Flying Elephant Pub & Grill

Really was hoping for a good experience here bc it’s right down the street from our place but it failed miserably. We got barked at when we first walk in to PAY 5 DOLLA COVER. But said we just wanted to eat dinner so we got to sit in the dining area. After 10 – 15 minutes of no service, I addressed the hostess & she got us menus. Short after, waitress got our drinks, 2 Pacificos in PLASTIC cups (meanwhile, our neighbors have glasses) not to be a B or anything but ew! $ 6 crappy beer in plastic? No thanks. By the time she came back around, we had already decided we did NOT want to eat here. Really loud (they had a band on the other side) and just didn’t feel like we were a priority at all to the server. Table was really sticky too. We won’t be back.

By all accounts, I’m a fan of this place.
I love the rock/​alt culture atmosphere. The décor is cool. The size is favorable. But I feel like, since changing ownership (formerly Hensley’s Flying Elephant. .. .), the quality has gone down hill.
Service can be iffy. They’ve removed some beers from the draught (no more Smithwicks? WTF?) and the cornhole game smack in the middle of the floor attracts the amateur hour folks. Also, posting local artist/​entrepreneurs work for sale borders on tacky.
I’m not hating on this joint, just stating my few points of dissatisfaction that can easily be improved upon. I’ve had some great times here and their lunch special is a killer deal.
A couple of tweaks, and this place could be a crowning jewel in the North County bar scene.

This is a fun place to go for a beer or a drink. They have live music so that is why I came. The back room that holds the concerts does have private tables you can reserve or you can just by a regular ticket which allows you to stand in GA and watch the show. Nice small size venue with a pretty good sound system. The regular bar area has a full menu and tables. They also have «cornhole» which is really bean bag toss. The bartender we had was nice and the food we ordered was decent and was a very large portion for the price.

Minus one star for recently taking away the daily any burger/​sandwich for $ 5.99 deal… CRUSHED…and although you replaced it with a burger/​sandwich of the week special… you don’t even post it on your site? So what used to be a weekly regular lunch stop… is now an… ehh…maybe on the way back from the post office monthly stop.
Don’t let my being a baby get in the way of this divey gem… great burgers… huge sandwiches… and the Wooly Mammoth… you’ll have to visit the site for this. FOOD CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
They have live music in this place… very neighborhood feel… I heard it used to get «rowdy» in here… I like that word. They have corn hole during lunch… what beats that… BRING BACK YOUR SPECIALS… or at least post current info on your site… or at the very VERY least… answer your phone… I am not stalking you… just want to know if it’s the Roast Beef Burger or the Club (BOTH EPIC) on special this week.

Off of Tamarack at I-​5 next to a gas station, this unassuming pub has a local feel. A bit of a dive and constantly undergoing improvements it seems but at lunch you get good food and a variety of beers in a non crowded room. The bar is at the center of everything and there are tables with chairs and benches around the perimeter of the room. The fare is your basic pub food. I found the portions ample, very tasty, and priced appropriately. The bartender served up the food and the drinks.
It completely met my expectations and I expect to be back.

Ive also drove past this place on the I-​5 and wanted to come here to clear my curiosity. The inside of the place is black walls with a full bar in the center of the room. Theres also an additional room where they have live bands/​DJ which was blocked off cause there was no act.
I sat at the bar and our bartender of the day was very energetic and stoked on life which made me want to order more drinks (cheers to that!)
Drinks were made right, the only problem I had was all the drinks i asked him to make they didnt have the right bottles… or he never heard of them.
Why I still give this place 4 stars, is because he was willing to make the drinks no matter what and would get on his phone to grab the recipe to make me happy, so there ya go!
I ordered the chips and curry which was BOMB!!!:)
I have yet to try the other foods, but the prices for some of the items are a bit steep.
Other than that, I am a fan of this place and would come back again.

