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  • Ironside Fish & Oyster

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Reserve at Ironside Fish & Oyster

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Ironside Fish & Oyster
Ironside Fish & Oyster

Ironside Fish & Oyster Details

  • Dining Style: Casual Dining
  • Website: http://www.ironsidefishandoyster.com
  • Phone: (619) 269-3033
  • Hours of Operation: Lunch: Monday - Friday: 11:30am - 2:30pm
    Dinner: Monday - Friday: 5:00pm - 10:00pm; Saturday & Sunday: 5:00pm - 10:30pm
    Brunch: Saturday & Sunday: 10:00am - 5:00pm
  • Payment Options: AMEX, Carte Blanche, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, Visa
  • Cuisine: Seafood
  • Executive Chef: Jason McLeod
  • Dress Code: Casual Dress
  • Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
  • Additional Details: Beer, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Late Night, Non-Smoking Area, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Weekend Brunch, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Getting there

  • Cross Street: Date Street
  • Parking: Street Parking
A word from Ironside Fish & Oyster
A new restaurant in Little Italy.
Foodspotting photos
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Awards voted by OpenTable diners
  • Diners' Choice WinnerHot Spot
  • Diners' Choice WinnerVibrant Bar Scene
Diner Reviews
  • "I can see Ironside become a regular spot for me. great food, good service, vibe was awesome, and I now have a new favorite summer cocktail."
    Dined on 7/27/2014
  • "Lobsters roll, fresh really really good! Much like Boston lobster rolls and not that expensive. Oyster Mushroom, best I've had so far anywhere! fish dishes were great too! Been here 2 days in a row and will come back again on next visit!"
    Dined on 7/27/2014
  • "A modernly designed restaurant where you can have some drinks and food."
    Dined on 7/18/2014
  • "Food was awesome, service was not. The whole evening we felt forgotten about by our server, Dave. After we finished our entree, we waited 15 minutes with nothing on our table. Then he just drops a check that's split down the middle. We didn't ask for the check, we wanted dessert and another round of drinks. We never said we wanted the check split. We are both in our early twenties so maybe he assumed neither one of us could afford to take the other one out to dinner, which is what I was doing. Maybe he assumed we couldn't afford dessert. We both have worked in the service industry for years, we always tip very well and always pay cash. I found his service to be condescending, dismissive and sloooow."
    Dined on 7/17/2014
  • "tres chic and great food! A real plus for the always vibrant little Italy"
    Dined on 7/17/2014
  • "I like food. I like interesting food. Coming from the suburbs and being the first member of my family that willing indulged in Sushi, Indian food, the true Mexican cuts of meat, many types of shellfish and honestly, as Suburban as we were, any kind of meat cooked rare, I like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. There is one food I had never tried......Raw Oysters. There was something about them truly intimidating, odd shape, odd shell, odd context, but I was on the spot, one year anniversary and the only thing the GF wants is to make sure we go somewhere with Oysters, like at home. We order a tray, I apply horse radish, I apply tobasco, I apply the sauce....I eat it....it taste great, like really good fish. A++ thanks Ironside."
    Dined on 7/15/2014
  • "We very much enjoyed the SF style ambience & the fresh Uni and Lobster - terrific! The excellent and super friendly service of everyone made it an absolutely awesome experience for my sweet daughter & me on our date night =)"
    Dined on 7/13/2014
  • "Service was very good except for delay with initial drink order. Food was tasty, interesting and well presented. Dessert menu not very tempting. Would go back."
    Dined on 7/12/2014
  • "Great service! Awesome lobster roll! Staff is very friendly, we had a great time!"
    Dined on 7/11/2014
  • "Had a reservation and was seated quickly. All downhill from there. Ordered multiple apps and asked them to send out in waves. All came at once after waiting over 30 minutes. Shells in oysters and crab cake was lukewarm at best. Waited another 35 minutes once we finished apps for entrees. Manager was apologetic (twice) but seemed inexperienced on how to handle as he had the same story for app delay then entree delay. Comp'd an entree. server was nice but clearly had too many tables so service was spotty at best. Cocktails were great. Would go back for drinks but not dinner."
    Dined on 7/5/2014
  • "The food was good but the service was terrible, got our orders wrong and when the waiter realized that we were in no rush he had an attitude."
    Dined on 7/3/2014
  • "The ambiance was nice and energetic, the bar scene was lively, we were seated promptly and the servers were friendly and seemed knowledgeable in most areas. The menu was interesting and many items seemed liked they would be great. We ordered 3 starters plus oysters, 3 sides and 3 entrees for 4 of us to share. Given the chefs reputation I was surprised how many of the dishes lacked flavor and were bland. With so many other restaurants to try in this area I won't be rushing to go back here anytime soon."
    Dined on 7/1/2014
