Blackthorn Irish Pub & Grub

It’s a generic locals bar.
The good: The food is pretty good and it’s not usually crowded, so you can find seats & get drinks,…etc.
They also have some really cheap lunch specials and the staff is usually pretty good (though high turnover)
The bad: Other than the lunch specials, the food is pretty expensive (for Clairemont).
Also there is NO A/​C at all — definitely can’t go there when it’s hot out.
Also, the interior is pretty old and dirty,
There’s really no reason to go if you don’t live within a mile or two.

I love this place! John, the owner, is awesome. The regular bartender, Tanya, also awesome. NOT a fan of Bianca? (I think that’s her name). Common cocktailer edequate… you do not hit on someone’s boyfriend, take 45+ min delivery food because you are too busy doing karaōke/​taking shots, and then overcharge them because you have no idea what you are doing. She said she’s new, I hope it’s temporary because I like Blackthorn. I am keeping my review at 4 stars because this place is rad= good food, good service, fun. except for my recent experience.

3 ½ stars for this place? Really?!
Clairemont could use some good restaurants. This one isn’t it.
First off, it’s a pit — I mean, really dirty.
The men’s room smelled of the urine of 1000 gas station men’s rooms.
The women’s restroom was just as bad with a trashcan overfull of assorted items from paper to women’s sanitary products — as if it hadn’t been changed since the previous night.
Our table was dirty upon arrival — at lunchtime.
Drinks were overpriced. A call drink was $ 7.50 — way too high for the area.
We ordered lunch.
My blackened salmon sandwich was pretty good, if a bit too salty.
The fish and chips seemed straight out of the frozen food department.
Our server/​bartender was friendly and made a good drink — but she was obviously a better bartender than server.
And be aware if you park in the back, there appears to be a nice group of homeless people living in their cars there. Nothing against the homeless, we all have to live somewhere — but it only adds to the bad overall vibe of this place.

Food was good, bartender was cool, But I was SHOCKED that he left a guy that was completely WASTED drunk leave the bar to drive away. There were only 3 people in the whole bar, in the middle of the day. This man was causing such a ruckus, yelling, screaming, the other few people were disturbed by him… I saw him leave and asked if the man was driving… the bar tender said he’s not sure. The two other patrons, said they sure hope not. I went outside to see him backing out, when i stopped him, convinced him to pull over and come inside for some water. He slurred enough to say «I’ve had a bad day… I’m fine though» Just yesterday I lost a great friend, and Vietnam veteran, to a drunk driver — as he was struck on his nightly walk. It infuriates me, that this man was cut off from drinking, and let go to drive home… without anyone stopping him.

«This is the worst bar in San Diego».
That was the statement made by one of my friends after our experience here. Not-​good food, dirty bathroom, sticky tables, outrageous drink prices (not listed anywhere), plus… getting charged for water. There is literally no reason to go here.
We show up and there’s not really a drink menu on the table. We ask for one, it doesn’t exist. So this basically means we have to ask for the price of every single drink before ordering it, which obviously no one wants to do, so we just order, thinking – how expensive can drinks be in a dive-​y bar like this?
One of my group ordered a Jameson. (I heard the server say that it was a $ 5 special, but I’m not sure if my friend did.) The server asked how he wanted it, he said «on the rocks». After finishing the drink, the server asked if he wanted another and he said, «Well, how much is this drink?» She says, «it’s $ 5 but another $ 2.50 because it’s on the rocks». wtf? So the drink we were told was $ 5 was actually $ 7.50? Then he ordered a sculpin instead, which we later discovered was $ 8.25 for a standard pint. WTF again? Does this place think it’s in the Gaslamp or something?
I ordered a happy hour beer ($ 1 off) and the corned beef and cabbage dinner. Unsurprisingly, it was terrible. The corned beef was cut into thin strips and the carrots and potatoes clearly had not been stewed with it and were flavorless. The potatoes were slightly undercooked and featured black, inedible spots on them. You know, the sorta yucky-​rotteny-​black parts on every potato that people cut out and would never serve to someone? Yeah, I had several of those. (Try to serve those to the judges on Chopped and you’d get your head bitten off!) Thankfully it came with a horseradish sauce that gave the entire bland dish a bit of flavor. Oh yeah, the cabbage was watery mush.
After my meal, I ordered club soda, as did my friend who had the Jameson earlier. The bill comes later, and we see we were charged THREE DOLLARS EACH for soda water. Yup, they charged us for water. We commented on it and the server said something about how her boss charges for soda water.
The bathroom is dirty and in need of a renovation. The tables were kinda sticky. The décor is your average Irish bar, a bit divey. Look, if you’re gonna be a divey Irish bar, maybe you don’t charge $ 8.25 for a beer, $ 7.25 for a Jameson and $ 3 for water. What is the attraction to come here then? It’s not cheap drinks, it’s not a cool atmosphere, it’s not good food.
My group of 4 was disgusted at everything that went down. (Additionally, one of us was charged for a beer that never arrived… but that wasn’t that big of a deal; we corrected it. The server was slammed and doing her best.) We all agreed that we will never, ever come back here.

