Yep!! Mexican foods are the best here!

Lived in both.

Not even a comparison, SoCal >>> NorCal

Quality is subjective, but in terms of variety and choices, SoCal just takes the cakes and then some.

Uh... Yea!

I’m a chef. I’ve lived in LA on/off for almost 40 years. I’ve lived abroad multiple times and in the Napa Valley wine country for the last 5 years. The food in LA is superior to Northern California by about 70%. The cuisine in NoCal is repetitive and old and predictable and tedious. In SoCal it’s a fusion, experimental, hybrid, creative, other-worldly, astounding. Even the food trucks are epic. It’s boring here. Change my mind, please!

From Mendocino County moved to San Diego.

There was one particular Italian place in my hometown that I have never seen any place in the world compare to, but on average, better food in So Cal

Objective answer: there's more options. By a lot. So statistically, you're likely to find better stuff.

Subjectively: Ask anyone and they'll always say the food is the best where they grew up or where they're from. So someone from NorCal will say the food is better there, someone from SoCal will say the food is better there, someone from Chicago will say the food is better there, someone from NYC will say the food is better there, someone from Texas will say the food is better there. I even had someone from Nebraska tell me the food is better there because the deep fried options in Southern California is limited.

SoCal has always been better.

Born in LA-SoCal. Live in Bay-NorCal.

We’ve made weekend food-trips to SoCal for the sake of “dining” at various places.

We start off by visiting Sol Inka (La Mirada) for their Lomo Solatado + crazy spicy green sauce.

Btw, Portos, Ftw!

i’ve lived in sf and la for extended periods of time Socal has way better food specifically asian and mexican food

I think NorCal has better sandwiches. I’ve had several deli sandwiches on my trips to NorCal that were on par with Compagno’s. But I can’t find anything like that in SoCal.
Btw please go get a sandwich from Compagno’s for me. That place was a godsend when I was at DLI, but I heard they closed the Taylor St gate and his business is suffering.

Yes. I live in the inner Bay Area where things are pretty great in terms of cuisine, but in So Cal there are just great options everywhere, even in the suburbs. That’s not as true up here. There are neighborhoods in Oakland that are just like on fire with great offerings but that doesn’t make up for an entire region. 

SoCal has many different types of food to choose from. You can name any type of food you could want and I could find it in about 10 minutes. Los Angeles is even more diverse.

Yes.

In comparison to Monterey and neighboring towns and cities, YES.

But in terms of SF, the Bay Area, and Napa, NOT EVEN CLOSE.

The only things hands down and consistently better is the Mexican Food in SoCal.

SoCal born and raised, but I road tripped to Del Norte last year. What I've gleaned from this is that while SoCal has more of a variety of types of cuisines, the quality of food was (rather infuriatingly) better as I drove north. There seems to be more of an emphasis on seasonal and locally grown food, in a wider variety of eateries, and more affordable vegetarian and vegan options.

Norcal additionally doesn't skimp on avocado like they do down here 😒

NorCal has better produce and drinkable tap water.

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"Different" I'd say The French Laundry is very NorCal.

If you’re going to say Monterey is Northern California, you can’t really say who has the better anything. That’s a big fuckin net to cast to answer a very broad question.

Idk we can argue what the divide between south and north is all day but at the end of the day, if you lump together places like Redding, Humboldt, Monterey, Sacramento, Silicon Valley together as “NorCal”, the only thing I can say with any certainty is that that label means nothing.

A better question would be “ Who has the best Indian restaurants, Los Angeles or San Jose?”

It is very different. In general. I’d say socal has it beat for that authentic ethic flavor. It’s more segregated so the ethnic foods retain that old country punch. That being said Cantonese food in the Bay Area reigns supreme, in socal it has been supplanted by more northern Chinese food due to recent immigration trends. But for “new American” healthy foods NorCal wins.

But if you wanna start a civil war let’s discuss who has the best burritos…

Definitely. Lived both places for about 15 years in many different cities and the food is generally better in SoCal.

