Johnny B's is a spot in La Mesa to drink a beer, eat decent bar food and catch a game. Very casual surroundings. The service is good. Cali Creamer on tap as well as Stella Artois. The patty melt is by far my favorite. The burgers are good too. Recommend this place before bar hopping or after coming from drinking and wanting a bite to eat at a place you can sit down to relax. The place is a winner. I will be back. read more

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The food was alright, but they lacked customer service. It would be a 0 out of 5. I'm not sure if the owners of this place care about their quality of service, but they have to get their stuff together. Maybe they only cater to their regulars and ignore others. I was ignored. No refills. Didn't check on us. But other customers were getting attention and having long conversations with the waitress/waiter. But look, I'm paying money for your service. I'm not asking for a discount. I'm asking you to provide me with good food and good service. Get the basics down. That's it. Not going back again. This is the 2nd bad restaurant that I've gone on that same street. You're letting us down La Mesa. read more

I came here because I had a coupon and I love a good burger. I read some reviews before I came and people seemed to like it here. This isn't a fancy place that has grass fed beef or anything like that. This is a working man's type of place with burgers and beer. I'm giving them a solid 3.5 stars the service was good, the burgers are decent and the prices are okay. read more

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We were in the area and were craving burgers. This was the first place we saw and burgers was the first thing in the signage so we figured they would have a decent burger. Wow we're we wrong. The customer service was great but the burgers were horrible. The $12 burger was the same size as the kid burger, bun and patty. Patty was thin and flavorless. It doesn't even come with a side of fries. From the outside this is the kind of place you expect to pay $12 for a burger worth eating. Very disappointed. This place is not for food lovers. You can also tell that most of the 5 star reviews are fake and or added by the restaurant or a paid agency. Shameful read more

I had been here before and had such a great time. So I decided to bring some friends to check it out. Fuck..BIG MISTAKE..I don't know if all the employees were having a bad day or hate their jobs, but.. Took 3 steps in this place and was welcomed with rudeness. Robert was so enthusiastic. He gave us a good look and says, 'you're right.' Right, about what? I asked him if it was open an hour before close as the hours on the internet read.... and he said yes while some lady yells NO! in the background. (What?!) Never been to a place like that. They suck. At least let your rudeness ease into our visit. And the fact that Mary who's manager was there and didn't mind any of this, not okay. We also work the restaurant business and don't treat our guests so poorly. Then I realized they're family owned...of course they're going to be rude and not care. It was more of a dissapointment and embarrassment since I tried to hype up my friends for such a shitty place. read more

Located in Old Town La Mesa is Johnny B's. For a name like "Johnny B's", and what looks like a recent remodel, I was expecting a hip San Diego restaurant with a modern/hipster feel. Johnny Bs is a diner, that is about it. The outside looks nice, and so does the inside however once you get inside that is when you realize it is just a diner converted into a wanna be sports bar. There are borderline too many TV, yes I said too many, for how small the room is by the bar. When looked over the menus and the food all sounded good on paper (pun intended) and even though it seemed a little pricey we were willing to try it out. We each got a different style hamburger and we're just what ever about it. The buns were something that you can baseball or football game and nothing had much flavor (meat/bacon/dressings) and again it was a little pricey. Your burgers don't come with fries so you have to order those separately and again not really season with anything. With buying the fries separately and for the price I figured the would put a little Red Robin's seasoning on it or something. If you are hungry and want a quick bite to eat and you don't mind a lower quality burger for a higher price then this would be a good spot to go. I would come here to each a game or two because like I said they have a lot of TVs, but until they lower those prices or make better quality food, I will not be back to order food from them. read more

The bun was the best part of the hamburger. The patty was thin & tasteless. Servers were brusque. They do have an impressive list of cocktails and liqueur not that I tried any. read more

Went there on a Thursday night car show night. Very busy but no wait for a table. However long wait for service. Pandemic strikes again. Price is too high for a Costco burger. Nothing special at all about food just waited a long time to get it. 75 bucks for 2 burgers and 4 cocktails. Not in a rush to return. read more

I live just around the corner from here and have given this place more than a few chances. Prices are kinda high for the amount and quality of food given. Wait staff is slow and selectively rude, the food has little flavor and I can never taste the beef in my burger. You're better off going to Charlie's Burgers in Lemon Grove or Annie's in Santee.. how this place got 5 stars is beyond me. Won't be coming back.. read more

