The Whiskey House — Restaurant in San Diego

The Whiskey House is a dream for a whiskey & bourbon connoisseurs and drinkers alike. Nestled in the edge of The Gaslamp downtown quarter, this spot looks unassuming front the outside, but once you enter you are surrounded with bottles of domestic, import and rare bottles of whiskey & bourbon that span wall to wall throughout. They hold the Guinness World Record for having the most variety of whiskey commercially available: 2467!

There are plenty of tables and a extra long bar, but seats can fill up quite quickly come happy hour - daily. Aside from their extensive menu of spirits to choose from, their food menu is equally large. I was surprised that a whiskey house had so much food option on the menu. The atmosphere is that of a whiskey and cigar lounge, dimly lit and relaxing. You can easily immerse yourself in there with all their specialty cocktails and vast selection of whiskey & bourbon. The mixed clientele is a nice change from the usual crowds of the Gaslamp quarter.

I usually go for happy hour, to be able to easily get a bar seat and to avoid the crowds of the Gaslamp. Happy Hour specialty cocktails are just $6 and there are beer & wine options as well. There's a selection of Happy Hour Bites from Vietnamese Wings for $1 each to Scotch Eggs for $6 to a pork chop for $12. From my visits here, I've had the TWH burger - always a safe option anywhere. I've also had the NY Strip Steak, which is pretty good as well. The Vietnamese Wings were a bit uneventful and disappointing, and the Sausage on a Roll was a bit salty & overcooked.

Service is good and attentive for the most part, depending who's behind the bar. Service in the main restaurant/lounge area is consistently good from what I've seen. The Whiskey House is definitely worth a visit if that is your...

Whiskey House – Impressive Collection, but Disappointing Availability

Whiskey House in San Diego boasts a massive selection and some of the best prices for Scotch I’ve seen, making it an enticing spot for any whisky enthusiast. The bartenders were incredibly friendly and accommodating, which made the experience enjoyable on a personal level.

I came in with high expectations, especially given their recognition as “Best Whiskey Bar in America” by Whisky Advocate, but unfortunately, my visit didn’t live up to the hype. At least five different bottles I specifically wanted to try were unavailable despite being listed, due to their popularity—this included every Springbank I wanted to try— and their menu felt significantly outdated. On top of that, several more bottles I was interested in were empty, and another five weren’t even in their system when I spotted them on the shelves. They said they were there more for show and would maybe be available later even though they were open.

To their credit, the staff went above and beyond to help, even walking me through the whisky library so I could pick bottles directly off the wall. Ultimately, I still found eight great drams to enjoy, but having over 15 bottles I was excited about turn out to be off-limits was a letdown.

If you’re a casual whisky drinker looking for an affordable pour, Whiskey House is a solid option. But if you’re making a trip specifically for rare or hard-to-find Scotch like I was from the LA area—especially based on their prestigious title—be prepared for some disappointment.

One last nit would be that there was no option for half pours even when I ordered so much for a tasting bar. Thank goodness I came with friends and we just split the pours otherwise I would not be able to try as...

I'm surprised I hadn't left a previous review as it’s our favorite spirits bar in town that’s not a speakeasy. Our last visit was a meetup with friends to celebrate a belated birthday during their happy hour. We had just come from dinner so we weren’t hungry so my wife had their Al Capone and Smoked Bacon Old Fashioned. I no longer drink anymore so I just had a bottle of Heineken Zero (0.0 ABV). Our friends had several of their Happy Hour food items and I’ll try to remember them all: Scotch Egg, Sausage On a Roll (Bratwurst), and Pork Chop. All food had been finished so I can speak for the others and say they liked it. Our servers were friendly, but I believe we got caught in between server shifts because there was a window where it was difficult to get a hold of them, and we needed to place an order for more drinks, then again to ask for our check. We actually had to walk to the bar to get someone’s attention to come over to our table. This was a surprise that it felt like the restaurant had forgotten about us. Had we had more attentive service, this review would’ve been a 5-star review. I can say that Tuesday evenings are a good time to try this place. It was only a quarter occupied, parking was relatively easy to find, and you had a choice of available seating. I wish I took some photos to add but we only had drinks and the lighting was pretty dimly lit in their dining area. The Whisky House is a solid bar! I can’t recall the year, but if they no longer own the record, they used to have the most whiskeys available to drink from their spirits collection in the Guinness Book of...