Awesome night at Johnny B's! Mary the bartender to Matthew the busser...just amazing service! Shout out to Jess for just being her amazing self! We just love Austin, he has an amazing personality and always so happy to see his customers! Love this place ...please give this place a try! Amazing! read more

NEVER AGAIN! DONT BOTHER!!!Service was very slow in fact the man who took our order didn't put the ticket in. After waiting a while another waitress noticed we had not received our order and had a rush put in. For our meal but still pretty slow. The man didn't have the decentcy to apologized. Food was very basic. Better value at Burger King or Jack in the box. read more

Service was good, my waiter was friendly. Burger & fries were good but nothing to write home about... however it is a bar and all I got was the water so I'm sure that is a huge missing piece to my experience. read more

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

Long, long, long wait for food. We are talking over an hour! Everyone was working hard but only thing being served was alcohol. Why seat people if you can't feed them . They should have told us it was a wait for food. read more

I am so glad that we came here for lunch! During the pandemic and when restaurants are not allowed to do indoor dining, it was great to support a local spot. I had a veggie burger and it was great and the fries were plentiful. All servers were extremely friendly as well. We sat on the back patio which was previously parking spots and it was fully shaded. There was a nice breeze so it was a perfect afternoon for a lunch date with the hubby! We will return! read more

my husband and I have been coming here for years. I always order the patty melt and it's always been so delicious until today today it was totally disgusting and made me sick. I will never frequent this place ever again. read more

We went here by accident. However, it was amazing! We went on a Friday night around 7 pm and the place was packed. There was a group of four and we sat our selves when ever a table opened up. It was a bit awkward to stare at people while they are but it was only for about 5 min. There seemed to only be 3 waiters/ waitresses working so service was a bit slow, but a silver lining more conversation time. We all enjoyed our burgers the bacon is on point. I got the bbq chicken sandwich with bacon 5 stars the burger bacon bbq one 5 stars the chile burger chicken 5 stars as well as the BLT. The beer batter onion rings soo yummy. The buffalo fries were 2 stars too much blue cheese it was a bit overwhelming. I would def go again and just get plain fries. Definitely the best chicken bacon bbq sandwich I have ever had. read more

Johnny B's - Hickory bacon BBQ sandwich the best5***** - Burgers Near Me - La Mesa, California

I'm so glad that this place is still open during COVID. We tried Brunch out and it was nice. Good proportions but wish combo plates were available. Cocktails are a good price and tasty. Back patio is nice. read more

Best. Burger. In. Town. simple, straightforward, delicious. i don't even eat burgers, yet I find myself here once every month or two. and they'll actually cook it RARE. read more

I love the server who works here with the pink hair. Her names Alex. You did the right thing by hiring her

I was shocked (and super bummed) to walk in last night and find kids in here.. sorry but I don't enjoy listening to iPads and parents talking to their 5 year old about going pee pee in the potty and counting to 10.. I have 3 kids of my own and thought my husband and I could getaway from all that and enjoy a cold beer and burger on a Friday night. Every time we go out for date night it never fails we always get seated next to families (must be stamped somewhere on our foreheads that it's ok ). Johnny Bs was a sanctuary to us- where we could go and enjoy some bar food and drinks without being reminded of the legos and toys we would soon have to stumble over when we got home. Next time we will have to rethink our choice destination and perhaps opt for a lunch date when everyone's kids are hopefully in school. read more

Ah, this is my "Cheers". Everybody knows your name...I'm comfortable here every time I come...friendly faces...no one under 21 allowed, which is a nice option when you just want to be around adults :) I love you Johnny B's! Burgers are excellent. Steak dinners on Sundays excellent. My only request is breakfast all day, every day, not just Sunday morn, because we need that in La Mesa! The servers here are awesome - they're my favorite part of coming by. Truly great people. No where else do I love the staff so much. Keep on keepin' on! read more

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

I live in la mesa and have come here a few times, today I came in for lunch, a few new people..the person that stood out, was a new server named Dawn, she is by far one of the best people working in this industry. Multi tasking, wonderful personality, funny, the entire package. I wish I could scoop her up to work for me.. hands down best service I have had in a long time. And with everyone being short staffed, you couldn't tell with her, it was like she split herself into 3 employees. EXCEPTIONAL service. Im coming back and hope she keeps the same schedule. read more

