Fernside

The wait was too long here to sit to eat so we went elsewhere. We regretted that decision. Had drinks elsewhere and lunch which were all disappointing. So, we came back later when it wasn’t as busy, had some great whiskies, bourbons, and some wine that was better than a nearby wine bar. The food looked and smelled amazing. Will be back to try it.

The only thing I could think after being here a few hours was, "How did I NOT know this place existed?!" The quick hit for this review - it's nearly 100% perfection. 4.95 out of 5 - easily! Now, the further explanation -- I still consider myself fairly new to the SD area and dropped by the Southpark area with a friend. We strolled around and basically followed our noses and ears until we landed somewhere. Right off the bat, I was charmed by the menus posted outside of Fernside (which you can find on their website pretty easily). 5 pages were posted to the walls in various places for people to peruse; 3.5 of them were pretty much alcohol/drink options with the first page & bottom of the last page being dedicated to food. I loved it -- they knew what I was there for! I got the Fernside Burger (pictured) - and this isn't hyperbole: It is the best burger San Diego has given me in my time here. I thought I'd found it somewhere else before, but I was wrong. The Fernside burger is that taste of America people visiting the country want when they come here. It's perfection. Fernside -- if you're reading this, please don't ever change ANYTHING about how you made that beautiful thing! The ambiance in there is insane!! "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" playing on the TVs. The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" intermixed with other music from the 50s to 90s Hiphop playing over the sound system. Tiki glasses in the shape of well-known beloved Star Wars characters hidden within some of their other glasses. You could get a solid cerveza there - OR - you could pretty much order from the full run of Suntory Japanese Whisky (a personal favorite of mine) they had present. You could buy your table bottles of whiskey the same way some spots sell bottles of wine for their tables (they did wines by the bottle for your table as well, just FYI - but the bottles of spirits seemed like a more unique feature in my experiences)... Like... WTH - where was I (in a good way)?! How had I never happened across this spot!? It was as if someone said, "You know -- I want to make a bar where the theme pulling it all together is 'the good B-Sides most people don't know about, but should'," and they stuck the landing!! The staff there we cool as all get out, and the prices of everything were SO reasonable! If you can't tell, I plan to go back there. San Diego just keeps on giving -- I have a favorite brewery here, and now I think Fernside just cemented itself as my favorite bar/chill eatery in the area. Easily. I gave a 4.95 out of 5 at the beginning, and that's just because I'm being a butt. The place is perfect and EASILY a pleasantly unexpected 5-star experience. It didn't look bad from the outside by any means, but I just wasn't expecting it to be THAT good. The -.05 in the scoring above was because I didn't see the one thing there that seemed like it could fit the space: No arcade cabinet with like... a mix of classic video games on it. Haha - I'm not there to play games, but I was shocked to NOT see it considering everything else the place had going on! And for all I know, maybe it was there somewhere but I just didn't see it. Meh - small nit that honestly doesn't matter. I saw a family there with small kids in one of the two outdoor eating areas (so, it is kid-friendly for those who want to know) & all of the tables had these little personal-sized fans (I o'no how to describe that part -- you'll see it if you go there). There was a cute fluffy dog outside with a couple at one of the other outdoor/side patio areas - so they're dog-friendly, too. If you've never been to this spot & are a fan of good burgers, nice drinks, fun yet chill environments, polite (from what I could tell) patrons, and good music/audio-visuals -- this is the spot for you.

We had a great time. The music gets a little loud at times. However, food was delicious (especially the burger and tots), and the slushies were amazing. Will definitely come back

We jumped in here for a cocktail before our reservations across the street for dinner. Great bar menu! We ordered the Negroni which I highly recommend. They are doing a really good takeout business as well. Grab a drink while you wait. This is a place we’d like to come back to.

Hazards of take-out, but pulled pork sando had NO BBQ SAUCE, and not practical to return. Waffle fries were tasty but pretty soggy even though drive home was short - crisped up some in the oven. My burger was very good though. Will try Fernside again but but on site!