Sound Wave

I came here just to see a friend’s band play. Got painfully lost trying to find the damn place.
The venue itself reminded me of some clubs I used to go to back in the day down the Jersey Shore. It was a Thursday night, and the venue was not even close to being packed. The door guy was very nice, as was the staff working the bar. Cover was only $ 5, and beers (Coors Light and Miller Lite) were $ 4 each.
The sound was pretty okay overall, but the lead singer’s mic cut out every so often.
All in all, the place was decent. Nothing outstanding, but nothing terrible. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to come here — only to see a band that I knew the members of.

I had the yellowfin ahi tuna sandwich and it was incredible. It was served with a spicy sauce that I couldn’t get enough of. I stole the bread served with a pasta dish from another and it was pure perfection. The french fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. True french fry connoisseurs understand this is the form of the perfect french fry.
The heating lamps weren’t on when they should’ve been and service was mediocre. The waiter seemed like he was making an effort, but he just kind of, sort of, really lagged. It seemed like it took forever to get our check, but it really took 15 minutes and that was 10 minutes too long. Waiters, if it takes you 15 minutes to bring my check, don’t tell me you’ll «bring it right out.»
Great music nearby and plenty of attractions to entertain a wandering eye (such as mine).

I was not very happy with the waitress, she was rude and fake! I paid 16.00 to see the B-​side players then paid 9.00 for a shot of patron (in a plastic cup) i posted a photo. the music was well worth the 16.00 but my 5.00 bud lite and 9.00 patron accompanied by the rude waitress was far from star worthy. Keep in mind the next day at the wavehouse she was there and this time she was nice. But as a waitress you should always be nice regardless of your personal issues. As for the security umm yeah I was not impressed. But again the music was very very good 5 stars to them

Looking for good deals on drinks? Bzzz… don’t go here.
But DO go here if you want a great view and good burgers.
I went here a few months ago. The view is great, food is good, service is meh, and drinks are tiiiny (probably about 8oz?!). I’m also pretty sure we were told we were only allowed a two drink maximum.
I used my Foursquare app to check in and noticed there was a special offer: Buy two entrees, get a free dessert! The waitress didn’t know about it, which I expected, so she asked the manager if he knew anything about this Foursquare business. He said he did get an e-​mail months ago about it and to tell us it was ok to redeem it… but then later on, the waitress comes back and says «Actually you have to print it out.» Weird, I thought all you had to do was show them the offer on your phone, because that’s what I heard other businesses do, but since it was my first time using a special offer from Foursquare, I didn’t argue.
I love burgers, and I am not too picky anyway, so I really liked my burger and fries! My friend on the other hand decided to get an Acai bowl, which was a terrible idea, because it was hot out, so when she got it, it was so melted that she was slurping it out of her spoon.
Go here for a good burger and a nice view. Do NOT go here for drinks!

This place was actually good when it was Canes. It was always owned by wavehouse but the previous owners of Canes would rent it from them. Now it’s just an extension of wavehouse. Soundwave oh wow! how clever! I wonder how long it took them to come up with that name. Anyway, back story aside, I went there last weekend to see how the place had changed and boy did it ever!
What a crapfest! The food was horrible! I ordered the yellow fin tuna sandwich and fries which were like 11 bucks. Took for ever to get the food. When I finally got the sandwich I thought it was a joke! I wish I would have taken a pic of it, in fact I should have because I still can’t hardly believe it, I mean it was so small, if you can picture those old «where’s the beef commercials». It was even worse than that. I was really hoping I was being punked but unfortunately I wasn’t. The fries were greasy as hell. I mean I don’t think I’ve ever had greasier fries than this anywhere, even at fast food places!
Wait staff and service was equally as bad and very rude! As I was walking in, a mom and her little son were leaving. The kid had a colorful plastic cup in his hand and was told by the guy at the door that that he couldn’t leave with the cup. The kid was like 5 yrs old. Poor kid started crying because he couldn’t take the cup. I mean for god sake it was a cheap little plastic disposable cup!
I always wonder how places like these stay in business when it’s obvious that they really don’t care too. I guess there either hoping to appeal to one time visitors (tourist trap) or it must be another one of those drug fronts you hear about.
Well I definitely wont return and it’s a shame because I really use to like this place especially due to its location.

So I hate doing this because I love the artists that perform at the Soudwave, but the service sucks!
I went their last night, and as I was paying for my drink, so I ask the bartender if the upstairs patio is open. She looks at me with a «how stupid can you be» look and says why wouldn’t it be. Continuing to state «where would people go to smoke?»
OK, so I let that roll off. As I walk up stairs the doors are locked! Ugh! Now I am mad. Then I ask for another drink at the end of the night and she says shes closed up, even thought the DJ is still playing, and then suggests I walk all the way over to the other bar and order a drink, IF they are open! RIDICULOUS!
Double Boo!
Drinks are over priced for the quality, bar tenders are rude and condescending. No bueno.
I thought Canes was bad, but this is worse. Boo!

