Pillbox Tavern

Went in to this place for some appetizers and a couple beers today and my buddy got cold so he closed the window… One of the waitresses completely tripped out on him and gave him all kinds of attitude. Then some guy sitting at the table next to us jumps on us also, apparently he’s a partial owner. Maybe we should’ve asked to close the window, fine. For God sake though man it’s really not that big of a deal. They claim that when you close the window it looks like they’re closed. You know how I know a place isn’t closed? THERE ARE PEOPLE INSIDE! But they insisted that we were totally out of line and started some big drama. Even the bartender was getting at us-​truly unbelievable. I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life and am well respected. I’m going to go out of my way to tell everybody I know to avoid this place.

This spot is BOMB. Burgers are on point | Tater tots are major key | Wings are fire | Good beer selection. NICE SPOT!!!

Pillbox is one of our favorite happy hour spots! Taco Tuesday, yes please! The tacos are really good and they have grapefruit sculpin on tap!

Large variety of starters, flavorful sandwiches, salads and selection of wings. We were wowed by the pulled pork and Cajun chicken sandwiches. Tv screens for the games and good music setting is casual but warm. I love this spot near fletcher cove. Affordable Specials nightly week days. Looking forward to coming back for breakfast.

Friendly enough service. The tater tots w chili is decent but nothing to rave about and I wouldn’t order it again. Also, I originally went into saddle bar. Ordered a tea. And the bartender told me to get tea from Pillbox. Pillbox doesn’t have tea either. These adjacent restaurants are under the same ownership apparently.

Trivia night? How fun. Perfect little neighborhood spot.
Originally remember seeing Pillbox on the news when they first opened, and realized it’s around the corner.
Location is perfect.

Love this place! The food never fails to be excellent, and the service is great too. I live down the street, so this has become my new favorite place to watch a Padres game in the neighborhood.
I would recommend the tots, and the burgers, and the wings, and the breakfast burrito is amazing too!
My only complaint, and it’s a really small one, is that I wish they had a few more beers on tap.
Other than that, the place is perfect. I’m just happy there is now a better option than Tidewater if I don’t feel like going too far from home.

Loving this place! This is our new go-​to for lunch or Sunday football. The place gets packed, but tables are positioned so you don’t feel like you’re crammed. I always order the spinach salad that comes with beets, red onions (I opt out for those), goat cheese, and 5 – 6 grilled shrimp with a balsamic vinaigrette. Hubby got the mahi sandwich and finished it all. Nice beer selection and plenty of TVs. Great specials throughout the week.
Been here a couple times and minus a star as the tables don’t seemed to be cleared/​cleaned at a reasonable speed after someone leaves.

Not a bad place if you are running early to the AMTRAK Station a short 5 minute walk across PCH. Friendly prompt service, with windows that open up to the ocean air. Not directly across from the beach as per another review, but really close though.
We just had drinks and a more than decent guac/​chips to munch along with. Several TV’s, and it appeared to be mostly locals camped out in the small space.
Yeppers, in Unilocal speak… A-​OK.

So I come here quite frequently, and now I feel compelled to review this establishment. I LOVE IT! Since it’s opening, almost a year ago, I have really enjoyed this place. The staff is SUPER friendly (Liz, Michael, Sam, Karina, Audrey, Jamie, Woody, BJ, sorry for those forgotten) and fun! Chef Shelly is AMAZING! Was teasing her one night about not having mac-​n-​cheese on the menu, what does she do? Pops in the kitchen and whips up mac-​n-​cheese for my daughter and me. Plus she has challenged me to try to expand my palate and try new things (⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger). Management is really cool and fun too (Mike, Leigh, Ryan)!
Enough ass kssing, let’s get to it. The food is beyond just typical bar food. From the burgers to tbe desserts, it is so worth it! The ahi poke tacos for happy hour are soooo tasty. All of the salads are spectacular… You gotta try this place. I do like the fact that there are specials Monday — Friday.
I am not a gin drinker, but, but, BUT the «Not your Mamma’s Gin & Tonic? Goodness me, what a delight!
Trivia night on Wednesdays is a blast too… Bring your A game, because these folks are serious.
One side note on the food. If you are like my friend Todd P, and don’t like pickles, don’t order the fried pickels or the tuna melt (they are both delightful).
Keep up the good work Pillbox!!!

