Del Mar's Fall Runs on Horses Through November, and the Dinner Map Changed Underneath It

"Dress for the occasion," reads the front window at 1404 Camino Del Mar. For 48 years that corner belonged to Bully's, which closed in 2017. According to the Del Mar Times report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Honor Bar Del Mar has now opened on that spot, nearly 10 years later.

Two weeks after that report, Market Restaurant and Sushi Lounge on Via de la Valle closed for a remodel that runs into spring 2027. Both changes landed just before Del Mar's busiest stretch of the fall. From October 30 through November 29, the calendar is built around horses: an equestrian big top on El Camino Real, then the Bing Crosby Season at the track. The Village doesn't get the calendar back until the first Sunday in December. Planning a fall evening in Del Mar now means fitting the races and the circus around a dinner map that changed in September.

The Bully's corner, rebuilt with house rules

The new building is not a refurbished Bully's. The old structure, known for its white brick facade, was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up during a long construction period. The new building is red brick, with a sunken patio off Camino Del Mar under bright yellow umbrellas that match a vintage-style pole sign at the street.

The operator is Hillstone Restaurant Group, which also runs Houston's, Gulfstream in Newport Beach and Rutherford Grill in Napa. Del Mar joins Honor Bar locations in Beverly Hills, Dallas, Montecito and Palm Beach. Here is what the Union-Tribune reported:

• Group size: The room is intimate, and the restaurant prefers parties of four or fewer.
• Reservations: None. You can call ahead to be added to the waitlist.
• Payment: Cashless.
• Hours: Daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Dress code: Enforced. No sportswear, gym clothes, backwards hats, flip-flops or "excessively revealing clothing." The full guidelines are on honorbar.com.
• Parking: Below the restaurant, entered from the alley off 13th Street.

The menu is short. It includes shareable plates like deviled eggs and chicken meatballs, hand-rolled sushi, and the "Osaka style" pressed sushi Honor Bar is known for, built as a block of tuna sashimi, avocado and rice. Larger plates include the Honor Burger with cheddar and coleslaw, a French dip, cedar plank salmon and a USDA prime flat iron steak. On weekends only, the bar pours a Kickstart, its version of a Bloody Mary.

Those rules matter more from late October through November than they would in an ordinary month. A table for two or four is easy to fit in after a day at the track or a matinee at the Horsepark. A group of six coming back from the races will run into the house rules.

The room on Via de la Valle that went dark

Market closed on September 21, demolition is underway, and the restaurant plans to reopen in spring 2027. The restaurant's website says "A new chapter is coming," promising new interiors, more dining space and a new menu.

The Union-Tribune's report on the closure covers the background. Market had been open for 20 years and was recognized by the Michelin Guide. Founder and chef Carl Schroeder sold it in 2025 to Monica and Bernd Brust, who said they planned to continue its tradition and invest in long-needed upgrades to the building near El Camino Real. Updates are posted at marketdelmar.com and on Instagram at @marketdelmar.

Market sits on the same El Camino Real corridor as the Horsepark, at 14550 El Camino Real, where most of the season's early ticketed evenings take place. This year, a dinner after the show near that intersection won't be at Market.

A month of horses, two venues, one overlap

The fall stretch begins on El Camino Real. Cirque Ma'Ceo runs at the Del Mar Horsepark from October 30 through November 22. Its 90-minute production, "The Year of the Horse," is staged under a custom Italian big top on the Horsepark grounds and combines horsemanship with acrobatics, aerial work and dance. The show was created by ninth-generation equestrian acrobat Olissio Zoppe. The Del Mar run adds an appearance by Sylvia Zerbini, who has performed at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and at the Del Mar National Horse Show's Night of the Horse, where she presented her liberty act with a team of Arabian stallions.

A week later, the track opens. The Bing Crosby Season runs Friday, November 6, through Sunday, November 29. The circus and the race meet run at the same time from November 6 to November 22, so for those three weekends there are two horse venues open in town.

