Convoy Street: a first-timer's guide

Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa is San Diego's Pan-Asian food district: Korean BBQ, ramen, hot pot, dim sum, pho, sushi, boba and karaoke, packed into strip-mall plazas along about a mile of road. It's easy to have a great night here and just as easy to spend it circling a parking lot. Here's how to do it right.

How Convoy works

• It's plazas, not a main street. Restaurants share lots in shopping centers. Pick a plaza, park once and walk between spots.
• Waitlists beat reservations. The popular rooms run tablet or QR waitlists. Add your name first, then worry about parking.
• Watch the clock. 17 spots close mid-afternoon between lunch and dinner, and some stop seating well before their posted close.
• Share everything. Most kitchens portion for the table, and family style is the norm.
• Read the fine print. Some spots add service charges, have card minimums or put AYCE on a clock. Each spot page's "Good to know" box has the details.

Park once: the big plazas

These lots each hold several good spots, so one parking space covers dinner and dessert.

Full lot-by-lot details are in the parking guide.

Sample routes

First visit: noodles, boba, dessert

Start with ramen at Tajima Ramen Convoy or RakiRaki Ramen & Tsukemen, walk off the broth, then get a drink at Yun Tea House and finish with bingsoo at Sul & Beans - or an ah-boong cone next door at Somi Somi.

Big group night: KBBQ, then karaoke

Manna BBQ and HIVE Bar & Karaoke share Hive Plaza, so you can grill, then walk to a private room without moving the car. Put your name on Manna's waitlist before you look for parking.

Park once in Convoy Court

One lot, eight spots: soup dumplings at Tasty Noodle House, beef noodle soup at formoosa, a seafood boil at Crab Hut, tacos at The Taco Stand - and RakiRaki Ramen & Tsukemen until midnight. The lot is brutal at dinner, so arrive early or street-park.

After 10pm

ZZan Sushi & Soju and Min Sok Chon pair Korean food and soju with karaoke rooms, Handoo Korean BBQ grills until midnight, and Happy Lemon Convoy or Sweet Vibe handle dessert late.

Cheap and fast lunch

Banh mi from Cali Banh Mi (opens at 8am), a curry lunch special at Monsta Ramen Curry, or malatang by the pound at YinTang Spicy Hot Pot.

Pick by craving

• Best Korean BBQ on Convoy - AYCE marathons, charcoal grills, a no-clock self-serve buffet, a lunch-price steal, a late-night workhorse and the a la carte room worth paying up for — nine ways to do KBBQ on Convoy.
• Best Hot Pot on Convoy - Mala that numbs, malatang by the pound, a pot of your own, clean Japanese shabu and AYCE wagyu — how to pick your broth on Convoy.
• Best Boba on Convoy - The prettiest tea house, the best real tea, the late-night waffle stop and the reliable daily driver — seven cups worth the line.
• Best Asian Markets on Convoy - A Japanese food court, a brand-new Korean flagship, the pan-Asian mega-mart and the Don Quijote-family maze — what each market does best.
• Best Karaoke on Convoy - Private noraebang rooms, a pocha with karaoke, a BYOB rooms-till-4am spot, a real dive bar and Mandarin-strong KTV — pick your stage.
• Best Ramen on Convoy - The Michelin bowl, the 1am bowl, the smoky black-garlic bowl, the light shoyu bowl and the no-line bowl — how to pick your ramen on Convoy.
• Best Bingsoo & Shaved Ice on Convoy - Korean bingsoo for two, Japanese kakigori built tall and mango everything — where to finish the night on Convoy.
• Best Ice Cream on Convoy - House-made pandan and boricha scoops, vegan coconut sundaes, ah-boong soft serve and puffles — Convoy's ice cream run.
• Best Chinese Food on Convoy - Shanghainese buns, Sichuan heat, Xi'an hand-ripped noodles, Cantonese roast duck, Yunnan rice noodles and Taiwanese beef noodle soup — eight regions, one street.
• Best Dumplings & Dim Sum on Convoy - Soup dumplings three ways, AYCE handmade dumplings, pan-fried pork buns and old-school dim sum carts — where to get your dumpling fix on Convoy.
• Best Korean Food on Convoy - Bubbling stews, hot-stone bowls, pork bone soup at 10:30am, double-fried chicken, two late-night pochas and the KBBQ rooms to know — Korean food on Convoy.
• Best Sushi & Omakase on Convoy - A Michelin-mentioned 18-piece counter, Edomae omakase to 90s hip-hop, $3.95 conveyor plates and late-night rolls with soju — sushi on Convoy at every price.
• Best Izakaya & Yakitori on Convoy - Charcoal yakitori, a skewers-and-ramen fixture, a Korean pocha with karaoke and a late-night soju bar — where to drink and snack on Convoy.
• Best Pho & Vietnamese Food on Convoy - Broth poured at your table, late-night filet mignon pho, garlic butter wings with easy parking, soft-bread banh mi from 8am and old-school pork buns — Vietnamese on Convoy.
• Cheap Eats on Convoy - $3.85 tacos, $1 wings, $3.95 sushi plates and late-night skewers under $10, plus the best full meals around $15.
• Best Mexican Food on Convoy - Carne asada fries, tacos till midnight, a 6am drive-thru and family-run breakfast burritos — the four taco shops worth knowing on Convoy.

Or browse all 104 spots A to Z, the late-night list and what's new.

Questions people ask

Where is Convoy Street?

Convoy Street runs north-south through Kearny Mesa in central San Diego. The restaurants cluster in shopping plazas along the street, roughly from the 3800 block at the south end (Sunrise Towne Centre) up to the 4900 block, with more just off Convoy on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard and Balboa Avenue.

Is parking free on Convoy?

Most plaza lots are free for customers, and a few have time limits or paid sections. The catch is space: at dinner the busiest lots fill up and you'll circle or park on side streets. Our parking guide rates every lot Easy, Medium or Brutal.

Do I need reservations?

Many of the most popular spots run a waitlist instead — you add your name on a tablet, QR code or Yelp and wait nearby. Omakase counters like Hidden Fish and Matoi are reservation-only. Each spot page's "Good to know" box says which system it uses.

What is open late on Convoy?

14 spots serve past 11pm at least five nights a week — ramen, KBBQ, soju bars, dessert and karaoke. See the late-night list for the full lineup.

Can you walk Convoy Street?

Within a plaza, yes — that's the point of parking once. Between the south and north ends it's about a mile along a busy road, so most people drive between plazas.