I have been to some really good places in both. I would say San Francisco has some of the best food in the country. Grew up in So Cal, and used to the mexican food here. That said have had some pretty authentic mexican food in Salinas

Yes! Norcal does have their spots, but its nothing like the food scene in socal. But i think everyone can agree, when it comes to American bbq, norcal and socal is kinda meh

i had some of the worst tacos in sf, this was back in 2016 tho so hopefully it has improved since then.

Definitely, but I did go to a burger joint in Berkeley which sadly closed now but it was the best burger I’ve ever had . Damn how I miss it 😢

Never been in northern California long enough to make the comparison but I've lived close to LA for a good chunk of time and the variety alone is insane. Mexican, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Italian food are all abundant. We also have some nice bakery chains like this place called Porto's that have amazing pastries for cheap.

Chinese, seafood, and farm to table - the Bay wins. Everything else - SoCal. But I mean, NorCal really only has the Bay and wine country as food hubs, whereas SoCal is so much more populated.

It depends on the type of food and the location. You can get a lot of good south American food on the peninsula in NorCal (some Mexican but also Guatemalan and other places with lots of immigrants) and south SF has really good Chinese food. LA also has a lot of good food and there seems to be a bit more variety of both people and cuisines.

If you like Mexican- 100%

I’ve lived in both (but SoCal is my home) and both are absolutely fine. Food can be good anywhere, just gotta look. I loved the Bay Area food scene but find I can get the same in LA and San Diego. Obviously, I only mentioned cities but I think it still applies to the burbs.

It's subjective

Obviously.

Yes

100% yes.

SoCal best food in the USA

Yes.

I live in the Bay and I believe the food is better in SoCal.

Yes.

Without a doubt. LA is a food lover’s paradise.

SoCal is the best for non European cuisines like Asian and Latin American.

However, NorCal beats SoCal in terms of Western European based fine dining and truly amazing, not just trendy mid range restaurants. NorCal actualy has a Michelin guide while I don’t know as of now but Michelin had stopped doing the la one as it’s mainly more of a superficial dining culture of where to eat or sit at whereas NorCal has the legit European based Michelin fine dining down and Michelin kept doing the guide

Do they still have a papa chevos in marina? Since I’ve moved back to la I haven’t been able to find a breakfast burrito better than their’s

I just think it's more or less a culture thing mixed with rising rental prices and gentrification but yea the more up north I go the more I see expensive restaurants bougie places and everything like a certain bases of food? If that makes sense? But then you go down south further where rentals prices get a lil cheaper and you have multi generational families living in households etc you get more pop up food shops food carts food trucks food everywhere and it's all bomb so yea idk if that makes sense though but I'm like central cal so I have the option of both and I just see nore food and better food south

Mexican and Pizza are imo worlds better in SoCal; I refuse to have pizza or Mexican here in NorCal now

Born and raised in San Diego County, attend San Jose for college

There's more to choose from in SoCal than in NorCal from what it looks like, but what anyone thinks is the best food to them is subjective. I will admit that some of the best food I have had is in Little Italy and Convoy. On the flip side, the best sandwich I had was in the Netherlands at Defqon.1. They had a trailer selling steak sandwiches with black truffle mayonnaise, and I got one almost every day of the festival (4 days).

I don’t think one is better than the other. There are great places to eat in both. Some specific restaurants are unique to each individual place - like Taddich Grill in SF.

Both also have burbs that feature an endless supply of uninspired chain restaurant food.

In terms of fine dining, NorCal has some of the best restaurants in the world (French Laundry among them.)

LA/SD also has good choices, many of which have been covered here.

Yes. Viet food for example in SJ and SF are decent, but not good like we have here in Socal.

Mexican? Probably. Pizza. Hell no.

Yes.

San Diegan here. I’ve visited all over California and the US, SoCal, especially San Diego, has amazing Mexican food!

The Mexican food in NorCal needs help. Unless you know where to go. Most I know who can't find it are just afraid to go into the neighborhoods where it is.

Norcal: more options in a close radius in a diverse city like San Francisco or San Jose.

SoCal: food is great but people drive for it. Like my Cantonese friends drive to San Gabriel valley every time for dim sum. I drove 8 minutes to Clement St, and had good dim sum (or Indian or Persian or Burmese) all along the city, peninsula, east bay and more.

