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    Pillbox Tavern

    4.3 (569 reviews)
    Open • 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated 3 weeks ago

    Pillbox Tavern Photos

    Business Info

    PILLBOX TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Dogs allowed
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Pillbox Tavern

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    Mango margarita and Mexican logger
    Lidia B.

    Great atmosphere, good spot to stop and have a quick bit or a drink . Ordered some wings and chips and drinks . Amazing service as well

    Outside
    Trecia L.

    My husband and I came here on a Thursday night since we were in the area. We were able to find a parking spot in the parking area for the shopping strip. The place was busy but we were able to find a spot at the bar to order food. The bartender took our order and it came out in a reasonable amount of time. I ordered the beer battered fish and chips which were battered nicely and came with a small container of tartar sauce. My husband ordered the Shrimp Al Mezcal and he enjoyed it very much. The sauce had good flavor and the shrimp was nicely cooked. Overall the food was great. Great casual neighborhood spot.

    Our group of bikes by the outdoor seating
    Andrew S.

    This is the best spot. Food is so good and atmosphere so chill. Not a dive bar, but a casual beach bar with indoor and outdoor seating. A favorite spot with my riding buddies but also a spot to bring the wife or girlfriend. Great burgers, tacos, amazing fish and chips and more.

    Nice place. We love the bar and the food is delicious. Service is great too.
    Annette C.

    Always a great place. I'd love the pillbox plate. They're macaroni salad is to die for. My husband loves the tacos. Definitely a good place to visit in Solana Beach.

    Hank
    Jodi B.

    We love Pillbox, the staff and their dog friendly patio. We are happy to hear the patio will be permanent as well.

    Outside
    Dan M.

    Driven by this corner so many times and never noticed this little tavern tucked away at this busy intersection. Fortunately we decided to stop by after hiking nearby and wanting a snack. We found parking on the side streets in the back (probably not easy on a weekend since this is close to the beach). The menu is better than what you would expect for bar/tavern. We enjoyed a salad and a sandwich. They have a good craft beer menu that rotates as well with local selections. They have several TV screens so would make a good viewing place for the big game. Staff were friendly too.

    Wings + guac and chips!
    Daryl K.

    If you are catching a game.... this is the place! TVs everywhere, atmosphere is on fire , happy hour is lit, and great selection of food items! Ordered the wings to start and were absolutely some of the best wings we have ever had! Lemon pepper dry rub and buffalo were bomb.com. Server was on point and ready to bring a new drink / fill waters for the whole game. Bloody Mary and list of beers on tap were fantastic. Had a blast with the family and other fans cheering on our team!

    Baja chicken salad
    Binh P.

    Nice spot with a good amount of seating near the beach. Food was interesting. Got the baja chicken salad and although I did enjoy it, it could be a pretty strange flavor combo. It had tender chicken drenched in bbq sauce sitting on top of lettuce, corn, black beans, onions, and tortilla strips mixed with ranch. Initially the bbq sauce was overwhelming, but after mixing with the ranch it got tastier. Chicken was crazy tender, on some bites I thought I was eating canned tuna. Just wished there was more corn or beans added. The waitress was really friendly. And I enjoyed the tall glass of pineapple juice, very generous.

    June gloom
    Grace M.

    4.5! The food and service were amazing. The waitress was really helpful and attentive. I enjoyed the pillhouse burger and the Philly cheese steak. Lots of food for the price. They were out of the happy hour Mac and cheese though :(. The only issue I had was when eating outside there was no lighting. However, they do have heaters available if needed. The beers were also really yummy. Open seating available.

    Dog friendly patio and comfortable, covered seating

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    1 month ago

    Stopped by after swimming at the beach and it was so good! Service was excellent and the Carne Asada Fries and Birria tacos were bomb!

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    3 months ago

    Was great ambiance just off the Solana Beach access. Outdoor patio was very nice. Had the wings and Mac salad

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    Page 1 of 15

    Ask the Community - Pillbox Tavern

    What are the prices?

    It’s not expensive.

    Do you have a trivia night?

    I’m sorry. We do not.

    View All 3 Questions

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    This place is called Viewpoint for a REASON. Know why? Because if your sitting on their deck it has…read moregreat views of the swamp or lake thing that's there and you can also see the sky and everything else that's outside. If your sitting inside facing the other way, you just see the inside of the place but there are some cute bartenders there so that's a pretty good view too! One of the bartenders was tall with big muscles, which is the opposite of my ex who's short and has small muscles. That's right- Paul and I finally split up. So I'm 1000% back on the market. My friend Kaytie threw a "Reverse Bachelorette Party" for me which is why we came to Viewpoint Brewing. Kaytie is still married, but she can have fun behind Brian's back every now and then. Who cares? Men cheat on their wives all the time, so why can't us girls have some fun too every now and then? Especially when it's a reverse bachelorette party. Donna and Tracey were there too. Donna was trying to be sober because she had to work the next day, so she was only gonna have a glass of wine or whatever. The wine at this place is good! The food is good too! Tracey is kind of old- she's more Kaytie's friend than she is mine, but whatever. We had fish & chips, mac & cheese, those Adobata fries, some flatbreads and we split a few of the Nutella dessert things. ALL FANTASTIC.

