Solana Beach Crush

LOVE THIS PLACE!!! The ambiance is perfect, the service is excellent and the food is SUPERB!!! I have dined here on numerous occasions and everything that I have had is prepared to perfection. Though you can’t go wrong with anything on their menu, my favorites are the Seared Scallops, Brick-​Oven Meatballs, Ahi Tartare, Salmon Papillote and Oak Grilled Sea Bass.

It is a great-​fun place to go. Dj on friday night.
Amazing new Chef Massi, i believe from Italy… Wow

WOW! I’m amazed at what little effort the chef (cook) puts into the meals at Crush. BASIC
Three of us visited Crush for dinner this past Sunday evening. The place looked nice, the hostess was accommodating, and it wasn’t too busy. In retrospect, I think I know why.
We ordered five (5) dishes: Caesar salad, ahi tartare, angel hair pasta, brussel sprouts, and chicken parmagiana. The sprouts were the ONLY item worth mentioning, and I might give them a 7 out of 10. All other dishers were basic or less in quality.
We all three decided that there are too many great places to eat at to return to Crush.
I Unilocal on good and bad experiences here people. Read through my list of reviews, then you decide about Crush… before they are gone.
They get two stars only for ambiance and wait staff.

It’s just a little crush, not like I faint every time we touch. It’s just some little thing, not like everything I do depends on youuuuuu… Sha la la la, sha la la la… basically this song plays in my head every time I think about this place. One of my girlfriends suggested this place for happy hour on a Sunday, yes girl, that’s right, HAPPY HOUR ON A SUNDAY. Obvi that’s enough to win me over. Their wild mushroom pizza is heavenly. I was still dreaming about it days later and had to return for more. Also, their cocktails are amazing. My favorite is the kickboxer with passion fruit and habanero infused vodka for an extra kick!

The best food and especially a good selection of vegan options. As I am vegan. Staff are very nice, the atmosphere is serene everything is perfectly great also a really nice location. Next to my yoga studio, Yoga Six. Great food to perfection the cooks are superb. As I am a picky eater. This is an amazing Italian restaurant if you would like to get the Italian experience. It is also good for all sorts of occasions.

Went there on a GNO with 2 of my friends. The drinks were extremely watered down. I couldn’t believe that even after all 3 of us complained about the lack of liquor and flavor all the server could say was «sorry about that». We returned our drinks almost untouched but were charged for them.
Also, I am pretty sure that the wine had gone bad. we felt sick the next morning. How can 3 people complain of massive headaches & nausea after just a glass of wine (We did not drink on an empty stomach. food was ordered).
The appetizers were good. I have to give them that. When we were driving back, we considered giving them another try, but after the headaches & nausea that’s not going to happen.

Dined here last night with a group of co-​workers while visiting San Diego from D. C on a work trip. Two of my co-​workers dined here previously and really enjoyed so we decided to head back. I had the shrimp and vegetable linguine and everything about it was perfect… the portion, the amount of sauce, the amount/​size of the shrimp, the crispness of the vegetables. Perfect amount to feel satisfied but not at all weighed down. One of the other co-​workers had the bronzino and really enjoyed and another had the short ribs and seemed to enjoy as well. I’ll be returning as it is right next to our hotel for another pasta dish!

This place is a real treat, good location, great ambiance, good bar (order an old fashion), live music at times and the food is fantastic! Highly recommended the oak grilled artichoke appetizer, the meatball appetizer, chicken and/​or eggplant parmigiana entrée, short ribs, and any of the pasta dishes! Only catch is its a bit pricey… Prob due to the crowd that frequents this place and the location. If you ate looking for a nice Italian dinner, good wine and a great place… This is it!

This is my boyfriend’s favorite restaurant and he’s dined all over the world. I enjoyed our date here on a Friday night. There was nice crowd of locals also enjoying themselves. I like the décor and the dark lighting. It’s sexy. I also thought our server Monica was great. She was super friendly and very efficient. I ordered a pesto dish with shrimp and vegetables. I thought the vegetables were undercooked and I only had 3 pieces of small shrimp. I would never order that dish again. It wasn’t terrible, it just wasn’t the caliber I expected from how the Crush was described to me. But the drinks were amazing. I don’t remember the martinis I had, but they were perfect. My boyfriend loved his spaghetti and meatballs. I will probably order that next time.

