After nearly a decade of planning, redesigns, delays and multiple concept changes, Hillstone Restaurant Group has finally opened its first San Diego County restaurant. Honor Bar is now serving sushi, martinis, burgers and the company’s cult-favorite French dip from a newly constructed property in the heart of Old Del Mar.
The opening brings an end to an unusually prolonged development saga that began in 2017, after local institution Bully’s North closed following nearly five decades in business. What followed was years of design reviews, demolition plans, neighborhood scrutiny, pandemic-era delays, construction and a revolving series of proposed Hillstone concepts.
The project was initially introduced as an R+D Kitchen, later repositioned as an outpost of Hillstone’s seafood-oriented Gulfstream, and ultimately emerged as Honor Bar – a smaller, tightly controlled concept built around sushi, sandwiches, salads, cocktails and polished service. The finished restaurant is a significant departure from the old Bully’s property. Hillstone demolished the aging structure and replaced it with a purpose-built restaurant featuring indoor and outdoor dining, a street-facing patio and parking beneath the building accessed from the alley off 13th Street…