What’s in a number? Good food, cocktails

If there’s one way to give your new restaurant an air of exclusivity, hide its address and signage from the street, so only those hipsters “in the know” can easily find it.

Another trend that appears to be popping up over the past year is the debut of numerous eateries and cocktail bars that incorporate a number into their name. Here’s a look at some of San Diego County’s newest numerically titled spots and the meaning behind their digitized names.

10 Barrel Brewing Co.

How it got its name: This enormous, 9,500-square-foot brewery/beer hall that opened May 28 in East Village came from much humbler roots. In 2006, brothers Jeremy and Chris Cox started their brewery in Bend, Ore., with a small 10-barrel brewing system. It later expanded to more than 50 barrels, and in 2014 the brothers sold their company to Anheuser-Busch. The company, which still employs the Coxes at its flagship brewery in Bend, added breweries this year in San Diego and Denver.

Where: 1501 E St., East Village. 10barrel.com

101 Proof

Name: Last October, this 35-seat speakeasy opened quietly in a hidden room at the Urge Gastropub & Whiskey Bank in Oceanside. The upscale bar, named for its alcoholic products, is accessed via a slotted metal door on the north side of the building, but only to patrons with a reservation and an old-fashioned key they collect at the reception desk inside Urge. Open Thursday-Saturday nights only.

Where: 2002 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. 101proofoceanside.com

508 Tavern

Name: Opened in May by Vista High School alumnus Shelly Kentner and Valley Center-raised Hector Estrada, this 35-seat brewpub was named for its address on Vista’s fast-developing Paseo Santa Fe neighborhood.

Where: 508 S. Santa Fe Ave., Vista. (760) 295-0707 or facebook.com/508tavern

608 Oceanside

Name: Chef/owner William Eick, 27, named his year-old farm-to-table restaurant after its street address in downtown Oceanside. The up-and-coming neighborhood eatery, quickly becoming known for its octopus and short rib dishes, is the city’s first restaurant to offer a nightly prix-fixe menu option.

Where: 608 Mission Ave., Oceanside. (760) 291-1040 or 608oceanside.com

Ambrogio15

Name: Opened in August 2016 by Milanese ex-pats Giacomo Pizzigoni, Andrea Burrone and Luca Salvi, this artisan pizzeria specializes in pies with imported Italian flour, cheeses, cured meats, oils and balsamic vinegar. Ambrogio was a 4th-century archbishop from Milan and the number 15 represents the diameter of the pizzas, which are wider and thinner than traditional Neopolitan-style pies.

Where: 926 Turquoise Ave., Pacific Beach. (858) 291-8650 or ambrogio15.com

Concept Two Seven Eight

Name: Before she opened this Hillcrest restaurant/cocktail bar in January, chef/owner Jessica Fisher lived in Brooklyn in an apartment numbered 278. It was there she met and bonded with Rachel Snyder, now Two Seven Eight’s chef de cuisine, and Billy Potvin, the eatery’s bar manager.

Where: 3687 Fifth Ave., Hillcrest. (619) 278-0080 or concepttwoseveneight.com

Hundred Proof

Name: This neighborhood cocktail bar and restaurant, which opened June 28, is making a name for its boilermaker cocktails and boozy milkshakes, hence its liquor-inspired name. Don’t miss the citrusy Pink Drink and Trust #2 cocktails or the heavenly poke and bao buns.

Where: 4130 Park Blvd., University Heights. (619) 501-6404 or hundredproofsd.com

Lola 55

Name: Frank Vizcarra’s soon-to-open gourmet taco shop is named after his mom, a former Wyoming mining camp cook, and his birth year, 1955. Vizcarro says it was also a year of great American innovation, when McDonald’s, Disneyland, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were all born.

Where: Opening in February 2018 at 13th and F streets, East Village. facebook.com/LOLA55SD/

Lot 8

Name: In mid-May, entrepreneur Todd Ferrari (Quad Alehouse) and chef Nick Brune (Local Habit, Eco Caterers) unveiled this open-air special-events venue, built on a vacant parking lot near the Atwood Hotel overlooking Interstate 8. Surrounded by handsome slat-wood fencing and succulent wall gardens, Lot 8 is designed to host catered cocktail parties, pop-up dinners and weddings for up to 300 people.

Where: 1201 Hotel Circle South, Mission Valley. (619) 546-5660 or lot8events.com

Park 101

Name: This two-story, multi-venue plaza-style establishment, which opened on July 4, is named for its location, where Carlsbad Boulevard meets South Coast Highway 101. The second-story Tamarack View Deck serves barbecue by pitmaster Ryan Tuscan and offers 32 beers on tap. On the ground floor are three casual options selling fresh juices, sandwiches, coffee drinks, ice cream and fresh doughnuts.

Where: 3040 Carlsbad Blvd., Carlsbad. park101carlsbad.com