Pizza Port San Clemente

spazaru

California

2.58/5  rDev -38.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 1 | $

I drove up from Carlsbad because I had never been to the San Clemente Pizza Port.

I don't know what was up but they only had 4 of their own house brews on tap and about 5 or 6 guest taps, none of which were inspiring.

I decided I had wasted a trip and left. San Clemente is beautiful though and definitely worth a stop.

Went back to Carlsbad and drank at THAT Pizza Port which had about 10 house brews and 10 guest taps. From what I've seen, you can pretty much skip Solana Beach and San Clemente. Carlsbad had the biggest selection.

11-28-2005 13:34:02 | More by spazaru

PuckLSHS

Iowa

2.8/5  rDev -33%
vibe: 2 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 2 | food: 4.5 | $$

Although some of the people on this site believe this to be the best brewpub in Orange County, I would have to disagree with them. I have been to many a brewpub in Orange County and I will agree that this is one of the best, but not the best.

We took a trip there while doing the Pizza Port Tasting Tour that has become a staple with my group of friends. We started at Solana Beach, hopped over to Carlsbad and ended with San Clemente...boy was I disappointed when I got to San Clemente after going to the first two.

We arrived hoping to find exceptional beer and ended up finding about 6 taps out of commission and a staff that greeted us with apologies. We did the taster set of the beers that they had and the lines just didn't feel fresh on them. I do give them a bit of credit for dealing with the recent change they had in brewmaster, but I was quite surprised. I guess I was not expecting them to have barren taps, but to be birthing new brews before we decided to arrive.

If I were going to advise anyone of anything, I would advise them to spend the extra time and trek down to Carlsbad for some better fare. Maybe it was just the time I visited, but I was quite disappointed especially since I happen to love the other two establishments. Hopefully, while I write this, they are gearing up to stop the madness that I was privy to see.

04-17-2006 04:54:29 | More by PuckLSHS

LottieSue

3.54/5  rDev -15.3%
vibe: 1 | quality: 2.25 | service: 5 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5 | $

Disinfectant smell overwhelmed us at the front door and gave me a headache. The air is not healthy for anyone especially the babies and young kids that were there. The wooden stairs have and seating, consisting of padded wobbly park benches are worn and shabby looking. Because of the lack of sound absorbing materials the place is cold and noisy. The walls are stark white and have dirty light switches.

Carpeting is dirty. Beverage machine served flat coke and clear soda Dr. Pepper. There are torn off labels on all napkin dispensers what hold very thin napkins. Paper plates are cheep so you need to at least double up to support pizza. Game area and toy machines to the ceiling are unsightly. Basically the whole place needs to be redecorated and cleaned up.

We enjoyed the pizza but we will never return there unless it gets under new management who changes the place for the better. This place is crying for a Restaurant Rescue! Restrooms: shabby, toxic smell of disinfectant permeates even a few feet before you enter.

Because of the condition of the place we just didn't feel comfortable.

01-17-2013 06:08:29 | More by LottieSue

86sportster883

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -13.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2 | $$

Carl’s Bad Pizza

I stopped in the San Clemente Pizza Port late on a weekday afternoon after a day flying to CA from the East coast. I was hungry, and a bit drained from the flight, so pizza and beer seemed to hold promise. The Pizza Port is right off of I-5, easy to find, and on-street parking was not a problem. When you walk in, the pizza is straight back, the bar & brewing equipment is to the left, picnic table-style seating is to the right and curbside seating is out front. There’s an upstairs, but it was empty of both patrons and service when I first got there so I opted to eat & drink at the street level bar.

On tap, there were about 2 dozen beers. As for their own beers, they offered the Sharkbite Red, Sticky Stout, Doheny Double IPA, Pier Rat Porter, Badonk-a-Dunkel, Way Heavy Scotch/Strong Ale, Riptide (fresh hop strong) Pale Ale and a Trestles Golden Ale.

Guest taps included the Wiehenstephan Pisner, Avery Reverend & White Rascal, Sierra Nevada Pale Bock & Summer Fest, Russian River IPA, Paulner Salvator Dopplebock, Hoptown DUIPA, Victory Hop Devil, Fire Stone Pale, Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard, Rubicon IPA and the Bear Republic’s Racer 5 IPA.

The $2 Pint of the Night was Stone IPA.

I ordered a small Carlsbad Pizza, but after the 1st slice could not bring myself to eat the crust of the remaining 10in pie. I also tried the “beer buddies” which were OK, especially if you’re just looking to get something in you before drinking. But overall, I found the food to be disappointing.

As for the beer I started with the Sticky Stout which was nice, but hard to truly appreciate at the temperature at which it was served. I was too thirsty to wait for it to warm up too much, yet my initial impression was that it was a pretty solid American stout interpretation. Next I tried the Pier Rat Porter on nitro which was incredibly smooth, had a thick creamy head that coated the glass and had good retention. The taste, again, seemed a touch muted due to the temperature, but it was certainly very drinkable.

So, the beers were solid, the service was friendly and knowledgeable and the atmosphere was predominantly that of a casual surfer hang out. Not a bad place, but not one that I’d drive out of my way to return to.