Here is the stretch laid out by weekend, using the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club calendar and the Del Mar Village Association listings:

1. Friday, October 30: Cirque Ma'Ceo opens at the Horsepark.
2. Friday, November 6: Opening day of the Bing Crosby Season. The track's line for it is "Fall for it all over again."
3. Friday, November 13: From 8 to 9:30 a.m., the Village hosts its Breast Cancer Cheering Station for the start of the Susan G. Komen 3-Day. More than 2,000 walkers head south, cheered on by Torrey Pines High School cheerleaders, Del Mar Lifeguards, local business owners and residents. Racing follows that afternoon.
4. Saturday, November 14: Uncorked: Derby Days Wine Festival at the track, with more than 150 wines, food and music.
5. Sunday, November 22: Cirque Ma'Ceo's final day at the Horsepark.
6. Thursday, November 26: Thanksgiving racing, a Turf Club brunch with a three-course Thanksgiving meal, and the Family Mile Fun Run on the Seaside Oval.
7. Sunday, November 29: Closing day.

The Village Association event on November 13 starts the morning of a race day. The Village gets its pink-balloon send-off in the early morning, and the track's gates open later that day.

Race-day times, and the one day they change

According to the November calendar, the track runs Friday through Sunday plus Thanksgiving Thursday. On a regular race day, gates open at 11 a.m. and first post is 12:30 p.m. Thanksgiving starts earlier, with gates at 9:30 a.m. and first post at 11 a.m. The FanDuel Racing Turf Festival runs over Thanksgiving weekend, November 26 through 29.

Track tickets went on sale August 19. The last race of a regular afternoon finishes well before Honor Bar's 10 p.m. close. That makes the new corner on Camino Del Mar a realistic dinner stop after the track, as long as the group is four or fewer and nobody is in a ball cap worn backwards.

December 6, when the Village takes the calendar back

A week after closing day, the Village hosts its own biggest day. The Del Mar Village Association calls the Winter Taste & Sip "our most significant event of the year in downtown Del Mar Village." It runs Sunday, December 6, from 1 to 4 p.m., with more than 15 tastes from local restaurants, more than 20 pours from regional wineries and breweries, live music, and photos with Santa at Del Mar Plaza. It draws more than 2,000 guests. The list of participating vendors still reads "Coming soon!" That list will show whether the newest restaurant on Camino Del Mar takes part in its first Taste & Sip.

North Pole By The Sea runs the same afternoon, from 1 to 5 p.m., with snow at St. Peter's Episcopal Church and letters to Santa at Del Mar Plaza. The tree lighting follows at 5 p.m. at the Jim Watkins Amphitheater at L'Auberge Del Mar, with hot chocolate, adult beverages, Santa and the Grinch.

The smaller items on the Village side

Several city projects affect the walk between the Village and the beach this fall.

• Pedestrian safety workshop: The city and Del Mar Community Connections are hosting a free workshop on Thursday, October 22, at 4:30 p.m. at Town Hall, 1050 Camino Del Mar. The Union-Tribune lists UCSD and the CHP as partners.
• Sand push: The annual beach sand push began September 17 near the Beach Safety Center and Powerhouse Park. Berm-building continues north, and the city asks beachgoers to stay out of coned-off work areas.
• The bluffs: SANDAG reports that Del Mar Bluffs Stabilization Phase 5 was completed in fall 2026. The work included support columns, drainage improvements, retaining walls, erosion control and native plants.
• Shores Park: On September 22, the City Council moved a concept for the 9th Street site between Stratford Court and Camino Del Mar toward a final master plan. The council asked for more design and cost detail, and the city's notice gives no construction start date.

Lorenzo Sorano follows changes like the Bully's corner and Market's remodel because they shape how buyers see a neighborhood. If you're thinking about selling around the holiday season, you can request a confidential home valuation to see how your Del Mar property is positioned this fall.