Had lunch here with my family in July on the 2^nd level. It was not crowded & sat at a table in the corner, awesome views from anywhere you sit. The food was good tasting… however, I ordered the cheeseburger with fries & I know some people will say that the best way to cook meat is medium rare… or at least some pink but that grosses me out & I always order my meat well done. Sorry… anyhow. I ordered my burger well done & when I bit into it, it was not well done… so I just ate around the pink-​ness. The taste of the burger itself was good. I refused to send back my burger… I have no clue what they might do to it back there. Luckily the portions were good & I was ok with my fries. For lunch you have the option of a side & the fruit portions were also generous. I took my 2 young kids, (1 & 2 year old) If you’re sitting on the 2^nd level… guess what? Not high chair friendly. The tables are all bar height so the only way to work around it is to stack 2 high chairs so that they can be at a decent level. Our waitress was friendly but did take a looong time & didn’t come to our table often enough to check if we needed anything else. Besides us… there were maybe about a few other people eating. No excuse for us to have to look for you Ms. Waitress! One more thing… they did have music playing, it wasnt too loud & it was perfect beach-​esque type music.
In summation:
1. Good tasting food, Good Portions.
2. Slow Service
3. Not ideal for kids that need a high chair but do-​able.
4. Good Music
5. Great view!

I should have gone with Danny and had the calamari!
Baby and I stopped in to see the new logos (this place has had sooo many names over the years– I can only remember Red Onion, Chillers Canes and now Sound Wave). We locked up the bikes out front and were immediately approached by a skinny bumbaclot wearing a SoundWave shirt. «Weelcom to da Sound Wave, ya! Weeel ya be drinkin da akahol today?» Hmmmm I’m always up for a libation, but it is noon and the night before is still rattling my brain…“I’m not sure”. «Weell ya hafta get yer ID checked here if ya wanna be drinkin upstairs, ya». «What if I get up there and get thirsty ?». «Ya gotta come back dooon and git yer ID checked by me, Rasclot». Great system already (smells of underage tourist if ya ax me).
I understand the ABC headaches and blooodclot was totally cool about the whole thing so I’m not docking them stars based on ID scrutiny (even if their system blows). My issues started when we got upstairs.
First off, the view is 5 star worthy alone. Such a shame to sully it up with one of the worst burgers I’ve had in a awhile. Frozen patty, wilty vegs, mustard and ketchup on the table but otherwise no sauce or mayo to flavor up a lacking burger. Baby had a chicken salad sammy the she said was pretty good, but she left her potato salad with one bite gone and a «YAARRGH» exclamation.
Then there’s the service. Our cute blondie server had an attitude you could see from across the deck. Drops off the menu without so much as a F you. Comes back 5 minutes later with a sarcastic «Ready»?.
All this time there is a screen security door to the servers station that bangs like gunshot every time anyone goes in and out…“What a great view! Just sitting here and feeling the breeze while watching the enormity of the ocean is so relaxing that I could– BANG!- NOT stay here forever”. She came by to check on us once, then to bring our check with a «Thanks» over her shoulder. Nice. Crappy burger+crappy service +spectacular view= 2 stars
IF YOU GO– I have been there in the past to see shows and it was a decent venue. Sound is good, drinks were reasonable and security’s douche level was low. I will go back to see some shows but I’ll def skip the –BANG– food! Get your ID checked by Peter Tosh and have a drink on the –BANG– deck!

I liked the food, the service, the menu and the prices. The location is fantastic. If you are down in the area… eat here… upstairs!

Worst Margarita of my life !!!
My friend and I ducked in here for a drink and to watch the sunset when it was lightly sprinkling out. We sat at the bar.
There is no happy hour and the margaritas were beyond unacceptable, even after the bartender re-​made them they were still undrinkable.
It was hot and muggy inside and the waitress kept closing the door, we were stopped from going onto the patio to get some air because «it is wet and someone might slip» then we tried to at least sit under a fan and were promptly told that we weren’t allowed to change seats after we ordered at the bar !!!
So we ditched those nasty ass drinks and said farewell to that nasty rude establishment.

Went here Saturday for a little farewell party. The food was great, I got a burger and my friend got the nachos. Both were way above expectations. The drinks were on the expensive side, but I come to expect that so not really a shocker. The staff was friendly and helpful and the tickets werent too expensive.
Why a 4-​star? Because when the tickets say doors open at 8 show starts at 9, I expect the doors to open at 8 and the show to start at 9. Instead, we had to wait outside for 30 minutes before the doors opened (at 8:30) and the band didnt start playing until after 10pm. So we were inside for over an hour with no entertainment. It gave us time to eat our food, but still sucked.
Overall a good experience. The band (Cashed Out) was a Johnny Cash tribute band and was really good. The crowd was good and we had a great time.

bouncers at the music venue are complete morons. i get kicked out for dancing/​joking around. When asked ‘why are you kicking me out?’ they simply say either leave or we call the cops. F U PB.
What a waste.
bad place. nerd bouncers. you lose.