This place turned out to be a real hidden gem. Conveniently located right off the freeway I can’t tell you how many times I drove past this place and never went in! Went to see Three Bad Jacks here last Saturday and ended up loving the place!
Cool round architecture to the building with really cool art all over.
The jukebox was playing amazing music, the staff was friendly, tattooed, and made us feel really welcome! The band we went for didn’t play till 10, but we came early and saw a really great opening band I had never heard of, and also took a few racks on the pool table in between acts.
Although we didn’t try any of the food personally, a regular told me the nachos are very good.
This is one kick ass dive bar and if I lived closer to Carlsbad, I would definitely find myself hear often…

We (3 of us) went to see our favorite band perform. I paid $ 15 cover to get in just before 9:00. (our band was slotted to play from 9:00 — 10:00. However — once we got in, the previous band played on to nearly 9:30 & the venue operators did not get our band on until after 9:30. After 4 songs, at 10:00, the venue operators turned up the lights and said all patrons under 21 had to leave. There was no prior warning or indication that this would happen at the door when we paid our cover.
In the rush out with the dozens of other patrons, I forgot my C/​C at the bar. When I went back the next day, I discovered that they had ADDED a 20% gratuity for themselves and ran my card WITHOUT MY CONSENT. I’m pretty sure this constitutes fraud — so I reversed the charges with my bank (even though it did not cover my losses from the cover charges).
I contacted the management but they were not open to discussing our poor experience (blaming the band and patrons) or help resolve the issue with other patrons who complained on their Facebook wall. IN FACT, they went so far as to delete negative comments by other patrons. VERY poor management and customer service.

10 of us went 8÷12÷2012 to see my favorite San Diego-​area band Space Milk. $ 5 cover for an all ages show. I am (well) over 21 but I had minors with me and knew that minors would have to leave by 10 pm. However, since Space Milk was promised the 9−10pm time slot we thought we would be fine. Oh how wrong we were.
First bad sign: the cocktail waitress behind the bar that would not stop texting while she was having a conversation with me. Second bad sign: opening band was allowed to play until 9:35pm. I go to a lot of live music and you just don’t see this in professionally-​run venues like the Whisky or the Roxy. 3^rd bad sign: the venue continued to collect cover charges from minors entering just a few minutes before 10pm, even though the venue planned to kick them out minutes later.
Space Milk started playing a great show but after four songs the lights came on and the staff started clearing out minors, as per state law. Personally, I have no problem with this as it is state law. I have a huge problem with the way the patrons were treated. Minors who had entered minutes before were roughly and harshly told to leave (with no refund, of course). Hensley’s had their money, but the patrons — most of whom were minors — did not get what they paid for. Kudos to Space Milk for refusing — in true punk rock fashion — to play any longer and be complicit in this orchestrated rip-​off. They unplugged and packed their gear, and the place just cleared out. It was both amusing and sad to see a venue instantly alienate two hundred customers simultaneously. Hensley’s closed early, locking their doors.
I hope the doors stay locked for good. If it were possible to give zero stars for this orchestrated thievery I certainly would. Please do not reward this unethical business with your hard-​earned dollars.
PS It is amusing to read what are obviously Hensley’s staff writing their own reviews in defense of their atrocious behavior (new Unilocalers, one review). They make it sound like it was kindergarten in there, which would be funny, if it were true. The fact is that despite the show being «all ages», it was mostly a 18 – 21 year old crowd that paid $ 5 each to see Space Milk. You can call them «toddlers» but these are the young and women the venue believed it could steal from with no consequences. Apparently the staff of Hensley’s believes that stealing from, lying to, and insulting your customers will make their business successful.

On a downhill slide. Took place about 3 weeks ago. When you have to wait 20 – 30 minutes to order a drink on a semi-​busy night (Not packed), there is a problem. And I’m not overly concerned when I see that they are busy, but pick up your heads and look around to make eye contact with your customers every now and then so they know you saw them.
Went again tonight and they closed 2 hours early. MATT, COME BACK!

Stopped in for a quick lunch and stumbled into a tasty (yet somewhat healthy) lunch. If you’re a fan of buffalo sauce order the spicy «buffalo style» grilled chicken sandwich without cheese with order the side salad. I know… this requires to turn down options like:
fries
potato salad
onion rings
pasta salad
coleslaw
(for a buck more) tots or frings
but you can do it!
Usually an after thought the salad was very tasty and included:
tossed greens
olives
banana peppers
tomatoes
cucumbers
shaved carrots
onions
The monster spicy sandwich was delightful and very filling. It was covered in tasty buffalo sauce and topped with:
red onions
pickle
tomatoes
shredded lettuce
topped on a garlic grilled home-​made roll
It was freaking awesome and has become a new favorite!
I give this kinda healthy lunch 8 «buffalo chicken soldiers» out of 10.

