The Liars Club

what the eff, you are already closed! Good lord, what’s going on? We stopped by after hiking to the Three Sisters waterfall hoping to have some burgers and good beer and we were shunned.
You are dead to me Liars Club! You hear me! Dead!

I didn’t have the pleasure of visiting the Liar’s Club when it was in Mission Bay. I can only comment on what we found when it moved to Alpine.
Our first trip there was pretty good. The selection of beer was awesome; I really enjoy a good Belgian or abbey ale! The food was decent and well priced. The service was a little slow, but very friendly.
Fast forward several weeks. My wife and son went there for dinner. It took a fairly long time to get someone to take their order, and even longer to get served. It was moderately busy, so my wife wrote that off to the numbre of orders.
Again, several weeks later, my wife and I went there for dinner. Have you seen the picture all around the internet where the folks wrote «30 minutes and no service» on the bar with mustard? That’s about what we felt like. We were in the dining area, the place was almost empty, and (because we were watching this time) it took over 15 minutes to get our order taken. We know the waitress wasn’t busy, because her butt was pointing toward us the entire time as she leaned across the bar in the other section, chatting with the bartender.
When she did arrive, we ordered dinner and from what was left of their beer menu. The select had gone from huge to oh-​my-​God-​why-​are-​we-​here. Dinner arrived after a LONG wait, lukewarm to boot. And … the place was still empty.
I don’t know if it was the morale of the crew that had gone downhill after the club started failing, or the crew itself that drove it into extinction. I will tell you that Alpine has a definite small-​town atmosphere, and if you screw up and piss folks off (bad service, bad selection), word travels fast.
I had high hopes for TLC! It was within walking distance of my house, and served some kick-​ass beer.

I used to hang out at the MB location. The food was bad BUT they had Chimay on tap!!! Any place that has Chimay on tap is OK in my book.
Never made it to the Alpine location. Sorry to hear about them closing. :-(

With the passing of the Liar’s Club, the brightest beacon of San Diego nightlife was extinguished. She always lived a life of struggle; her beginnings in Mission Bay were marred by thieves who forced her to shutter her doors at her peak, and her final solitary years in Alpine were lived in quiet retirement. But she will live on. She lives in stories told about your first experience with a quality beer, stories told of the time you challenged Nate the chef to chug a beer and were badly beaten, stories told of how saliva still runs from the corner of your mouth when thoughts of an En Fuego burger with a side of sweet potato fries come to mind.
Tell these stories. Tell others during your nights of drunken reflection that your best night ever was experienced in a bar that had great music, delicious food, a great staff that cared about and actively participated in your experience, and a crowd which would leave you alone or keep you entertained, but only at the moment you wanted them to. We need bars that are all these things, not just most of these things or some of these things. Or in the case of San Diego bars, practically none of these things.
I visited her in Alpine a few times, and she was too different for me to bear. My memories of my times at Mission Bay will be the ones I remember vividly. My friends and I were kindly greeted by the bouncer. We entered, «China Girl» blasting from the speakers. We noticed that TVs were again ignored in favor of conversation with friends or strangers. We ordered food and drinks, and our drinks came quickly. Our waitress, who accidentally misplaced an order at another table, said that she liked us and proceeded to give us the extra order at no cost. We later decided that we should have a boat race against Nate, which the waitress would join. And the night continued, as we blindly assumed that the Liar’s Club would never close.
My experience there was not a unique one, as many will attest. But it was unique because this understanding of human needs and desires of a great night was never met at any other place. She knew. And I know now, but it is too late. For she is gone.

Sad, sad, sad. Food is still amazing but the staff and overall atmosphere… eh. Yeah it’s bigger than the other one but all the charm has been squeezed right out. I guess by Alpine’s standards this place is real different and cool and awesome, but compared to the old Liar’s, not so much unfortunately.
Luis, I love ya… but ya done made a mistake by moving.
PLEASE COME BACK TO CIVILIZATION!!!

I never made it out to the Liar’s Club when they were at the beach, and have been looking forward to stopping by sometime for food and drinks. Finally made it out yesterday, and as Gene H. says, I was a little bummed that so many of the taps were not active. Not sure what the deal was there. But they still had a decent selection of yummy beers, and even better was finding out that pints of local beers were $ 3 all day on Sundays. Too bad so many of the draft beers (many local) were missing that day. Wings were fantastic, fries were great, and my wife loved her chicken sandwich. Everyone there was super-​nice, although we sometimes weren’t sure who was our server, and who to ask for what. Really dug the place overall, and would love to go back — just wish they were a little bit closer.

Hate to be a downer, but went to the Liar“s club sunday morn after blowing out of the Viejas poker tourney, maybe that’s what was a downer. Out of the alleged 32 taps only 12 were live, no Hoppiness, not real cold (maybe a beer snob thing of keeping it semi warm.) Bartender was ok, but looked like a construction worker. hat on backwards, needed a shave. No food available at 11 am, only the 8.95 buffet, which consisted of three steam trays, looked like biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage, and maybe hash. On paper plates, for nine bucks? The place had plenty of flat screen TV’s with all kinds of football games (a Plus), flooring was worn out grey paint. Wish I could agee with everyone else, but I didn’t stay till noon when the kitchen served other than the buffet. I will try it again, but today i was unimpressed.

