The South Park Abbey

There’s nothing seriously wrong with this place… its certainly got the dive bar sticky counter vibe.
My friend and I went on Sunday in the middle of football Sunday so it took awhile for us 1. To find a seat (seat yourself) 2. To be served (no biggie, we got it, they were busy, it wasn’t personal). The food was surprisingly better than average. Let’s be honest – no diss– but places like that, you’re there for the atmosphere and beer (they have a dope beer list) 3. Service was good, friendly, chit chatty, fun!
There was a huge family there as we were leaving so its not a complete adult environment. Now, I don’t think they have fun stuff to accomdate bored youngins but it is reassuring to know people go there to do the family affair thing.

Aaah the Abby, let’s begin with interior decoration: It’s hip, it’s tight and one bathroom for all. There’s one pool table, I believe they should get rid of. It’s only taking space away. I’d put old school 25¢ video games, yeaaah! I’ve never encountered «band» nights. So, I cannot review on how the crowd or music is. Liquor! Let’s move on to that now… It’s interesting how they mix their drinks. Some are too tart, too high in liquor, or just right. Depends on how the bar tender feels like shaking it that night. There’s all kinds of local and nation beer, some IPAs. It’s all good. The food there is pretty amazing. My favorite are the sweet potato fries (w/​ranch) and you cannot go wrong with the wings. So meaty and well done! The hamburgers are pretty great in taste as well. I’ve pretty much tried them all. Music varies, they will broadcast game nights, making the music fade in the background. But, if you’re not a sports fanatic and are a trooper about it, the music won’t be much of a fuss. The staff is pretty chill, sometimes overwhelmed and forget about us, so let’s try and keep up. I’ve served and a tip I can give you is ALWAYS pack tables with napkins and utensils. Include water cups, just to keep people entertained while waiting for their «real» drinks lol. Anyway, tips aside The Abby is a good place to go for a girl’s or guy’s night if your people aren’t picky. Now run for happy hour and enjoy yourselves. Oh! I almoooost forgot. PRICES! Super fair and not pocket-​cringing, forehead-​sweatin’ like other bars.

Had the ceviche and the grilled shrimp tacos. So bomb. Great service, great food and great beer on tap. Love!

If there is one thing you should come here for, it’s their wings in dirty sauce. I would venture to say these are some of the best wings I’ve ever had in the greater San Diego area. Perfectly crisp exterior, beautifully moist interior, and smothered with a sauce that blends sweet, salty and tangy so deliciously. If I just had 20 of these every Seahawks game, I couldn’t be happier.
If there are two things you should NOT come here for, it’s their mac-​n-​cheese and smoked tri-​tip sliders. Quite honestly, that mac-​n-​cheese tasted like it could have easily been a TV dinner. And the smoked tri-​tip was pretty dry with barbecue sauce that tasted like it came from the bottle. After those amazing wings, these were a very disappointing follow-​up.
If you’re looking for wings and craft beer and nothing else, this is the place to be.

The South Park Abbey is a neat bar to go to in the South Park area. It’s dog friendly which is either cool or annoying depending what kind of patron you are. Drinks are good and priced fair. They also have a good selection of food, which is tasty, when they make it to what you order. Customer service is very disappointing in my experience. Unfortunately, I’ve been here twice and do not care to go back anymore. Both times I had horrendous customer service. My party waited much longer than normal to get our orders in and both times I’ve been here, my order was not made correctly. If not for the quality of the food and overall good atmosphere, I would rate this place lower. That being said, I feel if my experience is more normal than I hope it’s not, then management really needs to clean up their employee staff because it’s unacceptable when you wait longer than normal to order, wait longer than normal to get your food, wait again to get your correct order and then wait 30+ minutes after asking for the check (that was the second visit). Let’s get it together here people. Overall, South Park Abbey is a cool bar to go to if you’re looking to hang out with friends, take the pup out or even go on a date. Hopefully everyone’s experience will be better than mine because it really is a cool place in my opinion.

Poor service! Food came out pretty cold and server never even ask if my bf and I wanna have another drink. This place sucks! Will not come back. Should be 0 star!

