Urge Gastropub and Whiskey Bank

So Happy this place finally popped up in our back yard. I must agree with all the other reviews thus far, this place is totally worth any wait time you may receive. The food and beverages are completely with it!!! The portions are a perfect size to share or for one… I recommend sharing that way you are able to experience all they have to offer. Save room for dessert… the choices are few, but why overwhelm you with several so-​so items when they can WOW you with a few amazing ones, and they have done just that. My family and I will be back soon… This is a must try for anyone!

A couple friends and I went to check this place out on a Friday night– either get here early (5:30) or risk waiting for a really long time because it is AWESOME here… So people will wait for it.
The whiskey flights are an awesome chance to try out different things without being tied down to an entire glass of it. The drink menu is absolutely gigantic. I had a black Manhattan and it was delicious.
That being said, I expected this place (as it is more bar-​centered) would have sub par food. I was horribly wrong. Super wrong. The most wrong a person can be. I am specifically speaking about the street tacos, but we also had the cheese curds. They do not skimp on flavor or appearance. In fact, another couple came up to us to mention how good the tacos looked. The only upsetting thing about this experience was that I don’t have those tacos and beverages in my hands right now.

Although the wait was extremely long, the food is definitely worth the wait! My friends and I grabbed some delicious drinks at the bar while we waited for our table. I had the vodka derby which was very smooth and refreshing.
Once we got to our seat the waitress was quick and accommodating. Our drinks and food arrived very fast and we were all served at once. For dinner we ordered the Dakota appetizer, short rib, meatloaf, lobster ravioli and the steak. My favorite dish was the short rib and polenta! So tender and well seasoned!
Will definitely come back again!

GO! Seriously go. It’s so so good. Cocktails are amazing, and I’ve tried many of the plates by now and everything was completely perfect. Recommend the chislick steak, calamari, poutine, steak salad, poke, and the peruvian chicken. Big portions and filling food, but you don’t go away feeling terrible because they use good ingredients and not a lot of oil/​grease like other places.
Yes you may have a wait on Friday/​Saturday nights, but it’s easy to get a spot on the weekdays. They just had their grand opening so it’s still a very busy happening place, which isn’t a bad thing at all.

My boyfriend and I ventured to Oceanside to check out this location (as we are frequent visitors of the Rancho Bernardo one). It seems more open and has more seating in the bar area, so we were able to seat ourselves rather quickly. Much like the other location, this place is staffed with wonderful and attentive waiters.
We liked the vibe of the other one a little bit better for whatever reason. We also missed the X wings from the other place that we were looking forward to eating!
All in all, Urge is a great place for food and beer.

If you love the original location, you’ll feel as if you died and went to heaven at Urge Oceanside. Same amazing beers, food and ambiance, but definitely next level.
The cocktails are well balanced and innovative (I tried the Not So Basic and the Dusty Trail), and the whiskey selection is obviously more than enough for the snobbiest of drinkers.
The new entrees I tried were the lobster ravioli, the pork chop, and the stuffed chicken. They were all cooked perfectly, with excellent sides, seasonings and sauces to complement. My companions and I couldn’t stop raving about each dish, nor could we pick a favorite.
The spot is of course hip and fun, I only wish I lived closer! So proud of the Urge team for upping their game so hard!

Fantastic new trendy joint in Oceanside. Arrive early as the wait can be lengthy at certain times. Plenty of items to choose from on the menu for everyone in your party. Also custom whiskey and plenty of craft beer on the menu.
I ordered the garbage burger which is a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ grind of sirloin and bacon. I must tell you this is a great burger so you better have an appetite if you indulge.
Also the service is very good even under challenging busy times.

