Little Italy in San Diego, CA

Little Italy is located North of Ash Street and South of Laurel, and runs from Pacific Highway to Front Street.  It is a hilly neighborhood where many lofts, condominiums, apartments and single-family homes have beautiful bay views.  San Diego’s Little Italy is not only a model urban neighborhood for the City of San Diego, but is also serving as a model for the handful of Little Italy’s remaining throughout the country.

Situated in close proximity to Little Italy is the Gaslamp District, along with Downtown San Diego, Seaport Village and Balboa Park and the San Diego International Airport.  Since Little Italy is centrally located between Interstate 5 and the 163 Freeway, it lends itself to easy travel.

Since the 1920’s, this great city within a city has been a stable ethnic business and residential community.  Today it represents Downtown San Diego’s oldest continuous neighborhood business district occupying 48 square blocks.  The main corridor of Little Italy is India Street where you will find Italian retail shops, boutiques, art galleries, small cafes and approximately 35-40 restaurants.

Overall, there are an abundance of delicious Italian Restaurants in Little Italy.  A few located on India Street alone are Anthology, Bencotto Italian Restaurant, BuonAppetito & SognoDiVino, Caffe Italia, Enoteca Style, Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, Indigo Grill, Landini’s Pizzeria, Mona Lisa, Po Pazzo, Puerto La Boca, Vincenzo Ristorante Italiano and Zia’s Bistro. 

If you’re looking for a unique place to live, check out Little Italy and their condominium units.  Here are a few of the options:

●    La Vita – this 304 unit complex is situated on the corner of Union and Beech.
●    Doma – this is a 121 unit complex located on the corners of Fir and Kettner.
●    Porta Sienna – this is an 88 unit complex located on the corners of Cedar and India Street in the heart of Little Italy’s neighborhood.
●    Bella Via – this 41 unit complex is also located on the corners of Cedar and India.
●    Breeza–this relatively new complex is located on Pacific Highway in Downtown San Diego, between Little Italy and the San Diego bay.
●    Aqua Vista – this is an 18-story high-rise is situated on the corners of Beech and Columbia.

There are so many things happening all the time in this community, with “Little Italy Festa” being one of them.  Held annually for the past 18 years, this event has grown to become one of the largest Italian American festivals on the West Coast.  With over 120,000 attendees, this event is filled with modern Italian music, Italian cuisines, arts, crafts, music and so much more.
 
The Little Italy’s Mercato Farmer’s Market is open every Saturday and is located at 519 West Date Street.  Fine foods, fresh produce, fresh flowers, live music and an incredible view of the bay all add up to a great day of walking, browsing and shopping.

Little Italy has continued to be a great urban neighborhood in Downtown San Diego for arts and culture.  It also has so many shopping opportunities, great restaurants, beautiful views of the San Diego Bay, making it one of the top Downtown area’s to live.