Alchemy

San Diego, United States

3.9

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 619-255-0616
Website:
www.alchemysandiego.com
Address:
1503 30th St, San Diego, CA, 92102
b/t Beech St & Cedar St
South Park, Golden Hill
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
1.1 mi32nd/Commercial
1.2 mi25th/Commercial
1.4 miCity College
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Trendy
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today –
Local time (San Diego) 12:31 PM Thursday, November 28, 2024

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

One of the city’s hippest hangouts, Alchemy Cultural Fare features a globally inspired menu of modern street food and American cuisine and is located in the historic neighborhood of South Park in Golden Hill. An anchor of the burgeoning 30th Street «restaurant row» — Alchemy is a foodie hotspot that is revolutionizing the local dining culture.

Award-​winning Executive Chef Ricardo Heredia has crafted an approachable and creative menu inspired by global street food trends using sustainable ingredients to create flavor-​rich seasonal dishes. The seasonal offerings at Alchemy pair perfectly with local craft beer, handcrafted cocktails and a smart selection of international wines all at an approachable price point. A cool and unpretentious neighborhood setting is punctuated by a rotating gallery of artwork from regional artists. Whatever you might be in the mood for, Alchemy is the ideal destination for a relaxed well-​paced meal, spent imbibing and dining with good friends.

History

Established in 2009.

Since opening in early 2009 Alchemy has continued to explore dining trends and bring cultural fare to our guests. We have developed a great reputation for our unique brand of Street Food and sustainable scratch cooking techniques. We support numerous causes related to hunger and healthy meals for children. Our passion is the San Diego food system and educating our community on interesting cultural fare & cocktails.

In early 2012 we launched Alchemy Catering and have now offer off-​site catering of all fashions for groups small and large, formal and casual alike. Visit our website for all the details on our various lines of business and education. www​.alche​mysandiego​.com

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Vicinity

Near this location:
20
ft
Hamilton’s Tavern
1521 30th St
30
ft
KINDRED
1503 30th St
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3001 Beech St
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Old House Fair
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Goldline Salon
3009 Beech St
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Halcyon Tea
3009 Beech St

