The Wit’s End

I love this place, the food is excellent and they have all kinds of beer. The staff is friendly too.

The Wit’s End has met its END.
CLOSED!
The landlord raised the rent in the entire strip mall.
Bummer, going to miss you guys. Best of luck.

Eeeeek! A week late for Halloween, it’s the Jekyll and Hyde of bars! Or rather the Hyde and Jekyll.
Why the distinction, you ask?
Well, Jekyll was someone who looked decent by day but had an evil side that came out night. By contrast, my experiences at the Wit’s End have been underwhelming during the day, when it’s mostly populated by sullen folks on their fifteenth Bud Light. But, by night, the Wit’s End turns into one of the most fun and under-​appreciated party zones in Hillcrest.
Such was the case this past Saturday evening, when I dropped by to mingle with a handful of sexy Unilocalers and enjoy the musical stylings of the illustrious Rossi H. While various scheduling issues precluded me from catching the guitar tunes, the bar itself proved to be an awesome spot for a drinky-​drink.
THE BEER: This is a beer bar. If you need liquor, keep movin’. The Wit’s End has an impressive selection on tap, and I got to enjoy a Stella, courtesy of mister Rossi. I’m sure if you send him some sexts, he’ll buy you a beer too. Otherwise you’re on your own.
THE VIBE: So. Much. Fun. A deejay was playing 80’s tunes when I was got there, and the place was packed. This is a small bar (unlike Small Bar, which is actually a medium-​sized bar. The Wit’s End is more of a teeny bar. Got it?) There’s an eclectic interior that looks like someone’s basement rec room — a lot more charm that you’d expect from the strip mall where it’s located.
One more thing — I had my nipple grabbed here. Double-​eeeeek!
o_​O

Completed my 5^th bar hop of the evening here at The Wit’s End. It was good because I got to enjoy some Niners action with some Niners fans. It was bad because they lost at the end.
They have $ 5 drafts, but during happy hour (until 8pm), they are $ 1 off, and $ 2 off the appetizers. Went with the Stone Smoke Porter. Kinda tasted like Guiness, so yah, it was pretty good.
Cool atmosphere, couple of tv’s and a juke box. Lots of red walls. Reminds me of Cherry Bomb… the red walls that is, but there are no gargoyles, skulls, and punk music in the background over here at the The Wit’s End. Their bathroom tiles were also red for whatever reason. Bartender dude was cool, good customer service.

Wednesday nights-​Karaōke with Laura Jane is so much fun. She is hilarious and very entertaining. 5 stars for LJ
Bar is small and can get very crowded. Good selection of beers on tap, friendly and fast bartenders. 3 stars for venue.

I came here five years ago and remember leaving generally content because I was quite pleased with the beer selection. However, the meatloaf left something to be desired, as it was chock-​full of carrot bits. To rephrase the Beastie Boys: want a little meat with that carrotloaf?
I don’t know if they serve meatloaf any longer, but that’s irrelevant. This is one darn fine karaōke establishment. The crowd was mixed, the energy level was high, there were several well-​choreographed songs. 2 Cool For Karaōke was filling in for Laura Jane. Do you think you are 2 cool for karaōke? I think not! I really like the concept and charitable premise behind Good vs. Bad vs. Banned songs. I haven’t had this much fun at a karaōke bar in awhile.
The bar itself feels like how I would picture a mother’s womb: dark and comforting. Sorry, was that a little too much?

Some UFC highlights were playing when I walked/​strutted in along with some sports hightlights on the other TV (Stanley Cup highlights of SJ vs. CHI. SJ got shut out). This was a huge plus cuz I love UFC, but It also kind of characterized my experience at the Wit’s End. Here’s how, just take your typical UFC fighter: cut, testosterone fueled, tatt’d, etc. Now, imagine that dude coming up to you, and than having him lean over to whisper in your ear «I”ve got some cute panties on». That didn’t literally happen, but my ears were assaulted in the same manner cuz they had some good music being played by the live DJ who played some New Order, Police to some other classic rock, but every now and than he’d throw in something along the lines of something by Erasure or the equivalent of «it’s raining men»…sashay shante
This is Hillcrest so there’s gay specific bars which Unilocal has designated as GAY. The Wits End wasn’t listed as gay, but regardless if it’s not a gay bar, for such a small bar it wins points for having Fat Tire although bottled only, and the total tab for 3 beers was only $ 14. So minus some random songs, this place is a decent BAR… with some flare. let’s get it on! (drinking that is)

We were making a bar tour on a Wednesday night. This place being one of the stops and it will continue to be a stop. Great vibe although some guy said he wanted to fight me and I said sure lets step out. All this while some guys were egging him on. He then preceded to say sorry and then later on his supposed friends we not really his friends. They were just people trying to take advantage of him cause he was drunk. Moving on, nice place they have like a stage towards the back of the bar. I had just missed the last band so I could not tell you if the sound is good or not but there was a DJ and he was playing Echo and the bunnyman which was pretty cool. The wits end is a must!