  • "But we still enjoyed the food and the cocktails. Swiss Pile Driver was refreshing but undersized for $10. Fish & Chips and roasted rock cod were both well prepared. Best part of the meal was the stone fruit salad. Decor is interesting, especially a full wall of skeletal fish heads. Arrived 15 minutes early for our 6:15 and were seated right away and service was very good. Majority of the crowd seemed 30something, but we slightly more mature diners were still comfortable."
    Dined on 6/30/2014
  • "A place that a seafood lover would enjoy. Modest and straight to the point menu. Great food and great service."
    Dined on 6/27/2014
  • "We loved the ambiance at Ironside Fish & Oyster, however, their food was mediocre. We'll definitely go for happy hour next time, but skip on dinner."
    Dined on 6/25/2014
  • "This place is definitely pricey. They have this extensive cocktail list that is separated by the mood you're in. Ordered off the starters list, and there are $1 oysters from 3pm-6pm for happy hour. I enjoyed all the food we ordered and shared! This included the Pork Belly, Crab Cake and Chowder Fries. Great presentation and very delicious! The waitresses followed up with us often, toward the end it felt as if they were rushing us out. I get it, very popular place. Definitely make reservation! Had a great time!"
    Dined on 6/25/2014
  • "My friend and I waited until a couple of months or so had passed before we visited this restaurant so that they had had a chance to settle in. The scene is vibrant - noise level very high but then that seems to be the case for most restaurants these days. Food was not what I had anticipated in terms of taste. We had several items - the raw oysters were fine but the Oysters Rockefeller was cold which should have been served piping hot. The lobster sandwich which was recommended hardly had any lobster meat and was most bread, so not really worth the value. Unfortunately the mixed cocktails are very light on the alcohol content - we had four different ones to try and they were all weak."
    Dined on 6/24/2014
  • "Rosie our server was quite delightful! My friends had oysters before I arrived and they raved about them. I highly recommend the mussels with the Andouille sausage. And my friend had the live uni which was very impressive (and, of course, posted to her Facebook page). Next time we'll be there in time for happy hour for the $1 oysters."
    Dined on 6/24/2014
  • "We ordered the whole grilled silver corvina, it was the highlight of the meal, it's hard to find restaurant willing to serve the whole fish with fish head still attached to it. Dad ate the eyeballs."
    Dined on 6/22/2014
  • "Oysters Rockefeller , octopus a la plancha and lobster roll were AMAZING. Mix drinks were very good also."
    Dined on 6/21/2014
  • "While everyone was very friendly, the service was extremely backed up. I'm sure our server would have been great, had he not been WAY over sat!! He had about 10 tables going...!!! However, that was all fine, it was the food that was the real let down. Both the lobster and the fish were extremely dry and over cooked. Our veggie dishes were the opposite, undercooked and presented very poorly. The oysters themselves were the only highlight of the meal. We are huge fans of polite provisions and had high hopes for this place, we will most likely not be back."
    Dined on 6/21/2014
  • "Good service ! Good lobster roll. Everything else was just ok. Had sea food platter and whole red snapper where mediocre."
    Dined on 6/19/2014
  • "Ironsides has a great nautical theme decor with a food selection to match. I was happy that there was a selection of oysters to start. The menu is printed often, so there is always fresh fish. There is also a selection of non seafood for those not fond."
    Dined on 6/17/2014
  • "Sat at the kitchen bar for dinner and had a very nice evening watching the staff prepare the sea food! Very interesting! Partner had Mussels which were outstanding, I had the fish and chips which were good but nothing special! The fruit salad was exceptional with pine nuts, goat cheese, and plums/nectarines."
    Dined on 6/16/2014
  • "Try it once. Waiting 15 minutes to get some service is not my idea of a good time."
    Dined on 6/15/2014
  • "This is our new favorite restaurant! My boyfriend and I had an amazing meal with amazing drinks. We will be back a lot. I can't wait to bring my friends here. I haven't had such a great meal like this in a long time."
    Dined on 6/15/2014
  • "I have been wanting to try this restaurant for sometime since I heard so many good things about it. The ambiance was great, I loved the decor of the place. However, the food was mediocre. I ordered yellowtail and it was horribly overcooked, they were out of some of the main entrees every though it was only 7:00. Our server got the drinks wrong and forgot to deliver an appetizer that we ordered. The service in general was slow (I feel they are just getting their groove and needs a little work with the menu). However, the oysters were great and the drinks tasty. Next time, I would only order oysters and drinks, forget dinner."
    Dined on 6/14/2014
  • "Really fun! Not the same old stuff. New and different drinks and menu items."
    Dined on 6/14/2014