20 reviews of Alchemy

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Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
It may seem silly to write a review of a business that is now closed, but this place served me well ever since I moved to the area. So, more than a review, this is a thank you.
A thank you for being a great hang after a long day when Hamilton’s or Turf just seemed overwhelming. A thank you for introducing me to a slew of new people, both patrons and employees. A thank you for serving up an incredible Christmas dinner with my friends, complete with two suckling pigs. Yes, two of them. A thank you for everything they’ve done for the neighborhood — oh how it’s changed since they moved in. And finally, thank you for never being pretentious, snobby, trendy, and never being disingenuous.
Thank you and cheers, Alchemy.
Place rating: 4
Spring Valley, CA
Food was full of flavor and really fresh. Drinks were different but really good. If you love pickles then you need to try the pickle martini. Chicken dish was really good and the service was great.
Place rating: 3
La Jolla, CA
With the wait at the Italian place across the street over an hour long for a table for two, we checked to see if we could get in Alchemy without reservations. We were seated almost immediately. While we waited for the waitress, I looked up their facebook page and noticed a very yummy special (pork belly) was being offered for the night.
The waitress stopped by to take our drink order, and I asked a few questions about the wine. She seemed to not have any clue on the notes or sweetness of the wine and was extremely icy in her reception. She warmed up as the night progressed, but only a bit.
I wasn’t sure on the wine, so I ordered a margarita. A decent margarita is always decent and wine can be so iffy. We also ordered the stuffed pork peppers as an appetizer, the schnitzel for my dining partner, and the pork belly + grain salad for me.
The app was great, just a very small portion. The pork chop he had was well prepared but a bit bland. The accompanying sides were very tasty. The grain salad I had was very good, well seasoned. The real star was the pork belly. The onion jam was the right mix of sweet and savory and the pork belly was very well prepared.
We opted not to have dessert. Overall, the meal was nice but the service was rushed and not terribly friendly. I’m glad we tried the place as they’re closing shop in a few weeks. If they were remaining open, I can’t say we’d go again unless they had another amazing looking special.
Place rating: 4
Harrison, TN
The chicken and waffles sandwich with hash was on point. Also loved the art and décor. Service was alright.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
If you are going for brunch, this is an awesome place to do it! The bartender/​server Elliot is a lot of fun, very friendly and attentive. Note this is a very chill place and if you want a quick in and out bite I’ll take it to go but this place is awesome to enjoy their BOTTOMLESS mimosas and bellinis… I’ll recomend it for brunch and great relax meals.
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
The $ 19 cranberry chicken left me hungry when I left. It tastes good, but there’s really only a piece of fried chicken on a plate with sauce, no sides! It tasted good but for $ 19, it’s pretty meager.
I won’t be going back :-/
Place rating: 2
Oakland, CA
What a disappointment! We were soooo excited to try Alchemy but it turns out our expectations were far too high. Everything was meh, except our waiter who did provide great service.
Wouldn’t go back anytime soon.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
South Park is a very tight knit community and known for it’s walkability and local eateries. Alchemy has sorely been overlook and drastically underestimated by the local food snobs… The Chef proved to my girlfriend and I what a true brunch should taste like.
First off, they do not half ass their Bloody Maries. In fact they have 4 or more versions of their Bloodies to pick from. Being that I was a brunch virgin here, I went with the famed Bacon Infused Bloody Marie. It was Oh so amazing and it went down the hatch faster than I could control myself to savor it. It was garnished with Olives and Thick Crispy Bacon Strips instead of the typical boring Celery stick.
The eager to please server then insisted that I order the Carnitas Chili-​quilis. Incredible! House fried corn tortilla strips, fresh and tangy house made salsa verde, free range fried eggs, black beans and slow cooked tender carnitas .This plate was big enough for two, but I annihilated it myself. The flavors were so thoughtful and well put together that I literally went terminator mode on it with no breaks.
Why some gave this place 1 and 2 stars is beyond me. Try it for brunch and see what I mean.
Place rating: 4
West Covina, CA
Took my wife here during a birthday trip down to San Diego. I heard of this spot from the show «chuck eats the street» so I made sure we went to check it out. We got there around 515pm at the time they open on Friday.
the interior was very nice and clean. Very cool décor. There were books stuck up on the ceiling. It was a quite tiny place. The bathroom is even really nice. I admired the bathroom sink.
We started off with drinks (alchemist mule) and we ordered 3 items off the appetizer menu. (Mac n cheese, corn fritters, larb goong) Everything was good. Not Great. Portions are fairly small for the price. Then again I can’t bash on that as I’m sure price backs up the quality of the food. The food tasted like it was made with very fresh ingredients.
Service was great. The host/​waiter was very kind.
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
My first review was when there was such a thing as 30th on 30th. I’ve came here for dinner twice now and here’s what I have tasted. Their burger, their watermelon cod, stew chicken, stuffed Chili with pork shoulder, chicken chicharron, burger and of course fries.
The meal overall was okay, nothing really stood out for me. Three of us actually ordered the stew chicken and the broth was a bit salty for me. The chicken was definitely tender and juicy but the overall dish itself was lacking something, maybe a bit of pepper?
Chicken Chicahrron was cool, everyone ate it and it’s exactly how you would picture it crispy fried skin. The burger was supposedly the best thing there and it was alright, I’m not sure if I want to come here just for their burger.
After this last time I have asked myself would I come here again and unfortunately because there’s so many great food places now in San Diego I have to say no. So with that being my judgement the place wasn’t bad nor was it excellent so 3 stars overall.
One last comment, I’m not sure if this is the style of the waitress but our service took forever but because we were in a large group all of us was mingling and not really caring for too much when she came. But it took her about 1 hour to check on us. I cared and definitely was trying to look for her so I can go home. That’s way too long in my book.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
Overall we were very impressed with the food and drinks. The waitress let us try tasters of the wine. The curry unique. The flavors were bold but not overwhelming. It was excellent on the alchemy burger.
Broccolini was cooked well and had a nice spicy flavor. The chicken stew went well with the cheddar biscuits.
The blue berry bread pudding was EXCELLENT!!!
