SD TapRoom

pwoods

Ohio

4.4/5  rDev +3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Really chill place right here. Sits on one of the main drags in Pacific Beach. Open air sitting with a large bar and plenty of high tops. Looks like it could turn into a club/college bar at night but was great while I was there in the afternoon. Very high quality stuff on tap including LA seasonals and Port one offs. Supplication was gonna be tapped soon as well but hadn't by the time I visited. The cute chick behind the bar knew the beers very well and even slid me a few samples of some of her favorites(DIPAs... she was a keeper). Selection was very good but was completely dominated by SD brews... which isn't bad at all but would have liked to see other represented as well and even some smaller breweries from the region. The food was pretty damn good. Had a really tasty Cali pizza and my dad liked his burger.

04-20-2010 23:33:08 | More by pwoods

TheAftermath

California

4.08/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

Went there for my bday with friends, none of whom enjoy beer like I do (think I need new friends). As others have already said, the selection is pretty impressive. I'd add that it's not because of the number of taps, but that all but two or three are dispensing top-notch brews.

I enjoyed Stone Chipotle Smoked Porter, Stone Old Guardian 2010, and a flight of tasters of which I can only remember Russian River Pliny The Elder (wow!)

Keep an eye on their live updated list at http://www.sdtaproom.com/beer.html

I'll definitely be back, hopefully with a fellow beer lover or two, or by myself if not :)

04-14-2010 20:20:59 | More by TheAftermath

yemenmocha

Arizona

4.44/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This place seems under the radar for many BA's but they have a taplist that is nearly as impressive as the more established and well-known beer bars.

Many good West Coast and East Coast offerings, and they lean towards the hoppy beer customer. Pizza and other traditional pub fare were on the menu, but we only sampled the homemade cookies (not bad!).

Our server was pleasant and prompt, prices were on par with other beer bars in the area (Gold and Silver categories with the more rare and often imported stuff costing a buck more). They open to the street for a nice breeze and it is more spacious in here than virtually all San Diego beer bars I visited on this trip. Parking was a chore though.

04-02-2010 02:46:52 | More by yemenmocha

PhxHorn

Arizona

4.15/5  rDev -2.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $$

We dropped in on a Wednesday afternoon and the place had only 15 or 20 people in it. The bar itself is huge, and wraps itself all the way across the room, seating 30 people or more. 45 beers on tap, with around 35 of them being San Diego brews, according to the bartender. I just couldn't decide, so I had a 6-beer flgiht. One of the beers ended up with an inch of sediment at the bottom, and they had to replace it for me.

The beer selection, and of course the beer itself, is outstanding. We'd already eaten earlier, and so did not order food. The pizzas that were on display were swimming in grease and did not look all that appealing.

Parking was available on the street and in a lot behind the building, $5 all day or $3 for two hours.

If San Diego beers on tap are your thing, it's definitely worth your while to come to this place. It's not hard to find.

09-18-2009 17:23:48 | More by PhxHorn

kleffman

California

3.63/5  rDev -14.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Been going to the taproom quite a bit on Wednesdays lately. Always a delicious cask on among the other gems on the specialty list. They definitely cater to the local beers, which is awesome. But on the list on the wall there is almost certainly something fantastic. First had Ten fidy here, as well as their pilsner. Frequently find beers the other bars around town don't seem to get. Food is decent for appetizers, pizza is alright too. I heard the lunch special is a great deal, will have to hit that up some day.

02-24-2009 05:56:51 | More by kleffman

triggersd

California

4.03/5  rDev -5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

The Tap Room in Pacific Beach stands as the one bar you can go to in the area and have an above average selection of beers. Kick in enough LCD panels to appeal to the sports crowd, and friendly service and you've got your local haunt. The menu is selection is good, not great. The quality of food is good, not great as well. When you are looking to head out and grab a good beer (with more than one IPA, Stout, insert your choice, etc. to choose from), The Tap Room is your go to place.

The pricing is resonable, and the daily specials are good. It appears as the management staff is in touch and knows what will bring in the crowds.

Although it is not what the Liars Club was, at least we're not feeling left without a destination within a short bike ride away.

Thank you, Tap Room ownership and staff.

