dog-friendly dining at the patio on goldfinch

Lately I’ve been thinking about why weekends in San Diego feel so different from my weekends in New York. For starters, now that I’m self-employed, I’m working way more hours than I ever did, so Sundays are usually spent working at home. But there’s something else.

Being the pedestrian-friendly city that New York is, I would usually wake up in my Nolita apartment, grab a coffee from my favorite Gimme Coffee, and walk. Walk and walk and walk. I’d start in Nolita, make my way through Soho, turn a corner to the West Village, and somehow by the end of the day, I found myself in Central Park. I do miss that sort of random weekend that walking encourages. And that’s not to say it’s impossible in San Diego, but it’s not the same. Neighborhood-hopping here typically requires a car.

So this Saturday, we did the next best thing. We spent most of the day in one neighborhood—Mission Hills, which has recently blossomed with buzzy restaurants, cafes, and more—and walked from garage sale to coffee shop to garage sale to boutique to The Patio on Goldfinch, an upscale American restaurant with lush plant walls, a Venissimo cheese cave (!), and a dog-friendly patio.

I had been before for dinner and loved our small plates, but going with Teddy during the day was a totally different (and I think more fun) experience. The light flooding in is gorgeous, they offer a complimentary dog treat made from table scraps, and a daily happy hour from 3-6pm with 50% off all glasses of wine is pretty spectacular.

Take a look:

Post-brunch outside the restaurant with Teddy chomping on his garage sale spoil.

Happy Monday!