We are big fans of Blue Ribbon, but hate the wait! So we decided to try Craftsman since it is the same owners and similar menu. The food was delicious...we tried the duck and short ribs. And of course the Salted Butterscotch Pudding is to die for (it is worth going for this alone). The only reason I can't give this place 5-stars is the noise. It is ridiculously loud in there...even without the live music! read more

Food delicious, menu a little weird since they have time frames on each menu item. Would have given a 5 if we had decent service.

The Craftsman has all of the capability to be a great restaurant but has lost some shine recently. A couple of years ago the place was on a sharp edge and awesome. This was a 4 star and rising at one time. Make this a place adults want to be at and wouldn't think about bringing kids. Bring back the bone marrow and pour higher end liquor out of the well. read more

The Craftsman - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

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This was my first visit to this establishment. Before I sat down to eat, I strolled around the adjacent museum to check out the amazing historical documents that are on display. I sat down at the bar and ordered the cod with a crab cake on top with a side salad. The food and service were excellent. They have a great happy hour with stellar prices. This will be my North County hangout from now on. read more

My sister in law was visiting so we used that as an opportunity to visit Craftsman Tavern. I've been dying for a reason to dine here anyway. It did not disappoint. We started with the pork belly appetizer. I have never had pork belly before so I didn't know what to expect. It was basically pork fat that just melted in your mouth. Very good. For my dinner, I chose the Crispy Duck Confit. Like fried chicken but more delicate. It was so good. My dinner came with risotto (but I have to be honest, as much as I love risotto, I wish I had the horseradish mashed potatoes my husband's dinner came with). We also had cocktails. They have amazing cocktails. I started with the Vesper (vodka, gin and Lillet rose). The Vesper was so good that we made a pit stop to BevMo on the way home to buy some Lillet. My husband had another of their martinis which was equally good, maybe slightly more sweet. I wish I could remember the name (this is why you should write reviews the night of, not two weeks later!). We finished our meal with the highly touted (and deservedly so) butterscotch pudding. So good and so unique! I used to take all out of town guests to Tommy Vs; however, Tommy Vs does not hold a candle to Craftsman! For sure, my new local special occasion haunt! read more

A great little neighborhood spot. Serving upscale diner fare. Well done staff and mgmt.. my end cut prime rib with mouthwatering horseradish was to die for. I full expect over the next few months to know them all on a first name basis. My kind of place. Be back for the salmon. It looked amazing. read more

Fish and chips were inedible. High salt content and paper thin fish. I would like to see this restaurant thrive but I continue to be disappointed. read more

This place is really good. The food is quality and we always get really great service. I'm not sure why their overall rating is other than 4 stars, because it should be! They have a nice but casual atmosphere and quality but affordably priced food. This is what we're always looking for when we go out to dinner. read more

Came in on a Friday for dinner. Good service, liked the ambiance and urban decor. Love that they aim for sustainable, responsible dining. (Sounds PC but you know what I mean, using local farmers, etc.). I had a raspberry cocktail- so delicious, too good. He had a local beer (they have a wide offering of ale and cocktails). Had the corn soup to start which had a nice flavor, but $9/bowl is too much. Also split a simple arugula salad, was tasty. Husband had a simple cheeseburger and fries. His only complaint was that it was too "fancy" as far as being seasoned. I had the halibut with mashed potatoes and green beans. Absolutely delicious and such a generous portion; took a filet home. The service was wonderful, young man was so helpful and he wasn't even our waiter. Really enjoyed ourselves and will be back! Good job guys! read more

The food was great. There's a good selection and the price is ok. We went for brunch on Sunday and got the bottomless mimosas. The waitress was really bad about coming around with the champagne and we wouldn't do it again. read more

Love the Craftsman!!! The popcorn is Delish! Love the Beet Salad!!! The Flatbreads are amazing! They make their own sausage!!! The burgers are so good!!! I could go on!!! love this place!!! you won't be disappointed!!! Just go! read more

The Craftsman - Lunch!!....for starters! - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

Madeline B. you really made our dinner experience last night from great to extraordinary! Not only was the food very tasty but the service was fabulous. If you have never tried the "Beer Cheese Fondue" with Pretzel bread, you have missed out! The Buttermilk chicken was juicy with garlic spinach (my request) and the Burgers as usual, incredible. read more

We have been here many times and it's hit or miss. They have a good selection of craft beers but the food is just ok and overpriced. The service is also inconsistent but more often than not below average. read more

