I like the environment, staff, and food, but the new "non-cash" fee has turned me off, considering it's a Saturday night and the restaurant is at half capacity at best I'd assume others feel the same, this is probably also coming out of employee tips and will eventually lead to a drop in morale and I can't see it being good for business (short term gains on a long term loss imo), I've probably spent thousands here over the years and will probably be doing that a lot less now, my Wife doesn't want to come back now :( read more

We love wine Wednesday but tonight we noticed how much smaller the bread pudding is compared to the past. read more

Hooleys Public House - Love the bread pudding but it was definitely smaller tonight - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

I really like this place! The food is really good and great quality. It's a cozy dark restaurant with a great Irish charm. The staff is friendly and accommodating. I live in Ocean Beach but whenever I'm over this way I make sure to stop in. Thanks guys .... read more

Good beer selection and nice ambiance. I've always enjoyed this establishment however the bartender (tall, dark hair, younger guy) was extremely rude. He mocked our table to other customers for asking for assistance finding our server. It had been over 40 minutes since our server checked in on us and we just needed our check. He was very snappy and impatient with us for asking for assistance and on top of it, we could over hear him mocking us to another customer for not knowing who our server was (even though we tried our best to describe to him which one he was). It was unwarranted and unprofessional. We don't feel welcomed coming back to this location, especially if that bartender is there. read more

Update: Always love coming here. Sit in Lauren C's section, service was great!! I could eat Irish pub food everyday. Probably not super healthy but sounds awesome. Got Smithwicks and corn beef sandwich. I asked for a side of au jus sauce for dipping. Turned out to be awesome. Finished up with Guinness ice cream. My wife got a salad and shared the ice cream. She thought the salad was great. Original: This is my favorite place in San Diego. However, this visit was not so good. 1) The music was way too loud. We ate in the dining area to avoid the noise so we could talk. Still too loud out there as well. If I wanted to go to the club, I would have done that instead. Besides the band was not very good. Lots of off key covers. Go figure, every live band finds a way to play that stupid Brown Eyed Girl song. 2) I ordered potato soup and a cobb salad, they were...meh (more on the negative side of meh). My wife loved her pretzel with beer cheese. As always this is one of the best and only places in town to get a Smithwicks on tap (awesome as usual). 3) Service was standard to good. read more

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Overall everything was good. (food, drinks, service, ambiance) - no complaints. They have multiple TVs by the bar area where you can watch the game of your choosing. Would I drive from far and wide to eat at Hooley's? Probably not. However it is a nice addition to the La Mesa food scene and if you happen to be in the area, I think it's a great place to have dinner, drinks, and laughs with friends. read more

Hooleys Public House - Corned beef Mac n Cheese - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

Visited 5/18/2019 I've been wanting to check this place out for some time now and this was the night. Saturday nights are very very busy with sports enthusiast watching soccer and baseball. It's a nice Irish sports pub with a fair amount of inside and outside seating. Inside during the games it is extremely noisy. Not a place to relax and have a cocktail at least till 9 o'clock. The staff and bartenders were extremely friendly and I always kept checking if i needed anything. They have live entertainment on Saturday nights at 9:00pm and tonight was the band Emergency Exit. They were amazing. With Tommy Lee on the drums, Mike on the Keyboard, Blare on the Guitar, and Tom on the Base Guitar. (5 Stars) The food is good for bar food. With a very big menu to choose from there's something for everybody. First I have to praise the Guinness Onion Soup. Amazing I've never had better. (5 Stars) i'll be back for this dish alone. Next I had the Prime Rib Dinner. It had a lot of flavor but was a bit tough to Chew. Serving size is kind of small considering I ordered their largest cut. Don't think I'll be ordering that again. (3 Stars) With a yelp check-in you get a free sample of their Irish bread pudding. Not fluffy and soft like bread pudding should be. To bad because it tasted fantastic but crunchy inside. (3 Stars). Ambience is (4 Stars) clean and nice. As for the cocktails they were well-made. The Irish Coffee was well made and just right. (4 1/2 Stars) All in all if you don't mind a crowd and sometimes a bit noisy this is a good place to hang out. I will be back. Enjoy read more