Talk about a memory… Ryan remembered us from our last visit. He wasn’t even our server this time, but he told our server Katie about our enemies choice on our last visit and recommended a 2^nd option for us on this visit. We tried and loved the new recommendation! Thanks, Ryan and Katie!!!

Crush is on of my favorite happy hour spots in SB! Restaurant has a great atmosphere — indoor/​outdoor seating and live music on the weekends.
Great food & drink specials during happy hour. My husband and I typically order a pizza, sausage mac & cheese and the fuji matchstick salad. All are fantastic! We’ve also tried the meatballs and shrimp scampi… YUM!

LOVE the happy hour food specials here. You have to order the squash blossoms and the mac and cheese. SO GOOD. The mac and cheese is a little watery, but is super flavorful and delicious. My boyfriend literally licked the plate. The happy hour drinks were just okay, it kinda tasted like cheap alcohol to me. but it’s a happy hour drink so that’s probably to be expected. I also really like the outdoor seating area. It’s cute and romantic. Overall, a great place to relax after work and get a drink and some yummy appetizers.

Solana Beach Crush is a casual and fun eatery on PCH in Solana Beach (of course) serving excellent pizzas and much more. I dined here on a cool night a few months ago to try their happy hour menu. To start, we ordered a tasty appetizer — the squash blossom plate, which was wonderful. This was followed by couple of pizzas; the SB Crush special ($ 9) and the classic Margherita ($ 7) along with a very nice cabernet sauvignon and tavernello (both only $ 5 each). The pizzas were excellent and the wines were also very nice. The total was only $ 35 for more food than we could eat.
Our server, Lindsey, was friendly and efficient. I inquired about their use of the front patio space (where we were seated) which was a little bit unusual, so the manager came over to see what my inquiry was about. I told him I was just curious how the other businesses felt about the Crush’s tables and canopy in what would have otherwise been a common space. He indicated that they were uniformly accommodating and accepting, and that the Crush gave these businesses’ employees a dining discount. This was clearly a win-​win situation. The communication evolved to a discussion of the Crush’s fine wines, and he offered to provide a tasting experience on our next visit.
Will I return to the Solana Beach Crush? Of course! Their HH offerings are great, including some excellent wines. I guess with a name like «crush» they better!

Mmmmmm… Mmmmmm… nuff said. Went here on meatball monday and my god were those meatballzzz tasty!!! Also had the bruschetta and that was equally as tasty. We had a bottle of wine but, unfortunately, it wasn’t Opus One ;) haha. the Sommelier explained that to us! :D But dude had to pop over to our table cuz of the wine bottle we ordered. That was cool, gave us some nice insight into the wine. I had the bolognese and it was tasty with more meatballs. I forget what she had but she said she loved it! Great place to take a date! However, Baci, you still the BEST!!! :D

Love this place for a yummy dinner and drinks! The music is fun and the place is lively. Get the baby kale salad!

Back for our annual SB respite from the AZ summer. We’ve been looking forward to returning the Crush for the past year. Once again, Chef Matt & Ryan (server extraordinaire) knocked it out of the park.
Matt set us up with a few starters to whet our appetites. Buratta Bruchetta, pan seared scallops and SOME KIND OF FREAKING AMAZING GLAZED QUAIL. If you don’t go to Crush for any other reason, you gotta try the glazed quail starter.
We ended up having a pizza for our entrée, the Calabrese. It’s served with a plate of fresh shave Parmesan cheese, dried oregano (still on the stem) and crushed red pepper. Wonderful accompaniment. The wine list is very well put together and it won’t break you (get the ’11 Col Solare, $ 65).
If you find yourself in Solana Beach, looking for a really stellar place to dine, Crush should be at the top of your list.
I can’t understand how someone can give this place 1 star when they LOVED the food but were disappointed in the service. Because the water glasses weren’t filled? Wow.
We have found that, in most cases, if you engage the restaurant staff and treat them with respect, you’ll wind up with pretty good service. If you treat them as though you’re doing them a favor by being there, the quality of your service will be reflected.
The folks at Crush, in our experience, have genuinely want to get to know us. For that, I would highly recommend this place.

