Came here on a Saturday afternoon and was less than impressed. Â It was nice out and I thought I'd find a local spot with a patio to enjoy a couple of beers. Â I walked into Players and it felt like a scene from the Walking Dead. Â About 10 guys gathered around all of the TVs blindly staring at old UFC highlights. Â The atmosphere just didn't lend itself to an enjoyable Saturday afternoon.
I scanned the beer list and immediately recognized that the prices were a little high. Â Not insanely high, but it still pains me to pay almost $6 for a Blue Moon knowing that the Ralph's across the parking lot is selling 6 of them for about the same price. Â But I proceed to order a couple of beers for the wife and I and we hit the patio. Â I was hoping for some music or something on the patio but it was just the audio from the UFC highlights. Â Really boring.
On a more positive note, I thought all of the staff working that day were helpful and pleasant. Â I had no real problems while I was here, I just didn't experience anything that would make me want to come back.
Meh. The only reason I ever came here was because I could drunkenly walk there and walk home with it just being a few blocks away from my house. This place is great to get a quick beer and play some pool, but thats it. The happy hour isnt anything special and the bartenders are hit or miss. Some of them are nothing but rude... if you dont like talking to people or taking orders for drinks, work somewhere else? Whatever. This is the place to go to see college girls get white girl wasted, and to see frat boys "bro-out". Â If that isnt your scene, dont waste your time.
Review Source:Someone once described Players as a "overhyped applebees" She may be referring to the type of people you might find here although it is a sports bar. The happy hour is excellent! Food and Beer. If not busy, seating will not be a problem (outside seating available also). Pool table and arcade. Dont recall any times when service was slow.
Review Source:This place is terrible, especially if you want to bring kids. The management is VERY rude and accuses kids of things they don't do. Asked to speak with a manager about the beer and she ignored me for 15 minutes than said my kid locked the restroom doors. She said we have cameras everywhere and they watch everything you do. She was looking at my daughter like she just stole money from them. She almost made her cry, she's 6. My son put money in the pool tables and was just rolling the balls in the pockets. She sent the bartender to tell my son to get away from the pool tables, 18 and up only. There was nobody there and he wasn't even using a cue stick. I would think twice about coming here and I will never be back for sure. HORRIBLE MANAGEMENT.
Review Source:Another favorite spot in town for me. This is great for the sports fan. Lots of TV's and they cover almost every sport on during any given time. Menu pricing is decent for portions, happy hour menu is great and beer selection is good. The staff here is FABULOUS! I have not been in once and come across an employee who wasn't smiling during our entire service. Looking forward to some Football Sunday Funday's here....especially since it's Happy Hour ALL DAY Sunday!
Review Source:This place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be.
Came here for happy hour to have a few beers but that is all I had so I can't comment on the food.
Happy hour is alright just a $1 off beers. But I like that if you are with a big group you can get the 100oz and split the cost.
My waitress was really nice I just wish I can remember her name!
Not bad, I had their chili and bread sticks. The bartender Heidi was very friendly, and played bar psychologist with customers instead of the other way around. I want to give this place a higher rating but the bar itself is so small for the space it's kind of sad they missed out on making more money with the extra chairs. Great place to go with a large group of friends though.
**UPDATE**
Just confirmed that this place caters to groups not those who role solo. I went in a few days ago, they pulled their bar chairs, which they say they do on certain days for idk what reason. It weeds out the individuals if you ask me. I can understand some places wanting to do that for dancing etc but nothing like that was going on that night. I ended up having to watch the game outside at a table by myself which blew, let me watch the game at the bar and blend in, I'm not trying to stand out.
You just lost a star
SO DISSAPOINTED! Went there to support local business and Dine out for our school. They were completely rude to a party of 7 ( 5 kids and two adults). After walking in circles trying to find a spot, we asked if the waitress if she could help and said we were here for dine out. Her reply, "no... and so.... you and 300 hundred other people". We then actually thought about getting something to go.... instead we went. I WILL NEVER come back, i am sure the other 4 tables we were around not being served will no be back either. Try Prime Cut, much better service, good food. FREINDLY atmosphere.
Review Source:This place has been a hit or miss for me. I still like Churchills better but I'll come here if Churchills is packed or if I want a quieter night. It's right next to the university so they are extremely anal about checking IDs before you even step foot into this place. The last time I went here the guy was just completely blahhhhhh about being out there. I had the buffalo chicken sandwich. I wish they'd put more buffalo sauce on here. That'd be amazing. The fries are nice and small and they do them to order which is nice. Their beer selection is a little small though for what's on tap. I do see signs for their happy hour and it seems to be a pretty good deal though. The waitress said their wing deal (on Sundays only) are usually their busiest day. I would like to stop by sometime and try them. The service here though is a hit or miss. Our waitress left for like 15 minutes or so and no else came by or was in the area.
