Jack & Giulio’s Italian Restaurant

On our list of the best special-occasion restaurants in San Diego.

Serving what it calls the "Best Scampi" since 1961, this family-run Italian restaurant started as Giulio's of Pacific Beach before relocating to Old Town more than two decades ago. Pasta is hand-rolled on-site daily, and the kitchen's signature dish remains butterflied shrimp sauteed with mushrooms in white wine, alongside veal specialties like a cutlet folded around ham and fontina. Candlelit tables sit a few steps from the bar, with a large open patio that fills up in summer.