I will most likely change my review to five stars once I come back after they’ve had time to get their feet wet.
The place is GORGEOUS, I don’t know what I was expecting when I came it, but it surpassed my expectations.
My friend and I sat at the bar, and there were about three bartenders all working behind the counter. She and I ordered a glass of wine from a lady, and said she’d ring it in. Cue ten minutes later and we didn’t get it, then a fella asked what we wanted and we had to let them know they forgot about the wine. So instead, my friend said it’s better if we got a bottle instead, so we did ($ 19 for Pinot Grigio, yes please). It kind of worked out, but it was frustrating, but not night ruining.
My only grip is the bartenders NEED to communicate with each other a little better. It looks like they are all working together, which has it’s pros and cons. They assume the other is taking care of it… A new fella came out (Alex I believe) and we were thankful because he was on it, took care of business! Our food came out faster than the wine, and it was yummy.
The menu is great, I was stuck between SO many good choices, but I settled on the Garbage Burger, minus onions! Friend got the California Burger and it was HUGE. Looked amazing, you needed a fork and knife to eat it.
Overall, this place is the tits (can you say that on Unilocal?) I can tell it’ll be a neighborhood favorite for sure. Oceanside is definitely becoming one of my favorite Gastropub spots. I’m not a whiskey lover but anyone who is will melt once they see all the bottle choices. Their wine selection was pretty great as well, and fair prices. I always gauge based on the single glass price versus bottle, and if it works out better if you get the bottle, which it did, so kudos to you guys!
BONUS TIP– You can get to the parking lot from both Coast Highway AND Vista Way! I was coming off the 78 and wasn’t sure if I could get there a ‘back way’, and you can. Take a left right before you hit the 101, and make your way to their parking lot.

First time I tried this place couldn’t get a seat and had a wait of about 45 min at 9pm on a weekend. Returned again on a slower weeknight and was able to get in right before kitchen closed which seemed awfully early to call themselves a gastropub and reside in city of O’side.
Was able to order a cocktail and was very impressed
Tried the chicken tortilla soup (I’ve had better — nothing exciting)
Had the chicken appetizer and that was really good

Finally got to try this place today! We stopped in around 2:30ish on a Friday for lunch and it wasn’t too busy so we got a table right away. Service was good too. He checked up on us occasionally.
Food was awesome! We ordered the calamari, Cali. Burger, chicken tortilla soup and the carrot cake.

I was itching to visit Urge from the moment I found out it was replacing what used to be Adventure 16. I live just a couple blocks away and watched Urge come together over several months, and was dying of excitement when they posted their banner proclaiming they were almost open at the end of 2015 and shed a little tear when they took it down, obviously not as ready to open as initially expected. Now, finally, Urge is up and running! *happy dance*
My husband and I were excited for our first visit to Urge this past Sunday. We read all of the Unilocal reviews beforehand and noted that the biggest gripe patrons seem to have thus far is lack of service, however noting that Urge has only been open for a couple of weeks we took those reviews with a big ol’ grain of salt.
The hostess that greeted us said it would be an approximate 45 minute wait, but we ended up only having to wait about 20. Our server, Lindsey, came by our table promptly and answered all the questions we had, introduced us to the Big Black Whiskey Bible and gave her recommendations. I selected the All’s Well flight ($ 14), and my husband opted for the Maker’s Mark flight ($ 16). Both were excellent — the All’s Well flight had a bit of a vanilla theme which was delicious, and the Maker’s flight was more familiar but equally fab.
As soon as I saw the Dynamite Peppercorn Flat Iron Steak ($ 20) on the menu, my mind was made up. Same goes for my hubby who saw photos of the California Burger ($ 13) before we even got there. I swapped out the fava beans on my plate for the rice and kale which was so yummy, and I couldn’t get over how amazing the pink peppercorn berries atop my steak were — I have been craving this meal ever since. We also got a side portion of brussels sprouts ($ 6) which were tasty, though I’ve had better. Still, they’re definitely worth a try.
Last but not least we decided to try the Chocolate Whiskey Cake ($ 8) which comes with cherry ice cream. After such a delicious meal, I was prepared for an equally strong finish. Alas, our dessert just didn’t measure up to the rest of things. The cake was dry and tasted faintly of whiskey, but more like a super-​dense, dry brownie, and the cherry ice cream reminded me of cough syrup — it had that fake, sickly sweet flavour. I will try something else next time, like the Drunken Carrot Cake. Our total bill plus a 20% tip was just over $ 100 — unlike some of the experiences other Unilocalers had, our awesome server Lindsey was worth every percent of the gratuity :-)
I’m thrilled to have Urge just down the road from where I live, although I foresee this becoming a very expensive relationship. Yay whiskey!

