I love the craftsman. Such amazing customer service!! The food is amazing and the atmosphere is great!

I've been here before mainly for the burgers..however last Friday I decided to change things up and order the southern fried chicken. The chicken was good and moist. But the my potatoes and 5 green beans, yes five were cold. It you order this meal you're not getting it for a he 1/4 cup potatoes and 5-10 green beans. My last trip was disappointing. read more

Came here on a Friday night. Sat in the patio which was nice. Inside seemed loud. Food was really good. We ordered off the restaurant week menu. I had the tuna salad appetizer (delish) with cod main course (even better) and rocky road mousse desert. My wife had butternut squash soup appetizer (she ate it all) and ordered her steak "lightly pink" as in medium well but it came out medium rare which is the way I like my steak so I helped her eat it. She had butterscotch pudding desert which was good too I know cause I helped with that too. Service was average, not bad, not great. Music when we sat down was a cool bob Marley then it switched to dub step and acid jazz for the main course and by desert it was Spanish/ Mexican music. So only downside was the steak being under cooked and the music being all over the place. And service could've been better but it was fine. read more

Stopped in on Saturday evening around 6:30 12/17, 2016 for dinner. We seated ourselves in a corner booth. There were about 4 parties there when we arrived and it was pretty full when we left. About 30 seconds after we sat down we were provided with menus and asked for a drink order, which we declined until we had a chance to review the options. The serving staff was super attentive without being obtrusive. We split the octopus appetizer, which was very flavorful with the bean and basil sauce. We ordered Kobe meatloaf which came on a pile of mashed potatoes with tender green beans. The meatloaf was predominantly lean meat with very little fillers and really tasted excellent. My wife ordered the lamb sausage flatbread which came with a fresh pile of arugula greens. The lighting was dim and I get the ambiance things, but it was hard to read the menu, and, unless you are planning to make out in the corner, unnecessarily dim. The bill for Kobe meatloaf plate, octopus appetizer, 1 mule drink, and a good flatbread was $66. We would stop in again another time. read more

Good place for a date night. On the slightly pricier side but they are artisan in almost every way. The food came out fast and the service was mostly attentive. The ambiance is great and I would go back! read more

We've been to the Craftsman for lunch, dinner and brunch several times. Each time the food was wonderful.. Their duck fat fries are sublime. Yes, it's noisy, especially around the happy hour time frame. We go later in the evening and it's great. Their scallops on zucchini cakes is divine. I would give it 5 stars if it weren't for the noise level. read more

Great service, great food, wonderful evening! Our server was Nicole; she was helpful, responsive and friendly. GM Ivan was in the restaurant keeping his finger on the pulse of the evening, ensuring it went smoothly for the Friday night crowd when we came. The restaurant was packed, lively and filled with good cheer.We sat at the bar while waiting for our reservations and enjoyed their fine selection of locally crafted beers and select wines. Then, when placed at our table 15 min later, we enjoyed their delicious fried/sauteed brussel sprouts appetizer along with a cup of the rich and velvety butternut squash soup with chile oil and chives. Afterwards my husband ordered the Encinitas pizza and I got the incredible Mussels with Frites-- absolutely fabulous. Our waitress, Nicole, was more than accomodating, since this patron requested extra helpings of the incredible beer broth that the mussels are steamed in. Hubby had a couple of the craft beers while I tried a Parker Station Pinot Noir and later, a very nice white blend to go with the seafood (Blonde Siren) The ambiance was festive and cheerful. Not too loud to carry on a normal conversation. Craftsman goes above and beyond what a standard tavern would do to ensure the customer experience is positive. The food was delicious, creative, well executed and beautifully served . Recommend this restaurant highly! read more

I don't know why I even come here anymore, I always sit in the bar area and no matter who it is, The service is always terrible. It takes forever to even order the first drink, let alone food and more drinks. I was waiting for the bartender to come by at least 10 minutes before HH was over to order food, then came by a few min after HH and wouldn't let me still get the same price even though I had been waiting for over 10 minutes to put my order in. I will not be returning read more

Went for dinner on a Friday night. The place was busy and a little loud but the food was excellent (my wife had the short ribs, I had the scallops) and the flatbreads are delicious. Our server, Charlie was super attentive and the service was fast, kind and efficient. We will be back for sure. read more

