Wolf’s Head Pub And Eatery

Good food and cold beer. They are remodeling and will open as soon as construction is finished.

This place has «eatery» in the title of their restaurant yet they use bacon bits on their sandwiches. Sure, this place is fine for beer, but given that it’s a pub and EATERY, I would expect decent food. The menu described the sandwich I ordered as have bacon on it. In my opinion, bacon bits do not count as bacon. Nothing else about the sandwich was satisfactory. For this reason, I will not be going back and trying any of their other food items. There was also nothing about this restaurant/​bar that would compel me to come back for any other reason.
Also, while sitting on the patio in the evening, my boyfriend and I were devoured by Mosquitos. Each of us had about 15 bites the next day and we were only out on the patio for about 15 minutes. There must be a cesspool or something nearby.

Wolf’s Head, they’ve been around a little while, they’ve changed ownership and I’ve never made it there because they are in Grantville, a place that up until recently didn’t really have a lot going for it. How time changes everything. Grantville has breweries, pubs, restaurants and low and behold, I found myself at Wolf’s Head Pub & Eatery on a hot, summer afternoon.
This place is pretty easy to miss and you can easily drive by it considering there is no real parking lot for them, it’s mostly street parking or finding parking in the opposite lot. However, once you make it inside, they have a nice little patio section and a indoor bar/​seating area. It’s pretty comfy and laid back for a place right across the street from industrial office spaces and a Home Depot.
Anyway, I was greeted right away by the waitress and I was informed that it was their first time being open on a Sunday which was somewhat apparent because other than one other group of people, it was pretty dead. As a result, it was quietly comfortable outside.
First things first, their beer menu albeit small, has a handful of local beers such as the Karl Strauss Wind & Sea Wheat and Mosaic Session IPA. They had a Benchmark Brewing red ale, a couple of Mike Hess beers and probably something else that I’m forgetting. Secondly, they have a nice food menu with several panini and sandwich options as well as meatloaf sliders. I went with «The Big Bad Wolf» panini which was meatloaf, bacon, corned beef and cheese and a choice of a side all for $ 10.99.
The panini was fantastic. There was a ton of flavor and it was a pretty good sized sandwich at that. I opted for the kettle chips as a side but I could have had mac salad or some other salad option (potato?) that I can’t remember. Regardless, the sandwich paired with a Wind and Sea Wheat, made for an excellent little meal and I didn’t regret my choice at all.
Wolf’s Head is definitely worthy of a return, I’m just not sure when considering that I’m not in Grantville very often. However, for a place that’s exterior looks less than appealing if you can actually spot it, this place does extremely well. It’s comfortable, the food is good and the beer menu is solid so you can’t really go wrong.
Suffice it to say, I’m a big fan.

Came in for a panini. so bomb !! im totally a fan now.
going to make this a new stop from now on.

$ 8 lukewarm cheese sandwich. «Grilled cheese» is supposed to be hot and melted.
Go down the street to la fiesta liquor and deli, see what a real grilled sandwich is supposed to be like… for half the price.
The server was great (perfect, in fact), the place is fixed up and nice, wish the sandwich was hot.

Stopped in for a quick Sandwich while getting my car serviced a block away. Place looked a little Sketchy from the street which is what attracted me to this dive pub. Once inside — my entire perception changed!
The Bacon Panini was awesome! The Stone IPA nice and cold. The service OUTSTANDING!
Very clean pub and a new digital screen displaying the Dozen Local Beers they serve!
Dog friendly! My server brought a big dog bowl of water and a treat for my pup.
This is an outstanding, unknown eatery. I’m coming back for Happy Hour at 3pm!

I had such a good time at Wolf’s head that I forgot to use the 20% off discount!!! Sad face.
I just had to get that off my chest lol.
We stopped by on a late Saturday morning for brunch. Sat outside bc I brought my dog, had to keep a few flies from eating our food but it was totally manageable.
Parking: they do have a private parking lot although it was a little confusing. Bc it was my first time there and there’s no clear marking on the floor so I had to call to make sure that I can park there. I also have to note that making a left out of this lot can be a little stressful. But if u have patience and the people coming out of Von’s are civilized people then it shouldn’t be too bad
Food: was great! My friend got the meatloaf slider with a side of salad while I got the turkey sandwich with their pesto potato salad. I had a bite of my friends sliders and they were really amazing. Their side salad does have bacon so vegetarians be aware. My turkey sandwich was really good too and it did have a lot of bacon also although I am not complaining
All in all a great experience, just make sure u get your discount before u leave!

