Trials Pub

One of the few places in SJ downtown at night that doesn’t blast music. Go here if you want to be able to have a conversation. Get there early though, as the place is small and seats go fast. Nice drink menu, nice chairs, and even some board games and darts if you’re in the mood.

This review is based solely on service and choice of beers. Stopped by here with a friend for a quick beer while waiting for another friends flight to arrive. This place is only about 3.5 miles from San Jose airport. Really wanted to try something off food menu but time constraints would not allow. Service and beer selection were great!

Very cool little English pub. Limited beer selection reduces the rating a little bit though. But nothing wrong with this place for a drink.

Best pub in the South Bay. I’ve been coming here for years and will keep coming for years to come. Great beer and pub food. Make sure to stop by when Larry and Dave are tending the bar!

Favorite place in all of the South Bay! I discovered Trials in 2008 and have been heading there ever since. It’s small! The chicken curry and curry chips are amazing. Love the selection on tap.

Great pub for catching up with friends over a few beers and some good food.

This place is the tits! The only truly Irish pub in San José. It’s chill and the bartenders are unmatchable in witticisms and good-​looking-​ness.
Come down to feel like one of the gang!
(Does get difficult to get to the bar on the weekends)

If you know me, you know my drink of choice is beer. On tap, at the proper temp (40–50 °F depending on the beer), and preferably served in an Imperial pint, which is 20 ounces.
Trials hits on all these things. Not only that, their food, though it favors le fried cuisine, is tasty, and the service meets needs. It does have a regular crew, but smile and know your crap and nobody will give you any trouble. It’s laid-​back and feels like someone’s living room. But, you know, a living room with 20 taps.
Bonus points for: no shade for an out-​of-​state ID, being right in front of the damn light rail, and of course, proper Imperial pints.
It’s not cheap by other city standards, but it’s reasonable by San José standards, and there’s always enough people there you don’t feel weird yet not so many it’s overpacked.

I brought my husband and friends to this pub for my husband’s 30^th birthday. The people who worked there were very friendly, and very accommodating. I very much appreciated how flexible they were!
The food was excellent, and so was the beer. All of us enjoyed the food, as well as the atmosphere.
P. S. If you are contemplating ordering the mac and cheese bites, I don’t know what’s wrong with you. Clearly the answer was «give me 5 orders of this» the minute you stepped in this place. I dream about them often.

Only been here a couple times but it’s my new favorite pub. Great service the bartenders are nice and cool atmosphere.

Last night was off the chain! Or so the kids are saying these days :) I really enjoyed this place, learn what few shots names was and had some good fun. I would like to go back sometime soon if the opportunity will be there.

I’ve all ways liked Trials; the atmosphere, the character, and good pub food.
Nonetheless, I’ve had too many bad customer experiences lately to return.
Trials simply has bad service, that favors a click of regulars. Trials used to be friendly, fun and truly a public place. Now seems it has become more of a shady private club, were non regulars are unwelcome.
Sorry to see you go.

So the place is located where there is nothing around and connected to a German restaurant. There is only side parking too. The service was nice and friendly. They were also quick too. We did order jalapeño poppers and mozzarella sticks. The mozzarella sticks were good but I did not like the jalapeño poppers. They added in some type of weird cheese with it. I also ordered a beer which I don’t remember which one since it was a couple weeks ago. The place is a little small so big groups would be hard but they do provide games on the side for your entertainment. I don’t know if I would go out of my way for this place but I would not mind coming here again with friends.

Hubby and I were missing the pub atmosphere of London and did a quick Unilocal search of local pubs and found this little gem.
We went here on a hot summer’s night and simply loved it! Great beers and perfect pub fare. Not crowded with a low-​key pub vibe. The food and the beer won’t break the bank (unlike The Duke of Edinburgh in Cupertino)!

Pretty cool little pub in downtown San Jose. I’ve been here twice. The prices are pretty darn reasonable for some intriguing beverages. The layout is a little weird, with about a 2-​foot wide space between the bar and the wall at one point, but if you pick a spot and stick in it, it can be quite nice.
They have some cask conditioned beers in specialty taps, about 15 taps and an assortment of bottled beers. They have whiskeys and scotches, as well.
Parking was available around the corner, though the streets are pretty whacked out with bus and trolley lanes and one-​way markers. Be cautious in this regard.
I would recommend.

Quaint little pub in the not so bustling bar section of San Jose, but that somehow seems more appropriate for this place.
Cozy, homely, with board games! The bartender was super nice and helpful, prices were fair. Great beers on tap, the hoegaarden was my personal favorite.
If I liked beer more, definitely be a regular here

Aside from the odd hours, I can find nothing wrong with this pub. Great staff, extremely knowledgable bartenders, especially on huge selection of imported beers and whiskey’s.
It’s one of those places that you might drive by a thousand times without as much as a thought of stepping in. But once there, you ask yourself how come I’ve never been here?
Very traditional feeling pub with a cast of regulars from all over globe, there are many interesting people to meet and conversations to be had.
What nails down that 5^th star is Trials startlingly excellent food. Everything I’ve eaten here has been outstanding. Hats off to the kitchen. The chicken curry is among the best pub curries I’ve ever had. Servers consistently ask what your heat preference is, and you will thank them for asking. I’m cool with the medium, and I am a spicy guy.
Location is also nice, as it’s right near downtown light rail, but not really downtown.
All said, highly recommended hole in the wall pub. I repeat…“pub”…not bar.
Great. Now I’m craving a cask pulled ale and a plate of that curry. To bad they aren’t open for lunch, but no knocks here. Looking forward to my next visit.

This place is within drunken stumbling distance to my house. That being considered, I was pretty stoked when a friend and I took a stroll and decided to stop in for an imbibement.
We were greeted by a super friendly tender who slapped a drink menu down for us. They’ve got a nice selection of microbrews and scotch, but sadly, no Rumpleminze. I settled for a variation of Angry Balls (hard cider and cinnamon whiskey), which you really can’t go wrong with.
Then we grabbed a dark wood table (there’s a lot of welcoming dark wood in here) nestled in the back, and enjoyed our drinks while watching a dart game and glancing around at all the weird flags and posters that occupy the pub’s wall.
If you’re looking for your Winchester bar (think: Shaun of the Dead), you might find it here.
I’m looking forward to visiting again with a book of poetry to enjoy while sipping on a pint.
Cheers!

Trials is amazing!
I’ve been here a few times now and I love it more every time. They have everything you need to be an awesome bar. They have games, seating, DARTS, and even a fireplace!
The bartenders, amazing. They are so sweet and kind. Not pretentious like at some dive bars.
The place usually had a crowd but isn’t so crowded that you can’t find a seat or a spot to hang out in.
The drinks are made strong and cheap!
I have never eaten here, only come for drinks so unfortunately I can’t comment on that.

9÷20÷14: This is my friend’s favorite bar. Slightly divey, very intimate.
The place is a little on the small side to me. The bar is very close to the eclectically art-​lined wall, so much so that people have to squeeze to get through. Just a few tables. Luckily we went when it wasn’t so busy, but I have a feeling there would be nights where it would just be way too stuffed.
They have a very nice beer selection, including a decent amount of semi-​harder to find stuff. Unfortunately I couldn’t remember what I had to drink, but I did have fun.
I think this place is good if you’re looking for a serious bar that seems like the traditional pub, but yet still caters to the trendy hipster crowd.
Oh, and the bartender is really great and is a super nice guy.
⁴⁄₅.
#bar #beer #drinks