Lou & Mickey’s

The steak is insane at this classic joint. Please, come here for steak. A group of hungry gals dined our for a bachelorette party and Brian took great care of us! He made excellent recommendations and was very patient;)

The feel of this restaurant is wonderful and the food is delicious. We were here for a bachelorette party and our server Brian is really what made the experience spectacular. He was attentive, fun, and gave us great recommendations.
Additionally, there is no corkage fee, so we were able to bring our own bottles and keep the cost down a bit.

Great beer on tap. Good craft beer selection as well. Skimpy crab portion on Crab Louie but our waitress made up for it. Fabulous clam chowder and bread and fun «outdoor seating atmosphere». People watching is great!!!
The only drawback really, was it is butted up next to the train tracks and they slip by every 10 – 15 minutes.

Pork chop and Mac and cheese split with Joyce. She brought a bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay. Lovely evening with good friends

Not sure why this restaurant has 3 $ signs cuz it should certainly be $$$$.
Ambiance of this place is awesome.
I got a filet mignon well done and it was cooked perfectly! Do you know how hard it is to cook a steak like that well done but keep it moist?! It was so fkin good! I think I’m going to say it was the best steak of my life. Service wasn’t the best, and there was a huge spider next to me in the booth, but I’m overlooking both of those because the steak was THAT amazing.
Dinner for two: half order of clams, 1 mixed green salad, 1 bottle of their cheapest pinot noir, 2 filet mignon, 1 baked potato: $ 175.

The choice in homemade sauces was impressive & I was pleased with the range of options for steak temperature but that’s where my pleasure ended.
The Pittsburgh style steak preparation takes precision & a very hot griddle. This place is missing one of those key requirements: the charred aftertaste on this Pittsburgh was the Pitts! ;(
My French onion soup had burnt onions & squaw bread croutons — YUK. The server noticed that I didn’t eat much of it & took the charge off our bill. That was very considerate but he accidentally charged me for a BOTTLE of wine instead of the GLASS I had. Good thing I was paying attention!
The ‘lighter side’ menu offers smaller portions not a healthy alternative. I think they put it in the menu in case you don’t want to pay $ 51 for a steak.
I was very disappointed to learn that their Fish n Chips is made with Atlantic Cod; one the least sustainable & poorly managed fisheries in US History!
For the price of our meal I didn’t appreciate the layered paper covering the table. A ‘high end’ establishment should be able to wash their table cloths instead of making their guests deal with square sheets of paper sticking out over a round table. My friends kept dropping their butter knives off the edge of table because of it.
Waited 30 mins between appetizers & main course
Restaurant is so LOUD WE HAD TO YELL AT EACH OTHER ACROSS THE TABLE
The manager finished the evening off by basically bribing us to give a 5 star review by offering cheesecake if we returned with our review! No class, poorly played

The customer service was excellent. Our server was friendly and attentive. Great location– conveniently situated in the heart of Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. Everything lacks flavor, not enticing at all. We ordered the New Orleans BBQ shrimp, the shrimps were huge but nothing spectacular… no wow factor. We also had the filet mignon with mashed potatoes as our side dish, clam chowder, grilled wild pacific sword fish. I wasn’t thrilled. Everything was bland. It did disappoint us, not worth the price. They are quite expensive but you won’t get what you paid for. Hence, I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant.

I really was torn as to whether to post something or not. On the one hand, the Maitre’D and the manager were great.
On the other hand… we had a waiter who was terrible. He stumbled to the table. He told asked us if our kids eat enough to order. He forgot our drink order 4 times. He took our food order two times. He messed up our soup order and then argued with us when he got it wrong. He fell on my son twice. He mumbled when he talked and he told me not to order certain things that were highly recommended. When we expressed concern to the management about his well being, it took a long time to deal with the situation. Eventually, we left because we felt a bit unsafe with this waiter who clearly had some sort of problem. I could go into a lot more detail about all the strange things the waiter did, but it is of little import.
So the other staff was great dealing with it, which made me want to increase the score and perhaps not even post anything. But then I felt like it deserved a comment because there was clearly something wrong with our waiter from the moment we saw him and somehow management didn’t catch the problem. So, while they were excellent in addressing the problem, they probably should have noticed a problem in the first instance.

