December 16, 2009
This place is ok. The beer selection is certainly its best and possibly its only positive attribute. I’ve only eaten the free happy hour food and all i have to say is that it better be free because no one in their right minds would pay for that nonsense. Its a big place with no redeeming qualities in its atmosphere. The patio is fairly large though. In any event, the beer selection is either the best or second best (neighborhood being the other) in downtown, so if you’re downtown and need a beer bar..I guess you go here half the time. Unless you know already where it is, you aren’t going to find it though.

October 16, 2009
Yeah, you have to park near the Civic Center Plaza and then wander in to find the place, but knowing this it isn’t too hard to find. From the outside it just looks like a diner, as does the inside. The bar seats maybe 7 people, and there is plenty of room on the patio. Went on a Thursday night and it was completely dead. Had a few good beers, some that I’d not seen before--Ballast Point Barmy, Bruery Mischief #3. Also had a couple Bruery Hottenroths and the gf had their Snicklefritz. Food menu wasn’t too large--had the Sante Fe chicken (chicken breast, Ortega chiles, and mozzarella) with some pretty darn tasty fries. The buffalo strips were gigantic and par for the course. That said, the draft beers seemed pretty pricey--$23 for 3 beers. The food seemed a little better priced. Service was great, but then again, it was pretty dead. Saw they had Temptation, Consecration, Cuvee de Tomme ($40), and Rodenbach Grand Cru in bottles, among others--those looked to be the standouts. Fair amount of TVs with baseball and Sports Center on. Got to play some free shuffleboard, which is always nice.

May 30, 2009
This place is hard as hell to find, but it’s like an oasis. There’s an outdoor patio and a shuffleboard table on the right as you walk in. The bar has about 12-16 taps, and the ones they had were marvelous. There are no macro taps at this place, and they have a good bottle list, too. Service is good and knowledgeable. One of the bartenders used to be a manager at Squatters in Utah and seems to know his beer pretty well. The other bartender knew her shit, too. Quite friendly, although the food menu was pretty slim with your typical pub grub. Food was decent with good portions. Food took forever to be prepared, though. Bathrooms are a bit sleazy with an annoying piss trough. A good experience, nonetheless.

January 30, 2009
Other than the fact that this place is hard as HELL to find your fist time, its a pretty cool place. A good selection of draft brews and an ok bottle selection. The staff was helpful and very friendly.

October 15, 2008
Good after-work spot for downtowners. Cozy, English-pub feel. Nice selection of local and West-Coast micros. More quality than quantity. Had a few I had not seen anywhere else in San Diego. Bartender was knowledgeable on what was what. Didn’t have any food this time, but heard good things. Nice little place.

October 2, 2008
Great place for after work patrons. Not really a place I like to come specifically for. But the proximity to work and parking is perfect for me. Great selection. Great Service. Rotating taps a plus. Online list is often updated.

September 6, 2008
Really great place, I thought. I’d definitely recomend it to anyone visiting (or living in) San Diego. It’s kinda hard to find, you need to walk into a courtyard section to get to it and because of this it’s often quiet, unless there’s been a show on at the theater next door. I went on a Monday night and there were only two other people in there. However the barman (sorry I forgot his name) was an absolute gent! He looked through my beer log and let me try tasters of everything that I hadn’t already had. The beer selection isn’t huge in numbers, but they did have lots of really great and quite rare beers on tap (apparently they also rotate very regularly), there were many beers on tap that I’ve not seen since. The food is really cheap and absolutely huge in portion, I couldn’t actually pick up the chillie burger I brought! Great place, I can’t recommend it enough!

August 14, 2008
Absolutely loved the hole in the wall ambiance of this place. A little hard to find, as it is in a courtyard area not visible from the street. Excellent selection of several good local beers, and a good bottle selection as well. My waitress seemed to defer to all beer questions to the bar tender, but she was able to describe a lot of what they had. Not much of a menu, and the food was average. Off the beaten path and filled with mostly locals. Look forward to going there the next time I’m in town.

May 14, 2008
DTJB’s is a really cool hidden gem in the northern end of busy downtown SD. Its got great outdoor seating, as well as ample amounts of seating inside. Pool tables, Wii on a big screen, and various other games to be had. The food is very good and comes out quickly. NOW for the best part, lots of great rotating tap handles, when I was there they had The Duchess, St. Bernardus 12, Sd Trophy Wife and Mission Hefe, as well as many other outstanding beers. They have a great bottle selections, Stone epic 07, all Lost Abbeys, Alesmith, and some hidden goodies in the back freezer, as Todd what he’s got. Luke and Mitch are both kick-ass barkeeps and they really know their beers and will guide you to fantastic selections everytime. This is a great venue, and well worth searching out and visiting next time your in Downtown SD.

April 19, 2008 [ Updated July 4, 2009 ]
Hard to find, because it’s not actually on 3rd Ave. you have to go behind the civic center building. It was worth a few minutes of hunting. Not a huge selection, but all were quality taps, including more than their fair share of big beers by Pizza Port/Lost Abbey, Ballast Point, Stone, others. Mostly local (but San Diego has a great craft brewer scene, so that’s okay) but I was pleasantly surprised to find Allagash Black. The bartenders were friendly, efficient, and reasonably knowledgable. One even comped me my second beer for no apparent reason other than shared love of great beer (and, possibly, the Clash). Food was basic bar fare, but my salmon burger was pretty good. The atmosphere is basic neighborhood bar. (One reviewer called it part sports bar, presumably because of lots of photos of ball players, but if you’re looking for a lot of big screen tv’s and conversation-free male bonding, you’ll have to go elsewhere).