This place is so delish! Finally tried it out, I've been eying this place for years. Ordered a burger with bacon, and got a large order of fries to share with the hubby. Coke for me, beer for him. The place has a fun vibe to it. If you watch True Blood its like the Merlotte's of La Mesa, down to the server uniforms. Got my burger and is was so good and juicy and I have to say just about perfect. Comes with grilled onions and all of your toppings on the side so you decide to add them or not. Like I said before the burger was super juicy and full of flavor. I'll go as far as saying it's the best burger I've had. Down to the warmed crispy rimmed bun! The fries are good but could be better. In this circumstance the great burger makes up for the not perfect fries. All this paired with a cup of iced cola. My goodness it was heaven. Felt like I was somewhere else sitting at the bar section facing the outside street. Will definitley come back and if you become a regular make sure to get Johnny B's punch card, the 6th burger is free! read more

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One of my colleagues recommended this place and I've read some of my friends reviews so I decided to give it a try. Stopped by for a late lunch after finishing up work. They are located right on the street corner and there is street parking and metered parking. The inside of Johnny's B's is like that of a sports bar with several flat screens above the bar playing anything sports related. But there is a separate dining area for those who don't want to be in the bar area. The restaurant is very clean and tidy. I walked in and was greeted immediately by the bartender. The place only had a few other people, but again, it was mid afternoon on a weekday. The bartender showed me to a table and when I asked for an iced tea, he gave me a very disapproving look. He brought it to my table along with a menu because I was there primarily for lunch. The menu is pretty typical and I've heard their burgers are quite good, but a friend said the patty melt was the one to try. I started off with a wedge salad which really could be labeled half a head of lettuce instead of wedge. It is certainly big enough for two people. It comes with plenty of bacon bits and real chunks of blue cheese but there was sadly only a little bit of the blue cheese dressing. For half a head of lettuce, there really isn't enough of the blue cheese dressing. However, the salad does come with some other dressing on it that was quite unusual. I don't know if it was some kind of balsamic dressing but it was a bit too sweet for my liking. Overall, it was a good salad and if I ordered again, I would just ask for additional blue cheese. I did like the chunk blue cheese it came with. For my meal I went with my friends recommendation for "Lynne's Awesome Patty Melt". It's a burger patty on grilled rye bread, Swiss cheese and grilled onions. For a side I ordered the onion rings. A patty melt is not my usual choice when eating at a burger place but I was going off my friends recommendation. For me, there is only one place that has the best patty melt but it's up in Los Angeles. When they brought out the patty melt, it looked perfect with the cheese dripping from the sandwich and perfectly grilled rye bread. I bit in and I would say to the very last bite the sandwich was hot and fresh. The meat, bread and cheese were perfect. The grilled onions were good but a little too much. But overall, appropriately titled 'awesome'. I would absolutely order that again! They have yellow peppers on every table and for me, the perfect addition to the sandwich that was already delicious. The order of onion rings came in a basket and again, enough for two people. However, I only had two onion rings. They were average at best and taste like something they bought at the store. They really should rethink their onion rings and possibly make their own. If they do make them, they need a different batter. They weren't the worst onion rings I've ever had, but they were just so incredibly average it was taking away from the great experience I was having with the patty melt. Service here is questionable. As I mentioned above, the bartender seemed put out that I didn't order an alcoholic drink. And sadly, the iced tea I order came from the bar tap; in other words... instant which equals horrible! Hard to understand why places don't make fresh iced tea. It's so easy and cheap to make and infinitely better than instant. My server also gave just adequate service. It was almost as if I was a burden for her to have to wait on. She seemed entirely preoccupied with other personal things and waiting on tables was too much extra work for her,even there was only one other table seated while I was there. She seemed like the type if the place is very busy, she is great and on it, but when it's slow, it's a bother for her. She was certainly pleasant enough.... when she could get around to bringing my food. It may sound odd, but I suspect when the place is very busy they are more attentive. Still, no reason not to treat all customers the same. Last comment is for the owners; I couldn't finish all the food and I asked for a to-go container and they gave me styrofoam to-go containers. This is a huge NO in my book. Styrofoam is not recyclable here in San Diego County and I'm tired of filling up our landfills with this stuff that's never going to biodegrade. Say what you will, the fact is there are several companies in San Diego that make recyclable containers and I have personally priced it out. It would cost a business like this about 10 cents more per container and that's a price you could course pass along and no one would notice the difference or complain. And by the way, that 10 cents is a price I obtained by shopping on the internet. I'm sure as a business owner if you were to become a regular customer with the local company, you could probably get a better price. Bottom line, there are options available other than styrofoam. read more

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Food wasn't good and unexpectedly expensive, couple annoying fees tacked on, nachos should not be called nachos (soggy potato skins, blue cheese, dry chicken). Our waitress was nice read more

