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Culinary Dropout - Del Mar, San Diego, CA

Culinary Dropout - Del Mar

4.8 (25)
$30 and under
American
12875 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130-2010

Make a reservation

2 people
8:00 PM
Booked 109 times today
Experiences are available.

About this restaurant

  • Great for creative cocktails
  • Good for groups
  • Great for outdoor dining
At Culinary Dropout, it’s all about raising a glass to good friends and even better vibes. A spot where flavor and music fuel the soul, kick off happy hour with ice-cold beer and our famous soft pretzels and provolone fondue. Staying for dinner? Dig into our handcrafted cocktails and 36-hour slow-braised pork ribs. Did we mention you won’t want to leave when the band starts? Come hang out and stay a while. We’re always serving damn good food for damn good people.

Additional information

Experiences

  • Mother's Day Brunch at Culinary Dropout

    Apr 29, 2025 - May 11, 2025
    Raise a glass to mom! Chef specials, festive cocktails, great vibes: GUARANTEED! Enjoy all your brunch favorites alongside unique menu features, like Blue Crab Quiche Florentine, and special cocktails. Reserve your spot for brunch on May 11th.
    Mother's Day Brunch at Culinary Dropout Photo

What 25 people are saying

Culinary Dropout - Del Mar reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.9Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.6Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Culinary Dropout - Del Mar delights with "fantastic ambiance," vibrant atmosphere, and "authentic service." Guests rave about "exceptional" food and "delicious" drinks with live music enhancing the experience. With a menu made from scratch, it's a "total game changer" offering a fun, lively venue with "top-notch" service and "fabulous" cocktails.

25 Reviews
  1. Jerimy

    Phoenix19 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Run to Culinary Dropout!!!!! It was one of our frequent visits when we lived in Phoenix, and in San Diego it’s only better!!! The pretzels and fondue, unskippable… MUST GET!! The chicken and steak frites together!? Wow… what a meal.. the drinks??? Delicious… I mean we now have a new regular place to go! Service was unbelievable for a Grand Opening, smooth and wonderful! Everyone’s so friendly, atmosphere is perfect. Can not recommend enough!!

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  2. Susan VIP

    San Diego46 reviews

    4.0

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Excellent service (as usual with this restaurant group), friendly, diverse and attentive, open kitchen, great vibe (love the lighting and dress code for the wait staff, and general feel of mutual cooperation that gives a sense of friendliness in the dining experience. I had the Mongolian beef, which was cooked to perfection (with the slight exception of being a bit drunk on an overuse of hoisin). No question this location and concept will do fantastic!
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 2 days ago
    Hello Susan, Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our service and found our staff to be friendly and diverse. It's always our goal to provide a great dining experience and we're glad you appreciated the vibe and atmosphere. We're glad you enjoyed the Mongolian beef and we hope to see you again soon at Culinary Dropout - Del Mar! Best regards, The Management Team

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  3. Ryan VIP

    San Diego7 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was incredible. The service was excellent and I can’t wait to go back. There was one tiny hiccup where it took a little bit longer for the food to come out, but they apologized without us having to even say anything and promptly brought the food out shortly thereafter, and even gave us one of the meals for free. Everybody who we interacted with was very friendly and knowledgeable about the food and drinks. Our server, Nay, had recommended a drink  that our whole table ended up ordering and loved. Something tells me I’ll be there at happy hour from 3 to 6 often enough.
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 2 days ago
    Hey Ryan, We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your meal at Culinary Dropout - Del Mar and found our service to be excellent! We apologize for the longer than expected wait for your food, but we're glad that it didn't detract from your experience. We're also happy to hear that our server, Nay, recommended a drink that you loved. We look forward to serving you again soon! Best, The Management Team

