Tom Ham had already saved Bali Hai from bankruptcy when he spotted a functioning navigational buoy on the far end of Harbor Island and decided to build his next restaurant around it. The result, opened in 1971, is the only restaurant in the United States incorporated into a working US Coast Guard lighthouse: Beacon #9 on every modern nautical chart. The 270-degree waterfront views take in the San Diego skyline, Coronado Bridge, and the bay’s military installations in one sweep. Tom died just three years after opening, but three generations of the Baumann family have kept both Tom Ham’s and Bali Hai running ever since. The Sunday champagne brunch with its raw bar (crab legs, lobster claws, oysters with a bayside view) has been a San Diego institution for decades. Come at sunset and grab the outdoor deck.
