Best Restaurants for Local Ingredients in University Heights

I had a phenomenal experience at Juniper and Ivy. I made a reservation for my wife’s birthday and once I got there they had valet service for 15$ which for Downtown SD isn’t bad at all. Upon arriving we waited at a very nice, comfortable lounge area by the bar while our table got ready. Once we were seated the server Andrew gave us greeted us phenomenally, remembered the request I made upon making the reservation and fulfilled it expertly. I had initially checked the restaurant’s menu online to have what I wanted to order planned and my only critique is that there was a good amount of menu items in the website that either weren’t available or had different prices however I still rated them 5 stars because all the issues I had related to the website were smoothly resolved by both the manager and the server which easily removed all potential problems both regarding price and the availability of menu items. The food was just as good as the service and I would highly recommend anyone visiting San Diego or looking for a quality dining experience. The price is on the high side but I refuse to call it expensive because the amount you pay is on par with the experience you receive and I will absolutely be dining there again in the future. In conclusion 10/10 to Juniper and Ivy and a special shoutout to the server Andrew and to Whatever manager was on the floor the night of 20Dec2024.

We had a party of 5.. some of the party was a little late, but the staff was very accommodating. It was the first.time.for all of us in the group, and the waitress was very helpful and assisted with each of our drink selections as well as our meals. The holiday decor was just right, festive but not overdone. The Blackberry Smash and Huckleberry Bourbon cocktails were the hot topic of the night. The food was A-Mazing!!! Porkchops were tender and cooked to perfection, the ravioli was not what was expected but lasted phenomenal and, of course, had to order the French oinon soup, which would be in my top two. No pictures.. we were in the moment enjoying the food and company.

One of the best meals we’ve ever had. We can’t wait to be back. We did the Mediterranean feast, it was 5 courses. The first course was dip trip with fresh out the oven pita that I could have made a whole meal off of. The baba ganoush was incredible. My husband doesn’t usually like it but it was his favorite of the dips. The second course was a yellowtail with a mild spice level that paired well. The third course was a potato pasta? It was delicious. Sometimes the descriptions of the course were hard to hear and read off fast. The next course was a crusted halibut & then finally a lemon meringue with coconut bark. I kept thinking the portions may be too small especially since my husband can eat a lot. But we both left more than full. I did the wine pairing with the meal & there wasn’t one that I didn’t like. I struggled to keep up throughout the meal & wasn’t able to finish the last glass but thoroughly enjoyed the experience here. The service was excellent. We had Connor and Aiden but everyone was very attentive.

Great service on a Wednesday, everyone was nice and they validated parking

The food was amazingly fresh. Overall a great experience.