Olive Tree Marketplace

DoubleJ

California

4.3/5  rDev -6.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Obviously, those 111 taps at Slater's 50/50 weren't enough of a beer orgy. Althought Marcelo was planning to purchase most of his American beers in New York before returing to Sampa, I offered to make a stop at a place I never had stopped by before. Ain't that crazy? Maybe there's something here that I can't find in other stores.

A decent quantity of parking spaces off the street. Walk inside, it's more of a small gourmet food market than a liquor store. No problem, as long as they got the booze. Which they do, and a lot of it. Roughly an equal number of bottles sitting on the store's floor and chilling in the long line of fridges. Bottles of Samichlaus, The Bruery, Firestone, Nogne O, 8 Wired, De Molen, Ballast Point, Unibroue, Jester King, Great Divide, and even a couple Swiss beers were included in the large inventory. The beers are labeled with pricetags, most before the sell-by dates, and with prices that were very fair.

Just another great beer store in San Diego, in a city filled with great beer stores. If you choose to come here, please use the bathroom before you arrive ;-)

07-09-2012 03:56:50 | More by DoubleJ

sholland119

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev -6.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

In years of beer shopping while vacationing or traveling for work, I have learned that Rule #1 is: Buy everything you are interested in the first time you see it. You never know what the next place is going to look like.

Our itinerary for this day was KnB Wine Cellar, then Olive Tree. We saw tons of good stuff at KnB and stocked up. Glad we did as Olive Tree, while very lovely, did not have nearly the depth of selection.

Olive Tree is conveniently located less than a mile from Pizza Port Ocean Beach, making it a nice stop before lunch. A very nice corner market, with gourmet food, a nice wine selection and a good lineup of beer. We picked up some Kern River and a couple of odds and ends (as well as some of the house wines) to supplement our KnB extravaganza. Very nice people, very nice place.

HV

04-02-2012 13:51:58 | More by sholland119

tobelerone

New Jersey

4.33/5  rDev -5.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Stopped in while vacationing in San Diego this past Christmas and loved this place. I understand they have tasting events and the like on certain evenings but I just did an afternoon pop-in to the store. Lots of tasty food here, gourmet-deli style, so we got a bunch of delicious snacks to have with our beer.

Excellent selection both cold and warm, singles, bombers, 750's, and sixers. They were out of PTE but I picked that up elsewhere so no disappointments. Lots of other stuff to choose from, and for an east coaster I was excited to say the least. Kern River Just Outstanding, Blind Pig, Maui Coconut porter, Bruery, New Belgium Lips of Faith series, lots of sours, and a host of other things you just can't get back home.

Very friendly staff, decent prices, a nice atmosphere, parking in the back. A no-brainer stop if you're in the area.

03-13-2012 15:51:07 | More by tobelerone

corby112

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev -0.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

This place has a great reputation so I decided to check it out during a recent trip to San Diego. I'm glad that I did because they had the best selection of any store that I visited on my trip. I went back twice.

Located only a few blocks from Pizza Port OB, it is basically an upscale grocery store with a deli, bakery, produce, artisan cheeses and a nice selection of wine and beer. They have a decent sized parking lot in the back of the store and the place is really clean but there is no public restroom.

The selection and service were both very impressive. The beer guy Mike was very friendly and knowledgeable, answering all of my annoying questions. Also, when he found out that I was from out of town he started pulling out beers from the back that weren't on the shelf.

In addition to a wide range of quality locals, they had a lot of imports and a great selection of rarer beers including eclipse varieties, Pliny, blind pig, RR ations, Cuvee de Tomme, LA Deliverance, Marin BA Old Dipsea, Rayon Vert, Coronado BA Barleywine and many more.

Overall, this place is awesome. If I lived anywhere close I would spend a ton of money here. If you are visiting San Diego it is a must stop, especially if you are going to the nearby Pizza Port.

01-19-2012 02:41:18 | More by corby112

cbutova

Massachusetts

4.44/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Only specialty bottle shop visited while I was in San Diego, didn't have time and I am glad I got to go here.

First off, the picture above does no justice, it almost makes it look like it's in a seedy area somewhere. I walked down here from the beach through a nice residential beach neighborhood. This place has a nice specialty wine/cheese/beer store. Tons of shelves holding bottles, a big cooler and a few snacks here and there. Not a massive selection but one that is well rounded and filled with world-class brews.

I didn't have a ton of time to look at bottle dates and what not but the beer on the shelves/cooled was a mix of fresh IPAs and stronger ales that had up to a year of age on them (no problems here). Nothing seemed like it was sitting there for too long. The employees were nice and I chatted with them a bit about being in San Diego for the first time and the MA beer scene. Nice people run this place. One thing I was thrown off/impressed by was the cooler selection. I am not used to this much beer being in the cooler in MA, especially bombers. A massive chilled selection. The one gripe I did have with the beer was the organization. It seemed like it was by brewery but then you would find a random beer a few rows/columns away. Not the easiest time finding stuff, I had to look over the coolers several time to be sure I didn't miss anything.

