8 Places You Must Go To in North County San Diego

With the opening of Skye Apartments March of 2016, we couldn’t help but shine some light on the beautiful area that is the North County Nirvana of San Diego.  North County runs from Del Mar up to Oceanside on the coast and into Vista and Escondido on the east side. For this special roundup, we’re focusing our eyes on Vista and Oceanside, the home of Skye. There’s plenty of things to do in this area, everything from surfing to hiking to cycling to your favorite North County brewery. Potential Skye residents, we hope you take advantage of the delightful entertainment this up and coming area has to offer. There’s a plethora of places to eat, drink, and be merry.  In fact, we haven’t even scratched the surface. Enjoy!

Master’s Kitchen & Cocktail You can’t get much more Californian than palm trees against a pink-streaked sunset sky.  And Masters in Oceanside, knows that…hence the enticingly large photo that you can’t help but gaze at when you come to their site.  Of course, if you’re familiar with North County San Diego, then you know this is the real deal…it really does looks like this!  Imagine yourself cruising down the coast and what do you come across?  Master’s California Dining, located in a former automotive shop of a beautifully historic building built in 1938.  With a menu of small plates, cheese boards and specialty cocktails, this is a great place to eat, drink, and be merry in North County.

Wrench & Rodent  The name may not be appetizing or even indicative of the menu, but do not be fooled.  This is a sushi bar and a hidden little gem at that.  Located on the South Coast Highway in Oceanside is a little eclectic, British punk themed eatery that produces local and sustainable sushi creations such as The Hedgehog with shrimp tempura and krab inside, topped with seared yellow-tail, roasted garlic, truffle oil, salt and pepper…yum.  For you vegetarians out there, Wrench & Rodent even has an entirely plant based sushi roll section including the Chef Choice Veggie Roll and Patrick the Great with sweet potato, avocado and sweet lime.  And an itty bitty craft brew bar to boot.

Mother Earth Brewery In case you’re not familiar with the craft beer movement or San Diego for that matter, let us tie it all together for you.  San Diego county has commonly been called the Craft Beer Capitol of the World.  And North County is home to a lot of breweries.  You might call Mother Earth the goddess of breweries in North County. Located in a beautiful brick building in up and coming downtown Vista, this brewery has been noted with bringing some vibrancy into the once sleepy area. Known for their award-winning Sin Tax Imperial Peanut Butter Stout and local favorite, Cali’ Creamin’ Vanilla Cream Ale, you may want to make a day out visiting their Tap House and the surrounding historical downtown.  They’re dog-friendly too.

Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen One of the most well known and popular restaurants in Oceanside, we just had to add it to our list.  Luckily for our Skye residents, they just opened up a Vista location as well.  This artisanal joint is known for being part of the Slow Food movement and their cuisine is heavy on farm to table ingredients like local beets, citrus, and winter squash among many others.  Of course, if you’re in the mood for something with a little more sustenance to it, they have a long laundry list menu of delicious and decadent sounding items like Duroc Southern Style Pork Schnitzel, Braised Beef Short Ribs, and a Bourbon Butter Pecan Gelato Sundae…and Gravy Fries in Vista! Each location has a different menu so check their website before you go.

Succulent Cafe Want to go somewhere pretty to have a coffee?  You should go to Succulent Cafe. This place is almost too cute for words. This place almost feels like a fairy tale.  There’s just way too much beautiful green and colorful succulents planted in crafty DIY containers against brick walls and earthy wooden backgrounds, we can hardly stand it…in a good way. Succulent Cafe is a good place to go to take the edge off, chat with friends or just to witness some major succulent beauties in person. They have the usual list of coffee and latte drinks, but some that stand out are the Spanish Mocha, Hot White Chocolate and Hazelnut Latte.

Stone World Bistro is a must see in North County. Probably the most well known brewery of San Diego, this place has it all; really good beer, great food, an amazing outside area and brewery tours. There’s just no way to get around it, there’s a reason this place is always jammin’ on the weekends.  Stone might also be the perfect place to stop for a post hike beer, given its location to many popular trails in eastern North County. If you can make it mid-day during the middle of the week, you’ll be delighted at just how quiet it can be…so quiet you can enjoy their latest Enjoy By beer and actually read a book. And just wait until it’s dark, when sparkling lights take over the trees, making the outside look almost magical…that’s it, take us back now please.

The Yellow Deli  You can’t do a North County eat, drink, and be merry list and not include the enigmatic Yellow Deli. Yes, this place could be described as a mystery. The inside looks like something out of Swiss Family Robinson at Disneyland and it has the most odd hours, open at noon on Sunday to Friday at 3pm.  That’s right, they’re closed most of the weekend and they’re open 24 hours the rest of the time. The Yellow Deli is run by a commune of the “First Church”, which adds to its puzzling appeal.  Not to mention, the food is amazing organic goodness.  Combine that with its storybook aesthetic, no wonder this place continues to be a North County must see…and eat.

Hello Betty Does anything sound better than hanging out at a rooftop lounge on a sunny coastal day? We think not.  Especially when it’s a waterfront eatery like Hello Betty, located in Oceanside.  Mexican/Californian seafood cuisine is the star of this seaside grill with items like tacos with locally made tortillas, Cuervo oyster shooters, and a very nice selection of cocktail & ceviche just begging to be ordered. The rooftop lounge is ‘sit where you like, first come first serve’ style with absolutely gorgeous views of the Pacific Ocean. Picture yourself sitting in the sun, slight breeze in your hair and an Oceanside Yacht Club cocktail in your hand made with Hangar One Buddha’s Hand Vodka, Lime, Cointreau, Orgeat and Almond Syrup! If there’s one place you’ll want to be come summertime in North County, it’s at Hello Betty.