Review Source:The first real "bar" that I think will actually succeed next to Cal State. Â The previous restaurant was way overpriced and had too much of a snob factor, so I think Players does that delicate balance of serving regular patrons and the inevitable college crowd. I have been here for lunch, happy hour and an occasional night out to have a drink. Â
The food is OK, I have had their burgers (solid), salads and appetizers. Â This is standard bar food and while it's not going to knock your socks off, it will at least carb load you before you take down a pint or two.
Their beer selection is actually pretty good, and they have a variety of beers to choose from. Â If you're going to be there for a while you may opt for their 100oz beer towers. Â They are priced right and gives people a reason to stare at your table when it comes out. Â
Lunch has a mixed crowd of office workers and students, but it gets really early 20-something focused as it gets to the midnight hour. So you've been warned. Â Still a fun place at any hour, and I have a feeling that it will continue to do well as CSUSM across the street grows into a larger campus.
I will never go back. The food was terrible the service was obnoxiously rude and not to mention, the drinks are very weak. Â It's not the place where you feel like you're getting a favor done because you go there regularly, all they care about is their money. Too many disappointing things to earn my business, I'd rather find a place that treats me good for being a regular.
Review Source:I've been to Players twice and my review will cover both times for different events.
The first time was for a Chargers preseason game (it was against the Vikings) and even for preseason Players was busy; though we did find seating and a friendly waitress promptly took our order. Good. Understand that I come from the Inland Empire where it isn't so Charger fan friendly, sure they have a fan base there, but most football fans there are Raiders (ugh!) or Cowboys fans. It's nice to be surrounded by powder blue jerseys and most of the fans at Players are such.
Anyways, I ordered the sampler platter and I liked it! It had hot wings (hot, but not enough to make you dunk your head in an aquarium and they were tasty) also had shrimp, nicely breaded and pretty big shrimp, mozzarella sticks, potato skins, chips and a quesadilla. Very good portion size and most importantly, delicious. The service was prompt and waitress kept checking up on us to make sure we were satisfied and to keep my water glass full. There were plenty of TV's showing the game as well as baseball games and other football games. We enjoyed it.
The second time was for the infamous Seattle Seahawks vs Greenbay Packers game (yes that one with the terrible call at the end!) and it was a different  atmosphere. They was less people here on that day and it was quieter and more subdued. The service was still good and again we were promptly greeted and had our order taken. This time we had a half appetizer basket with handmade 'chips' (fresh hand made potato chips) that were excellent- they were pretty thick, but still crunchy- I prefer them this way and the other half was french fries; good but nothing mind blowing or different. Also ordered a basket of onion rings; big pieces of onion and like the shrimp, nicely breaded. Liked these. We also ordered a pizza with 3 choices of meat. It was alright; nothing wrong with it and it satisfied, just nothing to write home about and there's better things on the menu there.
In the end though, we walked out satisfied and it's a good place to sit back, watch a game or 2 and have a bite and some suds.
great college bar near CSUSM. Â this place has tons of TVs and is great for college games and NFL Sunday. Â Prices are decent with 100oz beer towers that are delivered to your table for apprx 22-28 dollars depending on the type of beer you order. Â This place is definitely a place to go to watch any or all sporting events especially CHARGERS Sunday games.
Review Source:My girlfriend and I came here to watch the Notre Dame/ Michigan State game. Â The reviews on yelp made it seem like the best sports bar in the area so we were down to try it.
The setup inside the bar is pretty cool. Â Lots of TV's all over the walls and a few pool tables. Â The management did a poor job of putting the important games on the main TV's but we could still see the game from where we were sitting so I can't really complain.
They have a pretty good selection of beers available and they write them all in chalk above the bar. Â They are always changing them which is a pretty cool thing. Â It nice to see more places with more SD craft beers. Â I guess if you are a regular you would never get tired of the selection. Â My girlfriend and I both got 2 drinks each and the prices seemed fair. Â Our drink total came to less then 20 for wine and good beer so I was happy about that. Â Totally beats going to watch the game at some chain restaurant like BJ's.
For food I got the chicken tenders and my girlfriend got the quesadillas. Â Both were off the appetizer section of the menu. Â The quesadillas were very good, much better then expected. The chicken tenders were chicken tenders and that is a menu item you cant really screw up unless you really try. Later on towards the end of the game we got the vegetable plate which came with a huge amount of vegetables and was a good snack for us to finish off the game with. Â The food was more then I anticipated for appetizer items but the portions were a good size so it seemed to be okay.
