The Dish: Seven new restaurants to check out this week

Dora Ristorante, a new Southern Italian coastal cuisine restaurant from the owners of North Park’s popular Cori Trattoria Pastificio, opened to the public on Thursday in UC San Diego’s new Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood in La Jolla.

Dora, at  9165 S. Scholars Drive, is owned by chef Accursio Lota and his wife, Corinne Goria, of La Jolla. The 100-seat restaurant and bar is situated at the southwest corner of the UCSD campus and across the street from the La Jolla Playhouse campus. As part of the couple’s partnership with La Jolla Playhouse, the Dora team will design prix-fixe menus and cocktails that are themed to each production in the Playhouse’s future seasons.

The restaurant offers three menus, lunch, dinner and pre-theater, a prix-fixe, three-course meal for La Jolla Playhouse showgoers. The menus will change with each Playhouse show. The opening pre-theater menu is inspired by the theater’s now-playing musical “Working Girl.”

Designed by the architectural firm Bells + Whistles, Dora has a 14-seat oval-shaped central bar, a 16-seat private dining room, six-seat table for chef’s menu dining and patio seating for 46. The restaurant’s wine room will offer 350 bottles of predominantly Italian wines from small-production wineries, as well as U.S. West Coast options and 15-20 world-class selections.

Hours are 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Reservations are open at doralajolla.com.

Marzul opens at Gaylord Pacific: Marzul, a large indoor/outdoor Baja California-inspired seafood and Southern California cuisine restaurant and bar, has opened at the 1,600-room Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center in Chula Vista. It’s the seventh and final culinary concept to open at the $1.35 billion Marriott-owned Gaylord resort, which debuted in May.

Marzul is helmed by Executive Chef Joshua Mouzakes, whose menu highlights include a sous-vide-cooked 20-ounce lamb shank  served with house birria sauce; a 1.5-pound, charcoal-grilled whole black seabream fish served with locally foraged chanterelle mushrooms, shishito peppers, and castelvetrano olive sauce; and pork belly pibil with pineapple salsa, achiote and avocado mousse.

Marzul is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays through Sundays only at 1000 H St., Chula Vista. Reservations at opentable.com/r/marzul-coastal-cuisine-chula-vista.

CPK opens in Encinitas: California Pizza Kitchen opened its fifth San Diego County location Wednesday in Encinitas Village Square shopping center at 1476 Encinitas Blvd.

In partnership with Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, customer who visit the new location Nov. 24 or 25 with a Pizza with a Purpose promotional flyer will have 20 percent of their total bill donated to the food bank.

Bonne Vie opens downtown: Bonne Vie Brasserie & Bar opened Wednesday at the Westgate Hotel in downtown San Diego.

Westgate executive chef Farbrice Hardel’s menu features classic French dishes reinterpreted through an American lens. Signature French-inspired dishes include Burgundy escargot, French onion soup and Icelandic cod meunière, and American dishes like a fried chicken sandwich and braised short rib. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week at 1055 Second Ave., downtown. westgatehotel.com/dining/bonne–vie

Cherryfish opens in P.B.: Cherryfish, a modern izakaya from chef Marcus Twilegar, opened Thursday in Pacific Beach.

Twilegar is known for his Dockside Fish restaurant at Tuna Harbor Dockside Market and his charity Fish to Families, which provides 250 meals a week to San Diegans facing food insecurity.

The Cherryfish menu, featuring locally sourced seafood and produce, includes sushi rolls, spiny lobster gyoza, oysters, kanpachi sashimi, kimchi flatbread, uni with potato dumplings, handrolls, swordfish belly skewers, charcoal-grilled fish and beef entrees. The bar menu includes custom cocktails, beer and wine.

Cherryfish hours are 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturdays and 4 to 10 p.m. Sundays. Only the bar menu is available during the last hour of service. It’s at 966 Felspar St., San Diego. For more, visit instagram.com/cherryfishsd.

Pho-to-go spot opens in Mira Mesa: Phở Gà Go, a new pho takeout-only Vietnamese chicken noodle soup pop-up concept, has opened inside the Crab Hut restaurant in Mira Mesa. It’s the latest culinary project created by Vietnam native Kim Phan, who owns the Crab Hut and Kingfisher restaurants.

Diners must pre-order their dishes at least one day in advance for pickup between noon and 3 p.m. Sundays or 4 to 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays at 8280 Mira Mesa Blvd, Suite E, San Diego.

There are two slow-cooked pho (noodle soup) varieties, one with chicken leg and thigh and one with chicken breast and wing. There are also side dishes of pork, shrimp and vegetable egg rolls, chicken salad with banana blossom and vegetables and Vietnamese iced coffee. Menu at phogago.com.

 PopUp Bagels arrives: The first California location of New York’s hugely popular PopUp Bagel chain will open Friday in La Jolla. Founded in 2021, PopUp is known for its no-frills style of service. Bagels are served whole and hot from the oven for customers to “grip, rip and dip” their bagels by hand in a variety of custom-made “schmears,” ranging from plain cream cheese to spicy buffalo butter.

The La Jolla location at 637 Pearl St. is the first of an anticipated 10 San Diego County PopUp Bagel franchises being opened by SDSU graduates and local entrepreneurs Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman, who call themselves The Bagel Boyz of San Diego. They’re the co-founders of Pure Vida bracelet business.

PopUp Bagels hours in La Jolla will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily. Pre-order at popupbagels.com/locations.

Matsu’s tsuki nights program expands: William Eick, the chef and owner of Matsu Japanese restaurant in South Oceanside, has announced the expansion of its Tsuki Nights in December.

Originally created as a more casual izakaya-style alternative to Matsu’s fine-dining, tasting-menu service, Tsuki Nights have become so popular that on Dec. 9 it will move from a monthly event to twice a week, on Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings, with the exception of previously scheduled special events.

“With how successful each one has been, we have heard our guests asking for us to make it a more regular thing. We are excited to share these nights with our community until the end of the year, and will run the upcoming Hawaiian theme all month long. Im really excited to be able to expand our vision, and bring something unique to Oceanside,” Eick said.

Matsu is at 626 S. Tremont St., Oceanside. Reservations at opentable.com/r/matsu-oceanside.

 Del Taco unveils Micro Meal: For a limited time only, Del Taco is now serving the Micro Meal for $2.99. Designed for light eaters and people on GLP-1 weight loss drugs that suppress appetite, the Micro Meal includes a mini beef and cheddar burrito, 7 to 10 crinkle-cut French fries and a donut bite. The Micro Meal is available through Nov. 23 at participating restaurants. deltaco.com.