My cousin was visiting San Diego for the first time, so I decided to bring her to Seaport Village. After walking around for a bit, we stopped into Hot Licks--and I'm so glad we did! The moment we walked in, we were greeted by Tony. He was friendly, energetic, and incredibly helpful. You can immediately tell he's passionate about what he does and genuinely enjoys helping customers find something they'll love. I'm usually not the type to try extremely hot sauces, but Tony was so knowledgeable and enthusiastic that he convinced both my cousin and me to sample several of their sauces. They were absolutely delicious! I ended up leaving with four bottles, including one as a gift for a friend. One of Tony's recommendations was the Fat Cat Strawberry Serrano hot sauce over vanilla ice cream. It sounded unusual, but I gave it a try--and it was surprisingly delicious! If you're visiting Seaport Village, I highly recommend stopping by Hot Licks. Great selection, excellent customer service, and an all-around fun experience thanks to Tony! read more

Hot Licks - The Fat Cat Strawberry Serrano on vanilla ice cream - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

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Hubs loves hot sauce and so does my father in law. Came in here waiting for my hubs and looking for a gift for Father's Day. Just staring at the walls, I had no clue since I can't handle the heat! The owner was super nice and helpful... I told him that I couldn't handle hot spicy food/sauce... and he told me if I couldn't handle the heat... get out of the kitchen! True! But I never listen and I love the kitchen! :) There are signs along the wall next to the sauces to designate how hot the sauce is. The owner stopped by again and started explaining the ranges of spiciness and flavoring which was super helpful. We ended up picking up a Don Wapo and Lucky Dog. The store has many options other than just bottles of hot sauce that would make great gifts! They have jams and jelly's, salsas, flavored nuts and snacks. Great customer service! Hope my FIL likes them! 2025: 38 read more

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Great store for those who love spicy food. They have a wife ranging selection of sauces, spread, trinkets, etc. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. read more

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Every time I go to Seaport Village I go here. Tony is amazing. He is personable, helpful and full of life. He truly enjoys his work and makes me want to buy something. He really is one of the reasons I love going to seaport read more

Hot Licks - Tonys business card - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

Hot Licks is a cool little shop in Seaport Village. There is a lot that I loved about it. The sheer number and variety of hot sauces is mind boggling. Every heat level on the Scoville Scale is represented. From the mildest to the melt-your-face. The store is rather small, but it is packed floor to ceiling. I very much liked the section dedicated to locally made products. Shout out for promoting local! I very much enjoyed browsing the vast inventory. There was a lot to look at. Not just a hot sauce store. They have nuts, jerky, BBQ sauces, beer bread mix just to name a few. Hot Licks also carries a wide variety of the Kick Ass brand. The inventory is indeed impressive. The prices are pretty steep. I guess that is to be expected at a shop in a tourist destination. I just can't justify $15.95 for a jar of hot pepper jelly. read more

Got married yesterday, so we grabbed the dog and headed to San Diego. I was here at hot Licks a year ago and picked up some wonderful hot sauces. To my surprise, it was still there, and thriving. They had a nice selection of sauces available for tasting. If you're a fan of hot sauces, I highly recommend Hot Licks !!! read more

Hands down the best hot sauce shop we found in Seaport Village! The selection of sauces is incredible, perfect for any level of spice for your cooking & grilling. We were looking for a spicy gift for my son's 21st bday gift. We bought a big bottle of their spicy BBQ sauce and another hot sauce. What really stood out was the exceptional customer service. The staff went above and beyond--she even bubble wrapped our sauces because she knew we were flying, saying, "These aren't breaking on my watch." Some of the best customer service I've ever had. Highly recommend! read more

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Cute hot sauce shop in Seaport Village. Its a tad pricey but so is everything these days. They have a good variety of sauces. The person working was nice and friendly. I will come back. I purchased a few fun things! read more

I love that there is a store for everything spicy! You definitely get the feeling that you're in the land of perfect hot sauces and spices. The walls are covered in hot sauce, spices, nuts, candy and cute decorations. and the customer service is amazing. We had a wonderful interaction with both guys working there. Helped us find what we were looking for and also recommended some good snacks. I will definitely be back! read more

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Best spot in all of San Diego to get your spicy supplies. I've been coming here for years and the prices are always the best. Staff are always chill and super friendly. The place is a small looking but trust me, they have a giant selection with a wide variety of flavors and spice levels. read more