    This is probably my favorite brewery in all of San Diego as the views here are pretty sick and you…read morecan spot some cool birds while enjoying a beer and some food. I wonder if this is a location on eBird. Yes, I am a dork. I came here years ago while on a business trip and randomly found this place and loved it here. So when a date suggested we come here, I took a look at the venue and remembered what an awesome brewery this is! Date gets some brownie points for chosing this spot, maybe this could go somewhere haha. Parking is a situation here. But if you go past the restaurant, there is some parking on the road and in small lot meant for those enjoying nature. I felt bad taking one of these spots. There is paid public parking on the corner before the restaurant and valet is available at this brewery. I need to figure out another way to get here... On a Sunday afternoon, place had people but it wasnt mobbed. Baseball game and Del Mar horse races were showing on the TVs. But, don't come here to watch TV, look outside! I saw some very good bird action, including an egret doing some weird strutting in the lush greenery. I am bummed I forgot to bring my binoculars but I will be back here again soon with binocs ready! I started off with a hefeweisen and that was good, date had a Mexican lager x 2. I had the ceviche (pretty good) and had the aioli on the side. Date had a sandwich of some kind and copious amounts of fries. It took a lot of will power for me to not have any of those fries, they looked so yummy! I also had a watermelon beer, this had hints of watermelon flavor and I enjoyed it. Great spot for large groups too as there were a few large parties sitting in the "outside" space. Hostess initially asked if we wanted to sit "inside" or "outside," and I was confused as it all looked like outside to me haha. I guess this is SoCal, everything is open air. This is a nice spot to have convo, very spacious, lots of nice tables, we sat at a high top. I love perching higher up, kinda of like a bird haha! Waitresses here were all very good, some very cute too (eye candy is always appreciated). Overall, a really fun way to spend a Sunday summer afternoon! I'll be back!

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    Monarch Ocean Pub - Gochujang Brussels

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    We were headed to Del Mar and decided to stop here for lunch - everything about it was fantastic…read more Beautiful ocean views from the indoor/ outdoor patio, great service and delicious food! We went with a couple of local IPAs and a bunch of smaller dishes! My favorite was the poke board which was like a cheese board with deconstructed poke bowls so you can customize each bite! Fantastic idea and super fresh poke! We also tried the lobster and shrimp rolls which were the perfect bite; white bean and artichoke dip served with a delicious grilled bread, grilled artichokes and a citrus salad! Each dish was delicious, fresh and so, so good! A great start to our beach day!

    We wanted to check out Del Mar, and I learned that this was one of few popular rooftop restaurants,…read moreso I booked a dinner early so as to get a spot right by the rails...and it worked in our favor! As expected, the place was bustling...and their rooftop dining ambiance was really nice, and the view from our table was great. It wasn't right above the ocean or anything like that, but you could see quite a bit of Del Mar from their rooftop. We had a huge lunch, so weren't that hungry, so we just ordered their Smoked Chicken Wings and Gochujang Brussels...and both were DEE-Lish! Our drinks were also really good (strong!), but I can't remember the name of it. Service was really good as well. Our server was friendly, and right on top of things. Seriously, given such an amazing view and a great variety of foods and what seemed to be upscaled American foods (with a bit of fusion), what's not to like about this place? I only wished we were hungrier, so we could try more items on their menu.

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    Monarch Ocean Pub - Half Burrata Caprese + Wild Shrimp- they forgot the shrimp even though my bartender put it in. He went back and got some from the kitchen

    Half Burrata Caprese + Wild Shrimp- they forgot the shrimp even though my bartender put it in. He went back and got some from the kitchen

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    Understory Bar - Host podium. Reservations are highly recommended.

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    4.3(405 reviews)
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    Came here to celebrate a birthday, so there were six of us. We were seated at a booth with ample…read moreroom to spare. The ambience of the place is cozy, modern, and eclectic with its tree like lamps and greenery throughout. The bar is located in the middle of SkyDeck,, so you can order from the many different surrounding restaurants straight from the app, which they'll serve to you at the table. Understory is known for their specialty cocktails with their full bar, that's hard to miss as soon as you walk in. Of course, I had to get the drink in the ceramic elephant. Not only was it decked out with a flower, dried fruit, fruits, and mint leaves looking fabulous, it also tasted amazing and it was pretty strong, which I liked. All of us at the table ordered a drink, and everyone seem to love theirs. Got the taste of the blue moon, which had a unique flavor that I loved. All the drinks were beautiful. Since Understory is a bar, their tables are round and small, so when we ordered food from their neighboring restaurants, the table was a bit small, and we had to get creative on where to place everything. The tables are also far from the seats, so it was a bit of a challenge to eat our meals. The place is definitely one to visit, but what I would recommend, if you're wanting a full dinner, is to get your drinks at Understory, to enjoy the ambience and appreciate the creative craft cocktails, then switch to the restaurant you'd like to eat at, where the tables are designed to accommodate the space you need for a full meal.