Great customer service. They actually went out to buy additional stuff to make drinks for my wife!
If you like or are even open to the idea of meatloaf… you must stop in and try some food. Their grilled cheese, or any of the panini are dynamite!
We went on a Wednesday night and they had live music, which was really quite pleasant. I think that the lady who was performing was actually moving to the OC though, so I am not sure who is going to be doing the live music now, if any.
If they could expand their beer selection a bit more, I would dig it! At least the 8 or so that they do serve are good, and I was able to find one that I liked.

When first tried this place, really liked the owners and everything about the place. But I think ownership changed so marked it off the list. Finally tried it again.
It’s as good as I remember. Good, simple food. Delicious. Great local tap list — like local within 2 miles away.
Great service. Dog friendly outside — they brought treats and water.
And great live acoustic guitar by Jessica.
What’s not to love? :)

From the outside, this place looks like a super hole-​in-​the-​wall. I was surprised to see that it is a nice little bar and eatery inside. Not fancy, but definitely not a hole-​in-​the-​wall.
We went for lunch and there was one server. There weren’t many customers but service was a bit slow since the one server was also helping prepare food in the kitchen. He was very friendly and nice, though.
My eating partner and I got the meatloaf sliders and a meatloaf sandwich with pastrami & turkey, with sides of pesto potato salad.
The flavor of the potato salad was nice, but it was way too mayonnaise-​y for me. I was searching through it to try to find potatoes since most of it was mayo. I would pass on this in the future.
The meatloaf sliders were good. Not great. It kind of tasted like burger meat, but drier. It was a bit bland, but it came with a side of tasty sauce that made everything better. My eating partner’s panini was large – we could have shared it among both of us. He had the same comments on his sandwich as I did on mine.
There is an outdoor patio so it’s probably dog friendly.
I think this is a nice option if you are in this somewhat business-​y area. It’s right across from the plaza with Home Depot.

After reading Omar’s review I put Wolf’s Head on a short list of places to try when I was nearby. Unfortunately for me, it took a long while for me to get there. Fortunately for me, it was well worth the wait.
When I told H that we were headed to a «new» place in Grantville, he first said «where’s Grantville?» to which I responded «you know the place where Benchmark Brewery, Groundswell Brewery, and San Diego Brewing Co. are.» (do you sense a theme?) Once we figured that out, we plugged the address into the GPS and followed along as best we could. When we pulled up my immediate thought was «uh oh, he’s going to be unhappy with this.» To say Wolf’s Head doesn’t look like much from the outside is an understatement. That being said, NEVER judge a book by it’s cover. We went in, saw some decent beer on the menu board. Good start. H asked me what they were known for «meatloaf, as best I can tell.»
We both tried different versions of said meatloaf, the build your own panini for him (meatloaf, jack cheese, something else) and the bacon one for me (what? bacon is good and it was my first meal of the day) both were delicious! Be careful, since these paninis are virtually fresh off the press, they’re quite hot when delivered to your table so while you’ll want to dive right in, eat a few chips (or other side) first to let it cool down so your fingers, mouth, tongue and anything else that might touch a sandwich isn’t feeling the after affects.
We enjoyed our experience so much, we promptly told friends that lived nearby that they had to give this place a try. You should too, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

I went to the grilled cheese restaurant with an attitude, no doubt. I was totally blown away by the variety, artistry, and enthusiasm of the entire process. I was in way prepared to spend $ 12 on a grilled cheese sandwich, but I can’t tell you how glad I am that I did. Every element was perfectly paired and a unlike any toasted cheese sandwich I’ve ever had. The staff is trained to challenge assumptions and push you from your comfort zone and they have a knack for allowing you to think it was your idea. try it, don’t judge.
bagel

Came here with a Living Social deal so naturally, I ordered the biggest damn thing on the menu: the Big Bad Wolf. This behemoth boasted bacon, meatloaf, pastrami and turkey on a panini and came with a generous side of pesto potato salad. Gluttony at its best, folks.
Good food, good beer selection, friendly service and perhaps best of all, not at all pretentious. Don’t blow it, go here.

There’s no other option than 5-​stars for Wolf’s Head! Pretty much 90% of my experience can be summed up by what Lisa H. wrote in her review (yea, that’s the lazy way). After Lisa H. abandoned me, I came back again the other night and found that there was a change in owners. I was sad to hear about the circumstances.
Anyway, the change is seamless. I wouldn’t have noticed except that I was chit chatting with the manager. How many places can you say you just casually chatted with the management? 100% of the times that I have come to Wolf’s Head, I have, that’s how friendly and unpretentious this place is! Again, I’ll refer you to Lisa H.‘s review, but I’ll add that Rino (new manager) was super friendly and accommodating.
I love the cozy atmosphere and the Tiffany-​like lamps. They are bolted to the bar (I already checked). Like I hinted at above, this is the sort of place where you can come by yourself and there won’t be a lack of conversation. Marshall, are you still there?
Now, let’s take a moment to appreciate the meatloaf sliders and grilled cheese… Did you do it? I just did and now I’m thinking another visit is in order. They were amazing last year. And I’ve verified that the grilled cheese is still cheesey gooey awesome in 2015. Live music? They have it. Incredibly generous pours of wine? They have that too.
So if you DON’T like a casual and fun atmosphere, patios, fire pits, live music, generous pours, friendly bartenders, and chalk boards in your bathroom, this is not the place for you.

