Encinitas Ale House

Came here last night for a late dinner. Read an article on their garlic burger being a must try so decided to try it out. The place is like a little bar. Different feel from La Jolla Public House and we love the LJ public house. Similar menu but also has their own specialities.
Garlic Burger w/​Garlic Parm Fries — If you really love garlic, this is for you. It’s heavy on the garlic side with a really strong flavor. The fries were good but I feel like they don’t give you much compared to the La Jolla location.
Wagyu Burger w/​Cajun Fries — This was okay. I felt like it could have had more flavor to it. The gruyère cheese was really strong. Every burger comes w standard Cajun fries. The fries were nicely cooked w a great flavor but I’m not seeing the Cajun. There was maybe a tiny sprinkle of cajun but barely noticeable.
My main issue with the burgers was that they don’t ask you how you like it cooked whereas most burger places do. We typically order medium well but they came out quite the opposite. Medium rare. In the dim lighting the ale house had, the meat looked like it was not cooked. I cannot imagine what it looked like in regular lighting. I’m sure medium rare is fine for most people but it was just hard to eat because I couldn’t stop seeing the red. Literally tried to eat it without looking at the burger or thinking about how rare it was.

This place has an awesome tap list and burgers that are just as good. It’s teeny tiny inside with a few tables and bar seating, so if it’s full, you’re in for a long wait. My boyfriend and I have come here in search of some beers that haven’t been tapped anywhere else in SD, and on those days, it’s sure to be filled with people wanting the same thing.
Highly recommend a beer and a burger here.
The people working here are all very sweet and pretty knowledgable about the beer.

I really enjoyed this place. We sat at the bar on a Friday afternoon, post-​thanksgiving. The service hid their discomfort beautifully, and served us promptly. We drank Delirium Reds and Oskar Blues until our kidneys produced.
«Now if I could just ca-​PISS!” – Maury Ballstein, Balls Models
We had burgers all around; one mushroom Marsala, one Kobe Wagyu and one Santana burger, all with Parmesan garlic fries on the side. Everyone was happy. The entrees are between $ 10 and $ 15 for the most part, and the menu comes with all the comforts of a roadside tavern for the concerned traveler.

Came here super randomly on a whim near Christmas time with my brother. One of the few places that was open still. They were still fairly packed and the one lady who was running the place was super nice and accommodating for us especially when we told her we needed food quickly and one order to-​go.
The burgers were definitely not your run-​of-​the-​mill fast-​food or whatnot and the meat was superb since they brag about their beef on the menu. It’s really tasty and hit the spot but it didn’t really truly «pop» or taste fantastically mind-​blowing which is what I expected when I read on their menu that they have the best burger in Encinitas. I think the burger bun could have been sourced better and some of the toppings were not tasting as fresh as they could be.
The fries were definitely tasty.
So all-​in-​all, great food, we had their Chicken pizza and it was yummy but it was horrible the next day. Gave me awesome heart burn too. So not sure if it was too overloaded with oil or greasy stuff.

Really good experience here despite being really busy on a major football might. Amazingly long list of bottles and drafts! Great service !! Solid food. Would come back & this is coming from Portland Oregon home to breweries and pubs!

Incredible burgers! Great for a mellow watch the game sorta night. The servings are pretty large. My husband and I always split — also this place carries a beer that’s a sour called the duchesse-​hard to find

Had lunch here. Menu is great. Lots of options in your classic pub style food. I had rattle snake eggs and friend pickles as an app … Those were amazing. Ordered the fish and chips and was presented with what seemed to be the whole fish and some fries. Great portions sizes. Beer list is amazing. I love the upstairs patio for day drinking as you can see the boardwalk and the ocean. Service is amazing as well.
Turns into a bar with dancing late in evening.

Stopped by for a quick beer. They had pages and pages of foreign and domestic beers but I still cannot understand how they don’t have Guinness! I did a flight of Belgium beers that were amazing and unique. But I felt out of place there so I didn’t stay long. Can’t say this place was interesting enough, for me, to go back to.

I love Enci Ale House! So many beer options, and their burgers are awesome. I come here all the time, and it’s within walking distance so I can taste as many beers as I like!

⁷⁄₁₁: Oooohhh Interesting…
Here’s the experience:
We walked in and it was dark, kind of scary dark in my opinion, but when I say scary, I wasn’t scared it was just a bit darker than a pub or bar should be. Anyhoo, we sat at the bar and everything seemed so woodsy even though not everything is woodsy, the vibe just gave me that feeling. So we stare at this heavy menu before opening it thinking I wanted a beer menu. Sure enough when we opened it, it was the bar menu. Ah Ha! It was HUGE! Plenty of pages in this book and plenty of different types of beer to choose from. I was super excited.
So we ordered some flights to test it out. Can’t get a full glass without knowing what we will commit to. Everything was good. I didn’t find a beer to that I liked based on the tasters but it was good enough for me as I wanted to save my belly for food. I was a bit snacky so I ordered their crab cakes. I wasn’t expecting alot of food and when it came out it was just the right size of crab cake. Hmmm how to describe this, it was like any other, didn’t stand out in any way. It was food to eat.
I kept reading reviews about the burger and I was super tempted to order a burger from here but we wanted to explore and go to other places. So I will definitely note, next time try their burger.
Come check out their big beer selection… OoooHHH ahhhh.

