Lucky Buck’s

This place reminds me me of a diner in my hometown (NYC). Lucky Buck’s is a no frils and no table establishment. Everyone sits at the counter. The guy who owns the place… lets call him, Lucky is a real renassaince man (i.e. Jack of all trades, master of none). This guy is the host, the server, the busser, the chef, and he runs the cash register.
I came here for breakfast with 3 other people. Two of us got eggs with bacon and toast, while the other two got pancakes. Lucky took our orders and promptly began working on our meal. The eggs were decent, but anyone with a whisk could have done just as decently. My favorite part of the meal was at the end, when he handed each of us fortune cookies, stares at each of us and says «You four together, right?» we say «Yes». He says, «Okay $ 15». We handed him a 20 and told him to keep the change. Never in San Diego have I seen prices like that at a restaurant. Maybe it is because Lucky Buck’s doesn’t feel like a restaurant– It feels more like stumbling into a welcoming strangers large kitchen and he decides to feed you before sending you on your way.

I felt like waffle fries and a big shake, my husband craved a margarita. Where to go? Lucky Buck’s! Seriously!
Husband had a margarita, curly fries and «this buck’s on fire» burger.
I had a «blues burger» and waffle fries (I just couldn’t add a shake to it; I couldn’t. My arteries were already at commuter’s traffic speed just thinking about what I was going to be eating for dinner).
All yummy!
margarita rather sucked (it was a bit of tequila and LOTS of gatorade mixer), but hey, everything was 2-​for-​1, so for $ 4 each, it was totally acceptable.
Waffle fries win over the curly fries, but as the guy said: it’s purely a choice of texture, they use exactly the same spices.
Burgers were good-​sized and juicy. Toppings were wonderfully generous and fresh. Great, light bun. (I love bread, and would never in a million years go «protein style» on a burger, but I also don’t want to taste just bun; this hit the spot).
Server/owner?/only person working on a Sunday late afternoon was so friendly, quick and fun.
Great funky atmosphere, decent prices, good service, clean (our bill came to $ 32 with 2 happy hour margaritas, lots of fries, 2 burgers, tax and tip).
Now to go back and get that shake… :-)

I’m going to give them some extra credit for the helpful service. My friends and I stopped in last night. We had already enjoyed a few cocktails and were famished.
We ordered half the menu and were a bit of a handful. The waitress was very sweet. We had our food very quickly and it tasted great.
I tried lucky bucks about a yearish ago and was not impressed. The quality of the food back then was mediocre. It appears they have stepped up their game since then.
They do offer cocktails and such and have tvs to play sporting events as well. It’s worth a visit.

I really like it here. I love getting take out and going in there. I think the reason I like it so much is because it’s never too busy. I want people to go there more often to keep it open but not too often so there’s always seating there.
Food, there chipotle mayo is awesome and their chicken sandwiches are good too, as well as the curly fries.
I do wish the fries came with the burgers instead of charging extra.
They also always have awesome drink deals!

Walking home with the girlfriend last night with a brand new mattress topper from the Healthy Back store when hunger struck.
I believe we’d been here once before, years ago and during the day. It’s a slightly different atmosphere than I remember. Perhaps that’s due to the crisp January night as opposed to a warm summer day.
Heather had two tilapia tacos and I had the tuna melt. Yin and yang if there ever was such a thing. I’m told the tacos were both spicy and delicious. The sandwich was tasty and not at all offensive. What was really lacking, pleasantly so, was the grease that usually accompanies the tuna melt.
I also had the Tiki Tea, which was is a citrus focused derivative of it’s more well known cousin from Long Island. Gin, Vodka and Triple Sec. Nothing too extravagant about the drink, but it was bright and tasty.
The waiter, Robby (Bobby?), was a nice guy who was extremely prompt and helpful with suggestions. We didn’t have to wait at all, which was really nice.
All in all, nothing about this place blew my socks off, but I don’t have a bad thing to say about it either. I really don’t like burger joints too much, as it ends up being a greasy mess, but I was happy very happy with our experience last night.
Oh, and the mural. I hadn’t noticed that before, but I think it might be the perfect homage to San Diego and Hilcrest more specifically. Way to go.

Big fan of Lucky Buck’s for casual drinks and food with friends, especially at Happy Hour. They have Taco Tuesdays — get the Carne Asada. And they have different specials for Happy Hour every day of the week — I believe Thursday is the $ 2 tequila shots, but don’t quote me on that.
The owner of the place is great, always with a smile on his face. I’ve been there many times when he’s hooked us up with extra drinks and discounts.
The burgers and the fries are really good and so are the chicken tenders. But for me, this place is all about hanging out and having a few drinks. Sit on the outdoor patio and people watch — always a fun activity in Hillcrest!

