Olive Tree Marketplace

ArrogantB

Colorado

3.7/5  rDev -19.6%
quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I hit this up on advice from my cousin after hanging out at ocean beach earlier in the day. This is a small deli/grocery store but they have a pretty choice selection of beers. I saw several Cantillons, Alesmith 750's, Hanssens gueuze and Kriek, Lost Abbey beers. I picked up a couple Alesmith IPA's and I hope they are fresh. The prices were about average considering the quality of the beers. The only gripe I had was that I picked up a Rubicon IPA only to notice that it was dated 05/2009, I wish stores would pay attention to keeping their IPA's fresh.

09-21-2009 23:37:23 | More by ArrogantB

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

HalfFull

California

4/5  rDev -13%
quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

I was a bit intrigued by the love for this little corner of the world. So when visiting the neighborhood I thought I'd give a second visit after dropping in a year ago or so.

Bottom line is that this is a good market in a small market. O.B. is a relatively small hamlet in the greater San Diego scheme and Olive Tree fits the bill from many fronts. Good beer, and wine, and cheese, and bread, etc. It runs on a small footprint so the beer aspect is somewhat limited by design.

They offer a good mix of beer though the selection is somewhat limited though of high quality. Nice to see a 'new/special releases' rack and a chalkboard showing pending/new arrivals, again for special release brews. Service was not a factor though I sense that locals may have an 'in' in that regard.

Good for special release brews or a local hookup, otherwise I'm a bit at a loss as you are paying a bit of a premium here. They do offer some beers as singles however, nice concept. Good neighborhood store.

11-26-2010 06:40:45 | More by HalfFull

gwguest

Kansas

4.05/5  rDev -12%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I drove over to the Ocean Beach area on my trip to SD to visit the Olive Tree.

It's a little grocery store / market with a fair selection of wine, beer and dry goods. For someone local to the area, I would imagine that the selection isn't anything special, but they did have some limited releases from Stone and Lost Abbey. The prices were very reasonable for all of the beers. I even found one of my favorite beers from my metro area for LESS than I can get it at home. Very cool on one hand, yet very stupid on the other.

The woman who was behind the counter as friendly and offered a box for my purchase. I appreciated the offer and she returned with an sturdy box for my walk back to the car. She also gave me instructions on how to get the beach.

They do have a nice selection of craft beer (Oskar Blues and a couple others I can't recall) in cans if you're visiting the beach.

Recommended, but I can't say that anyone should drive a million miles to visit.

04-23-2009 17:26:55 | More by gwguest

pastradul

California

4.05/5  rDev -12%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

I have driven pas this place several times and never would have thought twice to go in. I saw several BA's talk about this place in some threads so i decided to wonder in.

they have a great selection and good prices. good amount of rare beers and all the regulars you would expect to see in a craft beer store!

i didn't get to meet the person in charge of the beer selection but I am sure he is a great guy.

Definitely a place I will visit again! i have seen on the website that there is a tasting room open now! can't wait to go in for a visit!

05-07-2010 14:12:24 | More by pastradul

pwoods

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev -8.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Mike is running a nice little joint here. Mostly a higher end market with a pretty good beer selection. Most of the big hitters were present but with the limited space you just can't hit everything. He has very quality beers, though, and almost everything was kept cold. They were also the only place in town that I saw Black Tot and Supplication still on shelves. I was unfortunately unable to stop by when Mike was working but I talked with him via BM's and he knows his stuff. Beyond Mike, it didn't seem like anyone else knew too much about the beer. A nice place to check out that might have a few goodies to find.

03-19-2010 00:33:59 | More by pwoods

womencantsail

California

4.2/5  rDev -8.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

This store is a neat little one in that it's one of those places where you might actually buy more than just beer. They have a nice selection of produce and other food items that looked quite good, including a deli.

The beer selection is not mind-blowingly huge, but it is sizable and tends to feature a lot of great offerings. Of course, all the usual SD offerings, along with plenty of other CA and West Coast beers, and some beers from out of state that you don't see all that often from DFH or GI, etc.

The service was friendly and helpful, though I didn't really aks anything specific about the beer.

Overall, this is a nice store that I'd recommend stopping by if you're in the area.

04-08-2010 16:24:34 | More by womencantsail

Yetiman420

Ohio

4.2/5  rDev -8.7%
quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

On a Sunday - Monday period in Mid October, I did a tour of San Diego breweries, brewpubs and beer stores. All the bottle shops I visited received A+ ratings with a significant number of reviews. My goal was primarily Russian River brews (Pliny, Blind Pig, Supplication) and then WC IPA's that I can't get in Ohio (Alpine, Kern River).
The places I visited in order of ranking...

1. 3 Way tie - KnB Wine Cellars, Beverages 4 Less, Best Damn Beer Shop
2. Holiday Wine Cellar
3. Olive Tree Marketplace
4. Pizza Port Bottle Shop

Olive Tree was my second bottle shop stop and I visted after a cheese plate and a Pliny at the nearby Vine restaurant.

This is a gourmet marketplace with a fine beer selection. I cleaned them out of the four Supplications they had and was so happy that I didn't bother doing too much looking around at other stuff. I was later told by a local that they had beer on tap but I did not see it.

The only service when I was there was a couple of young guys working the cash register.

It's in a young/hip/somewhat bohemian area called Newport Beach which has a number of shops and restaurants and is on the ocean which many of the other top beer places can't claim.

10-16-2010 22:32:53 | More by Yetiman420

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

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