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The Prado at Balboa Park, San Diego, CA

The Prado at Balboa Park

4.6
4.6
7895 Reviews
$30 and under
Californian

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2 people
19:00
Booked 96 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Good for special occasions
  • Charming
  • Great for outdoor dining
Located in San Diego's Balboa Park, in the Historic House of Hospitality, The Prado offers historic charm and California cuisine.
Private dining

Private dining

Book your next event with us

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Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Cocktail Bar
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue 11:30–14:30 Tue 16:00–20:00 Wed–Sat 11:30–20:00 Sun 11:30–19:30
  • Phone number
    (619) 557-9441
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Executive Chef
    John King
  • Catering
    Prado Catering<br />The Prado also offers full service catering at various museums and other locations within Balboa Park. Please contact our catering department for additional information.<br /><br />Experience our Award-Winning Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner Menus<br />Professional Staff-Synchronized Service.<br />Full length table linens, gold chiavari chairs and porcelain china.
  • Private party facilities
    The Prado, located in the historic House of Hospitality in the center of San Diego’s famous Balboa Park is known for its world-class California cuisine, unparalleled ambiance and excellent service. From intimate gatherings to grand affairs, the Prado has it all to make your event unforgettable!
  • Private party contact
    Event Manager: (619) 557-9441
  • Area
    Downtown / Gaslamp
  • Cross Street
    6th Avenue
  • Parking details
    Free public parking lots available throughout Balboa Park.
  • Public transit
    Visit Balboa Park using the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), with easy access from the downtown and Mission Valley areas.Review the times for route Routes 120 (Fashion Valley), Route 7 (Smart Corner) and Rapid 215 are the main bus routes through Balboa Park
  • Additional
    Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining

Experiences

  • Daou Wine Experience

    7 Nov 2024 - 31 Dec 2024
    Daou Wine Package Add a bottle of Daou Wine to your table prior to your arrival. Payment will be added onto final check.
  • Holiday Brunch with Santa

    US$79.95 per person

    22 Dec 2024 only
    Enjoy some good old fashion family fun with our holiday brunch with Santa and Friends. Experience the holiday cheer at balboa park and enjoy seasonal favorites and bottomless mimosas brunch at the Prado in our historic Ballroom transformed into Santas Workshop. Come join us for a one of kind experience that will kick off the holiday season. We have limited seating availability from 10 am-2 pm inside our Ballroom *All reservations have a 2 hour time limit. We kindly ask that your experience does not exceed this time in order to seat other reservations on time. Adult $79.95 per person and children $19.95.
  • Christmas Eve

    US$79.95 per person

    24 Dec 2024 only
    Christmas Eve Celebration Enjoy a special preset menu at the Prado in Balboa Park. We will be serving a 3-course meal for $79.95 per person for adults and $19.95 for children, excluding tax and gratuity. We have seating availability from 4-8 pm inside our dining rooms or outside on our heated garden terrace. All reservations are not table specific and we will do our best to accommodate your requests. Outdoor reservations have no weather back up. Standard seating is inside our dining room. *All reservations have a 2 hour time limit. We kindly ask that your experience does not exceed this time in order to seat other reservations on time.

What 7,895 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

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

4.6
4.6 based on recent ratings
  • 4.4Food
  • 4.7Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.2Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Prado at Balboa Park is an elegant dining gem, perfect for a special occasion or pre-theater meal. "outstanding service" and "beautiful outdoor patio" settings elevate the dining experience. Guests rave about the calamari and sea bass dishes. While some note menu repetition, the ambiance and attentive staff make it a San Diego favorite.

7,895 Reviews
  1. Alice

    San Diego

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Nice evening. Good drinks and food. Temperature was too cold at first until we requested hostess to turn off air, which she did. Noisy because of holiday celebrants.