I’ve been waiting for this place to open for quite some time now. Came here a week after its grand opening on a Sunday afternoon, during football playoffs, during the new restaurant in the neighborhood hype, and during a time where the servers weren’t too familiar with the menu. I usually wait for all the hype to die down before trying new places but I had to dine here.
We ordered a variety of food at our table.
–cheese curds: as horrible as these bad boys are for you they were the best thing that we had on our visit. The aioli sauce they pair with the cheese curds add the perfect amount of flavor to each bite
–ahi poke: delicious, fresh. The jalapeño adds a nice punch to your bite. Served with toasted bread that were super hard though-​so beware
–fish and chips: a little on the bland side, fries were perfect (based on friends review)
–wild boar burger: MESSY! Presentation was beautiful, but there’s a lot going on in this burger. I ordered it because it sounded amazing, it was packed with pickled onions and your basic burger condiments. Flavors were great don’t get me wrong but one thing that bothers me is soggy bread. The bottom half off the bun was completely wet. I couldn’t handle it. I probably will never order this again. Comes with fries and these were a favorite of mine-​I loved them.
It was a full house so service wasn’t the best but it was their first week-​so I’m sure in the future it’ll be much better. Just to add they used cocktail glasses as our water cups because they ran out of the regular glasses, we had to flag someone down the whole time for refills.

I have officially been to Urge three times now. As it just opened at the beginning of the month, I wanted to come in a few times before I wrote a review. Urge is busy! So plan accordingly. There is a good amount of bar space, so if you are wit a small party, you may be able to squeeze in.
So far, my drink of choice is the Vodka Derby. The cocktails are a little on the expensive side at $ 10 a pop, but are hand crafted with fresh ingredients and worth a try. They have quite a few beers and wine, but seemed to be out of quite a bit. I honestly do not think they expected to be this busy, so I am sure it is a kink that will be worked out.
Thus far I have tried the beer cheese fries (amazing!), bolognese (super flavorful), Fish and Chips, California Burger (best burger I have had in a LONG time), Salmon Burger (delicious and full of sooo much flavor), and Carrot Cake. This sounds a little ridiculous, but everything about the carrot cake was perfection. From the cake itself, to the fresh whipped cream, to the caramel sauce, to the sweetened carrot chips. Out of this world.
The restaurant has a great ambiance and is a fun environment to be in. I love that all of these great restaurants are popping up in my hood. Cant wait to try the rest of the menu!