If your looking for a really loud noisey place to go your nerves will be tested here. Your screaming the whole time and cant even here the person across the table. Got the short ribs and very disappointed!!! More fat than meat. Very pricey for what you get. Mac and Cheese very rubbery and the Brussels Spouts had so much grease on them you couldn't tell really what you were eating. It is a total waste of money and I would not go back again nor reccommend this restaurant to anyone. Told some of my friends and they don't even want to try it now. YUK!!!!! read more

my review is overdue. i will start with the good: BURGERS. they are honestly some of the best burgers i have had in san diego. i sometimes even compare them to gordon ramsays burgers in vegas. just order a burger and truffle fries, or a side salad, you will leave happy. yes, like everyone else said, the butterscotch pudding is yummy. cocktails are also very good. reasonably priced, not too sweet. just how we like them! the bad, we will never order again: the deviled eggs, bland. (lacking) the fried chicken. (greasy, lacking in flavor as well) the meatloaf. (had a very intense artificial smoke taste it seemed, we didn't care for the flavors at all) the service has been hit or miss. sometimes, very good. sometimes, very bad .. hm :/ read more

Bad service. My friend and I went there for lunch, we're first to get in right when they opened at 11:30- did not have our server even stop by the table by 11:45....we took off and went to Blue Fun Sushi where we were stoked on our decision. It amazes me with the economy the way it is and so much competition in the restaurant space, that these establishments still can't get the basics down. Service! read more

I have been to this restaurant two times, the first found the food to be good, service a little slow. The 2nd time, the food left alot to be desired and the service was very slow. The ambiance is good and some of the food was good (cesar salad on point as well as the burgers), but the lamb/beef meatballs were meh, and the flat brad was 95% cheese, 5% flat bread. The flat bread was FLAT...basically like an overcooked cracker. I definitely would not recommend that. And the drinks were light in flavor. I would go again if not in a hurry, and if for a burger and a beer or wine. read more

Love the food and people. But man the metal bar stools are so just not ok. So uncomfortable. Can barely make it through my meal. Did they get these from a chemistry lab? ;) read more

Let me start off by saying that if I went by food alone I be giving this the most stars possible. The food is excellent. The issue is I've been here four times and the same issues keep happening. They seemed to always be understaffed. My average wait time at lunch had been 45 minutes. There is only one person working. It's not enough to provide good service at a reasonable pace. I've also noticed the waitress seems to be annoyed to serve us. One time she actually rolled her eyes at our table. I racked my brain to see if I knew her from some place but can't explain why she would seem so irritated at us. My only thought is she is the only waitress in a full restaurant. My other issue is they raised their prices 20% in a week. I came on a Tuesday came back the following Monday and the lunch specials had gone from $10 for three items to $12. Given the service numerous times and the increase in prices I won't be coming back and I'm sad because the food is truly some of the best. The salted Carmel butterscotch pudding is so good but again at $8 or a small portion it just has priced me out. Such a shame as I've seen places come and go in the location. I've suggested it yo friends and they've all declined based on the service and prices and now I'm joining them in that belief as well. read more

Very disappointing! I read the other reviews and went to give it a try. The restaurant was pretty busy, and loud. For the area the prices are higher than they should be, and the portions were quit small. I had the short ribs, which were very tender, but didn't have much flavor. The salad was small for $9. They don't have a children's menu, but offered to customize the menu items to make them more child friendly. The root bear on tap does not include refills. But the biggest problem was after reading all the positive comments on the root bear cake, they no longer serve it. read more

I'm not sure what some of the other reviewers are talking about in regards to the quality of food. My husband and I went for lunch on Saturday. I had the grass fed burger and he had the chicken sandwich. Both were fantastic and the service was great. Well worth the price. Then we decided to return for their Sunday brunch, mainly for the beignets. Again, fantastic food and service. We shared the hangover burger and it was perfectly cooked. And had the beignets for an "appetizer" and dessert, they were that good. Can't wait to go back! read more

very small, bar stools are bolted into the floor and there isn't much elbow room fair selection of beer

