The highly anticipated Little Italy Food Hall opened to the public last Thursday. Located in the Piazza della Famiglia square, the food hall features six eateries, a bar, and an outdoor wine cart.
During our visit, the most popular station was Not Not Tacos, opened by beloved local celebrity Sam “The Cooking Guy” Zien. Rounding out the hall are Ambrogio15, Single Fin Kitchen, Mein St. Asian Kitchen, Wicked Maine Lobster, Roast Meat & Sandwich Shop.
We’ve tried most of the other eateries before (see links above), so we were most interested in Not Not Tacos. It was a pleasant surprise seeing Sam there greeting and taking pictures with all his fans.
The menu consists of fun and creative dishes, satisfying cravings you may not even know you had, all served on tortillas. No, these may not be traditional tacos, but they don’t try to be.
Izzy’s Pastrami
muenster | cole slaw | dill pickle | horseradish mustard | crispy onions
A fun take on one of my favorite sandwiches. I found the horseradish mustard very unique but slightly too strong for me.
Smokey Pork + Mac
mac-&-cheese | sriracha | green onion | sour cream
I never thought I’d find myself craving and needing macaroni and cheese tacos, but that changed after trying these.
Korean Short Rib
ginger garlic soy sauce | jicama | green onion | gochujang | sour cream | crispy panko
This has been one of their most popular tacos. During my visit, I felt it was a little salty but I think it may be the kitchen just trying to work out grand opening kinks, so I’ll give this a try another time.
Kelly’s Shrimp
chipotle cream | red cabbage | old bay | micro cilantro
The taco looks simple and understated but it was one of my favorites. The chipotle cream sauce went wonderfully with the shrimp.
Overall, it was fun to check out the new food hall and it’s such a great addition to Little Italy. It was quite busy when we visited so I will wait a little longer before a return visit, but it is somewhere I would take friends and family to.
Little Italy Food Hall
550 W Date St suite b
San Diego, CA 92101
i want to check it out soon but maybe on a weekday. i think it took me several months before i even tried going to liberty public market after it had opened! i have been hearing good things about the mein street place so that and tacos is what i most want to try.
hope you get to check it out soon!