Had the lemon chicken wings, famous bbq wings and the teriyaki. Come for wed nights to get 20% off! Was fun to eat during the trivia night.
The choice beer on tap was the grapefruit sculpin, we had 5 even though we only ordered 4. The waitress assumed we wanted another even though we didn’t ask.
Venue is not that big but there was no wait. Could get a little loud during trivia night, but that’s expected since everyone is having a good time. Indoor and patio searing is nice with decent parking but not a lot.
They have a special to choose from every night so be sure to check the board so u can plan for next time.
Will definitely come back for wing nights!

I stopped in with my sister and a friend on the night of Fiesta Del Sol and it was packed, so we didn’t get the greatest impression.
Beers were ~ $ 7, and were served in plastic cups instead of pint glasses, also probably due to the volume of customers. Margaritas were also served in plastic cups — however they were awful. 100% cheap mix and low alcohol. Not worth the money.
The place itself is small, but the atmosphere is pleasant and I would consider coming back for a drink to check it out again when it’s not so crazy.

Cute little bar. Right off the beach in Solana. Lots of TVs for sports and indoor/​outdoor seating.
Good bar food!!! Specials every night

Small but very convenient spot next to Solana Beach Amtrak station, lots of parking! They have a variety of cocktails and a decent selection of craft beers on tap. I got the Grapefruit Sculpin and Omeggaang Amber Ale. Regrettably didn’t try any of the food, except for the ceviche appetizer! It was pretty fresh and not too fishy, would’ve liked to see more shrimp in there though. It also came with avocado and was tasty, light and fresh.
Overall 4 beers + ceviche = $ 36. Not too shabby. Great spot for a quick drink if you’re near the train station, or stopping by after hanging out at the park/​ocean!

After searching for a good spot to grab dinner and beer near Del Mar, I discovered Pillbox Tavern. The 4.5 star average caught my eye and we decided to give it a try.
The restaurant is on the small side but we were still able to easily get a table around 7:30 on a Friday night. The bartender told us to take a seat at any table and the waitress was quickly over to take our drink orders. There’s a decent selection of eight or so beers on draft but sadly no cider for non-​beer drinkers like me.
I ordered the Blackened Chicken Sandwich with no bacon or spicy mayo (I dumped some ranch on instead). The sandwich tasted great but be warned that it is messy. I had juice running down my hands the entire time that I ate my burger and I went through two napkins wiping it up. The chicken has great flavor though and even the multigrain bun, which I was skeptical about, was good. The sandwich also has swiss, lettuce and tomato. Be sure to get the tater tots as your side as they are amazing. Perfectly crispy and seasoned, the tots are great dipped in ranch too.
My boyfriend ordered the El Dolce, which is a veggie sandwich with red pepper hummus spread, mushrooms, fajita vegetables, lettuce, tomato, alfalfa sprouts, and Swiss served on an Amoroso roll, or as we thought it was, a hot dog bun. He thought the hummus spread was the highlight of the sandwich and thought it was pretty good as far as veggie sandwiches go. He got the seasoned fries and we both agreed that my tater tots were superior to his fries.
I loved the look of the tavern, which had a modern coastal vibe. There’s also a small parking lot in front of the restaurant that has a time limit during the day but seems to be open at night.
I’d definitely come back again but I wish that they’d add a cider to their drink menu. I noticed they have a buffalo chicken dip, which I would love to try on a future visit.