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We stopped into Hooley's in La Mesa (Grossmont Center mall) on Saturday afternoon for a couple of beers. We like Hooley's a lot. The bar is plenty big and the bar area is huge. Paul our barkeep was totally cool. They have a very nice selection of beer and any time we've had the food it has been really good. I had a Karl Strauss Amber and a Bass Ale, while Becky had a Smithwick's and one of San Diego's homegrown Pils from Groundswell. Becky also had one of Hooley's famous corned beef tacos which we both love. Hooley's is a bit pricey. We were there early afternoon on a Saturday. Pints were $6.50 each and a single a la carte taco was $5.75. My advice to you is to hit Hooley's on Taco Tuesday or during happy hour, or when they have other specials. You'll enjoy the same great food, beer and service, but without the buyer's remorse. read more

Hooleys Public House - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

Food was prepared quickly and tasted good. Service was over the top. The female sever was too nice, super accommodating and almost even pulled my wife's water glass away from her month to refill it. The service was so over the top, we could not stop laughing, but then after we got our meal it was hard to locate our server. She would either be MIA or talking to another table forever about some life experience. Service was crazy, food was good. I would go back. Solid 4 star review. read more

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Hooleys is San Diego's best Sunday brunch destination! Always an available table. FIVE STAR!!!!!

Stopped in to check out this location after being at the Rancho location. Excellent service! Andrea was fantastic! The food and drinks were good! The wedge salad was the best! Irish Mule was delish! Outstanding afternoon. read more

Great service! Great food. Lived in La Mesa my whole life and passed this place many times. After a saturday baseball game we headed to Hooleys! Kids loved it and the ingredients were all so fresh! Maybe because we were first in line when they opened! But everything was in point. The waitress was great! read more

Hooleys Public House - Prime Rib dip - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

For the hype it received, it was pretty mediocre when it came to the food. The service was alright, as we were shuffled to the side "quiet" area. The Mac and cheese was extremely oily.. the Rueben was extremely dense and the fries were soggy. At least they had a kids menu :) read more

I really enjoyed my dinner of the chicken in wine boxty. The vegetables served with it where perfectly prepared. My aunt had the fish and chips and said that it was very good. Unfortunately, my uncle's salmon and his spinach were so salty that he couldn't eat it and he refused to send it back- It tasted like it had been soaked in salt! I doubt that he will return. I. On the other hand. Will be returning if only for the Guinness onion soup-which was delightful! read more

Hooleys Public House - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

Really enjoy going to Hooleys's Public House after or before going to a movie or getting my nails done at Grossmont Center. The service was great both times I was there and they have a great selection of beverages. I really love the low lighting and quiet booths that run along the side of the place. Overall the food is good bar faire. They have some unusual items like potato skins with corned beef instead of bacon. It has a bit of an Irish theme. Prices are reasonable. It's a great place for a date with your honey. read more

My husband and I visited this restaurant over the weekend with some friends and got a pretty scary surprise. As my husband was drinking his water, he inhaled a piece of glass through his straw. After coughing it up and noticing what the object was, we noticed several pieces at the bottom of his drink. We told our waiter what the situation was and he responded with something along the lines of "That shouldn't be in there".... I understand accidents happen but my main issue is the lack of concern the staff had about the issue. They never offered to comp or even discount his meal for the experience he endure. Instead, they gave the table a slice of bread pudding to share... read more

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1st time to eat on this place, but they really impressed me with the great customer service. Their foods are great. I like it that they even accommodated me being a vegetarian. I love their options. My friends and family really living this place. Ambiance, food, and services are all thumbs up. I would definitely will come back for more. read more

Hooleys Public House - Hooley's signature cup. - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

