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The house specialty is mole sauce, which accompanies several meat dishes in this well-regarded restaurant.

Tijuanans and tourists have been coming here for years for its excellent seafood. Fish is prepared with plenty of garlic and butter, and they serve abalone from special farms.

A charming plant-filled and tiled hacienda offers gourmet choices such as shrimp chile rellenos , cactus salad, and seafood.

A charming old hacienda and garden offers an excellent selection of international and Mexican cuisine, such as baby goat, roasted quail, and Châteaubriand.

The Spanish Mission-style dining room features mesquite-grilled meats, quail, and chicken filets. Breakfast here is one of the most popular in town.

Sitting in the hotel’s lobby lounge amid Spanish mosaics, hand-painted ceilings and murals, red-tiled floors and huge palms is like being in a Spanish palace. Order a drink and gaze out at the ocean; a pianist performs in the evening. On sunny days, take advantage of the outside tables.

For an elegant dinner before the theater or symphony, the southern French and Mediterranean cuisine here is hard to beat. The menu changes according to the season, but you’ll always find popular dishes such as Provençal chicken roasted in a clay pot and cassoulet. The wine cellar holds 800 selections with an emphasis on French Rhône wines.

Named after the character in Anne Rice’s best-selling vampire novels, this café serves excellent coffee and pastries 24 hours a day. In the heart of increasingly hip Normal Heights, local bands entertain in the evening. Bring your laptop to enjoy a free wireless Internet connection.

If you’re looking for a place to use your laptop, try this hip coffeehouse in upscale La Jolla. Grab a back table to enjoy that million-dollar view.

Owned by an ex-Navy SEAL, the pub and its large outside patio are enormously popular with Coronado’s military. A pint of Guinness is a good choice to accompany traditional pub grub such as Mulligan stew and corned beef, and the occasional Mexican dish. Enjoy the live local entertainment.