Karl Strauss Brewing Company

MATTHEW made our visit a perfect experience! He dealt with our party like a pro with suggestions and superior treatment. He is the perennial professional… absolutely delightful that made lunch memorable. Oh; and the food is great too!

Went to the Karl Strauss Scranton Rd, San Diego location, and had a fabulous experience. So, while in the La Jolla area, decided to take family to Karl Strauss. Sorry, but they could use some lessons in customer service. While at the other location which was very busy, the attention we received from staff was exceptional. At La Jolla, very lacking although the place was nearly empty. Will not be returning to that location. Sorry.

It’s a cute spot in Downtown La Jolla! I’ve been to the Mira Mesa locations a couple of times and I have been to this location twice. If you guys have not been to the one at Mira Mesa, you should check it out because they have like a Japanese garden/​koi pond right outside. Anyways, they have their Happy Hour M-​F from 3−6pm! Select appetizers are $ 5 each. I tried their Boneless wings and it’s good! It came with some carrot and celery sticks. They also have «Cask Night Thursdays» where you get to try some new beers for a special price! It is also walking distant from the Cove!!! and a lot of cute little boutiques and shops.

Very nice brews. We really enjoyed the hef. Food was all right. Macaroni was quite good, but veggie burger just okay.

John MADE our evening! He was the BEST server EVER! Super chill & made the evening enjoyable!
Food was AMAZING! I got the treehugger mac & cheese and it was delicious!
Taking home leftovers, it was enough for two meals…
Soooooo yummy!
Thanks John, it was a fantastic evening!

Great place for lunch!
Stopped here after our regrettable stop at La Jolla brewing, no regrets here!
Our waiter Joshua was very knowledgable and friendly, even brought samples of beers that went well with our meal. Did the hop sampler, all the beers were spot on! Had the board club, beer braised turkey and bacon on fresh olive bread. Would recommend having the fries or side salad vs the house made chips, which were a little bland.
Thank you Karl Strauss and Joshua for making the trip to La Jolla for beer sampling worth it!

Great after work type spot for beverages and good food with friends! I just happened to be in the area doing some exploring on vacation and the locals recommended this spot. They have an awesome patio and huge bar area with super friendly FUN bartenders. Check out their brews made in house… I loved the red trolley ale (although I’m more of a vino gal) it went perfectly with my meal. They will let you sample stuff too if you want to explore. As far as the cuisine goes… the flank steak with broccoli and mashed taters made for a wonderful dinner! They truly nailed it with both the food and drinks which sometimes one can be better than the other or a hit or miss. I am a fan and can’t wait to come back! Definitely go explore La Jolla first though and work you up a good appetite so you can really enjoy this place and all it has to offer.

This was one of the best places we ate in the SD area. They accommodated my food allergies and were very friendly and high quality.

Great service, food, and beer! Our waiter was absolutely fantastic (wish I remembered his name) and brought us samples of beer to try, almost every sample turned into a sale from us LOL I went with 3 other people and we each loved our entrees. Wasn’t too fond of the asada fries so I’ll try a different appetizer next time. Parking was definitely hard, but what would you expect in SD?

This place is awesome. I’ve been to this location in La Jolla maybe 3 or 4 times & it’s been all-​around fantastic every time. It’s not too pricey, their beer is good, the food is amazing, & we always have awesome service. Another plus is that it’s never busy. I’ve never had to wait for a table & service was always been really fast. It’s the perfect place to spend a relaxing Sunday afternoon eating yummy food & having a few beers. My bf always gets a steak that he claims is delicious & I always get the beer brined turkey sandwich on olive bread with gouda cheese & herb mayo… omg it’s so good. I’m always just confused as to how to eat it without making a mess but honestly it’s too good to care. Come here!

I came here with my family, to grab a beer and sat at the bar. The bartenders are very knowledgeable and really know there beers. Staff is super friendly. This place really makes me thing about the old TV show «Cheers», a very warm and welcoming place to grab a cold one and great food. Plus there Cask beers are incredible and they have a different one each week. BEST brewery in La Jolla

I usually don’t write bad reviews but this place needs some serious management help. We were greeted by a pleasant young man and seated promptly. That’s were the things went bad. The server, Shannon took our order and was really pushing the beer. I know this is a beer joint but I should be able to choose what I want to drink. When I ordered a soda, she rolled her eyes and gave us a bad look like what are you doing here?
We ordered the fish tacos which were greasy and flavorless. We asked for a plate so we could share and were ignored. Service 1 star, food 2 stars, ambience 3 stars. Never again.