When you find some bomb ass burgers, you can't give anything BUT five stars. I was a little skeptical because it seemed like it was just going to be a typical ol' bar with meh bar food. To my surprise, it turned out to be one of the best burger spots in SD. They use generous amounts of meat in their patty and you taste the quality. They even tell you where the meat is from which I always think is awesome. It's simple like Rocky's except they take credit cards. Doesn't make too much of a difference to me. I also recommend getting their mozzarella sticks. They're piping hot when you get them and they have jalapenos mixed in with the cheese and batter. SO good. My new little secret is mixing sriracha with their ranch. BOMB.COM y'all! read more

Good service. Decent vibe. Came here in a Wednesday evening and it was about 50% capacity. Lemon pepper wings were good. 8/10. Very generous with their seasoning. Blue cheese burger was good too. They put a lot of blue cheese on there, but I so you can just a rape it off if it's too much for you. Onion rings are OK. JBs potato chips are also good, but our order contained maybe half that were not crunchy at all. I wouldn't go out of our way to come here, but it's good if you are close by and want a bite to eat. read more

029 / 100 - 2016 YELP 100 CHALLENGE. Went here for lunch yesterday with an old co-worker and had a pretty good time. There's a sign on the front that says only people 21+ are allowed into the restaurant, so please be aware that you aren't allowed to bring kids! There's a lot of room and seating in the restaurant so we didn't struggle to find anywhere to sit. As soon as I sat down one of the waitresses took our orders. I got the lunch special (about $9-10) which was a hamburger and fries. It also comes with a drink, but I wasn't interested in trying or having any so I just opted for water. My friend got the cheeseburger, fries, and a drink. The food took about 10-15min to appear, but when it did my friend's fries were cold. My food, on the other hand, was piping hot. Yikes! Our burgers were SUPER delicious, though, so that didn't matter as much. Fresh and juicy - yum! When my friend pointed out that her fries were cold, they were very quick to bring out a new batch. The only downside that I saw at Johnny B's was the service. When we got there the service was prompt and quick. As lunch wore on, we rarely saw any waiters or waitresses stop by our table, let alone the room we were in. Don't get me wrong, the people who work at Johnny B's are ridiculously friendly and polite, but it was hard to find one of them when we needed to order more, get out check, etc etc. Overall not a terrible experience for good grub. read more

Johnny B's - Burgers Near Me - La Mesa, California

I've been a long time customer per my previous review but I think I will stop patronizing this restaurant now. Service was never that great as you must grab your own menus, seat yourself, and hope someone will see or Flag them down or they'll pounce as soon as you sit and you haven't even looked at the menu, there is no in between here. Sometimes they are out of certain menu items so it's best to ask if they have it or not that day. While never cheap, especially if you do not come for lunchtime or some special day/time for a reduced amount that is not available on weekends, it has gotten much too expensive for what it is. 62 bucks, not including tip, for 2 cheeseburgers, 2 fries as fries come separate, 2 drinks, and a small app is ridiculous. You'd spend 50 top including tip not long ago and other burger restaurants are not this expensive. I will drive to Hodad's for a bigger better burger meal that is far cheaper yet better quality. Sad that this place has turned into this. read more

Okay, I'll give it 2 stars but I don't want to be that nice. I've had food here once and beer twice. The burgers are not great. The cheese was processed? Not into it. Your beer choices consist of one local beer? You have multiple Coors, Bud and Miller options but only have a pale ale from BP? They may have improved on it since I was last there but the damage was done. So, your name is burgers and beer, yet you don't do either very well. read more

This little gem on La Mesa Boulevard has grown over the years, and will soon be expanding again. Steak and Eggs for breakfast, Steak specials on Sunday and some of the best grub around. I chose "Cheesy Burger Fries" this time around and they were outstanding. A cheese burger and fries meal without the bun, all put together on a nice little basket. For good measure, we all shared some Buffalo Chicken Fries, smothered with buffalo sauce and bleu cheese crumbles. I was able to swap some of my fries for a taste of the patty melt and onion rings. All of the food was top notch and we were able to enjoy the game on three TV's in the patio area. There is plenty of indoor seating complete with TV's as well. They also offer a great selection of brews and other beverages. I would definitely rate Johnny B's an "A." read more

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We come at least once a week. Solid spot for a burger and beer. Matt always greets us warmly. We will continue coming back to try something different. Well occasionally. I like the burgers read more

Affordable burgers and beer! Try the bleu cheese burger! $3.50 imports and microbrews on Wednesdays. Another plus: No kids! You have to be 21+ read more