This place rules. The food is declicious and the beer is even better. This is a place you“ve gotta visit! oh yeah, the juke is insane too.

OK, they do make a nice burger. By default they cook it medium rare unless you ask for it different. Which I’m totally cool with since I think that’s the way a good quality burger should be cooked. I took the medium rare and my mom asked for well done. She does not want to see any blood or red color in her burger, she wants it very dead. The burgers both arrived correctly cooked. It shows me a confidence in the quality of the meat when they will cook to order.
For the burger connoisseur check this place out, very good.

Really BIG food. Really spicy En Fuego burger. I woke up with heart burn at 3:20 in the morning. I only ate ¹⁄₃ of the thing! Lots of beer. I don’t care about beer but for people who do it’s supposedly «Beer Heaven». At least the boyfriend thinks so. Enjoy.

There are no holes here.
I was impressed with the slightly-​beyond-​the-​standard food menu choices. Then the food came: Great effort. Quality ingredients, thoughtful preparation, imaginative flavor combos, and really huge portions.
The beer… I damn near fell off my barstool when some hillbilly came and sat next to me and ordered a Bud Light. The tap selection is world-​class. They carry stuff you usually only read about. Pliny the Elder is an amazing beer. Overall, the taps are a little too Belgian-​Heavy for my beer tastes (there are plenty of exceptional local beers that they didn’t have) but I guess that’s part of the appeal – why carry the local beers when they’re pretty easy to find?

Terrible! That’s about the only way I can describe the Liar’s Club. We went during the week and the place was not busy at all, yet we still waited over 45 minutes for our food. When we got the food, it was terrible too. The burgers were not cooked right, and the fries were soggy. Our waiter was terrible. He had never heard of the concept of checking on customers to see if they needed anything.
At the end of the meal, for some unknown reason, we tipped our waiter about a 20% tip, and as we were leaving, he had the balls to follow us to the door, crumple up our tip, and throw it at us! So we went back in and complained to the manager. The manager tried to butter us up by giving us a gift certificate and giving us our money back for the meal. I told him to keep the gift certificate because we were never going back there again.
I personally was still feeling the effects of the Liars Club the next day. Lets just say that the food was just as bad coming out as it was going in! If for some reason you have a lapse in judgement and decide to go to the Liars Club, DO NOT order the Fuego Steak Sandwich!

Best place to get a beer in San Diego bar none. I had been to the MB location a few times but it was always a drive for me to get down there and the parking was always horrible. I have been to the new location in Alpine many times and I much prefer the new location.
The greatest thing is their tap and bottle selection, they may not have the most beers on tap (i.e. The Yardhouse) but it’s all about quality not quantity. They usually have about 30 stellar beers on tap including Russian River Damnation, Pliny the Elder/​Younger, A lot of green flash, Avery, Victory, and many others. This place is tops.
The staff is also great, they have a few green bartenders that need some schooling in the finer art of brew, but the old staff is great and the owner Louis is always available to make recommendations and they cater to beer aficionados. I bought a 22 of a killer black Belgian Stout the week before, and I had two of the bartenenders asking me how it was when I came in on my next visit.
The food is great as well, it has to be some of the best food in Alpine and it always goes great with the beer. Burgers are great, and the fried artichoke hearts are one of my favorites. It seems that Alpine is slowly becoming the new beer Mecca in SD.
Cheers!

It’s about time Alpine got a place like this!
A great atmosphere, a big beer list (not that I drink) and great food.
I never made it to the original Liars Club at the beach, but made the short trek to Alpine to try this one!
I had a delicious tuna melt, I ordered it on wheat bread, and they brought it out on sourdough, but otherwise it was great. The sweet potato fries were amazing — I definitely recommend these to anyone! My brother who does not like sweet potatoes loved these too.
My brother had the chicken club and my dad at the Cajun chicken pasta, which i tried (the pasta, not the chicken) and was delicious.
For dessert we had the brownie that is made from beer, and was YUMMY! They serve it warm with ice cream. The brownie was rich and creamy, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
For anyone looking for a great beer list and great food, you can’t miss this place!!!

