Love Mainstream!!! BOGO appetizers for happy hour are amazing!!!!! Manny and Robbie at the bar are phenomenal !! Great Food and drinks.... The live music keeps us coming back every week!!! I however think it's bizarre they charge their musicians full price?!?!?.... It was dead this last Sunday.... And the band had a full bar tab.... How much could a couple beers cost to keep good times going??!! I can tell you... cause i saw the band pay full price??? Lame... no, I'm not a musician... but I really enjoy them here and want it to continue.. read more

My boyfriend and I made our way up to Poway on an NFL night just because we were in the area. We found this bar to check out. It's located in the corner next to T-Mobile in the Poway Plaza on Poway Rd in Poway. There's an open parking lot with ample stalls for customers in the plaza. There was live music when we arrived at around 5pm and apparently really good happy hour of the light bites (peep at menu)! It was BOGO free appetizers from 3-7pm from Sun-Thurs and 3-6pm from Fri-Sat - CRAZY! I've never been to somewhere with that option during peak dinner hours! My boyfriend and I ordered their Surf & Turf Quesadilla and their Crab Cake. The quesadilla was quite good. There wasn't much shrimp but a lot of carne asada which was very tender. There was also a cheese pull! The pico de gallo that came with the quesadilla really impressed my boyfriend that he asked for extra. It was really good LOL nice kick to it as well. The crab cake was not the best at all. The initial bute with the sauce and coleslaw was good! But the following bites were meh. There didn't seem to be any good crab... and the flavor was really meh. We didn't expect the crab cake to have a sauce, so we ended up eating that first and then took half our quesadilla home as it was a lot of food. My boyfriend and I ordered two rounds of Stella Artois, and I thought the beers both times weren't that great. The two rounds didn't have the nice malt sweetness. I did not like the drink at all unfortunately. Overall, that BOGO free appetizer and live music really sold us. The prices of the appetizers were also very good. We'd probably get another drink and appetizer if we're ever here again. Thankfully the appetizer/light bites list was extensive and had a lot to choose from! read more

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Waitresses are on their game. I come for breakfast. Good place to watch your game of choice. Lots of TVs in the bar area. Have plenty of sit down booths and tables away from the bar. Good for families and TVs are scattered throughout the restaurant area. Biscuits and gravy is tasty and the portion is large. Get 2 for $11 and take one home for tomorrow. Full bar available. Opens daily at 7am. Spicy Bloody Mary is on point. I have read other reviews saying the food is bland. I disagree - this is standard breakfast fare that will appeal to any palate. All the condiments to spice it up are right there for you to do you. Plenty of parking. Hike Poway and then come here. read more

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My girlfriend and I wanted to check out a sports in the Poway area since we were up north and a football game was on. I would love to come back, but it is a far drive for me. The quesadilla was crazy good and probably had the best pico de gallo. It had a kick which made everything so good. The crab cakes were not bad but not anything special. I would have given this place a 5 star, but the bartender seemed to be doing the work of 2 bartenders. So very great job from him but seemed understaffed. read more

Mainstream Bar and Grill - Bars Near Me - Poway, California

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What a nice little restaurant. Nothing jaw dropping but good food and kind waitresses. This is in the parking lot of the strip mall. This Saturday early afternoon it seat yourself and we grabbed a booth. Quickly we're given waters and our menus. Waitress took a bit to come by to get our order but seemed like she was in charge of all the tables on our side of the restaurant. I got the mainstream breakfast over easy eggs sausage links hash browns and a side pancake. She got biscuits and gravy with o Brien potatoes. Food didn't take too long to make and it was good! Food is a little more bland than other breakfast spots I have been to, but that is fine since I can season to my liking and others may not be a fan or overly seasoned food. Everything was cooked perfectly and their butter was soft and delightful on my pancake. When we got our bill she did accidentally comp the biscuit meal which turned out to be an accident. We asked her to make the correction to include it because that's only right and it came out under 30$ which is not bad at all as we recently tried a burger place and it was $35 for two burger meals. Not bad spot I'd love to come and try their lunch and dinner menus read more

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The truth is it is a nice dive bar. The bands are usually decent. The service is fast and bartenders are nice. The only problem is the food, I ordered bunch of stuff and everything was super gross. I wish they had better food read more

This is what they send you when you order corned beef hash. I can't make this up. There are lots of actually good to great places to eat nearby. No reason whatsoever to roll the dice here at all. I forgot to mention the homeless guy that smells like pee so much they open all the doors and windows dispite how cold it is outside. Yes, everyone gets so cold they don their jackets. Always fun to eat on a heavy jacket. Inside. read more