We didn't want to wait in line at Breakfast Republic so we came here where their were plenty of open tables. So glad we decided to do this. Had juevos rancheros and breakfast doughnuts. Sooo good! Plus $10 bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys. Stayed a long time and didn't feel rushed at all. 100% recommend read more

The Craftsman Tavern is one of my favorite restaurants. Being the picky eater I am their staff always caters too my "needs" I definitely recommend this place. Love it! read more

First timers here. Big fans of good prime rib so made a reservation and followed it up with a phone call to see if the run out. Was assured no problem by a nice woman. Got there and ordered a bottle of wine only to find out they ran out of the special. Nice lady at the bar checked and said there was s couple of leftover pieces. Just love getting the remnants. Moved on to one of our usuals after that where we know the food and the staff is cool. Word to the wise - if it's the special you want, go early. read more

Come for the popcorn and stay for the other stuff. Best popcorn ever. Great atmosphere even in the new arrangement during COVID. Love the variety of food and huge IPA beer selection read more

This place was amazing! We had the beer cheese and pretzel for appetizer. For dinner we had an AMAZING veggie burger and the salmon. For dessert we tried the butterscotch pudding. Everything was absolutely incredible. However, we looked at the menu here on help and almost everything that we wanted (duck items) were all seasonal and when we talked to the waitress about it she said that Yelp takes a long time to update their website menus. So, if you're trying to see the real menu, go to their website. read more

This is a great locally owned restaurant. Friendly staff, casual environment, and great food and drink. I regular this spot often, and absolutely love the well thought out specials, as well as there signature dishes. Definitely worth checking out if you live in the area. Also, bottomless mimosas Sunday mornings.... Enough said. :) read more

Did lunch this time and was disappointed in the Prohibition burger. Ordered meds rare and it came to well done. The patty looked like a fast food patty. Server said they use a smaller patty for lunch. On the flip side, the Octopus was ok and we enjoyed the Pork Belly. Overall I expected lunch here to be as good as their dinner. read more

I just happened to be in town and saw this place. I was hungry, and they were selling food, so we made a great match. Generally, pizza isn't my favorite thing to eat, but I appreciate a well prepared pie. I found it here, at the Craftsman. The crust was great, the bacon was even better I think they may have taken the bacon straight off of a pig in the yard. The "House Pie" was excellent, and the staff was very attentive in their service. (Thanks Anjuli) The place was clean and well kept. If I lived in the area, I'd be a regular Nice job, Craftsman. read more

This place came highly recommended which is why I was so surprised at how lackluster they were. There was a 40 minute wait for a table which I don't hold against them. The bar area is very small which is an annoyance. The appetizer wasn't served until after the entree arrived which is a pet peeve of mine (Though the fried Brussel sprouts were very good). And my hamburger was well done when I ordered it medium rare. It was a crowded night so maybe that's to blame, but I would have had better food at Carl's Jr at half the price. read more

The craftsman tavern is an amazing place, from the peppercorn popcorn to their famous blue ribbon salted caramel pudding. The tavern burger is my favorite burger because of the arugula and onions on the brioche bun. My family enjoys going here very often and is always satisfied by their food. Though with all the TV's it makes it hard to connect with them face to face, but I mean, what's a restaurant without a few TV's read more

We love Craftsman, try to eat here at least once a week with the kids! The food is delicious and they serve very good wines! Great service, quick to get our food and always something trendy on the menu. read more

Tonight we went for dinner. Ahead of time i looked on Open Table to see if they took reservations, which they didn't. Walked in at 6pm and asked the hostess for a table for 6. She was short in her response and said "did you have a reservation"? I responded and told her that i looked on open table to make a reservation and that it said the restaurant didn't take them. She turned around and grabbed menus and walked us over to a big table in front of the bar, placed all 6 menus on one side of the table and walked away. Never said a word after that. Our waitress was nice, however never asked if we wanted another beverage not refilled 3 of our iced teas. To top it off, at the end of the meal, she promptly brought our bill without asking if we needed anything else or wanted dessert. Service was seriously lacking here. The fried chicken and the butterscotch pudding were delicious. Not in any hurry to return. read more

Yummy! My favorite is to come here and order 3 or 4 appetizers and sample everything, but save room for there salted butterscotch pudding!