If you visit the quaint downtown area of La Mesa, you must visit this gem! Johnny B's is a traditional, American restaurant with a whole lotta love in their food. If you are Vegan or Vegetarian, this isn't the place for you. If, however, you crave a down home breakfast like country fried steak and eggs or biscuits and gravy, stop by on the weekend. Their homemade gravy is to die for. Get it on top of anything.....or everything! And who can resist a well made bloody mary! Not me! The vibe of this place is casual and comfortable. The clientele makes it easy for women to feel comfortable and has a homey feel. Johnny is humble and hospitable. He is there 7 days a week so when you visit, please tell him that I (Karen) will be back soon. read more

Habanero jelly glazed wings out of this world ! Best in San Diego hands down !!! Such an awesome local spot to watch football too! We will be back for sure :) read more

I came here with my dad for lunch. It seemed closed from the outside, maybe that is due to the tint on the window. I loved the lunch special, can't beat that price nowadays. The food is cooked well and served promptly with servers making sure that you have everything. Only 21+ people are allowed here, be ready to show ID's. This place has a great selection of beers and would be the place to be when there is a game. Return in the future? I think so. read more

Johnny B's - Appetizer-Chicken Strips, Lettuce, Celery, BBQ Sauce. - Burgers Near Me - La Mesa, California

Food is good and service is very promt and friendly. Also one of the few places open during covid. They have outside seating in front and back of restaurant. Good drinks from their bar also. read more

Stop going a few years back due to the 21+ policy. That changed and kids are welcome now. Good beers on tap lots of TVs. Pretty good burger and fries. read more

Although we are long time east county residents, this is the first time we've gone to Johnny B's. The food was exceptional! I order a "cheese burger" and was more than satisfied with what I got. It comes as 2 pieces of bun, and a burger (with or without cheese) - you get to put whatever you want on it. I added everything, and it was quite tasty. As we went at early lunch, the place was crowded with locals, and i greatly appreciated the ambiance. i didn't like the 7 tv's going on, but all were on sports channels, so I wasn't really paying attention anyway. Definitely not a bar hang-out for my husband and I, but fabulous food, lunch under $25, and a big box of leftovers all promise we WILL visit again. The onion rings are miracles. I ordered a side of ranch $.50 and though they are delicious enough without it, the ranch brought it up a notch. and such large portions! Its one of those guilty pleasure places that i just discovered. shame. have lived in la mesa 25 years, and only got to this treasure now. happy birthday, honey! you certainly picked wonderful awesome restaurant to enjoy. let's go back before next year! read more

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

I love Johnny B's. Every time we go there this food is freshly cooked, hot and very enjoyable.

Food was average. Our waitress had a little bit of an attitude while giving us our check. She told us that we had to pay for another meal. Really !!! $70.89 for 3 burgers and drinks, you should probably lower your prices. read more

I've been living in La Mesa for about 10 years and I don't know how I have never heard of this place!! Such a cool little spot with great food and friendly service! It's the perfect sports bar if you want to watch a game and enjoy a good burger. Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of their burgers, but I LOVE their wings and wedge salad! I was also happy to see that they are reasonably priced. Pretty much everything on the menu was $10 bucks or less. They also have a really good craft beer selection! Not to mention, we came in on a Sunday afternoon and were seated right away. read more

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Love this gem in La Mesa! New to the La Mesa area I have explored the many businesses on La Mesa Blvd and Johnny B'a does not disappoint. I am welcomed as I walk in with friendliness and prompt service. The atmosphere is chill and I can appreciate a place where the locals trust/go. The bartender Mary is prompt with drink orders as she serves with a smile. The food is no frills, down home cooking and comes out fast/hot. As a Latina, I love me some tacos, but will opt for a Johnny B's burger as they are juicy and delish! I also like their salads for a healthier option. I love supporting locally owned businesses and often suggest Johnny B's to family and friends! A must stop period!!! read more

I was at this place on Wednesday afternoon, but my experience is not the best, food so good nothing to said abounded, but the service, horrible, the waitress only took the order that she was hurrying us to order and we never saw her, my husband, he have to go ask for the bill inside, because the lady was sitting, I hope the management pays more attention to these details, because the customer comes first. read more

The boyfriend and I were looking for a near by burger place on this dreadful hot day. Ended up here and we are glad we did. Ordered the jalapeño mozzarella cheese sticks and the spicy wings as starters. Perfect choices! Since I am pescatarian, I got the veggie burger. It did not disappoint. The patty was delicious and surprisingly not dry for a veggie patty. The bf got the hickory smoke burger, he said it was juicy, delicious, and moist. Awesome service:) will come again. ages 21 and over only read more

