Neighborhood

HopHead84

California

3.55/5  rDev -13.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I went to Neighborhood a week ago because a friend informed me Pliny the Younger was on tap. After attempting to park in Downtown San Diego for 20 miutes I gave up an paid $10 for the lot. The inside of Neighborhood is dimly lit and there's a nice atmosphere. The tables are kind of clumped together so the busboy and the waitresses smash into your chair if they happen to visit your table. The beer selection is pretty good.

I went again last night and this time I ate. The food is good, though it's irritating they don't have ketchup, ranch dressing, or put salt and pepper on the table. I found this all to be slightly pretentious for a place that serves hamburgers and fries. Had I been in a high class dining establishment I'd know not to expect ketchup and probably wouldn't ask for it, but give me a break, you're serving hamburgers and french fries. If 95% of your patrons want ketchup, what is your reasoning for not providing it? Why do I have to wait 15 minutes for the waitress to come back to my table to get salt and pepper?

I will go back here if they have Pliny the Younger next year, but definitely won't be going back for the food or the service.

03-01-2009 23:55:41 | More by HopHead84

AdamBear

Pennsylvania

3.66/5  rDev -10.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$$

Atmosphere: ultra modern and "chic". very small inside with lots of modern art. the average patron here appeared to be more of a martini type than craft beer type...at least that is how they appeared. very crowded. it might be difficult to find a seat. loud as well.

Quality/Selection: I was very impressed with the selection. there was a large number of beers that i really wanted to get here. I ended up getting a Stone Green Tea IPA which is very rare on the East coast, so i was excited about that. my girlfriend found a really tasty hefe for herself.

Service: its a busy place, so getting the bartender's attention might get difficult.

Overall, its definitely a place I would want to go to again as long as the crowd was smaller.

08-20-2011 21:47:28 | More by AdamBear

jjboesen

Maryland

3.66/5  rDev -10.9%
vibe: 2.25 | quality: 3 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

This was the eleventh and final stop of my San Diego Beer Week 2012 trip. It was my least favorite one as well. Was it because my departure flight left in less than 12 hours? Was it due to exhaustion? Or was I simply beered out?

To be fair, Neighborhood does have an excellent selection: Firestone Walker, Avery Out of Bound Stout and Pizza Port Truck Stout. But sometimes a bar needs other attributes, ones that this place seemed to lack. There was something wrong here. My first indication was the venue: blatantly soulless, uncomfortably dark, impossibly crowded, and arbitrarily crammed with tables that surrounded the Lilliputian bar area.

And above this Hadean scene was a deer head mounted on the wall, a bizarre afterthought with dead glass eyes staring down listlessly at me while the over worked server brought out a pricey beer along with a glass of water containing a cucumber. WTF!

That said, the beer selection and the service were excellent. Perhaps the best way to end this review is with a line from “The Big Lebowski:” “Sometimes you eat the b’ar and sometimes the b’ar eats you.” The Dude abides.

03-25-2013 23:22:20 | More by jjboesen

tobelerone

New Jersey

3.8/5  rDev -7.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | $$

This is a pretty interesting place and I went twice while in San Diego recently. Lots of cool stuff on tap and in bottles, I was able to have some Pliny here as well as a nice sour by Telegraph. I enjoyed it a bit more in afternoon rather than in the evening; it's a bit small, cramped, and dark, but it felt light, airy, and more relaxed on a quiet day at 3:30pm.

There's something vaguely pretentious about this place I can't quite put a finger on but it didn't bother me as much as it did my companion, who didn't feel at home with the hipster-y vibe. Everyone was either friendly or at least disinterested and keeping to themselves. Service was decent enough but also a bit more interested in talking amongst themselves than say, letting me settle my tab.

I wasn't able to try the food either time I visited but I've heard it's good. I hope I don't sound like I'm knocking Neighborhood too much; it really is a nice place and another great beer destination worth checking out in SD.