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This place has been around for so long at Seaport Village. It has moved around within Seaport Village but it has always been a place we've enjoyed checking out the latest hot sauce. They have some samples available as well as some spicy snacks. They have a fridge for drinks maybe if you try something too spicy?! We were hot and overheated from walking so just wanted a cold drink. They had some old fashioned soda as well as a few other drinks. They even had a bottle opener in store. The employee was friendly and made some suggestions on things to try. Nothing really called to me this visit, but in the past I have enjoyed some hot sauce purchased from here. Things were also a lot more pricey than I recall. Cool... I mean hot place to check out if you're in the area. read more

Yesturday I walked into Hot Licks and met Tony. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, and enthused to introduce the various sauces. I did not buy any because I didn't want to impulse buy, because I was loving the items so much. They had taste tests, so that you could make sure you like it before you buy it. I am getting my money together to buy 3. I plan on using them with Chips, tacos, steaks and burritos. As I was tasting all of these, I wanted the meat to be available to eat with it. (Which is an indicator of how good these are and necessary). I almost was going to find nearby Mexican food just to use these. The ambiance was perfect. Shelves and stacks of hot sauces, perfectly lined up. The place was clean. I woke up this morning craving the sauces. If you think about it, foods taste dry and bland without sauces or seasonings. So these are a must! Thank you Tony for putting me on to these. You have the perfect personality for what you do. I did let Tony know that a friend of mine likes Marie sharp sauces and he pointed me in the direction of the sample pack and I bought it. My friend is super thrilled. read more

Hot Licks - Shelves of hot sauce - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

Hands down the best shop in Seaport! Huge selection of sauces and spices to enhance your cooking and grilling experience. Some of the best customer service I've had. Tony is a true sommelier and shared great suggestions according to your individual taste. I'm so glad I stopped by and can't wait to try the other locations! read more

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Super cute store! The sauces were spicy but the staff were all super sweet. I got me some spicy Gator toes (crispy garlic) and some spicy jerky! Love the little cute shop. read more

What is the best thing that you can add to the best grill meats and have some of the spice to your next holiday parties and the next dinner parties? Many of you thinking there is barbecue sauces and the marinades and the gravy mixes with the nice onions and the chives for garnish there is one place that has the many ways to spice up food and has the snacks for the adult parties. There are many things that you may think i can go to the grocery store this one place has the many products that are made by locals and the residents in the North County and the many cities near Oceanside which created the many sauces. When I had visited store the many products that had caught my eye the many shelves of the sauces and the flavorings where can you find hot Jellys that have the burn and the sweetness mixed together. I do have a taste for the many sauces that are there when I saw the ones for barbecue those are the ones that can bring spice to the chicken and the hamburgers if you like steak this is the best place for the many dips for the chips. When I had visi9ted the store the owner told me about the store and the events they have on the weekends many of the local makers they come by and do demos of the many products and they have great taste when you have great taco chips. Service is the best when I see products that are made by local growers and the cooks that have made some of the best sauces and the sweet spicey has some of the best flavors. It's great to see many designers and the cooks that make their sauces at home that make some of the best products that don't come from factory many products that are at Hot Licks are all natural goes great with food and the sauces go great with many dishes and dinner plates. To have such a great store and the feel of the store you can find the many things that go great with so many parties and the many things you can get in the small size and you're flying back home and if you like they can ship orders to your home address or to a friend's home. With the Hot licks Store at Seaport Village, you can have one of the best times. For the many that may have seen my prior review yes with Hot Licks you can never go wrong with the many great sauces is look about you may see some Spicy chocolate and some of the best mini bottles to spice up you're cooking. As a Yelp Elite Reviewer this one store that has the electricity and the energy that makes one of the hottest stores for cooking and throwing the best parties. For the ladies you can find some of the sweetest sauces and the introduction of the reaper chips and the sauce to go with it. The times that I have visited to have a great time and getting the best sauces in all of San Diego and the Gaslamp. read more

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One of my favorite shops in Seaport. Huge variety of sauces and spices, great prices, and friendly service every time. I make sure to purchase something spicy every time I visit! read more