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

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I have been coming to Johnny B's since the 90's and have introduced many people to Johnny B's in the past. It was recently upgraded in the last couple of years including expanding the restaurant. I'm not sure what else changed but I will no longer repeat my business here. The burgers are lousy now. There is absolutely nothing special anymore about their cheeseburger. Two bland burgers, share fries, 1 coke and 1 beer = $47.00 For a fraction of the price and twice the flavor and quality go get your burger and fries at Smash Burger or 5 guys. read more

I'm not sure what this place is trying to be. If it's a sports bar, the layout sucks. If it's a restaurant, the food should be better and it shouldn't be 21 and over. It gets relatively busy, which is good for them but I'm confused why someone would willingly eat here when there food options literally in every direction that are better. To each their own! I do like the tiny little patio seating on a sunny day though. read more

Food was cold Lauren our server was not as friendly and over charged us. I tried to get a hold of her but was too busy talking. Never coming here again. read more

Great food, Strong Drinks very engaging and polite employees. Customer service is superb. Menu is extensive but not overloaded. Daily specials and the food is very fresh and well prepared. Prices are very reasonable and is located in Downtown La Mesa. What more could you ask for? read more

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

Excellent burger and the steak fries (crispy) are great! Good value.

I ordered the Bacon BBQ burger. The burger was dry and so overcooked it crunched. The bacon was also very dry and cold as if if was several hours old. I seemed to wait much longer than I though necessary to get a burger and the place wasn't that crowded. My partner ordered the vegi-burger and was pleased. I felt the prices were very high and did not reflect the quality of the place or the food. read more

They've got great food. They've got a great ambiance. They're wheelchair accessible. Love the elevated tables (they also have non-elevated tables). Love their burgers. Kind staff. I love sitting outside at the sidewalk, eating great food and people watching. **miss their sweet potato fries , been too long. Sigh** read more

On the menus it says "45 - 60 min wait for food" which is fine since they warn you about a wait, but you would think the customer service would be better considering we are waiting an abnormally long time for our food. We have given this place 3 chances! 2 times too many! I work two buildings down and still got back late from lunch. The waitress was extremely cold and rude and never once came to check on our drinks... we had to get up and walk to the bar to get a refill. We tried to be pleasant and continued to say thank you and smile at the waitress and still was very rude. NEVER AGAIN! IF YOU WANT GOOD SERVICE GO ANYWHERE ELSE! read more

Whoo-hoo! We finally got back here after not going for years and all because of the stellar Yelp reviews! Also because it was our son's birthday and we gave him a choice of where to go. Like I told the waitress, we didn't make it back for a long time because we usually had our underage daughter with us and we couldn't go into a bar with her. The food was as good as I remembered. Son and I got cheeseburgers, which were juicy and huge with lots of fresh veggies on the side. Husband got a chicken sandwich which he said was excellent! They both got fries which were way more than we could eat and I got the poppers ($4.50) which were good sized and well made. Son even got a free birthday beer! The tab was under $40 for 3 sandwiches, 2 fries, poppers, and 3 paid beers. The place was very busy and full but we waited no time for our waitress to come by and only 15 minutes or so for the food. I was expecting much longer based on previous reviews. Our waitress, Frieda, couldn't have been nicer, friendlier or more attentive so we left a good tip. I'm wondering if maybe they are reading the Yelp reviews and making sure they have enough staff to cover the Friday night crowd now? Everyone around us looked very happy, too. Now we have our Frequent Burger cards so we will be motivated to go back and get them stamped again. read more

Burgers: check. Beer: check. Atmosphere: check. Class: check. Did you just finish putting a lift on your truck and don't feel like getting dolled up to take your lady out? Was your day of delivering lumber a little too long and you need to unwind in-uniform? Like sitting amongst real people who talk a little louder, drink a little taller and enjoy a good crowd like you? This is that kind of restaurant. Don't look to Johnny B's for fine dining, because that it ain't. There are about a dozen reasons to go there, most of which revolve around a need for big tasting food (burgers, fries, onion rings), a completely blue-collar kind of class, a reasonable selection of beer, local flavor and a comfortably low-impact dining experience. The reviewers who panned Johnny B's for being low-tech and not having a credit card machine are missing the point - this place is a low-tech kind'a joint. That's something you should be impressed by, not ding them for - how hard is it to keep things simple nowadays? As far as Henry's rumor goes, losing Johnny B's would be one more nail in the charm casket that's eating away at La Mesa's potentially interesting downtown heart. Fire that turd of a mayor first, and bring in more joints like Johnny B's (and bring back the burrito place that just folded). This is a cornerstone of La Mesa's potential funkiness that must be tried by everyone who claims to be real, honest or to enjoy a little something simple. read more

