Tiger! Tiger!

mactrail

California

3.88/5  rDev -3.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$$

Anchoring the 30th St. beer corridor at busy El Cajon Blvd. It's yet another hip beer joint with upscale hip food. I counted 22 taps with a few Belgians (Rodenbach, Lucifer, St. Louis) and national oddities like DFH Theobroma, but mostly California beers. Two from Craftsman, Hangar 24, Bear Republic, Lost Abbey, Alesmith, Mongo from Port, Firestone, Sierra Nevada, etc. Emphasis seems to be on change. Service, even at the bar, is like Blind Lady: stand in line and pick your brew while they ring it up. Nice glassware in different, appropriate sizes. Many beers are 0.25 liter, a few in 0.5. The "happy hour" special is a full liter for $8.

Food is interesting though pricey. Unusual pizzas. Oysters in various ways are a feature. The fried oyster Po Boy was ok, but I didn't care much for the soft roll. Clam chowder had actual bivalves but was way salty with bacon. Salads and bread sampler plate looked great, I'll try that next time.

Spacious place with no TVs in the concrete floor old garage style. Take your choice-- uncomfortable metal drafting stools at the small bar or uncomfortable wood benches at the picnic tables. A few sidewalk tables for smokin' and mopin'. At a recent visit they were talking about an actual garden patio in the back, which would be great. Supposed to be the only restaurant with a parking lot on 30th St.

The place was started just this fall by Lee Chase, who spent 10 years brewing for Stone and is a co-owner of Blind Lady. The hope is for Tiger Tiger to get a license to move Automatic brewing to this location. They also talk about an in-house bakery.

12-04-2011 07:17:11 | More by mactrail

Jodi215

Arizona

3.95/5  rDev -1.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

We wanted to go to Blind Lady for lunch but it was closed for a private fundraiser so we decided to try their sister restaurant Tiger! Tiger!. We were not disappointed. Love the style of this place. Rustic comfort. Belle and Sebastion music playing. Long plank tables with benches, cement floors. Great beer selection, my son and husband said it was excellent! I thought the food was also very good. Banh Mi Pork Belly sandwich was fantastic. I had a vegan grilled cheese which was very good. I always appreciate restaurants that have anything vegan. The Brat sandwich also looked really good. We would go there again and might even pick it over Blind Lady which is my favorite S.D. pizza stop.

12-17-2012 22:49:56 | More by Jodi215

boyler

California

4.28/5  rDev +6.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

I've eaten here about a dozen times since they opened in October. It has been a kind of extended soft opening, so it is finally feeling like they have nailed down their evolving menu and atmosphere.

About 25 beer taps plus wine taps. As the owners have proven with their sister restaurant Blind Lady Ale House, they know and care about the quality and maintenance of their tap system. The cleanest and truest in San Diego. I'm always confident that I am tasting beer as the brewer intended.

The menu is mostly sandwich based. They always have a few vegan options. I love that they feature house made bread and pickles. I don't eat oysters, but I hear great things about the fire-rosted Po Boys. My absolute favorite thing is their Sunday morning brunch with vegan donuts -- always paired with a coffee profiled beer,(Last time was Dogfish Chicory Stout).

EDIT: They have corrected the seating issue. New tables and chairs inside that fit adults.

01-26-2012 20:15:29 | More by boyler

notchucknorris

California

4.06/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

Stopped in here for the first time on New Years Eve and I was pretty impressed with the place. The interior is really clean and simple. It has some long tables and benches that stretch the length of the floor and a few smaller tables off to the side. The walls have some cool woodwork and almost reminded me of a hunting lodge. The beer selection was really similar to BLAH, with some solid offerings and around 20 taps. The place doesn't feel to stuffy or too hipster-y. I would (and will) definitely go back here.

01-02-2012 17:04:00 | More by notchucknorris

sholland119

Pennsylvania

3.94/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

We stopped here in between our stops at blind lady alehouse and ritual tavern. Pretty cool wide-open space with "barstools" (actually really uncomfortable metal stools) on the left a bunch of tables on the right. They were doing and allagash event for SDBW when we visited so plenty of good stuff was on tap.

We did not try the food for the pizzas looked pretty good. As with many places in San Diego, There is no table service you just order at the window.

Service was good for a brand-new place. We enjoyed our stop.

HV

01-02-2012 15:54:00 | More by sholland119