Heights Tavern

They have closed their doors — and I have very mixed feelings. On one hand this was the best sports bar in the neighborhood, but on the other hand the only reason it was the best sports bar is because it was the only sports bar. All too many times they were out of beers, usually the IPAs and towards the end the wait staff was laughable. One server for the entire bar floor makes it impossible to keep everyone happy.
Sad to see them go after only such a short time and am hoping for good things for the next people who move in.

I really like the Heights, because it brings a totally different vibe to Normal Heights; but I just haven’t been wowed any time that I’ve been here! The food is tasty, but it’s not really anything to write home about. The prices seem fair, but they’re also a bit steep for portion size. I really wanted to see this place do well, as I stopped in during their first week, but they never seemed to get the ball rolling.

Oh hipsters, why do you have to hate life so much? We came here on an impromptu Sunday evening to watch the end of some sporting game, but it was still relatively early in the evening. Our server looked like she wanted to put daggers into our eyes every time we asked for something. She did warm up a tad and when I say warm up, i mean warm like when ice starts melting in Antarctica. The glacier is still pretty massive and is going to take years to fully melt.
Anyhow, the food was mediocre. We tried the nachos — totally built like like a pile of jank. You know, too many naked chips, all the goods in one big pile. Blah. The seasoning was bland. Their «Poutine» was also bland and not really worth even describing. My friend had the fish chips, which was a decent sized portion and the fish was cooked well. My other friend had wings and they were pretty standard. Overall a huge waste of calories.
I would actually come back for drinks because the space is very open with huge garage door-​like windows that make it very airy. Other than that, don’t waste your time on the food.

Drinks are strong
Service is fast and friendly
Prices are fair
Atmosphere is welcoming
This place is just great! Really open building with all types of people inside. That’s what I love about North Park/​Normal Heights. They even have a club type seen in the back near the bathrooms. When I came in I looked over the menu and told the bartender I liked Whiskey and then asked what he recommended. He said the Moscow Mule. I thought that was weird but then came the mule and it was delicious! Really strong, but not overwhelming or overpowering with alcohol. Just perfect. So perfect that my non alcohol drinking ass ordered two!
When we moved from the bar to the table, Josh was our server. That guy rocks! He was f%&cking HILARIOUS!
I’ve heard great things about their food so I can’t wait to go back and try it. Dont’ forget your free onion rings at check in!

Short and simple
I was really excited when heights tavern was in the construction stage. Haven’t felt like that since then. I’ve been here multiple time and this is a review based on my overall experiences.
Pros
Love the big layout of the bar and seating.
Plenty of TVs for sporting events.
Nice patio to enjoy people watching and the SD weather.
Cons
Service was either bearable to terrible.
Food was basically the same as the service. I’ve tried the Heights burger and the first time it was ok but the last two times it’s been subpar. Southwest chicken wrap was dry. Sweet potato fries were soggy and just meh and the wings were… well you guys get the point.
I really wanted to like heights tavern even after not really being impressed my first visit. I hope things turn around soon.

First, the finger foods are not good. I’m sorry I wasted the stomach space. Fries taste like stale butter. Onion rings are no bueno. Also, chicken wings are slathered in sauce, leading me to ask, do you want some chicken wings with that sauce?
However, rating is bumped up if you consider 1) good beers on tap, 2) great spot for watching sports, 3) quiz night is fantastic, 4) multitude of games like Connect 4 and giant Jenga available.

This place is a normal place in a strange place– meaning it’s a normal (great) sports bar in the middle of a very hipster and trendy neighborhood.
Heights Tavern IS an awesome sports bar. It’s fun, has a great relaxed vibe. You don’t have to feel like everyone else is an elitist here… it’s got the democratizing effect of a good sports bar– people don’t care who you are or your background– just who you cheer for. I came here to watch some march madness basketball, and it was pretty awesome. They even had awesome raffle games and other sorts of contests related to the games with awesome prizes.
The beer selection? Wondrous. Lots of taps, lots of local brews.
The Food? Ginormous. I had their burger. It was divinely heart-​attack-​inducing. The bun was wonderful, they had a double patty. The fries were awesome. My friend had chicken and waffles and scarfed it down with joy. The waitress was fun and bantered back and forth with us, making the experience even better.
If I’m in the area and I need to watch a game, I know that this is a great place for me to do it at!

