"Since opening in 1989, Pacifica Del Mar has been more than just a restaurant — it has been a gathering place, a tradition, and a part of the fabric of Del Mar and North County for nearly four decades," the restaurant wrote on May 15, as The Coast News reported. Del Mar Plaza chose not to renew Pacifica's lease, and the restaurant closes in December.
That timing puts the closure just after the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's Bing Crosby Season, which runs from Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 29. This is the last fall meet with Pacifica still open. Over the same year, the businesses opening around Pacifica at 1555 Camino Del Mar have mostly been mornings-and-afternoons places: a market, a pastry shop, a Baja-style counter and a coffee bar on the way. The meet is the last stretch on the calendar before the Plaza's longest-running ocean-view dinner room closes and the property's daytime tenants become most of the mix.
A restaurant that opened with the building
Pacifica was one of the first tenants in the newly built Del Mar Plaza, at the corner of Camino Del Mar and 15th Street, in 1989. The Coast News described it as a draw for racetrack visitors as well as for regular weeknight dinners, bar visits, birthdays, anniversaries and wedding receptions. SanDiegoVille listed "race season cocktails" among what the room had stood for over several generations.
Pacifica has not announced an exact last night of service. Its May statement asked guests to "visit us one last time," and every report since has said only that it closes in December. That leaves the race meet as the one fixed stretch on the calendar before the doors close.
The meet, on the dates that matter
In 2026, racing runs Friday through Sunday, plus an added card on Thanksgiving. DMTC says Friday cards usually have eight races and weekend cards nine. On regular race days, gates open at 11 AM and first post is 12:30 PM. That puts the last race in the afternoon, with the evening still free.
| Date | What's on | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 6 | Opening Day | First post 12:30 PM; free admission for Diamond Club members |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Uncorked: Derby Days Wine Festival | 1 to 4 PM at the Seaside Cabana; $84 general, $100 early entry from noon; ages 21+ |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving racing | Family Fun Run at 8 AM on the Main Track; Turf Club brunch at 11 AM; eight races ending around 2 PM |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Hollywood Derby, Grade I | $300,000 guaranteed, 1 1/8 miles on turf |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Matriarch Stakes, Grade I; closing day | $300,000 guaranteed, 1 mile on turf |
Thanksgiving starts earlier than any other day of the meet. Registration for the Family Fun Run opens at 7 AM. The run is a one-mile lap from the starting gate to the Winners' Circle. Tickets are $24 for ages 16 and up and $16 for ages 4 to 15, and children 3 and under enter free. Each ticket includes racetrack admission and a souvenir medallion. Gates open at 9:30 AM and first post is 11 AM, so the races end around early afternoon.
The final weekend has the most racing. Saturday, November 28, has three graded stakes: the Hollywood Derby, the Seabiscuit Handicap and the Jimmy Durante Stakes. Sunday, November 29, has four stakes, led by the Matriarch, followed by the Cecil B. DeMille, the Bayakoa and the Stormy Liberal. That Sunday is the meet's last day, and it falls just days before Pacifica's closing month begins.
The Plaza's newer tenants, opened and coming
The Plaza has been adding tenants since last summer, and almost all of them serve the daytime:
- Valley Farm Market and High Marea. Third-generation owner Derek Marso opened the market in late December and held a grand opening for both businesses in January, according to The Coast News. The market has a butcher counter, prepared foods and wine and is open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM. High Marea, next door, serves tacos, ceviche and seared ahi from 11 AM to 8 PM.
- Desserts By Clément. Chef Clément Le Déoré's second San Diego location, after his Pacific Beach flagship, opened June 29 in Suite 304, the former Paris en Rose space. It is open daily from 9 AM to 9 PM.
- The Cottage. The breakfast spot expanded to the Plaza the summer before, the same Coast News report noted.
- La La Land Café, coming next. In August, Plaza owner Brixton Capital announced a lease with the coffee and matcha brand for the southwest-corner mezzanine terrace. The deal covers 1,168 square feet indoors plus seating and queueing space on the terrace deck. It will be the brand's first San Diego location, and no construction or opening dates have been set.
The space La La Land is taking was most recently Pacifica Breeze Café, a sibling of Pacifica Del Mar that closed in late April. That means the Pacifica name will leave the Plaza in two steps within one year: first the casual café on the terrace, then the dining room upstairs.
Look at those hours side by side. The market opens at 8 AM, the pastry counter at 9 AM and High Marea at 11 AM. The market and High Marea close at 8 PM, and Clément at 9 PM. These businesses fit a morning errand, a lunch after the beach or an afternoon coffee. Pacifica, with its cocktails, sunset tables and celebration dinners, was built for the evening. The Plaza has said why it is making changes. Property manager Tamara Failla gave this explanation to The Coast News:
"As part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the guest experience and maintaining the highest standards for the Plaza, we periodically evaluate our tenant mix and long-term vision for the property."
After the meet, a gap upstairs
Once Pacifica closes, the Plaza's second-floor ocean-view restaurant space has no announced replacement. In June, the Plaza said it had picked a new operator "whose concept aligns with our goals for the future of Del Mar Plaza" and would name it "in the coming months."
In May, SanDiegoVille reported that Water Grill, a seafood restaurant run by Costa Mesa-based King's Seafood Company, is slated to take over the space. The same report said no opening date had been announced. Because Pacifica stays open through the end of 2026 and a major interior and exterior remodel is likely, the site said a Water Grill opening was "not expected until sometime in 2027 at the earliest." Neither Water Grill nor the Plaza has confirmed the move. Water Grill's own website does not list a Del Mar location among its restaurants.
If the reported timeline holds, the seafood room upstairs will have its first stretch without a dinner service since 1989. That would run through the first months of 2027. La La Land's opening date on the terrace is also still open, so the Plaza could spend part of that time with both former Pacifica spaces between tenants.
Fitting a last dinner around race days
Race days and Pacifica's final weeks overlap on four weekends and Thanksgiving. Getting between the two is the main planning question.
- Take the shuttle to the track. DMTC runs a free race-day shuttle from Solana Beach station, which is served by both the Coaster and Amtrak. Shuttles start when gates open, meet trains, leave 15 minutes after each race and leave 30 minutes after the final race. The track stop is just west of Mission Towers.
- Or plan for parking. General parking is $15 per vehicle and valet is $30, both paid on entry with no re-entry. A five-pass general parking book costs $29 and is good for the fall meet. The rideshare drop-off and pickup lot is on Jimmy Durante Boulevard. If you ride a bike, the Fairgrounds has racks at O'Brien Gate and Arena Gate. Bring a lock.
- Use the afternoon finish. With first post at 12:30 PM on Friday through Sunday, the races end with time left for an early dinner on Camino Del Mar. On Thanksgiving, shuttle service from Solana Beach station starts at 10 AM, and the eight races are expected to end around 2 PM.
- Don't count on December. Pacifica has not said which night in December is its last. The meet's closing weekend, November 28 and 29, is the last pair of race days you can be sure fall before the doors close.
Uncorked on November 14 runs from 1 to 4 PM, earlier in the day than a Pacifica dinner. The festival advertises more than 100 wines and bubblies, food trucks and music. Food is sold separately, and DMTC lists a $10 discount with code DMTC10.
Changes like this at Del Mar Plaza are part of what makes the village's daily rhythm, and we follow them as closely as we follow sales. If you'd like to talk about how this year's changes along Camino Del Mar fit with your own plans in Del Mar, the principals at Cohen Albrecht Real Estate Group are glad to meet. Schedule a Private Consultation.
