South Beach Bar & Grille — Restaurant in San Diego

The location is a great spot with views overlooking the beach and adjacent Ocean Beach Pier (unfortunately closed due to prior storm damage) and literally only steps away from the beach. The space is fairly large for the location with eclectic beach/ocean decor spread over two floors, but it is the upstairs outside upper deck that we found to be the perfect spot. Not only is this a place for great people watching below, but the perfect spot to observe the evening sunset over the Pacific, whilst enjoying a cold drink from the bar and tasting the fresh and well prepared (and very reasonably priced) food. Be aware it can feel a bit brisk if the wind picks up especially if having been exposed to too much sun during the day. But distractions aside, we indulged in the following without any regret. First the COCONUT SHRIMP, 6 prawns dusted with toasted coconut and panko bread crumbs with Thai dipping sauce. Deliciously crisp with a nice crunch and fried to perfection without excess grease nor overused oily taste. The dipping sauce was super tasty and also worked perfectly well with just your finger! We also next ordered the OYSTERS, Fresh Shucked  (½ dozen) which I was informed were cold, clean, fresh and delicious of which I took our dining companions' word  for, and moved on to something much more palatable being the SEARED AHI.  Lightly seasoned Ahi which was seared to perfection with a wasabi soy dipping sauce which made the entire dish with all its simplicity a complex combination of taste and texture. Tacos are well featured on the South Beach Bar & Grille menu and because we wanted to try the Fish and Chips (but a full order would be too much food), we opted for the Fried Cod  BAJA TACO, with one Flout and one Corn Tortilla in which the Flour comes with Pico Cabbage, Cheese and a White Sauce, and  Corn comes with a Chipotle Salsa, Cabbage, Cheese and a Cilantro Lime Crema…. All delicious! We also tried the South Beach CLASSIC BURGER, featuring a  Fresh 1/2 lb Patty with Mayo Onion Lettuce Tomato Pickle White American Cheese which we ordered with a side of lightly Battered Panko Fried ONION RINGS. The Onion Rings were a meal almost to themselves, but again fried to perfection without the excess oily residue which many times one finds and the Panko adding that extra crunch!  Of course, to wash this all down there is the accompanieing bar menu! Not to be disappointed one finds an enticing array of delicious concoctions to quench one's thirst starting with Frozen Patron Slushies! These frozen treats come in  Banana Strawberry, Fresh Lime, Watermelon and a  Mango Passion Peach which is a hands down winner. If slushies aren't your thing, there is also an extensive cocktail list offering a sizable list of house cocktails which include some sharable (or not) 56oz ‘fishbowls’ in which to indulge.  There is also an ample selection of beers and wine which are at times featured during various weekly promotions which can also include Menu Dinner Specials which are offered daily (except Monday, the day we visited of course!) along  with Mon-Fri Happy Hour pricing on select items between 3p-6p. If anything, the  only criticism of our visit was that being waited on was a bit slow at first, and our waitperson seemed to be more interested in chatting with what seemed to be regulars. That said, we were at the far reaches of the deck which maybe on a Monday wasn't normally occupied, but having to flag someone down each and every time we needed something was distracting. Overall though, it's easy to see why South Beach Bar & Grille is such a favorite amongst San Diego locals, and is well worth the visit to the Ocean Beach neighborhood for both this restaurant along with the many other small local...

Me, my wife, and our two kids had only a couple of days to spend in San Diego, so me and my family went here for lunch one of the two days we were there. We heard from a friend that this place is one of the best around for both food and view, so we went. After arriving, we found the restaurant to be extremely laid back and were told by the bartender to just seat ourselves. Not a big deal, so we went upstairs because we heard the view was great and found a nice table by the windows. We had a great view of the beach, however, there is a large parking lot between it and the restaurant. After sitting down, it took forever for our server to realize we were even there. She was not very friendly and seemed like she hated her job. After ordering, our food then took forever to get to the table, even though the restaurant was almost empty. Only half of our order was delivered. We then waited another 5 minutes or more for the rest of our food to arrive. No idea why our order couldn't have been delivered together as there were only four plates of food. Shortly after getting our food, there was a commotion in the parking lot and we watched two bums engage in a fist fight, which didn't really add to our already somewhat poor dining experience. After the commotion was over, we finished our food, which was decent but nothing to write home about. I had a burger, my daughter had fish and chips, my son had the calamari fingers, and my wife had fish tacos. We were about halfway done with our lunch when our server came over and asked if she could close out our check because it was the end of her shift (it was only about 3pm). We felt super rushed, so we gave in, paid, and skipped dessert. Overall, it was a less than mediocre experience, and definitely not what we expected. We won't be going back as there are hundreds of other restaurants to choose from...

I would like to share my experience from yesterday around 1:00. You were not busy.

I was looking forward to a few beers and some food with a friend, but because of terrible service, I texted him and told him we would go somewhere else. A few things rubbed me the wrong way. First, nobody acknowledged me while hanging around the bar looking at beer taps. The one having a personal conversation with a customer, or the one getting ice, could have said ‘someone will be right with you’. Second, after getting a list of beers and taking to my patio table, I sat several minutes before finally going inside to order a beer. A server met me halfway and came to the table, finally taking my beer order. Another server brought me my beer with a lime sticking out the top. Does everyone in the world like limes with beer? Why would she assume I wanted one? Probably because it was too much of an effort to ask. Finally, when I asked for my tab, the server just told me the total and waited for payment without even showing me a bill. She looked ‘inconvenienced’ when I asked her for a tab.

As a side note, my friend ended up showing up as I was getting ready to pay and he asked me what happened. When I told him the service was terrible, he said “Oh I know, this place always has terrible service.” My friend has lived in OB for 25+ years and he knows the OB bar scene. For him to come out and say that he knew of your terrible service does not say much about your business. We ended up going to OB Brewery and gave them our $75+.

Oh, and after two emails with my concerns, they never replied. They...