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Callie Restaurant

Name: Callie Restaurant
Address: 1195 Island Ave, San Diego, CA, United States, 92101-7230
Telephone: (619) 255-9696
Price range: $50 and over
Rating: 4.8

$50 and over

Mediterranean

Make a booking

2 people

30 Nov 2024

19:00

Booked 45 times today

Experiences are available.

Good for special occasions
Innovative
Lively

Callie represents Chef Travis Swikard's debut solo project after spending a decade working alongside the esteemed Chef Daniel Boulud in New York City. The restaurant’s name, "Callie," comes from the Greek word "kallos," meaning "the most beautiful," and embodies its blend of Mediterranean cuisine with local ingredients and terroir, from sea to land from San Diego, Swikard's hometown. In 2022, Callie was acclaimed as one of America's top new restaurants by Esquire and Robb Report, and received both a Bib Gourmand and a Plate from the Michelin Guide. Callie is a dedicated supporter of Feeding San Diego, having contributed over 1 million meals to those in need in San Diego since its launch. Swikard is set to open his second restaurant in La Jolla in 2025.

Why they're an Icon

Executive chef: Chef Travis Swikard

MICHELIN Bib Gourmand
2024
MICHELIN Bib Gourmand
2023

From the OpenTable editors: Chef and San Diego native Travis Swikard is an alum of iconic restaurants like DANIEL, and that pedigree shines at this sophisticated Mediterranean spot named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America in 2022. Feast on plates like lemon saffron linguine or harissa-grilled lamb chops, or go all-in on a five-course family-style tasting menu. Either way, a meal in the inviting space decked with blue tiles and lush greenery feels like a lively dinner party on every visit.

Additional information

Dining style
Elegant Dining
Price
$50 and over
Cuisines
Mediterranean
Hours of Operation
Tue–Sun 17:00–22:00
Phone number
(619) 255-9696
Website
https://www.calliesd.com/
Dress code
Casual Dress

Location
1195 Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101-7230
Award-winning
1. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2024
2. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2023
Area
Downtown / Gaslamp
Parking details
Our parking garage is located in the building, but because of the one way streets downtown, the entrance is on 11th Avenue between J St and Island Ave, on the right. The parking garage has a sign '1155 Parking' over top and is through LAZ. For security purposes, the gate will be down when you pull up, you will press the kiosk for a ticket. Once you've parked, take the elevators in the center up to the lobby and be sure to get your ticket validated by a host. Validation is good up to three hours.
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Chef's Table, Cocktails, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Wine

Experiences

Mediterranean Feast - Parties of 7 & 8
US$75.00 per person
Multiple dates available
Mediterranean Feast - Parties of 7 & 8 For the ultimate dining experience, choose The Mediterranean Feast, a 5-course, family-style menu priced at $75 per guest. This menu, curated by Chef Travis Swikard, provides a full culinary journey from spreads to dessert. While the Feast is required for parties of 7 or 8, it is also available to all guests without advance notice. When booking, please let us know of any dietary restrictions so we can accommodate them. To secure your reservation, a credit card is needed, but no charge will apply unless you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice or do not show up. In those cases, a $10 per guest fee will be charged to the credit card on file.
Christmas Eve at Callie
US$99.00 per person
24 Dec 2024 only
Enjoy Christmas Eve at Callie! We will be featuring a 5 course family style feast for $99 per person. Please note that only the Christmas Eve Feast will be offered on this day, a la carte dining will not be available. Please inquire about any dietary restrictions. No-shows or cancellations less than 1 day in advance may be subject to a charge of $10 per person. Tax, 20% service charge, and 4% surcharge will be added to all checks.
New Year's Eve 1st Seating
US$165.00 per person
31 Dec 2024 only
Join us at Callie before your countdown festivities with a 5-course family-style menu at $165 per person. Please note that only the New Year's Eve menu will be offered on this day, a la carte dining will not be available. Please inquire about any dietary restrictions. An optional curated wine pairing will be available at $95 per person. No-shows or cancellations less than 1 day in advance may be subject to a charge of $10 per person. Please note that the dining room will close at 8:30pm to prepare for the next seating at 9:00pm. Tax, 20% service charge, and 4% surcharge will be added to all checks.

What 191 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8

4.8 based on recent ratings

4.8Food
4.8Service
4.7Ambience
4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

San Diego
Mediterranean
San Diego
Best Food

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Callie Restaurant in San Diego offers an exceptional dining experience with "phenomenal" Mediterranean-inspired dishes. Guests rave about the "best lamb rack ever," creative menus, and outstanding service. While some note the noise and automatic gratuity, the flavors, high-quality ingredients, and "impeccable" service make it a top choice for special occasions.

