Chive

Loved it… will miss it dearly.
Had quite a few things which we would order with great regularity. The filet mignon and the tuna will be missed. Why did you have to close?
I had a very similar tuna at that fish place off 101 (in that mall) recently, and it SUCKED by comparison.
Why did you have to close?
There was a waitress there, who I ended up fornicating with, who I’ve stayed in touch with ever since.
Why did you have to close?
Who was the man behind the food??? No one has mentioned that here. Who is he, dammit?
I would gladly follow him to wherever he is employed now, but not a single person has mentioned who he is. Cmon people, give it up!

I went to Chive for happy hour on a Thursday with a group of people from work. It was pretty empty. The drink specials were good ($ 3 microbrew), but the appetizers were less impressive. Half off outrageously expensive still isn’t good enough in my book, especially for tiny portions. My food was good, as was what other people ordered, but it wasn’t good enough that I’d want to go there for a full-​priced dinner. They no longer have the crab mac and cheese as an appetizer, which I’ve been told was the draw for happy hour.

I was a little bit disappointed with this place to be honest. I did not mind that it was more of a tasting style menu. I generally like to try a bunch of different things on a menu, especially the first time I go there. This place just seemed underwhelming and pretty run of the mill for downtown. First off, our server neglected to tell us that it was a course style menu, so my date and I had to order twice because our initial order was very small. The quality of the food was good and I enjoyed what I ate, I was just in the dark. I felt that the menu items were a little over priced for what you got, and I thought the wine bottle prices were outrageous. The high price, and as far as I can tell lack of a happy hour makes this an expensive proposition for a night out if you want a full and satisfying meal. Probably a good option for a late night, small meal.
I also felt that the service was kind of weak. For what I was paying, it sure was hard to find a waitress to come over and answer questions, refill drinks and clear dirty plates. One of the problems as I saw it was that there did not seem to be any specific server assigned to my table. That meant that food was brought out by whoever picked it up from the kitchen, and this was the only way to ask for something. I think they need to have servers assigned to tables so that they have a sense of experience ownership and can look after your needs. This oversight made the meal take longer than I wanted and made for a bit of aggravation. All in all, the food was well made if a bit plain and uninspired, but there was nothing special about this place that made it stand out to me. I guess this is evidenced by the fact that I have not felt the need to return since.

Little plates with a variety of tastes. CH1VE was a fun, if a bit random experience. The service was a little perplexing as the food came out with odd timing and not much checking back by our server between gaps in food delivery. We ordered 4 of the medium plates — we got the first one followed in quick succession by the second and then an odd gap between getting the next two — which were sushi. Not a big issue — just odd timing.
Vietnamese Meatballs had a nice tangy sauce, but the meatballs themselves were quite bland.
Crab Cake Sliders were pretty good — not so much a crab cake as a crab filling, and the little round breads were pretty nothing tasting.
Tea Rubbed Hamachi Sashimi — Good — an interesting presentation
Wasabi Pea Crusted Ahi — this was the best — the Ahi was good and the crushed wasabi pea coating it was rolled in was really unique and had a velvety texture which was very nice with the fresh taste of the ahi — and not overpowering.
Drinks were good too. They have a nice selection of cocktails and liquors even though the bar looks very minimalist.
Good place to go if you are going to see Boomers at Horton Grand just down the block. Just be prepared for a random experience.

The food at Chive is very hit or miss, but I give alot of credit to a restaurant who knows exactly what it wants to be.
Very chic industrial-​modern décor that stands out versus the other spots in the area. When busy, its gets pretty lively & loud in here, so be prepared. John Cho (Harold from Harold & Kumar) was sitting next to us… nice.
It’s a small plate/​tapas restaurant, so makes it great for groups. Our waitress was really helpful, and honestly told us what the ‘must haves’ are and which to avoid. Here’s the lowdown:
Hamachi Sashimi — Very good, & fresh you’ll be ordering more than one.
Special chicken/​sushi roll — Ground chicken wrapped like a sushi roll with avocado. Really good, a must have.
Spare Ribs — Pretty good. Not the best I’ve had but nice and tangy.
Vietnamese Meatball — Not bad, flavor a little flat. Not our favorite.
Lasangna — So So, not need to have.
Seared Ahi Tuna — I’ve had much better, and they don’t prepare this in any special way, so I’d move on to greener pastures.
Pork Loin — Nice idea but way too dry. It was the only thing people didn’t finish, so not a favorite.
Crabcake sliders — Sounds like the best thing on the menu but avoid at all costs.
So the food at Chive gets three stars, but the atmosphere and diverse menu perfect for a lively group dinner puts it over the top.