My group of 4 did not enjoy our experience here. The food was not good, drinks were overpriced and prices were not labeled anywhere, it was kind of dirty, and we got charged for water, even after ordering multiple drinks and food.
After ordering 3 drinks and meal between me and my wife, we asked for soda water and were shocked to see a $ 6 charge on our bill. Yup, $ 3 each for soda water. I have never gotten charged for water like that before. Additionally, I was charged $ 2.50 *extra* (on top of the normal cost) for getting my Jameson on the rocks and my sculpin was $ 8.25, which is high. My wife’s food was bland and not good.
We were all super unhappy with our experience and couldn’t believe how expensive it was. We’ll never be back.

My trivia team tried this place out last night and left extremely disappointed. No drink prices anywhere, no drink menu on the table, and only one slammed waitress inefficiently trying to hustle between the rowdy customers. The speakers obnoxiously crackled and distorted the sound, making the noise level into an extremely unpleasant cacophony. The food was bland and overpriced, the drinks were overpriced ($ 8.25 for a Sculpin?! You charge for ice in your mixed drinks AND for soda water from the bar!!!) and slow to arrive, and the bathroom was absolutely disgusting and in need of a total renovation. Don’t listen to anybody who says that they have a good selection of beer. They do not. They have the cheap watery basics and a few way over-​priced IPAs, the one you want most likely being tapped out with no replacement waiting on deck. We were so disappointed and will not be returning, which is a shame because this is close enough to my house to be my local bar. Better to go to Dan Diegos or The High Dive on Morena, both of which offer much better food, beer, and service.

I have eaten here often and never been disappointed. Service has been great. All servers are polite and fun. A great neighborhood tavern. Certainly would recommend to anyone. Do not miss taco Tuesdays, all you can eat for 6 bucks. Beef, chicken, fish, and Turkey.

Best chicken quesadilla I’ve ever had! So tasty w just chicken and cheese. Totally unexpected. $ 5 drink specials and a band w/​o cover. It’s an undiscovered gem.

TV galore! You wanna see the game this weekend?!! Go no further than the Blackthorn. You can see a tv from any seat you take without that awkward neck tweak to get a glimpse of a touchdown or pass. Many beer on tap, not many local, but I’ll take a Smithwicks anytime. Good choice of beer food with some tasty desserts like the gone bananas. You can’t go wrong with two scoops of ice cream covered in whipped cream, almonds, chocolate sauce and bananas. Play some shuffleboard with friends to get that competitive edge while you wait for your food.

Great service but but but. Clean the filthy place for the love of God! This place could have a lock on the upper Clairemont /​Bay Park neighborhood but what a disgusting filthy pig it is.

I had the Gaelic rib eye steak. It was perfectly cooked just right. Delicious! The people are wonderful and very friendly! The atmosphere is nice and relaxing. Definitely a nice place to drink as well. Small hole in the walls places are the best! This place is great! Definitely will come back for sure.

Service was great and very friendly. $ 4 Bloody Mary’s were outstanding! My hubby loved the fish and chips. I had the seared ahi. It was just ok. Veggies were swimming in butter :(
Will likely go again but I will try something different next time.