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My family loves the jalapeño. I've come down twice and purchased in the store. I can only grab 1-2 bottles due to baggage weight limits. We live in WA and want to order but the website is constantly down. Every time I check it says it'll be running that month but here we are in November and the website says November now. I started trying in August when we returned home. I don't want to have to call and relay a bunch of info and not know shipping estimates. For convenience people want to be able to purchase online and this is a huge missed market. Sadly it appears once we run out we will have to wait for our next trip to SD whenever that may be. read more

Mustard That Is OFF-THE-HOOK !! SITREP This is that trip to Seaport (San Diego) that I've mentioned in the last few reviews - it doesn't stop with the goodness! Hot Licks was one of those fun places you just trip over and are glad for it! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=tYdOxIPeRBWrj52F1iXaHg&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w THE SETUP Talk about taste-delight to capture your palette: try the Blue Cheese Mustard! Had to take some of this delicacy home with me. My friends who are from San Diego area were jazzed to have me experience this novelty. Bottom Line: Hot Licks absolutely carries sauces that match every flavor profile and meet the high standards our customers set FUN "TOUR" Our guy who promoted this joint is like a cool surfer dude named Tony, Hot Licks #1 hot sauce sommelier and a member of the sales team: regaling us with sense of humor, immense knowledge of San Diego, AND an impressive inventory of THE BEST Hot Sauces & Mustards from the U.S. and around the world. Antony was all too happy to mix it up with our crew - my lovely friends KAREN & IZZY - and gave some deals on the items. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=QmxOESF3UHJRFJF2DfifgA&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w WHAT AN ARRAY OF HOT SAUCE "MADNESS"! Catch some of these.... * Colon Cleaner (any SNL fans remember Phil Harman's "Colon Blow"?) https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=6ZzL2H3NcCXVNw0flnn70g&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w * And "HOT LICKS", the store's own signature Hot peanut toffee, oh my gawd! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=zozJthABV_T55tpzla-qHQ&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w * But another must-have is the TRUFF, the Mushroom Truffle Hot Sauce: to die for! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=Bq_7orBzdRwWkyyBW9Pi-A&userid=3mNz5nQFTIBQm0oU5mBR0w WHY NOT? I'm sure some of the items are just fun quirky souvenirs that give the "flavor" of a fun trip. But honestly, of all the hot sauces and mustards I tried, I wanted to take them ALL home. THE LOWDOWN Best place to get "THE HEAT" for your tongue on! Buy a bottle. Buy 10 Bottles! Whether hot sauces or mustards, you won't find a better place! read more

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I've probably walked by this place 50 times and never set foot inside because it's a hot sauce store in Seaport Village, so it HAS TO be a tourist trap, right? Well.... Turns out, Hot Licks is pretty dope. Yes, it's predominantly hot sauce but they do have other things (most of which are spicy) and the sheer selection of sauces and whatnot is honestly pretty damn impressive. I tried their fairly standard Serrano sauce and I absolutely love it. It's spicy but doesn't send me running for the outhouse and packs a ton of flavor. The people that work there are friendly and helpful too. I don't buy a ton of hot sauce but when I need more, I'm going to give them the first swing at it. read more

Hot Licks - Serrano Hot Sauce - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

Delicious store. Weird combo of words, I know. If you love hot sauce and spicy food as much as I do, you'll love Hot Licks. They have a variety of sauces, dry rubs, salsas, snack foods,etc. Staff was very friendly and helpful as well. Steered me away from flavors that I wouldn't like based on a short convo. They were also clearly having fun at work. Great to see. Bought a garlic salsa and maple chipotle barbecue sauce. Quick taste test of both was delicious. Good heat but GREAT flavor. Will likely take the heat up a notch with my next purchase. I like it real hot, wife likes it more mild so we played it safe based on the staff's recommendations. Definitely gonna go habanero or ghost pepper with my next purchase. I love the idea of a store just for hot sauce lovers. Thanks! read more

I was happy to try new hot sauce BUT way overpriced. Uncle Keith is also in PB for 11 dollars. Here it was 18.95, on amazon he sells it too for the same price in PB. read more

Hot Licks - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

Very nice little, fun shop of all kinds of hot sauces of varying levels, a few spicy chips, a couple of infused oils, and some hot jams/jellies. The man, Tony, working in the store at the time was extremely nice and helpful! If all public establishments had employees like this, there would never be any customer service problems. He was happy and chipper, glad to help me, took the time to tell me about a couple of items, and appeared to love his job. He was even softly singing while he was doing his work and that's just so great to see, especially these days when everyone's on edge, etc. I bought a bottle of hot sauce that I'm sure I'll like! Tony even offered to validate my parking ticket, which I was just about to ask him. (The lady employee who was here when I went once several months ago was quite unwelcoming and barely greeted me when I entered.) read more

