We had a good friend come into town to visit us from the Bay a couple weeks ago. Since we were over by the airport, we decided to put our name into C-Level which is usually packed on the weekends. To our surprise we found no wait.
We quickly realized that there was a new restaurant just a couple hundred feet from C-Level that quickly caught our eye. So, after picking up our friend we decided to give the new place a try.
Coasterra is the newest restaurant to open on Harbor Island and they have been operating for a half year or so. It sits on the perfect lot with expansive views of the San Diego Bay and downtown. If you’ve been to C-Level or Island Prime, you know what I’m talking about.
The property is massive with beautiful sweeping windows framing their multi-million dollar view. The restaurant is fully decked out with a nice bar in front and a huge covered patio.
This was a pretty cool wall of spirits.
They’ve smartly maximized their seaside real estate with gorgeous views from every seat.
This day was perfect.
They serve modern Mexican cuisine here.
I failed to take a pic of the menu (that happens when you have kiddos running all around!), but you can find it online here.
I did manage to capture a shot of the kid’s menu with fun activities.
Our son enjoying the complimentary chips and salsa.
For an app we ordered the queso fundido – Monterey jack & oaxacan cheese, housemade chorizo, roasted poblano chiles, flour tortillas. It’s good if you’re sharing with a big group. It had a nice flavor, but was a bit too spicy for the kids.
The kid’s fish and chips were generous in portion and came out first… thankfully.
After asking our server to check out on our order, she gave some excuse about a large party that came in, but was completely unapologetic. A couple minutes later our food arrived and it was clear it had been sitting under a heat lamp for some time. (It took almost 30 minutes to get our entrees after the kid’s fish and chips arrived.)
Jorgina opt’d for the seafood sampler which came with a tamale, seafood enchilada, fish taco (blackened local white fish, fresh corn tortillas, morita aioli, cabbage), and beans & rice.
The fish taco was tasty and fresh. However, the tamale was way too dense and dry. The seafood enchilada was very good… so 2 out of 3 were solid. It would have been even better had it not sat under the heat lamp for so long.
I ordered the seafood enchiladas by themselves which came with beans and rice. It comes with two enchiladas with mexican white shrimp, bay scallops, pacific seabass, smoked poblano cream, queso fresco, & salsa verde.
After lunch we walk the perimeter of the property and took in the view. We realized the property is much more than a restaurant as it has a couple large spaces for weddings, events, etc.
Coasterra has been open since last Summer. Business seemed healthy and I’m sure C-Level has been feeling less loved lately because of it. But, don’t feel too bad for them. They are all owned by the same parent Cohn Restaurant Group. Must be nice!
Although the service left more to be desired, it’s definitely a spot worth checking out. The food was pretty good, and of course the views are to die for.
Coasterra
880 B Harbor Island Dr
San Diego, CA 92101
We JUST saw this place yesterday when we were on a Hornblower cruise! I thought I saw C Level from the ship but friend said it was Coasterra. We’ve wanted to try this place as the views seem beautiful. That’s unfortunate the food took so long to come out. Your son’s fish n chips look nice though. How was the parking that day?
Faye, as you probably know, there’s an attached parking lot that serves C-Level/Island Prime (and now Coasterra) restaurants. It appears that they recently remarked some of the spaces to perhaps add some efficiency to the lot.
Parking was free during the day, but all the spots say, “Reserved for Valet” from early evening forward. So, I guess if you dine there for dinner you’d have to valet, or find street parking.