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13 San Diego Happy Hours to Try Right Now
Take advantage of longer days and hit a happy hour somewhere in San Diego whether you’re unwinding after work or just getting the night started. Find beer and margarita flights, cocktail specials, and bonafide deals on substantial snacks ranging from fresh oysters to tacos, ceviche, and sliders.
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
The breezy La Jolla Shores restaurant’s 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. happy hour is pleasingly robust, with $4 off draft beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and well drinks and an extensive list of food that includes menu favorites like Baja fish tacos, smashburgers, steamed mussels, and crispy shrimp.
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This casual neighborhood sister restaurant to La Jolla’s esteemed George’s at the Cove is just blocks from La Jolla Shores—in addition to being one of our fave spots for oysters in SD. Savor a leisurely dinner in the cozy indoor dining room and bar or on the outdoor patio near the fireplace. The kitchen is centered around fire grilling, which touches nearly every part of the menu. There are blistered shishito peppers and cast-iron focaccia to share, along with a house-made sausage platter, double-cut pork chop, and ricotta cavatelli, plus prime rib on Friday and Saturday. The cocktail menu leans toward the classics and spirit-forward, along with fun tropical favorites like Mai Tais and Coconut Lime Daiquiris, and there’s a compelling wine list from resident advanced sommelier Evan Vallee.
After a few pivots, Sandpiper has settled in comfortably in La Jolla Shores - The San Diego Union-Tribune
Over the past nine months, the restaurant space at 2259 Avenida de la Playa in La Jolla Shores has undergone many changes, including a new name, a new concept and look, a chef change and newly expanded hours of service.
But judging from the happy and locals-heavy crowds turning out these days at Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters, as well as the quality of the food and service I experienced on a recent visit, the need for change is done. Sandpiper has become a hometown favorite and a hidden gem for visitors like myself from outside the La Jolla area, with free parking and walk-ins cheerfully accepted. Read the Full Article
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Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
The relaxed, upscale restaurant brings fresh oysters to La Jolla Shores along with a flexible menu that includes wood-grilled meats like California squab, prime rib, and double-cut pork chops and accompanying sides.
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Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
Must Order: Prime Rib California Burrito
Trey Foshee is one of the best chefs who gives a damn (about local farms, about sustainability, about flavor), and this is his team’s offshoot of George’s at the Cove. New chef Marty Fay is overseeing the oysters-and-woodsmoke concept. Far more casual than George’s, but still in La Jolla, with the same topnotch purveyors. The Prime Rib California Burrito is the breakout star, but don’t sleep on that corn cake—the vessel of vessels, fluffy and savory-sweet, topped with ham, Swiss, and a fried egg.
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The latest concept from chef and owner Trey Foshee is the casual neighborhood sister restaurant to La Jolla’s esteemed George’s at the Cove and just blocks from La Jolla Shores—in addition to being one of our fave spots for oysters in SD. Savor a leisurely dinner in the cozy indoor dining room and bar or on the outdoor patio near the fireplace. Executive chef Marty Fay’s kitchen is centered around fire grilling, which touches nearly every part of the menu. There’s luscious grilled bone marrow, blistered shishito peppers, and cast-iron focaccia to share along with a house-made sausage platter, double-cut pork chop, and braised veal cheeks, plus prime rib on Friday and Saturday for mains. The cocktail menu leans toward the classics and spirit-forward, along with fun tropical favorites like Mai Tais and Coconut Lime Daiquiris, and there’s an extensive wine list from resident advanced sommelier Evan Vallee.
Poway native is one of few advanced sommeliers in San Diego
Poway native Evan Vallee will never forget the “ah-ha” moment, as they call it in the industry, with a bottle of wine. It was a Chateauneuf-du-pape. It was very complex, and he could smell the different fruits along with earth and tea leaves.
“It had a really unique taste to it,” he said.
That was the wine that he first could taste all of the nuances and he knew he had stumbled onto something special.
Vallee serves as the beverage director and general manager of Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters in La Jolla. It is the sister restaurant to the famous Georges at the Cove.
He is one of only 10 advanced sommeliers in San Diego. He has been a sommelier since 2008. To be an advanced sommelier, one must pass a test including theory, tasting and wine service.
When asked why wine is his passion, Vallee said it might be in his blood.
“My dad is French — maybe that had something to do with it,” he said. “I just got the bug as they call it.”
Vallee has worked in a number of San Diego-area restaurants, including The Grand Del Mar. He then moved to San Francisco for a while where he started at Wayfair Tavern as beverage director. Then he went to Gary Danko, which is a Michelin Star winner.
He later returned home to San Diego. He grew up in Poway.