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  2. Anne

    San Diego

    3 reviews

    1.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    The service was not great. The food was very mediocre. They sat us way on the back patio on a cold night . Our servers didn’t check on us and we didn’t have the right cutlery. Or soup was served and got cold before they brought us spoons. We were going to show and didn’t have time to wait for everything to be corrected. It all took way too much time for soup salad and an entree. No apologies on forgotten items and wait times., we won’t go back. This place used to be great. Ps the bathrooms are outside of the restaurant. The ones for the general public . It felt like a gross school bathroom.

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  3. Peter

    San Diego

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    The Chef's Steak we had, although it was tasty, was too chewy. It lacked the tenderness of a high priced piece of meat.

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  4. Dale

    San Diego

    4 reviews

    3.0

    4 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    The front desk was nice enough. They were accommodating when I arrived early, but they sat a party of three right next to a party of 6 when there were other tables available and were still in the waiters station. Then the next party of 3 were sat right next to us on the other side 15 minutes later while the party of 6 lingered on and so the business I was there to discuss was difficult. Just something to consider going forward. I know they had their reasons but a choice would have been nice.

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  5. warren

    VIP

    San Diego

    29 reviews

    5.0

    29 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    The food was good but the decor for Christmas really made the dining experience extra special. Most of the guest dashed out to the theater so we had the place to ourselves. Coen group is always consistent.

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  6. LindaL

    VIP

    San Diego

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent experience today and waiter is right on 💯💯

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  7. Elizabeth

    VIP

    San Diego

    53 reviews

    5.0

    53 reviews

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We had dinner before the theater tonight. The restaurant was fully booked and the waitstaff were awesome. Our server timed our dinner & dessert perfectly. Hanger steak & salmon dinners were both delicious. The pradoritas (their margarita) are the best!

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  8. Eric

    Atlanta Metro

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    It was my first time to Prado and it was a nice dining experience. We had a nice setting and excellent service. The food was excellent and all was good. I would recommend Prado for certain. Scott

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  9. Shea

    San Diego

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Server was super nice and sociable, gave great recommendations for both food and places to visit after our meal. Ambience was wonderful, not too loud but didn’t feel empty either. Great food and experience overall. Would recommended the fried layered potato.

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  10. Anna

    San Diego

    1 review

    4.0

    1 review

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 4
    We had a nice evening. Happy hours on Wednesdays is the go to for this place.

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

The Prado at Balboa Park is rated 4.6 stars by 7895 OpenTable diners.

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

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 96 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for The Prado at Balboa Park

1549 El Prado, Suite 12, San Diego, CA 92101

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    6th Avenue
  • Area
    Downtown / Gaslamp
  • Hours of Operation
    Tue 11:30–14:30 Tue 16:00–20:00 Wed–Sat 11:30–20:00 Sun 11:30–19:30
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Californian, Cocktail Bar
  • Dining style
    Casual Elegant
  • Dress code
    Smart Casual
  • Parking details
    Free public parking lots available throughout Balboa Park.
  • Public transit
    Visit Balboa Park using the Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), with easy access from the downtown and Mission Valley areas.Review the times for route Routes 120 (Fashion Valley), Route 7 (Smart Corner) and Rapid 215 are the main bus routes through Balboa Park
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    John King
  • Additional
    Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining
  • Phone number
    (619) 557-9441
  • Catering
    Prado Catering<br />The Prado also offers full service catering at various museums and other locations within Balboa Park. Please contact our catering department for additional information.<br /><br />Experience our Award-Winning Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner Menus<br />Professional Staff-Synchronized Service.<br />Full length table linens, gold chiavari chairs and porcelain china.
  • Private party facilities
    The Prado, located in the historic House of Hospitality in the center of San Diego’s famous Balboa Park is known for its world-class California cuisine, unparalleled ambiance and excellent service. From intimate gatherings to grand affairs, the Prado has it all to make your event unforgettable!
  • Private party contact
    Event Manager: (619) 557-9441
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Impressum
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
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