Went around dinner time yesterday. It was super busy I think a football game was going on. Lots of loud people cheering in the bar area. I was told by the hostess it would be a 2hr wait but actually was only like 30 minutes which was nice. The place is kind of small inside maybe because it was so packed but once you walk inside you are facing the hostess, there’s a bench inside for seating but the majority of everyone was standing inside and also outside as well. On the plus side they have plenty of heating lamps so if you sit outside your covered. We were seated inside on a 2 top table. We waited an additional 30 mins. before any one came by our table to take our order. Once my husband got someone’s attention we put our drinks in, maybe a few minutes later a gal came to our table to check on us seeing that we were seated for awhile without any drinks, I told her someone was getting them, thank you. What was frustrating was employees kept passing by us without acknowledging us, we understand it’s busy, but just let us know what’s going on. After that, things were starting to get better.
Drinks: My husband got the «Dusty Bottoms», 4 beer tasters and I got their SD Mai Tai. Kind of similar in taste however his had more of a sour after taste, the lime. Drinks kind of tasted like lemonade at first until we finished drinking mid way, and then we felt the drinks kick in. They have over 250 whiskey options, which is in a thick black book that’s already on the table, gives the terminology of each type of whiskey and so on. They have beer, or if you like to do tasters, wine, and other mixed drinks.
Food: My husband had the California Burger which was delivered on a wooden board with a mini fryer basket of fries, so fancy. The meat was cooked really well, the burger as a whole was really delicious he said. I had the Urge Street Tacos which came with rice, very light and flavorful nothing too overwhelming. Carne Asada was amazing, the sauce, mango salsa and avocado gave the taco a perfect taste.
Dessert: We shared the «Drunken Carrot Slab» it was alright all I could taste was the cream cheese frosting, after I took some of the frosting off and ate the cake, it was moist, good however I wasn’t wowed.
Overall: We both like this place, we know it just opened up so were willing to try them out again when there less busy, maybe during lunch. We appreciated the décor, lighting on the walls very cool, and the heating lights if we ever sit outside. Also, they take your number and call you when your table is ready which is convenient, since it was so busy, and no seating was available this particular day we decided to wait in the car. Tv in the bar area.

Ok. So I drove up from Mira Mesa to meet friends. Arrived at 940(pm). Ordered a Kilbugen whisky on rocks and asked my server for a recommendatiom between the lamb and feta meatballs and the short rib poutine. She recommended the poutine and so I ordered. 15min later my whisky came… 30 min later we had to find the server to ask where my poutine and someone’s carrot cake order was…
Oh, the kitchen has been yelling at me because they are closed. Wait, they are closed… you took the order… wouldnt you think that was something worth mentioning before we had to call you back over?
Ughh…I get that things happen, but really, this was a little extreme. Soft opening or not, (IMO) it was not busy enough for this amount of lack of communication. Sorry, but I’m going to Church’s chicken. If their kitchen is closed, the light is off and I don’t have to be left in suspense wondering.
The good bits, the building is noce and the whisky list is long. The manager also stopped by to check in and then promptly apologized and owned the errors. The check was adjusted and carrot cake comp’d.

