Jana J. Monji

SDCC 2026: Eats!

Our survival during SDCC depends upon Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt. Located at the Promenade level of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, they open early (7 a.m.) and close late (special hours for SDCC).

 

This is usually where we have breakfast and keep hydrated throughout the day.

Another spot to have breakfast is the Broken Yolk Cafe. This is a chain, so you might be familiar with it.

Gaslamp-San Diego

  • 355 Sixth Ave., San Diego, CA 92101
  • (619) 338-9655
  • Mondays-Fridays, 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
  • Saturdays-Sundays, 6 a.m.-3 p.m.

We tried another chain restaurant Nick the Greek for lunch. The gyro plate gives you a protein, rice/fries, tzatziki, pita and a side salad. We chose chicken and it, along with a smoothie was enough for both of us. You can also have beef/lamb, pork belly, beefteki, falafel, veggie, chicken or steak as a protein. The restaurant had someone passing out flyers to there are deals to be had.

  • 927 J St San Diego, CA
  • (619) 782-9444

Farther afield is another breakfast place, Snooze Eatery. This is also a chain and the closest to the Gaslamp is Snooze Hillcrest. That’s a 15-minute drive from the San Diego Convention Center.

Snooze Hillcrest

  • 3940 Fifth Ave.
  • San Diego, CA 92103
  • 6:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Also in the Hillcrest area is Massachusetts Mike’s which is a family-owned business about a 15-minute drive from the San Diego Convention Center.

Massachusetts Mike’s Pizzeria

  • 3940 Fifth Ave.
  • San Diego, CA 92103
  • (619) 299-6453
  • Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays, 11 a.m. – 10p.m.
  • Fridays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-12 a.m. (midnight)
  • Tuesdays, closed.

Also in the Hillcrest area is a charming little Italian restaurant, Parma Cucina Italiana. No photos, but I had the ravioli in rosa, spinach and ricotta ravioli in a pink tomato sauce and acórese di burrata (burrata cheese, tomatoes, basil and extra virgin olive oil.

  • 3850 Fifth Ave.
  • San Diego, CA
  • (619) 543-0049
  • Sundays, 12 p.m. – 9 p.m.;
  • Mondays-Thursdays,  4 p.m.-9 p.m.;
  • Fridays, 4 p.m.-9:30 p.m.;
  • Saturdays, 12 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

If you want to splurge and get a little gold and a lot of calories, then go for Extraordinary Desserts.  There’s one in Little Italy which you can also get to using the San Diego Metro.

Little Italy

Bankers Hill

  • 2870 Fourth, San Diego, CA 92103
  •  (619) 294.2132 | Fax: (619) 294.7032
  • Mondays-Thursdays: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Fridays- Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 11.p.m.
  • Sundays: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Just a few trolley stops away from the convention center is Barrio Logan. We drove there on our way home to try some pizza with an Asian influence at Pizza Kaiju Yōshoku Diner. Yōshoku (洋食) means Western food, or, in this case, Japanese-style Western food.

Pizza Kaiju is a clean and spacious place, unfortunately lacking in kaiju-clutter, but we enjoyed the half-and-half pizza we ordered which was spinach and mushroom (garlic cream, mozzarella, ricotta, pecorino, spinach, mushroom) and sisig pizza (calamansi cream, mozzarella, red onion, garlic, pork belly, pickled Serrano). Sisig is Filipino. The restaurant also offers chicken teriyaki, mashed potato, wonton, mentaiko and bulgogi pizzas. If you’d like to try a dessert pizza, there’s also ube cheese.

Besides pizza, they serve pasta, katsu curry (pork and chicken), Korean-fried chicken, donuts and beer.

  • Pizza Kaiju/Ultra Donuts
  • 1985 National Ave., Suite 115
  • San Diego, CA 92113
  • (619) 739-0522
  • Fridays-Sundays, 1 p.m.-9 p.m.;
  • Mondays-Tuesdays, closed.
  • Wednesday-Thursdays, 3 p.m.-9 p.m.

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