When this place first opened as Calvin's, it was rocky. But they really seem to have all of the kinks worked out. The BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza is great and the fish tacos, grilled or deep fried, was my favorite until I tried the Chicken Pesto sandwich. YUM! And the beer selection if full of local San Diego beers. Also a YUM!
Review Source:This review is for the bar, not for the restaurant. I live right down the road from here, and I have to say-- there's something really enjoyable about hanging out at Calvin's. The bar food is REALLY good (try the boneless buffalo wings-- they're some of the best I've ever had--I could be wrong, but they seem hand-battered, and the homemade bleu cheese dressing is solid). Their pizza is also pretty delicious, and while I've never tried their burgers, dining companions of mine seem to really like them. The prices for bar food are reasonable, and there are often very good deals. On the weekends, this place can really pack a crowd, and the bar is very supportive of local musicians. If you're in the area, head on over to the Sports Bar (the door is on the side of the building sort of...)
Review Source:Not sure who the previous poster was paid by to post their review, but I definitely have to call BS on their review.
I went there with my brother and boyfriend after some hiking nearby in Cleveland National Forest... we were just looking for some food and unfortunately for us, Calvin's was the first place that popped up on the GPS. We should have stuck with our gut and gone to the Frosty Burger next door or just kept on driving.
When we arrived there was no one else in the entire restaurant and there was a noticeably loud argument going on in the kitchen, ending with a man saying, "Oh great, of course NOW we get busy!" when we walked in the door. 3 people is busy for your restaurant?? We should have taken that as our hint to move along since they obviously didn't want our business.
We were seated by a kid who looked like he had been toking up for half the morning already, and I was honestly a bit surprised by the prices on the menu. My brother went to the bathroom and described it as a "Haunted House" having to walk down a long darkened hallway and needing to be sure to leave the door on one end open to use the light to stumble your way down to the restroom.
I ordered the fried shrimp (and had to remind our waiter that the menu shows it comes with soup or salad and 2 sides - he had no idea what their menu had on it). It took him 5 minutes to find out what the soup of the day was, and even then he came back and told me he was wrong and what the ACTUAL soup of the day was. It really didn't matter, all he needed to have said was "Leftover dishwashing water" since that's what the soup tasted like and looked like. The sides I ordered were garlic mashed potatoes (which really should have been called week-old rancid garlic potato salad) and rice pilaf. I am not sure how you can screw up rice pilaf, but they managed to do just that with flying colors. The fried shrimp was tough beyond belief.
My brother ordered the "World Famous" BBQ and only ate it because his cheap thriftiness wouldn't allow for him to NOT eat it... but he complained the entire time about how awful it was.
My boyfriend ordered a steak with the same sides that I had... he had the same complaints about the sides that I had, and I tried a bite of his steak and literally wanted to spit it out as soon as it touched my tongue.
All this terrible food coupled with our "Dude... I'm so hiiiiigh" waiter who literally had his iPod in his ears BLASTING metal music so loud that we could hear it across the restaurant and as he served us, and brought the wrong order twice... and the waiter having to turn up the music on their CD player (a Chuck Berry CD we heard 3 times all the way through the entire time we were there) to drown out the owners/chefs fighting in the kitchen loudly. We're pretty sure they were fighting over whose fault it was their restaurant is such a failure. Â
We ended up pushing our food around the plates awhile, then paying our overpriced bill.... only the sodas were worth paying for... $5.00.
I wouldn't wish this place on my worst enemy... we ate another dinner once we got back to San Diego.
Fourteen of us descended on Calvin's back in April on a cold night before a snow storm came in. Â We are winemakers from Napa bicycling through Pine Valley on our way across the country. Â Calvin and her husband welcomed us as if dinner guests in their own home. Â Calvin did the cooking and our food was delicious! Â She came out of the kitchen herself to check on us. Â Since we bring our own wine everywhere we travel; they were very generous with their corkage. Â Thank you for kicking off our cross-country travels!
Review Source:Took a day trip to Julian with the hubby today to partake in the winter festivities. Â After playing in the snow, we followed a caravan of cars that led us into town. Â After passing Frosty Burger and seeing the enormous line, we continued down the road to a diner with a line clear out to the street. Â That's when we noticed Calvin's...not a person in sight - score! Â Or not.
The smell that greeted us upon walking in was a mixture between must and dirty mopping water...not enough to turn us away apparently. We were seated almost immediately. Â The ambiance they are going for is the whole log cabin feel. Â Sorry to say, but it's just plain ugly in there. Everything looked old, cheap, and dirty. Â The one nice touch is the fireplace...but doesn't really give off much heat. Â It was snowing and although I saw the waiter fiddle with the thermostat every time a customer complained, it never warmed up.
After looking through the menu and seeing the hefty prices for such an...interesting place, we thought the food must be decent. Â We ordered nachos with carne asada, and a pizza. Â I have never passed up pizza...until now. Â After tasting it I wanted no part of it. Â It looked and tasted like it came straight from the freezer. Â The cheese wasn't melted, and it actually smelled like a cracker. Â The nachos were edible. Â The carne asada was burnt...but edible.
While we were eating (or moving things around our plates) I noticed a ton of people waiting to be seated....and waiting....and waiting. Â No one ever approached them. Not once. Â The place was still practically empty so I didn't understand. I felt like getting up and telling them to save their money and go wait somewhere else...like over at Frosty Burger!
Major's Diner was closed at 2pm (sad), and we were hungry for some greasy spoon comfort food! Â Calvin's to the rescue!
The restaurant side is cozy with a huge stone fire place, wood beamed ceilings, and comfy booths. Â The service was very friendly, though I joked that they must be part of the Slow Food movement because it did take a little while. Â But it's not like they were just popping things in the microwave back there.
My mac n cheese was very cheddar-cheesy but the noodles were a little mushy. Â It came with a nice salad and generous garlic bread. Â My friend's made-to-order pizza came out great, and friend 2's bbq pork platter was also a hit.
Great spot to rest your weary bones and carbo-load after a strenuous hike in the area!
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