Hot sauce based store with everything from the hottest of the hottest Carolina pepper on down. We purchased a couple of bags of pepper based popcorn (one was chile and lime, the other habanero, both from SouthwestSpecialtyFood) but these were actually disappointing tasted more or less like regular popcorn with uneven doses of non homogenous pepper sprinkled here and there - smelled good though. Still in that the store delivers most every variety of hot sauce had to give it four stars for being a pretty thorough source of pepper sauces. read more

Super nice worker there. I was looking for something to spice up my snack life and I found it here. In addition to tasty sauces they also have the spiciest chip for the chip challenge. They also have the spiciest gummy bear and Satan's toe here. I got some spicy garlic snack and their most popular hot sauce "Thor's hammer", it's spicy but has good flavor. It's versatile as goes well with tomato based stuff as well as brown gravy recipes. A nice reminder that I am alive. Free parking after 8 at the meters. read more

Hot Licks - The spice challenge collection - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

I came in here today, I'm pretty local and have been dying to find a new hot sauce for a while now but I was hesitant to just buy one without knowing what I was really looking for. Wow, I sure went to the right place! Tony is very helpful, friendly and knowledgeable about the wide variety of flavors and spice levels they have. I was so happy he helped me choose the ones I left with! This places location being close to the water also gives it such a great vibe on a sunny day. I would definitely recommend this place 10/10! read more

Hot Licks - Hot sauce - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

As we were walking around Sea Port Village we came across this specialty shop called Hot Licks So in we went. Looking around at all the different items you can get a big laugh at some of the names. My wife found the jelly for toast and wanted to try something different! She asked the Person that was working there about some of the products and how hot they might be. This person was very knowledgeable and my wife wanted the Mango Habanero jelly. But before we bought it the sales person took a tooth pick and stuck it in a sample jar and asked my wife to try it first. She loved it so we got it. I want to try it on some sourdough in the morning with my coffee. See ya all soon when we take a drive to San Diego. read more

Hot Licks - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

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Great little shop that features locally produced hot sauces that are very popular and delicious. The staff was great and very helpful providing information about their sauces. I tried the chipotle sauce and it was amazing. Unlike LA, it was refreshing to see customers paying for their items instead of running out the store carrying mass quantities of unpaid goods. read more

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Tony made this entire experience so incredible. He's passionate about everything involved & we LOVED talking to him. Highly recommend coming in ESPECIALLY if tony is there. He knows his stuff & is amazing to talk to! HE NEEDS A RAISE! read more

What a quirky shop! I loved visiting Hot Licks... it was spicy times - literally. They offer free samples on salsa, olives, hot sauce - you name it! The hostess was quite knowledgeable about the spices and it seemed like most of it was made in San Diego. What was thoroughly enjoyable was actually hearing the hostess speak about and answer whatever questions they customers had! There's no dearth for choices - every inch of wall space is covered with a variety of tastes/bottles, etc! The choices will get you salivating! It was definitely an interesting experience. I know I will be taking some of my spice-loving friends back here soon. read more

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Pretty cool spot, tons of choices when it comes to hot sauce. I'm a huge fan of any sauces so I had to come in here and check it out. check in with yelp and you get 25% off of your purchase. read more

Hot Licks - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

Tony the hot sauce sommelier is an absolute DELIGHT. My roommates and I are recreating the "hot ones" show and went in the shop to buy some of the hottest hot sauces. He asked for our budget and favorite flavor profiles, made sure we got everything we needed, and we ended up having money to spare in the end. Tony made the experience of buying the sauces so fun and we can't wait to go back to pick his brain more. Thank you Tony!!! read more

Super cool hot sauce store! Went to find some hot sauces to do a wing challenge at my restaurant..was not disappointed! There are so many kinds to choose from and they're sorted according to taste or level of spice. Service was amazing. They let you taste test a good portion of the sauces that they have open and gg I've recommendations based on what you're looking for. They also sell candies and other snacks like popcorn. They try to promote their own sauce as well hot licks and it's not bad. Ended up buying more than 10 sauces and some popcorn and habanero jelly (it's so good!) read more