Over rated. I had the halibut and it was way over cooked. I was very disappointed. Not sure how fresh it was. I did like the steak bites and the tuna as an app but my fish was not cooked proper

Oysters on point, super fresh high grade and the dirty gin martinis were cold, crisp and refreshing. Elegant old school livery makes the bar tenders look like you stepped into a Sinatra movie. Great class, great service, great atmosphere you can’t go wrong!

I’ll get the bad out of the way. Not sure if they were understaffed or we got unlucky with our server, but the service was terrible. He walked by several times (before we knew who our server was) and did not acknowledge us. When he finally introduced himself as Bobby, I was excited as there was a Bobby named in reviews here who was outstanding.
My excitement slowly vanished as it took over 10 minutes for him to return with our drinks (again, after walking by and avoiding eye contact). I almost went up to the bar for a round. He took our food order and seemed knowledgeable about the menu. It took several minutes for our soups to come out. My friend enjoyed the French Onion while my wife liked the Crab Bisque. The bread came out promptly after the soup bowls were cleared (sarcasm).
It was hard to order a second round of drinks as Bobby continued to walk by and refusing to make eye contact. Again, I should have just gone to the bar.
The entrees were excellent! My wife and I split the Rib-​eye Cowboy cut. Perfectly seasoned and cooked! So delicious! My friend has the Salmon special which was also very good. We shared Sauteed Spinach side which was good.
Because of the food, we would likely visit again, with the caveat of having the other Bobby serving us.

My friend and I ate here for New Year’s Day dinner, we were catching up and hanging out. I had a rough holiday so it was nice to get out after being stressed during the month of December.
We started with the Jumbo Lump Crab «Louie» salad. Man oh man, was that salad freaking good. My friend and I split this starter, the server brought it to us already split, was very attentive of him. Even split, it was a very large portion, I don’t think I could have touched an entrée if I ate the entire salad by myself. It had butter lettuce, slice of tomato, half an avocado sliced, half a boiled egg, a good size piece of bacon, and the crab meat. Excellent portion of crab meat for my split portion, and the bacon. Yum, because BACON! I actually ate the bacon by itself, after I finished the salad. The lettuce was not shredded so I proceeded to squeeze lemon on the crab meat and roll the crab in the lettuce like a cigarette, or in my case, an egg roll. Then I sliced the egg roll lettuce and ate each bite with a bit of tomato and bit of avocado, perfect bites. Lmao, the waiter was even impressed, he said «Oh you rolled it, that’s great.»
We ordered a side of au gratin potatoes, man oh man, it was cheesy goodness. I had 3 servings of our side dish, yes I did. I’ve been lactose intolerant the last 8 mos, I took my Lactaid pills and went to town on these potatoes.
I could have been done eating right then and called it a meal and then the entrees came. I orderd the ribeye, my friend ordered the NY strip. I will always love the ribeye, I la la la love steak fat!!! I was surprised the ribeye came with a side of horseradish sauce. I was skeptical because usually it’s just straight horseradish or so strong of horseradish that my nostrils burn and my eyes water. My friend said it was super good, so I gave it a try and was happily surprised. It had the taste of horseradish, but not overpowering. The perfect horseradish flavor for those that don’t want their nose hairs singed. I wanted to finish that ribeye so bad, but the salad was soooooooo good and I finshed it completely. I also knew my friend would most likely order dessert, always leave room for dessert.
So my friend ordered the key lime dessert, happy for me because she usually ordered crème brûlée or something super chocolatey. Key lime is my 2^nd favorite to peach cobbler, dessert wise. I didn’t think the meal could get any better, and it ended in perfect key lime. Simple looking pie, but perfect flavor, not too tart, not too sweet. The dollop of whip was perfect.
Happily sated, great meal, we took home our leftover steaks and walked back to the hotel my friend stayed at for NYE.