01-05-2012 05:13:06 | More by tobelerone

UCLABrewN84

California

3.93/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.25 | $$

I recently visited Neighborhood in San Diego on a beer weekend trip. It's a smaller space with some patio seating, bar seating, and a cluster of tables. Lots of hip Obey type decorations and artwork around the place. They had approximately 20 beers on tap with a pretty solid bottle list as well. The beers in my group were served in different glassware for the same beer ordered, so I am not sure they were really paying attention to that. Service was pretty good but somewhat slow since we were out on the patio. The selection of beers was very good with some rarer beers available. I would come back if I was in the area.

03-12-2013 16:32:21 | More by UCLABrewN84

kleffman

California

4/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$$

Checked out the Neighborhood after walking around in circles downtown trying to remember exactly where it is. A little out of the way, night right in the gaslamp, but closer to the stadium. Interesting decor, pretty open which I like. We luckily got a table right away and ordered up some good beers. Their draft and bottle list is actually really impressive. Even have Utopias if you're willing to pay up the ass for it. Server was nice, and she put up with our crap really well. I would like to go back sometime and have some more beverages here. They even have a little section of bar that sticks out the window where people were drinking basically on the sidewalk. Unless those were cokes, I don't know, but it would be a cool place to sit. Hopefully that way you can get hassled by some drifters while enjoying a Rodenbach.

07-14-2008 20:23:42 | More by kleffman

Shaw

Florida

4/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $

My wife and I planned to eat here during our visit to San Diego, but the menu didn't appeal to us, so went went to a nice asian restaurant, J.Wok, around the block and came back.

Very contemporary design. It was a bit crowded for a Thursday night, but they were showing the NBA finals.

Our server was prompt and knew the beers: I was looking for something really hoppy and bitter and she made a great suggestion of Port Mongo.

The beer selection was pretty good, and the beer I had was inexpensive at about $5.

07-02-2010 18:13:17 | More by Shaw

bs870621345

New Jersey

4.04/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Went to the PtY tapping yesterday, glad I did. One note, I was the first one there, almost an hour and a half before, yet was not served first when the keg game out. Definitely lowered their
quality and service score for me.

Its a nice bar atmosphere, very clean and very nice.

Quality was good, clean classes, yet were frosted. Not a big deal, but still kind of annoying that I had to sit and warm the beers up. Wasn't in a rush as you can see from my note.

Service was great. Prior to the tapping my glass was not empty for more than a minute. The tapping was shitty cause I did not get the first, but I understand that they have regulars to please before me.

Selection was nice, had a few session beers (Bruery Berliner weiss and Port Dawn Patrol) but only cause I wanted to be totally sober getting Pliny.

Good place, need to work on their special events.

03-16-2011 21:14:31 | More by bs870621345

triggersd

California

4.05/5  rDev -1.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4 | $$

After visiting Neighborhood I can say it is not what you'd think of when reporting your typical beer bar. The feel is modern and upscale. The food: olive and cheese places, almonds and other upscale snacks. They don't exactly fill out a full meal, but accompany a good beer. Neighborhood is a good pit stop when in the downtown San Diego area.

It's been awhile since I have been there, so this review doesn't have a lot of detail. What I do recall is a limited, but high quality beer selection, and a relaxed, urban atmosphere where a couple of hours can easily slip away. . .

Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

06-28-2008 20:38:57 | More by triggersd

mactrail

California

4.1/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Nice local and national selection with 27 taps plus bottles.

Just a little corner spot but pleasant outdoor area to scope out the comings and goings on the street. Doors and the big garage door windows are usually open. Oddball but intriguing food. Chorizo corn dogs. steamed pork buns, beet burger, many salads, and great sweet potato fries.

Taps included Port Mongo DIPA, Ballast Point Sculpin, Victory Whirlwind, AleSmith Speedway Stout and Nautical Nut Brown, Green Flash Trippel, Avery Maharaja, Craftsman spring pilsener, couple from Dogfish Head, Allagash, and a few Belgians.

Waitress was great, responsive, cheerful, and efficient. Enjoyed the place on a rainy spring evening but it does get jammed and it's dark inside. Nice big chalkboard for the beer list.

04-08-2011 04:29:53 | More by mactrail