Barleymash

Loved this place. Everything about it was awesome! Went on a Sunday during football season. Great atmosphere. I was with a group of 3 and we ordered nachos, chicken tenders, and Mac and cheese. Everything was beyond delicious and I would highly recommend this place! On a busy Sunday you do seat yourself and sometimes finding a place can be hard but it’s well worth it.

By far my most favorite sports bar in San Diego! Come here as often as possible to watch games.

Amazing service and great food.
Came here for lunch on Saturday, vibe was perfect and staff was very friendly!
You need to be seated by a host for tables but got a nice spot by the window so we had lunch and a view.
Once tossing back a few good drinks (blackberry Paloma), the sun beamed down on us.
The manager called it «the hot seats» but quickly moved us and we continued drinking.
As for food, we had a burger and the quack skins. Both were delicious! But need to do back and try their Mac and cheese, because those looked tasty!
Definitely great for lunch!
Side note, came on a different time for their nightlife. It was fun! Good balance between the edm, hip-​hop and classic rock song everyone loves to sing-​a-​long to!

Strolled by Barleymash last Saturday afternoon and decided to stop in for a beer and app. The beer selection here is great and our server was really helpful in offering suggestions of what we might like based on our taste.
For food we ordered the pretzel app which was amazing. Most bars nowadays have some variation of a pretzel app which can be hit or miss but this one was a real hit. The pretzels were buttery and the cheese beer sauce served alongside it was perfect. It was also a nice touch that they included apples, carrots, celery and mustard on the platter for more variety.
I would love to check out Barleymash at night but I did see it had quite a long line wrapping around the corner when I walked by last Saturday night so if you are planning to go out here be aware of that.

My friends and I went here for my birthday this past weekend and had a great experience. Our server Blaine was very professional and attentive. More servers came by to always keep our waters filled as well. Food was AMAZING. «The champ» burger is to die for. Drinks were of course great too. The restaurant itself was very clean and packed, but staffed correctly.
One of the managers Keith stopped by and even gave us deserts on the house for my birthday. Overall, super great experience and will definitely be back.

First things first, if you want to eat at Barleymash, prepare for a wait, especially on a Friday night. Barleymash is located in the heart of the Gaslamp District and is the perfect place for food and drinks.
I came here with my friends on a Friday night and the wait was about an hour to an hour and a half. We really wanted to try this place, so we decided to wait as well as scan the bar area for any potential openings. I would highly recommend going to the bar area because you can order food there as well.
The food here was really great. Everything that is not healthy for you was delicious. Their portions here are big, so be aware of that. You can definitely share! We shared the All In fries and that was delicious! I got the lobster mac and cheese, but was not able to finish it because of all of the other food we ordered. My friends got the burger (I don’t remember which one), but they said it was good and it was really big. My other friend got a flatbread and she did not recommend it. I would stick to the fries, burgers, and mac and cheese. The drinks were normal drinks, so no recommendations on that.
All in all, I would definitely come here again for some delicious, non-​healthy food. Perfect place for a night out with friends!

A picture is worth 1,000 bites — find my picture
So I wasn’t really paying attention and figured I’d order Brussels Sprouts, but little did I know I ordered MAC-​N-​CHEESE Brussels Sprouts… sorry diet, you’re taking the night off.

I had the quinoa veggie burger, with a side of green papaya-​jicama slaw, and pumpkin and butternut squash soup. Very pleased with the food. Our server was awesome. I wish I could remember her name.
The place has a sports bar atmosphere, so it’s pretty casual. It was busy, even on a Tuesday night when a lot of other places in the Gaslamp were fairly quiet. We were able to walk up and get a table for two without having to wait. I would eat here again.

A quick sit-​down lunch is hard to come by in the Gaslamp but Barleymash was the PERFECT spot for my team and I to have lunch today!
I live in East Village and love trying all the new restaurants and bars, but I had never tried the food at Barleymash before today. The food was really good, the service was great, and the food came out quick keeping our sit down lunch to under an hour.
Casual vibe — huge TVs playing sports at lunch time. Theres a bunch of big tables inside and a lot of space! There is an outside patio area if you want to bring your dog!
I was impressed with the food, I can’t believe I haven’t tried this place before. The menu had a lot of options, sandwiches, pizzas, mac and cheese, salads, small plates, etc. I’m ringing in the New Year with your classic healthy life style #goals so I got the Heath Nut salad. It was DELICIOUS and big! I took the other half home and it actually inspired this review! My colleagues ordered had much naughtier choices (see photos). Everyone loved their meal. The Surf and Turf burger was another favorite.
I would definitely recommend grabbing a meal at Barleymash if you are in the area. It’s also great at night and there is Reggae on Sundays! :)

Came here for New Years night, not that packed! and super fun!
My group of friends came here to celebrate the new year! Two floors, first floor dancing and basement more casual chill (closes early though, sucks)
They kicked my friend out for ‘sleeping’ while dancing, but the dude is Asian. Kind of racist dont you think!
Overall, dig the place and the people are super friendly. Upstairs bar is super slow, downstairs is a lot better.

