10 more restaurants we love in San Diego’s Convoy District

A couple months ago, we shared 10 of our favorite Asian restaurants in San Diego’s Convoy District. But as anyone who spends time in Convoy knows, narrowing down the neighborhood’s incredible restaurants to just 10 is nearly impossible.

So we’re back with 10 more.

This time, we’re highlighting everything from Korean comfort food and Thai curries to Sichuan dishes, handmade Chinese noodles, dim sum, and omakase.

Like our first list, these aren’t rankings. They’re simply more of the places we love eating at and the dishes we keep coming back for.

Let’s jump in:

Woomiok

Woomiok is one of our favorite spots in Convoy when we’re craving traditional Korean comfort food.

The restaurant specializes in seolleongtang, a Korean beef bone soup made by simmering bones for hours until the broth becomes rich, milky, and full of flavor. It’s one of those dishes that doesn’t need much to be satisfying. Add some salt, green onions, and kimchi, and you have a perfect meal.

But Woomiok is much more than just a soup restaurant. We also love their bossam, which comes with tender slices of boiled pork and accompaniments for making wraps. The LA galbi is another favorite, with sweet and savory marinated short ribs that make it difficult to stop eating.

It’s the kind of restaurant that works just as well when we want a simple bowl of soup as it does when we’re bringing a group and ordering several dishes to share.

What we order: Bossam, seolleongtang, LA galbi

Koon Thai Kitchen

There are plenty of Thai restaurants in San Diego, but Koon Thai Kitchen is one of our favorites.

We love pad kee mao, also known as drunken noodles, and Koon Thai makes a delicious version with wide rice noodles, basil, vegetables, and plenty of bold flavors. It’s one of those dishes we almost always order when we go out for Thai food.

We also love their papaya salad. The combination of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet flavors makes it an ideal dish to share with the rest of the table. And if you really enjoy spicy food, Koon Thai isn’t afraid to bring the heat.

More recently, we’ve become fans of their Chiang Mai steak khao soi. The Northern Thai dish combines a rich coconut curry broth with egg noodles, crispy noodles, and tender steak. It’s an incredible combination of flavors and textures, especially with the pickled vegetables and chili oil.

What we order: Pad kee mao, papaya salad, Chiang Mai steak khao soi

China Max

China Max was one of Convoy’s most recognizable Chinese restaurants before a devastating fire forced it to close in 2020. After nearly five years, the restaurant reopened in 2025 with new ownership and a different concept.

Today, China Max Dumpling House focuses on handmade dumplings and dim sum, including an all-you-can-eat option that gives diners the opportunity to try a wide variety of dishes.

Unlike traditional dim sum restaurants where servers push carts around the dining room, China Max prepares its dishes to order. You select items in rounds, with everything arriving freshly made.

We love being able to order multiple rounds of xiao long bao, har gow, shumai, and other dim sum favorites without having to choose just a few dishes.

The restaurant even has a glass-enclosed station where you can watch the staff make dumplings by hand.

It’s a different China Max from the one many San Diegans grew up with, but we’re glad to see the restaurant back in Convoy.

What we order: All-you-can-eat dim sum

Hidden Fish

Hidden Fish is one of our favorite places in Convoy when we’re in the mood for a more special sushi experience.

Unlike a traditional sushi restaurant where you order individual rolls and nigiri, Hidden Fish specializes in omakase, which means leaving the selection of dishes up to the chef.

The intimate sushi counter allows you to watch the chefs prepare each piece of nigiri right in front of you. The experience is carefully paced, with each course highlighting different fish, preparations, and flavors.

What we love about omakase is being able to try fish and combinations we might not normally order ourselves. Sometimes the most memorable pieces are the simplest ones, where the quality of the fish is allowed to shine.

Hidden Fish isn’t where we’d go for a casual sushi dinner with a big group. It’s where we’d go when we want to sit at the counter, enjoy great sushi, and let the chefs take care of the rest.

What we order: Omakase

Yuk Dae Jang

Yuk Dae Jang specializes in one of our favorite Korean soups: yukgaejang.

Yukgaejang is a spicy Korean beef soup traditionally made with shredded beef, vegetables, and a rich red broth. It’s hearty, comforting, and particularly satisfying when we’re craving something spicy.

Our favorite version at Yuk Dae Jang is the gopchang yukgaejang, which adds beef intestines to the soup. We love gopchang, and the combination of the rich, chewy intestines and spicy broth makes this one of our favorite Korean soups in San Diego.

We also love their bibim naengmyeon, which offers a completely different experience. The cold, chewy noodles are tossed in a spicy, sweet, and tangy sauce that makes them especially refreshing on a warm day.

Add an order of bossam to share, and you have everything you need for an incredible Korean meal.

What we order: Gopchang yukgaejang, bibim naengmyeon, bossam

Spicy City

If you love Sichuan food, Spicy City deserves a spot on your Convoy restaurant rotation.

The restaurant specializes in bold, spicy Chinese dishes that make generous use of dried chilies, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. If you’ve never experienced the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, this is a great place to start.

We almost always order the mapo tofu, which combines soft tofu with a spicy, savory sauce. It’s one of our favorite Chinese comfort foods, especially with a bowl of white rice.

Another favorite is the pork intestine dry pot. We love dishes that use intestines, and this one combines their chewy texture with the bold flavors of Sichuan cooking.