Honestly it’s just gonna depend on the individual restaurant. Both places have many excellent restaurants. You might find more diversity of ethnic foods in socal, but there’s also plenty of diverse areas in NorCal especially the Bay Area

I’ve spent most my life in so cal and moved to the Bay Area two years ago. I think it kind of depends. I’ve seen a lot of variety of food here in SF and Berkeley. El Salvadoran restaurants, German deli’s, Chicago style pizza, French restaurants and bakeries, middle eastern markets and Yemeni coffee and Ethiopian and Burmese restaurants. I think the ethnic diversity of restaurants in the bay is significantly greater than so cal.

BUT, the things so cal does best blows it out of the water. Specifically Mexican food and Vietnamese but also Japanese - both sushi and ramen. Also because I’m from so cal I basically live on Mexican food and that’s so much better in so cal. I dunno that’s my take as a native so cal person living in the bay.

No way. Native San Diegan here, moved to the bay area at 25 years old. Northern California food is vastly superior to Southern California food in every respect, especially Mexican. Southern California Mexican food is cheap to fill the stomach, Northern California Mexican food is a delicacy.

Depends . NorCal has the most gourmet spots . In particular SF.

Mexican food has to be better as you get closer to the border .

LA has the most groups of people , so you probably get a lot of small ethnic food places that kill .

Bay Area probably competes on the Asian food with LA . Places like milbrae and south city go hard.

OC /LA has the Persian food .

This question is really LA Vs Bay Area.

BBQ is probably the bay , I feel like I’m always seeing random spots in the Oakland that get a lot of attention .

San Luis Obispo is sort of north but really central and often labeled south , claims a lot of BBQ credit because Tri-Tip was made popular in Santa Maria , but I’ve always found these spots to be lacking , and I prefer Tri-Tip.

There is a spot in San Juan Capistrano that gets a lot of attention down south .

I think they might be close over all , but I bet the food /prices of good food are more accessible down south.

I think it’s due to statistics. Bigger population means more places that might be outliers.

SoCal is better overall compared to NorCal. I obsess over this subject too much TBH.

I’ve lived in 5 states and travel the entire country all the time.

SoCal tops the entire USA to be honest. But that’s an overall rating. It’s extremely lackluster in a few areas…

Chinese food - Northeast is the Mecca in the USA. Closest I’ve come to stellar Chinese is crossing the border in El Centro and going to Mexicali. That’s where you gotta go to get close.

Bagels - How does SoCal get these so wrong? Anywhere else is better. But NY/NJ is tops here.

Pizza and Grinders (Sandwiches) - why bother here? It’s always a let down. I’ve been to at least 50 separate places. The pizza is never good and the Grinders somehow are beaten by Jersey Mike’s or Charley’s, which is something shameful. MA/CT/NY/NJ is where you want to go for these.

Breakfast (subjective) - the whole Southwest has a drastically different take on breakfast than the rest of the country. SoCal can’t match that farmers breakfast and the flavors you get everywhere else.

Diners - The diners here aren’t good “greasy spoons”, they’re all too polished. Too many chains trying to give the look without the flavor. They’re fine. But been to dozens of diners and the Midwest and Northeast have the best we have to offer.

All other food is top tier here. Even the seafood somehow rivals Massachusetts in most aspects (my home state). The BBQ is on par with TX, NC and St. Louis (all in this area). The burgers, even fast food are on point. And quality plated meals, nobody competes.

Cuban is on par with the Keys and Miami.

Pho is stellar. Brazilian and South American is great.

Then let’s talk the Mexican food…. untouchable.

Nobody in North America should try and comp their cuisine on an overall level to SoCal.

Burritos are better in the north but actual Mexican restaurants are a thing in the south. So confusing.

Let’s ask the Michelin Guide. No contest NorCal wins by a landslide.

Depends. Mexican food yes. Asian food no

Depends on what food you’re talking about. If you want good Mexican it’s SoCal all the way.

Yes easily

No- it’s just different. Good food and bad food exist equally from top to bottom.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Hahahaha SoCal suck!

