Bootlegger

This was the fifth season that San Diego Bama Fans —
— watched all of the Alabama Football games at the Bootlegger. The Bootlegger takes care of us and has become the place to watch Alabama Football in San Diego.

Best part: Tasty food. Try the build your own nachos. The drinks is smooth and strong. Night life is superb with some old school and new school hip hop. Gets you in the mood to dance! Loved their burgers and fries.
Bad part: It gets a little too crowded for a place of this size. When you are high, which is bound to happen, you tend to get hyper and dance a lot but when it gets so crowded there is a chance you can bump into someone really hard, which did happen to me.
Overall, fun place for inexpensive drinks, great food, quite nice music!

Real Bama bar. Set up special table to accommodate our family for championship game. Dreamland Ribs!!! Where else can you run into that in Southern Cal? Service was perfect, even with large crowd. All food was great.

We went here as our last meal for my
Bday weekend, Brunch! They weren’t crowded around 10 just a few fans there to watch the football game. (Go Seahawks!). Our server was Kyle and he was very attentive and didn’t rush is to pick anything when we couldn’t decide to eat (everything looked delicious). I ended up getting the California burrito cause anything with carne asada, eggs, and cheese sounds like exactly what I need after a night in Gaslamp. That burrito was huge and it kept me full most of the day. My friends got the chicken and waffles and the biscuits and gravy. I got to try some of the Mac and cheese and that was amazing too. Everything was fairly priced and the atmosphere was really chill.

this place is solid. Ive gone here for lunch and nightlife and have always had a good time. Food is yummy, drinks are strong and service is always good. Def a chill place for the downtown scene.

Had lots of fun at this bar. Probably one of the best music playlists I have heard In a long time that have got my wife and I up to dance like we did in college. Make sure to get there early to grab a table so you don’t get stuck at the crowded bar.

If you’re a girl don’t go here alone because you could get drugged…
We came here for New Year’s and bought our tickets online. We got there around 10 PM and it wasn’t too crowded which was nice. We walked up to the bar and all ordered around of drinks. Between our first round in our second round two of the girls that were with us all of a sudden became extremely ill. One started to violently throw up so she was immediately kicked out. We had to take her back to the hotel room where she threw up a few more times. She only had two drinks the whole night there and there’s no way out of to drink she could’ve gotten that sick. We also had another friend that happen the same thing too she only had two drinks as well and literally could not hold herself up. Both of them could not move and had to be carried and when they woke up the next morning they couldn’t remember anything from the night before. That doesn’t happen after 2 drinks so someone had to put something in their drinks. There was a few guys circling all the girls so I’m glad there was a few guys in our group to protect them so nothing bad ended up happening to them!

Started off with fried deviled eggs and they were amazing. Got French dip sliders for the entrée and I must say they are delicious. If your a drinker they pour them strong. I recommend.

Had their chicken and waffles and their bottomless mimosas. The staff helps eachother out. From the Bartender to the busser and serve, everyone pitched in to make it a smooth experience. Our server was Rand and he was beyond awesome. So open and down to earth, I wanted him to sit down and join us, he was on top of things and we had great conversation. I also tried their flash fried black eyed peas. Not your traditional bbp but they had the perfect taste and texture i just loved them. I would definitely recommend Bootlegger!

