Decent food, terrible service. If you want to wait 15 minutes for you beer, food, and check, each, this is a great place for that. I was sitting at the bar on a Wednesday at 4pm, the start of happy hour, and the bartender had trouble keeping up, or should I say avoid talking to her coworker-friends, with two customers at the bar. Skip this place and go to BJ's around they corner.
Review Source:This place is okay. Â It reminds me of what TGIF used to be back in the day when they first opened in the 90's. Â Yep, I said it. Â The beers are good. Â The food... it's like TGIF/Applebees-ish stuff. Â You don't come here to eat. Â Had an order of the wings- the flavor was good, but the wings were small, and the meat was a little dry. Â Someone ordered the seared ahi, which tasted like nothing, and which had the texture of a slightly dehydrated marshmallow. Â I'll say this place is okay because it's spacious, it's great for groups who want to socialize and drink mostly. Â Service was really good- despite over 60 people being there for a social event, the servers didn't miss a beat. Â Our drinks came out promptly, correctly, and our bills were correct as well. Â Not easy swimming through a crowd like that error free! Â Parking's fine, atmosphere is unremarkable. Â Don't eat the candy at the door on your way out unless you like root beer flavored candy. Â Yuck. Â We had a good time, and I'd come here again for another social event like that, but I'd probably have some dinner somewhere else first.
Review Source:I came here for happy hour with friends. It was a great place to chat and enjoy a good deal on happy hour (I wouldn't be so sure about the regular menu). Our appetizers took 30 minutes to arrive, so they gave it to us free! I asked if they could take 30 mins to deliver everything else (waiter definitely didn't get the joke, but that's ok). Right when happy hour was ending, the waitress was nice enough to take all of our final orders so we could get the cheeper price. Starving students, this is how we do.
The ambiance is more fitting bigger groups. Definitely not a first date kind of place. You would be yelling in each others ears the whole time.
Worth checking out!
After reading previous reviews, I didn't have high expectations for this place.
However the waitress did inform us that the menu was completely redone two days prior. So my expectations were raised back up.
She suggested the Ahi Tuna salad and when it arrived I thought it looked colorful and appetizing. The tuna was pretty good and the sunflower seeds and avocado were a nice touch, but overall the flavor profile fell short. The chickpeas and apples added a bland aspect to it and I honestly think the most flavor was from the balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
However the service was excellent (even though the server very obviously hit on my friend) but she was very attentive and warm.
But. As a craft beer lover, skip this place if you're just interested in beer. There are plenty of our amazing breweries nearby (including Karl Strauss and Green Flash Brewing)
Bottom line: Meh, nothing special.
The 7-10pm happy hour last thursday was nice... Paying regular prices as if those are reduced, was not. Kitchen closes early, you better hurry.
The mexican entrees were nice, the burgers could be better. Beer was great, duh!
2 Stars for the place, 5 to the awesome waitress, i wish i would remember her name to mention.
Went with a meetup group and had a blast hanging with cool new people. Happy hour apps were super cheap and yummy. I wouldn't consider the drinks specials as "happy hour" prices, especially since it's not an upscale restaurant.. But it wasn't outrageous. Will definitely come again.. Our waitress was great! One girl serving over 50 people until back up arrived.
Review Source:Great atmosphere, lively music and rustic beachy decor. Best thing was there really great beer. The ribs were really great chicken was okay. We also had the steak which was tasty. But hands down was the great service. We asked about what was fun to do around town since i was here for my birthday weekend. Bartender (Damiean) not only informed us but also asked a few co workers who also took the time to let us know their opinion. Upon finishing up our meal, a surprise birthday dessert arrived. Thanks to the sly bartender. We were so touched and thought how wonderful it was. He gave us indeed one of the best services we've ever received. It really started our vacation off right.
Review Source:3.5 stars. We've gone here a few times for their happy hour. I wouldn't suggest coming here for happy hour if you don't want to wait. It's very busy on a Friday evening and for their happy hour, it's find your own seat. If you're lucky enough, you'll be able to find a table within 5 minutes. If not, well you may want to try the upstairs if it's not closed off for an event. You will most likely have to wait for your waiter or waitress to come by. It takes them some time as they have new faces popping up in the area all the time. Their happy hour choices vary over time and I can only comment on a few items that I've tried.
Chicken tenders - very hot when you get them. Crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Great food to eat.
Kobe sliders - nothing extremely amazing.
Chips with guacamole and salsa - okay. It's kind of bland and I'd rather get my chips and salsa + guacamole elsewhere.
All in all, the prices for happy hour are alright. I don't drink so I can't comment on the alcohol.