Came here for lunch. Service was excellent, potato nachos were tasty! They don’t have a big selection of beer on tap, but it looks like they have a lot of fun evening activities to go back for. The corned beef and cabbage was average, none of the food was «wow»

This place not only looks dirty, it also smells dirty. It has a sweet little well-​located spot that seemed like a good pit stop for a quick drink but instead the entire place reeked of alcohol and most people in there looked like they should have been cut off.
Turned around and walked right out.

Excellent place! Go on Friday’s for their 2-​for-​1 burger special!

Come here once in awhile for drinks or food and have never been disappointed! Came in today for lunch and the bartender, Tonya, was extremely nice! She hand squeezed lemons for my Arnold palmer! Super impressive!!! Ordered the steak sandwich today and loved it! Big steak pieces and perfectly cooked! Definitely recommend blackthorn!

I am very new in town and found this place really close to my house. I decided to stop in last night and I had a fabulous time. The bartender John was amazing. The food was amazing. And the drinks were even better. They have fresh squeezed juices and they squeeze it right in front of you. I had a blast and can’t wait to go back to this place.

My husband and I like to stop in at this bar every now and again being that it’s walking distance from where we live. The food is just okay, but I don’t come for the food. The booze is good, and the staff is nice. I like that they have live bands and karaōke nights. We joined the crowd at Blackthorne on St. Pattys and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. There’s plenty of seating and it can get loud at times but that’s how you know everyone is having a good time.

I’m slowly becoming a regular at this place seeing as its right up the hill from my house. Great service, the bartenders are on point. John is a great guy and makes one of the best ol fashions in town. Would definently recommend this bar!

So ya, not sure what the bad reviews are about?. The service here was great, my Guinness/​s was poured correctly, everyone was friendly, the vibe was on point, open mic was cool and the place was clean. Good pub… and I have been to many from here to Ireland. Didn’t try the food but it looked good! Will go back.

Not an Irish Pub. Go to the Blarney Stone for that. Over priced alcohol, not going back.
For these prices I can go to the Top of the Hyatt.

Went there for a beer just because it’s close by our house and we never checked it out. Also I like the atmosphere in pubs. This one is decent. It was a little to big of a place for only a few people on there and the interior was not really inviting. The crowd was kind of weird and gave us the feeling we don’t really fit there. However, that staff is really nice and the beer tastes good. Also it had lots of Tv’s at every wall, which I usually don’t like too much, but I guess it’s a plus for a pub. Overall we had a good time, but didn’t stay too long.
It’s nothing I would go out of my way to get to, but since it’s close by I might go again. Prices were ok as well. Nice to have around in the Claremont area

Being an Irishman, I stop into the olé Blackthorn from time to time.
the Irish sliders are perfect, tasty corned beef, and sauerkraut. The burgers are very good the mushroom and swiss cheese is excellent. They also have a burger that is topped with corned beef that is down right delicious.
The staff is friendly and quick to great you and take your order.
Lastly, they have Karaōke on Thursday night, so come on down and join the fun.

Drove bar many times finally stopped in. Full bar. A lot of dining area. TVs. Everyday different food specials. 5 dollar Happy hour 4 – 7 Monday to Saturday drinks n food.
Irish sliders: corn beef tender. Horseradish n sauerkraut made it all come together good. Just a little to much bread.
Classic burger: cooked perfectly. Fresh veggies on side so u can make it how u like. Perfectly cooked Irish fries.
2 meals 2 drinks under 35 bucks. Well priced. Friendly bartender

«I’ve got to admit it’s getting better
A little better all the time
I have to admit it’s getting better
It’s getting better since you’ve been mine»
Just like The Beatles song, The Bay Hill Tavern «Is getting better, a little better all the time». Saturday and Sunday morning here sipping a Bloody Mary or two (maybe three or four. So, who’s counting?), with steak and eggs and watching the World Cup weren’t bad at this joint. Glad this bar serves a traditional Bloody Mary with celery unlike other places that serve it to you with just an olive or an asparagus spear (Save the nouveau crud for the PB crowd). It’s no wonder I’m becoming a part time resident and/​or a full time guest at this watering hole. Oh, yeah, and the bar maid is still easy on the eyes.
«Stay Thirsty My Friends»