Urge is the hot ticket in Oceanside right now. I’ve been for drinks and dinner now three times. No reservations taken, only a waiting list, for which you can put your name in over the phone.
Exterior [A-​]: Great looking design with a private parking lot. Probably 60 spaces in all, so it is completely full. Entrance and exit on Coast Highway seem to be reversed since they wanted there to be a drop-​off zone in front of the main entrance. So street parking is probably necessary. It’s not really enforced anywhere and signs that say resident parking only are not real city signs, but rather self-​erected by residents. There is a rear entrance to the parking lot on Freeman St, that is much safer for accessing Urge. But there is no signage to indicate such a thing exists. Outdoor seating with gas powered area heaters are set up. Could really use some bike parking as I saw a big, puzzled group sort of just leave their bikes against the wall of the front entrance.
Interior [B]: Large, Open Space. Rebar and exposed, unfinished plywood whiskey library with ladder. Lots of TVs. Lots of Edison lights. Exposed black ceiling fabric with can lighting. Brewing equipment is not visible from inside the restaurant seems like a wasted opportunity. Wood grain tile. Cork on the walls. One area is pretty much open seating that you can hawk plus open bar seating. The other tables you will need to be on a waiting list.
Ambiance [A]: Trendy and modern with some unfinished areas. Super loud and packed on all occasions. Vibrant and lively.
Staff [B]: Everyone has been super-​friendly and enthusiastic, however, getting the check all three visits was a long wait. We waited 20 minutes to get our check on one occasion. There are clearly some growing pains as food and beer kept arriving at our table for different people. Beer tasting flights arrived with the beers told to us in the wrong order or with the beer names switched up or misspoken.
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Food [A]: Overall, it is outstanding and hitting at the high 4-​star mark or possibly 5-​star.
Serrano Glazed Sculpin Chicken Pops [A-​]: These «wings» are way too spicy in my opinion. The homemade sauce is exquisite, but there is too much sauce on plate. It is tangy and spicy, but the heat level I think is too high for your normal American diner.
Grilled Cheese [A-​]: This grilled cheese has about a half wheel of Brie inside. You can order it with bacon and avocado. However, the bacon added in is like rock solid and won’t crunch when you bite down, causing a large rock of bacon to come out of your sandwich with the first bite making you look like an idiot.
Braised Pork Belly [A]: Cooked to perfection with a nice succotash to balance the soft, fatty meat. The bleu cheese topping was unnecessary in my opinion as I would focus on the crunchy and clean succotash to balance the soft and fatty pork belly.
Brussels Sprouts [A+]: Ordered all three dinners here. They are awesome. Tiny Brussels Sprouts served in a mini cast-​iron skillet with bacon and balsamic. Almost too much toppings and not enough sprouts.
Fried Cheese Curds [A]: Crowd pleaser — these are like upgraded mozzarella stick bites served with a spicy aioli sauce. Someone has been to Wisconsin lately.
Bourbon Barrel Short Rib [A+]: Polenta was outstanding. Meat was slow-​cooked and falling apart. Sauce was almost a mole style and was divine. Hearty portion.
Carrot Cake [A+]: Solidly in the running for best carrot cake ever. It has coconut, homemade salted caramel drizzle, and 1,000 calorie per bite icing.
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Beer [C]: This is my main gripe here. This is a gastropub with a large whiskey and beer selection. We did the whiskey flights, and they were impressive and rotated weekly I’m guessing.
Beer selection is solidly in the 3-​star range for the area. The only standout is their house-​made beer, Mason Ale Works, which has its brewing equipment inside the gastropub. We sampled these beers with great hopes. Sadly, they are at Bagby level of disappointing. One beer, their Double IPA, tasted like celery tea homebrew. The Cash coffee stout, sharp and biting — rough and overly bitter and dry. Other beers that I know the flavor of well, like Pizza Port Ponto or Logsdon Seizoen, did not taste right to me. So I’m unsure on how kegs were stored prior to opening. A small goblet of Logsdon was $ 10 and wasn’t outstanding, so I was a bit sad about that.
Will update this review after they hit their stride and the beer quality settles in hopefully at high marks.

was taking the family out for our anniversary dinner and decided to give URGE GASTROPUB and WHISKEY BAR a try. very, very loud and crazy busy primetime on a friday night. that plus they are brand new and still sorting things out led to the range of shortcomings you’d expect under the circumstances. but hats off to management. they did an excellent job hiring and training the staff. mucho impressed with our first visit.
ordered the FRIED CHEESE CURDS (chipotle tempura batter, white cheddar curds, chipotle aioli dip) for the daughter, eleven-​year old JULIANA, since they are one of her favorites. slightly undercooked but squeaky fresh and a great start to the evening along with the BOURSIN STUFFED MEDJOOL DATES (blackberry chipotle mustard, applewood smoked bacon and blackberry chipotle mustard smear) which were DAMN good.
felt like a burger so i had the BEEF SHORT RIB BURGER (grass fed beef patty, slow braised short rib, arugula, caramelized onions, chorizo aioli and bacon fig jam) with BEER-​BATTERED FRIES. enormous and tasty sandwich dominated by the beefy notes — except for the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the figs, the other flavors (bacon, chorizo, fig, arugula) were completely dominated. hey, it’s a burger and supposed to taste like cow — tasty, tasty cow — and it did.
adult son MICHAEL proclaimed the BEER-​BATTERED FRIES with his GARBAGE BURGER (⁵⁰⁄₅₀ angus beef and applewood smoked bacon, horseradish aioli, caramelized onions and mushrooms, white cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato) the best part of his meal and he really liked his burger.
wife JODI had the WILD SPINACH and FARRO SALAD (candied nuts, roasted butternut squash, burrata cheese, mint smoked chili vinaigrette) with a chopped slice of bacon she purloined from nine-​year old WYATT’s stripped down version of their CALIFORNIA BURGER (grass fed beef patty, aged yellow cheddar, avocado with an applewood smoked bacon add) when he couldn’t finish.
great selection of craft beers (i had a BELCHING BEAVER NITRO MILK STOUT and wife JODI had the MASON ALE WORKS COFFEE STOUT) and an amazing library of whiskies. great new addition of the local food scene.

