Brockton Villa

Built in 1894 as a beachfront weekend retreat, this cottage overlooking La Jolla Cove was later owned by two sisters, La Jolla's first real estate agents, who named it after one of their hometowns, Brockton, Massachusetts. An abalone-shell fireplace went in during the 1920s, and in the 1940s a resident known as the Turtle Lady kept a piano-playing turtle here. The Pannikin family took over the lease in the early 1990s and turned the cottage into the restaurant it is today. Its signature dish, Coast Toast, is a souffle-style French toast served in several versions, including one with caramelized bananas and rum butter.