Mainstream Bar and Grill - Delivery corned beef. Not like what I see served in house. - Bars Near Me - Poway, California

Today I met a friend at Mainstream for breakfast. Sophie was our server and she was absolutely amazing, A bright ray of sunshine who provided excellent service! I was thrilled to find out that we could order lunch at breakfast. Each of us had a chicken sandwich, one with a side salad (generously sized) and the other with fries (just the right amount of crispy and seasoned). Everything was fresh and tasty and Sophie took excellent care of us. We will definitely be back!!! read more

I hosted an event for my MeetUp's Fun Diego Ladies group. We came here last Saturday for The Groove's 80s Dance Party and had an incredible time! The band was excellent and was very fun and engaging! When the band took their breaks, we played pool. There were 2 pool tables nicely spaced apart and we had a great time! The venue is spacious. There's a private dining room, bar area, and outdoor seating. It's a great location for hosting large parties! The menu offers a large selection of typical bar food: sliders, chicken tenders, fried calamari , and other appetizers, as well healthy dinner options. The food was ok, but the service was outstanding! I look forward to checking out this place again soon and have already made a reservation for my Halloween party here! A big shout out to bartender Eric and waitress Rebecca for their extra friendly service! read more

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Western scramble was perfectly even with egg to ingredient ratio. Probably more than I needed. Staff was super welcoming. Traveling, I'm always looking for welcoming environments. I'll return before I leave SD. read more

Mainstream Bar and Grill - Scramble Western Mainstream Breakfast - Bars Near Me - Poway, California

Went to meet friends for dinner Friday December 12,2025 at 3.pm our server Kylee was friendly,food was very good as usual but the service was not up to par and a big group came in and was very noisy we could not even hear our friends talking at the table. I ordered meatloaf and asked for double mashed potatoes instead of vegetables our server brought double meatloaf no potatoes then came back with a separate dish of mashed potatoes every one at the table got their meal and I had to wait for them to make my meal, they did comp my meal but all in all it was not a great experience like all the other times we have been there. read more

fun spot, good food and service! love coming here for football. Laura is an awesome bartender!!

Great food for Happy Hour, the band, Blue Suede Crew was off the charts, hope they get asked back to play there again. Great servers, and bartenders. Great customer service, friendly. The restaurant & bathroom were clean. read more

I don't know why it took us so long to try Mainstream but it was great. We went on a Saturday evening for dinner with the family. It's split into a restaurant side and a bar side. The bar side was pretty happening and there was a live band that started at 7pm. We sat on the restaurant side because we had the kids with us but we were told that kids can sit on the bar side, just not at the actual bar. Chelsea was our server and she was outstanding! All of the food was great. The parmesan fries are VERY parmesan! We'll definitely be back and want to try out karaoke Thursdays! read more

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It's been a while since I've reviewed Mainstream. Not much has changed in terms of the menu in the (gasp) either years since my initial review. And I'd say that's a good thing. What has changed is the dining room. There is now a remodeled dining room that sits apart from the bar. The dining room looks great, with new furniture and murals covering the walls. Overall, it's more inviting place to eat and have a relaxed conversation than the combo bar/diner that preceded it. The service continues to be friendly and casual. There are not too many places left in the area that have a genuine diner vibe, and I'm glad this still exists. read more

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Food was not that great for breakfast. I was highly disappointed to get a few thin deli slices of corned beef meat that was $7. The most disappointing thing was the fact that I ordered "corned beef hash" So i was expecting at least the canned corned beef hash....not a few slices of meat. Then my friend ordered the avocado toast but it only had a tiny bit slices of avocado. They were really skimpy with the avocado. Might as well call it lettuce toast, not avocado. Then we asked for a side of avocado and ended up getting a 1/4 Of an avocado and not even 1/2 of it. It was comical. The inside was nice. But other than that, the Cooks need to be trained. We won't be coming back. read more

Good food. Large enough portions to share. Great service. Great value. Live entertainment.

