The Gluten Free Baking Company in San Diego is a dedicated gluten-free bakery in Hillcrest, opened February 2020 with a vegan and gluten-free pastry program, cakes a speciality.
Tip: Pre-order cakes for pickup at BCB Cafe on University Avenue; The GF Collective handles the Clairemont facility. Check social before visiting; bakery operates limited hours.
Address: 1010 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92103
Kabob House in San Diego is a Broadway fully-halal Mediterranean counter, with shawarma, sheesh tawook, gyros and falafel served Arabic and Greek style, certified halal.
Tip: All meat certified halal; alcohol served on premises. Lunch specials are the value pick; the lamb shawarma plate is the menu anchor.
Aladdin in Hillcrest is San Diego's fully-halal Lebanese room on University Avenue, certified halal with mezze, shawarma, kebabs and Lebanese-Mediterranean classics.
Tip: All food certified halal; alcohol served on premises. The mezze platter for two is the strongest table share; lamb shawarma anchors the menu.
Hamitbach in Mission Valley is San Diego's kosher Mediterranean and Israeli street-food kitchen, opened 2023, certified by Vaad Harabanim of San Diego.
Tip: Closed Saturday for Shabbat; Friday 10am-3pm only. The shawarma, sabich and Yemenite breads are the menu anchors. Family-friendly room, customisable bowls.
Kindred in San Diego's South Park is a Victorian-gothic vegan cocktail salon and restaurant since 2015, the city's most distinctive plant-based room, with inventive cocktails.
Tip: Death-metal soundtrack and gothic decor are the room's signature; reservations recommended weekends. Late-night vegan kitchen, full bar.
Donna Jean in San Diego is Roy Elam's rustic plant-based Italian room on El Cajon Boulevard, voted Best Vegan Restaurant by local press, with seasonal Italian comfort food.
Tip: Closed Tuesdays; dinner six nights, brunch Saturday and Sunday 11am-3pm. The wood-fired vegan pizzas are the canonical order, plus seasonal pastas.
Trilogy Sanctuary in La Jolla is the rooftop vegan and organic cafe atop the Girard Avenue yoga studio, with 100 percent plant-based plates, pizzas, smoothies and ocean views.
Tip: Boho-chic rooftop with ocean views; the raw lasagna and acai bowls are the strongest plates. Options gluten-free, soy-free, refined-sugar free.