Move over bacon, soggy fries is the next new food craze.
Seems like a generic manufactured sports bar. It has the large space, numerous flat screens, patio seating but bland décor. The only character it had was from the games/​raffles. If you must come here pls dont order cocktails and dont come hungry. For the first time ever I was served soggy fries! (Dear kitchen, if you serve fried food in a bucket, it cannot properly cool and will get soggy.) Next failed dish we ordered was one of their «favorite» items. Hey, lets reheat Tyson frozen wings, dump half a bottle of siracha sauce over it and then charge $ 10 for it! Brilliant! Now i dont expect much from bar food but there are still standards. Fries and wings are the most basic bar foods and they managed to screw it up.
Cocktails are no better. Worst moscow mule Ive ever had. its as if they didnt even try to mix the drink. First sip is overwhelmingly sweet then halfway through the drink its way too bitter!
We ended up getting a bad server too. After we sat ourselves down, we were waiting so long for her that we went to get our own menu. I specifically asked for all celery with my wings and she forgot. She also never came back with napkins so again, with our greasy fingers we had to go to the bar and ask for it ourselves. I could understand if it were busy but it was only at 50% capacity on a sat afternoon with at least 3 other servers to go around.
Bad service, bad food, unmixed cocktails and bland ambiance – this is more like the «Lows Tavern» If you want better bar food, walk over to blind lady ale house. For the best cocktails and great draft selection, sycamore dens next door! Need to watch a game with that beer? Rosie o’gradys or Ould Sod. Need to smoke and/​or be with your dog on a patio – Lestats. Adams offers so much options, dont waste your time here.

Definitely a two star place!
One of our coworkers loves this place, so we went here for his birthday happy hour after work. It was a Tuesday, so they had Taco Tuesday specials and Margaritas. I got one of their blue margaritas, and our birthday coworker had their Flower Margarita. Well, from the outside it looked good, however as soon as I took a sip… YUCK! One of the worst Margaritas I have had in a long time… that is, until I tried my coworkers Flower Margarita… that one WAS the worst Margarita! Wow, it was horrible, I can’t remember what was in it, but its one that you should NEVER order!
Since they had taco specials, I was thinking about getting a couple, until I saw they had «Canadian Fries» and ordered that. In my mind, I was thinking, «Awww Yeahhh!!! POUTINE!!!» Unfortunately, I was mistaken. What I got was a gummy mass of melted cheese, bacon, and fries. Don’t get me wrong, poutine usually IS a gummy mass, but a gummy mass of awesome goodness. I got a gummy mass of bland, dry unappealing food. What I was most disappointed in is that it didn’t have cheese curds or gravy! Maybe they just forgot them on my order, but without those two things, a poutine is just not a poutine.
The only thing I felt better about was NOT getting the tacos, as some of my other coworkers did, and they looked like little silver dollars on the plates. I can’t remember if they liked them or not, but they were really small.
The reason I’m giving the place two stars, is because our waitress was very friendly and great. She was attentive and upbeat, and very nice to talk to. The atmosphere was also pretty good, and they had big garage doors that looked like they open up on warm days and in the summer.
Even with the very nice waitress and cool atmosphere, I won’t be back just because of the poor quality food and drinks… sorry Heights Tavern!

Nice patio
Great service
The menu is simple
Place is big
Crowd is diverse
I didn’t feel uncomfortable sitting at a big table (booth) working on my computer stuff
Server Josh was awesome! so much energy
Overall a very hearty sports bar

I am sure I will have to update this when I have a chance to visit again, but I was extremely disappointed with my visit. Being that I was still attempting to digest my Fogo da Chao earlier in the day, I was trying to keep the food intake to a minimum and decided on liquid refreshment and the onion rings for the check-​in offer. My friend was mildly hungry and ordered the green salad which she enjoyed. However, the onion rings were extremely greasy and poorly seasoned. I get that they were free for checking in, but they were a bit of an insult to the onion rings. On the plus side, they were made with red onions and have the potential for greatness.
Much like the onion rings, the service left much to be desired. We got our first drink order pretty quickly and then it went downhill from there. To be fair, our server was quite nice, but possibly spread a little thin and took too long to check on us. At one point it took me three attempts to finally get in another drink order as she kept buzzing by us.
I will definitely go back to catch a game and try some food, but I am hoping the service issue was a one off.