On Friday the 13th the La Mesa Social Club got together at Hooley's for food and drinks plus good company--we succeeded in all plus got to enjoy good music to boot. I started with a Red Trout ale and it was as good as any I had in England. I couldn't wait to try their version of the Scotch Eggs and they were the best ever--hard boiled eggs with a layer of sausage around it (like making a snowball), rolled in a crumb mixture and fried to a delectable crisp. And served warm. Sooo good. I ate two halves of the 6 provided and saved the rest to take home. Next up were the corned beef tacos I'd heard tell of. None of that made it home--I ate both of them. I liked the combination of the corn tortillas with the corned beef. The food that others ordered looked good but I didn't get to taste any of that. JC's mac and cheese was nice and creamy, the shrimp looked light and crispy, the mud pie was huge, the veggie potato skins looked delicious, The Guinness ice cream tasted homemade (Vanessa gave me a sample), etc. Later I was ready for another drink while we listened to the very good, though too loud, Irish Music. I asked the waitress if they had a "Shandy"--a drink I imbibed more than my share of in England. To my surprise she said yes so I ordered one. It was really good and everyone had to have a taste after inquiring what it was. I even had another later, since we were there till 11:30pm. The company was excellent as always! Vanessa brought her friend Aimee and her sister, Ace brought is beautiful wife and cousin, JC our La Mesa CM was there, Kim D. and Brian A. who I'd never met before, Chris Munz made an appearance, and even Anton showed up to our surprise and overwhelmed the ladies with attention! I heard tell Yvonne was there with friends but I never did see her myself. So today my H and I decided to go out for lunch and I suggested Hooley's. I had the Bangers and Mash--again, very delicious, He had the salad and sandwich. The salad was huge and I had a taste of the ranch dressing--perfect. For only $6.99 each it was such a deal. I want to go back and try their corned beef and cabbage, the fish and chips, Shepard's pie and other items. Thank goodness they're close! What an improvement from Trophy's!! Feb. 2012: Just a quick update, we went here for lunch the other day, the Scotch eggs were still wonderful, I had the lobster taco and chips which were excellent, though the chips were pretty salty. Can't wait to go back and try more items! read more

I happen upon here on their taco Tuesday and happy hour. I was able to get a pair of their famous corned beef tacos for only $2.00 each and an order of wings for $6.95. The corned beef tacos were very good. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gHVFTwzWB4YibE7GbfcsWA?select=rjpUZ5Ml4dkbiiIGuSbuVQ#mLSlxbRsnnBk9Cbzg-kXIQ) The corned beef was tender and well seasoned. The taco came with generously filled with the corned beef with a nice sprinkle of cheddar cheese and fresh cabbage. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gHVFTwzWB4YibE7GbfcsWA?select=rjpUZ5Ml4dkbiiIGuSbuVQ#CNQtK16mricRnCQiy1SiYg) The corn tortillas were excellent and for $2.00 a piece, these flavorful tacos were a hell of a deal. The wings were descent, but they desperately needed seasoning. I did order them plain with the sauce on the side, but some salt would of did them justice. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/gHVFTwzWB4YibE7GbfcsWA?select=rjpUZ5Ml4dkbiiIGuSbuVQ#rjpUZ5Ml4dkbiiIGuSbuVQ) On a good note however, they were properly fried and had a nice crunchy exterior, and the chicken meat was tender. The service did shine here. My server was was great and had a nice personality. I did notice the menus were a little grimy and would benefit from a wipe down. read more

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Big thank you to our server named Rachel. I haven't been back to hooley's in a few years and dinner was amazing, the fish and chips for some of the best that I've had. Having a Guinness and a boddingtons I'll be back to when I was in Ireland. My kids enjoyed the burgers the live music and wonderful customer service from Rachel we will be back again and again. read more