The ambiance was enjoyable for both families and young adults. It’s a great location and parking wasn’t that bad. I would recommend it!
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
Went for brunch and while the BLT was loaded with good quality bacon, the bread was cut too thick to hold it together, resulting in the messiest BLT ever! I prefer when menu items come with something on the side versus charging you for sides. But we were glad that we sprung for the fries because they were perfectly crisp and addictive.
In the back of my head I knew I shouldn’t go for the chilaquiles when we live in Chula Vista and are surrounded by authentic Mexican joints that serve up a mean chilaquiles. So I wasn’t too surprised that the chips were too chewy and the sauce lacked the heat. That said, the pork carnitas on top saved the dish. Too bad it didn’t come with some hashbrowns versus just too many black beans.
So even with a passport card, we walked out feeling like it was just a little overpriced. Especially considering that a glass of house wine cost $ 9 bucks.
Place rating: 4
San Jose, CA
I have been coming more times to Alchemy since my last review and my opinion has changed for the best. I like everything I have been trying so far and last night they were the gracious hosts of a wonderful night of Catalan wine tasting by the very famous brand Freixenet, who are expanding from cava (Catalan style champagne) to wines. Chef Heredia made the palates of these Spaniards (I brought several Spanish and Mexican friends with me) very happy and loved all the tapas, especially the salpicón was awesome.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Very cool cocktails — you have to try the off-​menu cocktail that comes with a tablet that makes sour taste sweet. The true essence of alchemy! I’ve been twice, once for cocktails and nibbles, the other time for an event.
Both experiences were great, with excellent service (though a bit of a wait during happy hour), great food and drinks.
Excellent location in South Park and top notch service, I highly recommend checking them out!
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
I met up with a couple of friends here on a whim. I already took a shower and ate (again) about 5 minutes prior to them inviting me out, so I wasn’t too hungry. It was about 10:40 pm and the kitchen closes in 20 minutes. I wasn’t really in the mood for anything on the menu, so my friend just fed me the steak they were sharing. It was pretty good and huge! I also got to try the cornbread and it was standard. For dessert, we shared the blueberry bread pudding! Not bad, but I’m not a fan of bread pudding so it was just okay to me. They have interesting décor here– books on the ceiling!
Place rating: 3
Kihei, HI
I wasn’t super impressed, so somewhere between meh and ok. I chose 3 stars since it was only my first visit.
It was a Tuesday evening, maybe 6:30 or 7 and it was sparsely filled… usually a bad sign. We picked a small table in the back. It was a half booth which I found quite comfortable.
We started off with one red house wine and a signature mule. I didn’t try the wine, but the mule was exceptionally good. I ordered it with Bullet whisky and kicked myself for not ordering a second. They run about $ 9 each. Kudos to the bartender on that.
The menu was quite eclectic, which normally is a good thing, but I wasn’t feeling much of what I saw. I suppose it verged on the edge of heavy, wholesome comfort food, but ultimately fell short by substituting quinoa and other trendy ingredients where I didn’t feel it was necessary, or a good idea.
I ended up with «The Burger» for $ 13, which was quite good, but the ketchup was another trendy twist and tasted more like cocktail sauce than the red curry flavor that was advertised.
The atmosphere seemed a bit cold — metal and concrete. The staff was friendly enough, knowledgeable too, but didn’t provide any additional warmth — warmth that I felt was desperately needed.
We skipped dessert, but checked out the menu. The Blueberry Bread Pudding looked so good with caramel and a bunch of other tasty ingredients, but the «bread pudding» part put me off. The other options were seasonal sorbets and such. Again, nothing jumped out at me as especially unique and delicious.
I’d go back for drinks, but the menu and I don’t agree much.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
Alchemy is one of those places that I’ve had bookmarked for some time and since I’m making a serious effort these days to scratch some of those off my list… well, Alchemy and I were a long time coming. ;)
Walking in, the ambiance is intimate and romantic. It was a fairly quiet Tuesday night, though, so I don’t know how that would change on a busier night.
The menu was eclectic and had something for everyone, including vegan and gluten free options. I kind of wish I wasn’t on a diet right now because there was SO much I was interested in trying, but I finally decided on the daily ceviche and the grain salad. The ceviche was made with red snapper and was tasty, but was perhaps not done in my favorite style — it was made with a green chile and cucumber sauce and ended up being more like a cold soup than a traditional ceviche. The grain salad made with couscous, bulgur wheat, red quinoa, grape tomato, crumbled feta, and lemon vinaigrette could have used a smidge of salt and pepper (which weren’t on the table), but it was very light and tasty. My friend enjoyed his quinoa hush puppies and burger, but wasn’t a fan of the curry ketchup that accompanied both (it sounded good to me, but I didn’t try it).
I’m looking forward to going back to try a few of their cocktails and a couple of the entrees.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Two words, one drink: Dirty Pickle. Why other places haven’t thought of having a vodka/​pickle juice concoction on their menu, I’m not sure. The saltiness of the pickle juice is perfect for the vodka with two little gherkins speared for garnish. I plan to have many more cocktails here in the future.
Aside from my vodka love, the taro tacos with pork belly were tiny in size but big on flavor. The green cauliflower with cheese sauce on the other hand took up the whole plate and was equally delicious. I also tried one of the quinoa hushpuppies, yum!, and almost every also at my table ordered the grain salad, a popular dish.
The ceiling has books, the neighborhood is great, and Alchemy has turned into a place I’m so glad I finally tried.
Place rating: 4
Irvine, CA
Really enjoyed this neighborhood eatery. There was so much charm and character I wish there were more of these in Orange County
I loved the eclectic menu, a lot of items I am familiar with but prepared with a twist.
We started with some cocktails which I think is the way to go. They are absolutely delicious and pairs very nicely with the food.
I gathered that the menu changes often, but on the night of our visit, the baos were great, the curry quail was outstanding as was the shrimp soba noodles.
The other thing I loved was the fried chicken skin (chicharrones), goes perfectly with the cocktails.
Service is really great and food delicious!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
If you try anything here, try the chicken and waffles for they are the best I have had in SD and I am picky picky with my chicken! Tasty, juicy and huge portions so be ready to split with someone. I also had the quinoa here as well and the flavor was wanting me to devour it!
Ask about the books on the ceiling, clever idea for décor!