Prepare to spice up your dining experience in the Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego—Hasta Mañana, a vibrant Mexican cantina, is opening today. The colorful eatery at 310 5th Avenue promises an exciting menu focusing on sustainable, line-caught seafood and in-house braised meats, as reported by Eater San Diego.
The brains behind this technicolor establishment include executive chef Kevin Templeton and partners Aron Langellier and Dave Jones, who've each earned their culinary stripes at downtown favorites like Barleymash and Smoking Gun. They've teamed up with industry vet Todd Brown from Bub’s to open Hasta Mañana, a restaurant they aim to turn into the Gaslamp Quarter's newest recurring hotspot quickly. “We wanted a place for people to come back to over and over again because tomorrow is never promised," Jones told Eater San Diego in an interview.
At Hasta Mañana, diners can start their meal with fresh offerings like guacamole, aguachile, and various ceviches. Main dishes offer a selection of fillings for tacos or burritos, featuring high-quality ingredients such as wagyu steak and oyster mushrooms. Other standout entrees include a smoked beef rib birria paired with consomme rojo and red chile mashed potatoes. Templeton's pollo verde—golden fried chicken with sweet onion butter—and carne asada with cinnamon chili oil is poised to become new crowd favorites.
For dessert lovers, the restaurant boasts homemade churros with a trio of sauces and house-made gelatos and sorbets. To complement the culinary fare, a selection of scratch-made syrups are used to quickly whip up popular cocktails like margaritas in traditional, spicy, and tropical flavors. The Monkey Bar at the back also offers a more intimate, dimly lit setting to enjoy specialty drinks, such as the carajillo, made here with Spill the Beans cold brew. A range of 16 draft beers and rotating cocktails on tap round out the beverage lineup.
Jones revealed ambitions to expand their operations to include a second location for either Hasta Mañana or Barleymash, with Mission Valley as a considered spot, where the group has an established presence with a Spill the Beans coffee shop. Hasta Mañana is now welcoming guests and has outlined its operating hours for early birds and night owls alike: Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Interested diners can learn more about this cultural, culinary addition to San Diego's dining scene by visiting their website at Hasta Mañana Cantina.