Our dining experience was great! We were sat right away, a few seconds later we were greeted by Brian, who was friendly and very entertaining… He explained how the steaks are cooked and his recommendations. We ordered a filet and sirloin, baked potato and mushrooms (sides feed 2). Steak was grass fed and cooked perfect, you could cut with butter knife, came with a side of butter to dip meat into… it melted in your mouth. Definitely one of the best steaks I’ve had, better than Ruth’s Chris. Sour dough bread was addictive.
Large wine list too! (Always a plus) I had a red blend which our server recommended. It was a perfect pair with my dinner.
Food amazing
Service was great
Staff was friendly attentive and professional
We will be coming back!

We had an early, but AWESOME dinner here.
After a nice walk, we stopped in to the Mecca of jazz and meat for a nice, (and well deserved), sit down for a great meal-​complete with attentive and superior service.
When you arrive, try to resist appetizer, soup, salad, entrée, and side– unless you’ve been fasting for a month! ;) everything is generously sized, so you’ll be so full you’ll never make it to dessert!
I did love my French onion soup though… the calamari is also great, as was my chicken and asparagus. (I’m not a huge steak eater– but my husband had the ribeye and LOVED it.)
Everything we had was perfectly cooked, seasoned just right, and came at a nice pace that wasn’t too slow or fast. Service was excellent and the waiters really know the menu– ask away, they have the scoop on every dish!
Lovely lighting, décor, music, and laughter rounded out the experience to make it a New Year’s Eve treat I’ll remember for a long time. Happy 2016! Go visit this place for a steak and celebrate!

Date of service: May 13, 2015
Meal: Dinner, dine in
All Ratings out of 10:
Quality of food: 10
Food to Spend Value: 8
Quality of Service: 9
Overall Rating: 9
The Gaslamp District of San Diego has a bunch of great restaurants and shops that span a wide variety. Lou & Mickey’s is a fairly upscale steak and seafood restaurant near the San Diego Convention Center with a big menu and both indoor and outdoor seating. I was attending a conference, and the vendor I was meeting with organized dinner here, so I was pretty excited to try them out.
When I first looked up the restaurant I was immediately enthralled by the raw and chilled seafood platters, and I convinced the table to order the Deluxe Iced Shellfish platter (actually 2 for the table), which includes this impressive list of things: 9 oysters (3 each of Coromandel, Kumamoto, and James River), 4 Long Island littleneck clams, 4 Peruvian scallops, 12 wild jumbo Pacific shrimp, 10 Prince Edward Island blue mussels, ½ lobster, and½ Santa Barbara Red Rock Crab. And though the deluxe typically would not, they also threw in some sea urchin (which does come with the King). If you are into raw and chilled seafood, then this was Heaven on Earth. The oysters, clams, and mussels were all fabulous, and the crab and lobster were amazing. My favorite was the Peruvian scallops, and though they were not quite on the same miraculous plane as the ones found at Fishing with Dynamite in Manhattan Beach, they were still mind blowing and simply stunning. The sea urchin was a pleasant surprise, and frankly I thoroughly enjoyed everything on the platter.
As if that wasn’t already a ton of food to start, we then proceeded to order a few more appetizers. The calamari was pretty standard but was super fresh with a really nice batter. The dipping sauces were also amazing and really pushed it over the top. The seared rare ahi yellowfin tuna was divine and had an amazing flavor. The teriyaki filet mignon tips literally melted in your mouth and were so moist and tender. We were very satisfied with the appetizers to say the least!
After all this food it was time for dinner. I decided to start with a crab bisque, and it was rich, creamy, and had a fantastic flavor that brought out the crab nicely. Since I had focused so much on seafood in the appetizers, I decided to go for steak for my main entrée. After much deliberation I landed on the Prime Ribeye «Cowboy» Steak, which was a 20 oz bone-​in beauty. The steak is prepared with seasoned butter, and that combined with a perfectly cooked medium rare steak caused a fireworks show to go off in my mouth. It was mouthwatering good, and I savored every bite. Like many high end steak places, the sides were ala carte, so we ordered several for the table. I had both the macaroni and cheese and the grilled jumbo asparagus. The asparagus was just the right firmness and was excellent, and the mac & cheese was very creamy and flavorful and just simply wonderful. Simply put, dinner was nothing short of stunning.
The weather in San Diego is typically amazing, and May is no exception, so our large group chose to sit outside. The atmosphere outside was great, though the seating inside also looked cozy. The service was impeccable, which is especially impressive with such a large group. The menu items are pricey, as this is most assuredly an upscale restaurant, but the prices are comparable with the quality you receive, and the portions are also quite good. The food was exquisite from start to finish, and I left feeling like this was one of the better meals I had enjoyed in quite some time. If you are looking for an amazing steak and seafood experience in San Diego and aren’t afraid to spend a little dough, then Lou & Mickey’s should be on your short list.