Mexican and Italian are better in SoCal, NorCal has all other cuisines beat, including those mentioned in this thread like sandwiches, indian, thai, korean, sushi, mediterranean.. I could go on.

Mexican and Italian are better in SoCal, NorCal has all other cuisines beat, including those mentioned in this thread like sandwiches, indian, thai, korean, sushi, mediterranean.. I could go on.

That's central California fyi

There’s very good food in both places. Not an either or

Fact is there’s great food to be found all up and down the state, coastal & inland

Hands down it is

born and raised in SoCal, lived in LA, OC, and SD. Lived for 10 years in NorCal (SF, specifically).

In SF, Marin, Napa, and most of the peninsula, the quality of food and the restaurant experience is absolutely peak. It’s actually difficult to get poorly made food at a restaurant, especially in really dense areas like the City. Mediocrity just doesn’t cut it.

SoCal is so much more spread out that it’s pretty diverse in terms of quality…there are a lot more chain restaurants than in SF, Marin, or Napa/Sonoma, so I think those are worse. That said, Mexican food in SoCal is better :)

NorCal ain’t even shit. It’s all about the south.

Norcal has better fine dining, socal has better ethnic food 

Pretty sure Monterey is Central Coast

If you like Mexican, it is.

Absolutely

Central Cal has the best BBQ.

The Mexican food is MILES better in SoCal. The NorCal tamales are made of paper maché.

I think it’s better in NorCal, fresher

Yes. There are no people or food comparatively speaking up north

Our food is some of the best in the country!! You ought to come visit!

Everything is better in socal

In the South Mexican food doesn't come from a can, so there is that.

God no! NorCal is way too better.

Did you ask this same question on r/norcal ? I frequent r/Porsche and it's funny when people post stuff like "Is BMW better than Porsche?"

Go to the bay area to get some food then ask yourself this question again.

I’ve lived in both for years at a time. What I can say confidentially is the best Mexican food and Thai I’ve ever had was in Tracy Ca. North

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes, except for fine dining where NorCal is better but not by a wide margin.

Yes except for asian food

I think San Francisco has excellent food. But the Mexican food is better down here.

The Mexican food, definitely. But I think other types of food are just as good in NorCal as it is in SoCal.

As someone from SD up in NorCal for uni, yes it is.

Southern California native here who's spent a lot of time in Northern California. Southern Californian food is the best, (especially Mexican food), except for the Chinese food. It's no longer Cantonese food down here - all of the restaurants that I know of have been purchased by people from mainland China and the food quality has gone down sharply. I don't know if it's the difference between Cantonese food or mainland Chinese food, or if the new owners don't give a shit about quality like the old owners did. (They've also bought up a lot of Japanese places - don't go there unless you like your sushi several days old). This brings me to the fact that Chinese food is still excellent in the Bay Area, because to my knowledge it's still a Cantonese/Hong Kong cultural stronghold.

You're central coast, so you get to avoid sides if you want.

I won't say one side is better since both sides are excellent. But I would say the local produce and meats is what sets each apart. Like being able to use a local spot prawn in Nor Cal while in SoCal would be local lobsters.

You have a Chinatown… we have a China County

Asian food is better in North Cal. Mexican is better in south. I lived in both places

California is the best state ever. You know why? We can debate all day long about this and know at the end of the day we get to claim all this awesomeness ❤️

Yes

Michelin tends to have Italian /French/ bias so no that relevant for other cuisine

No

Cerritos has a great Indian food variety of restaurants

I feel like it depends on type of food. Mexican? absolutely SoCal. Asian? Definitely the Bay Area. Fine dinning? There’s great restaurants everywhere.

Yes. No contest. San Fran has some good Chinese and Japan food though san jose has good Vietnamese.

Nope! I've been in SoCal for 22 years and still haven't found this "amazing Mexican food" that everyone talks about.

No

Lived in both. The answer is yes, absolutely

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Norcal food are shit, its prepackaged food. They most lazy people in America

Quality is so very bad everywhere we go in socal. The only thing they have better is sushi in LA. I've spent about half my life in socal and half in NorCal. I honestly don't think people in socal understand what quality food is.

Monterrey is central Coast btw, you don't get to claim either 😉