Best Restaurants Open on Monday in San Diego 2026
Published · Updated
Monday thins out San Diego's dining map. Three-star Addison and Bib Gourmand Callie both close. But Little Italy keeps its lights on, with a steakhouse, a Richard Blais kitchen and an oyster bar all running, plus a Point Loma trattoria. These are five tables confirmed open this Monday, with real hours and the order to make.
On a San Diego Monday, Little Italy leads: Born & Raised, Juniper & Ivy, Herb & Wood and Ironside Fish & Oyster, with Cesarina in Point Loma. Addison and Callie are closed.
A Monday in San Diego rules out two of the city's marquee tables right away: three-Michelin-star Addison and the Bib Gourmand Callie both close. The good news is that Little Italy, the city's densest dining strip, barely notices. A steakhouse, a Richard Blais flagship, a Mediterranean room and an oyster bar all run on Monday, and Point Loma adds a beloved trattoria. Below are five restaurants we confirmed are open this Monday, each with its real hours, a dish to order, and who it suits.
Born & Raised
Steakhouse · Little Italy · Monday 4:30pm–10pm
Born & Raised is San Diego's glossiest steakhouse, an Art Deco room in Little Italy with white-jacketed servers, tableside carving and a rooftop bar. It opens for dinner Monday from 4:30pm to 10pm and is MICHELIN Guide listed. Order a dry-aged ribeye and the steak Diane finished tableside, and start with a cocktail upstairs if the rooftop is open. It is the Monday pick for a celebration or a client dinner that needs polish, and because it runs a Monday happy hour from 3pm, it doubles as a smart early-evening stop. Reserve through OpenTable.
Juniper & Ivy
New American · Little Italy · Monday 5pm–9pm
Juniper & Ivy is chef Richard Blais's San Diego flagship, a high-ceilinged Little Italy room serving inventive New American cooking, open Monday from 5pm to 9pm. It carries a MICHELIN Guide listing and a long reputation as the city's most creative kitchen. Order broadly from the seasonal plates and save room for the playful desserts. It is the Monday pick for a diner who wants ambition and a little theatre without a three-hour tasting commitment, and the chef's counter is the seat to request. Book through Resy a few days ahead, because it stays busy even at the start of the week.
Herb & Wood
Mediterranean · Little Italy · Monday 5pm–9pm
Herb & Wood is chef Brian Malarkey's Mediterranean room a block from Juniper & Ivy, built around an open hearth and a leafy courtyard, and it opens Monday from 5pm to 9pm. It is MICHELIN Guide listed and one of the most handsome dining rooms in the city. Order the wood-fired pizzas and a hearth-cooked main, and ask for a table in the courtyard. It is the Monday pick for a date or a relaxed group dinner that wants atmosphere over formality, and it sits close enough to the other Little Italy rooms to fold into a longer evening. Book through OpenTable.
Ironside Fish & Oyster
Seafood and oysters · Little Italy · Monday 11:30am–10pm
Ironside Fish & Oyster is Little Italy's raw bar and seafood room, a striking space lined with piranha skulls and a long oyster counter, open Monday from 11:30am to 10pm, the widest window on this list. The Monday happy hour from 3pm brings dollar oysters and cheap ceviche, which makes it the value play of the night. Order oysters on the half shell, a seafood tower and the ceviche. It is the Monday pick for a casual, all-day seafood meal or a long lunch, and the bar takes walk-ins when the dining room is booked. Reserve the dining room ahead for a group.
Cesarina
Italian trattoria · Point Loma · Monday 12pm–3pm, 4pm–9:30pm
Cesarina is the Point Loma trattoria locals send you to for pasta, a warm family room where the dough is rolled in-house and the menu changes with what the kitchen finds. It runs both Monday lunch and dinner, 12pm to 3pm and 4pm to 9:30pm, so it covers the whole day off the Little Italy strip. Order whatever pasta the kitchen is pushing and finish with tiramisu. It is the Monday pick for a relaxed, well-priced dinner away from downtown, and the value here is the best on this list, so it suits a low-key night that still eats well. Reserve dinner; lunch takes walk-ins.
Booking a Monday table in San Diego
San Diego handles Monday better than most fine-dining cities because so much of its best eating clusters in walkable Little Italy, where the independents run seven days. Born & Raised, Juniper & Ivy, Herb & Wood and Ironside are within a few blocks of each other along India and Kettner, so a Monday crawl is easy. Reserve the steakhouse and the Blais room through OpenTable or Resy; the oyster bar and the Point Loma trattoria take walk-ins more readily early in the evening. Happy hours run Monday at several of these, a quiet-night bonus. Tipping is 20 percent.
Frequently asked questions
What restaurants are open on Monday in San Diego?
Plenty, especially in Little Italy. Born & Raised, Juniper & Ivy, Herb & Wood and Ironside Fish & Oyster all open Monday, and Cesarina in Point Loma runs lunch and dinner. The bigger closures are three-Michelin-star Addison and the Bib Gourmand Callie, both dark on Monday. See our full San Diego dining guide for the rest of the week.
Is Addison open on Monday?
No. Addison, San Diego's only three-Michelin-star restaurant, is closed on both Sunday and Monday. The Bib Gourmand Callie also closes Monday. For a high-end Monday meal, the strongest options are the steak at Born & Raised or the New American tasting plates at Juniper & Ivy, both MICHELIN Guide listed and both open.
Where should I eat in Little Italy on a Monday?
Little Italy is the answer to a San Diego Monday. Within a few blocks you have Born & Raised for steak, Juniper & Ivy for inventive New American, Herb & Wood for Mediterranean, and Ironside for oysters, all open Monday. Several run Monday happy hours from 3pm, so you can graze across two or three rooms in one walkable evening.
What time do San Diego restaurants open on Monday?
It varies. Ironside opens earliest at 11:30am and runs to 10pm, and Cesarina serves lunch from noon. The dinner-focused rooms open later: Born & Raised at 4:30pm, Juniper & Ivy and Herb & Wood at 5pm. Several add a Monday happy hour from 3pm, so confirm whether you want a late lunch, happy hour or a full dinner before you book.
Do San Diego restaurants close on Monday?
Some of the marquee names do, including Addison and Callie, because Monday is the standard rest day for tasting-menu kitchens. But San Diego fares better than most cities because its best casual-luxury rooms cluster in Little Italy and run seven days. If you want a specific restaurant, call ahead, but a strong Monday dinner is easy to find here.
Hours change. We confirmed every Monday service listed here against each restaurant's own published schedule before publishing; call ahead on public holidays. Affiliate links may earn Restaurants for Kings a commission at no cost to you.