I love this place. The food is great and the servers are great. Plenty of room to bring the whole family! They have a huge big screen to watch games while you enjoy awesome Irish eats and craft beer. They have Happy hour everyday and they even have a late night happy hour from 9-12. Plenty of parking. It's located in the grossmont center mall by Macy's. The jalapeño poppers on the happy hour menu are huge and stuffed with yummy cheeses. They serve corned beef quesadillas on happy hour also. My fave is the onion soup and the corned beef and mash. Actually everything I've tried did not disappoint. Th drinks are stiff and there's plenty of selection when it comes to cocktails and your choice of whiskeys. Atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable. Definitely my go to during the week. It's right by my work and it's a great place to enjoy a meal and a couple drinks before heading home. read more

Hooleys Public House - Onion soup! So good $6 - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

Second time coming. First time was nice a few years ago. Actually enjoyed myself. Fast forward, this time on St. Patrick's Day weekend. Feeling seemed off. Maybe they were waiting for tonight or tomorrow. Had to wait in to order a drink. Was put off by bartender who filled half the beer, then walked away to help other customers. Then another bartender saw me then finished filling my beer and took a long time to use a register. Maybe because I was one of 3 that weren't Caucasian in the establishment! Bad vibe this time. Ended up leaving with friend to eat elsewhere. read more

Great. Friendly with good food and spirits. Cool Irish pub ambiance. Service is slower than some but worth the wait.

Never have been here before but what a nice place to come and have some delicious food great service even in these hard times of understaffed we were seated promptly and our food was delicious service was great look forward to coming back read more

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My family and I were looking for a place on a Tuesday to sit outside, and Hooley's was the perfect place with an outdoor patio where you can properly socially distance. We were told that they will also be adding more tables so that they can continue seating people. As part of their taco Tuesday deal, I ended up ordering two of their corned beef tacos which come with cheese, slaw, and jalapeño ranch. They were really large tacos and the jalapeño ranch was fantastic on top of their tacos. The service was super speedy and friendly. Our server was from Ireland and came to talk to us for a while since my grandparents had just recently took a trip to Ireland! For dessert, we ordered the butterscotch bread pudding which was amazing! It came out nice and warm, with a ton of sauce to dip the bread pudding in. I think it would've been even better with a scoop of ice cream instead of whipped cream, but it was amazing nonetheless. read more

I love the service and the beer at Hooleys. I really prefer the other location as a venue. We started off with a Guinness, a Newcastle and some other beer. Those were pretty good. We had the Happy Hour Calamari, Jalapeno poppers and fried zucchini. While they were all very good tasting there was a lot of grease but then again it was all fried food and they were all at Happy Hour prices. Our waitress Kat was amazing! I really liked her. My friends ordered all of the different tacos and they all seemed to enjoy them as well. There is a large room in the back called the Guinness room that is great for groups. There is also a really large screen that pulls down with a projector for meetings. There is a diaper changing station in the ladies and the bathroom was really clean. People please stop bringing your children to the bar. I leave my house to go hang out to get away from kids! I am not trying to hang out with yours. (Sorry if that is harsh but I mean it). They also have live bands. I posted a picture of the flyer for the next band coming to play! read more

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Suicide wings are not the same, not even close to being spicy and the addition of red pepper flakes to try and spice them up is a joke. The beer tap system needs to be cleaned or upgraded. Unfortunate to pay $8 for a warm beer. I am really disappointed in how restaurants handle cash payments nowadays. I expect exact change when I pay cash but more and more places seem to feel obliged to taking the change and only giving bills back. Why is that? Unfortunately I didn't realize this until I already put a $15 tip on an $81 tab, so in front a full place didn't want to look cheap and take money back when I figured this out. But for now on I'm paying by card only. Shame on management for allowing this to happen. I work hard for my money too. read more