Great wine selection, a bit like a smaller version of Third Corner in Encinitas. Food is pretty good, beer selection is ok but not anything special. Seats at the bar are uncomfortable, a legacy of previous establishments. She who must be obeyed brings a cushion to sit on. There are TV's over the bar which I don't like, but if you want to watch sports, they're there. Gets noisey when busy. Good place, give it a try. read more

Great Brunch.. we had the breakfast flatbread, eggs Benedict and an omelette.. All were great.. Service was perfect from the hostess, waiter and the whole staff read more

Waiting forever and it wasn't even crowded, other people that got there after us were served right away, we ordered drinks and food and we were left waiting and waiting after 30 minutes we decided to leave. Would NOT recommend this place! read more

Let me start with the food was good, not a lot of options but good. The reason for this low rating was the service and the fact that it is so loud you have to yell to the person next to you. A group of us decided to try this restaurant, as we are all looking for a fun place to eat in Encinitas. We arrived at 5:30 and were seated right away which was great. Everyone ordered their drinks, but they came out one at a time after waiting for 20 minutes. Is it really that hard to pour a beer, 2 glasses of wine, and mix 2 drinks? It wasn't even very crowded at this point. I asked for a drink that didn't taste of alcohol but had the effects. The waiter recommend a specialty drink, so I ordered it. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever had, can't remember the name and the website doesn't list their drinks but it started with an "N". I return the drink and order something else. Later, someone else in our group (who arrived late) asked what the waiter recommended. And he said, get the "N" drink it has the most alcohol for the cost. I'm thinking, "wait a minute, didn't he just tell me to order that because it wouldn't taste of alcohol?" So she ordered the drink and also thought it was the worst drink ever, so returned it for a glass of wine. Now it is 6:30; it took over 45 minutes for us to get water (which unfortunately tasted very much like bad tap water) and our orders still haven't been taken. We finally ask the waiter if we can order our food (at this point it is very crowded and no one can hear each other talk). We all place our order and we ask for some bread. 20 minutes later we are brought a tiny plate of bread with half a piece of bread per person. We are at a table for 7 people, have been sitting there for an hour and you bring us a bread plate with one piece of bread each? Is there a shortage of bread in Encinitas? The bread wasn't made fresh because it was cold, but the butter was good and nicely salted. By 7:30 the food comes out. I ordered a burger without onions. Low and behold, my burger arrives with grilled onions. I say to the waiter, "I asked for no onions" to which he replied "there are onions in the marmalade, did you mean you didn't want the marmalade?" I said, "yes that means I didn't want the ONION marmalade". The our brilliant waiter says, "Do you want us to just scrape off the onion marmalade or do you want a new burger?" I looked at him in shock, I wasn't sure if he was joking....he wasn't! So I said, "I'll take a new burger. Thanks." At this point the whole table has gotten their food and is eating, I don't want theirs to get cold and who knows how long the burger will take. So I start munching on someone else's fries. She then asks the waiter if we can get some more fries since I'm still waiting for my food. And he says, "Yes, but i'll have to charge you for a side of fries." She says, "You are kidding right?" and he said, "No I have to charge you." So now we all finish our food, and the food was actually good. We were all surprised based on the service we had received. So the bill finally comes out, and we all throw in our cards. I tell the waiter, "It should be $48 on each card." and his response "That doesn't include the gratuity right?" I didn't even know how to respond. I just said, "No it doesn't". Yes, you read that right. It came to $48 per person and that was for a burger, a drink and half a salad. By 8:30 we were able to leave the restaurant and all vowed that we will not be going back. I'm disappointed because I was hoping for a new fun place to eat in Encinitas. I guess the search will continue on... read more

This used to be the Savory location. Thought we would give it a shot even though reviews were mixed. There was a pretty thick smell of grease in the air when we walked in and actually thought about walking out. Unfortunately, now all our clothes need to be washed or cleaned. The lay out is interesting as the space is not ideal for a restaurant but they have done well with a small bar in the back and eclectic seating arrangements. The music is 80's but not too loud. Service was good. We had the baby greens salad which was a large portion that 2 can easily share. It was fresh and reasonably flavorful. My daughter had the chicken and she enjoyed it. My wife had vegetables. I had the petite fillet which was ordered medium but was really rare. The cut of meat was not particularly great but ok. Sauce was ok. Duck fat fries were nothing special. They have a decent beer selection but no darker ales, only the Black Butte Porter. We had the Smores in a Jar for dessert which was a bit of a creative twist on a chocolate mousse. A bit too sweet for me but others might enjoy it. Overall a 3 star experience. 4 stars for service. 3 for food. OK but definitely not great. Nothing that will really draw me back again. Until they fix the ventillation, don't wear your nice clothes unless you want them to smell like duck fat fries for a week. read more