We tried to eat here Twice. Â The first time the service was so bad we left before our table was ready, which says something! Â -v.v.v rude.
The second time we though we would give it another go, perhaps it wasn't that bad. Right - Wrong!!!
It's moments like these you laugh or you cry, we were hysterical, actual tears from laughter. It was that bad. The service was so rude, shockingly so. The food was horrific. I'm actually laughing about the state of it. Â We were stunned into silence, which coming from our group is a big deal, while we tried to work out how what we had in front of us was what we ordered, think a creative licence to the extreme.
Horrible. Just horrible.
This place use to be awesome about 3 years ago. The beers were great, the food was awesome and the prices were reasonable. HH was legit.
Now...It's too crowded (for the most part during HH) and the food is over priced and "eh". The beer was what you went there for and although they said they didn't change the recipes when Rock Bottom was sold to another company..I know they did. Over prices whatever water. They even took all the good appitizers off the menus and raised the prices on all the others.
I guess it's a case of "not much int the area, so let's do what we want, they'll keep coming back"....Nope.
They get an extra star because the employees are very friendly.
I still come here a lot since I live in the neighborhood, but Rock Bottom has certainly fallen from its former glory. First, more and more tasty items began to disappear from the food happy hour menu. Next, they nixed some of their awesome lineup, replaced with what looks to be standardized Rock Bottom beer choices. After that, they got rid of the 22oz mug club program and replaced it with a basically nonexistant rewards program. And beers that *should* be on the happy menu randomly aren't (their stout). And the days of getting $5 loaded on your rewards card to spend freely are long gone.
I know most of these changes were probably corporate HQ decisions, but they still really reduce the food and drink value. Their master brewer does a fantastic job so it's still worth coming if you're in the area. But combined with spotty service, this place is now just so-so.
I attended a group lunch in the upstairs of Rock Bottom yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. Â The staff was extremely friendly and completely on it with all drinks and clearing plates etc. Â We had a taco bar set-up and the food was actually quite good for such a large group. Â I've always like Rock Bottom, but had not frequented one recently...pleasantly surprised to have such another great experience!
Review Source:The menu has plenty of options. Good space. Friendly service. I have come here for a weekend night when it's super busy and during the week with a larger group and both times the servers have been on top of things and nice.
The food isn't anything to rave over, but it's a decent meal with good portions. It's enough to make you feel full but not so much that you feel like you're wasting half your plate because there's too much.
The sangria is more juice-like than wine-like but refreshing just the same. It's a fairly convenient location off the 5 and near the theaters. Everything is just like the star rating says: A-OK!
Happy Hour experience only
We stopped in here when we decided we weren't in the mood for the fine dining closer to  our stop at the Hyatt at Aventine, and were able to find a seat near the bar fairly quickly. Judging by the way the place filled up, it's best to get in for HH early because tables (and barstools) become a hot commodity. The happy hour menu seemed pretty decent $2 off all beer, a special on wells and wines (I think it was the same $2 off, but don't quote me on that, I was in a beer mood.) and a smaller appetizer menu for $5 or $7.
Beer:
Red Ale - decent but lighter in terms of what I enjoy in a red. If you like that, it's good.
Scotch Ale - very good, again on the lighter side, but it definitely hit the spot.
Brown Ale - also good, this time it wasn't on the lighter side. I really enjoyed this one.
Note: we were able to split the brown ale - meaning they poured half a glass each for us and charged us accordingly. Lovely. Sometimes you just need half a beer.
Food:
Santa Fe Shrimp - good, though the cream sauce was a little too heavy in terms of amount for me, I could have used about half the sauce and it would have been delicious. I'm usually a sauce-a-holic, so this is an odd complaint.
Bourbonzola Burger - it was actually better without the bourbon glaze, which comes on the side. There was something about the sauce that just seemed....off.
Laredo Burger - flavorless. The guacamole, which again came on the side, helped, but I wished there was more spice. Lesson learned.
Overall, the beers are worth going for, the food is just standard. Stop in for a beer after work if you're in the Golden Triangle or class if you're attending UCSD (and are over 21) but don't make a special trip.
It was okay. I ended up here because I really wanted a steak but I didn't want to pay for the full price at Fleming's. That place has a deal for before 7PM, but I had missed it. So I figured that I would try for here for a steak and a beer.
It was okay. Service was decent, the beer was cold, the steak was okay and the price was right. I have no real complaints, but I know that there is better out there. Two stars - "I've experienced better."
Oh rock bottom... how you used to actually ROCK. Â Unfortunately for me, Humphrey's was closed so I had to check you guys out and completely forgot how you f'd up the entire menu and went all mcdonalds on us.
