Juniper and Ivy

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Left-Coast Cookery in a Converted Warehouse

In 2014, owner Michael Rosen spotted an abandoned warehouse on the northern edge of San Diego's Little Italy and decided it was time to start a serious conversation — about food, wine, local ingredients, and what they are capable of when treated with passion, precision, and inventiveness. What began as a love letter to San Diego has grown into one of the city's most talked-about dining destinations, earning a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence and a place in the Michelin Guide as a Bib Gourmand restaurant.

The Team Behind the Menu

At the center of the kitchen is Executive Chef Alex Penkin, a member of the Juniper & Ivy team from the start, working alongside Chef de Cuisine Khine Moore. Together they produce a nightly menu that rotates entirely around the freshest ingredients brought in each morning by local farmers and fishermen — relationships the restaurant describes as unmatched in San Diego. General Manager Scott Deardorff leads a front-of-house team whose depth of knowledge extends to an award-winning wine list curated with the help of in-house sommeliers, making thoughtful wine pairing a natural part of every meal.

A Menu That Never Stands Still

The Californian cuisine here resists repetition by design. Intimidating or unfamiliar ingredients are presented in nostalgic, comforting ways; the familiar is prepared with new technique. A recent Christmas Eve menu illustrated the range well: Kumiai oysters with trout roe and cucumber mignonette, Hokkaido scallop with black garlic chili crisp and miso beurre blanc, lamb saddle with celery root purée, and wagyu filet with lobster cowboy butter and sauce bordelaise. The thread connecting every plate, as the kitchen puts it, is taking familiar concepts and pushing them toward their full potential.

The Space and Juni

The dining room retains the bones of its industrial past — high ceilings, an open layout — transformed into a social space built around a large open kitchen where guests can watch the chef team at work. Options range from the main dining room and a spacious bar area to a chef's counter and a covered patio suited to San Diego's reliably mild evenings. A newer addition, Juni, operates as a "little sister" concept offering a playful, exclusive bar menu for a more casual visit. Private dining rooms, semi-private cubes, and tented outdoor space round out the venue for events of any size.