Sea180 Coastal Tavern
800 Seacoast Dr
Imperial Beach, CA
91932
(619) 631-4949
This beachfront restaurant, located in the Pier South Resort in Imperial Beach, boasts 180 degree views of the Coronado Islands, South Bay and Mexico. There are indoor and outdoor spaces, ranging from accommodating 16 guests to 300. The fare ranges from seafood to steak to Mexican classics like ceviche and tacos. Cohn says, there’s also an opportunity to buy out the restaurant and the hotel next door, Pier South Resort.
Vintana Wine + Dine
205 Auto Park Way
Escondido, CA 92029
(760) 745-7777
Located on the penthouse level the Lexus Centre of Escondido, this 26,000 square-foot venue, is all about luxury. Vintana’s 9474-square-foot Moonlight Veranda has great views, cabanas, a fire pit, a built-in bar, and fits 350 guests for dinner. The California cuisine is complemented by many fine wines. Guests will wow at all the Lexus vehicles on site.
Coasterra
880 Harbor Island Dr
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 814-1300
Check out this coastal venue’s spectacular views of the San Diego skyline. A customized mid-century modern space, Coasterra has lots of event options including a floating event deck, an expansive indoor ballroom and a patio terrace which seats up to 300. The restaurant’s Mexican cuisine pairs well with its 70 labels of high-end tequilas and artisanal mezcal.
The Prado
1549 El Prado
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 557-9441
This delightful restaurant in the heart of Balboa Park has yesteryear charm with modern amenities and top-notch service. Marry outdoors in a garden ceremony; celebrate in the fountain courtyard or soak up high style in the Grand Ballroom, which features hardwood floors, a 27-foot hand stenciled ceiling and accommodates over 300 guests.
BO-Beau Kitchen + Garden
La Mesa
Ocean Beach
Hillcrest
A boutique venue, this cozy space in La Mesa has French flair that and hosts up to 250. There’s an indoor loft, an outdoor garden and opportunity to buy out the whole venue. The menu features bistro favorites like boeuf bourguignon, steak frites and pasta with lobster.
Island Prime/C Level
880 Harbor Island Dr.
San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 298-6802
Overlooking San Diego’s skyline and Coronado, these two restaurants on Harbor Island serve up amazing views, lots of style and of course, great food. The extensive menu includes lobster, crab cake, lamb and ribeye. Book the space for weddings as small as 25 guests, or up to 320 for a sit-down meal, or 500 for a reception style gathering.
by: Kristen Castillo
When David Cohn and his wife, Lesley decided to open a restaurant in the early 1980’s, they started out with a small diner.
Fast forward 36 years, and the couple, their children and their son-in-law, run the families’ 24 restaurants, all part of the Cohn Restaurant Group (CRG).
“It definitely is a family business,” Cohn says. “We’re locally based and we are working every day.” With restaurants in different price points, styles and menu offerings, ranging from steakhouses to waterfront fine dining to sports bars, each eatery is an “it” place to dine in San Diego and beyond. CRG has locations throughout San Diego, from the South Bay to Downtown San Diego, La Mesa and North County. They also have restaurants outside the county, including BO-Beau Kitchen + Roof Tap in Long Beach and Hawaii’s Castaway Café and The Plantation House. “We wanted to have a collection of venues, each that were unique décor in so many ways in food and décor but had similarities to the CRG experience,” says Cohn.
Wow Weddings
Nearly all of these venues are wedding-ready too. “We believe even at a large banquet, you can still have an epic dining experience,” says Tracey Amernick, CPCE, VP of Event Sales for CRG, who leads the group that books and coordinates weddings and events.
Each venue is committed to providing couples and guests with quality food and exceptional service.
“We don’t have two weddings at the same time,” says Amernick, crediting CRG’s success to, “the energy of the team, the attention to detail in the food. It’s the mentality of providing absolute service.”
Cohn, who values the ideas of hospitality and customer service, agrees. “We’re proud of our team, not only do they help people put together their weddings, but execute the events as well,” he says. “We’ve had many of the same people for a great number of years.”
Flexible Planning
Amernick and her team know how challenging it can be for couples to plan their wedding. That’s why they have a one-stop planning approach. “We decided to be almost like an in-house dining service,” she says. “So in the past, guests would need to contact all the locations individually and now they can reach out to us through the home office. My team can check multiple venues for them, we can suggest multiple things, so it’s easy and userfriendly to the couples.”
During calls, they can suggest multiple venues to fit a potential client’s needs for location, budget, type of food, atmosphere, capacity, etc.
Couples also love the flexibility of hosting their event at a CRG venue. Each restaurant is open to customizing the client’s celebration. For examples, standard catering menus are just a starting point.
“When you think of how busy everyone is and the time involved in checking things, when you can talk to one person on who has a global understanding of the whole company, that’s a huge benefit,” says Amernick.
“Our chefs are always up for a new adventure,” says Amernick, noting many of the restaurants’ chefs frequently change menus to keep things interesting and tasty.