I love the atmosphere and décor of Lucky Buck’s. Just imagine: sitting on an open window booth in the sunny 80 degrees San Diego Weather, munching on a delicious, juicy burger (w/​avocado), with a side of onion rings and hot wings, and sipping on their infamous cocktail called, Woo-​Woo, while watching the world go by. Well, that was me last week!
The staff here is very friendly and food of energy. They love to chat you up and see how your day is going. Their prices are very reasonable especially for the quality and quantity of food you receive. I’m definitely coming back!
Next time you stop by, ask for Israel. He’s the best, very funny guy!
Also, I posted some pictures of the burger and hot wings I had – check them out.

I’ve been to Lucky Buck’s a few times, and was a little torn over whether to rate them with two or three stars, but they seem to be getting worse with age, not better.
I like Lucky Buck’s in some ways: the waffle fries are excellent, and many of their burgers have onion rings on them. Blue cheese, bacon, and an onion ring on a burger is a tremendously beautiful, artery-​clogging arrangement, and those flavors work brilliantly together. They also have a full bar, which you don’t usually find in such tiny establishments.
But the full bar is useless if they don’t put any tequila in the margaritas, for example. To me, the word «bar» connotes «alcohol,» not watery drinks that don’t do what they’re supposed to do. After all, why tax just your heart and circulatory system when you can get your liver involved, too? Also, their onion rings have gotten too greasy to finish even a small order, and their burgers aren’t particularly flavorful, even when they’re topped with potent flavor combinations that usually work elsewhere.
This is a town with places like Hodad’s, Burger Lounge, and Tioli’s Crazee Burger, so to be a good burger joint, you kind of have to take it to a new level of culinary wizardry and creativity (if not a bitchin’ gimmick) if you want good reviews, or even want foot traffic coming in the door. Lucky Buck’s just doesn’t quite deliver in this arena, and therefore is dangerously courting going unnoticed. I mean, the Commonwealth Café had better burgers than Lucky Buck’s when they were open, and they still folded after a very short period of time. So, while the waffle fries may make you want to stay, the drinks, the greasy onion rings, and the not-​exactly-​memorable burgers may make you quickly forget about this place.

I’ve been walking by this place for almost 2 years now and finally made it in on a random Thursday afternoon.
I went for the basic hamburger, small fries and a coke.
The meal was very cheap and affordable, and the burger was cooked to order. The waiter was also shockingly attentive.
The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because they put that damned red-​chili pepper salt on their fries. I hate that crap!

My burger quest took me to Lucky Bucks yesterday since I’ve been driving by for months and never stopped. They have 2−4−1 drinks everyday 4 — 8 which made me so angry I was getting take away. I ordered the Teryaki burger and Bucks special burger or whatever it was called with a side of fries. GREAT burgers the only thing is I couldn’t get my meat to stay inside the buns. Rather it was all over my face and fingers. The fries were really yummy as well.
I hope to hit this spot again when I have some friends to hang out with and have a few beers.

Okay, I haven’t been to Lucky Buck’s since their change in a while. I used to live within walking distance but now I live in Mission Hills so its only when I have a craving for something other than Ichiban (Brian loves their vegetable udon for a satisfying meal).
My order was simple Nachos Burger, well done and an order of curly fries. It was not very busy and I got my order to go on a gloomy Saturday after running a few errands.
Personally, I believe if someone orders Nachos burger, the burger would have the nacho cheese and jalapenos. The jalapenos were with the burger but the cheese was on the side. The burger was semi welldone with a little pink that I don’t normally like with my burgers. The curly fries were mostly crispy.
Overall, I am satisfied but not wowed. It’s a burger joint without any special reason for me to visit. More 2 ½ stars than 3 but not 2 stars.
A better alternative than McDs but not especially worth for a trip by itself. Has a lot of alternatives for non meat eaters but why expose them to a place with more meat than none.
The décor is frathouse beach party. Come on, longboard shorts hanging on the ceiling seems out of place (on a mannequin maybe). Besides in this neighborhood, box cut swimming trunks are better maybe on the cashier! (who was cute by the way!).
Hopefully, the promised new menu adjusts for the better! And for a small business, your website should never be offline for any reason unless. Use Myspace, everybody else does! Easy to change and people can leave you messages.

OK so the day before Thanksgiving I requested that Jae come out to play with me and Stephen. We were looking for a burger place in Hillcrest so I checked out
. I searched quickly and Lucky Bucks seemed to fit what we needed in the 30 seconds I had to find a place. On the way there Stephen called me to check and see if this place had liquor because he wanted some shots. I crossed my fingers and hoped for a full bar because I really had no idea if they had anything more than beer. I get there and the boys were already ordering shots. Yeah for liquor! Granted the selection is limited, but it is what gave them one of the stars.
I slid into the booth and ordered a Stella and perused the menu. Shots came, we drank them and ordered some food. The waitress was great! She was quick with drinks and she checked on us regularly. That’s the second star. The food was just alright but the waffle fries were delicious. I definitely recommend ordering them. They are the third star. This place is just alright but the service was awesome. Either way, good times for a Wednesday afternoon.