I walked in at 8:30 pm to have a nice dinner. As the place has expanded, I passed many employees to the booth in the second room- many waitresses saw me and did not smile or even suggest to seat me. Finally Rob came and asked what I wanted and I ordered a beer. When he came back with my beer I asked for a menu in which he snottily retorted that the grill was closed- I said "oh, had you have told me that beforehand- I would not have ordered this beer." I left to find another restaurant with more accommodating hours. Since I didn't touch my beer, I felt no concern with paying for it. Honestly they lacked communication in informing me that food was no longer being served, I probably should have looked on the window for business hours but didn't think to because there were still many customers inside. Rob chased after me asking if I was going to pay for my beer. I told him I had no intention to since I came for a dinner and he should have told me the only they were serving was alcohol. He began yelling that I was a fucking bitch and I turned my back and continued walking. While this review says nothing of the quality of food that in my experience has always been great, I might suggest a review of Rob's performance and educate him on better ways he may handle this situation instead of immaturely resorting to name calling. read more

I must admit that I had high expectations because I read that this was one of the best places in SD for burgers. What a disappointment! I have NO idea why they have gotten good ratings. The burgers are mediocre. I was expecting a thick, juicy Angus patty and they served a small, flat overcooked flaccid piece of meat. For a burger joint, the staff should be asking you how you like your meat cooked. They don't, you get what you get.I asked for medium rare and they don't know what that means. Imo, for a burger joint to be high on my list, in addition to high quality meat, size (at least a 6 oz patty) a burger should be served on a quality bun with proper accouterments, meaning fresh lettuce, dill pickles, fresh tomatoes etc etc etc....... Apathetic service...they only good part was the homemade potato chips which are warm and delicious combined with the cocktails. The bartender sure knows how to mix 'em! I guess if you get drunk enough you'll forget that the burgers suck! read more

I was originally introduced to this place by a friend who works on the same street. Ever since my initial visit, it seems as if this place only gets better and better. The environment is very calm and relaxing whether you choose to sit at the bar or the tables. I usually stop in with a friend for a half pound Bleu Cheese Burger and an IPA or New Castle on tap. I do add bacon, and would have given this place 5 stars, but the bacon quality definitely lacks. The strips are somewhat thin and usually overcooked. The waitress usually knows which beers go well with each of the menu items so don't feel shy. The waitresses usually suggest their favorite burgers, and I must say, they never really disappoint me. Recently I came in with a friend and daringly tried a new menu item... The Patty Melt. It was sooooo damn good. I have no idea why I don't try new menu items more often but I am down to give something new a spin every time I stop by. Another cool thing is the Burger Bonus card. 5 burgers purchased gets you a 6th free. They keep track on small card that you can get when you visit. Definitely a good burger spot if you are looking for something new in the area. read more

Good Burgers, fries and rings. I have always gone on Fridays around 5 pm and never had any problems with service. A couple of cool things about this place they have a burger card so after you get 5 burgers you get one free. Also every year they have a customer appreciation day were they slow roast a bunch of pork and give out free sandwiches to the customers. On the same day they also discount their prices on there normal items . Check it out. Its a cool old school place to get a good burger and watch some sports. read more

After reading the reviews on this place I decided to go check out the Raider/Chargers game (9/28/08) here. First thing I noticed when I got there is one, it's very small and two, it's not diverse at all! This is definitely a "local's spot, and it seems like that locals consist of Hicks and Lesbians (not cute ones either). Since I was starving I ordered a "hickory bbq burger" & fries. The burger was actually good, the fries are similar to what you find in the freezer section of your local grocery store. After finishing my food, I pulled out my debit card to pay for the check. The waiter "sorry, only cash." Then pointed me to something they call an "ATM" machine, believe me you've never seen one that looks like this. The problem is it DOESN'T dispense cash, you swipe your card, put in your amount, then it gives you a receipt, and then you turn that in, and the waiter then gives you cash.. You're probably reading this like what!? Exactly, that's how I felt when the waiter was explaining this to me, bottom-line BRING CASH if you plan on eating/drinking here. I give this place 2 stars, one because the burger was good, and two because the place was clean, and had TV's everywhere to view the game. read more