Second time here, even worse service.
Breakfast served until 3pm! SAT– SUN. Wanted to try the pretzel pastrami, but not on the bfast menu. Darn!
Come on a Monday + Thursday football night for a $ 6 chefs pick burger with $ 2 fries added.
— — –Food — all together — dinner first time and breakfast second — — –
Jalapeño wings — may fav I tried.
Flaming Honey Mustard — Pretty good. Great thing is your wings come out smoking hot and quick. Also like the options 5, 10, or 20 pieces.
Spicy Cobb — Olives were too salty, and some were pitted, but large portion.
Bacon Bacon Burger — The best thing on the menu that I tried. Cute presentation with the pickle on top :) I eat burgers as often as I eat benedict’s so I care most about the taste of the meat, meaning is it juicy or mehh. It didn’t disappoint me this time, thank you Cow Gods.
Which leads me to what I had for breakfast the 2^nd time —
VEGGIE BENNEdict– Came out cold :(((which made it a little hard to enjoy. Corn bread concept I wanted to hip hip horayyy, but fell short and ended up Unilocal,a tad over bland and soggy. Short rib and spinach I do believe make a happy couple, which makes me happy when I see them together, in which I dunno know what was going on through my head at the time why I didn’t get it just like right now which all the freakin whiches! It probably was sitting there all alone cold, far far away from the heat lamp so I couldn’t enjoy any of my bites and instead ate my meal as fast as I could and before everyone else… Shocking!
Gf got the WAFFLE Sando, which was HUGE-​a-​Licious! Anytime you add cheese to something with bacon and then throw in a curve ball of syrup you can’t help but MM MM mmmmm after.
— — DRINKS — —
Built your own BLODDY Mary– Ballast Point Beer added for that extra okay now your talking! I get bacon! Really though!!! COMPLETE FAIL!!! Please see picture. Lady forgot a straw, and everything else except a olive and a lime. WHa daaa f. Scammered me! Another warning — only until 2pm, we got there around 2:30; really don’t understand you serve breakfast until 3, yet your bloody special runs inly until 2, and your HH breakfast is 9−11am. If you say so.
Ballast point BEERMOSA — much better drink for your buck, and uniquely different too.
Sat outside, and literally waited until the flies and more flies took over and had to cover the plates with napkins before they were taken away.
Oh one more thing, dudes dog was barking next to us… little pug. Man puts dog on chair. stops. man puts dog down. little rufff rufffs here n there. Lady manager in a high pitch, asks man if the dog doesn’t stop barking will need to leave. Really, no one cares… it’s a pug. I think this pug even told me he needed to pee, but I told him that’s your own problem little man. If ppl complained then they need to fish for other negatives in their lives… But hey that’s that.

I enjoy coming here with my friends to drink beer and eat food. What I do not enjoy is paying a $ 5 per person cover to get into a restaurant on a Saturday night. I do not care about a UFC fight. I don’t enjoy watching people punch each other’s faces in on television. To make loyal patrons who live in the neighborhood pay to get into their establishment to watch something they do not give a @$&! about is ludicrous. I will not be coming here, I will go to the many other restaurants in the area who do not charge people for the «privilege» to eat.
They advertised a beer special «all day on Saturday». When I asked about the special they said it wasn’t going on because of the fight. Umm… False advertisement!
The security guard and the waitress did nothing to make me happy. No manager came over to talk to us. I will not be coming back, you have lost my business.

Cool sports bar on Adams, very easy to walk over and catch all the games.
Food is not bad, i like the sweet potato fries and their burgers are enormous.
The service is hit or miss, the tall guy with the beard at the bar is cool but I’ve experienced a couple of the girls mess up the food order, forget to bring drinks or just slam a drink down and spill everywhere.