Summary: Mixed feelings about Lou & Mickey’s. Lunch meeting here and would rate lunch no more than 3, but their Happy Hour was really good, so averaging it to a 4.
Lunch: Good service. Burrata with tomatoes starter was divine according to company (who said he’s have it again for dinner). Pear/​cheese salad looked really nice. My seared ahi was really tasty and I loved the mango side, but boringly plated and rice was boring. Key lime pie was rather tasty but huge servings, and the size of piei differed by 50% between our two plates (tips for restaurant: cut down on serving by half and it will look much more elegant). Apple cobbler was yummy. Cappucinos undrinkable.
HappyHour: Great service (from Chelsea?)! Loved the Chardonnay and oysters. All food was good (we tried the oysters, calamari, fish&chips, burger and artichoke). My company was happy with their cosmos/​moscow mule/​beer.
Would come back for HH drinks and light meal, but lunch is way too price and not worth the money.

One of the best dining experiences I have had. I took my boyfriend here for his 21^st birthday and everything was perfect. Our servers name was Adam and he was nothing short of amazing. All of his recommendations from drinks to dessert were spot on!
For drinks: I started out with a Moscow Mule. All I can say is «why did I wait so long to try a mule?! This is amazing!!»
My boyfriend had a Gimlet. Since he just turned 21, as I mentioned before, he had no idea what kind of liquor he enjoyed or wasn’t a fan of. He chose the Gimlet because he was attracted by the name. He said it reminded him of Lord Of The Rings (LOL) but as soon as our server, Adam, approved of this drink he new it was the right choice. He was blown away how dangerously delicious this drink was! He repeatedly asked if there was any alcohol in the drink because it was SO smooth!
*side note– the bread and butter were amazing.*
For sides:
We got the mashed potatoes and asparagus (drizzled in balsamic glaze). Perfect choice for both of our main courses!
Entrees:
I had the BBQ jumbo shrimp. Before ordering, Adam warned me that it did had a kick of spice to it but the sweetness countered it. Naturally I’m not the best when it comes to spicy but I thought, what the heck let’s do this! It turned out to be literally how he described it! I wasn’t chugging down water for relief it was quite enjoyable. It went perfectly with the mashed potatoes and also dipping the bread in the sauce was SO GOOD!
My boyfriend, Joe, had an 18oz bone in steak. Adam described it as a perfect mixture between a filet and a ribeye. Joe was more than pleased! He said it melted in his mouth and felt as though he didn’t even need a steak knife!
Dessert:
Instead of just bringing out a pre selected birthday dessert, Adam brought of the dessert menu and let Joe decide what he wanted his birthday treat to be. First we decided on the apple cobbler but found out it had nuts in it (I’m deadly allergic to all nuts, annoying I know!) so then we asked Adam what he would choose and he said, without hesitation, that he would choose the cheesecake. ONCE AGAIN HE WAS SPOT ON. Not only was the crust made out of only graham cracker, (HUGE PLUS FOR ONE ALLERGIC TO NUTS), the crust was not just on the bottom, it was on TOP of the cheesecake as well. It amazing to say the least.
Everything about this experience was fantastic. I’m not usually one to review (and if I do it’s definitely not this long) but I HAD to share. If you are ever deciding between here and another steak house. CHOOSE LOU & MICKEYS!
We are from out of state but we will for sure be back here every visit to San Diego!
Ps– if anyone reading this is from Lou & Mickeys–
Adam SHOULD DEFINITELY get a raise!