This is one of the few moments when I dole out the 5^th star… *****
There have been a few seldom occasions where I considered the 5^th star but for one reason or another the result was slightly shy of the full Hi-​Five, so my only choice was a whole star less.
In this case, Karl Strauss (La Jolla) gets my full blown solid 5 stars! Kaboom!
We sat down at the bar at first. Nice ambience, chatter amongst the patrons. The bartender was on spot. Good wine recommendations. The place was pretty busy. Being a Saturday night, it was anticipated.
I decided to move us to a table. The host sat us down immediately. We were waited on by Vicente, one of the best servers I’ve ever met. Vicente was super fast, extremely professional and has a genuinely great attitude, which I recognize can be challenging in his line of work.
We enjoyed a good variety of flavors… Ahi Poke, Spicy Hummus accompanied by kalamata olives, roasted red pepper, red onions and almonds. We also enjoyed the Drunken Cioppini which had one of the best collection of flavors I’ve ever had.
Overall, this was one of the best dining experiences!
5 Stars to Karl’s Strauss and staff!

We went here on a Friday afternoon for lunch. And it was pretty dead. Knowing that, I thought service would be quick and to the point. So we all decided to eat there…
As we got seated we looked at our menu, picked out what we wanted and waited for our server to get there. 10 mins go by. We all stacked our menus, thinking that the lady would notice that we were all ready to order. Wrong. Another 10 mins go by, we were all on our phones doing whatever. Me being me, I went up to the host and asked if we can get our orders in.
We finally get our orders in, and that took another 30 mins! Ugh.
We finally get our food, and mine was not warm anymore. I always get the WEST COAST CARBONARA. Which is a small-​plate portion of smoked salmon, poached egg, zucchini «noodles,» beer-​brined bacon, sun-​dried tomato, peppers, basil, garlic and parmesan. SO YUMMY!
Long story short, this location is not the best. I would rather go to the one in Sorrento Valley or 4s Ranch

Stopped by Karl Strauss for the 3−6pm happy hour being advertised outside. Really enjoyed the Windansea Wheat beer and thought it was a nice change from the heavier IPAs. The Beer Pretzel appetizer had a cute presentation and comes with sweet mango mustard! The Mac on Tap was covered in a velvety cheese sauce and topped with a buttery layer of breadcrumb-​absolutely delicious! Karl Strauss also has a nice relaxed atmosphere inside with a lot of natural lighting. Definitely plan on coming back to try more of their beers and mac & cheese!

I stop by Karl Strauss whenever I am with friends who love to drink and this was a great location in La Jolla with stellar service and great food as well.
They enjoyed their flights which change monthly and we shared several apps for the table.
Loved the brossel sprouts as well as the carne asada fries and the mac and cheese is worth getting as well, filling and decadent, tons of flavors and quality cheeses used, you can really tell the difference.
Nice vibe, not too noisy, this can be a great date spot as well.
Tons of great menu items I will have to be back for!

Shoutout to Dalia for being an awesome waitress. She even got us a free sampler.
Food wise, it was delicious and fresh. I got the ribeye steak frite. The steak was juicy and cooked to perfection. The zucchini with the balsamic vinaigrette reduction was delicious. The fries were warm and I loved the good amount of seasoning and the sprinkling of cheese and parsley. My mom got the cioppino, which is a fancy word for seafood stew. I was pleasantly surprised with the spiciness and the stew was packed with muscles, shrimp, and baby scallops. My dad got the shrimp and chorizo pizza and that was solid. It wasn’t anything too special. GET THE BEERS. IT WAS SO GOOD.

Sooooooo many other places to choose from in la jolla
Very subpar food and always pretty slow service.
(The two times I’ve been here)
The first time I got the fish tacos (why??) which were bland and soggy. Don’t get these.
Second time I got their special which was something with a short rib. It was thin square slabs over very thick & grainy grits. Pork shoulder should be very tender & this was anything but that.
Both times I have always left like «shit why did I eat here? Not even worth the calories» lol but seriously there r so many other really good spots in walking distance from this place.