I got the kobe sliders with "crispy onion rings"... just didn't expect to get two bites of crispy onion rings and was also expecting mustard on the sliders cuz... ya know... that's what the menu said but not exactly what I got. Â the meat was a bit rough as well.
Then I decided to get some southwest egg rolls to throw in the fridge for the weekend. Â what a pathetic attempt that was as the egg rolls look like dried out rolls that reminded me of that scene in xmas vaca when grizwall cuts the turkey and it deflates. Â and damn..... they were $10.95 or whatever.... what a waste!!!!
When I moved back from seattle I was super happy to see a rock bottom here but now, after giving RB one final try, I am confident to say I will never ever ever step foot in a RB again. Â Sad..... i miss the quality they once had.
One good thing.... the front desk lady was great!
I'm not going to say the food is outstanding and that this place is bodacious. What I am going to say is that we had an extremely good time here. The service was excellent! Our waiter was very attentive and patient.
The food here is your typical American brewery type of spot. It's nothing to die for as I still would go to BJs over this place any day. However the experience was great, service was great, and food was just what I expected.
Try the Warm donut holes...those are bad ass
Another typical restaurant and brewery with average food at best. My waitress had an attitude that didn't come off well. If you have a poor attitude, it reflects poorly on the restaurant.
The food is not bad, just typical with nothing more to say than that. I won't be coming back and I wouldn't recommend it to a friend.
Managers are culeless. Food was good.
Went for early dinner with the family. We were watching a table next to us with 2 women and 3 kids eating. The 2 ladies let the kids run wild while the littlest one rocked back and forth in the restaurant high chair. We made a few commets to the ladies about the kid playing chicken with the high chair. No response. The manager and waitress both saw the kid balancing back on 2 legs of the chair. Finally, Bam, the kid fell back words and hit the wood floor with his head. The mom scoop up the kid that was bleeding and I had a few choice words for the other mom before they stormed out the door. The manager and waitress just let it go. When asked why they didn't say anything they said something like "not our job to tell the parents what to do"
This place is awful. Â First off, my husband and I walked in (having never been here before) about 3 weeks ago. Â We would've walked right by the host had I not said, "Are you the host?" Â He looked at me as if I was disturbing him holding up the host stand. Â (Mistake 1)
After taking us to a table, we proceeded to wait 10 minutes before our waitress came over. (Mistake 2). Â We ordered everything at that point, fearing we would have to wait another 10 minutes if we only placed our drink order.
My strawberry lemonade was good, but absolutely disgusting to look at. Â It was lemonade with a heap of frozen strawberry sludge on top that I had to mix myself. Â ???
I ordered a crispy chicken salad, and hubs ordered ribs. Â Both meals came out after what seemed like forever by a food runner, and we didn't see anyone for at least another 10 minutes. Â After our waitress came back to check on us, I asked her for a glass of water, which she forgot and needed a double reminder. Â I swear, she seemed like an airhead. Â
The worst part was the food. Â My husband's ribs and chicken dinner could've come out of a frozen box, and my chicken salad was nasty. Â The lettuce was wilted, and the chicken was so overbattered that I had a hard time eating it. Â
Bottom line--better food at a McDonald's. Â I felt like I was in the movie "Waiting."
Crappy service, crappy hosts, and we will not EVER return.
Not my favorite place for a drink in the area, but convenient because it is near work and home...so happy hour visits can be frequent. My fave on the menu is the ballpark pretzels with the dipping sauce. and a beer of course! (you are in a brewery).
Service is usually pretty good considering it's usually jam packed for hh.
This is a review that is a bit overdue since this happened back in June.
I'd give them no stars if I could. I honestly had no problems with the food. The food was good. But the management is TERRIBLE. I will never come back here ever again until they switch out that server we had and the manager. I wish I could tell you a name, but I didn't get the name.
Basically, we went in a large group. And I understand that the day we went, the restaurant was busy. When we got our bill, we realized it was way more than what we had ordered. Upon closer examination, we saw that a bunch of things that we didn't order was added into the list. We tell the server this and she lists out some excuse saying that there's a lot of people so she got it mixed up.
Okay, I understand that. The second time she does it, she messes up some other thing and so she needs to fix it. AGAIN.
The third time around, the bill was right so we give her the cash and the cards separately. And she comes over to the table and tells us that we messed up. in this accusatory manner that I didn't even understand. (considering that she messed up and that's why it's taking even longer) And we tell her that we counted it right.. and we could recount if she wants us to. It turns out the $20 that was "missing" was in her pocket. that SHE forgot and miscounted.