I’ve usually come here just for lunch but its a great little gem if you’re looking for a good lunch spot. I love their food. I definitely recommend asking for a side of their curry sauce if you get some fries or tater tots to dip in.
Head their for lunch or right after work for happy. You wont regret it. It’s nice and quiet and you get some great food at some really good prices.
Try and brave the Wolley Mammoth. It’s a monstrosity of goodness and if you can finish it (by yourself) in under 30minutes its free. Me and some buddies split it and the three of us couldn’t finish it.

I really like this location and for multiple reasons.
— When Mr. Hensley took over the flip he did on the place was amazing. If you saw it before when it was… ummm…oh crap, I made myself block out the name of whatever crap hole it was before.
— Their football set up on Sundays is awesome! Lots of TV’s/Games, cheap beer, great service.
— Walking distance from our house (yay).
— The food is very yummy! Even though when you walk in you may not automatically think «I bet this place makes a mean Ahi Tuna Salad». Well, they do!
— I don’t think anyone could really feel uncomfortable in the crowd. It always seems to have a totally diverse mix of people sans douche bags. I love the eclectic mix of people there and have never seen stupid fights, drama, etc.
— The live music here has never disappointed.
— They support local artists and let them show/​sell their work on the walls.
The only reasons I removed a star.
— Close just before midnight (sad face)
— On Friday’s or Saturday’s you will have a wait to get a drink. On nights like this we will just order two at a time. The staff there is always working their butt’s off, don’t get me wrong. There is just usually one or two bartenders to help the three deep crowd at the bar PLUS the waitresses providing table service.

I wish I liked it more but the service is always so bad.
Not really a sports bar. Not really a music venue.
Menu is ok.
Lower your expectations so you won’t be disappointed.

I haven’t tried the food here but this is a pretty cool bar with a definite local vibe. Plenty of high top tables throughout, a couple of pool tables and a dart board.
If I were a local, I think this would be a great place to hang out. Since I’m not, I’m glad I’ve stopped by to check this place out but it wouldn’t be a regular hang out. I would like to go back and listen to the live bands though.

I went here for my friends birthday and it’s completely grimy and sketchy to the core. It draws alot of locals and it seems like a cool hang out but I can never see myself going here again.
Almost all the stools and tables are wobbley which I noticed made a few people spill their drinks. They have a big selection of alcohol, mixed drinks, and they claim to have a big selection of beer in stock and on tap but when I was there, they had pretty much nothing.
The food is gross and very over priced. I got the buffalo wings hoping it’d be a safe bet but they were hot but with no flavor so it tasted similar to chicken soaked with tapitio and under cooked. Their jalopeno burger tasted soggy and not appetizing at all.
They have a cool room for bands to play, the sound isn’t the best but it’s still pretty cool to go there for. They have an outside part but they don’t let you take your drink out there so unless you want to hang out with a bunch of smokers, it’s avoidable.

They dont serve irish food anymore! Fried chicken anyone?

Fabulous place to go on Sunday to watch football! Happy hour is all day, and you can find $ 8 domestic pints and $ 3 food items! They have also added booths to relax in while watching the 5 – 6 tv’s. Very chill crowd, friendly service! This is also a kid-​friendly place — My friend brought her (almost) 3 year old for a little while, there were a few other kids there too and it was allllll good :)

Came here for a drink last Sunday. Courteous bartenders, and the food was surprisingly tasty. While I was not expecting much in terms of food, we ordered pizza and wings since we were all getting hungry. While the pizza was ok, the wings were meaty and tasted good. While I am not a wing connoisseur, my friend and I enjoyed them.
I believe the domestic drafts were $ 3, so we drank that. Prices were good, I am sure we’ll stop here again sometime.

Bad, bad service: the staff would much rather talk amongst themselves than serve patrons. The pinnacle of their laziness appeared on St. Patty’s Day, when they were pushing canned Guinness and had to be cajoled into pouring actual pints.
Perhaps the staff isn’t all that interested in earning themselves tip cash or Mr. Hensley a profit.
I’ve enjoyed the crowd and the bands there, so my answer to the bad service is to drink in the parking lot.