I am still looking for a five-​star burger, but this one definitely gets four.
This rating is obviously for lunch, but I can definitely see how coming here for a couple of drinks would be fun too. This has «neighborhood joint» written all over it.
How have I managed to keep 30+ pounds off while simultaneously on a burger binge? The sides, baby, the sides. Yesterday, instead of the requisite french fries I ordered The Wit’s End potato salad. It was tasty, definitely not out of a Sysco bucket. I recommend it.
The cheeseburger was one that I will return for, yes, indeed (the last two words are just to avoid ending a sentence in a preposition). Well cooked and seasoned, and piled high with crisp, fresh vegetables. The bun did its job, too, by staying intact until bitten.
My dining partner ordered — and enjoyed — the meatball sandwich, which, according to the guy who helped us, was made with the owner’s personal meatball recipe. It’s refreshing to find a place that doesn’t purchase everything pre-​made in bags, cans, etc.
The service was friendly and competent, and the prices just right. I’ll be back.

We stopped in here on our Friday night pub crawl. I was a great little pub!
They had a huge selection of beers. The live DJ was great. They have a Happy Hour with great drink and food specials. Definitely worth a stop when you are out.
Dino…)’(

I mostly come here for wednesday karaōke nights with Laura Jane. She’s probably the most fun karaōke dj in San Diego. Couple that with a small cozy bar and you’ll get to sing a few songs every time you go. Nicole usually works the bar and is awesome.
There’s only beer and wine, but that’s cool because it keeps out most of the idiots who, ‘just want to get wasted’.
I’ve been to the place a couple of other times and its ok. Not the same without Nicole and LJ. BTW I don’t know if anyone else noted this, but if you’re nice to the bartender the bar also has a wii.

I stumbled across this small pub for lunch because Einstein Bros Bagels next door has poor service, so went next door to Wits End because I wanted a soup and corn chowder was on the menu (I love corn chowder)
The soup was very good!!! I ordered a cup and it was the size of a small bowl. My server was very sweet and gave excellent service. I gave it 3 stars because I was really disappointed when it was time to pay my check, NO DEBIT CARDS FOR ANYTHING UNDER $ 10! Since I don’t carry a lot of cash, I had to use their ATM and was charged those dumb transaction fees. It annoys me when businesses do not accept debit cards for small transactions, many people only use debit cards and don’t carry a lot of cash. There should be signs stating this in the place, I had no idea. Oh well, my soup was great and the service was great, just go there with cash!

The Wit’s End Rocks! Plain and Simple. Been coming here for several years. I really liked them when I first came here and they were being managed by a different guy (wish I could remember his name) who was both the owner and the chef. It was so cool to watch him make your food right there in front of you while you sipped away on your beer and watched the daily show on the screens. He took such pride in what he was doing — it was great.
Flash forward to a year later. The Wit’s End has changed ownership and undergone a few internal changes. I like the upgrades. The Beer menu has grown and the décor inside has been modernized. The menu changed a bit and lost a step or two in preparation — but the food’s still good. Overall, I’d describe it as American comfort food. And it’s great!
My favorite thing about The Wit’s End is the crowd. No SoCal pretense here at all. No scenesters. No hipsters. No gangstas. No idiots. Just good people through and through. This is definitely a beer drinker’s Bar no doubt about that. But they do have a couple of wines available if you swing more in that direction.
Jukebox is decent. But it can get a little loud when you’re trying to socialize with friends. And the Karaōke crowd is entertaining at best. I think I’ve been here when they had an open mic night — also entertaining and a bit eclectic.
Everyone that works here is really nice and cool. And pretty attentive to their patrons. These guys work hard to make sure that everyone has a nice experience here. And that’s what keeps guys like me coming back. Keep it up guys!