We went to Chive last night for restaurant week, so I can’t speak to pricing but we did try a few things:
*Décor: kind of stupid. Minimalist, but not particularly interesting. Women’s restroom was ugly, and dirty!
*Seating: one person gets to sit on a comfy booth with big pillows. The other has to sit on a wooden torture chair. Soooo uncomfortable.
* Service: fine, aloof but perfectly adequate.
* Salmon: one of the best of my life… moist and delicious.
* Calamari salad: exact same one as the Prado… out of place at this type of restaurant.
* Beet terrine: absolutely amazing. I loved everything about it.
* Tapioca pudding: gross. My mom makes better tapioca from a box.
We probably will not come back. It wasn’t horrible, but it certainly wasn’t that good either.

I had a really nice experience here, but you have to go in with the mindset that this is a «small plates» concept. We came in early (6:30) and the place was nearly empty, and therefore the service was outstanding, and perfectly timed. We basically asked our server to choose for us, because the menu was a little bewildering since we each were supposed to order 3 items. Crab Mac & Cheese, a winner, as was the Short Rib, however the Vietnamese meatball with risotto was, in a word, awful. Bland meatball on even blander risotto– bleh.
But! This aside, a great place for dinner in the Gaslamp, I will definitely come back.

CH1V3–
Let’s see the1 in the name stands for the 1 and only time I will go here. and the backwards 3 that is sooo cleverly supposed to be a an «E» represents the fact that it only took us 3 seconds after our server dropped off our complimentary cold edamame seasoned with Old Bay, to know that we had made a grave mistake.
After returning our plates b/​c they had some black filmy, crusty substance all over them, she brought us little bread plates that held one or two bite fulls of food. We had to ask her to switch out our little plates when she brought the next round of food b/​c they were tiny and now covered in clam shells. When asked her to do so, she gave us a surprised and then confused look. She took my husband’s plate but left mine. We were hoping to get normal sized plates, when much to our dismay, she came back with one small bread plate.
The mediocre food was bland and not cohesive at all, Scallops with Pork belly should be good in theory, but not when the bellies taste like shoe leather slathered in BBQ sauce. The Scallops were actually chewy, so chewy they damn near bounced out of my mouth when I tried to eat mine.
The service was slow, but the server was nice. She brought us the wrong bottle of Riesling, but we didn’t notice until we got the bill, this bottle cost $ 15 more than the one we thought we ordered.
After the meal the server came over to offer us a free dessert for inconveniencing us by forgetting to bring the lemon we requested for our water. uh. after everything that happened she comps us b/​c of the lemon? How about the incorrect wine? or the scummy plates and then absence of plates all together? Regardless, the food was so awful we refused the free dessert and got out of there.
btw, there was no chive in our food at all… where’s the ch1v3?

Ok, so this is weird. My boyfriend and I stop by around 5:30 on a Friday night. Chive has this happy hour where small plates and cocktails are $ 6 before 6, and $ 7 before 7. And beers are 2 for $ 6.
Drinks were delicious, and OH MY GOD the crab mac & cheese is heavenly. I think I could eat buckets of it. And we sat there for a good part of an hour… eating and drinking. having a good time…
Nobody else was there. Even when we left the restaurant around 6:30, NOBODY ELSE WAS THERE. Just the bartender and a few servers, and the hostess (who ironically asked us «if we had a reservation» when we walked in). I thought for sure somebody else might take advantage of this happy hour… on a Friday night… but I guess I was wrong. Nobody at the bar, nobody at the tables… not a single other customer. Huh.
Crab mac & cheese gets 5 stars, and thumbs up for the reasonably priced happy hour cocktails and beer. But I don’t know, it’s awkward to be the only people in a restaurant. So four stars. Maybe 3 and a ½. I’ll go back, but I’m definitely peeking in the window first.

