The Balboa

Wow! Wow! Wow! The burger tasted homemade! Because it was! My friend and I visited, and we both were not super hungry so we split the happy hour special: hamburger, fries, beer for 20 bucks. They offer to cut our hamburger in half and actually delivered our food on two different plates with equal amounts of fries on each. They even gave us two glasses to split our beer. Talk about hospitality. Five stars. Granted, it wasn’t too busy, the GM, Dallas, came over then chatted with us and asked about our meal. That’s when he mentioned everything was homemade and fresh. Definitely get the salt and pepper french fries. They are the bomb. Tons of beer are on tap. But my friend doesn’t drink so we asked for a nonalcoholic beer and they had Athletic. Which wasn’t bad at all. This will be my go to spot to take friends who really love their hamburgers and fries.

Truly feels like a casual neighborhood dive bar, with friendly service and amazing juicy burgers. We stopped by after the zoo, on a Monday, when the deal was $10 Balboa burgers and $6 beers. I also added roast jalapeños to mine (1.75 charge) which were delicious and gave it a subtle kick. We also got a large serving of the garlic fries (huge portion, probably should’ve gotten the smaller option), which were freshly fried and flavorful. The burgers were so juicy and thick, and it all came together perfectly. We also loved getting to play some pool after (75 cents per game).

Excellent burger joint at the edge of the bankers hill neighborhood of San Diego. The staff is warm and inviting. The asthetic is dive bar but the burgers are top notch. Ordering is simple. Pick your burger, then add-ons if you’d like. Fries are separate but excellent, well worth adding. Draft menu is small. They have a full bar. Interior is classic dive bar. The place is awesome. Two pool tables. One room has arcade machines. Plenty of TVs. The kinda place you want to keep around and you hope doesn’t get gentrified out!

These burgers are FASHO the best in San Diego. Each bite was so delicious and savory. SO filling! Peter is an amazing bartender, very attentive and makes amazing drinks! We will definitely be back because those burgers were PHENOMENAL!

Came before Cinco De Mayo. We were looking for a spot to grab a bite to eat and a drink last minute so my buddy and I decided on this spot. We came on a Monday May 4th, Star Wars day. They had the balboa burger as a special. They also had Barrio larger thorn beer and some other stuff as a special for Cinco de Mayo. Food was alright… I feel like they used to be quality back in the day but it felt pretty average when we went. Beer was a decent deal for the area. Vibe was an older dive bar near balboa park. If ur in the bankers hill or downtown area and wanted a back up spot to rendezvous, then come check it out. Nice spot but won’t come back most likely. High reviews are prolly for them being around for so long, so experience will definitely vary per person.