What a cool spot right in La Mesa. I had lunch with my Mother and her hubby. He can't walk well, and is getting up there, as this was his 90th birthday lunch...and everyone was super customer service oriented and courteous at Hooleys! Especially Erin who was our server extraordinaire !! The calamari was great, they ordered a Ruben sandwich to share- which was huge and I had the wedge salad. Wow, this was the most generous wedge salad, which was made of a half of a head of ice berg lettuce, plenty of fresh bacon bits, tomatoes, and plenty of [what seemed to be house-made] blue cheese dressing..the bomb! Great service, food and atmosphere- thanks again to Erin. We'll be back/ read more

This is the second time I have received shitty service at this place. The food seems to be good so that's why they got more than one star. I sat at the bar and ordered a drink and Bar food. It took 10 min to get cold soup and 20 min after that for the bartender to check back. I received my soft pretzel in 30 min. My chicken tenders were 45min. The bartender checked on everyone but me and I was the only one eating at the bar. When the chicken tenders finally came, I asked for the check as the bartender never got back with me about my drink. SHITTY SERVICE FROM THE BARTENDER KELLY. Second time! I am a low maintenance customer with simple orders! read more

Patronized this business on St. Patrick's Day weekend. I knew it would be busy and crowded, but the wait time from ordering the food until hopefully getting the food was inexcusable. This restaurant had the whole year to prepare and get plenty of staff in place for their "Super Bowl" of a weekend. And yet, after ordering and asking when our food was coming, we are told the kitchen is slammed. It's not the fault of our waitress, but certainly an upper management issue. Ended up leaving after waiting over an hour snd and a half snd still no food. read more

Wing Wednesdays. Home of my favorite wings. Buffalo, Sriracha bourbon, and guiness bbq are delicious. If your craving wings, do not hesitate. They are big, juicy and tremendous. read more

This place is awesome. Fish n chips, hooley Mac n cheese, and mud pie are my favorites. There are different brunch items on the weekend. Staff is always friendly and service is great. What else would you expect from Green Bay Packers place read more

So one day my friend insisted on going to eat here since she likes their taco Tuesday's lol . We stopped by together on a Sunday morning for brunch . As we walked in, we were greeted and asked if we wanted pub seating or diner seating, we made a complete circle inside and just decided on diner seating since it was more brighter on that side . The drink special was a Bloody Mary, so we opted for that . It was only $3.50, so I was guessing it wasn't gunna do much, since I had a horrible headache from being hungover lol ..., and I was right, it was weak AF . They tasted good, but just weak . Anywho, the food was mediocre . I ordered a breakfast sandwich which came with eggs, bacon, and sausage on a brioche bun, and a side of potatoes sautéed with bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms . It was okay , but it was something that looked and tasted like a Denny's breakfast . The potatoes were better than the sandwich . They had this hot sauce which made it taste better . My friend order the calamari tacos, which she loves . Maybe, I'll try them if I go back . Overall, this place is chill, but I don't think I'll Be back soon . Maybe on a taco Tuesday or something, but not on a regular day out . read more

Hooleys Public House - Breakfast sandwich . - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

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Great pub atmosphere. Food was delicious. Friday night music was a bonus. Our server Sarah B did a great job in a busy night. read more