By this time, an hour has passed. So people at our table was getting angry at her mistakes and for taking such a long time to process everything. So we told them that we want to take the tip out and we'll tip accordingly instead. Then she gets all mad and calls over the manager. The manager.. this manager. lol..
takes HER side and tells us that we're wrong. He comes over and says "people make mistakes" and we tell them "three times in a row is unreasonable" and he's like "i think not"
excuse me? I'm a customer. and so is the 13 some other people that are sitting at this table eating this food. Even if I was wrong (which I don't think I was, it's not like I was yelling at them) as a manager, you take the customer's side. and then take the waitress to the side after we've left and take her side. This manager needs to go back and re-learn some basic manners about management.
So he finally agrees to take the tip out. When this waitress brings back the check, she gives it to us, rolling her eyes.
Rolling her eyes. can you believe it?
just wow.
And we ended up tipping her still about 10% (10% which I don't even believe this waitress deserves)
Worst attitude I've ever had to come across from any restaurant and perhaps I'll eat at another Rock Bottom but never this one. EVER.
Gotta be fair, this place is 50/50 for me. Some things I love and others I hate.
First of all, the servers are FANTASTIC. They are this restaurant's finest asset. My server, Adam, explained the menu, was friendly, got into some conversation but not at the expense of other tables and he did a true, professional job. He made my evening rock.
The core beers they offer are great. The Kölsch was for-real. I've lived in Germany. I know what this Köln-style beer should be and this one delivers. They used Cascade rather than Noble hops which is not a problem for me and how many would even notice? The malty finish was perfect. Delicious! The specialty beers are where things start to fail. I had the Winter Tartan. It's too heavy, gooey and hits one over the head with a taste of vanilla. Vanilla? In beer? WTF? Just awful. I needed food to kill the taste. Stick with the regular brews they always have. Do not stray into the weird netherworld of their specialty beers. They are trying too hard and not getting it right. They quite literally would be arrested in Germany for that winter tartan stuff. No joke. Seriously.
The food is nothing to write home about. I had the "Bottoms-Up Burger" from the special winter menu. It was the most ordinary burger of my life. I seriously wanted a Five Guys burger while I was eating this thing. It was nothing special. The meat had a funny texture and no, I don't want to speculate further but Rodney Dangerfield's line, "This has marks where the jockey was hitting it" came to mind. It was greasy and served with a slice of hard tomato and two unimpressive onion rings which came out of a box. No, seriously. Out of a box. The fries were also out of a box. I can't buy fries this bad at Smart & Final. They don't sell junk like that. For $11, I could have done a lot better at Five Guys. I could have had a huge burger with fries and a drink for that.
But I would go back for Adam and that Kölsch they make there. It's a warm, friendly place and Adam and the other servers I met were just great people. I'd love to have them come to my house. They're just good people.
So dump the freakazoid beers, the greasy burgers and make some onion rings in the kitchen. It's not hard. I've done it. This place can rock, but this is La Jolla where standards are pretty low. The more upscale the community, the less substance a place has to deliver.
Maybe it was an off night but the manager must have been ASLEEP...bad beyond anything I've ever experienced from a corporate chain.
We were not greeted and had to ask for help while a server and hostess were arguing about tip monies as they counting it in front of no less than 5 guests.
The special "Ocktobetfest short rib" was horrific. Â
DON'T EAT IT---I never knew a microwave doubled as a slow cooker.
While desperately trying to tear the rubber meat into chewable pieces, a few feet away I watched the bartender allow some jerk-off, middle-aged wanna be golf pro to become wildly intoxicated and begin a physical altercation with a random Mexican stoner kid who was wearing a hat and yelling at the television. Â CUT THE DRINKS OFF, GUYS. Â I'm white, rarely make mention of race but I was offended at the favoritism the staff had toward the "brown" guy.
Our waiter was understanding about the grade D meat and pretty "chill" but failed to address our concerns or even have a manager come by the table. The moment a guest has an issue, the manager should be notified.
Why I gave a second star:
My friend had the chicken bacon Mac and Cheese which I had a bite of and was so delicious I almost forgot about the rest of this disturbing experience.
So, if you only like to get wasted and eat Mac and cheese...this is a perfect place to toss a few back, yell at some alleged illegals and feed your kids while you pick up on young UCSD librarian types.