Vallee said he doesn’t really have a go-to wine other than “something delicious.” He usually starts a meal with champagne or a wine with bubbles of some sort and then moves on to red.
“That’s the problem with education is you get expensive tastes,” he said.
But sometimes nothing beats a nice cold beer, he said.
His favorite region is Burgundy in France but he also appreciates California wines.
“We have it all right here,” he said. “Now, you can find any kind of grape in California.”
Sandpiper chef Trey Foshee, the nationally known chef who founded Georges and Sandpiper, said Vallee is professional and extremely knowledgeable.
“The list that he put together makes a lot of sense for what we’re doing,” Foshee said.
Foshee said Vallee is able to explain his thought process and guide diners into something unique.
“He was like the perfect fit,” he said.
Vallee’s favorite part of the job is the interaction of making new pairings. His overall goal is to create a memorable experience for customers. One of his favorite pairings is Sandpiper’s grilled trout with a Spanish wine.
“It’s definitely a fabulous pairing,” he added. “I think we created something really special.”
Fabulous People: Marty Fay
Marty Fay was recently named the executive chef of Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters, considered to be one of the hottest restaurants in La Jolla. “The menu features a variety of fun, shareable items from a custom-designed wood-fired grill and oyster bar, along with desserts from Georges at the Cove pastry chef, Aly Lyng.” Learn about Marty Fay…
Hometown: Bel Air, Maryland
First job: I worked as a dishwasher an old sports bar in Bel Air called Half Pints. My first cooking job was as the opener at Open Door Café, a brunch/lunch eatery in Bel Air.
Favorite ways to spend your free time in CA: I recently got certified for scuba diving so I have been out in the beautiful Pacific Ocean most of my free time. I came face-to-face with a seal, literally. I didn’t even realize how big they can be.
Your biggest accomplishment and why: Moving out to California and getting settled here in San Diego is my biggest accomplishment. Re-establishing myself after stepping out of my network was quite challenging, but getting the opportunity to work with a nationally-known chef like Trey Foshee made the move all the more worth it.
The biggest obstacle you overcame: I feel my biggest obstacle was moving around from city to city and restaurant to restaurant. I think we all seek to settle down somewhere eventually, and fortunately I have found a place I know I want to be for a long, long time.
Someone who inspires you and why: My old chef Michael Pagliarini at Benedetto in Boston because his sourcing of sustainable food was inspiring. I worked with him for four and a half years – from the Benedetto concept’s inception to its ultimate end. That was the most influential restaurant I worked at in my young career.
Advice to someone pursuing a career path in what you do: Stay humble and listen to everyone. Be willing to go anywhere as well.
Favorite quote: “What you feel like eating at any given moment is what you should have.” –Spanish chef, Ferran Adrià
Something someone would be surprised to learn about you: I used to spend my summers as a teenager outside of Calgary drilling and repairing water wells.
What makes someone fabulous: Someone who sets high standards and becomes who they want to be.
Where to Eat Thanksgiving Dinner in San Diego This Year
From La Jolla to Encinitas, Thrillist shares 15 of San Diego’s best restaurants to get your Turkey Day fix.
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters, the La Jolla Shores sister restaurant to Trey Foshee’s Georges at the Cove, will be serving an á la carte Thanksgiving dinner featuring two delectable entrées—Slow-Roasted Turkey Breast or Slow-Roasted Prime Rib, served with gravy and cranberry sauce. Sides include all the classics: cornbread and house-made Sausage Stuffing, Smoked Turkey Collard Greens, Candied Yams, Sharp Cheddar Baked Mac and Cheese, and Parker House rolls, and Aly’s Pecan Pie for dessert. Sandpiper’s regular menu of wood-fired entrees and raw and cooked seafood will also be available, in case you want a non-traditional feast. Sandpiper is also offering a limited number of Thanksgiving meals to-go that serve four people, including Slow-Roasted Turkey Breast with gravy, cranberry sauce, cornbread, house-made Sausage Stuffing, Smoked Turkey Collard Greens, Candied yams, Sharp Cheddar Baked Macaroni and Cheese, and Parker House rolls. Slow-Roasted Prime Rib and Aly’s Brown Butter Apple Crumb Pie can be added at an additional cost. Call to order at 858-228-5655 by Tuesday, November 22 for pickup on Thanksgiving Day.
The Best Oyster Bars in San Diego
Thrillist shares the scoop on how to order, pairing tips and getting the best bang for your buck, with a list of their favorite places to sip, slurp and chomp San Diego’s finest oysters.
Chilled or grilled, San Diego’s oyster bars have you covered.