Amazing spot in South Park and a hidden gem in San Diego. Chill, yet happening. Busy, yet relaxed. Chandra leads a great team of bartenders. Never to cheap you out on a drink. Never to overcharge or give you a fuss. Makes amazingly good drinks and keeps it entertaining at all times. The owner and his mom are always contributing to the relaxing atmosphere and makes it conducive for a friendly environment. The food is spot on, especially any of the wings or the calamari. Loud music, live on Saturdays, but still possible to have a conversation. If you’re in the central San Diego area, a must to go.

Oh Man, Love this place. Their Dirty Wings are amazing!

GREAT selection of beers on tap.
(and they rotate them regularly)
They even have sours!!!
#9 Almanac Wakatu Sour was really good.
cool location.
awesome bartendress, Briana.
im not a big wing guy, but these were by far the best wings ive ever had. they slow smoke them then fry them to order. I got the honey habenero and garlic bbq.
SPOT ON!

The Abbey is my Cheers. I love it here.
Great food, great atmosphere, great service. And that beer menu!
Seriously, the food is good. Wings are amazing (slow smoked) but the veggie linguini is good too. (And the burgers and the fries and the romanesco appetizer…)
The bartenders are awesome. I’m afraid to leave anyone out but I love Chandra, Briana, Megan, Amalia, Jared etc etc.
The family that own it (Adam and his amazing mother Darlene) have done a really amazing job transforming the Abbey into one of the best neighborhood bars anywhere, hands down. I’m proud to call it mine. It’s always my first choice when I’m getting hungry or thirsty. «Wanna go to the Abbey?» If I don’t hear that every week it means I’m out of town.

It’s time to recognize that things have changed.
The wings are just as good as they ever were.
So is the beer selection.
What’s changed is the service attitude.
Gone is the locals only mentality.
Gone is the «we’re doing you a favor» mentality of the wait staff.
New servers, new bartenders. Everyone seems nice and works hard to keep you happy.
Thanks Abbey. You’re moving from the ‘guilty pleasure’ to ‘routine’.

This place is very average on the whole. Severely understaffed on a Sunday morning, when the place was packed with hungry and thirsty football fans. Everything took longer than it should have, for this reason. Egg scrambles were mediocre– and the waitress up charged us $ 2 for a biscuit, but never said that it was more money when she offered it as a bread choice. Not that I don’t have $ 2 extra, but that was a lame move. The positives– it’s a good spot to watch the game if you’re only going to be drinking and hanging out, as the beer selection is vast. Don’t expect great service or quality food… Go elsewhere.

Cool because I got to bring my new pup inside (we did get scolded for allegedly touching the vinyl on the seats, but I had him in a blanket on my lap the whole time.) Two visits, an evening football game during the week and then a Sunday brunch game.
Anyway, evening HH is the way to go with the «burger bar» and discounted beer. The pickles they use are amazing and I really like the spicy/​sweet play (Skerry Pickles)…however, my friend and her brother say nay to them. Each add on drives up the burger price (bacon, various cheeses…) but you can get a deliciously sloppy burger creation for cheap. Mine fell apart because I tried to be lady like and cut the thing in half before consuming. Sweet potato fries at no upcharge? Count me in! The ranch they use is the best I’ve ever had, entire table agrees.
Brunch was tasty. I’m a sucker for chicken and waffles (see previous reviews)… Next time will splurge for bottomless mimosas. We wanted the big garage door type windows open, the table next to us did not.
Service… Very… Slow…
(It even took like an hour to come say something about the dog)

Don’t come here if you want to watch a game. Management will not oblige.
Server was great and tried very hard to get channels changed.

I came here on a Monday night with a friend from work who had told me about The South Park Abbey and how she’d frequent it.
The place was pretty busy and a loud upon entering but because it was Monday night and there was a football game, a couple of people playing pool on their table. Regardless, it wasn’t obnoxious and we did get service pretty quickly.
Their beer selection is pretty big and covers so many different kinds!
I was also informed of the wing deal on Mondays. I believe it was 8 wings for $ 5? I’m not too sure on that but it was a pretty good deal.
The wings weren’t the best I’ve ever had but they weren’t bad at all.
They do charge you for extra sauce though (Ranch, Blue Cheese), I didn’t look it over on the bill so I’m also not sure on how much that is.
It would definitely be a cool spot if you’re a local, or in the area, but not something I would travel to go to.