My new fav go-​to place when in Gaslamp/​San Diego: B A R L E Y MASH!
After a wonderful family dinner at Island Prime (another recommendation from me) — we found ourselves ready to party and dance off our Thanksgiving meal (s). The group consensus was a place that had good music, decent drink prices, dance floor and TVs for the basketball games oh & located in Gaslamp. With all that said, we found ourselves in Barley Mash. It was easy to get in with no specific dress code required. After getting checked by security, we were seated in one of the booths towards the back wall, which had a good view of the restaurant and everyone in it– plus we had a TV in the perfect location from our table for the guys in our party. Our server was pretty attentive and made sure our glasses stayed refilled.
I really enjoyed the vibe as the night went on and the DJ came on. They dimmed the lights and really turned up the bass so the music sounded awesome. I like how ¾ of the walls are Windows so that you can see outside towards the downtown fun. But the real plus about this place if the overall space and vibe! The crowd is a good mix of locals, mature folk and down right classy ratchets.
I will be stopping in the next time I find myself in downtown Gaslamp in SD, I had so much fun the last time I visited here!
Two cents: great place to «people watch», let’s be super real. *wink
(Bathrooms are nice, that’s a huge plus.)

My husband and I came here together twice in one visit. He came 3 times in that visit. So one time without me lol. That should explain why I give this place 5 stars.
I tried the «Mission brewery hard root beer» which had a bad after taste. But it is definitely not Barleymash’s fault. I also ordered the Mussels and clams. These were pretty standard. Might be a bit too salty for those who are salt sensitive.
We shared the «All in fries» they put a butt load of meat in these fries which is the one good thing about them. Otherwise, I felt they were a little bland.
We also shared the «5 chili turkey chili» which is super spicy but so good. I would’ve finished it if I wasn’t as full as I was. I felt like I was going to expose. But if you like spicy, you’ll love this chili.
My husband got the House salad. I never got to try this but he said its one of the best salads he has ever had.
We got the «Quack skins» twice, the two times I went with my hubs. This is a must. It tasted like chicharrones wrapped in bacon. For those who are from Texas or another state with great Mexican food, you know what I’m taking about.
We got the «Butternut squash and pumpkin soup.» This was so heavenly. I ate the whole bowl and wanted more. Probably the best soup I’ve ever had. I can definitely taste the pumpkin too. And I loved the pumpkin seeds they put in it. It was a great touch.
We shared the «Potato Croquette» which was a special that day. The tastiest things ever. I was surprised but probably because I never had a croquette before and didn’t know what to expect.
All in all, clearly we would come back repeatedly. Probably a good thing we don’t live in San Diego. We would be broke and fat!

This place is cool! I enjoy the crowd here on a Wednesday night! I thought this place was empty from the outside but no way! I didn’t eat here but the food looked pretty tasty! Bar food such as wings, fries, and other finger foods! Oh this place has live music down stairs

What a great find! Great service and good food. I would say this place is a higher end grill/​bar with tons of seating.
What I was most impressed with was their specialty fries — basically you can add a number of toppings and create your perfect side dish.
Very impressed!

I went here for lunch and then later on for drinks while at a conference, and it was a very nice diversion.
The modern-​American décor is inviting, the service very good, the menu eclectic and expansive, the portions large and the prices reasonable. They have several micro and nano-​brews available as well as bartenders that know how to make a bourbon drink correctly.
I honestly cannot recall the name of the burger I had for lunch, but it was a very tasty patty topped with pulled pork and a spicy slaw. The menu is so big, it will take a couple more visits to get to even half of what I wanted to try!