10-16-2007 03:57:11 | More by 86sportster883

bbothen

California

3.83/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Located right on El Camino in downtown San Clemente. Right across from the Pacific Ocean.

Has a very laid back So Cal vibe. Small bar with a few stools, front patio with 2-3 tables, and a "dining area' of picnic tables + an upstairs area I didn't venture into. The tiny brewhouse is visable behind the bar.

Service has been fine on each visit. Nice friendly young service staff.

8 or so brewed onsite brews & 8 or so quality guest taps. All teh PIzza Port brews are solid, IPA, stout, red. Guest taps when I was there were Racer X, Speedway Stout, Pliny The Elder, etc. Top notch stuff. Also have bottles of Port/Lost Abbey brews to go.

The Pizzas are really great. California style. I love the Monterey that has artichokes & pepperoni. Place your order at the counter & they call your name. No waiters or servers.

Top notch brews & pizza. What else do you need to know?

06-08-2008 04:36:11 | More by bbothen

snpub540

California

3.83/5  rDev -8.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

Stopped by yesterday on my way back home from the beach.

First off atmosphere is great. Saw alot of people rocking brewery tshirts so you know you are in the right place for some great beer. Pick ur own table at one of the picnic benches throughout the restaurant and get ready for a good time. Place was crazy packed and finding a spot was kind of hard.

Food was excellent. My favorite was the baked hot wings. Honestly some of the best wings I've ever had. Had some beer bites and a couple pizzas for the kids and i to share and there were no complaints had by any of my party.

Beers were amazing too. I went on a Star Wars theme day so i had a glass of Banta Poodoo which was very strong and i had the cask beer which was a stout with chilis.

My only complaint was with the service. I could tell the kitchen was swamped because it took about 30 min for my appetizers and closer to 50 for my pizza. The girl behind the counter was also very rude and did not display any real customer service. But all in all i had a great time and will definitely be back but maybe on a slower day.

08-21-2012 02:37:24 | More by snpub540

BrewMaster

California

3.84/5  rDev -8.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4

This was our first stop on a trip to all 3 Pizza Port locations in one day. From outside this place looks like any other restaurant with a nice patio. Inside there is a winding staircase and a bar to the left situated right in front of the brewing area. The beer at this location was the the weakest of the 3 locations, but it is not bad, the others are just better. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the bartender was friendly but lacked some ber knowledge. They had about 10 of their own brews on tap with a few guest brews from other breweries. It is worth visiting this brewpub beacause they have their own unique brewery and some beers that seem to be a work in progress. Though he wasn't there when we visited, the head brewer seems very accessible because people were coming in and asking for him by name. And I guess it makes sense since all of the brew tanks are right behind the bar.

10-03-2004 15:16:30 | More by BrewMaster

arizcards

Arizona

3.88/5  rDev -7.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Visited here one early afternoon a few weeks back with Da Boss while vacationing 4 miles up the road at Capistrano Beach.

Atmosphere was OK, it had a well worn feel about the place but you could not beat a wonderful low 70 degree day. Quality was good, I had a couple pints of the Rat Pier Porter and Da Boss had the Shark Attack which were enjoyed. Service was average. Being a self serve place there is not much to comment on. Selection of beer was pretty good. There must have been around 20 beers available to select from. We ordered a pizza which was quite good. Overall value is pretty good. I think we got out of there for less than 40 dollars for a large pizza and 3 pints. I would definitely visit again.

10-04-2008 23:43:23 | More by arizcards

3.9/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

Stopped in for a late dinner and some beer on a Sunday evening.

Atmosphere was very casual. We used the "rooftop" parking, and entered on the third level (bar), proceeded to the second level (bar), and finally made it to the ground floor (bar, food, brewery). Nice setup, with bar to left (can order beer and food) or counter straight back (food only). Picnic tables for family style seating were off to the right. We put in our food order and headed over to the bar to pick out some beer.

Service was prompt and friendly at both beer and food counters. We knew what we were after, so we didn't test their knowledge very much.

Selection was good. They had about 20 beers on tap, pretty evenly split between theirs and guests. PP beers I recall were Riptide, Way Heavy, Shark Bite, Pier Rat Porter, and Badonk-a-Dunkel (gotta love the name!). Guests included Alesmith Decadence, Stone Ruination and IPA, and Russian River IPA. They also had bottles of most of the Port/Lost Abbey regular line-up. T-shirts and other stuff rounded out the "to go" line up.

Food was quite tasty. We had a pizza and made most of it disappear. Not spectacular, but certainly a cut above most Pizza places.

Overall, a comfortable place to go for some beer and decent pizza. I would go back if I was in the area again.

11-05-2007 14:31:17 | More by

Billolick

New York

3.93/5  rDev -6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Wifey was willing, so we made this our third PP stop in our first 2 days in San Diego. It is about 20-30 mins further north from the Carlsbad location. Same idea as the other two, all three actually have the same food menu, the biggest problem I had at this location was the sure decrease in the beer selections available compared to the other two. The had some BA worthy brew, but not nearly the excitement of the other two's offerings. So this place is still worth a visit, its just not the true Beer Hunting destination as the other more southern locations.

08-08-2006 14:44:11 | More by Billolick