Landing in the spot that most recently housed Galaxy Taco, Trey Foshee and the team from George’s at the Cove’s latest venture is Sandpiper, a casual neighborhood spot headed by Galaxy’s Christine Rivera. Dressed in Bullwhip hot sauce, mignonette, and lemon, a half-dozen oysters goes for $18, a dozen for $34. Stop by during happy hour from 4-5:30 pm when the price drops to $2 per oyster, or order a bottle of Champagne and get a dozen on the house.
George’s team opens Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters in La Jolla Shores
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the opening of Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
Chef-owner Trey Foshee says new eatery is a better fit for the times than the previous concept, Galaxy Cantina.
Seven months after closing their upscale taqueria Galaxy Cantina & Grill in La Jolla Shores, owners George Hauer and chef Trey Foshee have revamped the space into a new concept that they believe will be a better fit for today’s economy.
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters opened in early June in the former Galaxy space at 2259 Avenida De La Playa. Sandpiper is a full-service, moderately priced restaurant that specializes in grilled meats, fresh oysters and an international selection of wines and Champagnes.
Executive chef Foshee — who with Hauer also owns George’s at the Cove restaurants in downtown La Jolla — said that the high cost of labor and ingredients made it economically unviable for Galaxy, which opened in 2015 and closed last November.
Even though everything was made from scratch with high-end meats and seafood at Galaxy, the concept was a hard sell with San Diegans, who are accustomed to cheap and plentiful Mexican food. Galaxy was one of a handful of local upscale Mexican restaurants — including El Jardín and Bracero Cocina de Raíz — that have have closed in recent years.
“We were and are really proud of what Galaxy was able to accomplish,” Foshee said. “It outlived a lot of high-end Mexican restaurants that opened during that time, and we sold a lot of masa to some of those places. We had a good run, and we had a lot of supporters. But it’s just the economics of the restaurant industry have changed, and they continue to change to the point that the level of lower-priced, full-service restaurants are going to have a hard time.”
Foshee said the solution for revamping the La Jolla Shores spaces wasn’t to downscale to a quick-service model because there are plenty of those restaurants in the area, and they had the room to do full sit-down service in the Galaxy space. Instead, Foshee said he and chef Christine Rivera came up with a mid-priced menu built around the kitchen facilities they have there and the styles of cuisine that weren’t available in the La Jolla Shores area.
After surveying the culinary scene, Foshee found there weren’t any restaurants in the vicinity that specialized in fresh oyster service. The space also has a Santa Maria-style grill which could be used for grilling beef, pork, seafood, chicken and vegetables over fragrant red oak. There are also a couple of Galaxy dishes that were so popular with guests that they’ve joined the Sandpiper menu. And George’s at the Cove pastry chef Aly Lyng has created several homestyle desserts for Sandpiper that include banana pudding, seasonal pie and a brownie sundae.
“It’s like an amalgam of what I was feeling was needed in the neighborhood,” he said.
Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays, with prime rib nights on Fridays and Saturdays. Weekend brunch service will be introduced on July 16. Some of the brunch specialties Foshee is considering are skillet corn cake, Taiwanese oyster omelets and prime rib California burrito.
George’s at the Cove Team Brings Oysters and Wood-Grilled Meats to La Jolla Shores
Eater San Diego reports on the opening of Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
Galaxy Taco reopens as Sandpiper
Newly landed at the gateway to La Jolla Shores and located just three blocks from its mile-long beachfront is Sandpiper, a reimagined neighborhood restaurant from the George’s at the Cove team who shuttered Galaxy Taco, their casual Mexican establishment, last fall after six and half years in the space.
Conceived by executive chef/partner Trey Foshee, the kitchen is still led by Eater Young Guns winner Christine Rivera with George’s at the Cove pastry chef Aly Lyng on dessert duty and advanced sommelier Evan Vallée (Huntress, Vino Carta) serving as general manager.
Open from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, Sandpiper has a newly-installed custom wood-fired grill and a menu that centers around sharable steakhouse-style plates like a maple-brined double-cut pork chop, 16-ounce ribeye, and California squab with porcini butter; slow-grilled prime rib will be available on weekends. Other dishes include salads, starters like steamed mussels and grilled bone marrow, and a few composed entrees.
This will also be one of the rare spots in the area to find raw oysters on the regular; drop in during its 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. happy hour and get a free dozen oysters with the purchase of a bottle of Champagne.
A couple of favorites from Galaxy Taco have transferred over, including grilled octopus and adobo-rubbed trout, and Rivera is still featuring heirloom blue corn — the focus of her artisanal masa program at Galaxy — in Sandpiper’s happy hour fish tacos and a hoe cake (cornbread) sweetened with matcha honey.