Terrible experience. Went in for lunch, ordered our drinks and food: a beer, an iced tea, leg of lamb sandwich, and corned beef sandwich. Should have been simple. After about 30 min of waiting (and wondering why a couple of sandwiches should take so long), the waiter (who is also the bartender) told us "there was a mix-up" (by who, he did not say). 10 minutes later, our food appears. Rather than corned beef, the waiter brought us tuna (and did not seem to realize this was incorrect). We did not eat the food (which did not look at all good), and so we simply asked for the check. The check had 2 beers on it rather than the iced tea - they couldn't even get this right! We asked to see the owner/manager, but he/she wasn't around. This is not a cheap place - the prices are quite high, but we'd be happy to pay if the quality and service were good. Quite the contrary, I don't know how this place stays in business given our experience. There was never any offer to "make things right" - frankly, I don't think the waiter cared. Very disappointed. We won't go back. read more

The entrees were wonderful. We had the porchetta and the smoked pork chop. We also ordered a side of braised greens which were bizarrely sweet with balsamic vinegar and not to my taste. The waiter was efficient and pleasant. I won't be visiting again any time soon though. Our ears felt numb after we finally staggered out of the din. It was horribly, painfully, overwhelmingly noisy which is too bad because the menu was certainly interesting. read more

Great food and good atmosphere. The service is lacking experience and knowledge. The waiter we had should be in the back washing dishes. Get a hair cut, shave, and wear a nicer shirt. I don't mine paying for the quality of the food but step up your game with appearance and training. Invest in a female waiting staff, grunge was over in the 90's! read more

This was my third time at this restaurant. First couple times I was not blown away so I decided to give it another try. I heard the owners also own Blue Ribbon Pizza so you would assume the food would be good since they do a great job at that restaurant. I Ordered Fried Chicken that was completely destroyed and covered with a brown gravy. It's a Sunday Special that I would suggest they remove from their menu. My wife had the Salmon which was way over seasoned. Staff was good, ambiance is great but food quality lacked Professionalism. Whoever cooks on Sundays should seriously reconsider their Career. read more

One of my favorites, food is very good and very consistent. Full bar, great beer and wine selection. Plenty of TVs for sports.

one of the best burgers in all of san diego.... THE BEST ONION RINGS EVER... servers are clueless though but worth it.......

I absolutely love this place! I started going here with my daughter after dance class once a month. We always had the same waiter who was very pleasant and nice. The food is good and the drinks excellent. They have a great choice of local craft beers which is a bonus. I appreciate that it's a good place to go as a family and on a date with my husband. I've never been disappointed. read more

This restaurant has potential. However I only had drinks there and did not eat anything. The menu looks good. BUT the prices on everything are about 30% more than they should be; especially for a neighborhood place! That seems to be the image they are trying to express (neighborhood place). My recommendation is if you want to stay in business as a local place, be smart & "drop your prices"! read more

Tavern/neighborhood atmosphere. Great wine selection with reasonable prices. Fantastic food: octopus and Brussels sprouts appetizers were favorites. Butterscotch pudding dessert was heavenly. Attentive, thoughtful service. Will be back soon to try something new! read more

Best service I have ever had. The wait staff was amazing and made my dining experience very special! The food is to die for. We had the Brussels sprouts and truffle popcorn also the butternut squash soup. These were by far some of my favorite foods and when comparing them to other places it is by far 10x better! I have never had a better experience at a dinner place. This is a great place that you cannot pass up! read more

So I thought I was hungry until I sat down, then ordered my beer, and the pulled pork sliders! Had me at first bite. Perfect sliders, toasted bun, not to wet, but tasted great. Well played craftsman, well played. read more

One of my favorite local restaurants. Great food, great cocktails, and wonderful happy hour deals. I love getting a couple of appetizers and flatbread to share with a group, the flatbreads are delicious. Whenever I go it's easy to find a nice drink to go with whatever I'm eating because the waitresses are super helpful. read more

Not a great experience tonight. I have been here numerous times and the food is usually pretty good and I haven't had issues with the service before. But tonight We sat at our table over 10? Minutes ( it felt like) before I finally asked the busboy to find our waiter/ waitress. When our food came , it was slid across the table at us. No one ever checked on how we were doing. The octopus ( which is usually good) was cold when it arrived. The mushroom bruschetta was soggy and unappetizing. At the end of the meal we waited and waited and no one ever came by. I finally picked up my phone and called the restaurant and asked for our waiter to come to our table (which worked beautifully by the way). read more

I am visiting from out of town and wanted to go to a restaurant that was of a local flair. It wa delightful! We ordered house wine and those were good. We ordered burgers, and they were delicious. The fries were also large, yummy and served in a metal cone. I ordered the Bootlegger and I ate every single bite. Yum!! read more