06-28-2008 19:54:04 | More by triggersd

mithrascruor

California

4.45/5  rDev +5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Nestled amongst the various shops and trendy bars on Garnet is The Tap Room, with, well, a ton of taps! It's generally dark and peaceful in there (at least when I went there weren't many people), and though there's a few TVs I didn't find them to be intruding upon my peace. A sizable bar snakes through the place, but there's also tables and booths too. Very friendly and attentive service. The employees also seem knowledgeable on the beers they carry and are willing to make suggestions (but not in a pushy way!).

There's 36 taps, and all but 3-4 (Bud Light, Guinness, a cider, and ???) are all devoted to local craft brews from Coronado, Ballast Point, AleSmith, Green Flash, Stone, Port/Lost Abbey, Karl Strauss, and Firehouse. A great selection of the regulars from each of those, as well as a bunch of seasonals, one-offs, etc. as well. So.. the quality is in general quite excellent. Some may argue it's not the widest selection, but the focus of the bar is to show case local breweries: they do a fine job of that and of presenting a wide variety of the styles offered by those breweries.

Food is mostly pizza, appetizers, and subs. I had an appetizer (the "Beer Soakers" -- aka cheezy bread sticks) and they were really good, and it was a sizable portion too. The other food smelled & looked good as well.

The generously time-blocked daily [m-F] happy hour provides for really affordable beers and food! And the prices in general are quite reasonable as well, especially for such good quality beer.

Definitely a place to revisit; too bad I don't live closer!

05-23-2008 03:39:11 | More by mithrascruor

HalfFull

California

3.63/5  rDev -14.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5 | $$$

I understand that this place has been open over a year now and has adapted nicely to locals requests. Expanded number of taps for 'rotating' beers, just check the chalkboard. Generally about a dozen guest beers(local, regional or otherwise) in addition to their usual offerings of 25 or so local(San Diego) brews on tap. Some but limited bottle options, all local I believe. Recently added some pasta and salad dishes to the menu. Pizza is good though a bit oily for my thin crust tastes, skip the chicken bites! Other appetizers available.

Great place for a game, though it can be loud during March Madness; but then again, it's March Madness.

P.S., Had a sign indicating that a full liquor license was pending. Hopefully this won't reduce the number of options on tap. We'll see.

Also, they have a Cask conditioned brew every Wednesday at 5:00. I think that the relocation of the Liar's Club prompted them to fill the void, check their website.

04-08-2008 05:59:01 | More by HalfFull

m1ked

California

3.08/5  rDev -27.4%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I wasn't even planning on coming to this place, total fluke. I rarely make it down to PB for various reasons, but I have been wanting to check out Liar's Club. I small group of us finally ralleyed ourselves to travel into PB to check out Liar's Club. Once we get there, closed! Are you kidding me! We did not want to waste our trip to PB, who knows when we would make it back. Hence our trip to the Tap Room.

It has all the characteristics of a beer-minded bar that I would like, but.... 1)Many, many local brews on tap, but nothing I haven't had before, nothing unique. 2) Bar food, I didn't have any, but looked ho-hum. 3) Many flat screens with sports on, but not really a sports bar. 4) Great location, on the main strip of PB with large open windows facing the street, but lacked any character.

I don't know how to express it, it had the appearance and some components of what should be a hit with me. It just felt too generic, lacking any character or soul. It felt too fabricated, almost like they could open these up all over SD and they would all look and feel the same. Granted I am somewhat biased against going to PB, if I were to go back to PB I am not sure if I would make it back here. Maybe if I had an out of towner that wanted to make to PB AND wanted some local beer, maybe. It wasn't bad, but wasn't good enough to make me want to come back. If I lived in PB, I would probably like this place more.

01-21-2008 18:57:46 | More by m1ked

oliphant

California

4.38/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 3.5 | $

When Liars' Club was here, there wasn't much reason to go to the Tap Room. Now that Liars' is gone, I've been giving it a chance.

I'm not a big fan of the "feel" of the place. Too large and sterile. Bad music. Hopefully it will get better as it ages.

The beer selection is good and gets better all the time. They have a solid standard selection of local beers and have more rotating beers each time I go in.

The staff is friendly and is getting more and more knowledgeable about the beers.

Beer prices are very reasonable, and they don't charge extra for the high octane stuff.

They have recently started doing a cask on Friday nights, which has been great. Hopefully they will keep it up.

This is definitely a place to support in the beach area. A few nudges in the right direction, and it could be a great spot.

01-07-2008 20:32:38 | More by oliphant