The 10 Best Restaurants In City Heights, San Diego

Sierra Brown

City Heights is a large neighborhood in San Diego known for its ethnic diversity. Its main streets include El Cajon Boulevard, University Avenue, and Fairmont Avenue along which there are various Hispanic, South Asian, South-east Asian, and North-east African businesses; we list 10 of the must-try restaurants here.

Steak Paillards with Scrambled Eggs at Bleu Bohème

1. Bleu Bohème

Restaurant, French, European, Gluten-free

This restaurant was designed to give customers a feel of France’s past generations. Bleu Bohème serves affordable French cuisine, consisting of traditional ingredients and meals with influences from all regions of France. The restaurant has friendly staff and the ambience is warm, with décor inspired by the French bohemian tradition.

2. Chiquita’s Mexican Restaurant

Restaurant, Mexican

This family-owned restaurant has been in business since 1967, serving both locals and visitors quality Mexican food. They pride themselves on customer favorites certified black angus beef and shrimp cocktail, as well as their delicious margaritas. Chiquita’s Mexican Restaurant has undergone small changes over their 48-year existence, but they’ve stayed committed to serving some of the best food in town.

3. Etna Pizza & Italian Grill

Restaurant, Italian

Etna
© Steel Wool/Flickr
Everyone has their go-to pizza parlors. For those visiting and living in City Heights, Etna Pizza & Italian Grill is that go-to place. Their variety of specialty pizzas isn’t the only thing customers love, they also serves soups, salads, pastas, sandwiches, chicken wings, and BBQ. The restaurant is also known for their grilled meals, like the greek style chicken dinner.

Red Sea Restaurant

Red Sea is one of the oldest authentic Ethiopian restaurants in San Diego. They offer their customers traditional Ethiopian food, allowing them to discover Ethiopian culinary art without traveling thousands of miles to Ethiopia. As well as their delicious dishes, Red Sea serve quality coffee. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, so it’s not a surprise that this restaurant serves good cups of Joe.

Address: 4717 University Ave, San Diego, CA, USA, +1 619-285-9722

4. Crispy Fried Chicken

Restaurant, Fast Food, Seafood

Crispy Fried Chicken
© Danny Baza Blas/Flickr
Crispy Fried Chicken is a restaurant which plenty of locals and visitors love. When you order their famous chicken, take your pick from white, dark, or a mix of both. In addition to their chicken and sides, they serve great appetizers and seafood combos. This is a laid-back and casual restaurant, great for family and friends to enjoy a meal together.

Canada Steak Burger

Canada Steak Burger has been serving great burgers for over 30 years. They serve nothing but quality food made with fresh ingredients. Their menu has expanded over the years, now including philly cheesesteaks, BBQ chicken and kebabs. Canada Steak Burger has been praised by local news stations. They cater for meetings, parties, and other special events.

Address: 3604 University Ave, San Diego, CA, USA, +1 619-283-4345

5. Maxim’s Seafood Restaurant

Restaurant, Seafood, Chinese

Kung Pao Chicken
© wEnDy/Flickr
Maxim’s Seafood Restaurant offers Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. For those who want to sit and enjoy their meal in the restaurant, the old-school décor creates a casual atmosphere. The restaurant’s extensive menu includes full meals, appetizers, soups, rice, and noodles. The combination platter dinners are a customers’ favorite.

6. Flavors of East Africa

Restaurant, African, Vegetarian

Fried Plantains
© Valerie Hinojosa/Flickr
The owner of this restaurant, who is originally from Kenya, takes pride in bringing a taste of Africa to San Diego. Realizing that a place for authentic East-African food didn’t exist in San Diego, he opened a catering business, and years later Flavors of East Africa has expanded and is a favorite among visitors.

7. Que Huong Restaurant

Restaurant, Vietnamese

Fish Sauce Chicken Wings
© Kirk K/Flickr
Que Huong Restaurant brings quality Vietnamese cuisine to City Heights. The staff are friendly, the ambiance is warm, and the décor is simple yet elegant. The restaurant offers a long list of unique Vietnamese meals including Hanoi style grilled snapper cake and marinated deer meat. One of the perks of this place is that their food is always cooked in the spot with fresh ingredients no matter the time of day.

8. Bertrand at Mister A’s

Restaurant, American, Vegetarian, Vegan

Bertrand at Mister A’s is one of the most elegant restaurants in San Diego and has consistently received good reviews and awards both locally and nationally. The restaurant serves American cuisine dishes with French and Mediterranean influences. The food is not the only impressive aspect of this restaurant: at Bertrand at Mister A’s customers can dine while enjoying beautiful views of the San Diego skyline.

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