Essential Late Night Dining Guide in San Diego, CA
What’s the best place to grab a bite after dark in San Diego? While San Diego is known for year-round sunshine, the real culinary fun begins once the sun goes down. We checked out the best late-night restaurants in this SoCal hot spot! Take a look at the eight best restaurants for late-night eats in San Diego.
Werewolf
627 Fourth Avenue, San Diego, CA
(619) 234-0094
This American pub is the best place to be an American werewolf in California! Werewolf hosts karaoke from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays. It’s also open from 8:00 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week! Highlights from the menu include pork belly BBQ nachos, wonton sliders, and the bourbon bacon burger. We loved the way the friendly staff at Werewolf took care of our every need!
Pelicana Chicken
7767 Balboa Avenue, San Diego, CA
(858) 278-2167
You don’t need to be the early bird to get the best at Pelicana chicken! While “late birds” can dine here from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. on weekdays, true night owls can stay even later when hours extend to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s all about the spicy sauces at Pelicana. The restaurant’s famous nine-piece and 18-piece plates of fried wings come with a total of seven sauce options that range from mild to wild. While the wings were some of the best in San Diego, we were pleasantly surprised by the sides here, too. We promise this is the only place where you’ll find, shaken fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, cheese balls, gangjung, ddukbokki, sea snail salad, stir-fried chicken gizzard, cheese buldak, and twisted donuts on the same menu!
The Fire Spot
4646 Convoy Street, Suite 108, San Diego, CA
(858) 737-4135
Open until 12 a.m. daily, the Fire Spot is the best place for Chinese and Korean barbeque after dark in San Diego. We’re talking about a robust assortment of spicy meats! Our personal favorites from the menu ended up being the black pepper rib finger meat, sliced beef brisket, braised beef noodle and corn cheese. The spicy beef soup also gets honorable mention as a great appetizer.
Thang Thang
7905 Engineer Road, San Diego, CA
(858) 569-1582
Open from 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily, Thang Thang is perfect for those times when a late-night craving for Korean fried chicken kicks in! Our table found that the sweet chili wings more than hit the spot. We also couldn’t have been happier with our starter choice of steam dumplings. The sole vegetarian at our table reported that her sundubu plate consisting of curdled tofu with vegetables was delish!
Fortunate Son
2943 Adams Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 391-3766
We felt very fortunate to discover that Fortunate Son was aglow with activity when we stopped in for a bite after 10 p.m. on a weeknight. This popular noodle house is open until 11:30 p.m. nightly. We loved the way it was so easy to order a table full of food to share. Our picks from the menu include the fried rice, walnut shrimp, dumplings, and crab rangoon. There are many naturally gluten-free items on the menu here!
Fairplay
4026 30th Street, San Diego, CA
(619) 269-3222
Open until 12 a.m. seven days a week, Fairplay offers great eats in a bar-like atmosphere. The nice thing about this place is that you can order pints and pitchers for the whole crew. You’ll also find plenty of screens for catching the big sporting event of the night. While the menu is full of classics, it was the pork melt with fries that ultimately earned our vote for the yummiest surprise. The salmon salad came in at a close second. Of course, we had to order the fried pickles to share.
Dave’s Hot Chicken
1001 Garnet Avenue, San Diego, CA
(858) 369-5212
Dave’s Hot Chicken stays up later than just about any restaurant in San Diego! While the regular closing time at 1 a.m. is good enough to satisfy any late-night craving, a closing time that pushes to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays is more than appreciated after a late night around the city. We easily understood why people are so obsessed with this chicken after digging into our chicken tender sandwiches served with fries, pickles, and that famous Dave’s sauce. What makes each meal here so spectacular is that you get to choose your heat level. The options of no spice, lite mild, mild, medium, hot, extra hot, and reaper truly offer something for every taste!
The Asian Bistro
414 University Avenue, San Diego, CA
(858) 727-3070
The Asian Bistro is open from 4 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It closes at 12:30 a.m. the rest of the week. Stepping into this restaurant is like walking into a wonderland of Asian fusion! The freshness is undeniable when biting into the spring rolls, crispy rolls, garlic edamame, satay, and cheesy wontons. The only issue we could find with this restaurant is that it was almost heartbreaking to choose just one or two things to eat from such a robust, tantalizing menu. Who can pick between such flavorful options for curry, fried rice, noodles, and wok meals? Ultimately, it was a ginger rice soup that was followed up with drunken noodles that won! The Asian Bistro also lets you build your own noodle plate.
For more recommendations on where to eat and drink in the city, check out our San Diego page, here!
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