Salt & Cleaver

To say this is just a «Hot Dog» spot doesn’t give it the justice it deserves. If you like sausages, & brats (yes, and hot dogs) then you will definitely enjoy the hell out of this place. However, this place also makes/​created one of the best BLT’s (putting their own spin on it) I’ve ever had. Not to mention their version of chicken and waffles. Everything tastes fresh, everything has a very unique flavor, and everyone there is remarkably personable and friendly. You will NOT be disappointed if you give this place a shot.

I should have written this a month ago; right after Christmas. My wife and I were visiting family and they took us to Salt and Cleaver for drinks and a bite to eat. The manager Damian was working the bar with one of his elves. Damian is from Washington DC, but acts like he lived in San Diego all his life. The bar was full with customers, but you couldn’t tell because the service was so good. The sausages we had with our drinks were great. The atmosphere was friendly and everyone was laughing and having a great time.
Did I mention they have a chaulk board with a list of beers that would make any beer lover’s eye roll back in their head? The flavors and the samples program were pleasing to my wallet.
If you are in San Diego and don’t make this place a must visit, you must have never left the airport. Oh did I say it is not that far from the airport?

I’m a fan of chicken and waffles, and now I’m a fan of salt and cleaver. I couldn’t say enough about this place. The interior is amazing and the food is just as good.
It’s my go to for chicken and waffles now.

this review is for our Sunday experience which consisted of the bottomless mimosa bar and one appetizer. we seated immediately at the bartop which was lucky since there was an hour wait for a table and the bar filled up very quickly. I was excited to hear about their daily mimosa offering which consisted of many interesting flavors; passionfruit cantaloupe, blueberry sage, blood orange, vanilla habanero, and one that we did not try. for $ 12, we were served bottomless delicious and unique mimosas that I would absolutely come back for.
the three of us tried one of their appetizers; the loaded chorizo fries. they were delicious. well seasoned crispy hand cut fries with lots of yummy toppings and their homemade chorizo sausage. it seemed that their specialty in general is their wide array of homemade specialty sausages. they all sounded super yummy and we are excited to try some of the other options some other time.

Had this spot bookmarked for a while so I finally tried it out last night. It was a Sunday evening around 8 and the pub wasn’t packed at all. Great atmosphere and staff. Our waitress did a great job of explaining the menu and offering suggestions. We had the daddy’s hot pickles and chicken a waffle bites for appetizers. They were both super yummy and good sized. We each got a different sausage and sampled each others. Everyone loved them! There was a huge selection of craft beers and liquor. Def a spot worth going to!!!

This the first time I’ve eaten here and the beer selection is pretty good as it was before. I ordered the chicken and waffle bites which were very good. It was a great combination of flavors and the perfect size either to share or have as a meal. I also ordered the mac and cheese based on the bartenders recommendation and the fact that it won an award for best mac and cheese in San Diego. My overall impressions were meh. It could’ve used a little more salt and a lot less garlic. In the end I’d have to say I’ll be back because there are plenty of other great looking things on the menu and it’s a pretty good vibe at the bar.

The Sausage and Cheese board is huge and absolutely delicious! Definitely a must try! The appetizers are all perfect to snack on with some cocktails… I love the deep fried pickles. Good food and the service is great. Our server Argus was just the sweetest!

The quality of the food was great. I had the Chicken and waffles and my boyfriend got the Duck Duck Pig and we had some unlimited mimosas as well. Loved the duck duck pig, the chicken and waffles was great just a little too heavy for me. Overall the drinks were great and food was great. Customer service was decent. It was a busy morning and the food did take awhile. Small restaurant and it seems to always be busy.

Updating my 4 star review to 5 stars!!!
This is now one of my FAVORITE places to go! Great food and drinks. Perfect for hanging out with friends in a chill environment. Excellent for about 2 – 5 people.
Staff is always amazing, every single one of them!
My favorite (AND MUST FUCKING HAVE) is the chicken and waffles bites (under «small delights»). I always get it as an entrée, and I don’t share. The only thing I’m sharing is the review itself.
Im telling you, this shit will bless your soul. You’re going to cry.
Goddamnit let me tell you.
The waffle, is fluffy (you get 1 waffle cut into 4 pieces).
The chicken, is actually a tender juicy ass meat ball. You get a meatball on each waffle piece.
Oh god and that fucking gravy and crispy bacon on top, UHHHGHGHGHGHHGHGH!!!
Just get it okay.
Just do it.
I’ll try to calm down for now.
It’s my favorite thing to eat in San Diego, clearly.

