While the Prado may not be the best resturant in ALL of san diego, you do have to give it props for location, location, location. Excellently located in the heart of Balboa, prado is a good place to grab a salad and a drink with a friend and spend sometime on the terrace overlooking the beautiful Balboa! I have dined here for both lunch and dinner but lunch always is preferable as the atmosphere is a little more relaxed(the dinner crowds can be frenetic as before theater people usually are on a time constraint!) thus making the service a litlte more stable. For lunch their salads always are refreshing and paired with sangria on a hot summers day both are done to perfection and are sublime :) For dessert I have tried the tres leche but tend to stick with the sorbet as it is both light and luxuriously flavorful, all in all wonderful ambiance and a fun place to spend the afternoon.

If you're looking for a fancy lunch spot to catch up with a friend, impress a date/significant other, or treat yourself, this is THE place to dine. Request to sit outside on a nice day. The patio seating overlooks the canyon/park area of Balboa Park; it's just gorgeous.

I loved all the food items my friends and I ordered.
Baby Spinach with Skirt Steak - This is definitely the dieter's gorge salad because it's definitely not healthy but it's so delicious. I would come back just for this.
Marinated Skirt Panini - Similar skirt steak.
Some kind of short rib dish - so tender!

Highly recommend!