I love the concept of small plates just because you can try a ton of stuff and not get too full. I love food but I’m not a huge eater so this place was perfect. We ordered 6 plates but honestly, 5 would have been enough as we were stuffed walking out and had to take a walk around the block to digest. The presentation of the food was really nice and pretty cool, the effort put into each dish definitely shows. My boyfriend and I shared a nice little comfy corner to ourselves and it was really cozy. I was actually worried he was going to hate this place due to the size of each dish but he ended up really enjoying it too! w0000000t
Crab macaroni was delicious! So were the lamb ribs. I definitely want to try their sister restaurants — Kensington Grill and Laurel. If this was a nice little introduction to the food and service at the other two restaurants, they must be outstanding! Definitely recommend Chive as a place to go before heading out for a night in Gaslamp :)

Presentation of food: 5
Ambiance/​décor: 4.5
Service: 4.5
Food: 4
This is a great place to try if you want a bunch of different kinds of foods. However there is a lot of hit and miss.
Clam Chowder was very different. It was kinda milky and oily, with a lot of spices and it had a little zang to it. Pretty small and tasty.
Scallops came with two and had some pork and spinach under it. Pretty delicious, however I considered it a little too chewy.
Salmon was pretty average in my opinion.
Chicken was a little dry. However it had some black FOE BIDDEN rice. hha it was so funny… this guy asked the waiter what it was and he was like its black rice… black rice? black forbidden rice. black FOE BIDDEN RICE!!! and then he asked how to cook it. that is all.
Crab mac n cheese was freaking bomb as hell
Lamb was ridiculous. Seriously. Just enough fat on it and it slides right off the bone. Had a bunch of crispy burnt pieces in it which were tasty as hell. Tender and delicious.
Place is pretty decent, however it only seemed worth it with a $ 25 gift certificate. I think its nice a great place for a date, however the food isn’t as good for the price, unless you have 25 off. We ordered 6 dishes for 8 – 15 apiece, however it added up to 77, and then down to 52. They recommend 3 – 4 dishes a person, however we were stuffed with 6, and I would suggest 5 for 2.
The seating’s pretty tite too. There are a bunch of tables, but we chose a seat next to the wall with tons of pillows. I don’t usually like dim restaurants, but it was nice with a small candle.
Another thing, I like their bathroom music. Its tiote… I mean I like straight hip hop. And that’s like all i listen to. Maybe some R&B every so often. Anything from African Americans… they’re so talented. However they had some like death cab. real emo shit. Pretty tiote. And then it kinda turned trancy. Too bad I had mudbutt to make my date wait.
Overall a tite restaurant thats a little overpriced for the food quality, but good with a 25 dollar gift certificate.

Small plates travelled far
variety to warrant
repeated visits

Yum! We have been there for dinner a bunch of times and went again last night as we were planning on going out downtown. This place is awesome, and also one of the few restaurants that are still left on
– you can get a $ 25.00 gift certificate through their site and have to order $ 50 worth of food but it is so worth it.
Most of the times we go we eat right at the bar– last night we were at the tail end of their happy hour where you could get 2 beers for $ 6– along with a bunch of other items. Orders are small, so that way you can try many items. We got the crab mac and cheese (awesome) and also the veggie spring rolls, and then went into our entrees of the kobe beef on the stone that had a great presentation, ahi tuna, and also the lobster sliders.
We will be back for sure!