Urge Gastropub and Whiskey Bank is definitely a great addition to the City of Oceanside! It’s all American food classics coupled with the plethora of libations will give customers amazing choices to quench their palette. The décor is modern and rustic with the moody Edison Bulbs lighting and cork board interior wall façade. Great interior space configuration for sit down diners and bar enthusiasts!
A few notes: I tried a couple small plates (ahi poke and lamb meatballs) which could have used less salt while the Ice Tea (Arnold Palmer) lacked flavor and very watery. Looking forward to my next visit since they have been opened for two days and there is plenty of time for improvement.

Urge will and has always held a special place in my heart. I used to frequent the RB location (original Urge) and a couple of years ago I moved to the coast making it harder for me to get over there. I created friendships with the staff and made lots of memories of nights I should forget. Urge Oceanside. All I have to say to you is FINALLY!
This gastropub/​whiskey bank is absolutely stunning. From the cork walls, to the cute candle lit mason jar centerpieces, the restaurant was well designed and planned. We came for lunch on the second day of opening and right away I spotted a few employees I knew from the RB location. Friendly, and helpful and happy to be at their job. Again service is key and Urge has the best. Waters were constantly refilled, hostess would check up on tables, staff was on top of it! We never had an issue and if we needed something, someone was there to help.
Food: I’m kicking myself for not taking pictures but if you check out Anthony’s review you will see my CA burger. Huge juicy burger with guac, French fries, onion, lettuce, tomato and spicy siracha aioli was to die for. The thing was huge so bring an appetite!!! I opted for the small salad instead of fries for my side and the salad could have done as my main dish! It was huge. Delicious but huge. We also ordered the cheese curds for an app. Delicious! Highly recommended.
Parking wasn’t bad, they have a small lot and street parking behind. I could see it possibly being an issue on a weekend or Friday night. This place is soon to pop off for sure.
Also– I don’t drink, but I have to say. The master Brewer at this place makes some amazing beer. Don’t hesitate to try their house brews. You won’t be disappointed. Plus, super cool idea to throw in the whiskey bank. I’ve never seen so much whiskey in my life!
I will definitely be back. Thanks for a wonderful first experience.

Food: amazing fresh tasting food here. I tried the cheese curds w a spicy, creamy sauce. These were fries to a perfect crisp and went perfectly w the sauce. Lamb meatballs are savory and go well w the cheese on top. They have diced onion inside of them and the seasoning was just right. Wild Boar Burger ($ 14) was very large and filling. It comes w 2 thick, crisp pieces of bacon on it. The actual burger was very thick and juicy. Bun was soft and help up ok for the entire burger. I prefer not to cut the burger so I can keep all of the juices inside. Once you pick up your burger, don’t put it down bc it wall fall over. The toppings are piled high and all are fresh.
Service: tons of workers here. They just opened yesterday ¹⁄₂₀₁₆ and everyone was cheerful and accommodating. Food was served at perfect temp and didn’t take too long to come out. Waters were filled promptly and comes w crushed ice.
Atmosphere: lots of different seating here. They have large tables tucked between booths as well as a large bar area w high stools. There are also a lot of tabes to seat 4 inside and out. Very cool cork tile décor on the North wall. Lighting is nice as well. The sun shines in on the seats that face coast highway in the afternoon so it may require shades or for staff to pull down the blinds.
Parking: lot it a little small and I can see it getting really packed here on weekends. There is a one-​way entrance to the parking lot, so don’t make the same mistake I did and go in the wrong way.
Great hip place to grab some grub and chill. Tons of beer and whiskeys.