Waverly on San Elijo Avenue in Encinitas's Cardiff-by-the-Sea opened in September 2020 under an executive chef whose resume spans Le Cirque 2000 in New York, Nobu Matsuhisa in Aspen, and the Joel Robuchon kitchen at the Mansion in Las Vegas. The Progressive American menu applies European technique to seasonal California ingredients — fried burrata balls, soft-shell crab Benedict, and duck meatball plates — producing a plated-dinner format distinct from the counter-service seafood kitchens on Cardiff's Restaurant Row like Ki's Restaurant on South Coast Highway 101. The head chef competed on Iron Chef America and was named a rising chef in the Los Angeles market before relocating to North County, bringing Michelin-circuit technique to a 92007 ZIP code where most kitchens run casual beachfront menus. The interior was designed by Encinitas-based sibling duo Sisters of Design 4 Corners and features original artwork by Australian artist Jai Vasicek, and a Vinyl Sundays DJ session programs the weekend brunch alongside a cocktail bar deep enough to anchor the Cardiff-by-the-Sea evening scene alongside The Shanty. San Diego County Environmental Health lists the San Elijo Avenue kitchen at a 100-out-of-100 inspection score — a perfect mark among full-service restaurants in the Cardiff-by-the-Sea dining district.