Food — 3 stars
Service — 4 stars
Décor — 5 stars
Price — 1 star
We went here for dinner and made reservations but nobody was there except for 2 other people.
Service was sweet, prompt (maybe because we were the only ones?), and insightful. Décor is amazing. If I could just rate the décor it would be 5stars. Very young, hip, and refreshing. She sat us at a wobbly table but she fixed it :)
with a party of 3, we ordered 8 dishes:
Beef salad — tangy sauce over a lettuce and maybe 6 pcs of beef
Kobe beef — presentation was beautiful. 6 raw pcs with a heated stone to cook on
Hamachi sashimi — 4 barely-​even-​there morsels. $ 12! Total rip off and tasted mediocre.
Lobster sliders — 2 burgers with a yummy patty but as my friend said, «is there suppose to be lobster in here?»
Salmon with mustard foam — beautiful and cooked perfect. New dish.
Foie gras — again, presentation was great. Dish was so good but expensive!
Beef tenderloin — 4 pcs with over seasoned vegetables. Not that great and as a last «entrée», so overrated.
We had the «kinda» rice pudding dessert. That was soooo good! I don’t even eat dessert.
I had the punch luv drunk cocktail. Cute names and it was tasty too. $ 10. Friend had fresh squeezed lemonade (very sweet of them) and a glass of wine.
Overall bill was $ 150 including tip and minus a 25 giftcard.
Pretty expensive for minute pieces of food.
Its true what they say, the servings are sooo small and the prices are sooo high. And once you try all the dishes we had, there really isn’t anything left to try. Menu is small too! But presentation was exquisite and service was good. Food was innovative but so-​so.
I just rather spend $ 150 on a meal that didn’t leave me hungry :(or maybe I’m a fatass.

If you are venturing out Downtown… Chive is a must visit. The small plates are what I like the most — you can order several elegant dishes without feeling overly satiated. Affordably priced, the dishes are both complex and innovative — every plate unlike what I’ve seen in so many other Downtown restaurants. The new clam dish, for example, was amazing — clams sitting atop soba noodles, accompanied with a delicate and well-​balanced Dashi broth, and Chinese sausage… it was pleasantly uniquely. If you are looking to people watch, Chive offers outdoor seating, inside, the décor is hip and sheek — reminding me of something I would see in LA (minus the upscale prices). If you are feeling like something sweet, but are not necessarily a dessert person, such as myself, might I suggest the Keylime Pie Martini. a great way to end any evening! Chive — a top pick for Downtown.
*Check out the new hot pot that was recently added to the menu this month (Jan –08)…authentic asian vegetables in a delicious broth, served in a decorartive bowl which literally has a «hot rock» in your soup to keep it warm… very innovative idea. I like things that are original… nice work.

I really wanted to love this place but just did’nt make a love connection. The drinks were just alright, mine, the Pineapple Margarita tasted like a ham dinner. Not that this is entirely a bad thing, just not in my expectations. We ordered many of the small plates to share, pretty small portions even for small plates, not a good value. The plates were so disappinting we ended up leaving and went somewhere else for dinner. While there was no love connection here, I’m sure there will be a perfect match for someone.

If there were 10 stars Chive would get 8.5. THe service was awesome and the décor super cute. Loved the scallops, beef, and potatoes… the tuna was just ok. Great Martini’s. Romantic and a great night for date night. Glad there are places like this in San Diego.
YOU HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT!!!

I was VERY disappointed in Chive.
Chive’s website was INCREDIBLY misleading. Three friends and I thought the delightful spot downtown was going to be open for their advertised «all night happy hour» on Thursdays. The place was open but the happy hour wasn’t. Instead, we were told, slightly curtly, that despite what was advertised, the happy hour wasn’t available all day. Instead it was ending at 7, and it was 7:15.
The problem is, that was the draw for Chive. Chive is a slightly overhyped, frustrating experience. The dishes are ornate and well-​prepared, but ridiculously small. They’re lovely and well-​made, but not tasty enough for their excessively high price. I was very very disappointed. When you initially planned to enjoy inexpensive gnoshing, it is immensely, immensely frustrating to pay for overpriced small food.
I had hoped that at least then the food would be overwhelmingly delicious. It wasn’t. it was alright, but the feta fries were incredibly disappointing. The feta wasn’t spread evenly, the garlic hung in huge clumps, and made it generally unappetizing. The marbled potatoes were alright, and the fresh vegetable plate was good. But the legendary crab mac and cheese I’ve heard so much about? Entirely blahse, poorly flavored, and utterly disappointing.
I can say that the drinks were nice; the sour blueberry was really tasty (with a blueberry garnish). Our server was knowledgeable, friendly, and polite. However, I could not have been more underwhelmed by the overall presentation, mediocre food, and the misleading website.
For God’s sake, don’t advertise a happy hour you don’t have. That’s just ridiculous, frustrating, and basically asinine. I can’t believe it. Pathetic, Chive.

