If you live in or around The Colonies at San Antonio, you are in one of Upland’s easiest neighborhoods for casual dining. The community sits next to Colonies Crossroads, the busy shopping-and-restaurant district near Campus Avenue, East 19th Street, and Interstate 210. From there, a short drive north toward San Antonio Heights or south along Campus opens up even more choices, including family restaurants, taco shops, seafood counters, bakeries, cafés, and food trucks.
The dining scene here is not built around one single culinary identity. Instead, it is wonderfully practical and diverse: quick weekday lunches, sit-down dinners, weekend brunches, takeout for the whole family, and plenty of places where a $10 to $20 meal can still feel satisfying.
Start at Colonies Crossroads
The most convenient restaurant cluster is Colonies Crossroads, centered around E. 19th Street and N. Campus Avenue. This is where residents go when they want reliable food without driving across town.
- California Fish Grill, at 1135 E. 19th Street, is one of the strongest choices for a lighter dinner or seafood-focused lunch. The menu includes grilled fish, shrimp, salmon, bowls, salads, clam chowder, and sides such as sweet potato fries and grilled vegetables. Expect roughly $12 to $25 per person, depending on whether you order a bowl, sandwich, or entrée plate. It is particularly useful when one person wants something healthy and another wants a heartier seafood meal.
- Pieology Pizzeria is the neighborhood’s customizable pizza stop. Build-your-own pizzas and salads make it easy to accommodate picky eaters, vegetarians, and families ordering several different combinations. Prices generally land around $10 to $18 per person. The appeal is speed and flexibility rather than a long, leisurely meal.
- Chipotle remains a dependable option for burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads, with most meals around $10 to $16. It is especially convenient for takeout after shopping at Target, Home Depot, or the surrounding stores. The Colonies Crossroads location is at 1053 E. 19th Street.
- In-N-Out Burger brings the classic Southern California combination of burgers, fries, and shakes. A meal is usually about $8 to $15, and the location near Campus Avenue and the 210 Freeway is a handy family-friendly stop when you want something fast and familiar.
For a quick sweet finish, Golden Spoon offers frozen yogurt and toppings in the same general shopping area. It is an easy after-dinner tradition, especially for families walking out of the nearby restaurants.
A standout strip on North Campus Avenue
The stretch of North Campus Avenue between East 19th Street and the 210 Freeway is where the neighborhood’s more distinctive dining options begin to appear.
One of the best hidden gems is Tacocino Gourmet Tacos, at 1945 N. Campus Avenue. This is not a standard taco-shop menu. Alongside familiar chicken, carne asada, and carnitas tacos, Tacocino is known for playful combinations such as beef-and-dill tacos, cheeseburger-style tacos, and pork rib tacos with slaw. Lunch specials are generally in the $10 to $18 range, making it one of the more affordable ways to try something unusual.
Just a few doors away, The Heights Restaurant & Bar is a better choice when you want a sit-down meal, a cocktail, or weekend brunch. Located at 1883 N. Campus Avenue, The Heights serves American comfort food with steaks, seafood, burgers, salads, sandwiches, and brunch plates. Prices typically run $15 to $35 per person, with brunch offering a more casual price point. The dining room is comfortable for birthdays, date nights, and family dinners, while the bar makes it a natural spot for a relaxed evening.
For seafood with a Baja-style focus, Mariscos El Guero at 1902 N. Campus Avenue is worth knowing. The menu centers on ceviche, aguachile, shrimp, fish tacos, tostadas, and seafood plates. A casual meal generally falls around $12 to $25, depending on whether you order tacos, a ceviche boat, or a larger seafood combination. The enchilado fish or shrimp taco is a good introduction if you are not ready to commit to a full platter.
Coffee, bagels, and baked goods
For breakfast, Malibu Bagel Café is a useful neighborhood favorite near North Campus Avenue and East 16th Street. It is the kind of place to grab a bagel sandwich, coffee, or quick breakfast for roughly $6 to $15. It works particularly well before a busy Saturday of errands or after a walk through the surrounding residential streets.
A short drive east brings you to Butter Café & Bakery, at 1071 E. 16th Street, Suite D. This is one of the area’s best café-and-bakery options for breakfast, pastries, cakes, and light lunch fare. Budget about $8 to $20 per person. Butter is a particularly good choice when you want a slower morning: coffee, something sweet, and a breakfast plate rather than a drive-through meal.
For a more traditional Upland baking experience, head south to The Local Baker & Café at 120 E. 9th Street. This longtime bakery offers breads, pastries, sandwiches, pizza, spaghetti, bento-style meals, and custom cakes. Prices range from $3 pastries and baked goods to $15 or more for lunch plates and specialty orders. It is also a good place to remember for birthday cakes, family celebrations, or a box of treats for a neighborhood gathering.
Italian, Persian, and foothill dining
North of The Colonies, along Euclid Avenue near San Antonio Heights, Giuseppe’s Restaurant offers one of the area’s most distinctive menus. Located at 2433 N. Euclid Avenue, Giuseppe’s combines Italian comfort food with Persian influences, creating a menu that feels more personal and less predictable than a typical suburban trattoria. Expect roughly $15 to $35 per person. Save room for the homemade Persian-style ice cream, often called bastani, which gives the restaurant an especially memorable finish.
This north-Upland dining tradition is part of what makes the area appealing: you can begin with a casual taco lunch near Campus Avenue, then drive up Euclid for Italian or Persian flavors beneath the foothills.
Food trucks and local food traditions
Food trucks are part of Upland’s broader food culture, although they do not operate on one permanent “food truck row” inside The Colonies. Mobile vendors usually appear at private-property events, breweries, community gatherings, and rotating pop-ups, so schedules can change. Upland’s rules specifically regulate mobile food businesses on private property, which helps explain why checking social media before heading out is important.
Lolly’s Tamales Food Truck is one local name worth following. The women-owned business serves tamales, tacos, ceviche, carnitas, and barbacoa, with weekly locations posted online. Prices are generally in the $5 to $18 range, depending on whether you order individual items or a larger plate.
The wider Upland tradition also leans heavily toward citrus, Mexican food, tamales, weekend markets, and community festivals. The city’s annual Lemon Festival celebrates its citrus-growing history, while the downtown farmers market and food-centered events bring together vendors from across the Inland Empire. These traditions are a short drive from The Colonies and help give the neighborhood’s otherwise suburban dining scene a strong local flavor.
My go-to order for The Colonies
For a casual weeknight, I would start with California Fish Grill or Tacocino. For brunch, choose The Heights or Butter Café & Bakery. For a family takeout night, pizza from Pieology, burgers from In-N-Out, or a large seafood order from Mariscos El Guero all make sense. And when guests visit from out of town, Giuseppe’s is the place that best shows off the broader character of north Upland.
The Colonies at San Antonio may be surrounded by major shopping centers, but its food scene is more interesting than a collection of chains. Look around 19th Street, Campus Avenue, East 16th Street, and Euclid Avenue, and you will find a practical, diverse dining circuit with enough hidden gems to keep local food fans exploring.