I finally got a chance to check out the «new» Liar’s Club. I wasn’t fortunate enough to have been to the old location, so I can’t compare the two.
Awesome beer selection! I think I counted 32 taps. Our trip was for their grand opening party and all 32 taps were pouring beer gems. They had a nice collection of bottles, too. I won’t discount The Liar’s Club for slow service, based on the bar being packed for this event, but it would have been nice to have more than two bartenders for such an overwhelming crowd (bar and restaurant patrons).
I’ve heard so many good things about their menu that I had to at least sample something. We tried the quesadilla, fried artichoke hearts and chicken wings. The artichoke hearts were amazing! Breaded with an IPA batter and seasoned with just the right spices. The chicken wings were prepared to perfection. Just everything you should expect from a chicken wing.
My only gripe would be the bathroom situation. Don’t get me wrong, the bathrooms are clean and much nicer than many I’ve seen. The problem is that if the bar is crowded you’re gonna have to be prepared to wait for your turn. I know girls are good at waiting for a bathroom, but us guys usually don’t have to stand in line. The bathroom is just for one person at a time and thus cause quite a line for both genders.
Overall, The Liars Club is a great place to enjoy amazing beer and great food. I hope I’ll be back soon, but driving 20+ miles to drink isn’t something I usually like to do. However, I will bribe, trick and mislead as many people as I can to drive me there so I may enjoy myself again.

Hooray for the new Liars Club and the beer tourism mecca of Alpine!
We were so sad the fine funky old location was closed… so we drove out to Alpine during the «soft launch» time, last weekend. Sounds far away, doesn’t it? I was shocked at how close this town is to downtown SD by freeway, and how gentle the terrain. I’m from San Francisco, and, um, the Oakland Hills are higher than Alpine. The joke was on me. Not so mountainous and remote after all.
Alas, I’ll never feel the same way about Pacific Beach as a vacation spot, but the new Liar’s Club is comfortable and roomy. The food was just right — better than pub-​grub without straying into cuisine… the BBQ shrimp salad was delicious, and this was all pre-​opening. I believe the big event is today.
Besides, it’s a few blocks from Alpine Brewing, another place you have to visit if you love San Diego beers.

I never went to the old Liar’s Club in MB, so I have no comparison as far as if this new location is better. So going in here purely on the reputation of the old Liar’s Club, I had high expectations.
There weren’t a lot of people in there when we arrived, but as it got closer to noon, the place started filling up. We sat in a comfy booth and perused the large menu. But I knew what I wanted… it could only be the Cholula Ranch Burger (jack and cheddar with bacon and cholula ranch.). While I waited for my friends to decide what they wanted, our server brought out my beer selection (Chimay…I’m addicted), but she warned me it wasn’t cold. Well, that wasn’t gonna happen, so I just got a Green Flash.
Our food came out pretty quickly and I dug right in. I had ordered my burger medium rare, but it was more on the medium side. But that was fine. This was probably the best burger I’ve had outside of TX. That’s saying a lot, because I have seriously been spoiled by TX burgers. So yeah, I pretty much inhaled that thing. And I made a good dent in the fries, which were fresh cut and super yummy.
Our server was very attentive without being annoying and it seemed like everyone around us were enjoying their meals. We all left fat and happy. No question that I’ll be back.

same great beer selection as hamiltons, if not better, (are they the only bar to carry the sour beer «La Folie?» in san diego) but no annoying drunk golden hill/​south park newbies getting in your face. true story: last time I was hamitlons, less than a week ago, this mediocre couple, he was a bro, she was carrying a dooney and bourke «mom» purse, was fighting next to me at the bar, shoving/​pushing each other into me — they were tussling and generally spreading a bad vibe, I had to move away. then at the end of the night, a large pit bull takes a human size poop on the floor stinking the place up, classy.
we went to liar’s club on an empty night, the first night I guess, but lets just hope that the perceived distance from san diego will keep the lame public-​fighting couples and shitting dogs away.
this liars club is like double the size of the old one and there are plans to have shows in there — could be a lot of fun with more room.
also, the hunting game is awesome — you can shoot at the bluebirds as well as the elk!

«Hey Y’all, come check out this here new-​fangled rest-​oh-​rahnt here in East Coun-​tuck-​ee.»
If you think that’s how people end up at the new Liar’s Club, then GROW UP!
It’s still the same quality of offerings, but in a bigger place with better access.
Don’t be ashamed to drive past I-​15, people! There’s GOLD in them thar hills!
Edit:
After second visit, I have the following recommendations.
Pure Hoppiness
Onion Rings
Western Burger
Fries with BACON & cheese
Avoid the popcorn shrimp,
And…
Don’t be like Meg and drive past it 3 times before you see it!

Went to the new Liars Club in Alpine. To answer your question– 25 minutes from our doorstep in golden hill to the bar stool in Alpine. As I recall, the trip from our home to Mission Beach was 30 minutes plus, everytime (including the 10 – 20 minute parking process.) So– NO WHINING!!!
The interior is a little bit spartan at this point– they’re still hanging everything on the walls and what not, but the beer is the same great choices the Liar’s Club has always had. The menu looks expanded– maybe because they have a much larger kitchen (it’s an ex– boll weevil). The space is much, much larger, with ample parking and ½ mile from Viejas.
Also– my wife wanted me to mention the totally awesome video game they have– called «Big Buck Hunter 2-​Pro» basically it’s a hunting game– you hunt elk, deer or whatever you can play between 1 and 4 people and the regulars are already pretty darn good… They sure put us to shame!!!
Alpine as the new Palm Springs, anyone?