re: Recommendations for fine dining/ haute cuisine in San Diego?

Born & Raised remains my #1 by far - your wife will swoon over the decor. But I also just remembered another spot great for drinks. It is technically a Japanese restaurant but I wasn’t really interested in the food. It’s called Cloak and Petal. They have this huge (artificial obviously) Japanese cherry blossom acting as the ceiling above the bar.

Almost all of the suggestions I’ve given so far except for Nobu are in Little Italy. But if you’ll be downtown, two more recommendations. Fifth and Rose is a high end bar inside of The Pendry hotel. It’s right outside of Petco Park. Speaking of which, if you will be there during baseball season, go to the top floor of the Gaslamp Marriott and visit The Altitude Sky Lounge. It directly overlooks Petco Park and you can watch the games from the roof.

This is the view from last time I was there -