My friend and I recently decided to check out Encinitas Ale House for dinner. Although the restaurant is much smaller than I expected, and thus quite loud, I was so impressed with the food that I’ll likely bring my boyfriend here in the future.
I checked out their extensive beer list and found a few cider options, which made me happy. Since I was driving and am a major lightweight, I was pleased to see that they offered 5 oz. tastes of their drafts for just $ 2.50. I can’t remember which cider I tried though and the online menu has been updated since my visit. It seems that they regularly swap out their draft options.
For dinner, we decided to share the margherita pizza and the grilled chicken, apple and havarti sandwich with garlic parmesan fries. The pizza was the clear winner of the night. Everything from the sauce to the chunks of mozzarella cheese was perfect and I’ll definitely be ordering it again in the future. The chicken sandwich was good but didn’t blow me away like the pizza. It seemed odd at first to have apple on a sandwich but it provided a surprisingly crunchy texture that was a nice change of pace. The fries were wonderful and I’d recommend upgrading if you love garlic as much as I do.
As I briefly mentioned above, my only complaint is that the space is small so the noise volume is pretty high.

This place is tiny with a huge beer list! They have local beers, out of state beers, and out of country beers!
I loved the «strawberry blondie» made with local Carlsbad strawberries.
I went with a friend to grab a drink and some food. We split the margarita pizza and the chicken with apple pesto sandwich.
The pizza was amazing! I saw reviews mentioning their burgers, but wasn’t quite in the mood for such a heavy meal. I’ve been looking for a good pizza place since moving to California a year ago. Finally found one that I can say is really tasty! Yay! The chicken sandwich was good but a little plain. The bread got hard pretty quick, overall the sandwich was okay. Also ordered Parmesan fries, which had a ton of yummy garlic and Parmesan!
I really like this little place and will definitely come back to try a burger and more beers! The service was good, not over the top, but not bad either.

Amazing place! It’s pretty tiny but the food is incredible! It’s absolutely delicious and they have so many great options. Not to mention the beer menu! Hundreds to choose from! It’s a little overwhelming there’s so much! Our waiter was great we just explained what kind of beer we like and he came back with beers that were perfect for us. Great place friendly and helpful servers and excellent food!

Crazy selection of Belgium beers + freshly fried seafood = a little slice of heaven.
Walk in to a cool darkl bar. Just seeing the interior, I knew instantly this place took their beer seriously and I was in for a treat. Probably over 200 beers offered here. Belgium beer selection is solid and great way how they broke them down on the menu. Had to go with the Old Speckle Hun on nitro and some fish & chips.
The Old Speckle Hen didn’t taste as good on nitro as it does in a bottle or regular tap. The fish & chips were great. Perfect color and great crunch on these. Love they throw a few shrimp in and give a huge lemon on the side. The fish inside was perfect with nice succulent flakes just coming right a part. Fries were pretty good, but a little over shadowed by the seafood. Great place to grab beers, eat, or both.

Always have an amazing time here. The food is huge portions, super delicious and tons of beer options. Make sure to arrive early because it gets packed early. The only problem and reason I wouldn’t give it 5 stars was it’s very small inside and when crowded it’s sooo loud! Even if people are speaking at normal volumes it echoes and is extremely loud, only draw back but totally worth still going and having their amazing burgers. They also have a fun beer program you can join that’s 80 beers in 80 days. Worth giving it a shot!

Tuesday is BOGO free burger day… and that explains the crowds! A friend and I arrived around 6:45, put our name on the clipboard list (and please– write your name down, don’t just scope out tables!)
The burgers here are fantastic as is their beer! Get the flight, you won’t be disappointed!
Our server was delightful and didn’t miss a beat.
The portions are huge and I devoured my burger like I was in training for an eating competition. I think I would’ve won.
I’ll be back!

Great bar for lunch, great beer selection and a cool unhealthy 80 beers in 80 days contest.
I had the patty melt, it sucked, but everyone else reg burgers were great. The parm fries were good too. I recommend sitting at the bar as the tables can get cramped in the back.

Best Burgers in Encinitas! This is such a fun place to just sit back relax, drink beer and eat a delicious burger.
They are known for their 80 day beer challenge which is where you come in for 80 straight days and have a beer. I personally don’t know anyone who has completed or is currently working on it, but it is a very unique club!
I have been over a dozen times and I love getting a new beer on tap every time. They have a bunch of burgers on their menu and they always have two burger specials, which are exotic and tasty, so I usually go with that. Between my boyfriend and I we have had lamb, camel, bison, buffalo, alligator, and venison burgers… so good!
The calamari apetizer is also delicious, spicy and tangy.
The place is on the smaller side, so if you come on a weekend or game night, get here early to grab some seats. If you haven’t been here yet, you are missing out!

If you’re in Encinitas with a craving for a burger and beer, you’re at the right place!
And if it happens to be a Tuesday, even better! Why? Because it’s Tuesday Burger Night with 2 for 1 burgers with the purchase of 2 drinks! How awesome is that?! I went with my boyfriend and we had an incredible experience — from the service to over 80 beers available for thirsty patrons! And the burgers… oh the burgers. They were so juicy and flavorful, I didn’t want it to end! But fear not, I’ll be back next Tuesday! :)

Bam! What a brilliant little place. My wife, friend and I walked in for dinner on a quiet Monday night and I’m sure glad we did.
The Hits:
* GRASS FED KOBE WAGYU BURGER
Where has this been all my life? Sooo good!
* Wychwood «Hobgoblin» Brown
Nice beer in a crazy little witches mug.
* «Specials» chalk board with Elk or Venison Burgers.
Our friend had the Elk and loved it.
** Update: I also recently had Kangaroo here
The Misses:
* Didn’t get ketchup with our amazing fries.
They didn’t really need ketchup but still…
* Mac n Cheese Pizza. Meh. My wife liked it though.
* Kinda pricey?
2 burgers + pizza + 3 beers + tip = $ 90+
This is a cool joint and another reason to add to the «I wish I lived in Encinitas» list. I’m sure glad our friend lives just down the street ;-)