23 San Diego County Restaurants Earn 2021 Wine Spectator Awards

SAN DIEGO, CA — Coronavirus has brought unique and unprecedented challenges to restaurants across San Diego County. Despite the hardships, at 23 eateries were still able to shine in the last year, earning a 2021 Restaurant Award from Wine Spectator magazine.

The annual Restaurant Awards honor excellence in restaurant wine lists, as well as those who have demonstrated passion and devoted extensive resources to creating outstanding wine programs. This year’s awards are featured in the Aug. 31 issue of Wine Spectator.

The list typically gives us a generous glimpse at the best spots in San Diego County. This year, some 23 restaurants in the county earned the coveted nod from Wine Spectator, many boasting reasonably priced wines from across the Golden State, Argentina, France, Mexico, Spain and Italy.

The following eateries received the Wine Spectator 2021 Restaurant Award:

1. The Wine Sellar & Brasserie
2. Truluck's
3. Nine-Ten
4. The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar
5. Eddie V's Prime Seafood (San Diego)
6. Seasons 52
7. The Marine Room
8. The Fishery
9. Solare Ristorante
10. Stake Chophouse & Bar
11. Coasterra
12. Island Prime
13. II Fornaio Cucina Italiana
14. Mister A's
15. Juniper and Ivy
16. Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse
17. Eddie V's Prime Seafood (La Jolla)
18. Morton's The Steakhosue
19. Fogo de Chao
20. STK
21. A.R. Valentien
22. Paon Restaurant & Wine Bar
23. Firenze Tratoria

More than 2,900 restaurants in 50 states and 72 countries and territories earned awards this year. The awards are given across three categories: Award of Excellence, Best of Award of Excellence and Grand Award.

The Grand Award is Wine Spectator’s most prestigious honor, given to the world’s most elite wine programs. Read profiles of all 100 current Grand Award winners.

Typically, recipients of the Grand Award offer at least 1,000 or more wine selections, showcasing “immense depth and breadth of regions, producers, vintages and bottle formats.” All Grand Award winners must also pass a rigorous inspection of their restaurants, including the wine cellars.

Just one restaurant in San Diego County, Addison, was crowned with the Grand Award this year. The eatery, run by chef William Bradley, offers cuisine with seasonal and locally sourced ingredients to pair with top-quality wines from regions including Burgundy and across the Golden State, according to Wine Spectator.

Three new restaurants won the Grand Award this year: Brennan's in New Orleans, Le Bernardin in New York and SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, California.