I came here only once, and only for happy hour, so please read this as a first impression of sort.
Their happy hour was a nice oasis from all the walking I had done that evening. Ordered tons of oysters and some cocktail and both were great. $ 1 oysters and fresh! They also have other seafood-​y items on happy hour and HH cocktails were $ 8.
I would come here for casual happy hour/​to watch sports, or for a more fancy dinner. It’s a versatile restaurant.

My boyfriend and I had a phenomenal dinner at Lou & Mickey’s last Saturday, the 14^th. The food was delicious and the service was spectacular. Our server was seriously the best ever!
We ordered the 160z Ribeye, the Grand platter, and a nice bottle of pinot noir and they were all amazing. The steak was seasoned perfectly and literally melts in your mouth. One of the best steak we’ve had. The Grand (seafood) Platter was super fresh and tasty. The presentation of the platter was really nice as well.
Here’s what made our server great. I like my steak rare and my boyfriend likes his medium rare. Without us asking, our server quickly offered to have our steak cooked separately so we didn’t have to compromise. Score! The wine he recommended us paired perfectly with the seafood and the steak. He even brought a nice piece of chocolate cake at the end for my boyfriend.
I forgot our server’s name, but he was fantastic. The only thing I remembered was that he had a beard and his hair color was dirty blonde/​gingerish. So if the owner is reading this, he definitely deserves a raise!
Would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone and if we are ever in San Diego again, we shall be back!

I hate goat cheese.
But the baked goat cheese with roasted garlic took me to heaven and back, Fast & Furious style, 3 days in a row. I couldn’t get enough of it!
The baked mozzarella with marinara sauce was better than anything this Boston boy has ever had at home. Even my nit-​picky 13-​year old son swallowed that thing whole. Unbelievable.
The char-​grilled «Mary’s» organic chicken is so amazing, I am physically ill from restraining myself from applying foul language to how fucking amazing it is… oops. No really. Amazeballs. Crazy effing good. I want to bathe in it. But not really. Well, maybe…
The teriyaki filet mignon tips were crazy. I found out they marinate it first in hoisin sauce, which adds an entirely different dimension to it, like 3D printing my private thong collection. Crazy different, and nowhere near those annoyingly sweet teriyaki-​everything you’ll find in other places.
To top off the amazing food? The service (well, to be fair, I wasn’t crazy about the Elvira witch host… I almost walked out because she was about as welcoming as a port-​a-​potty in mid-​day desert conditions of Burning Man).
But…Sean, the bartender/​server is a seasoned pro. He’s Dean Martin cool as a cucumber. My friends and colleagues absolutely loved him. He was straight up on point about what to order for my fickle Boston boys.
Ah, but the angel Kelsey stole my heart. We ate here 2 days in a row, and she recommended everything perfectly, did everything with a smile, and reminded me of why I love to dine out. Even my kids, the most fickle diners this side of the Mississippi, were content as pigs in… well, you know. Somebody single, do yourself a favor, model your future wife/​life partner/​dominatrix after her. Oh and this restaurant better treat her right, or I’ll recruit her myself… hmmm… actually…
Love this place, love the food, love the service, love the open-​air dining. Like a good untreated genital wart, I’ll be coming back regularly.