I was just walking around Seaport Village. I had no intention of buying anything. When I walked inside and saw everything, I was a little overwhelmed at the verity of products that Hot Licks offers. Ms. Bella was working that day. She was so very kind and asked a few questions so she could get an idea of what I would be interested in looking at. I told her I was just looking. She really didn't mind showing me different items. Ms. Bella was very informed about all of the products that Hot Licks Sauces has to offer. She took her time. Because of Ms. Bella I did purchase a few items that I never would have considered if I was just looked around by myself. I am sure the owner, Terry, is thrilled to have such a fantastic employee as Ms. Bella. I look forward to bringing my friends and having Ms. Bella explain some of the unique items Terry has at her shop. read more

Beware!! Hot Licks can lead to scorching........................poops https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=YVs8gf059814avmx_9qaag Check-in offer - A penny for hot sauce w/ minimum $15 purchase Located inside Seaport Village, Hot Licks is your purveyor of fine, fiery goods. We were having a lunch break before heading out to Barona casino, and Hot Licks was the first shop I spied. What's always a hoot is reading all the funny hot sauce/hot sauce merchandise names/slogans. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=P_n8ppdP0ThUajBMs6RGCw https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=oUsKxWjMzw4C_5HJpVAvLQ The store is easy to navigate, with tasting stations available to sample some of the product. I made sure not to burn my palate, so I delved into the shallow end of the spectrum with the tamer mango habanero olive oil & other similarly situated heat level consumables. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=ztcE_P6bx6BOmtF1wSQJrw https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=w16G5LO6D_gWVMNxpsAw6Q Service was good. The female employee answered any questions I had & didn't mind my picture-taking. I was overwhelmed with all the chili goings-on around me. Nifty gifties galore! https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=d5yWPPTlEBV5bmBf6AUhhA https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=TRrupGbveJGH1h5dBLQFig https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=CQNZ4SXIQW7QeaypT_OKbQ Parking is at Seaport Village. Validation comes with a $10 minimum at Hot Licks. Hot Licks has the spice game down pat. Need anything hot saucy or hot sauce-related? Definitely come here! Perusing through the bevy of hot sauces will make anyone garner a deeper appreciation for that permeating, volcanic liquid of awesomeness. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hot-licks-san-diego-2?select=WNsDe6eOAKhxytxGzP1lhQ Highly recommend! NOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOMNOM read more

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Always had a great experience, until today. The very unfriendly clerk had the music up to concert volume-I love loud music, but this was insane. She offered no help, and made sure to comment on the fact that she didn't approve of beef jerky, because, "she doesn't eat meat, but some people do." Long, black hair, very pale, total shit show employee. Good luck keeping customers with her. read more

Great service by Tony and Kalyssa. I stopped in to get something spicy and the store had plenty of choices, neat and organized as well. Tony and Kalyssa were very helpful and I will definitely stop by again when I'm in the Seaport Village area. read more

This place is on fire! We were able to sampled few different flavors. These two hot sauce experts guided us picking out few bottles according to the food we usually eat with. Such a cool place to sample something new and different then can always shop for better deal later online. So, that night we tried few bottles we got from Hot Licks eating at the Margarita's Kitchen & Cantina also back at our hotel at Marriott Marquis. We're definitely coming back try new sauces on next San Diego trip. Go support and shop local small businesses! read more

Hot Licks - This place is on fire! - Herbs & Spices Near Me - San Diego, California

I was in absolute awe! They have so many options and different sauces! I was overwhelmed by the different flavors and heat levels! Tony was so knowledgeable about each flavor and bottle! It was so impressive! I wish I had more time to sit in there with him to really find the right sauce for me! If you love heat in your food, you definitely need to stop by! read more

I always find something here that I've never tasted. This stop I found hot sauce from Central America. Nom nom it's about a out of 5. That's a tasty hot sauce. The folks that work here are always a lot of fun to talk to, they really know their products and will offer you suggestions, but they don't hover over you so you can really look around comfortably. There was a BBQ sauce that I found has a delicious spice to it, tasted great on our burger, I'll bet it would be good on a hot dog too. Of course I'm out of hot dogs so that's on my #bucketlist This is a fun shop. I'll be back. read more

He called me fat and said if I'm sure I should be getting some sauces. "You look picky." Also had the audacity to say "make sure you don't accidentally hit something off" and mumbled "porky" at the end. read more