Two words: Tourist trap. First of all, there was a DOORMAN. What? This was the outside access, from the Belmont Park parking lot. We were looking forward to some Calamari we’d read about (which I now realize it was in some touristy rag). Of course they didn’t have the calamari. There were a few dull items on the menu: a sandwich ($ 8), a salad ($ 12), the same salad as a wrap ($ 12), a burger, and not much more. We decided to share the wrap, which was so forgettable, I’ve already forgotten everything about it.
But here’s the thing: I’m SICK AND TIRED of bars and restaurants in San Diego having absolutely NO CLUE about the outstanding beer scene we have going. So, this is my first — of MANY — attacks on these dens of mediocrity. I asked what they had for beer. Bud, Bud Light, blah blah, ho hum, I’m dying of boredom here… then they hit the fancy section: Red Stripe, Fat Tire, and Newcastle. Okay, Newcastle maybe not so bad if you’re in, say, a Denny’s. But this place is on the boardwalk, and has been in San Diego for years. And they don’t have ONE San Diego beer. So, disgusted and disoriented, I ordered a Fat Tire, and it came in a can. We were so underwhelmed we couldn’t wait to rip off our wristbands — oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we had to wear wristbands so we could drink — and hightail it out of the place.
Completely forgettable food, unforgivably horrible beer selection. Never again. So long, tourista!

Let me just start off this review by saying: NO HAPPY HOUR?!? WTF???
Oh you read that right. They have zero happy hour specials. My coworkers and I met up here after work for some food and drinks and had an interesting experience. I’ll walk you through it.
I show up around 6pm on a Friday and ask the doorman (?) what kinda specials they got going on and he has no clue. Uninformed doorman = strike 1. But really, that’s not a big deal. Who cares right?
So we head upstairs and sat at a table. I think the movie Swingers describes it best: «This place is fucking dead.» There were a couple other groups of people, but pretty damn deserted for a Friday during happy hour. Oh wait, they don’t have happy hour! Maybe that’s why nobody is here!
Our «waitress» comes around to take our drink orders and I have no idea what stuff costs here so I asked her how much a standard Jack & Coke is. She told me $ 6. I said DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMNNNN!!! I got one anyway because I wanted one. 15 minutes later she brings our drinks and my Jack&Coke is in a clear plastic dixie cup. I suppose the good part was that it made me feel like a giant.
We then ordered some food. Not much on the menu to choose from. I get the turkey avocado sandwich ($ 11 and looks exactly like the pic someone else posted on here). It was a standard turkey avocado sandwich. Not bad, not great. My girlfriend had the Gyro and said it was the worst one she’d ever had but ate it because she was starving. I pronounced it Jie-​row and she hit me. I guess it’s supposed to be pronounced Euro. Whatever.
I decided to get something cheaper to drink so I ordered a Bud Light. 15 minutes go by again (our waitress took for dayyyyyys on everything and I don’t know why cuz it was dead). I shit you not she brings me my Bud Light in a can. I laughed. No bottle? Wtf is this place?
My girlfriend ordered a Malibu & Pineapple, which was also served to her in a clear plastic dixie cup, but we noticed a hair in it and were like Uhhh… gross. So I took it to the bar and had the «guy behind the bar» make another one. I don’t think the «guys behind the bar» are actual bartenders as he clearly didn’t know how to make a Malibu & Pineapple. I also saw our waitress mixing drinks for people. Anyway, while he was «making» the replacement drink, I checked out the situation behind the bar. They literally had a giant metal tub filled with ice and placed a bunch of cans of beer in it. I know places do this with bottles but it just looks so cheap and lame with cans.
My girlfriend decides to get a dirty martini because they’re her favorite and she can’t hold out any longer. She goes up to the bar, circumventing our terrible waitress, and 10 minutes later comes back with, yes you guessed it, a clear plastic dixie cup with a dirty martini in it. (!!!) We all laughed SOOO hard at this sad state of affairs! It gets better. She told us that the «guy behind the bar» said they only have one martini glass. One. For the whole joint. Or at least the upstairs portion. Wow. Just wow.
I’m not sure how this happened, but when we put 3 tables together to fit more people, all 3 tables were different heights. ??? They didn’t appear to be adjustable either. Why would you buy tables of different heights? WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE!!! Hahahahaha! So much entertainment.
So our check comes and we find out the damage. My Jack&Coke? She lied, it was $ 7. Yeah. My CAN OF BEER. $ 4. FOUR FUCKING DOLLARS! The clear plastic dixie cup martini was cheaper than my jack&coke. Retarded.
Since we had a large party they included 18% gratuity on our bill. Lucky for them because I wouldn’t have tipped them anything at all. When they brought my card back with my portion to sign, it actually had a spot for «Additional gratuity.» I found this to be hilarious so I wrote in there «Haha».
People can say the view is good, but it’s right on the beach, every place has a good view. That doesn’t count in my opinion. In all fairness, the music was good. It was reggae night or something and they were playing cool reggae music. If marijuana were legal, then it coulda made up for all the negatives lol! Or I’d just forget to write this review…
Won’t be going back there ;) Way too expensive. If I wanted downtown prices, I’d go downtown. Then I’d get bottles and martini glasses. Hope you have a better experience than I did! If you can go and not spend any money and just listen to music, then you’re golden lol!

