Paradise, Or Something Like It

San Diego Magazine's Happy Half Hour · Dec 28, 2023 · 1h 34m

According to some of San Diego's finest food minds (umm, us), one of the hottest restaurants of 2023 is easily Bird Rock's Paradisaea. The Michelin Guide thinks so, too—it recently gave the restaurant, which opened in late 2022, a special recognition for being pretty damn good (and also new). A year or so is a good length of time for a restaurant to find its groove. Ideally, the service kinks will have been worked out, the menu will have found its footing. Paradisaea's first year also saw the departure of the restaurant's founding chef and culinary director, Mark Welker. Jeff Armstrong…