Our waitress was kind of short with us for the time we spent there. Â It might have been from the moronic USC fans at the bar but I didn't mind too much because I got everything that I wanted in a good amount of time and I cared more about watching football than making bs small talk with some waitress.
Overall I had a good experience and if I was to ever come back to watch a sports came in San Marcos I would come back. Â It didn't blow my mind or shock me by how awesome it was so I give it 4 stars. Â It exceeded all of my expectations so I was happy. Â
If you are a prick or a snob then you could nit pick this place to death (like the review who gave the place 2 stars cause they don't have coke....) and yeah they probably could do things to make the bar better but at the end of the day I just want to drink beer and watch sports and maybe have something to eat while I do it. Â If that is what interests you then this place will be just fine for you and other sports fans.
Stopped in to meet with colleague and had the Cesar Salad with chicken. It was fresh and tasty. Â All salads come with garlic bread at no charge. Â I wish I had a liking for beer since most everyone was enjoying a tall cold one. Â It was busy but quiet except for chatter among the patrons....I enjoy a little background music myself. Â I believe they had a jukebox. Â I'll be back.
Review Source:Go ahead, put your elbows on the table! This is a large roomy bar, they don't set the tables too close to one another-which I love! So many places it's like I have to sit on some dudes lap practically to see the game! Enter Players-pool tables, large TV's, a ton of beer on tap, and room for a lady to scream at the screen and wave her arms around....yes, and I'm a red head, go figure.
If you have a larger group and get there early you should be able to post up and watch the game with great food, great service, and lots of TVs.-even on the patio with the screens in the walls. Â I've been here half a dozen times personally, had events here, and I'm always happy. On Wednesday they change the kegs with an "Out with the old, in with the new special" 2$ pints till the keg is gone! Cool deal!
For a sports bar the beer selection is suberb! In true NCSD style they have loads of microbrews to choose from-and even apple or pear ciders for us gluten free peeps. (Nothing worse than watching football sans frothy beverage, now GF yelpers can have their suds too!) Balast Point, Green Flash, and I've even seen a Black Market Hef from Temecula. I have to give kudos when one local business supports other local businesses-Trish Delish approved guys!
The food is upper end bar fare. Some favs: the nachos, the beer battered onion rings, the hot ham & cheese, the BBQ pizza, the POUND of veggies on the vegetable platter, they even do an all you can eat pasta and salad for about 8.50-more good deals!
Word to the wise, with the campus right there, the cops be out and about in full force! Don't drink and drive, and fighting? Not recommended.5 stars for the reasons above and because If this place was near my house, I think we would probably practically live here.
Total sports bar. There are literally 22 big screen TVs playing all kinds of different sports. There's a pool table and you can order beer in a thing that looks like a hooka bong. This crowd is younger, as it is right across the street from Cal State SM. side note:not that you should be doing this anyway, but don't even try to get in with a fake ID, the bouncers are cray cray!
Review Source:Do you like French bread-ish pizza? then this place has it in spades. The dough is thick, it brings back memories to my middle school days. They have a good local beer selection. If you like San Diego brews, then they got you covered here, on the most part. Their pizza is chewy, it takes time to consume. Mix it with some local beer and it's a good day.
Review Source:Can you say Leinenkugel's? Yes, at Players you can! Definitely one of my favorite beers ever.. and they have the Sumer Shandy brew which is ohhhh yeah good. There are a ton of beer selections here and that makes me happy.
I was pleasently surprised the first time I came to Players. I was expecting it to be a lot 'crappier' because it's a sports bar but its not crappy at all! The food is actually really really good too! I love their salsa, not sure if it's made in house or not but it's spicy and delicious. My friend and I tried the BBQ chicken pizza last time which was also really freakin good.
Every time I've been to Players i have always had a good time. My favorite thing about Players Sports Bar has to be the big bouncer with the beard... just sayin'.
This is the worst bar I have ever been to! Its nothing but under aged drinking and drama!! Someone is ALWAYS starting a fight or running out on a tab. I would pass if your thinking about going drinking here tonight!! It's too bad this place sucks cause they have a good beer selection on tap with good prices and nice pool tables. There are way better bars in San Marcos to go to.
Review Source:With not a lot of sports bar choices in North County I was grateful to have Players to watch the playoffs until the customer service.
