Oceanside Food + Drink Worth Seeking

Farm Oceanside

Cyclops Farms, from Luke Girling, provides produce to leading local restaurants.

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Oceanside is a tight-knit seaside community near Camp Pendleton in North County San Diego that welcomes a mix of Marines, locals, surfers, and tourists. The city provided the backdrop for “Top Gun” and still displays a maverick, indie spirit. Discover 12 places you must eat or drink when visiting the beach city, listed in alphabetical order.

Privateer Coal Fire Pizza

Oceanside native Charlie Anderson previously worked for Trans World Media and partnered with Hector Reyna on Privateer Coal Fire Pizza. Anderson joked that Privateer was a 7-Eleven when he was a kid and his friends stole candy bars. Now the space features a big patio with sail-shaped shade, booths and wood picnic tables inside. A geometric bar touts 10 beer taps that empty into refurbished urinal from Palmquist Elementary School. During my lunch, an art wall hosted boxes decorated by kids from Lincoln Middle School, who also grow cilantro for the restaurant. Chef Stephen Reyna (Hector’s son) attended Culinary Institute of America and worked at Delfina and now works closely with Luke Girling of Oceanside’s Cyclops Farms on seasonal specials. Signature pies are named for local businesses like RAEN (sunglasses), Captain Fin, and Chemistry. Brixton Pie, named for an apparel brand, was a smoky pizza with tomato, Grana Padano, lemon zest ricotta and pepperoni. Marinated Brussels sprouts are shaved and join arugula, lemon zest, tangy lemon vinaigrette, and ricotta crostini. Spicy Cauliflower incorporates punchy pepperoncini, capers, and more. Adjacent Privateer Marketplace & Wine Bar opened in 2016 featuring sandwiches and wine-friendly small plates, house-churned gelato, a coffee bar, and locally sourced desserts.

MUST ORDER: Brixton Pie, Marinated Brussels, Spicy Cauliflower

10. Red Rooster

Hamburger Oceanside

Red Rooster has been located north of the 5 freeway, now by a train station, for about 60 years. The dive bar sports a stylish rooster logo and contains an L-shaped wood bar, high-top tables, rooster memorabilia, NFL pennants, pool table and trophies. Sara Black took over in 2005. During my visit, a single bartender/cook presided over the smoky grill. Their half-pound Rooster Burger was a classic, featuring good char, American cheese, grilled onions and Ortega chilies. They also sell French fries, onion rings, frings, chicken wings, corn dogs, and a “mother clucker” sandwich.

MUST ORDER: Half Pound Rooster Burger

Revolution Roasters

Coffee Oceanside

Mariah Scheibe and husband Dan launched Revolution Roasters in Leucadia and expanded to Oceanside in 2016. The stylish space features a covered patio, roll-up garage door, white walls lined with a column of four oars, a stuffed wild boar head, caged air plants, exposed wood rafters. The coffee program includes a two-group Synesso espresso machine, brewed coffee, and cold brew. Their motto – Coffee Culture Craft – is on display with beverages and an ambitious toast program. I enjoyed a specialty beverage called Cranberry Spritzer 2.0, a tangy blend of cold brew, cranberry reduction, sparkling water, simple syrup, and rosemary garnish, served on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass.

MUST ORDER: Standard Coffee Drinks, Cranberry Spritzer 2.0

Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub

Seafood Oceanside

Wrench & Rodent Seabasstropub has a kooky name, but chef Davin Waite and front of house (and life) partner Jessica Waite turn out ambitious food at the sushi bar that adjoins their sister restaurant, The Whet Noodle. A green facade gives way to a fun and funky setting that includes a Johnny Cash surfboard, swordfish wearing a Christmas wreath, and Unicorn Xing sign. Menu categories include Things, Unorthodox Nigiri & Sashimi, More Things, House Rolls, and nightly Wrench & Rodent Specials. A sushi checklist includes some local options, plus the opportunity to contrast NZ and Scottish salmon. Some of Waite’s most inspired preparations skip rice entirely. Rosy seared Baja tuna bathes in uni butter sauce. Fish rib karaage features flaky white fish with light, crispy coats that pull easily from toothpick-like ribs. Silky scallop carpaccio joins jalapeño, lemon oil, sea salt, apple, and Cyclops Farms black tomato. Fat-rich sea bream arrives in pink-white curls with greens, smoked soy, and lemon oil. Lionfish, an invasive species, is alternately deep-fried and served as sashimi. Sweet, fatty, Japanese yellowtail belly joins oranges from a nearby yard. Waite even makes swordfish belly pastrami in-house, plating with habanero blackberry sauce, spicy backyard arugula and strawberries.

MUST ORDER: Fish Rib Karaage, NZ Salmon Sushi, Scottish Salmon Sushi, Spicy Scallop Carpaccio, Swordfish Belly Pastrami, Sea Bream Sashimi

Thank you SpringHill Suites Marriott Oceanside for hosting a two-night stay in 2017.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

Going out to oceanside restaurants is my idea of a pleasurable dining experience. Tybee Island and its restaurants piqued my curiosity in dining out (https://visittybee.com/list/waterfront-restaurants-tybee-island/). Have you been there before? I promise to you, it will make you want to go out and eat outside!

We go out every Friday nite for HH, like drinks, at a good price, and draft beer. We usually order Happy Hour appitizers, as we are not big eaters. Let us know where they are, we live in Oceanside, Ca. So far best apps and drink specials have been Jolly Roger at the bar.

So many amazing finds. We are definitely using this as a foodie tour guide. Hitting each one of these incredible suggestions will undoubtedly leave us with very happy bellies. Thanks for sharing.

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