Amazing little Bar and resturant in Poway Califonia. Friendly staff . Went to see mine and my sisters favorite band Natural Selection. We had a Amazing waitress. Britaney. Thank you Good food good bands. I been here a few times and I be back. It's has Amazing At most fear. Yes I recommend them. Good place to have groups or just to meet friends. Even if you do not drink would be a good place to go. Thank you staff and owners for making this a nice place to visit read more

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We had over 25 people for rehearsal dinner and Liz was our waitress, she was amazing! Bryan was the manager amazing! Brain helped us come together with a plan to make things as low as possible and everything went smooth, everybody was stuffed. All different kinds of foods. It was a breath of fresh air, the food was good and it was hot. It was the perfect environment we didn't feel we were in other guests way. It was a weekday and we had the back room with two long tables. As the food dishes were coming out, Liz even suggested we could set them on the back bar (it wasn't being used) so our party could go up through a line, fill their plates sat back down. It was perfect!! Liz kept the food coming as she'd noticed some items were getting low and she'd get with us. It went very well. read more

I recently had my 40-year reunion here. My classmates took a year to plan it at this bar. Well, on the day of the reunion, you would have thought 150 unexpected people just randomly showed up. They were so not prepared for us. At times, it took almost 30 minutes to get a drink. And food? Forget that. They wouldn't even serve us outside, which is where they had us set up. And note to Mainstream...if you are going to have outside events, please invest in better tarps. The rain blew right through them and it wasn't raining very hard. At some point, I caught the eye of one of the male bartenders, and he always made sure I was served quickly. I had to get others' drinks because apparently I had a fast pass. That was nice. But there was a female.bartender who seemed to make a point of being nasty. And she had just arrived. She didn't even bear the brunt of how busy it had been. I do appreciate that mainstream let is.have pur epic 40th here. Would like to maybe try them again when it's less hectic. read more

I went last Saturday to eat with my daughter. I ordered buffalo wings with Mozzarella sticks. My daughter ordered a sandwich. The food was awful, chicken tasted old and super dry. The sandwich smell super weird -!: mozzarella stick were giant. I've been in there before but it's been a while that the food is not the best. Unfortunately not going back. But read more

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Took the family to run a few errands in Poway today. By chance we stopped by this delightful little spot. The menu was great, but the food was even better. The restaurant was clean and inviting. The service was excellent! I live about 25 minutes from this real find, but definitely will be going back. Such good food! read more

My family and I had an absolutely forgettable experience Mainstream Bar and Grill. This is the kind of place that use the ingredients to make every dish on the menu. We came here to celebrate my 80 year-old parents' wedding anniversary. My mother called ahead of time to make sure that two tables could be joined to accommodate our party. She was told we could. However, when we arrived, we were told we would have to sit on high barstools in order to accommodate the seven of us. My dad almost fell twice. To be honest, I'm not even sure why I'm giving this place three stars. I guess I'm just glad my dad didn't lose his life here. read more

Good drinks and finger foods. A bit loud but still a good place, the bartenders are nice.

For any reason, don't leave your drink unattended at this place! The servers take your unfinished drinks so that you need to keep ordering replacement drinks. When you confront the server or bartender about this practice, they contend that either: (1) your glass was empty, (2) there was only ice left in your glass, or (3) some other lame excuse. They Do Not offer to replace the unfinished drink that they took. This seems to be a scheme to run-up your tab unnecessarily. This practice is particularly frustrating when you need to go to the restroom or even when you would like to dance to a song that the band is playing. This is why you'll notice that many customers take their drinks with them to the dancefloor! read more

It had been a while since we visited and thoughts, wow, it's expanded, maybe it's better. WRONG. A Cobb salad with ONE blue cheese crumble, the equivalent of half of a hard-boiled egg, negative bacon, four tomato chunks...no. our waitress brought me a plate of everything missing, but I shouldn't have to ask. It got worse. The Philly Cheesesteak was more of a Philly cheese,no steak. My friend ordered a carne asada taco plate, unedible. Old rice, old beans, and if that mess was carne asada, they are drunk. Which isn't a stretch because the bar seems to be the hit. It was dreadful. No manager came to apologize. And on a Sunday? At 1? Restaurant wasn't very populated. Wird must be out that it's a dump. read more

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Great place for $2 fish tacos on Monday night, but this is NOT a sports bar! While the house audio plays plenty of country related music, it cannot play the audio feed from their DirecTV box. They literally crank up the audio in each of their shitty little TVs. In 2023. Pretty sure my 14 year-old could solve this. Do not spend time here if you want to see an important game. read more

Mainstream Bar and Grill - Fish Taco - full-size and a good deal for $2 Monday and Tuesday. - Bars Near Me - Poway, California

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We came here to celebrate my dads birthday on a Saturday evening. We sat outside on the patio as they were setting up for live entertainment and didn't want it to be too loud for our group. The server was fantastic and was attentive to our group. There were plenty of options for everyone and no one left disappointed. I had the French dip...this was AMAZING! Fresh soft roll, tons of meat and cheese, and a nice dipping sauce. My dad had fish and chips. Loved it! portions are huge! The entertainment began before we left and they were great as well. We will be back for sure. read more