Came here with friends for a late night dinner at the bar. Glad we did. Ordered the kir royal lemon drop martini. It was flavorful and mixed perfectly. The oak grilled artichoke was perfect! I wanted something light on a hot summer night. Came with delicious dipping sauces and a grilled lemon. Friends ordered the shrimp scampi, meatballs and chicken parm. Everything tastes delectable, minus a star as the chef was a little strong on the salt and the sauce for the meatballs was far too tart/​sour.
We sat at the bar and the service was perfect. Will definitely need to check out happy hour.

I know I’m being generous but it’s summer and I’m in a good mood.
It was highly recommended that we make reservations. So we did, even for an early dinner (5:45). We were offered outdoor patio seating and on a hot day, it sounded perfecto. The happy hour menu ends at 6pm so we ordered appetizers — the meatballs (really good) and the garlic bread (so-​so).
We noticed that we must have arrived at doggy happy hour since most patrons had minimum of 1 – 2 dogs. Some on leashes and some wandering under my table. Most dogs were well behaved, but there were a few that barked and yapped and snarled every time a waiter walked near, or another dog showed up, or just because.
I’m a pet lover, but just like small children, I don’t necessarily want them under my table when out to dinner.
We ordered (split) the short ribs. Pretty good but a bit over cooked. Side of Angel hair pasta — can’t go wrong. My husband ordered dessert and somehow it got forgotten, not our server’s fault. So eventually it arrived and she comped the dessert, which turned out to be very light, refreshing and just like described, semi-​freddo.
Our server was very helpful, made good suggestions and stopped by frequently to make sure we were happy. Even if it meant she risked being gnarled by pups.
Why 4 stars? It was overall pretty good. And I’m in a good mood.

I’m giving this place a solid 4 stars. Note that it closes at 2pm & reopens at 4pm. We were the first ones in there since we did have a reservation right at 4. I’d say the place filled up quickly, so reservations are the way to go. It was Mother’s Day so we didn’t take any chances. Only down side to the whole experience was that they didn’t have any special gimmicks for the moms. It’s okay, doesn’t take away from the fact that the food, ambience and waiters were all very, very good. I saw a couple of walls that were lined w/​wines & the whole back side of the menu was full of different selections. The restaurant was clean & neat. Cute décor, very simple. Our server was really interactive especially with the kids. He answered any questions we had and suggested entrees when asked. Very patient with the little ones and courteous enough to wait until the last person finished before clearing the plates. A+ for our waiter.
Now the food. It’s not all just pasta at this place, as one would think. They had variety of meat dishes & our waiter said they were known for their seafood. «Never frozen» is what he said. That persuaded me to order the Salmon [$ 29]. Huge portion of the salmon which came w/​veggies & a few pieces of potatoes. Definitely filling. Came with an amazing sauce on the side, practically dipped my salmon with every bite. That made the salmon taste even better. Aside from being fresh, the salmon was succulent. Ordered the Espresso Cake w/​Vanilla Gelato on the side for dessert. Heaven;y!The only reason why this isn’t a 5-​star review was cause the drinks from the bar wasn’t good. Not at all. We ordered a toasted almond, didn’t taste anything like it & also a lemon drop. Didn’t taste great either. I mean how do you mess up a lemon drop? It’s okay, that’s a petty complain for the great food & service we received.

This place is awesome. The quality of the food and prepared to perfection. Music and laid back vibe. Service was great, locals save 10%.
We had scallops, shrimp scampi for starters very good, Mediterranean Sea base was incredible. Nice wine list. Butterscotch pudding was the perfect ending