Not bad for bar food.
Drinks are pretty strong and good.
I’d had the Asian Pear but I was more happy with the Mojito. —Must Try!—
The fries all good on there own.
So don’t make the mistake like I did and order the chili cheese fries which also has beans in it. Yuck. Lolz.
Get the chicken and waffles! Yummy!
They took the time to even bread the sausage and waffle was nice fresh and warm. Covered in syrup and just a hint of butter. Delicous!
The rib-​eye was over shadow by the chicken and waffle. Droolz!

First time here. Nice bar slash small informal restaurant in Hillcrest. They have a list it beers on the chalkboard plus house cocktails, whiskey, bourbons, etc etc.
My waiter was really friendly and helpful. His name is Argie. When you come in, ask for him because he was really helpful in narrowing down the choices for me. I had trouble deciding between the different sausage sandwiches: Chicken Mango, Duck Duck Pig, Smoky Cajun, and Banh Mi. He helped me narrow it down to the Chicken Mango and the Wu-​Tang Wasp (Maker’s Mark Bourbon, Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin, Pisco, Asian Pear Nectar, Lemon, Bitters). I got the Chicken Mango hot dog on a pretzel roll. I loop be pretzel buns-​rolls and they well with the Chicken-​Cilantro Sausage with mango slaw. The pretzel roll didn’t get complete soggy; the inside was soft and the outer part held together. The chicken-​cilantro sausage was spicy which I really liked. And the sausage was not too salty.
I also got the sea salt chocolate ice cream. It’s perfect: not too sweet with chocolate flavor and enough sea salt to make it pop. And there’s ice chips in the ice cream; I like the contrast of creamy and crunchy. I’m going to come back and try out the other sausage sandwiches as we’ll as get a repeat of the sea salt chocolate ice cream.

I love this bar. It’s definitely a chill place. The servers were very friendly. My girlfriend and I sat at a high top and enjoyed the atmosphere. I ordered the Summer in Alcatraz, a rye whiskey drink with basil, lemon and orange juice. A very tasty drink, but not too sweet! I’d love to check out their food next, everything looks pretty hearty!

Let’s begin with the atmosphere…
Great music, there was a mixture of new age, 90s, top 40s, rock, I mean it kept you guessing but it went with the flow of the establishment. The décor was beautiful! Very nice cups with certain drinks and rustic like chairs mixed with new age furniture. The lightening for me was perfect. It was a dark and mysterious settings with candles on the tables. The only thing I did not like was how the seating was set up. The tables and chairs are settled around the middle bar and the table only seats 2 people. You can try to fit in 4 people like a usual booth but you’ll be really close like literally touching elbows and I imagine your plates will be hard to fit on the table because it’s so small so I would recommend 2 people to a booth.
Moving on to our food… now the food was great! My daughter and I both had the meat board. That was the whole reason why I wanted to dine here. The meat board was just as excellent as it looked. It came with 4 types of sausages. Chicken and mango, beef and Chipotle, beef Cajon, and chicken garlic. They all were fairly spicy. And they all had a different type of sauce next to it on a really nice cutting board which it was served on. For the drink i chose the asian pear mule which had vodka, ginger beer, and fruit juices. My friend had the loaded fries. And the ribeye and goat cheese brat with Brussels sprouts (refer to the pictures) for dessert we all had chocolate ice cream and smoked sea salt which was devine! I’m not a chocolate ice cream person but this dessert may have changed that.
So the big one for me is the customer service which was not very good. It was mostly the waitress we had. She was more concerned about a patron that she was flirting with more than bringing our drinks and food and even our utensils. Very attractive young girl but wasn’t very nice. I eat she was rushing us out and I had to ask for my drinks over and over because she just seemed to forget or something.

I keep forgetting that I’ve been here. I suppose it’s because every time I do come, the establishment never leaves a real impression on me. The food is presented well, as most New American, but falls short in some way or another.
For this visit I ordered the Chicken & Waffle Bites and my friend ordered one of their French Fry plates. Our first complaint about the food was that it was too salty, at least for the plate of fries which we felt was over-​seasoned. It’s in the name and call me stupid for not putting that together, but it was an amount of saltiness that was both unpleasant and unappetizing.
The Chicken & Waffle Bites was presented nicely, the four pieces were plated on a board and garnished with chopped chives and drizzled with syrup. The chicken came topped on the waffle bits in the form of what looked like a falafel. Overall it was a sticky mess to eat, and fell short of expectations.
I also got a Moonshine Mule. It wasn’t worth the price in terms of alcohol, but did go down light and refreshing.