The Pillbox Tavern is a pretty dope little spot located just off of Fletcher Cove in Solana Beach. This place is pretty small but is awesome and has a bit of unique charm to it. Came here one evening just looking to score some grub and grab a drink. They have a fairly substantial food menu and a nicely done craft beer menu. Ordered the Po Boy sandwich with some tater tots. The sandwich itself presented extremely well but the taste was just slight above average, kinda dry and not enough sauce I suppose… The tots and beer were absolutely awesome, not a single bad thing can be said about that. Pair the experience with some awesome service and this place deserves a solid 4 stars. I’ll definitely come back, just may try out another menu item for dinner.
Pros–
Menu
Beer
Selection
Service
Location
Ambiance
Quaintness
Proximity to Beach
Cons–
Food a bit dry
Limited seating
Limited parking

My first time here and I have to say I’m very impressed. Same owners as the Saddle. You can actually order food and they will hand deliver to the Saddle for you. I had the marinated steak tips and the steak was perfectly cooked. It was very tender and came with sautéed onions and mushrooms with some garlic bread. I like onions but I never eat them by themselves. Until now. These were so tender and delicious that I will be comparing future onions to Pillbox Tavern’s.
They had one of my favorite beers on tap, St Archer White. Also have a full bar and my favorite Saddle bartender BJ was there. It seems a few of the Saddle staff do double duty with Pillbox. Which I like. Nice to see a familiar face. Oh and they have SKINNY French fries!!! My favorite. Only one thing though they could have used a touch more salt. Another small thing too is that I am 5’5 and I had a hard time getting up and off the tall tables. I was wearing a skirt and it was a little awkward. And I didn’t even get a discount for the free show =)
In all seriousness though Pillbox Tavern will definitely become a part of my rotation.

Loving this Pillbox with their nice selection of craft beers, a White Rascal if you’re wondering, and their Baltimore wings rubbed with Old Bay seasoning served without a sauce.
My half dozen wings had a great, I mean great crispiness with just the right amount of Old Bay seasoning (
). Their flavor was a matter of fact Old Bay, and seriously now, the skins of the wings were perfect: with great color and that great fry that kept wanting me to return bite after bite (
). The meat inside was was tender and full of great flavor. The White Rascal I drank was refreshing, with a zesty after taste, and a great partner for this wings (
).
The young lady who served me was great, friendly, and kept tabs on my as my visit progressed. You can’t go wrong here with some craft beers and great wings…

After the races Friday afternoon, we went looking for a place to grab some drinks and food. Came across this place. Not the best of happy hour spots for food or drink, but since this place is fairly new we decided to try it. We sat at the window sill facing out to the street.
We ordered:
— fried pickles
— mahi mahi sandwich with tater tots
Both were tasty and good! The fried pickle spears tasted like the were covered in a dill seasoning, so good. The mahi mahi had a pineapple salsa on it that was perfect to! Would definitely come back to this place!

Anything but medicinal, the Pillbox is filled with great eats and a solid selection of craft beer. If you’re anywhere in the Solana Beach area, then the Pillbox is a must-​stop for you.
A short walk from both the beach and Cedros, in the direction of the beach, lies a little gem of a spot called The Pillbox. This is a great spot for eats before seeing a show or after a surf, after a trip to Culture or before rocking out at Saddle Bar next door.
We came the second night they were open and it was spot on. Busy, but not overwhelming, the staff was on it and the crowd was there for a good time.
We sat at the bar and ordered right from Ryan. Went will all apps vs. plates and were super stoked on the selection. The marinated steak tips were rad (eat with the bread for extra yum, sans bread if you’re paleo or something like that), fried pickles were plentiful and the queso fundido dip amazing. My favorite was the spicy buffalo chicken dip, which could be a meal in itself if you’re down… or more if you’re feeling like a fat kid.
Plenty of TV’s for watching games and a nice outdoor deck for people watching.
The Pillbox is going to be a regular stop in my rotation for lunch and beers after North County surf trips or meeting with friends living on the other side of the 52. Stoked!