I ended up leaving with Alesmith Speedway Stout and Anvil, Midnight Sun Hop Dog, HOTD Doggie Claws and Blue Dot, maybe another bottle I can't remember right now.

Awesome bottle shop near Ocean Beach, which is a great place to take a stroll and check out some unique shops. Prices were on-par or slightly better than what I saw elsewhere.

11-23-2011 16:36:23 | More by cbutova

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

3.9/5  rDev -15.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Small corner store in Ocean Beach on the way to Sunset Cliffs. Easy parking right out front and maybe 3 minutes from Pizza Port OB.

The selection is not huge, but they pretty much carry the creme of the crop. Limited releases, Alpine, Ballast Point, Coronado, Deschuttes, Lost Abbey, etc. Prices were not bad, maybe a bit high.. A seperate rack houses the really limited stuff but had only a couple in it on my last visit, (Stoic, Coronado BA BW) and one is for imports. Sixers and the Alpine stuff is in the cooler, so points for that. No Pliney in the house. No service was volunteered, which I have no problem with. The place smelled like some seriously delicious fried chicken also.
A nice find in OB, but I'm just not seeing the extremely high marks for this place, maybe if you're a local you get some real gems or exceptional service.

10-12-2011 00:03:05 | More by brewandbbq

Sebowski

California

4.9/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

I Love this place. So glad it is within walking distance.

Mike has been at this long enough to get anything that ever makes its way to San Diego. The rare stuff goes quick, but it gets there, and it is priced in line with all the other pricing( Read: no price gouging! ) Seems like whenever I think Mike has maximized the space he has for beer, he finds a shelf or cooler he convert over. His most recent being trimming down Cola offering to make way for an all San Diego beer cooler. Awesome move there.

Then there is one of the city's best secrets: The Tasting Room. Rotating beer (and wine) flights priced at retail, not bar, prices. These flights always have interesting stuff from around the world. A great way to get your buddies/GF/Family into craft beer. They also do cheese trays to match your tastings, and special brewery nights (I've had an Abyss vertical and Black Tuesday among others at these brewery nights). The room is pretty small though, so don't bring too large a group. It is more of a nice area to sample some beers than a bar. Go to Pizza Port or Newport Pizza for that.

Might as well mention the market too. Always quality stuff from the produce to the pasta sauce and the cheese to the Bloody Mary mix ( Ballast Point, FTW!) The deli is all Boar's Head too which means always awesome sandwiches.

What I'm saying is, I love this place.

08-28-2011 05:52:33 | More by Sebowski

Armand

California

5/5  rDev +8.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

Awesome place. Olivetree is usually stocked up with good beer that flys off the shelf pretty quick. They have a few shelves displaying similar beers with one another. There is one that's usually stocked up with rare releases so grab them once they are there 'cause when it's gone it's gone. A long cooler with lots of nice bottles...too many to go over, but a nice selection. The owner knows what's up and he'll come around to talk to you about beer if he is there. Nice little place not too far from the beach.

08-16-2011 21:48:57 | More by Armand

IronKrausen

California

5/5  rDev +8.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

I have never bought anything here other than wine or beer.

Buuut.... ....Mike is the man! Always getting in bottles I want, and pricing them really well.

There are other great bottle shops in north county (HWC and PPBS), and some in south county (SBD), but olive tree really is the best bottle shop in San Diego county. The tasting room they opened is just the icing on the cake.

Mike has done very impressive things with a somewhat unassuming neighborhood market in OB. And is the only reason (sans pizza port) that i'll venture into OB.

keep up the good work.

08-16-2011 16:44:39 | More by IronKrausen

flexabull

California

4.3/5  rDev -6.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Stopped in here after visiting Pizza Port OB, just a few blocks away.

Looks like a cross between a nice liquor store and a mini mart.

Quality is quite good. Lots of locals (no Alpine though), some good foreign stuff including two New Zealand beers that I thought i would never see in USA. Also saw some stuff from east of here, like Jolly Pumpkin, Dogfish, and Allagash.

Service was kind of non existent until I inquired about the lack of Alpine. The employee was nice, explained why he didn't have any (they get small amounts, and it goes fast) and was cool to talk too. This is how I like it, no one bugging you while you shop, but happy to help when you need it.

Selection was good, not a ton of stuff, but what they had was good.

Prices were a bit high, but not bad.

All in all, a nice store. Not sure if this is a "destination", but it's well worth checking out if you are in the area.

08-08-2011 19:43:11 | More by flexabull