  • "Bar was crowded and bartenders could care less that we were there even though we had seats at the bar. Made a reservation for 8:15 but "3 tables were camping out" so waited over 30 minutes to be seated. They did comp a cocktail for each of us for the wait. Cocktails list looked great but the actual cocktails were underwhelming. 3 dots and a dash was very unbalanced, and the Ramble was plain old not good. I know this restaurant thinks it is cool not have ketchup, but get over yourself and serve ketchup. Next time (if there is one), I will bring my own! I have to say the decor is amazing. Great ambiance. This place may be the hot spot and may continue to be for a while, but I won't be back anytime soon."
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "This was the second time we'd dined at Ironside. The first time was fantastic. Fabulous oysters, kale salad, wine and service- everything made us want more. The second dining experience was a disappointment. The food was not good. The fried oysters had more batter than oyster and were overdone, the fish and chips was greasy and the fish mushy. The presentation of the oysters, which came in a bowl, no garnish, chips or coleslaw, was more fitting for a side dish than an entree. The Fish and Chips was served on a top of fries and slaw. The salad sized plate was too small. the chips sitting on the slaw were soggy and the over salted- The best part was the incredible kale sale.......One more chance they need to stop up their limited menu"
    Dined on 6/7/2014
  • "They took 20 minutes to bring a glass of wine, the lady was very nice but the bar service is slow"
    Dined on 6/4/2014
  • "Definitely one of the best fish dishes I have ever ever had. Absolutely delicious. We each ordered a different fish and the Black Seabass was everyone's fav hands down. Oysters were excellent. Wine was great. Service was awesome. It's definitely not a quite, intimate place. The noise level a little too high to be able to have a pleasant conversation. We were there on a Wednesday night and the place was packed. Tables on the wall are way too close together. Servers couldn't even serve from the open edge of the table and getting in and out of the booth I felt uncomfortably close to our neighbor (and my backside isn't oversized.) Definitely want to go back to have more oysters."
    Dined on 6/4/2014
  • "Great cocktails, great food. Awesome ambience. Jon and Josh are the best!!"
    Dined on 6/3/2014
  • "Our wait-person said she was new & working with another waitress. Sadly, she didn't even know how to use a corkscrew. The other waitress was not much more experienced. Between the two of them we had many problems: two of four entrees had to be returned because they were over-cooked, one "hot" side dish was delivered about ten minutes after the entree & it was cold. When coffee was served we had to ask for and then wait over five minutes for cream and sugar. When we needed something it took too long to find someone to help us. They did comp us the two entrees. They're doing something right because it was packed on a Tuesday night. Ironside has great ambiance and is in an excellent location - but we won't return."
    Dined on 6/3/2014
  • "I had their octopus appetizer and it was the best thing ever. Oysters were of course fantastic as well!"
    Dined on 6/1/2014
  • "We had a great time. The food and drinks were delicious. Our waitress was a bit distracted, but overall it was good service."
    Dined on 6/1/2014
  • "Great to have a non-italian alternative to dining in Little Italy. If you're into the over-the-top cocktail trend, there's plenty to choose from a thick cocktail menu. Good tap beer lineup as well. But what they do is fish and plenty of it. Large plates of Fish and Chips, thick delicious clam chowder, unbelievably rich lobster roll were the dishes we had and they were plentiful and well-prepared and fairly priced. The site is noisy because there are many tables very very close to one another and no sound barriers; it's basically a high ceiling warehouse structure, so don't expect a quiet romantic dinner. Very pleasant waitstaff."
    Dined on 6/1/2014
  • "It took me four weeks to get a Saturday night reservation before 9 PM so clearly Ironside is popular and busy. With that in mind I was prepared for an impressive experience. Instead I got a limited menu with entrees lacking sides (available for extra money) and food with no distinction from Anthony's or any other middle of the road seafood place in San Diego. My octopus was grilled nicely but aside from the smokey flavor imparted by the grilling the sauce was bland and gritty. My lobster roll had a good quantity of large chunks of lobster but they were gelatinous and rubbery. The other members of our party were similarly unimpressed. Our service was excellent, the interior is pleasant if a bit busy but the noise was off the chart."
    Dined on 5/31/2014
  • "not a date place for sure go to fish market so you can talk and hear each other"
    Dined on 5/30/2014
  • "I think the one thing that stands out is the oysters, they were superb. However they should be for the price. I think the cocktales are mediocre nothing spectacular, sometimes too herbal to the point you couldn't taste the booze. If I have bourbon or rum I want to taste it. Also the service was not very good, for having as many servers as you did I would expect much more attentive service. "
    Dined on 5/26/2014
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Diners' Choice Awards
  • San Diego Winners
  • Hot Spot
  • Vibrant Bar Scene
  • San Diego Winners
  • Hot Spot
  • Vibrant Bar Scene
Learn more ›