One minute I was rooting for the San Diego Chargers and a minute later I was throwing up WESTSIDE to Tupac and Dr. Dre as the DJ spun it like the Disney Tea Cups mixing some California Love. I actually got so into the music I forgot I was there to watch the game. It didn’t even matter they lost with 4 seconds remaining!
Within our first ten minutes here we loved it. The DJ and music sold this place instantly. We were trying to find a new place to watch the game, have some drinks and maybe food. We had all that and a side of G-​Funk as I sipped wine to Warren G’s Regulators… this place makes me feel cooler than I am and made me forget that I’m originally from the midwest.
The selling point of this place, outside of the tunes, was the customer service at moment 1. The doorman checking ID’s was very friendly, and then there was a lady who found us two seats by the bar very promptly. The servers came around quickly and even though it was packed they stayed on top of it. Every few minutes a server walked by checking on us. It was just the right amount of service. What else was cool were the bartenders. There was a couple ladies bar tending and the one was smiling at everybody, seemed to remember regulars by the looks of it, and seemed to be jiving to the music as well. So refreshing to see bartenders having fun out here. Since I’ve moved here this is like one of a very few handfuls of places where the bartenders actually look like they are having fun and providing exceptional service. Most bartenders I’ve seen look annoyed when people come in or are too caught up in acting cool. Not at this place, they rocked it.
Stopped in the next week for brunch. PHENOMENAL. The portions were seriously HUGE and after being full ¼ of the way into I couldn’t stop. It was like there was a starved, mythical chupacabra in me that wanted to eat the entire plate after the food was gone. It was that good. Seriously all jokes aside the food was stunning.
Love this place. Definitely will be back.

First time here. My brother in laws 30^th bday. Food was good. Great casual atmosphere. Average DJ. Got crowded later in the night. Need more good beers on tap. That is why I rated 4 instead of 5. Would be back tho.

Awesome lounge in East Village! My friends & I came here after having dinner at Cowboy Star. At 1030p, it was a little dead, but within 30 minutes, it was popping!
The music is a-​mazing, playing old & new school hip hop, anything to get you in the mood to dance. What I thought was pretty funny & cool was that they were playing Ace Ventura on one of their televisions. Drinks were decently priced. Attire ranged from casual to clubbing wear (making this a good place to prefade before the clubs & prevent you from buying expensive drinks there!)

We came to Bootlegger to eat dinner and watch college football one Saturday. We sat at the bar which was a great location because there are multiple televisions in sight and so we were able to see multiple games at once. Unlike a lot of bars, this place has the PAC-​12 Network. The bar is an Alabama bar but don’t let that deter you from coming here. The food is pretty good quality and very tasty, a step up from most sports bars. I ate the ahi tuna poke which was well seasoned and came with delicious chips. For a small plate, the portion size was greart and filled me up. Their deviled eggs are also a good appetizer. If you check in on Unilocal you will get $ 5 off a small plate– that’s a great discount! I would come here again!

We came here for brunch because they had bottomless mimosas. We didn’t realize it was
This is a great place to people, dog and car watch. I think
They give you a glass of orange juice along with your first mimosa. We were little confused with why they did that until we realized that they were refilling our mimosa glasses with just champagne.
Great place to people, dog, and car watch.

Came here after a Padres game to continue with our par-​tay night. Upon entering the establishment we noticed $ 4 fireball shots as one of their specials. Game on! Boy, went down smoother than a banana on bread! What?
We continued with Jack and Cokes and more shots. $ 3 IPA’s here. We were Starving Marvin so we ordered the BYON, aka build your own Nachos.
You can choose nachos, fries or something else as your base for your nachos. We chose the fries with carne asada and pretty much a lot of other stuff on them. So… good.
The layout of the place is nice. Located on a corner with patio seating and seating inside that is open to people watch. Plenty of seating for all.
Place was pretty crowded but not to the point where you were you were grinding on one another.
Had fun here! Service was good.

