Where chefs dine in the Valle

As Valle, the name of his Michelin-starred restaurant in Oceanside suggests, Roberto Alcocer knows Valle de Guadalupe well. Thirteen years ago, he opened Malva. “My sole purpose was to be happy and cook the way I wanted for my guests,” he reflects. Luckily, Veronica Penelope, his business partner and winemaker, opened the doors of her winery so he could have an orchard on a small farm and cook with their own homegrown ingredients. One of Alcocer’s favorite Valle restaurants is the Michelin green-star Lunario. Nestled in La Lomita Winery owned by Fernando Perez Castro, the restaurant’s farm-to-table tasting menu includes organic vegetables, dairy, and protein from Castro’s 13,000-acre organic farm and vineyard. He also recommends Diego-Hernandez Restaurante inside Museo de la Vid y El Vino, which has table seating and a 12-course menu at the chef’s counter in the kitchen. But Alcocer’s own Malva remains especially close to his heart. He says, “Malva is one of the few restaurants that has opened for this long and I think it is because we have stayed true to our principles and philosophy of respecting the Valle de Guadalupe as an agronomic destination.”  

Drew Deckman is a longtime leader in Mexico’s slow food movement and an advocate for ethical farming and sustainability. Lucky for us in San Diego, Deckman has brought the flavors of Baja to Petco Park at Deckman’s at the Draft, and at 31ThirtyOne, his first restaurant in the U.S. Deckman’s favorite restaurants in the Valle are understandably his own. Conchas de Piedra scored a red star and a green star for sustainability in Mexico’s Michelin Guide. Deckman’s en el Mogor, his farm-to-table restaurant on the grounds of a premier winery, also garnered a green star. Enso Omakase, his sushi bar at the winery, run by Chef Rob Ruiz, is also well regarded.

Claudette Zepeda, an award-winning chef and entrepreneur born in San Diego, also has deep roots in Mexico. The Top Chef alum has projects on both sides of the border, as well as in Nashville and Australia. Her latest project is Leu Leu in Leucadia. Zepeda’s pick for lunch in the Valle is the farm-to-table Finca Altozano, a rustic restaurant founded by Chef Javier Plascencia, specializing in grilled and roasted meats, seafood, and locally grown produce served on a terrace with views of the vineyards. “Once a family member, always a family member,” she says of Plascencia, with whom she worked at San Diego’s Bracero. Another “must” for Zepeda is Plascencia’s pop-up outdoor restaurant, Animalón. “Enjoying a delicious and exciting dinner under the wisdom and shade of a 250-year-old oak tree is magical,” Zepeda says. For breakfast in the Valle? “I cannot miss visiting Doña Estela,” she says. “Her lamb barbacoa and corn pancakes are otherworldly.” 

“What I love about Valle de Guadalupe is that it does not whisper — it roars,” says James Montejano. “The restaurants tear up the rulebook, fusing fire, earth, and sea into plates that slap you awake,” he says. Montejano trained under Michael Mina at San Francisco’s Aqua, and has led kitchens at Huntress, International Smoke, L’Auberge Del Mar, and many others. Like Zepeda, Montejano recommends Finca Altozano. “The eatery offers a rustic yet sophisticated dining experience, emphasizing local ingredients from nearby farms, orchards, and the sea,” he notes. Another favorite is Fauna, founded by Chef David Castro Hussong and Pastry Chef Maribel Aldaco Silva, famous for its ever-changing tasting menus that celebrate the seasons and communal, open-air dining that fosters a sense of community. Montejano also recommends Fauna’s all-new Burma Garden for its “fabulous brunches” and mixology program. Rounding out his list is Deckman’s en el Mogor, offering outdoor dining with a live-fire kitchen on a vineyard beneath a canopy of trees. As for Valle wines? “The wines taste like the dirt they came from — wild, untamed, full of attitude — and every sip reminds you you’re standing in a place that refuses to be tamed,” Montejano says. “What do I love most? The people. They’re not here to impress; they’re here to create, disrupt, and set the damn bar higher. Valle is where passion burns hot.”