Service = 5 stars
Jennifer was pretty awesome. She knew the menu inside and out and answered any question I had. I won’t say I’m picky, but… I’m picky. The fact that she indulged me in my mini-​rant about how some places make awful Old Fashioneds says it all. We went through all of the details and confirmed it would be made to my satisfaction. LOL. And it was.
Ambience = 5 stars
There were TVs everywhere (and a big screen) with Monday Night Football, the Bulls game, the Spurs games and some NHL game on too. Take your pick. It was hard to keep up with who was cheering for who!
Seating = 3 stars if you’re unlucky enough to sit on the stools with no backs… which most of the restaurant had. But I switched my seat with one of the few proper high chairs I could find… folks over 30 need back support!
Food = 3.5 stars
The menu is a cluster f… There were sooooooo many options it was difficult to choose. The portion sized are massive and everything is «mashed» up. I ordered the buffalo chicken iron fries, which is like nachos but with fries as the base. I wasn’t impressed with the flavor and since it was piled so high it made it difficult to fork through and grab everything together in each bite. My friend ordered the el chingon barleymac, which was pretty darn good! It really did taste like good olé chimichurri or a big bowl of mac and cheese! Having such an extensive menu is good and bad. It’s great when you find something good like that mac and cheese, but it’s just as easy to pick a dish that leaves you bummed out staring at a jumbo sized plate you don’t want to eat.

TVs everywhere and standard beers on tap… IPAs included!
Good spot to watch a game or grab a few drinks after a hard days work

Healthy decisions can really suck sometimes. You look at expansive menus laden with delicious burgers, flatbreads, chicken strips and fries and force yourself to pretend that you can’t read until you visit the salad section. Once you make it that far, it’s a miracle! All of a sudden you can read again. This is the typical process and with enough willpower at most restaurants you settle on a bed of leafy greens, a few cherry tomatoes and some overcooked chicken. Not at Barleymash.
As you may have gathered, I’ve been trying my best to eat healthier when I’m able to do so. With this in mind I approached Barleymash with extreme caution knowing how many guilty pleasures that they offer and that I shouldn’t be eating. Enter the ahi salad…
First things first, this salad is enormous. On top of the impressive stature it’s absolutely delicious, loaded with a perfectly seasoned and sliced strip of seared ahi and gently tossed with a light balsamic. Seriously though, this is how salads should be done and rival restaurants should take note on what needs to be delivered when charging $ 14.00 for a salad — Barleymash nailed the salad game. Will I eat it on football Sunday? Nope, that’s a cheat day and I’ll dive in head first into those chicken fingers. Have you ever tried them? If the answer is «no,» you’ve just admitted that you’ve never really lived.

It’s super cool, hip and organic all at the same time. Barleymash is a 4.5 star rounded up for good behavior, and it’s become one of my new favorite spots in the Gaslamp. Great energy, vibe, and food.
The menu drove me absolutely mad… I couldn’t possibly order everything… and everything sounded great (so, I tried). Lots of great choices from burgers to mac’n cheese to salads to «iron» fries (with cheese and various good meats, it’s a must) to flatbread pizza to fish & chips to fancy chicken/​fish/​beef. Whew. I debated the menu over an Old Fashioned ($ 11, and so good, I had two). Back and forth I weighed the options, and I believe I mostly won.
1. Health Nut Salad ($ 14) with Chicken ($ 4) — pricey, but a beautiful salad with delicious dressing (5.0 stars).
2. Short Ribs ($ 25) with Lobster (add $ 10) — perfect combo, albeit rich, totally amazing with pics to prove it (5.0 stars).
3. Tuna Poke ($ 15) — built like a stack, the tuna was cut too large with too few chips to be enjoyable (3.0 stars).
Darlene is an absolute doll of a server: funny, engaging, and attentive. The patio can be a spectacle, great for people watching. Inside, TV’s with sports all around. Two thumbs up. Can’t wait to go back.

Did some birthday day bar hopping and ended at Barleymash. After sadly walking away from some undrinkable chemical tasting cocktails at Werewolf, we were hoping to find something tasty. It was pretty packed for 3pm on a Saturday which at first I thought was probably related to the Chargers game. But after eating and drinking there I think it was packed because it’s just dang good.
Our bartender Janeal was attentive and knowledgable about the drinks and was able to direct us in the right direction based on our tastebuds. I had the Retail Therapy and the Peach Amaretto. Both knocked my socks off. I am usually pretty boring (and cheap) when it comes to getting drinks and stick with my gin and tonic or a class of red. These cocktails are not cheap but worth the cash ($ 11 – 13). Retail Therapy was unlike anything I’ve ever had and has lavender liqueur, gin, and elderflower or something in it. It was purple and delicious. My girl friend had the Banana Daiquiri which I thought would be weird but is really light on the banana and refreshing and the champagne cocktail. Also had the pretzel bites with the cheese sauce. So freaking bomb. I wanted to eat the cheese like soup… I can’t even deal.
Anyways definitely going back to actually grub– I hear the lobster mac n cheese is off the charts. Definitely a good spot among some of the more touristy places in Gaslamp.

Ok food, ok wine, ok service… I was there the night That LA won the Stanley cup, and we had to beg to get the sound?