Maybe I’m growing increasingly stingy when it comes to burgers having now downed and reviewed a few hundred across the country, but it seems increasingly common that I’m going against the Unilocaly review grain. I had high hopes going into Bootlegger for their Thursday night build your own burger, but I left disappointed.
Star 1: How were the service and atmosphere?
To be honest, this star is typically a given, but I couldn’t have been more disappointed with the service at Bootlegger. Shortly after my party of three were seated, we were interrupted and asked to move in order to make way for a larger party who had just come in. Let it be known that this is no problem whatsoever; but when something like this happens, I kind of expect to be tended to a tad bit better for the rest of the night. Nothing could have been further from that hope. After being moved, my party was essentially completely ignored. It took ages to get burger order menus, even longer to get our beers, and another twenty-​five or so minutes to get our burgers. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the time between walking in the door and getting our burgers was in excess of 45 minutes. That’s absolutely nothing short of unacceptable. No Star Granted.
Star 2: How were the portions relative to the cost?
You’ll soon read, should you care to continue, that my burger was exceptionally mediocre, but be that as it may, $ 10 is a pretty good deal for a custom burger with all the trimmings, a side, and fries. While the burger was neither huge nor heavy on the toppings, I couldn’t complain with the value. Star Granted.
Stars 3 and 4: How was the food?
While the burger menu slip had my mouth watering and my hopes high, the way this burger came together was a huge disappointment.
First and foremost, the pretzel bun was oversized and painfully dry, which is exactly what you don’t want with a unique bun. The patty was mediocre as well, with hardly any flavor to call its own. Now, this all may have been saved if the toppings were as good as they looked on the menu, but low and behold they too were a disappointment. Mashed potatoes! Wonderful! Nope — they forget the mashed potatoes. Chipotle Aoili! Sounds amazing! Standard Chipotle Mayo. Fries! Too greasy and overcrisped. This burger was edible, but not by a big margin. Single Star Granted.
Star 5: Would you eat here every day if you could?
There are way, way better burgers in San Diego. No Star Granted.

Amazing food. My friends and I ordered the rib tray, the tj dog, the fries, chips, french dip and SoCal sand which and recommend all. Also the margarita will get you a good buzz at a third the way through (while tasting great).
The service was slow, the food took a while and there were some mishaps with what we ordered (please take the mayonnaise off the sandwich guys)… The check took what felt like a long weekend. But all in all really fresh food (fresh cut potatoes and chips) and a nice atmosphere (especially during comic con weekend).
It gets 4 due to service issues. However I’d come back :)
I missed the just cause zip line for this place :/

Build Your Own Burger special on Thursday night = good food (except that peanut butter is an option… yuck). You *can* get this deal with a beer, but the four choices of $ 2.00 brew with the build-​a-​burger are all weak (Coors Light? Really?)
Service is hit and miss. Last night, a HUGE miss.
If you have time, love talking over overly loud music, and can find a seat, check it out. The burger options are sweet…

Burgers and Brews Thursdays is my favorite time to be at Bootlegger. Why you might ask? Because you can build your own burger with whatever crazy stuff you might want on it — think peanut butter, pretzel bun, and it’s unlimited so the more you add to your burger the price won’t change. There is a choice of side and a beer included for $ 10. Sure you can come here later in the night and dance, but the food is so good, so why not partake? There is also brunch on the weekends for the bottomless mimosas lover. Plus, any time a fire truck goes by there are $ 3 fireball shots, which seems to happen often enough when I’ve been there! Staff is awesome, although I might be bias since I usually go there with a friend who is a regular. But, what other Unilocalers have said about slow service can also be true — it’s a big place, so sometimes you just have to wait your turn to be served.

I’ve been to Bootlegger twice. Once during the day, and once during the night.
Funny enough, I only drank during the day.
Looking for someplace with bottomless mimosas and freshly squeezed orange juice, I came across Bootlegger. I came in around noon, grabbed a table outside for my party, and started with a mimosa. The waitress placed an extra cup of orange juice at the table, for when she came back around with champagne to top me off.
Ain’t nobody pouring that orange juice in their mimosa.
My people arrived, ordering mimosas and their brunch. One drank the orange juice and was ecstatic. «IT’S FRESH-​SQUEEZED!» she exclaimed. Truth be told, I didn’t know up until that point.
Stasj did good.
I ordered the Bootlegger Benedict because how could you go wrong with carne asada? SO GOOD. I wish I ate grains and carby stuff because all those juices soaking into the english muffins… and that runny yolk… and the homefries… mmm, wiping my mouth as I think about it.
Later on in the week, I ended up here during the night scene, in which there are plenty of people and loud music blaring. While my party was able to grab a community table, a lot of the night was spent trying to hear what each other was saying. I heard the Broken Butterfly is an amazing cocktail, and it’s one of Bootlegger’s signature drinks.
All in all, whether you want to come during the day, or avoid the sun like vamps, you can always swing by for Bootlegger specials, people watching, and drinks.