We found ourselves here for an early dinner two weeks ago before trekking over to the SDSU men’s basketball game at Viejas Arena. I’ve heard a good buzz about this place, so thought it was worth trying out since we were meeting our friends in the area.
Wolf’s Head Pub did not disappoint. Service was awesome and the food is pretty fantastic. Don’t let the exterior fool you if you’re skeptical about stepping foot here, otherwise you’ll deny yourself a nice treat with great service and tasty eats.
My husband failed to eat lunch at work that day, so he started off with the meatloaf sliders and also ordered the meatloaf sandwich. I don’t like ciabatta bread much, so I opted for the BBQ ranch chicken wrap. Our friends ordered the turkey sandwich and the other sandwich with a ton of pork. Both enjoyed their meals as we shared the side of potato chips for the table.
I liked the flavors of my chicken wrap, but it was rather difficult to eat had I picked it up since it wasn’t wrapped up tightly. It’s okay though, I picked at it like I was eating a salad. Although the menu described it as a BBQ ranch, I couldn’t quite find the flavors of that in my wrap, it’s okay though, lol. The side of pesto potato salad I opted for was also delicious. I tried the mac salad my husband had with his entrée & it was good too. It looked like cold mac & cheese since it was the same color, so it threw me off when I first saw it on his plate.
Wolf’s Head Pub is a wonderful spot to check out when you’re in the Grantville area. We felt very welcomed upon arrival and had an overall great experience, so that will result in many more return visits there (since we bought tickets to several of the SDSU men’s basketball games this season). My husband works in the Mission Valley area & is excited to bring the guys here for lunch, which I’m sure they’ll include in their rotation.
Cheers for also having a great selection of Mike Hess’ beer, good stuff!

Love love love love. Came here with Alicia K., who has had this place bookmarked forever! I wouldn’t say it is hard to find, but it is definitely tucked away behind some shopping centers. They have a small parking lot, which was great!
We walked in and immediately felt at home! There is an outdoor patio (which has a table in the middle with a FIRE PIT in the center of it! Definitely trying to steal that next time!), and then you enter the pub. It has a super intimate feel, which is something I definitely look for in a good hangout location! It has a bar area with a couple of high tops squeezed in, and another area with maybe 4 or 5 tables/​small booths.
Every Friday and Saturday night they have live music, which we thought was amazing! There was a man singing some great tunes at the piano, but it wasn’t overly loud where you couldn’t still hold a conversation with your company.
Chad and Chris were manning the bar, and they helped us get familiar with the menu! It is not a huge menu, but has a great selection. Alicia K. got the Meatloaf Sliders, which she seemed to enjoy, and I (of course) got the grilled cheese. Fonzie in the kitchen made it extra melty and perfect for me, so THANKS! It was delicious! We both got the kettle chips as a side, which were a perfect pairing. We ended up ordering a second helping to snack on with our drinks, and they were great with some pepper sprinkled on.
They only have wine and beer here, but they do have a «vodka-​like» substance that they use to make a drink «kind of like a cosmo.» Sounded good, but we went with wine and beer instead! They also have «world famous» Sangria, but I cannot comment on the accuracy of that statement quite yet. Happy hour is from 3−6pm, $ 1 off drinks! We missed happy hour, but it was still only $ 4 for wine (almost poured to the top of a huge glass — booyah!) or $ 6 for beer, which was all local.
The atmosphere was great, and all the staff were amazing! Shout out to Marshall from the kitchen, who provided us with some great conversation throughout the night!

This place has been on my radar for the past month and I am very glad I finally made it. On this visit, I ordered their grilled cheese on whole wheat: a grilled cheese that came with four kinds of cheeses, including provolone, Swiss, cheddar, and muenster. You get a side with the meal and I had the pesto potato salad, and for libations, I had the October Hess (
).
I love a well prepared grilled cheese and this one was quite good including the side of pesto potato salad (
). The grilled cheese’s wheat bread had a great golden brown buttered toast and was crunchy the way it should be (
). The cheese were pretty well melted, except for the muenster which need more time. The cheddar and provolone were great together melted together and provided most of the great cheesy flavor (
). Although I thought the cheeses needed a little more melting time, especially the muenster, it was still a very good grilled cheese.
The pesto potato salad provided a pleasant mild herb flavor. I was worried the basil may overwhelm it, but they did a nice job keeping it mild, but noticeable (
). The pesto dressing was creamy and well seasoned. The potatoes were well prepared in that they were cooked just right. They had just enough resistance to say they were slightly to the tooth. Well done…
The October Hess was a perfect pairing for the grilled cheese and pesto potato salad. It was flavorful and I loved that they served it in a ice cold pint glass because the beer retained it coldness throughout my meal.
I like a cheesy experience…

