Since 1970, the corner of 711 Pacific Beach Dr in the 92109 zip code has belonged to World Famous, an iconic beachfront California-coastal restaurant whose oceanfront patio has defined the PB dining scene for more than five decades. Owner Dieter May was born in Austria, visited San Diego as a child, and relocated after college, eventually opening this restaurant to channel the seafood and cocktail culture he discovered on surf trips around the globe. General Manager Erik Berkley, a University of Hartford graduate who cut his teeth managing Planet Hollywood locations before landing in Pacific Beach in 2016, runs the day-to-day operation with a hospitality-first mentality. The kitchen is best known for its Dungeness crab cakes, lobster bisque and lobster-shrimp ravioli in champagne cream sauce. Diners craving a rooftop setting with upscale Mexican fare can head a few blocks inland to Pueblo on Hornblend Street, where coastal Baja dishes and mezcal cocktails fill an 8,000-square-foot space with ocean-view decks. World Famous holds a 94-out-of-100 county health score and carries a 4.4-star Google rating across more than 4,400 reviews. May also operates Fat Fish Cantina Grill a few blocks up Mission Blvd, giving him a two-restaurant footprint in the neighborhood. Happy hour runs Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m. until close, featuring half-off bar appetizers that keep locals returning on weekday evenings. Weekend brunch includes bottomless mimosas, and the wait-list system texts guests when their table is ready so they can stroll the boardwalk rather than crowd the lobby. Reviewers routinely call the corner booths the best seats in PB for watching surfers and sunsets simultaneously. Dogs are welcome on the patio, and street parking plus a nearby lot on the east side make access easier than most beachfront spots. Up the boardwalk at Tower 23 Hotel, JRDN Restaurant offers a more upscale surf-and-turf counterpart with sushi and craft cocktails for those looking to elevate the evening. World Famous remains a place where first-time tourists and decades-long regulars share the same oceanfront view over plates built from the freshest catch available.