Lilo is a restaurant in the Carlsbad border area of south Oceanside, known for its Southeast Asian-inflected cooking and good natural wine selection. It sits in a small shopping centre but the cooking is ambitious — Vietnamese, Thai, and Filipino influences woven through local California ingredients, with a commitment to small producers and seasonal menus.
The restaurant earned a strong reputation among San Diego County food enthusiasts for doing something genuinely different from the mainstream. It's a small room that books out quickly, so reservations are advisable for dinner.