Opinions IRONSIDE FISH & OYSTER San Diego

Great atmosphere, food and drinks were delicious. We didn’t have much service aside from when food was ordered and brought back. No check ins. Liked the proximity to Little Italy. Oysters and Lobster Roll was great!

The food is excellent but pricey. Portions are not very generous. The place is trendy and always crowded. It is a good place to meet people and make new friends. Come early for a better chance to get a table without having to wait.

Second time I've come here and I was really disappointed with my meal, but my husband's order was a lot better than mine.

( ) Best to make a reservation.
(+) Ambience and vibe. Ironside has one of the best interior decorating for a restaurant that I know. The huge octopus hanging from the ceiling, the nautical elements, and the attention to detail. All very cool.
(+) Service. Very nice, helpful, attentive.
(+) Cocktails. They're all very good, and I love their cocktail menu.
(+) Fish and chips. Legit. Big pieces of fish.
(+) Bone marrow. Super yummy. Option to add trout roe.
(-) I got the catch of the day, got the swordfish. It was very overcooked, and the sauce it came with was less than luke warm but not chilled? I was really disappointed.
(+) Chowder. Yes.
(-) Octopus bucatini. My friend got it. They could have done more with this. I think there might have been octopus somewhere, maybe?

Ironside is a good vibe and I would def go again. Their cocktails and the vibe are great. I'm sticking with the chowder and fish and chips from now on though and am not getting the entrees.

Very good seafood. Finding parking is hard though.

The food was good however the portions were small. Over all, everything was extremely overpriced, and it Music was way, way too loud. Our waiter was very inexperienced and seemed uninterested.

Calidad de alimentos frescos, amabilidad del personal, muy ameno el lugar.

Oysters were delicious, drinks are good and cool themed. Service was good through a very busy night. Highly recommend.

It's been 3 years since my last 5 star visit and it got better! I'm petitioning for 6 stars!
If you truly enjoy fresh oysters & a great selection, this is the spot!
**don't go to sleep on the clam chowder!

Always a wonderful experience whenever we dine here. Mitch and Alex are fantastic servers who are ready to offer suggestions on food items and beverage selections. They are knowledgeable, friendly, and understand how to connect with their customers. A few of our favorite items are the Seafood Tower, Oysters Rockefeller, Octopus a la Plancha, Rockfish Ceviche, Shrimp Aguachile, Crab and Artichoke Dip, Crab Cakes, and Clam Chowder. The bar program is outstanding and the choices pair well with the seafood. This is our favorite place to come and celebrate special occasions and it never disappoints!

Buena coctelería, mariscos frescos. Muy buen clam chowder, pulpo y los callos de hacha (aunque parece que estas ya las quitaron). Precios justos, solo se pasaron con el de local lobster, como es por peso ni pregunté, y cobraron 50 dólares por un plato bastante pequeño.

The girlfriend wanted some good fish and chips and I wanted a lobster roll and we live in Utah and there are no places to get decent seafood around so we were dying to try this place out. Went for lunch. Downtown San Diego and the place was busy.

Service was great. Friendly hostess and waitress who stayed on top of everything. I was impressed. Food came out in good time. Not only is the presentation great but the food is absolutely delicious. Never had a better lobster roll in my life, the chef here is truly talented. Fish and chips were also some of the best we've had. Place is higher-end price wise but definitely a good deal considering how good it is. Definitely recommend it and will definitely return.

Very nice location and curious furnitures, but really dark… I understand they want to create an atmosphere but it is definitely too dark to see what you are eating. The menu is limited and the tent to match “different flavors” together. The results are not always great especially when you kill the real flavor of the main dish. I really didn’t find anything amazing to come back again and nothing remarkable to provide a good review. 3 starts is enough … sorry I had great expectations from this place.

Bar service was great.
Great drinks.
We had reservations. Gave notice we arrived. Waited 45 minutes and were not called to be seated. We could not wait any longer. We had bar reservations some place else.
They were very busy. Maybe next time.

My favorite date night spot! My partner and I come here every year on our anniversary and they never disappoint.

The $1 oysters for happy hour are a great deal. The clam chowder was pretty good and the shrimp tacos were decent as well. The best thing there was the lobster rolls. I loved everything here but unfortunately my stomach did not cooperate.

Hot bartender, GREAT food, fun atmosphere. I never talk to people next to me at the bar but I had a lovely convo with a sweet patron next to me. Excellent vibes and would love to return.

Great food service and atmosphere ????

First meal in San Diego.
Fresh oysters with a variety of flavors to try.
Clam chowder was not my thing but the other person loved it.
Octopus was good, but the sauce was not appealing to my Asian taste.
Bread was very good.
Too much batter on the fish.
Service was good.

Some sand but good service.

Todo delicioso, mis favoritos el Clam Chowder y el Lobster roll y cuando la pesca del día es swordfish, siempre que voy a San Diego me hago el tiempo para visitar Ironside.

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta shuck with my friends!

With 70 miles of coastline, San Diego is home to some of the best beaches on the West Coast and has no shortage of great seafood. We're talking about flaky fish tacos and plump briny oysters.

Did I do any research whatsoever on where to get oysters for my San Diego trip? Nope! But walking through Little Italy and seeing the small line forming in front of this place, waiting for them to open, had us changing lunch locations, and I'm glad we did. Thrillist ranked this place as one of the best oyster bars in San Diego! Here's what I bit:

Half a dozen oysters [$21 - Ironside Selects (WA), Phantom Creek (Canada), Little Saints (VA), Laguna (Baja Mexico), Sapphire (WA), Pacific Plump (WA)]: Ah, a tray of oysters. Now, this was great. I love it when places have a multitude of options for oysters as it gives you more insight of east coast vs. west coast flavors.

SD Live Uni [$28]: I mean, it's all in the name. Live sea urchin in San Diego? You gotta! And wow, was it amazing. I gotta admit that I prefer uni over oysters, so I would have been elated just making a meal out of uni.

Bowl of Clam Chowder [$12]: Maybe it's the vacation tastebuds, but why did this seem like the best bowl of clam chowder ever? I have said that while in San Francisco, though, so maybe California just makes the best clam chowder.

Lobster Roll [$33]: Good! It was flavorful and tasty with big chunks of lobster meat. They also give you a side of fries, which is nice since I'm now used to most sit-down restaurants charging fries as a side nowadays.

Five-star review for a five-star place! Come here. You will not be disappointed.

Talk about a beautiful restaurant! We got to sit and the cold bar, which is always fun. The design is (imo) industrial meets fish market swank! We started off with HH oysters and a cocktail, Gin & Sin, then moved onto a glass of Rosé and shrimp tacos and the octopus.
The service was great, attentive and gave great recommendation.

Food and service really good. Has a chic modern feel in shipyard vibe if that makes any sense. We got a dozen oysters, tasty cocktails, the octopus, Agua chile, and lobster roll - all stellar. We’ll be back!

This place has great oysters. I liked the ones from Baja, Nautilus was my favorite. We ate at the bar and we had good service. Drinks were even better! Loved the presentation.

We came here on vacation in late March and it did not disappoint. My girlfriend found the place on google maps and we decided to take a chance. The one thing that lives rent free in my head was just how fresh the food was. We rode an Uber here from Balboa Park, and even the driver told us they had the best seafood in the city. He had the thickest Scottish accent and he wasn’t lying! The lobster roll on the loaf of bread was really interesting and unexpected!