I came here yesterday with my husband Bryan and his grandparents, they recently moved to LA but when they were living in San Diego this was one of their favorite places. We had just missed their Happy Hour, but I had read about their Wednesday specials, 75 cent wings and half off of whiskey, uhhh...count me in! While waiting for Grandma and Grandpa, we sat at the bar and ordered a Jameson Black Barrel and ginger. Bryan and I had recently gone to the Jameson Distillery in Dublin so I was excited to see Black Barrel on the menu! With Bryan's black and tan, our drinks cost a whopping $11! That was amazing, the bartender was really nice and I watched him pour that whiskey and man was he generous! Once the grandparents arrived we were sat in the dining room. Our server was Lauren, she was really nice to us as we were getting settled, she gave us time to look over the menu and a little extra time with grandpas shenanigans. She let me know the difference between ordering the entree and boxty version of the corned beef and cabbage, she told me that I would probably like the entree version a lot better, so I took her advice. A boxty version of corned beef and cabbage would have all the ingredients stuffed into a potato pancake, I want to try that eventually but I'm happy with my choice. Bryan ordered their Hooley's half and half, which is a burger with ground beef and ground corned beef while grandma and grandpa shared the fish and chips! Our food came out almost immediately and was absolutely delicious. The cabbage came out nice and tender and the potatoes and corned beef were perfectly seasoned, I especially liked the sauce! Grandma and Grandpa's fish and chips looked perfectly fried, nice golden exterior and flaky fish! Bryan really liked his burger, he said that it was better than Slaters 50/50 burger and we like that one a lot! If you Check In on Yelp you receive a free bread pudding, I showed Lauren the post and she put the order through, moments later our bread pudding arrived. A lot bigger than I had anticipated, the cream was so flavorful and the pudding was appropriately sweet. Overall really liked the atmosphere here, the staff is extremely friendly and the food is great! Can't wait to come back! read more

Hooleys Public House - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars as they are a go to "I don't want to make dinner" place for me. Americanized Irish food, including boxtys, bangers, and chips. The chips are really American steak fries, but they do have proper British style chip shop curry sauce. Delightful!! Service is average, nothing remarkable, though the gals there are attentive to refills and come through regularly to make sure you've got everything you need. What more could I ask for, really? At my last visit I had the Corned Beef and Swiss burger which is beef mixed with corned beef then topped with sour kraut. Good, hearty, man-sized burger. They have happy hour specials all week though Mondays are my favorite as the burgers are $6 each (just the burger), then add a house salad for a couple dollars, and my husband and I share an order of curry chips (for each day's happy hour special, check out their lunch menu, which is really just one side of their regular menu). Their bread puddings are rich, and great for sharing between two people. My most notable memory was when I called ahead to ask if they were showing an MLS game (LA Galaxy). They said they didn't have it on, but would gladly put it on. When we arrived, all TVs were tuned to a big NFL playoff game, but they put a size tv on just for us! We had a great time! read more

Hooleys Public House - Half and half burger (half corned beef, half beef ) - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

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I usually am not impressed with over the top attempts to ethnicize (legit word?) Irish culture in typical US fashion, but this establishment isn't too extreme and a lot lower key than its peers. It has a very cozy, intimate dining room, separate from the bar and public house (that's a correct portrayal of Irish culture). It's perfect for a quiet, private and romantic meal. The fare is OK and of course prominently features the American myth of corned beef and cabbage being an Irish tradition. The interesting offering were "boxty" which are huge potato crepes filled with your choice of contents such as (of course) corned beef and cabbage, lobster, steak, Irish stew, etc. It's covered in a delicious creamy white wine sauce. Truly tasty and massive. FYI, they travel home well as leftovers and microwave great! The rest of the menu was typical US bar food. Service was excellent, prompt and cheerful. It is one of the few places left that still offers live music. read more

Hooleys Public House - Pork cheek braised in ChuckAlek 1880 stout along with a pint of the same. - Irish Pub Near Me - La Mesa, California

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The food is amazing and is always delicious. The service is amazing I have a regular waitress Andrea she is absolutely amazing. My friends and I absolutely love her and her service is always amazing that's way we come back all the time. The ambiance is amazing as well. I just absolutely love this pub so much. read more

Just when you think service cannot possibly get any worse. Go too Hooleys & sit at the bar. Make sure you go on Thursday & ask for kelley. She'll be sure to OVER CHARGE YOU. & HAVE NO SERVICE SKILLS WHATSOEVER. HAVE fun.. read more

My friend got Salmonella after we ate here. Went to the ER the next day. 3 weeks later went to the ER again because his stomach didn't stop hurting doctors found out he now has colitis. I'd stay away from the chicken sandwich. Me and my other friend got the wings and we were fine. read more