Mainstream Bar and Grill - Fish and Chips - Bars Near Me - Poway, California

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Great bands great music including the bartenders who are so nice are, eric manny and renee

Phenomenal service by the staff and management for my mother's Celebration of Life! They were nothing but helpful and made everything so smooth! Everyone complimented the professionalism and helpfulness of the staff. read more

Have been here for breakfast quite a few times now and it's been wonderful! The service is friendly, down to earth. Bottomless coffee is wonderful. The dining area at 9:30 am is quiet and chill on Saturday mornings. Perfect for introvert me! I love the Mainstream breakfast and omelettes as well. My friend ordered ham steak and eggs and was blown away at the size of the ham; ended up taking half with her. Portions are beautiful! Go hungry! I enjoyed a basic Bloody Mary today, and it was good. No frills, which is how I enjoy my breakfast sometimes. read more

I've been passing by this local bar for years. Finally got in to try. Service at the bar was excellent :) wasn't not too bad for a Sunday 8pm, there were quite a few people in. There are also two pool tables and a big patio serves like an outdoor venue for their live music events. The food was delicious ;) got sliders, tater tots and mozzarella sticks. read more

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What a great and fun place to get drinks and good food! Our server Teresa greeted us & showed us options on where we could sit. ( The Dinning room was dated & very busy, or the other choices to sit, were the bar area with high top tables or the patio. The patio was beautiful ) We each ordered a cocktail to start & they were delicious. We then both decided the burgers sounded so good, we couldn't pass them up! The burgers were cooked to perfection & tasted delicious! Fresh lettuce, vine ripe tomatoes, with a thousand island dressing. We split our sides up & we got onion rings & sweet potato fries, both were served hot & yummy. My wife has never finished an entire hamburger, but she did today for the first time! They even have live music every weekend. Our server introduced to the bartender and we ordered more drinks and stayed for the live music. What a great spot! WE CAN't WAIT TO RETURN!!! read more

Grew up in Poway, out here house sitting 2-3x a year usually get GREAT service here from the servers (3 stars). Today came by myself for a drink (tough weekend at work) after waiting a bit at the bar, a woman came over and dropped a menu without saying a word. Came back and asked what I wanted, first beer was out, didn't recommend anything.. never asked if I wanted anything to eat. When my beer was completely empty was when she came back- only know her name from the receipt "Sunnie" I guess if you're not a regular you don't deserve much attention or you just don't like your job? Was in service industry for 12 1/2 years would never treat a woman by herself at a bar 3pm on a Monday like that.. I guess I'm taking my house sitting cash to kaminski's! read more

Okayyy, I've been here twice, and I've had the same server both times, and let me just say she's so nice!! I feel bad I didn't get her name, but she's great. The first time I came we talked about Shirley temples, and this time tostadas. She's just so sweet. The food is really good as well. I enjoy the buy one get one appetizers. I recommend the taquitos, Brussels, and Mozzarella sticks. Both times I've been I've ordered a salad and they've been great too. Haven't checked out the pool table, but if that's something you're into it's available :) read more

This is like a hidden gem in Poway! Great menu. Apparently a popular spot for locals celebrating... there were 3 very large parties there, but the staff all worked together and didn't skip a beat. They catered to us throughout our meal and never let on just how stressed they were. We tried the Fried Pickle Spears as a starter and Fish n Chips for the entree. Both were amazing. Portion sizes are huge and prices are very reasonable read more

Mainstream Bar and Grill - Fish and Chips - Bars Near Me - Poway, California

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Have been to this restaurant few times for different occasions. Sorry, but never happy with their food. Had avocado toast this time. It was two huge pieces of toast, eggs too runny and some parts not even cooked which made the untoasted bread very soggy. I find Elmisa's better. read more

Quick service, amazing happy hour deals, good selection of food. There are a lot of events they do and it is the preferred bar for us to go nearby. read more

Just take my advice with several years in the service industry , don't have your reunion or larger party here , the service was so slow because they didn't have a bartender on our side of the venue and they should have had at least two. The food was terrible and cold. Then the owner came out and told us to get off the dance floor so people could dance and we were actually dancing wtf ???? The vibe was heavy, 1984 had fun because that's what we do but i would not have an event there again . read more

Sharon was our super efficient waitress. We enjoyed our dinner time with Sharon, she is pleasant and sweet. Plus I adore any waitress that knows the specials and can recommend items you may enjoy. We had the bison patty melt, cooked to order and bf got his favorite Chilean Seabass. The chicken fried steak had this super mound of mashed potatoes and was so good! They are REAL potatoes folks, not from a box! Delish! Thanks to Sharon for waiting on us and making our evening enjoyable. read more

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