Burger is pretty good for the money but was surprised how many reviews pointing out the burger was supposedly amazing but was in fact very underwhelming. I prefer an In N Out burger to this place and Dukes Onion in La Mesa is also a much better burger IMO. Came a 2nd time and tried the patty melt to give it another shot, was also nothing to write home about. Giving 4 stars because the beer selection is good and location is good. read more

Pretty decent place. I got the southwest chicken sandwich and it was delicious. Prices are higher everywhere so I feel the prices are in line with the times. Wife had the chicken potato skins appetizer and they were good too. I know many places are struggling to staff so I believe the service was good. read more

Johnny B's never lets me down. This place is always on point. One of my favorite spots here in la Mesa. Walking distance from my house. Staff is always friendly. read more

Johnny B's - Goodness - Burgers Near Me - La Mesa, California

So glad they finally lifted the "no kids" restriction. Their breakfast is excellent and the expanded patio allows us to catch a game with the kids. read more

Just returned from Johnny B's for the umpteenth time. It's right down the street from me, so i usually just walk there (but I do stumble back). JB's is a cool little burger joint at the end of La Mesa Blvd, just down the street from a few LM bars (Pete's, Regal, Hoffers), across from the now defunct Gio's Wine Bar and a block from Moze Guitars. There are a couple of cool and unusual things about JB's. 1. The owner, Johnny B, is a laid back guy who can be found here or at one of the aforementioned-bars. 2. No kids are allowed (is this a restaurant or a bar? Yes!). 3. There's a little fire pit out back on the patio that's nice to sit around while you eat/drink/BS with friends. 4. They serve a mean steak and eggs for Sunday breakfast/brunch. Seating is fairly easy most of the time, though it can be tough on busy evenings; I've never waited too long, and there are seats at the bar where you can eat. The kitchen and waitstaff are easy going and proficient. They get the orders right and food out to you quickly. The burgers are nothing special. Though tasty, they're just 1/3 lb. patties on buns served in a basket with the toppings. Fries are extra and the selection of brew is limited but does the trick. This is a cool little no-nonsense place on La Mesa Blvd. that is dependably good. It's a place where you can have inexpensive burgers and beers with friends and watch the game. read more

Way overpriced for mediocre food. Seriously, it's not justified. The quality is lower than Denny's while charging high end prices. I won't be back. read more

It's a pretty juicy hamburger, food is somewhat good, not $30 good for 2 burgers, one French fry and two sodas. To bottom it off, 2 out of 3 grumpy wait staff. Johnny b's just fell to the lower end of my go to places. I'm actually pleased, as I'm pleased to go nd eat my way around. read more

We've been long time customers. I know prices everywhere are higher but $50 for 2 burgers and fries with 1 iced tea. Seemed to be plenty of people working there and not that many customers but service was terrible. Back to Longhorn Grill! read more

To see this restaurant at only 3.5 stars is just wrong. Johnny B's has some of the best pub and brunch food in la Mesa. Their staff is super friendly, the owner is there cooking and taking pride in his product, and the drinks are great. I personally liked it when it was 21 and up, but it's still great now that it is open to all ages. During covid, the haven't skipped a beat with the food and service quality. read more

Service: I had a great experience- the staff was very friendly and very helpful. They made sure I was satisfied and that I had what I needed. Food: I had their happy hour special - a bacon double cheeseburger and fried with a dr. Pepper. All in all, it came to $18.99. Their beef was locally sourced from a San Diego farm. The burger was very good. Some might read this and say " $19 for a burger and fries, no way!" - but I can tell you as an experienced burger eater, that knowingly going into a nice restaurant and getting a burger - it was extremely satisfying - and I would definitely come back. read more

Simply the best! We have been going to Johnny B's for over ten years. Always made a point to stop when we were visiting San Diego. Now we are "locals" so go almost every weekend. What's the secret? Great burgers and sandwiches. You can get a burger "medium rare" - sensational. No attitude like some of the SD popular spots of "we can only cook it medium or well." Great fries. Service? Terrific. Lynne and Chad are kind and friendly. Great attitudes. Always willing to change one of the TVs to whatever sports we are interested in. ....and buy five burgers - get one free - how cool is that? ....yes - lots of beer choices - however the "house wine" is perfecto with the burger. Not in a burger mood? Have the South West Chicken Sandwich - with Ortega chili. Trust me - it's worth the trip to La Mesa. Say hi to Lynne and Chad. read more