It was mid-​afternoon. The Wolf’s Head was dark and cool and empty, a cave, a place to kill time between appointments. I’d been in the place when it was a BBQ joint, run by nice people who had no clue about BBQ, and I was anxious to see what the building had become.
Friends had said that the Wolf’s Head was always packed shoulder-​to-​shoulder with bon vivants determined to eat and drink and sing in ways not seen before on this stretch of Fairmount Avenue, a road where The Home Depot, car dealerships and a carpet installer had found a home. Today was different. As I walked onto the deserted patio, I was greeted by Jay, one of the owners, who offered me a beer and a menu while I lit a cigarette and considered my options.
«I’ll sit inside,» I muttered, glad of the chance to escape the unfamiliar heat of that incendiary San Diego September.
Jay seated me near the piano, a scarred upright used by musicians on weekends to entertain the celebrants. The place was quiet, small and smartly set with a few tables, bound by straight-​backed chairs and old church pews. It was snug, not cushy, but this was a bar, not a whorehouse, and I took what I could get.
Who put Mike Hess beers on the menu? Did they think I wouldn’t notice the offer of cold beer, glasses of gratification and intrigue and lunchtime titillation? I’m not a drinker and beer was never my friend, but I know my way around a glass. Hess’ website said a City Park Strong Ale would «[recall] old times,» and I needed a sandwich and some happy memories, so I ordered that Ale and brother, they were right; I quietly recalled hops, and caramel, and chocolate and the smooth taste of dark liquid that comforts.
Jay sized me up and promoted lunch, as a good barman ought to do. I’m a meatloaf panini man, always have been, and that was a good choice for the day. Wolf’s Head meatloaf isn’t a secret, but it’s a mystery: a mix of moist and flavorful meats, not dry, not greasy, inflected with something strange and wonderful that makes the meatloaf taste like… not meatloaf. Sausage? Not exactly. I asked for the Chef, a partner in the business named Kristoffer, who talked about his creation.
«Yeah,» he said, «I make sure to draw off most of the fat.» His enthusiasm for cooking and making a menu that pleases people without overwhelming them was impressive, and distracting. What was in the meatloaf?
«People think it’s sage. It’s not.»
This was getting us nowhere, and I wasn’t going to ask again. Leaning forward, looking Kristoffer in the eye, I willed the information out of him: «Come on, you bastard; spill it!»
«It’s… basil.»
And that was it. The answer I needed, but couldn’t have expected. Basil.
And that’s why the sandwich paired so well with the Pesto Potato Salad, which held a mystery of its own: sour cream. As unlikely a mixture as you’ll find anywhere along Fairmount Avenue, but it worked, and what’s more, it was light and filling, the Devil’s combination.
I’m not known for my strong work ethic. Ask around. But an hour at the Wolf’s Head gave me what I was looking for, what I needed to find, and for the money, that’s a good day’s work.

After months of delay, I finally checked out the WH Pub. It’s on a back street in an industrial area, but not hard to find. A friend and I sat at the bar and ordered a couple of the Hess beers they had on tap.
I went with the Baconini meatloaf panini and added sauteed mushrooms with the buffalo sauce. Very tasty and huge! My friend really enjoyed her sliders as well.
One note of caution. I found out after taking a couple of bites of the potato salad that it’s made with pine nuts. I’m allergic and had to stop eating it even though it was very good. The staff was very accommodating on exchanging it with a green salad.
On Friday and Saturday night, they also have a guy singing and playing the piano until about 9. Nice patio area out front too for larger groups. Even though they close at 9, they were fine with staying open later to allow the big group to finish their dinner/​drinks.
Great Grantville find!

3.5 stars
There are times when I need to actually sit down for lunch and relax. Finding a quiet spot in the Allied gardens, Grantville area can be difficult. The area has several fast food restaurants that just won’t cut it.
Wolfs head is a perfect spot to grab a quality pressed sandwich and a pint if in the area. I’ve had the bacon-​ini with macaroni salad and the sliders with a potato salad. Both meals were good. They have a small selection of craft beers but they well thought out. Something for everyone. The restaurant itself is small and intimate. They have a nice patio with plenty of shade. Apparently they have live music on the weekends and a couple flat screen TVs to keep you entertained. The owners are very nice and provide great service.