Carlsbad Is Quietly Becoming a Fine Dining Destination—Here’s Why

San Diego County has more small farms than any other county in the United States, and agriculture remains one of the region’s most important industries. Yet despite an abundance of local produce and seafood year-round, the dining scene has long leaned casual—think fish tacos and design-forward hot spots from hospitality group Consortium Holdings—with William Bradley’s Addison at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar the lone fine dining outlier.

If San Diego leans casual, the cluster of coastal towns in North County—Carlsbad, Del Mar, Encinitas, Escondido, Oceanside, and Solana Beach—has had an even sparser fine dining scene. One duo has been instrumental in changing that: restaurateur John Resnick and chef-partner Eric Bost, who have been steadily building a restaurant empire in Carlsbad. That growth accelerated over the past year, with the opening of Wildland—a family-friendly all-day bakery and restaurant focused on wood-fired pizza and fresh pasta—in December, followed by the fine dining crown jewel, Lilo, a 22-seat chef’s tasting counter that debuted in April. Carlsbad is finally stepping into the national culinary spotlight.

From Fish Tacos to Fine Dining: A New Era for North County

When Resnick—previously with Consortium Holdings—opened his first Carlsbad restaurant, Campfire, in 2016, he recalls there wasn’t much of anything along the walkable stretch of State Street just a few blocks from the beach. Today, he and Bost have four restaurants along that same corridor, covering just about any occasion.

“State Street in Carlsbad Village always felt really unique,” Resnick says. “It’s so central, so walkable, and yet there wasn’t much here—so we could create our own gravitational pull and help shape the neighborhood.”

Resnick opened the elegant French bistro Jeune et Jolie a couple of years later in 2018, but just as it began to build momentum, the Covid-19 pandemic temporarily halted his ambitions. He had long admired chef Eric Bost’s food from afar but never managed to take his management team to dinner at Auburn in Los Angeles as he’d planned. The two had mutual friends, and when they first connected in the summer of 2020, their initial conversation lasted three hours—like a serendipitous first date.

“I knew very quickly that he was somebody I wanted to work with,” Resnick says.

Bost says the two connected over their shared vision for restaurant and company culture, and the prospect of leaving Los Angeles for Carlsbad was appealing. He and his wife, Elodie, had enjoyed visiting North County for short getaways and always believed in the region’s potential.

“There are great farms around here with amazing products, and it’s a beautiful coastal community,” Bost says. “We have so much going for us. I felt like there was a ton of potential to do more in the dining scene and build interesting restaurants.” Bost spent most of his 30s opening restaurants for legendary French chef Guy Savoy in Las Vegas and Singapore. One of his biggest takeaways was the commitment to quality ingredients, which now surround him. “Ingredients are the foundation,” Bost says. “Buy the best stuff that you can, and create really long-lasting relationships with purveyors.”

Bost moved to Carlsbad in September 2020 and resurrected both Jeune et Jolie and Campfire, earning the former its first Michelin star the following year with a new four-course prix fixe menu format.

“Jeune’s success helped us think we could continue,” Resnick says. “It gave us more courage, to think that we could build something really personal.” Resnick and Bost first walked the 10,000-square-foot space that now houses both Wildland and Lilo in October 2020, and the restaurants have been four years in the making. “I didn’t do any market research,” Resnick says. “We live here and we felt like this is missing and we want it to exist.”

The Michelin Effect: Building a Culinary Ecosystem

Their success in Carlsbad has paved the way for other North County chefs to spread their wings—like Roberto Alcocer, who also earned a Michelin star at Valle, and William Eick of Matsu—both of whom opened tasting menu restaurants in 2021 in nearby Oceanside. Other recent additions to the region’s evolving dining scene include 24 Suns and Merenda in Oceanside, as well as Atelier Manna in Encinitas. Any day now, chef Elijah Arizmendi—formerly of Per Se and L’Abeille in New York—is set to open Lucien in La Jolla.

With a growing empire of restaurants along State Street, Bost and Resnick have built an ecosystem strong enough to attract top-tier talent to Carlsbad—including Lilo’s pastry chef Madeline Biehl, who spent two years at SingleThread before returning closer to home. “I really wanted to work in a restaurant with a healthy working environment while pushing in the kitchen,” she says. “I think most of all I really wanted mentorship, and was vocal about it in the interview process. Both Eric and [chef de cuisine] Dušan [Todić] have been great mentors.”

Biehl’s desserts are all standouts, including a sweet and savory intermezzo served between seafood and meat courses. Caviar on ice cream may be a fine dining trope, but Biehl’s version balances the flavors in complex harmony—celery root bushi (marinated in tamari and brown sugar, then dried until rock hard) is grated over orgeat ice cream, finished with a generous dollop of ossetra caviar and freshly pressed almond oil drizzled tableside. Biehl drives an hour out of her way twice a week to pick up hoja santa leaves at Chino Farms for one of her most memorable desserts: a hoja santa granita palate cleanser with finger lime, mochi, and amaranth over sweet cream gelato. She could order hoja santa from Specialty Produce, but the Chino Farms leaves simply taste better—and at Lilo, there’s no compromising on quality.

Inside Lilo: Preservation, Passion, and Precision

The immersive experience at Lilo begins in a tranquil outdoor garden, where guests are greeted with a welcome drink and bite-sized snacks before moving indoors to one of 14 chef’s counter seats or two intimate tables for four. Chefs glide between cooking and plating, then presenting and describing dishes with practiced ease. Shelves above the wine glasses display jars of all sizes, filled with one-of-a-kind preserved ingredients—like that celery root bushi. “We want to build the coolest garde manger section to work with,” Bost says. “There’s some fermentation and preservation. Whatever we are excited about—juniper, spruce, fruits, flowers—we want to capture them at their peak flavor and make sure we can carry that flavor for the longest period possible.”

The passion from every member of Lilo’s team is palpable—whether it’s Biehl’s literal drive or wine director Savannah Riedler’s enthusiasm for California wine as she speaks about pouring Caraccioli Cellars brut rosé by the magnum—and that kind of heart starts at the top.

“Cooking is a team sport,” Bost says. “How do we put people in their strongest positions and put the pieces of the puzzle together to operate at the highest level? It’s a long game, and it takes effort, focus, and energy. Every day is a new opportunity.”