I love this place so much.
Great Food!
Great Beer!
Great DJ’s/bands!
Great Bartenders!
They have tv’s for watching all the games and they have special deals on Sunday for football. I think that they even started having brunch on Sunday’s as well. I love to stroll in here and see the familiar faces of Shannon or Matt serving up some cold drinks. They are very nice and always down to suggest a good beer.
Check it peeps!

I just had to update because the bartender, Shannon, is so awesome. Her memory is just insane (I’m jealous). She’s so sweet and friendly and helpful, I would come here just because of the service. The place is not good for large groups, as people have said, but it’s nice later in the night to grab drinks and relax with a friend or two. They have a good variety and lots of events, but I like it best when it’s quieter…

Last Saturday, I came here to see my wife’s — friend’s — boyfriend’s — boss’s — coworker’s band… called «Abe West». Nice job guys!
Bartender was a friendly, petite and cute gal. She happily helped me get a Stella ($ 5)…later that evening she asked me if I wanted another Stella, it was nice that she remembered my beer! I also asked for a water and she gave me a nice glass with a straw and lemon piece… she’s awesome. No hard liquer, but large beer and wine selection. They serve food, but I haven’t tried it.
The place was packed, but this place is TINY! I’m guessing maybe 750sq feet. Don’t bring more than a «few» friends with you.
PROS:
–Really nice bartenders
–Pre-​Dinner or Pre-​Party chillin
–After work chillin
CONS:
–Not for a big night out on the town
–Not for large groups
Though this is in middle of the Gay-​Lesbian Mecca of San Diego, the crowd seemed to be mostly straight folks, and pretty good looking ones, both genders.

I still don’t love this place. I hate that it’s so teeny and narrow; there’s no room to move. They’ve also installed one of those memory game machines at the end of the bar. I hate those things.
I liked the place when it had the couches in the back and tons of old-​school board games to play. That has been replaced by a small stage.
Came back here the other night for an Open Mic. My boyfriend, our friend and her boyfriend all performed. So in that respect I had a good time. I just don’t like being cramped on uncomfortable stools listening to semi-​pretentious singer-​songwriter types who try to incorporate jazz in their acousticrap, but end up just sounding unintelligible.
So why the bump up to 3 stars? Because the service is outstanding. Our bartender was SO nice — chatted with us, gave us suggestions, and was just overall extremely attentive. Plus they have Blackthorn Cider. Cider makes everything better!
I’m a sucker for kindness and nice people, what can I say?

To be fair I’ve only been here for hours on end on Tuesday nights and once for happy hour on a Wednesday afternoon. So i can’t vouch for the Friday night DJs or anything else. But, I’m at The Wit’s nearly every Tuesday night doing the open mic thing. There’s a group of regulars and of course every week there are loads of new people, fun fun fun. The drinks are on the pricey side (for beer), the food is alright. But, if you’re a performer you get happy hour prices all night on Tuesdays. ALWAYS GOOD! and the bartender is fun.
I highly recommend this joint on a Tuesday, tends to get packed. And, since i go all the time, it seems it’s always packed with my new performer friends. It’s a low-​key, low maintenance crowd, very friendly and very funny. I always meet new people that just want to have a fun conversation about film, music, beer, whatever!
You know, even if you’re not performing, I’d recommend to go grab a beer on a Tuesday night, you get FREE entertainment, loads of laughs and you’ll discover new talent =). And, the best part, is if you go more than on one Tuesday, you’ll find you have a whole new set of bar friends.
So on a Tuesday night grab a couple of your preexisting friends, hit up the ATM, head over to The Wit’s, sit right down at the bar and have a good time.
See you there!

Wednesday night, you wanna hang out with friends but your tired of your normal bar stop; so what do you do?
You grab your crew, head to Wits End and enjoy Karaōke with Laura Jane Rocks! from 9pm –12am every Wednesday she host the best Karaōke besides my Adam Gimble (but this isnt a review about to cool for karaōke)
Wits End is amazing for their beer selection two big screen tvs that always have a game on. Not to mention Karaōke!
i believe you should all go their soon!

Pretty cool bar although its kinda small. Beer and wine only which threw me off. I always thought that this was a full bar with hard stuff. I think I need to come here more often to really appreciate it as Ive only been here one time and that was on a weeknight and it wasnt that busy.
I just read some of the other reviews and I didnt realized that they served food here. How did I miss that .
They did have Chimay in the bottle here so that was great. The bartender had friends hanging out so she kept going back and forth from the bar to the booth.
Yea I need to check it out again soon. Its right next door to a Thai food place.