Cool spot on University Ave, decent cocktails and good beer selection, good service… Great combo!
The place isn’t huge but has a great open space vibe. Bar area wraps around like a horseshoe. Additional tables and outdoor seating available. Food looked good. My friend and I was happy with our cocktails. Music was cool (Drake, Jai Wolf, Alina Baraz). The place wasn’t busy. Younger but mature crowd.
It’s a nice place to stop in, hang out and get drinks. Plenty of places to visit around there but I liked the vibe there so I’ll be back.

I came here for brunch and their bottomless mimosas ($ 12). Their chorizo loaded fries ($ 7) were the best hangover remedy. The fries itself were seasoned with a Cajun spice and were loaded with chorizo, guacamole, and cheese toppings. They definitely did not skimp on the portions. As for the mimosas, they offered 4 different flavors: mango habanero, blood orange, blueberry sage, and pink guava. The blood orange was my favorite since it wasn’t too sweet.
I’ve been here before for dinner, but didn’t care too much for the bratwursts. I did, however, really enjoy their brunch offerings. Staff was super friendly and accommodating. They also have a big screen TV if you just want to go to the bar and watch the game. Overall, this place has a sports bar feel but with quality food and good beer selections.

This is a trendy bistro in the heart of Hillcrest. I love that the restaurant is fully open to the street and that there is sitting outside away from the loud music and the tvs playing football. The place is intimate — dark interior with candle light. The constant sirens going down Fifth were a bit much.
The service was good — very efficient, friendly, and knowledgeable waitress.
We ordered the following:
Parmesan garlic fries — Not impressed. Raw garlic and shaved Parmesan over thick cut not crispy enough fries.
Ribeye sausage — Absolutely loved the Brussels sprout. The sausage tasted good.
Duck duck pig sausage — the duck confi was delicious and the sausage had great flavours.
Would I come back? No. $ 11 for a sausage in a bun is absolutely absurd and not worth it, but if sausage is your thing and you can’t live without it, try this place out.

When you hear the words «sausage and beer», it is easy to assume the wurst and imagine a low-​bräu mundane experience. Luckily, all it takes is one glance at the menu to see that is not the casing here. Their menu is chop-​full of creative and refined twists on what can barley even be linked to a classic hot dog.
Their house made sausages are as tasty and decadent as they are unique — and the presentations are cleaverly crafted from the bun, to the dressings, to the toppings. (Hello… Duck Confit as a topping? Who ever sau-​sage a thing?!). These perfectly complement the flavors and combine into a meal that you will relish. So far I have tried the Duck Duck Pig and the Rib Eye and they were both wieners. I hope i don’t have to wait too longaniza to come bock and try the Banh Mi. And the Big Daddy Pickles? Two-​noms-​up. Wash it down with a craft cocktail or one of their extensive selection of craft beers (both local and world-​wide) to complete the hefenly experience.
And don’t make the misteak of missing the amärzen Sunday Brunch. They serve up *gasp* sausages, waffles, breakfast sandwiches and scrambles, some featuring their sausages, some sans-​meat. Don’t forget the *dun…dun…dunnnnn…* bottomless mimosas for only $ 12 which come in a tripel-​threat of saisonal flavors. We had blood orange, blueberry sage, and white peach vanilla — all delicious. Though we tried and tried, we kölsch not *quite* find the bottom… And though we were in a large group of extra-​festive brats, our server hammed it up and took great care of us from start to finish.
…I am trying to think of another brilliant sausage or beer pun to squeeze in at the end here, but frankly I’m afraid of butchering it. Instead I’ll end by highly recommending this place for weeknight dinners, Sundae brunches, or just meating up for a drink.

A great place to grab a beer and a bite.
Only one bartender/​waiter/​server was working the dining area when we arrived. The place wasn’t busy, but I believe they could have used an additional staff member in the seating area.
There’s a large draft selection and a menu with a lot of great sounding options.
I tried:
1. Mac and Cheese
2. Bacon and Bleu Fries
3. Ribeye sausage
4. Cajun sausage
No complaints on the mac and cheese! Great flavor and texture.
The Bacon and Bleu fries were good. The amount of blue cheese was overwhelming at one point so I opted to scrape off excess.
Both sausages were decent, but I highly prefer the sausages (and beer selection) at Wurstkuche in LA.
Great place to checkout. I highly recommend trying Wurstkuche if you enjoyed S&C and find yourself in the arts district/​Little Tokyo of LA

Mac & Cheese!
Mac & Cheese!
Mac & Cheese!
Mac & Cheese is a MUST GET at Salt & Cleaver. Get it topped with sausage.
You won’t regret it. I promise!
P. S. Moscow Mule is delicious too!