HORRIBLE! Worst waiter ever (dark hair bearded guy- run if you get him!). Forgot food items, charged us for multiple items we did NOT order and then tried to argue (?why?), charged $13 for 2nd glass of HH chadonnay that was $6 at HH, took over 30 minutes to settle our bill......Bar food okay... Did I mention it was SO LOUD that we could not even hear each other speak? All 6 of us will avoid this place in future and will NOT RECOMMEND to our friends! read more

Bad food, bad service, expensive, and loud, REALLY loud. Avoid at all costs.

Had great expectations for this place...afterall, Blue Ribbon is one of my all time favorite places to eat! Arrived at 6:30 expecting a long wait...but waited only about 25 minutes in the bar. Seated and greeted by waiter, took drink order and disappeared for a long(at least 15 minutes) time before returning with drinks. Ordered wine and apps. Popcorn, Pork Belly, Ceasar salad (very little dressing). Overall good. Then had some entrees...fish dish and short ribs...both pretty good (fish was pretty salty). Of course had to end the meal with butterscotch pudding which is off the chain good. Service was not good. Our waiter was borderline surly and absent for most of the meal. Left many finished plates on the table. So for service...zero stars. When you are paying the prices they are asking and getting the nomimal ambiance (crowded tables, too close to one another....unbelievable noise level) one would expect much more. I am hoping this place will improve with age. I would really love to have this place as a "go to" restaurant...but right now...I am just not feeling it! Sorry Wade! read more

Nice food and good beer. Better early because it does get loud, but they tell me they are putting in some noise baffles.

Food had good flavor but way over priced.We got a quarter of one short rib and it was really fatty. We shared a meal with their duck fat fries and an appetizer and a few glasses of wine it was $70.there's better value for money.This restaurant gives a new meaning to short rib.Should of been called tiny rib read more

Wish I could write a really great review about this place because I LOVE Blue Ribbon Pizza. Went to their new place hoping it would be just as wonderful but it was not. The atmosphere and decor is nice, although the place is noisy. The menu has many interesting choices and it was hard to decide what to have. Then we waited - and we waited - and we waited. It took almost one hour to get our food and the place was only half full of people. Not sure what the heck was up. Waitress kept coming back to tell us that our food was coming, up shortly etc. etc but no explanation for such a long delay. Then they brought three of the four meals and the forth (which was a pasta and should have been the fastest) was late coming after three of us waited and wondered. Server was also not well versed on wine selections. Then she split our check since we gave two credit cards, yet split a check from another table with a higher tab!!! Had to wait for her to correct mistake and carry the extra charge on our card until credit card company posted reverse charge a few days later. Very disappointed with this experience but will return to Blue Ribbon again and again. read more

My boyfriend and I were excited for our 'date night' and decided to try a new place. When we initially walked in it was quite noisy with no background music. We were content with sitting at the bar, which we ended up being the only ones there. The bartender wasn't too inviting. We told him we would take two waters while we decided on a bottle of wine. He ignored us or didn't hear us. He didn't engage in any conversation with us or recommend ANYTHING (wine, apps...). We asked a couple questions about apps & he was pretty short. We tried the sweetcakes (which were delicious). We ordered the duck confit & short ribs (also delicious) & decided to order red wine w/ dinner. We weren't familiar w/ any of the wines & asked the bartender for a taste of the Sangiovese. He gave us a taste & said it wasn't his favorite, so we asked for a few suggestions. He gave us two suggestions, while pouring beer w/ his back to us. Needless to say, we didn't order red wine. He NEVER checked back w/ us after entrees were dropped, and only looked at us when we asked for the check. After dropping the check, left our dirty plates in front of us. Although the food was different and very delicious, we will NOT go back based on the service we received. The quality of the food demands a GREAT staff. If you want a good dining experience visit the chef's original Blue Ribbon in Encinitas. You will always feel attended to with great food & atmosphere. read more

Had a great time! The service, food, and drinks were amazing. Our waiter carefully explained each item we had questions on, along with great suggestions for appetizers and the deserts (which did NOT disappoint). The manager made sure to stop by our table and ensure everything was cooked to perfection and that all was well. Would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a good time. Great vibe, great food, great service. Coming back soon! read more