I ate there on a Monday night, not busy at all but parking was a bitch (for my date that drove). We did get seated right away. That punk hostess seated us at a wobbly table all up in the front. The waiter was very friendly and laughed at my comments (which is what I love, when waiters feed my ego).
This is a tapa style restaurant and they suggest you get 3 or 4 plates per person. My date and I ordered 2 plates each and the Crab Macaroni and Cheese which was plenty. I think 3 would be too much. They serve you Edamame with this chicken/​beef bouillion type seasoning, I don’t know what it was but it was hella good! We ordered the scallops, lobster sliders, kobe beef, and judori chicken. The scallops and lobster sliders came first, hoh man, mouth orgasm alert. The scallops were the perfect texture and and flavor. The lobster inside the sliders was delicious.
Then it felt like it took forever to get the rest of our food. The Kobe beef is DIY, like Hot Pot style. They give you the hot stone, oil and seasoning. It’s really good but it gets really smokey and and hot oil splatters all over you; it’s actually an exhilarating feeling but painful after the first couple oil splashes. Don’t get the judori chicken, so salty but the curry rice that goes with it is delish.
It’s pretty pricey ($ 100 including tip for 2 people) but it’s a nice atmosphere, a small joint with simple decoration.
Just go for the Lobster sliders, Seared scallops, and this one cocktail called Punch Drunk Luv and bring your friends.

3.5 stars actually.
I came mid-​week and the restaurant was empty, except for two other parties. I must have gone on an «off» day. I was super excited to try this place out based on the reviews on here and the fact that I love tapas.
The service was very good. I believe the guy’s name was gian paul? Very friendly, helpful and prompt. The guy who refills water was seriously on point. Thank God, since this dining experience required large amounts of water…
We started off with a drink, I ordered the blueberry mojito. It was «okay». I was very curious how they were going to get the blueberry flavor into the drink since blueberries are pretty light in flavor. It was quite simple — they don’t. They just crushed up the berries and threw them in there. So, it was basically a mojito with blue things floating around in it. It was rather unappetizing to look at, but a good mojito nonetheless.
On to the food:
Blue prawn spring roll: no flavor, other than salt
Ginger Mushroom Ravioli: It was actually like a wonton soup. Good flavor if you could get over the extreme amount of saltiness.
Kobe Style Beef: very tender, great flavor. Thankfully we could control how much salt was going onto our food. My favorite was the hawaiian salt. The hubby and I were wondering though, is it actually kobe beef, or just Kobe STYLE as the name implies???
Mac N Cheese — Interesting combo. The crab flavor was quite strong, much stronger than the cheese. Good texture, never thought to use panko before. Way too salty — Couldn’t finish more than two or three bites.
Feta Fries: Seriously, what’s all the fuss about? It’s fries with a few crumbles of feta??? At least it wasn’t salty :)
Scallops: Large scallops, cooked perfectly, great flavor again after you can get past the saltiness.
So all in all the experience was just one major sodium overload. Seriously, I LOVE salty food — but the food here was still too much by my standards. The portions were good, some surprisingly larger than expected. Everything was beautifully presented. They definitely killed the CHIVE theme; I get it the name of the restaurant is CHIVE, please don’t put it in EVERY dish I order. Anyway, since there was really just one main flaw, I do believe it may have been a bad day for us to go. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll be returning anytime soon. $ 150 is a little too much to risk for another sodium binge.