The Bay Hill had been a favorite of mine for years so when they changed to an Irish bar I was curious to see why.
The insides look much the same but with the addition of some Irish brand signage. And thank God they still offer ice cold craft beers on draft.
Everything was good. The service — very fast. The fish and chips were tasty. My one issue with the change is with the new menu. Entrée prices are up significantly from Bay Hill. Not so much that it’s outrageous but enough to deter me from coming back often. Bay Hill often ran specials which I took advantage of. Blackthorn had none, at least last night.
From a marketing perspective I must admit I’m curious if this is an owner change or just an attempt to re-​brand. Bay Hill Tavern was a perfect name that was relevant to the location. I wonder if the owner has ever considered a remodel to take advantage of the Bay view that is available from the back lot.
In any case I wish Blackthorn good luck. I will be back. Throw in some daily specials and it may be more often.

This is definitely a locals bar. This is not a bar you come to for incredible service or a nice, quiet date night. No. This is where you come and everyone knows your name. Where the booze is plentiful and where the food is good and hearty. Where you won’t even realize it but you just spent the last hour talking to a perfect stranger.
The change from Bay Hill Tavern to Blackthorn was a great one! The menu almost doubled in size and now they have all of my favorite Irish beers on tap! My favorite menu items are:
1. The Aztec Burger– I recently tried this for the first time and it is YUMMY! It has onion rings, pepper jack cheese and jalapenos on it (I ordered it without the BBQ sauce).
2. The Nate Dog– A big ol’ juicy hot dog with all of your favorite fixins
3. Jose’s Nachos– Love that they put black olives on them (not a lot of places do anymore and it bums me out). I would advise against the Carne Asada on top, however. The couple of times I got it, the meat was mostly gristle… not good.
4. The Classic Burger– Just your typical plain-​Jane burger! But delicious nonetheless!
All of these items are from the original menu but my husband says the newer items with corned beef are delicious and he also really likes their wings. They also have rotating local beers on draft which is awesome. Almost every time we stop in I get to try a new beer.
The staff is always super nice and attentive, although, they are having some growing pains since the transition. It looks like they hired a bunch of new staff with little to no serving experience and it shows. We love this place so we are more than patient, but I can see the potential for it losing them some return customers. As I said earlier, this is not a place you go to for the five-​star dining experience. It’s a place where the staff will take shots with you, where your glass is never empty and, if it is, simply holding it up and making eye contact with the bartender will order you a fresh one.
Blackthorn may not be a five-​star restaurant but it is everything I love in a locals bar. First-​timers should give it more than one chance. Talk to the friendly staff or clientele and, before you know it, you’ll be a regular yourself!

This is the recently re-​vamped Bay Hill Tavern. My wife and I asked why they changed their name and menu and the only response was… The owner wanted to. Fine by me, I love Irish Pubs. This, honestly, is a step up from the previous restaurant. The menu is a little more diverse and the booze selection matches the theme. Guiness, Bodingtons and Smithwicks all on tap and those are three of my favorite beers.
My favorite menu item by far would have to be the Grub Burger. This is your normal burger topped with Corned beef, Sauerkraut and horseradish dressing. I could not think of a greater match. It’s absolutely delicious. I would also recommend the Aztec burger and their hot wings.
Only bummer at the moment is we have recently had to tolerate some new staff. Last time we went we had the joy of dealing with a new waitress and cook. To the waitress’ defense the place got slammed (unusual) and she just couldn’t keep up. I wont list her shortfalls, she was only on her second shift. But I have faith that this problem will work itself out as they usually do. OH, one more thing. DO NOT come on Karaōke night. It brings in the most atrocious voices you’ve ever heard. I swore I saw a dog run from the back door into the street just to get hit by a car and end the pain.
Staff are always nice, quick and attentive (with that one exception) and the owner always greets us every time we’re in. You have your usual locals that are usually watching a game or stumbling out the door to take the long walk home. My wife and I come here ALL the time and it’s not going to change. Welcome Blackthorn, we welcome the change.