I ordered the sante fe turkey with extra jalapenos and it came out with no jalapenos on the sandwich. Not a big deal until I mention it to the bartender and I am treated like I am an idiot as if I had made the mistake. "what do you want me to do about it" is the answer to my request.
After reflecting that, I as the guest felt that the bartender was being condescending and rude he seemed to try to intimidate me to say "do you want me to get the owner" not to solve my problem but to recruit back up in order to prove that I was wrong and the jerk.
The owner arrived to question my motives in complaining, further explaining that I was confused while belittling my explanation for being frustrated and offended.
What ever happened to making a mistake on a sandwich that probably costs the bar a few bucks and costs me 10 and saying " I am sorry sir, let me take care of that for you"
It made the impression that pride and arrogance was more important than making the customer happy regarding a turkey sandwich. Even if I had been a total jerk, this is customer service. Great restaurants don't argue with the guest, they say, I am so sorry how can I fix this.
Like I said, sports bars are rare in north county. Unfortunate that Players was such a negative experience.
My guess is that if the owner or bartender were to read this review they would further conclude that I am a jerk and have no reflection that their customer service is lacking. It felt very personal and not about a sandwich. The more I expressed that I felt disrespected, the more it became an issue about me as a person and less about my poor turkey sandwich.
By the way, the bartender was training a new bartender. Expect that this type of treatment to guests of the restaurant isn't going anywhere.
Positives:
- lots of tvs, great place to watch sports
- good beer selection
- place looks nice ( the set up, clean, etc)
Negatives:
- waitresses are lazy and inattentive
- the shitty pizza bread came cold and it looked like they melted yellow american cheese under mozzarella WTF!
- the kitchen "looks" good the food doesn't
OVERALL just have a few beers and get food elsewhere. Mr Taco is in the same shopping center, do yourself a favor!
Stop #2 to our mini pub crawl...
It was midnight on a Thurs night and this place was still happening...
Clean and spacious. Loved the ambiance. There's an outdoor patio pit, which is always packed.
A little disappointed that the bar area was small, but there are a lot of seats in the establishment. The kitchen was closed at the time, so we weren't able to sample any appys.
Lots of TVs and about 25 beers on tap. I asked for a taste of the Pear cider and they accommodated. Patrons are nice and I talked to a couple guys at the bar.
Love the music they played overhead and it wasn't too loud that we couldn't hold a conversation.
Cool atmosphere and would def include this stop for our 2nd pub/bar crawl.
Note: 5-0s EVERYWHERE!!! Get a DD... I did...
Kind of a clone of a tilted kilt or yardhouse or whatever. Beer selection isn't really that good, sure 20 on tap, but the clones of this place have 50 different beers on tap and more of a true variety to boot.
I do like the different sized offerings; kind of a fun novelty to get the 100oz and share with friends. Lots of TV screens so its a good place to watch the game because there isn't a bad seat in the house. The outdoor firepit is also kind nice.
this place just doesn't feel like home, it feels like temecula.
This place is cool. I come here for the atmosphere and my friends like this place. Can't say very much about the food since I don't remember how it tasted... must not have been amazing then. Can't say much about the beer either since I'm not a big beer drinker.
This place gets crowded like crazy if there's a game. Once they hit capacity, they just stop letting people in and then a line starts to form outside. At least one perk about that is that they have tv's outside for people in line to watch. :)
Friend of mine suggested we check this place out. I'm really glad we did. TVs everywhere, good beer, food is pretty good, and the service was great!
We came in to watch the Chargers game. The place is pretty spacious. I think it was a packed house, but it didn't feel over crowded. The TV's are everywhere and they were showing all of the NFL games that were showing. I believe they had all the major channels going (CBS, FOX, and NFL Redzone).
The beer selection was pretty good. I heard it changes up from time to time. When we were there they had a bunch of the hometown brews (Stone, Ballast Point, Green Flash, and Karl Strauss) and some others.
Service was AWESOME. Megan really took care of us. Prompt and very friendly. She checked up on us from time to time, but didn't over do it (which is real important, especially when you're watching the game). My drink was always filled.
Food was good. There were three of today and we shared the appetizer platter and large pizza. It was just the right amount. So food, four beers, two sodas, and a coffee; the bill came out to about $55.
Great place to hang with your buddies and catch the games. There were a lot of other teams fans as well. Makes for a great cheering atmosphere. Folks looked comfortable to cheer and not worry about getting into a fight. Respect.
I think this will be our new spot. Check'em out!
Huge selections of beer on tap including local craft beers. Â Something like 20 55" TV's hooked to any channel of sports you're after. Â Another four or so TV's in the bathroom so you don't have to wait for a commercial break to hit the head. Â
The service was great for me. Â I ordered just potato skins but the arrived pretty quick and were tasty. Â After than college football games on Saturday the crowd turned a bit younger, to be expected since it's located across from the university.
