Terms of use.

1. Agreement

These Terms are a binding agreement between you and The San Diego List (“we,” “us,” “our”). By using this site you accept them. If you do not agree, please do not use the site. They work alongside our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference.

2. Who can use the site

You must be at least 16 years old to use this site or subscribe to our newsletter. By using it you confirm you meet that requirement and that you are not barred from doing so under applicable law.

3. What this site is — and is not

The San Diego List is an independent editorial publication. We research restaurants, bars, beaches, neighborhoods, events, and activities across San Diego County, rank them, and explain the reasoning. Our rankings are statements of editorial opinion based on the evidence available when we published or last checked.

Everything here is general information for planning purposes only. It is not professional advice of any kind — not medical, dietary, allergen, health, safety, legal, financial, or travel advice. If you have a food allergy, a medical condition, an accessibility requirement, or any other need where being wrong matters, confirm directly with the business and with a qualified professional before you rely on anything we publish.

4. Accuracy and changing conditions

We research carefully, cross-check against direct sources, date our evidence, and revisit guides as places change. Even so, the real world moves faster than any publication: hours change, kitchens close, prices rise, menus turn over, events get cancelled, trails and beaches close, and ownership changes hands.

Verify anything time-sensitive, safety-related, or costly directly with the business or official source before you act on it. Ratings and review counts shown on this site are attributed third-party information from Google and Yelp, captured on the date we state. They are not our ratings, we do not control them, and they change after we record them. We do not represent any listing as a firsthand or in-person visit unless we say so explicitly.

Spotted something wrong? Our corrections policy explains how to tell us and what happens next.

5. Sponsorship, advertising, and independence

Some content on this site may be sponsored, paid, hosted, gifted, or contain affiliate links through which we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. When that is the case, it is clearly and conspicuously labeled near the affected content, consistent with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s endorsement and testimonial guidelines.

A position on a ranking cannot be bought. Advertising, sponsorship, hosted visits, and affiliate relationships never determine editorial order, and no business is given advance notice of, or influence over, where it lands. Where a commercial relationship exists, we disclose it; it does not move the ranking.

6. Third-party businesses, links, and content

We write about businesses, venues, and public spaces we do not own, operate, or control. We are not responsible for their goods, services, pricing, conduct, safety, accessibility, or compliance with law, and mentioning a place is not an endorsement of, or a guarantee about, anything it does. Any dealing you have with a business you found here is strictly between you and that business.

The site links to third-party websites. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content, accuracy, or privacy practices. Following an outside link is at your own risk and subject to that site’s own terms.

7. Your use of our content

All content on this site — text, rankings, research, photography, graphics, layout, design, and the The San Diego List name and marks — is owned by us or our licensors and protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws.

You may read, share, quote briefly with attribution, and link to anything here. You may not, without our prior written permission: republish or syndicate our content in whole or in substantial part; scrape, crawl, or harvest the site by automated means; use the site or its content to train, fine-tune, or ground any machine learning or generative AI system; frame or mirror the site; remove attribution or credits; or use our name or marks in a way that suggests affiliation or endorsement.

8. Acceptable use

Do not use the site to break the law, infringe anyone’s rights, transmit malware, interfere with or overload our infrastructure, attempt unauthorised access to any system or account, or submit false or misleading information. We may suspend or block access for any of these.

9. Tips, corrections, and other submissions

If you send us a tip, correction, suggestion, or other material, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable licence to use, edit, and publish it in connection with the site, and you confirm you have the right to give us that material. We treat submissions as non-confidential. We are not obliged to use, keep, respond to, or compensate for anything submitted, and we may act on the same underlying facts independently.

10. The newsletter

The Shortlist is opt-in. You choose to join, and you can leave at any time using the unsubscribe link in every email or by emailing us. We send editorial content and may include sponsored placements, which will be labeled. We do not sell your email address. How we handle it is described in our Privacy Policy.

11. Availability

We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the site at any time without notice, including removing or reordering content. We do not guarantee the site will be available, uninterrupted, timely, or error-free.

12. Disclaimer of warranties

The site and everything on it are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, or accuracy. We do not warrant that the content is complete, current, or correct, or that the site is free of errors or harmful components. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

13. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The San Diego List and its owners, editors, contributors, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, personal injury, illness, allergic reaction, property damage, wasted expenditure, or any loss arising from your use of the site, your reliance on its content, or your dealings with any business mentioned on it — whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other theory, and even if we have been advised of the possibility.

Our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the site will not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100). Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including for fraud or for death or personal injury caused by our negligence.

14. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The San Diego List and its owners, editors, and contributors from any claim, loss, liability, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your use of the site, your breach of these Terms, your violation of any law, or your infringement of anyone’s rights.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Before filing anything, please email us at hello@thesandiegolist.com and give us 30 days to resolve it informally — most issues are a correction away from being settled.

If we cannot resolve it, you and we agree that any dispute will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in San Diego County, California, and both of us consent to personal jurisdiction there. To the extent permitted by law, each of us agrees to bring claims only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative action. This section does not prevent either of us from seeking relief in small-claims court, and it does not limit any non-waivable right you have under the consumer-protection laws of your home jurisdiction.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. The effective date above will change, and material changes will be posted on this page. Continuing to use the site after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

17. General

If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force and the unenforceable part is limited to the minimum extent necessary. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between us about the site.

18. Contact

hello@thesandiegolist.com — or use our contact page.