My husband and I are new to California and we accidently found this place off Highway 5, but we are happy to have found it! Â We're craft beer fans so this place is right up our alley. Â Pete, the bartender and all-around info guy, told us about the special beer on tap, which is an IPA collaboration between Rock Bottom and Karl Strauss Breweries. My husband, the IPA guy, said that it had a good crisp flavor, hoppy enough for the IPA enthusiast and definitely recommended it. Â This is on tap for a limited time so, if this is your thing, hurry in! Â The other beers on tap are just as worthy - my favorite were the Red Ale and the current seasonal Ocktoberfest. Â The 20 oz glass is $5.75 (?), which is a little higher than what we're accustomed to. Â The beer doesn't have far to travel; we're in the brewery so.... what's up with that?
The two times we've been there, we've been at lunch time and the food has been excelent. Â The Santa Fe salad (lunch size portion) was scrumptious - I almost asked for a bottle of that roasted jalapeno ranch dressing. Â YUM! Â The pretzels are super good; my husband had the buffalo wings and, when they say "over a pound of wings", they mean it! Â Next time, we have the chocolate stout cupcake on our list of things to try!
Dropped in for a beer and a snack after a swim in the ocean. Â The server was distracted, didn't recognize the beers on the board. Â I got a couple of samplers, she asked me if I wanted a pint before I'd even tried them both. Â Also ordered guacamole which at $8.50 seemed a little steep, but.
The TVs, and the rest of the crowd, were all about the football, which I suppose was understandable, though I'm not interested.
Forty minutes in, guac had not arrived, server was MIA, I was ready to leave, finally called over the manager, who was nice, comp'd my pint, offered to prep the guac to go, but I declined.
The place is decent, and I've had good burgers and good beer there, I'm likely to return, but this visit was a meh.
I've come here quite a few times and each time with a group of people, but each event has always been spread out. The last time I went here was for happy hour on Tuesday, 6/12/2012, for my friend's mini birthday celebration. I really enjoy the nice warm atmosphere that the wooden floors, walls, and furniture. Also the service may not always be fast depending on how busy they are, but they are always friendly, always helpful, and never rush you. I really liked our server this time: Taryn. She was super sweet and nice, friendly, very attentive (despite how busy they were), and helpful.
Notes:
1. Happy hour is always packed so arrive early. Dinner service is usually busy as well. You normally expect a 30 minute  minimum wait for a table.
2. To get a table, you'll need to search or hover around tables to grab them before anyone is done. It's a bit frustrating, but that's the main way to get a table at the bar or hope that you come in just in time to see someone leave and hope that no one else is hovering over it.
3. You can enjoy happy hour while playing pool! The pool area is considered a part of the bar, but you'll have to pay extra to play pool.
Onto the food!
The egg rolls were crispy outside and on the inside there was a good mix of flavor and texture from the chunks of chicken, black beans, corn, tomato, and green onions. It was accompanied by a nice light and slightly sour cream sauce.
The chips, salsa, and guacamole were yummy. The tomato salsa was slightly sweet, the guacamole had a nice flavor with a nice light zest, and the chips were nice and crisp but a bit too salty here and there.
The jalapeno spinach cheese dip was delicious! Using the same chips from the previous dish, the dip was creamy and flavorful. I enjoyed a small kick that the jalapeno gave and the spinach was nicely wilted.
The fab five pizza with pepperoni, sausage, onions, mushrooms, and red bell peppers had a good flavor with a soft breading on the outside of the crust.
Tomato bruschetta was on bread that was soft on the inside and toasted outside with some butter and some seasoning. The topping was served on the side which was an olive oil and balsamic sauce mixed with tomatoes and crushed pepper.
The ballpark large pretzels are yummy. Crisp on the outside with large chunks of salt and soft on the inside. The cheese dipping sauce (I'm thinking a queso of some sort) was a good compliment to it. My friend loves this item the most. I think it's a bit awesome but not my favorite.
Overall, I love coming here for happy hour despite how hard it is to get a table. Although you don't have much of a choice on your server, Taryn would be a great one to have. The food is good, alcoholic drinks are yummy, service is good, and atmosphere is good. It's somewhere that's worth coming back again.
We heart Oliana! I play Vavi Softball on Wednesday nights in La Jolla, and we have no where to go after our games but here. We come every week for some food and beer. We ran into a problem one week when we had our first early game and ended up at Rock Bottom at dinner rush hour! Oliana, the hostess, recognized us and helped us get a server and table out on the closed porch. Since their was 10+ of us it was very exciting to know they value our continued purchases.
The pizza is my absolute favorite but then I discovered they have pretzels!! Like the big fat salty ones! I was so excited to find they had a spicy dip for them as well! Lets just say our team hasn't gone a week without ordering those darn good pretzels.
We enjoy the open seating outside and the pool tables in the inside.
Thanks for being so good to us Vavi teams! We have seen many of our competition meet up there afterwards as well. (We're the awesome bright blue team)
See you soon Rock Bottom!
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