Stopped in for lunch the other day shortly after they opened. I’m a big fan of Blind Lady Ale house across the street so I’ve driven by here a few times meaning to check it out. They are typically really packed on the weekends when I’ve driven by and I don’t care for that many people if I can avoid it.
Luckily they weren’t very busy during lunch on a weekday. We sat out on the patio which was nice on a sunny day. Our server came over right away to take our drink order. I was on a break from work so I stuck to water, but the man had a matilda.
For lunch he has their regular burger and I ordered the BBQ burger. It cam pretty quick since they weren’t very busy. I could definitely see how someone might like their burgers. They are that messy, greasy lot’s of toppings style burgers. For me it was average and I’ll tell you why.
The meat seemed pretty flavorless. I think they are relying on the sauces and toppings to do the heavy lifting, but for me most of the toppings and sauces were pouring out onto the plate so I was eating them with a fork. It basically seemed like a plain burger with the condiments on the side.
Honestly it may have just been an isolated incident, but it simply left me still yearning for a good burger… sigh…

We have now been to the Heights Tavern several times, mostly morning or mid day. The open air restaurant and ability to bring your dog to the front area make this an inviting location to people watch and relax to a relaxed environment.
The drinks there are tasty and the veggie Benedict is a must try. Set on their unique cornbread with a Tuscan style Benedict sauce with grilled vegetables mixes so well that you want to order more. Even their coffee is from a local vendor and simply delicious.
Service is great, attentive and gets the orders right.
This is a great location and I wish them great success

If you have to break up with someone, I suggest you do it here. It’s so loud, the poor soul will never understand what you’re saying, but will simply nod in false agreement, and there, the deed is done.
There was a large and loud crowd in the restaurant made even louder with music trying to compete. I was with a loud group of friends and even the person closest to me couldn’t hear a word. So we shut up and ate until the crowd started to dissipate.
Lagunitas, Stone, and Sculpin IPAs on tap, check!
Tasty burgers — most served with two patties. The secret sauce is the perfect combination of spicy and flavorful, and provides a nice zing! The Poutine fries were gobbled up by my friends quickly. The gravy, cheese, and bacon make for a combination of total potato satisfaction.
Mac and cheese is not on the menu but frequently available and I understand it is quite good. Hmm, we’ll see. I was spared another evening of disappointment, as it was sold out.
Salads are served in large bowls — love that ! There’s nothing more irritating than when salads spill over the sides of a plate…
…except for their «can’t hear myself think» environment.
PS service for our group of 10 was sensational!

Heights Tavern
8pm Monday 6^th May 2013
SD: Normal Heights
Three Stars
This place meets the expectation. The Bartender was very friendly and attentive. There were four TVs with NBA playoffs, NHL playoffs, the Padre Game, and the Giants Game. They have three taps of Sculpin and some other popular beers. The Tempura Seasonal Vegetables: (Zucchini, Sweet Potato, Mushroom, and Broccoli) are not really seasonal but they tasted fine. The batter was a little thick and became soggy in the cone container. The 6 piece (half pound) Buffalo wings were cooked great. The sauce had a nice tang and spice. The mixed lettuce on the side seemed a bit wilted. The Braised Short Rib Sloppy Joe was excellent. The Bun was soft and the meat juicy, tender, and flavorful. The Sweet potato fries were solid. No Real complaints and no amazing accolades either.

I stopped by here with a friend during the Adam Avenue Unplugged Event. They had a limited menu available during the event, but enough of menu options. I had the grilled chicken burger with a hefty order of bacon and a side of rosemary fries for $ 9.50 with the fries, (
) and my friend ordered the house spicy Cobb salad for $ 9.00. We both had refreshing iced coffees for $ 1.50 each. (
)
My meal had mixed reviews. The chicken had good flavor, the bacon was crispy, and the Swiss Chard added a nice slight bitter but crisp peppery flavor. (
) The problem with the sandwich was the sauce, although very tasty, there was to much of it. It all ended at the bottom with sogged up the bottom bread and made it difficult to eat. (
) And who likes soggy bread? The pickled greens beans and onions, with their aggressive flavor, strewn on top were nice touch. They need to ease up on the sauce or thicken it so that the bread does not easily soak it up.
The fries were tasty but suffered from excessive softness. They were very one dimensional with not a single crunch to be found, which was to bad because the flavor was there. (
) I only ate a third of them because they lost their interest quickly.
My friend said he enjoyed his salad. He liked the little slight kick the dressing offered and all the ingredients were independently fresh and had good flavor. (
)
The service was very friendly and welcoming, but in need of a little refinement. Sometime timing is everything.

New place by our house!
Adams has so much to offer, i really feel cheap awarding them only three stars but the quality of food is not great.
Service here was excellent, everyone was warm and friendly and service (to me) is five stars. Our waitress Carisa was awesome!
Small cocktail list and cold chil bowl earns them three stars but i am willing and eager to go again. This place just opened and they are certainly worth another chance, service was impecable.