I was a bit concerned trying this place as many of the reviews trashed this place. Well...it's not bad. Here's my assessment:
Bar/beer: GREAT local beer selection as well as a full bar. I enjoyed a very tasty Ballast Point Sculpin IPA which is hard to find. Delicious.
Ambiance: Crap loads of TVs. I guess this would be obvious for a sports bar but they've certainly handled this without holding back any expense in assuring you can face any direction in the place and still see your game.
Service: Friendly service. The servers are certainly green. It's a new place, give them a few years experience and they'll get there. They could've checked in a bit more but no problems and our beer didn't go empty for unreasonable amounts of time.
Food: The weakest side of this place. The food isn't bad...it's just very unremarkable. I had the gyros, which, was good with my beer but boring without a beer to wash it down.
I'd give the place 3 and 1/2 stars if I could but not having the option didn't think they rate 3 stars so I'm rounding up to 4. They do need to improve the food to make this a MUST go place. Being across the street from CSUSM, you'd think they couldn't fail as a sports bar.
My family went to Players on Sunday night for a late dinner. Â
Pros:
they have a kids menu and highchairs
we didn't feel out of place with a 1.5 year old
their pear cider was enjoyable
Cons:
The food really isn't all that good. Â We had two burgers. Â They were ok..nothing really special to make us come back again.
The seating is a bit odd and they could definitely utilize the space better. Â Perhaps even have a hostess stand versus just having the patrons seat themselves would make the place more inviting.
Doubtful we'll return.
Great Draft Selection. You have to try the Rogue Hazelnut Brown. It's one of my favorite beers and a hard one to find on tap. I work relatively close to this place. I can see myself stopping in for football games and such here. Lots of TV's. The layout of tables is a bit poor.... Seems like they can utilize their space better.
Food is average bar food at best. I dont come here to eat.
Check it out its a good place to stop and get a great beer!
I am going to be Frank and tell you that I am writing this review on reputation alone.
This isn't Mike and Ted's first go round. The had a small place in SD in the northern Linda Vista area and then started Players in SD too. This is at least the 3rd place they have had that I am aware of.
The reason for all the Boston and Pats stuff is that Ted is from Boston so it is for his hometown. BTW, they are both local SD team supporters.
I am not here to wave the Mike and ted banner, haven't seen them in years, but I will say that in my bar dwelling days they were really nice and customer friendly guys that knew how to run a place and always had good outings, good food and good value.
I hope they are as successful at this location.
Heard that this bar was opening and that they had a great craft beer selection on tap. Was skeptical, but went anyway on early afternoon Sat, July 9, 2011. Staff courteous, very helpful/conscientitious. Surprise! Good beer list! Also on a print out and on chalkboard above bar. Another surprise, you can actually read the chalkboard. Kudos!
While there I looked to see who had reviewed the place so far and when I saw a 1-star, I joked to my GF that it must've been posted by a macro beer drinker. I was right, he was upset that they were out of BudLight and that there wasn't any Padres or chargers stuff on the walls. Made us both laugh.
The food was decent for a sports bar. We had a basket of tater tots/fries, spinach salad, and a calzone. They might want to check their artichokes though as they tasted a bit dull.
I personally cannot stand sports bars, but I came strictly to see the craft beer selection. No disappointment there. Ballast Point's Sculpin on tap and we had 2 pints each, was a bit warmer than normal servicing temp, but still within reason.
WARNING: the Players website doesn't list the beer they actually serve. It lists a bunch of macros and only a few craft brews (no, Blue Moon is not a craft beer, it's made by Coors). Hopefully the owners will read this review and have their website more accurately reflect the beer on tap.
Beer came in 16oz, 23oz, and the Tube (100oz), w/the caveat that if the serving size was to be less than 16oz, there would be a notation. That most likely means that there will be some high ABV beers in the future. Speedway Stout or Victory at Sea would be nice. Hint, hint. The "Tube" looked like a good deal if we had friends with us. 100oz of beer or 6.25 pints. Mmmm.
I'll be back to this place for some of the good beer and because it's a closer bike ride than my normal craft beer pub, but probably won't make it a regular spot as the sound on the various games going on is just too loud. I did contemplate throwing some coins in the jukebox to see if that would drown out the sound from tv's. Seriously, way too loud.
If you do like sports bars and good craft beer, then definitely hit this place up. If you like craft beer, then you should try it out as an alternative spot.
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