Johnny B's - The chefs! - Burgers Near Me - La Mesa, California

We were regular costumer at J B's before the pandemic, and soon we felt ok to go back, we did. Sad to say it was not the same place any more. We use to order their famous patty melt on rye bread with a generous amount of grilled onion. Not only the burger size is about half the size as it use to be, but also the onion and cheese too. also our side order of onion ring that we loved, cooked to perfection is gone by-by. Instead, we got the so called onion ring with practically no onion in the fried batter It was terrible. In my estimation, being a cook myself, they use the cheapest frozen onion ring they can possibly get and fried them until it was so hard, that you could not enjoy it. I am not blaming the cook, he is great. the other thing that's new in their business practice is that they don't list prices on any of their beer drinks. the reason was ,that the price of beer changes every day so they have no way of creating a new menu every day. Ha ha. their menu is laminated, what means it could be wiped off if you use a pen, so the costumers don't have to ask the prices every time they would like to have a drink, and getting the annoyed look of the waiter, manager etc. I don't know if it changed owners or just try to make up the income they lost during the pandemic. You are doing it the wrong way. We and our friends are not eager to go back anytime soon. read more

Adults-only bar, In-'n-Out-quality burgers and fries. Some outdoor seating. Service outdoors not quite right based on two tries, but acceptable. I need to try more of the menu and revisit this. Try the Farmer's Market on a Friday afternoon and it's right there. read more

First time back today in 2 yrs, and happy to say it's back to the Johnny bs I loved for a burger and beer

THANK YOU to the owner for handling a situation today and making it right, we were so impressed at the time he took to take care of us and making our Valentines lunch a wonderful experience!!! Really good person and definately knows how to treat customers and make them feel special! Thank you again so much!!! read more

Came here after drinking at winery nearby. I had the KC pig wings, which were delicious, and it was the perfect amount of meat, wasn't too little, and didn't come out filling full. The fries were cooked to perfection, and I had some help from my company, so the portion was definitely heaping. My friend got a burger, but it didn't come with fries, so I'm assuming their burgers don't come with fries? We came a little before happy hour, and our server was very nice and placed brought out my drink, but didn't put it in until after happy hour started so I would still get the happy hour price. Definitely a nice little burger place where you can watch sports and drink away your day and eat a burger, just remember to order fries with that. read more

Damn I just ate here and already craving it again! 4 of us went to dinner here tonight and it was that good that I had to yelp about it right away lol. I got the patty melt on sourdough and it was phenomenal .. I can't say enough good things about it. My husband and brother in law got the cheeseburger and thought it was awesome. My cousin got the burger fries and a chicken salad. He thought they both were really good but the fries were amazing. We will be back soon ! Service was great too! read more

Always great. East county's best burger joint. Love the onion rings and BBQ burger. Since it's located in downtown La Mesa, I always have fun walking around looking at the different shops. It's a nice way to work off the burger and fries. read more

Johnny B's - Yummy!!! - Burgers Near Me - La Mesa, California

I was thoroughly disappointed, I was recommended this place by a friend. So had a little higher expectations then what we received. Service absolutely sucked and food was a little less than average, they were nice but not at all attentive. Never refilled our drinks, empty glasses for almost an hour. My wife and I came on a Saturday, it was around 12:45, and was seated immediately since it was seat yourself, no hostess. We didn't even get noticed until a little after 1 pm and then they took our drink order. 20 minutes later they came and took our food order. It wasn't until 2:30 the food came, so just over an hour to get some pretty mediocre food. The appetizer came with the meal. Which isn't right, it should always come before a meal. We ordered the Chicken Potatoe Skins (which were pretty good). My order wasn't correct, I ordered the western-style burger and ended up getting a bacon cheeseburger, but my wife's order was correct. Then when trying to leave they gave us the wrong check. I am probably never going to come back to this place, there is a ton of better burger places nearby. This is a note for Johnny B. I was a line cook for over 8 years and your main cook is your weak link. This is what I noticed as I waited. Bad attitude from the Line cook. We sat right next to the grill area, the table closest to the outdoor patio. Every time a table left because of the wait, they would talk to the wait staff before walking out. I say this because it was more than one table that walked out. The wait staff would talk to the Line cook doing the burgers, and all he would say was "Its not my problem, it's theirs". This caused a chain reaction that ended up causing the wait staff to be flustered and didn't know how to get re-oriented and ended up confused. This left a lot of people unattended and pretty peeved. He didn't know how to prioritize food orders, and would forget what he was doing. You also need to update or set up your ticket system better, appetizers need to come out first. However, this could have been from the cook with a bad attitude, not really caring about what he was doing. Just collecting a paycheck. read more

Food is quite good. BUT, no gluten free buns. They aren't hard to find. So, if you don't have gluten allergies, or celiac then you are ok.