Zest Wine Bistro — Restaurant in Lemon Grove

A true gem in Southeast San Diego

This place is easily one of my favorite spots in SD. Tucked away in Lemon Grove, it’s a refreshing change from the overpriced places in La Mesa. This place has the charm of a hidden gem with the warmth of a true neighborhood favorite.

The wine selection is amazing. Heather, who’s always there when I visit, is incredibly friendly and knows her stuff. She’s recommended some of the best wines and really helped me discover my palette. She really takes the time to get to know what you like, and every time I leave, I’m already looking forward to coming back.

The food comes from Giardino next door- delish, add wine, even more delish! The cherry in top is the dog friendly patio and just overall great vibes - hard to beat out here in east SD (and tbh non-east sd).

If you’re looking for a cozy, welcoming place with great wine, great food, and great people this...

This place is a hidden treasure for fine wine & food aficionados, and ask for Roberto he is wonderful, he put us through a course of 5 wines to taste with our food. We ate the delicious sesame crusted ahi tuna along with the prosciutto wrapped dates. Then we had the truffle burratta cheese with fresh tomato slices and basi. Finally we topped it off with a delcious shrimp and pancetta pizza from the sister restaurant next door Giardino. The experience here was fabulous it’s a must go to place give yourself two hours go early around 5pm sit outside they have fans. The young premed lady was preparing our food came out to check on us & we told her how wonderful everything turned out. She & Roberto were wonderful in their presentation of each plate it was 10 stars! We finished with the most amazing slice of dark chocolate cake at the end. Must...

Amazing menu, food, wine and ambiance!! The chef (the-cooking-penguin on Instagram) is incredible. He shared his story of being very sick from diabetes and hence his inspiration to cook healthier, lower glycemic foods. The wine selection is also amazing. We had two wine flights of 4 wines each for $20 each, as well as the jumbo shrimp cocktail, salmon carpaccio, a charcuterie board, and limoncello cake for dessert. Everything was devine! A great date night place or girls night out. Owned by the same owners as the cantina next door. If you want a bit more of a formal dinner seeing, go to the cantina. If you want more tapas and slightly more casual atmosphere, go to Zest. Both have similar menu offerings and both...