This place is known for their wings, but I decided to try the burger. I subbed out raw onions for caramelized and added Gouda cheese. I ordered the burger medium, that was cooked closer to medium-​well, but it was still pretty juicy. The onions and cheese complimented the burger very well. I also liked the fact that I didn’t need 12 napkins to sop up all of the dripping burger juices and sauces. It was just fine without adding any extra condiments.
The cajun garlic fries were solid, but I do wish the jalapeño ranch dipping sauce had a bit more kick. They have a great selection of draft beers on the chalkboard to go along with their extensive list of cocktails.
Next time I’ll have to try out their wings.

Came here after dinner at Eclipse in South Park on a Saturday night, it was close and had plenty of room (compared to whistle stop) which was nice. I do see why people weren’t packing the place though, the drinks were «meh» and the ambiance only slightly better.
We ordered a round of Moscow Mules, and the ratio of ginger was way out of proportion to the drinks. We didn’t have food, or get a chance to try the pool table. Will not be back.

CITYBEAT BURGER WEEK, #1
$ 10 for The Burger and a 6 wing basket:
They say these are «SD’s Best Wings»…well, they’re not the «best» wings in San Diego, but they are pretty darn FUCing good! The smoked meat came off the bone very easily. .
The Burger is made with Harris Ranch Beef, which was ground in-​house they say. Personally I’m not sure if Harris Ranch cows taste better than other cows elsewhere, but it was some pretty darn good beef. Nothing unique, but overall the burger was meaty and tasty enough.
Unfortunately, it was quite packed inside at 4:30ish when I grabbed a bar seat and placed my food order… then it took nearly an hour for my food to come out. At least the friendly but helpless bartender kept apologizing. Luckily I wasn’t in a hurry.

Kinda a love and not quite to the extent of hate. But really, I’m not too big of a fan but it’s typically more of an okay, I’ll go kinda of relationship. I don’t necessarily mind the place but if it was in the 92 116 zip code, I probably would skip or at least, not come as often. South Park is a smaller community and so options are not as broad.
So here’s the reasons.
Good. Dog-​friendly inside dining. YUP. If you know me, or well, you don’t really even have to know me. Just look at my pics. I loooove my dog. Next…
Good/​bad. The food. It’s pricey for the amount you get. There’s definitely times I remember really loving the wings, any of them. Dirty is probably my fave. Calamari can be good at times but other times, ehh. Most of the other stuff I’ve had was okay. Wait, there was a stuffed pepper that I ordered and liked before. Yeah, that was pretty good. Anything else I’ve ordered hasn’t been too memorable. Though the sweet potato fries (the fries in general) are good especially if you just want something cheap to nosh on.
Bad. Drinks, for the most part have never been really good. For the numerous times I’ve been here, I think I had one good cocktail (but forgot what it was… see, not too memorable). I would stick will ordering a simpler drink. Damn, for what you’ll pay just order yourself a well.
Ambiance is good to ehhh. Service can also be good to ehhhh. It’s a sports/​neighborhood bar and the only one of it’s kind you’ll find in SP. So yeah, when I’m in this hood and I got my furbaby, want a vodka soda with some wings, and casually kick it… you guessed it, here I’ll be.

«I used to have a drug problem, now I make enough money.»
David Lee Roth
Don’t come here and order the chicken wings. They are like crack. You will get hooked like I am. The wings are smoked then fried. Crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Delicious smoky flavor mixed with the normal fried flavors. So good with the addition of dab of bbq sauce! It’s just a matter of time when I have to return to get another fix… Save yourself before it’s too late!
I also tried the pork belly taco during the taco mania promotion. Good tasting flour tortilla with awesome tasting pork belly. A bit too fatty with grease and fat dripping everywhere after my first bite.
The bartender provided excellent service. One of these days I gotta find a friend to try out the pool table with. :-)