Postino WineCafé popped open its welcoming patio umbrellas and rolled up its garage-style doors in Little Italy on April 27 and will open in Del Mar’s One Paseo May 11, to serve up tasty food and wine. Postino made its West Coast debut in Irvine, California last year. This will be the restaurant and wine bar’s first San Diego outposts – located in Kilroy Realty’s LEED-certified 2100 Kettner building, across from Brian Malarkey’s Herb & Wood, in Little Italy and Del Mar’s One Paseo at 3745 Paseo Place, next to Parakeet Café and North Italia.
“We have been looking forward to opening our doors in San Diego for a long time,” said Lauren Bailey, Postino co-founder and CEO in a statement. “We’ve always felt a special connection with the community and feel so fortunate to have found such beautiful spaces in both Little Italy and Del Mar. There is so much to love about San Diego, and we think Postino is just one more thing for locals to love about both of those neighborhoods.”
Postino Little Italy and Postino One Paseo feature umbrella-lined patios (two at One Paseo!) decorated with succulents and plant life.
The inspiration from the restaurant exterior is carried through the interior — adorned Murano glass chandeliers, mid-century modern brass finishings and pops of trippy wallpaper.
Each Postino location’s unique design pays homage to its local community, with custom art walls serving as a unique focal point. Postino Little Italy draws inspiration from the property’s past life as British Motors San Diego’s oldest and largest imported car dealership. Nostalgic design details reference vintage cars, including art installations such as suspended imported vehicle parts and an art wall with 5,500 embroidered mechanic name tags.
Postino One Paseo’s design celebrates Del Mar’s iconic Del Mar Turf Club in its 1930s Hollywood Regency heyday and influential Del Mar Skate Ranch (frequented by co-founder Craig DeMarco as a teen and stomping grounds for the likes of Tony Hawk), with rad original 1980s skate photography by local photographer J. Grant Brittain and an art wall combining in-house skater graffiti designs and stop motion animation.
Both Postino Little Italy’s 3,387 square-foot and Postino One Paseo’s 4,014 square-foot indoor-outdoor spaces are thoughtfully designed in conjunction with local vintage pickers, including GoGo Modern, Mid Century Store, and Klassik, all known for creating unique and unexpected spaces with a mid-century modern feel.
A cornerstone of Postino’s brand is giving back to the communities in which it operates. In San Diego, the restaurant and wine bar has partnered with A Reason To Survive (ARTS), a locally-based non-profit with a mission to uplift youth in the South County region of San Diego to become confident, compassionate, and courageous community builders through the transformative power of creativity. During the month of May 2024, Postino Del Mar and Little Italy will donate $1 from each bruschetta board purchased to ARTS in support of the organization’s efforts as a center for arts and culture in the borderland region that supports families and community members to build healthy, resilient, and equitable communities.
Postino’s menu changes seasonally, but always includes bruschetta, charcuterie boards, made from-scratch soups, fresh salads and panini sandwiches. For shareable bites, the menu features “Snacky Things,” which include crispy maitake mushroom; butter poached shrimp scampi; sweet potato wedges; and more. The 12 bruschetta offerings include brie & apple with fig spread; smoked salmon with pesto; sweet n’ spicy pepper jam with goat cheese and more. Other items include the Brussels Sprouts Salad, with kale, brussels sprouts, manchego, spicy Marcona almonds, bacon, and lemon manchego dressing topped with dried cherries; the Nine Iron Panini, with sugar-crusted smoked bacon, grilled chicken, fresh stracciatella, mixed greens, tomato and Dijonnaise; and The Bounty Board, a rustic medley of heirloom carrots, cauliflower, broccolini, sweet pepper, blistered brussels sprouts, nuts, roasted artichokes, watermelon radish and a green goddess dressing that will instigate last-bite-fights.
Postino serves an ever-changing selection of boutique wines handpicked by VP of Beverage and advanced sommelier Brent Karlicek from the world over – including more than 30 varietals by the glass and exclusive winemaker collabs – along with beers on tap, including selections from local breweries such as Stone Brewing Co., Modern Times, Bottle Logic, Pizza Port, Coronado Brewing Co., and more.
Both Postino Little Italy and Postino Del Mar are open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays; 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Happy hour is available daily until 5 p.m. every day of the week, during which all wines-by-the-glass and pitchers of beer are an approachable $6. Every Monday and Tuesday evening after 8 p.m., guests can enjoy Postino’s iconic “Board & Bottle”, during which a bottle of wine and bruschetta board can be enjoyed for just $25.
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