    Love Understory! We always end up here for a nightcap because the vibe is just so good. The…read moreatmosphere is lively without being too loud, making it a great place to unwind after dinner. The service is always friendly and attentive, and the cocktails are consistently on point. The prices are also very reasonable, especially considering the quality of the drinks. One of my favorite things about Understory is that you can order food from any of the restaurants in Sky Deck and have it delivered right to your table while you enjoy your cocktails. It makes it the perfect spot for groups when everyone is craving something different. Great drinks, great service, and an awesome atmosphere--definitely one of my favorite places for a nightcap in San Diego.

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    4.3(645 reviews)
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    YUMMY!!!!! The food was sooo good AND they had lots of vegan and vegetarian and healthier items to…read moreorder if you didn't want to eat traditional taco joint food. Our server was fine and friendly. The food came out quickly. We had the chips and salsa (excellent). I asked for a non spicy salsa and my friends wanted spicy so they brought some of each. We split the the Heart of Palm Ceviche! So amazing and it was big with a beautiful presentation. Just delicious. I could have eaten that alone with no other items. It was a vegan Ceviche and the fish was not missed. My friends ordered really cool cocktails and raved about them. My one friend said that this is the only place she can get this particular cocktail and that she comes here just for it. I ordered 2 tacos (Mr. Asparagus and the Baja fish taco). Both delicious and they came with housemade potato chips (which I thought was weird until I tasted them). I was so full but I couldn't not eat the chips because they were so good. One friend ordered the Quesabirria and she didn't love it. It was very strange as it was wrapped in fried cheese. They also ordered the other tacos and loved them. The only one that didn't get a thumbs up was the Quesabirria. I am looking forward to introducing this restaurant to other friends. So good!

    Ambiance is great with mostly outdoor seating! The Yogi taco was well seasoned, saucy, with a…read moredecent amount of filling. Honestly, 9/10 for a veggie taco because the filling was well seasoned and dressed. The asparagus taco was unfortunately a different story. The asparagus was prepared well, crunchy on the outside but still tender when you bite into it. However, it was not seasoned as well and paled in comparison to the Yogi. The shrimp taco was okay. I think they were very heavy handed with the toppings and dressings and did little in terms of the actual preparation of the shrimp. The chicken taco on the other hand was DELICIOUS. The meat was seasoned well and so juicy. The pineapple salsa was the perfect touch!

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    4.4(942 reviews)
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    My first time here, and I'm surprised I've never heard of it. Parking wasn't a problem and I went…read moreduring a busy time on the weekend due to a UFC fight. This place was packed! But good thing is they have a patio out back. 5/5 I came for the Fish tacos because they are under $2 for a fish taco. I was in shock when I saw the price and the size! The fish taco had a perfect fish to tortilla balance and it filled me up really good and didn't break the bank 5/5 There's also a sauce bar with great options of sauced and pickled items. I'd definitely come back! Customer service 5/5. The staff is so friendly and patient even while it was busy. I had a great experience for my first experience

    $1.39 fish tacos!! That's it. That's the review…read more When I was in college, my best friend and I were on a quest for the best Taco Tuesday deal in San Diego. Somehow, we didn't find this place, probably because it's so far north. I only learned of it last week, when a friend chose it for dinner. It's even better than Taco Tuesday, because the deal is always offered! And there's no limit on the number you can order! They also had a "choose two for $1.50 each" deal that included rice, beans, Coke, and/or chips, so I decided to make myself a plate. Two fish tacos, beans, and rice only cost $6! The food was delicious too. The tacos were easily in my top 10, maybe top 5. I also appreciated the salsa bar and found the salsas to be flavorful, with a nice kick. There's a full bar in here too, which made the vibe feel more upscale than a typical taco shop. Next time, I'd definitely try a margarita! We came on a Sunday night around 6pm (right as the Del Mar Races were wrapping up) and had to wait in a bit of a line, but it moved quickly, and we didn't have to wait long for our food. Everyone in our 12-person group liked their food and most people got something other than fish tacos, which I couldn't fathom, though I am curious about the rest of the menu. I'm going to grab some frugal, deal-loving friends and come back again soon!

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