191 Reviews

L
Lisa
San Diego
4 reviews
3.0
4 reviews
Dined today
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 5
We have been dining at Callie for several years. We love this restaurant despite our disappointment this time. A couple of our plates were not clean. The food was always creative and fantastic; however, the main dishes (lemon pasta, duck, and chicken) were too salty. We had the uni lemon pasta before. It had too much lemon juice. The carrots dish from years past was better. Our server and assistant server were ok. The service charge of 20% was included plus the 4% up charge on food. We did not mind the charges as we believe in supporting the restaurant industry. However, the service did not meet the 20% expectation and it was less attentive than it was the first year the restaurant opened. It was not extremely busy, as there were open tables. The main server only stoped our table towards the end of our meals. We had to ask for water multiple times. The food server was great and provided details of the dishes.
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J
Jeremy
Denver
2 reviews
3.0
2 reviews
Dined 1 day ago
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 3
Went for thanksgiving, service was excellent. Food looked great but for some unexpected reason I had some sort of stomach issue upon arriving and couldn’t eat or drink any of the food. I’m sorry, I wish I could offer a genuine review on the food, my other guests said it was delicious, but I can’t due to the stomach issues I had, which were NOT from the restaurant. Service was great, food looked great, all I can say right now.
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G
Gregg
San Diego
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined 1 day ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Our fourth meal at this amazing restaurant, and we will certainly visit again. From the starting hummus to the finishing rice pudding, all senses are stimulated, and surprise flavor profiles abound. The servers were attentive and highly knowledgeable. Bravo!!
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T
Tine
Los Angeles
106 reviews
vip
5.0
106 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Callie is a fantastic experience with great food, vibe and service. So many great things!!
Is this helpful?
C
Carmen
San Diego
20 reviews
5.0
20 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Having Callie on our list of food experiences for a while now, we treated ourselves to Thanksgiving there. It was the best! We were greeted warmly and made to feel welcome by the hosting staff. Love the ambiance and the background music that was playing! Just the right volume that was enjoyable to hear but not too much that you could hold a conversation with your party. The food was delicious, we had the traditional turkey meal with the sides, every dish was perfectly seasoned, and paired with the perfect wine. The service staff are so friendly and work so well with each other leading to a wonderful presented meal from start to finish. We even were sent home with a turkey sandwich to enjoy at home! Had the opportunity to meet Chef Travis to thank him and his staff for such a wonderful meal! We will be back for sure !
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M
Mariel
San Diego
4 reviews
vip
2.0
4 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 2
2. Food 2
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 3
Portions way too small especially for the amount charged. Very tiny appetizer plates that are a fifth full. The waiter mentioned it was family style, felt more like tapas. After ordering a lot of dishes, we kept ordering more baguettes to get full. Everyone on our table said the same thing. Suffice to say it was disappointing and unfortunately we won’t come back.
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R
Rohit
Chicago
3 reviews
4.0
3 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 4
2. Food 3
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 5
Food wasn’t as good as before. Saw a decline in quality. Service wasn’t as great as earlier.
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A
Andre
Seattle
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Amazing food, service, and ambience. The Mediterranean Feast is 100% worth it.
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V
Vincent
Washington DC
71 reviews
vip
4.0
71 reviews
Dined 2 days ago
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
We did the tasting menu, which was fine but going back we might try some of the other dishes like the Aleppo Chicken, which a neighbor table had and it looked great! They do add 20% service charge to the bill.
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L
Lisa
Seattle
4 reviews
5.0
4 reviews
Dined 3 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Fantastic food, incredible service and attention to detail! The merguez dolmas, kanpachi, pita, duck, harissa lamb chops and chicken were all scrumptious. Our most memorable dinner in San Diego. Thank you for a great evening!
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FAQs

Callie Restaurant is rated 4.8 stars by 191 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a booking

2 people

30 Nov 2024

19:00

Booked 45 times today

Experiences are available.

1195 Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101-7230

Additional information

Award-winning
1. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2024
2. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand 2023
Area
Downtown / Gaslamp
Hours of Operation
Tue–Sun 17:00–22:00
Price
$50 and over
Cuisines
Mediterranean
Dining style
Elegant Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Our parking garage is located in the building, but because of the one way streets downtown, the entrance is on 11th Avenue between J St and Island Ave, on the right. The parking garage has a sign '1155 Parking' over top and is through LAZ. For security purposes, the gate will be down when you pull up, you will press the kiosk for a ticket. Once you've parked, take the elevators in the center up to the lobby and be sure to get your ticket validated by a host. Validation is good up to three hours.
Additional
Bar/Lounge, Beer, Chef's Table, Cocktails, Full Bar, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Wine

Website
https://www.calliesd.com/
Phone number
(619) 255-9696

Callie Restaurant

Make a booking

Why they're an Icon

MICHELIN Bib Gourmand

MICHELIN Bib Gourmand

Additional information

Experiences

Mediterranean Feast - Parties of 7 & 8

Christmas Eve at Callie

New Year's Eve 1st Seating

Menu

What 191 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Review summary

FAQs

How is Callie Restaurant restaurant rated?

Is Callie Restaurant currently accepting bookings?

Make a booking

Additional information