Went for lunch and ordered their grass fed beef burger. Only 3 stars because I ordered it medium rare and for $15 dollar burger I expect a perfect medium rare...well done. I will try them again when I'm back in town, but I would rather go to the Encinitas ale house or to Burger Lounge in Del Mar if your looking for a quality burger in the area. pros - cool menu, great beer selection and polite servers. cons - overpriced and poorly executed burger. read more

We went last night and ordered off both the restaurant week menu and the regular menu. Some dishes were great, some totally flavorless. The good: cheese fondue, scallops, butterscotch pudding and smores. The bad: corn soup (no flavor at all), hush puppies, and deviled eggs ($7 for 1 and 1/2 eggs). Service was very good. Nice bottle of Pinot Noir. Would I go back - maybe, but probably not. We found out about this place when we went to their restaurant in Hillcrest - Blue Ribbon Rustic Kitchen - which was much better. I will go there instead. read more

We just finished having lunch and were so glad we stopped.we got there at 2:25 (lunch ends at 2:30) but instead of feeling rushed they were so welcoming and the server Dustin was great! Now for the food, the pork belly was crisp on the outside yet succulent on the inside perfection! I also had the beet salad with goat cheese on a bed of arugula with toasted pistachios. I could eat this every day, so simple yet so good. My husband had the prohibition burger It was cooked just how asked, very tasty with avocado, bacon and jalapeños for a little kick.Thanks For a great lunch and a great experience, we'll be back. read more

Meh - Weird tasting burgers... too much $$$ for crowded kid-heavy ambiance. Kids wouldn't like it - food is odd. I didn't like it, I prefer any kind of atmosphere with my beer and buger. LIke Firefly in same parking lot better. read more

Not down in Encinitas much, but when I am I will definitely be back here. ABSOLUTELY the BEST brussle sprouts you'll find anywhere (deep fried with bacon, capers and a delicious sauce on top). Happy hour and lunch specialis pretty good, even at slightly higher dollar than most. Service was excellent, but not really crowded at 3:00. read more

The Craftsman - Deep fried brussle sprouts and Green Flash West Coast..mmmm! - New American Near Me - Encinitas, California

I generally limit my reviews to the very good or very poor experiences. Ours at the Craftsman New American Tavern was mixed. Service was okay and the ambiance was cool, neither very good nor very poor. We started with drinks, I had their version of a Moscow Mule, she had a sweet martini. The Mule was so watered down and thin that it was almost flavorless - $10 for a hint of a mule?She said her drink was as expected, but nothing special. 1 star for my drink, 3 for hers. She ordered the soup and salad; which was butternut squash and arugula, pear and glazed almonds with a vinaigrette. The soup was fine, and everything except the pears in the salad was very good. The pears were not ripe - over-firm, dry and tasteless. 3 stars for the soup and salad. Up to this point you're wondering why I would rate Craftsman 4 stars. I had the pot roast pot pie and it was amazing. Perfectly prepared pot roast with pearl onions, baby potatoes, mushrooms and baby carrots in a delicious gravy, topped with a light flaky crust...5 stars! The pot pie was so good we will go back and try some other dishes. read more

This place rules. The menu has so many good options, it's hard to choose! I had the Prohibition burger and it was top notch. The burger itself was done just right, it came with thick cut bacon, a pile of jalapenos, and avocado. The cocktails are well made and the place itself has a great vibe. What more can you ask for? read more

I had heard some good things about this place so my husband and I decided to try it out tonight and I have to say we were pretty disappointed. I had the small fish and chips which were pretty good, but my husband ordered a burger and it was dry with not much flavor. He didn't even finish it which is unusual for him. The meal, especially for the mediocre quality of food, was way overpriced. This tavern also touts its large selection of craft beers, but I would argue that the list is pretty small and the beers are so-so. We definitely will not be going back. read more

Visited this cool place while on vacation. Service was extremely slow!! There was one person working the bar & the restaurant & another in the back. We got there at the beginning of the afternoon happy hour. Why they would have a happy hour with two people working is beyond me. It wasn't very busy, but we never got checked on, so I had to get up to get our refills & sides & anything else we needed. Food was really good, but was expensive for the portion size. read more