh. There is live music every Thurs-Sat from 6pm to 10pm, and happy hour is from 4:30-7, daily.

Chart House
2588 South Coast Hwy 101, Cardiff / 760-436-4044 / website
Front row seat to crashing waves and panoramic SoCal sunsets.  Ideal fine dining experience with fresh seafood, steaks, and decadent desserts (lava flow).  Reservations recommended on the weekend.

Bistro West
4960 Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad / 760-930-8008 / website
Everything from pizzas and pastas to burgers and paninis, braised meats and rotisserie-cooked prime rib to the freshest fish, the food is delicious.

Vigilucci’s Seafood & Steakhouse
3878 Carlsbad Blvd, Carlsbad / 760-434-2580 / website
Luxurious and sophisticated.  180-degree ocean views.  The menu features certified prime steaks and the freshest seafood, all paired with an award winning wine list.  There is a private dining room for larger groups.

Fishhouse Veracruz
417 Carlsbad Village Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008  / 760-434-6777 / website
Amazing selection of fresh seafood. Over 20 different fish to choose from, have it cooked anyway you like it. If you want seafood close by, this is the place.

SUSHI

Sakura-Bana
1031 South Coast Highway 101 (Suite A), Encinitas  / 760-942-6414 / website
The sushi here is fresh and reasonably priced. The key to this place is its happy hour. You must order between 5pm and 6pm. Rolls start at under $3! And If you don’t feel like sushi, there are several tables, and standard Japanese appetizers and entrées are available. Lunch Tuesday through Friday, dinner Tuesday through Sunday.

Harney Sushi
301 Mission Ave, Oceanside / 760-967-1820 / website
A classy and hip restaurant with several interesting sushi choices, and for those who do not like sushi, there are plenty of other Japanese dishes on the menu.  Perhaps a bit “Americanized” (as are most sushi places in the states), the food is still delicious.  Great lunch specials as well.

The Fish Joint
514 South Coast Highway 101, Oceanside / 760-450-0646 / website
If you are in the mood for a fresh spin on sushi, try this place.  Very laid back atmosphere with some interesting art on the walls.  The guys working there are friendly and love to talk.  From classic sushi rolls to crazy concoctions, you can pretty much order whatever your heart desires.  And prices are reasonable.

THAI

Siamese Basil
527 South Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA  92024 / 760-753-3940 / website
This place has been a hole in the wall for years, and it is some amazing Thai food. It is authentic, affordable and delicious. If you are a spice lover, you can order your food on a spiciness scale from 1-10. I have heard anything higher than an 8 is an “outer body experience”. I wish you luck.  Great for take out.

Lotus Thai Bistro
3050 Pio Pico Drive, Suite B, Carlsbad / 760-730-3345 / website
I stumbled across this place recently and have only eaten lunch here.  Everything I have tried I have loved.  Food is fresh, not too heavy and all dishes are extremely flavorful.  Great lunch specials.