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  4. Melody VIP

    San Diego2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    A wonderful experience. Had a great time. The appetizers we loved. Whipped feta and pretzels with cheese amazing. The pork ribs fell off the bone. So yummy Dessert we had the monkey bread with ice cream. All So good
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 6 days ago
    Thanks for the feedback, Melody! It's great to know that you enjoyed our appetizers, pork ribs, and desserts. Your compliments about our Whipped Feta and Pretzels with Cheese and the monkey bread are greatly appreciated. We strive to provide the best food and service, and your feedback lets us know we're on the right track. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

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  5. Aaron

    Exclusive1 review

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food here is amazing, the vibe is really cool and I love the music selections. Their espresso Martini is delicious and the fried shrimp appetizer was cooked perfectly and super flavorful. The real star of the show is the hospitality, their team is bubbly, engaging and made us feel very welcome.
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 6 days ago
    Aaron! So glad you had our espresso martini and the crispy popcorn shrimp. They are our go to as well! Our team has been training very hard to strive for great hospitality every time! We will be sure to share your review with our team! Thank you again for taking the time on providing us such positive feedback! We cannot wait to see you again soon!

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  6. Carol

    San Diego1 review

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Our server was superb—attentive, prompt, and he answered all our questions. We shared a California roll, which was good and had real crab, not imitation. My partner had the ribs and I had fried chicken, and we shared entrees with each other. The ribs were the best we had ever had. The chicken was deliciously moist and tender inside, though we wished it had more spice in the coating or else hot honey. The biscuit with the chicken was heavenly! The Mississippi Mud dessert was out of this world, as we love dark chocolate and coffee. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 6 days ago
    Hi Carol, We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your time at Culinary Dropout - Del Mar! It's wonderful to know that our team was attentive and provided you with prompt service. We're glad you enjoyed our ribs and that you found the chicken to be tender and delicious. We're also glad you loved our biscuit with chicken! We're glad you loved the Mississippi Mud dessert and found it out of this world. Your feedback is invaluable, and we look forward to welcoming you back soon.

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  7. Laurie VIP

    San Diego24 reviews

    4.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    It was the first weekend they were open and the team worked well together. The bar was a bit backed up when we sat down to dinner to order drinks but our server, Joe, let us know to expect that. Several team members came by our table throughout dinner to see if we needed anything. We thought the food was very good. We had sushi as an appetizer -- it was very fresh. My skirt steak was yummy and my husband enjoyed the pork ribs. The desert was a bit too sweet but we are unusual in that we don't like overly-sweet deserts. What matters to us is the quality of the food and the service and we were very pleased. The ambiance was upscale casual.

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  8. Tricia

    San Diego1 review

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We had a great experience at Culinary Dropout! The ambience was great! Food was so good! We will definitely be back!

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  9. Wendy

    San Diego1 review

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The restaurant had a fun vibe. The food is all prepared fresh, on-site. Our entrees were generous portions and piping hot when they arrived. Fun place for happy hour, date night, or even family dinner.
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 6 days ago
    Thanks for the review, Wendy! So glad you were able to come in and have a great experience at Culinary Dropout Del Mar! Having fresh food and fresh crafted cocktails are the only way to go for a great dining experience! We cannot wait to see you again soon!

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  10. Leeanna

    Exclusive1 review

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The atmosphere was great for date night. The provolone fondue 🫕 was delish. The main course and bar drinks did take a while but was assured by our server and others they were on the way.
    Culinary Dropout - Del MarResponded 6 days ago
    Hello Leeanna, Thank you so much for checking out Culinary Dropout for such a special date night! Very happy you got to enjoy our infamous pretzels and fondue! They are the best! We can't wait to see you again soon!

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FAQs

Culinary Dropout - Del Mar is rated 4.8 stars by 25 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. San Diego
  4. North San Diego
  5. Carmel Valley

Make a reservation

2 people
8:00 PM
Booked 109 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Culinary Dropout - Del Mar

12875 El Camino Real, San Diego, CA 92130-2010

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Carmel Valley
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    American, Comfort Food, Cocktail Bar
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    None
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar
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