And then there’s the fried chicken cube with hot pepper, featuring crispy pieces of chicken tossed with dried chilies and spices. It’s salty, spicy, and incredibly addictive.

Spicy City isn’t about fancy presentations or elaborate dining experiences. It’s about big flavors, generous portions, and ordering more dishes than you probably need.

What we order: Mapo tofu, pork intestine dry pot, fried chicken cube with hot pepper

Tasty Noodle House

Despite its name, some of our favorite dishes at Tasty Noodle House aren’t noodles at all.

The restaurant specializes in Shanghai-style Chinese food, with an extensive menu covering everything from dumplings and noodle soups to stir-fried dishes and rice cakes.

One of our favorite dishes is the fish fillet with spicy sauce. We love the combination of tender fish and bold, savory sauce, especially when paired with rice.

We also love their black pepper seafood rice cake. If you’ve only had Korean tteokbokki, this is a completely different way to enjoy rice cakes. The chewy rice cakes are stir-fried with seafood and black pepper sauce, creating a rich, savory dish with plenty of texture.

Another favorite is the eggplant and mushroom with basil. The soft eggplant absorbs all the flavor from the sauce, while the mushrooms and basil make this one of our favorite vegetable dishes in Convoy.

There’s so much variety on the menu that we could probably order something different every visit. Unfortunately, we like these three dishes too much to branch out very often.

What we order: Fish fillet with spicy sauce, black pepper seafood rice cake, eggplant & mushroom with basil

Moobongri

Moobongri specializes in soondae, the Korean blood sausage that’s one of our favorite Korean foods.

Located inside the H Mart food hall on Balboa Avenue, Moobongri is an easy stop when we’re shopping for groceries and craving a hearty Korean meal.

Our go-to order is the spicy soondae guk, a Korean soup made with soondae, pork, and a deeply flavorful broth. It’s rich, spicy, and incredibly comforting, especially when paired with rice and kimchi.

We also love their combination soondae plate, which lets us enjoy different types of soondae and sliced pork without having everything served in soup.

Soondae isn’t necessarily the first dish we’d recommend to someone unfamiliar with Korean food, especially because traditional versions can include blood and organ meats. But if you grew up eating soondae, or you’re someone who enjoys Korean offal dishes, Moobongri is definitely worth checking out.

What we order: Spicy soondae guk, combination soondae plate

Pelicana Chicken

There are so many Korean fried chicken restaurants in Convoy, but Pelicana Chicken is one of our favorites.

Pelicana is a Korean fried chicken chain known for its crispy chicken and wide variety of sauces. We love their honey soy wings, which combine sweet and savory flavors with the crunchy texture that makes Korean fried chicken so good.

We also love their dakgangjeong, a Korean-style fried chicken dish coated in a sticky, sweet, and spicy sauce. It’s one of those dishes where we tell ourselves we’ll only have a few pieces before somehow finishing the entire order.

But one of our favorite things about Pelicana is that it serves more than just fried chicken.

Their golbaengi-muchim is a classic Korean drinking snack made with chewy sea snails, vegetables, and a spicy, tangy sauce. It’s commonly served with thin noodles and is one of our favorite dishes to share.

If you’re familiar with Korean drinking culture, you’ll recognize the appeal of combining fried chicken with dishes like golbaengi-muchim. It’s the kind of food that makes you want to sit around a table with friends for hours.

What we order: Dakgangjeong, golbaengi-muchim, honey soy wings

Shan Xi Magic Kitchen

Shan Xi Magic Kitchen is one of our favorite places in Convoy for handmade Chinese noodles.

The restaurant specializes in food from China’s Shaanxi province, particularly thick, chewy, hand-pulled noodles.

Our favorite dish is the biang biang noodles, which are famous for their incredible width and chewy texture. They’re served with chili oil and seasonings that coat every bite of the noodles. We love the combination of the noodles’ texture and the bold, spicy sauce.

We also love their liang pi cold noodles. Unlike biang biang noodles, liang pi are served cold with a tangy, spicy dressing. They’re refreshing, chewy, and a great contrast to the restaurant’s heavier noodle dishes.

And then there’s the crispy stewed pork burger, also known as roujiamo. Instead of a traditional burger bun, tender stewed pork is stuffed inside a crispy Chinese flatbread.

We love the contrast between the crunchy bread and savory pork. It’s also a great dish to share alongside a couple of noodle orders.

If you’re looking to explore Chinese food beyond the Cantonese and Sichuan dishes that are more common in San Diego, Shan Xi Magic Kitchen is a great place to start.

What we order: Biang biang noodles, liang pi cold noodles, crispy stewed pork burger

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One of our favorite things about Convoy is how many different Asian cuisines you can explore without having to travel very far.

Within a few miles, you can find Korean bone broth soups, Japanese omakase, Northern Thai curries, Sichuan dry pots, handmade Shaanxi noodles, and so much more.

Even after putting together two lists of our favorite restaurants, we still have plenty of places we haven’t mentioned.

That’s what makes writing these guides so difficult. There’s always another restaurant we love, another dish we want to share, and another place we haven’t had the chance to try.

We’ll probably be back with another 10 eventually.

Until then, what are some of your favorite restaurants in Convoy that we haven’t included?