Del Mar Plaza Has Changed Its Restaurants All Year. December Brings the Biggest Change Yet.
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Pacifica Del Mar opened in 1989. It was one of the first businesses in the new Del Mar Plaza at Camino Del Mar and 15th Street, and its menu still carries dishes from opening day, including the sugar-spiced salmon. That salmon has about a month left. The Coast News reported that Plaza management decided not to renew the restaurant's lease, so Pacifica closes in December after nearly 37 years.
Pacifica's closing gets most of the attention. But most of the Plaza's food lineup changed while it was saying goodbye, and the new tenants share a pattern. Each one keeps daytime hours, and each serves a walk-up stop more than a planned night out. With Pacifica leaving, the Plaza's food side now runs mostly on the daytime clock.
The changes came one at a time, so it's easy to miss how many there have been. Here's the order:
Plaza management has said these changes are intentional. Property manager Tamara Failla told The Coast News that the Plaza "periodically evaluate[s] our tenant mix and long-term vision for the property" and had chosen "a new restaurant operator whose concept aligns with our goals for the future of Del Mar Plaza." Brixton Capital owns and operates the Plaza.
The best way to see the change is to lay the new tenants out by the clock. Here are the current hours each one lists:
| Stop | Plaza suite | What it covers | Listed hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Cottage | #102 | Breakfast | 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily |
| Valley Farm Market | #107 | Groceries, butcher counter, prepared meals | 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| High Marea | #105 | Baja-style lunch and dinner | 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Desserts By Clément | #304 | French pastry, coffee, baked goods | Open daily |
| La La Land Café | Mezzanine terrace | Coffee and matcha | Coming soon |
Valley Farm Market is the piece that changes everyday habits most, because it gives the village a grocery stop. The family business started in Spring Valley in 1956, opened in La Jolla in 2019, and built its Del Mar store around the butcher case: prime New York steak, Mexican wild-caught shrimp, rockfish and salmon. It also sells produce, wine, sushi, sandwiches and salads, plus its own imperial carne asada, pollo asado and beef tallow. A Beach Colony resident told The Coast News in January that he could now walk up to the Plaza for groceries, and called it "killer."
Next door, High Marea keeps the same family's focus on ingredients in a sit-down setting. Third-generation owner Derek Marso built the menu around "clean" ingredients with no seed oils. Dishes include tacos, ceviche, seared ahi, Sonoran ribeye, spicy poke, elote and tallow fries.
Desserts By Clément is the second San Diego shop from chef Clément Le Déoré. His Pacific Beach flagship made his name with modern French pastry. With it, the Plaza has a pastry and coffee stop that stays open into the evening.
The space where Pacifica Breeze served breakfast is the clearest example of where the Plaza is heading. According to the Plaza's August announcement, La La Land Café will take the southwest corner of the mezzanine, a spot known for its panoramic Pacific views. It will be the coffee-and-matcha brand's first San Diego location. The Plaza's directory still lists it as coming soon.
So the corner that served coffee and breakfast under the Pacifica name will keep doing that under a new brand. The Plaza's tenant changes have kept the morning and daytime business and added to it. The one category leaving with no sign of a match is the long-running evening seafood room.
Pacifica's last stretch overlaps one of the busiest few weeks of the year on this side of town. For decades the restaurant has drawn racetrack visitors, regular weeknight diners and bar guests, and people celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and weddings. Some of its staff have been there more than 30 years.
Del Mar's fall racing meet, the Bing Crosby Season, is running now. It began November 6 and continues through Sunday, November 29, with racing Friday through Sunday plus Thanksgiving Day. First post is usually 12:30 p.m. With racing, the Plaza's own calendar and the village's events all in play, here are the dates left this month:
On Sundays the track also runs Free & Fun Sundays, with free admission and seating plus discounted food and drinks. If you want one more dinner at Pacifica, you can pair it with a Sunday afternoon at the track and an early table at the Plaza.
Once the meet ends, the holidays move to the village. On Sunday, December 6, the Del Mar Village Association holds Winter Taste & Sip from 1 to 4 p.m., with tastes from more than 15 restaurants and more than 20 beverage pours. North Pole by the Sea follows at 5 p.m., when the downtown tree is lit at the Jim Watkins Amphitheater at L'Auberge Del Mar. At the Fairgrounds, Purdy Tree Farms sells trees and wreaths in the Main Parking Lot from November 20 through December 15. Coastal Christmas, with a light trail, synthetic-ice skating and a market, runs on select nights from December 11 to 26.
Pacifica Del Mar still takes reservations through OpenTable or by phone on its website. In its closing announcement, the restaurant said it hoped guests would "visit us one last time before we close our doors." It's at 1555 Camino Del Mar.
Changes like the Plaza's this year, with a grocery store arriving and a 37-year restaurant leaving, also change how a stretch of the village works from day to day. Michelle tracks those shifts across North County as closely as she tracks sales. If you're in Del Mar and wondering how the neighborhood's changes affect your own home's value, Michelle Warner can walk you through it. Start with your instant home valuation.
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