Perfect place to kick back and relax with some friends over awesome beers!
A group of friends and I headed to Karl Strauss around 8 on a Saturday night. This location isn’t too busy for a Saturday night considering most of the stores and restaurants around it close by 10. It was the perfect atmosphere for us to sit at a high top table near the back and just hang out.
Flights are only $ 7 and you get to choose 4 different beers. If you’re only looking for a small sip, I got a 9oz Red Trolley for only $ 3.50. I love the red trolley, but the wreck alley is typically my favorite. I think it’s the best stout in San Diego!
Overall, really enjoyed this location for a casual place to hangout! So glad we stopped in.

My husband and I stopped by here before we took our son to go see the seals on the beach. I love how this place is baby friendly, because they were out of high chairs. Haha But they were so sweet, they gave us a booth and kept an eye out and got us a high chair as soon one was available. Service I give them 5 stars! :) for the food, we ordered:
Mac n cheese– Delish! A must order
Pretzels and cheese dip– not good
Fried veggies– the norms
Sweet Potato fries– yum
Portobello burger– my husband loved it! I thought it was too heavy for me.
I would definitely come back so we can try other stuff here. We also love the fact that this brewery has lots of good beers.

Great HH from 4 – 6 during the week.
Stopped by last week for a $ 4 beer and an appetizer. We sat by the bar and immediately got greeted.
Our server was very nice and checked on us numerous times. This was my first time visiting one of the Karl Strauss restaurants and I was very pleased.
We ordered the hummus app which was a lot better than I was expecting for $ 5. The portion of hummus was very big and it was accompanied by crushed almonds, red peppers and an olive spread. Also, a decent amount of crunchy delicious pita bread.
All in all a great inexpensive experience– we plan to come back!

I stopped in for a late lunch for a meeting and ordered the Prime Top Sirloin and instead of having it with garlic mashed potatoes, I had them double up on the vegetables with roasted Brussels Sprouts and thin green beans and carrots for $ 23.95 and I added a mini local gem wedge salad for an additional $ 4.
The wedge came first. It needed, in my opinion, more dressing, so I asked for some more. The dressing by the way was quite good. It was their house made blue cheese dressing and it was a lot lighter than your traditional blue cheese dressing. The wedge came with slivered almonds and radishes which were a great garnish, and with chopped tomatoes, but it was missing those traditional diced bacon pieces. Nevertheless, it was a very good salad.
I asked for the prime sirloin to prepared to a medium rare and they delivered. As a result, the steak was juicy and tender. The beefy flavor was very mild and light. I did expect a stronger beef flavor from a prime cut. The steak came swimming in a tasty Wreck Alley Imperial Stout mushroom gravy which was very good. Also, I would suggest they seasoning the steak more aggressively next time. I had to add salt and pepper to help enhance the flavor of the beef.
The Brussels sprouts were good. They were a little dry, but other than that they tasted good and I rather enjoyed eating them dipping them in the extra blue cheese dressing I asked for. The green beans were great. They were cooked to a perfect al dente, seasoned well, and arrived piping hot on the plate. Good vegetables.
Service was attentive and polite. Even the manager came over to inquire how my meals was.

I am only one month removed from La Jolla (and Cali), and I miss this place the most. Karl was the first place I ever tried, the very first night I came to town. I fell in love and visited no less than 20 times over the course of the next year.
This restaurant is great if you want to come for a drink or meal by yourself, with a few friends, or as a work group. There is just about every type of seating you can imagine, and the selection of Karl Strauss beers is more than enough. The happy hour was my dinner every time my family was out of town. They offer a list of $ 5 apps and beer specials, that allow you to eat dinner for under $ 10. It may not be the healthiest (unless you get the $ 5 hummus), but it is great!
The menu is great in just about every category, and some of the offerings change by season. The fat kid in me loves the mac and cheese, but the skinny, non existent yoga yuppie loves to tackle the salads. The sandwiches are always more than enough to fill.
The servers and bartenders all (well the majority) all have a passion for hospitality, and it shows. As someone who lives and breathes hospitality and service, this place is really a fresh breath of air. The guys behind the bar are so knowledgeable and are so excited to pass on what they know. I sometimes like to just sit and talk beer with whoever is working the bar. I have yet to walk out of the place without having at least one or two beer samples. This is a great marketing tool as they often go around giving them out to patrons.
Bottom line. I LOVE this place, and you should give it a chance too.