Title Tag: Wildland Carlsbad | Eric Bost & John Resnick

Meta Description: Meet Wildland, the all-day Carlsbad Village restaurant from restaurateur John Resnick and chef Eric Bost, serving rustic California-Mediterranean cooking.

Tags: Wildland Carlsbad, Eric Bost, John Resnick, Kaitlyn Jean Smith, Carlsbad restaurants, Carlsbad Village, California cuisine, bakery, Restaurant Storybook

Rustic California cooking, an open bakery, and an ambitious new chapter in Carlsbad Village

“A neighborhood restaurant can be relaxed and still be extraordinary.”

Meet the People Behind Wildland

Wildland was created by restaurateur John Resnick and executive chef-partner Eric Bost, the team also associated with Campfire, Jeune et Jolie, and Lilo. Resnick has helped shape a notable restaurant district along State Street, while Bost brought experience from acclaimed kitchens, including Michelin-starred work in Los Angeles. Wildland’s day-to-day culinary program has also been overseen by chef de cuisine Kaitlyn Jean Smith, whose team translates the founders’ vision into an approachable all-day menu.

The Story Behind the Dream

The partners imagined a restaurant that could belong to Carlsbad from morning until night: bakery and coffee in the early hours, lunch and dinner later, and a bar that encourages guests to linger. Wildland opened in December 2024 in an approximately 8,000-square-foot space in Carlsbad Village. Its scale is substantial, but its purpose is familiar – to become the kind of dependable neighborhood place people return to throughout the week.

The Restaurant Story

Wildland draws on the bold, rustic character of Southern California and the coastal traditions of the Mediterranean. Fire, fermentation, careful sourcing, and seasonal produce connect the menu to the region. The atmosphere feels polished without becoming formal, allowing a pastry, a casual lunch, a wood-fired dinner, or a celebratory evening to share the same address.

Signature Offerings

The menu is known for wood-fired pizzas, house-made pasta, rotisserie chicken, smoked fish, seasonal salads, naturally leavened breads, and pastries prepared by the bakery team. Specific dishes change with the seasons, which is part of the restaurant’s identity rather than a departure from it.

Behind the Scenes

Wildland’s cooking depends on patient preparation: milling and baking, dough fermentation, stocks and sauces, live-fire work, and relationships with regional farms and artisan producers. This combination of craft and accessibility makes the restaurant useful to the neighborhood while retaining the standards of a chef-driven dining room.

Why We Love Them

Wildland expands what an all-day neighborhood restaurant can be. It welcomes guests at different price points and occasions while showing that serious culinary technique can feel warm, generous, and unmistakably Carlsbad.

Cherimarie’s Reflection

Wildland feels like a restaurant built for the way Carlsbad lives. You can stop for something simple or settle in for a memorable meal, and in either case the care behind the food is easy to recognize.