This is a great place to take a date. They have a mesmerizing view of the beach. Supposedly they have live music here at night but i came here during lunch. This place also has a wave pool where you can boogie board and stuff. i think you can setup a combo of lunch/​dinner and surfing.
i had the fish and chips here and it was quite good. the fish has a light beer battered seasoning. the food here might be a little pricier than other places, but with the view it’s well worth it. i didn’t get a chance to hop in the wave pool, but i plan to on my next visit.

R.I.P. Canes… but with every loss comes a new beginning and the folks behind the Wavehouse hopped on their former next door neighbors’ location like a PBDB (Pacific Beach Douche Bag) on a female SDSU student.
They gave the grimey old music venue a makeover, and spruced up the grub. I came here for a lunch meeting with my buddy Amanda and was thoroughly impressed at how things have changed.
You know what… the food is delicious. Yeah, you’re reading this correctly… I was a bit skeptical at first because of a bad experience years ago, but since then they’ve gotten a new exec chef who’s revamped Wavehouse’s and Sound Wave’s kitchens. I sh** you not their calamari is amongst the best I have had. It’s got a spicy kick to it that would make Uncle Jesse from Full House say «Have Mercy!»
I haven’t seen a show here yet, but the size of the venue is a bit smaller than the HOB providing an intimate setting for live music fans. Sure it’s in a bit of a tourist trap, but what venues do you know located on a beautiful beach that aren’t?
The outdoor patio upstairs is easy to love with a great view of the ocean and passersby on the Mission Beach boardwalk. If you’ve got something bad to say about enjoying a frosty brew in the sun, then you really ought to rethink living in SD.
I’m glad to see this space occupied again and I’m happy with what the Wavehouse has done with it so far. Can’t wait to see a show!

Wow, the drinks are tiny, and expensive. We had to send out margaritas back because I’ve never had a worse one in my life. We opted for vodka tonics because its hard to mess that up. Usually they come in collins glasses but we got them in a tiny bucket glass. Not worth 7 dollars.
The server was very sweet and good. However, we tried to get our discount from them and it took her over 20 minutes to get our bill because a manager was not available to fix the problem. I eventually had to go inside and get a busser to get the waitress to finally give us our bill.
Good stuff… great view and decent food prices. The calamari was spicy and delicious, just small. Host and waitress were attentive and very friendly.
You might have a chance if you fix your drink sizes and got a little more organized.
I won’t go back for a while.

Sound Wave is so awesome! It’s right on the boardwalk in Mission Beach so you have a great view of the water. It is a huge upgrade from Canes! I could see the brand new kitchen from my table and the prices were amazing for being only steps from the beach. I went there for lunch last week and started with the Calamari Pizzicato which had just the right amount of spice & Parmesan. Then had the Strawberry Fields Forever salad which was mouthwatering, YUM! Since the food was so good I took my man and 2 other guys on Sunday morning. My man loved the Hot Dance Burrito with Chorizo so much he talked about it the rest of the day! One of his friends had the Soundwich Hamuevos and the other had the Roasted Turkey and Avocado. They both loved it so I’m sure we are going to be going back for lunch next week. Thanks Sound Wave for the great food! I can’t wait to see what the new music venue is going to look like, at least I know it will have great food!

Amazing food… Great Value… The dark shroud that was Canes is NO MAS!!! Its bright and sunny with patio seating and a view like no other. The food is super fresh the salads delish… Strawberry fields forever… yummy and Regae prawns are legendary! If u r a hot wing fan… the best in San Diego Hands Down! Don’t wait for the summer crowds GO NOW!!!

just had a wonderful meal at the new and very groovey Sound Wave. I totally recommend the Reggae Shrimp as and appetizer, the jalapeño corn bread that comes with it is phenomenal! As for entrée’s the salmon was great and the strawberry salad (I know… I know sounds weird but you got to try it) is new, fresh, and incredibly tasty!
All this great food and a perfect view of the pacific!!!