I like coming here for lunch. The service is friendly and helpful. The space may be small, but it’s open and airy. Seating choices are either indoor or outdoor. I dig the outdoor seating. I mean the outside part, not the inside.
The menu is simple and sweet. I dig anything burger and fries. Decent price with huge portions. Good enough for this simple girl.

My friend is friends w/​the dude who works here. Which is always good, because alcohol can be hooked up easily. They close pretty early (10pm), but you have to remember, it’s a burger place, and not an actual bar.
It’s a burger joint that happens to serve hard alcohol. 4 dollar long island iced tea Thursdays is not bad at all, especially the way he makes them.
They just chopped down their menu from 3 pages, front to back, to one page, but I would have never noticed.
The veggie burger is really good, as is the chipotle ranch that comes with the fries. Smoky in the back of my throat!
Veggie burger + curly fries + chipotle ranch + 4 long island iced teas = nicely buzzed, but full enough to counteract being actually drunk .
You can sit inside, or out on the patio and people watch. And, let me tell you, nothing beats eating, drinking, and people watching in Hillcrest during Halloween season. I love it.

well i came here three times… lets start out with the first time…
My friends recommended this place before the cookies and cocktails event. Burger was good. the service was good i got a soda in a dixie cup and payed 2 bucks for this? Are you serious?
Second time, i was in the hood with my man friend D. he mentioned coming here. so we did. the Salad was not so fresh and the onion rings were on the greasy side. (i mean greasy!!! i got sick of them because of it.)
the Third time. I was sick! The salad was not fresh and the burger i got was room temp. the guy asked me if i wanted it with blue cheese since i said «black and blue. (remember thats seared on the outside and raw in the middle) i told him no. im allergic to blue cheese (i really am) i wanted a raw fucken burger! all the sauces on the side. still i got blue cheese and all the sauces on the burger. Thanks tard that first bite had me breaking out all over the place. went to work that day feeling ill and looking red! not a good way to go in. Had to actually go home! (i hate missing work because of a mistake that could have been avoided!)
yeah never again!

Amazingly, there were no real burger joints in Hillcrest (I consider Mo’s [née Hamburger Mary’s] a bar) before Lucky Buck’s.
A wait worthwhile for the product.
These are good burgers. I had the Blu Cheese Burger with Onion Rings and Bacon. Yum. The burger is large and falvorful.
The fries (as others have mentioned) are average. The seasoning is sorta lame and I think they would be better off with just salt and more of a wedge fry than the shoestring ones.
Beer. The beer is good, but they could have a much wider selection. I was somewhat disappointed in that, but the IPA I had was nice.
There is an extensive liquor selection (much deeper than the beer) which is somewhat odd. Beer and Burgers are a natural. Whiskey and burgers? Tequila and burgers? Both a stretch as far as being a natural combonation.
Still … good stuff. I will be back.

So, I just went there for lunch and had the Hawaiian burger.
It was delicious. The fries? not so much. Not terrible, just nothing to write home about.
Another cool thing about this place is a dog-​friendly patio. I got to tease my pup with every bite I took. Bone apetit

I love this place and seeing all these crappy reviews just hurts. Sure, I don’t eat burgers and can’t review the merits thereof, but I drink and eat everything else there, so here goes.
First, frozen margaritas, as good as they could ever be. RIGHT HERE. I dunno what they do to them that makes them good, but they are (Tuesdays, only $ 2).
Their wings make me smile. There’s a severe absence of wings around this place and Lucky Buck’s comes with some pretty good habanero ones.
Most sandwiches are pretty inventive and creative so you don’t feel let down if you’re not a burger eater. Salads are tasty as well.
If I could pick where that final star gets lost on, I’d say service. I’ve come to love the crappy service I get at Buck’s if only because they do it so badly, with a smile. They forget stuff all the time, but they never seem to be irritated about it.

I’d give it a good, solid 3.5 stars.
Been driving past this place for a few years, just never really went in, because I don’t eat too much meat. As of late, however, I’ve been rockin’ some chicken and turkey! It’s a bit crazy, as I’ve been a pescatarian (vegetarian most of the time, with an occasional fish fillet) for over 8 years. It’s a bit nutty, but I’ve been wanting to give it a go for a long time.
No red meat for me, so I went with a chicken burger. Had BBQ sauce and grilled pineapples. The bun was really, really soft, and the waffle fries were fantastic. Had an awesome seasoning that could be pretty dangerous for someone watching their waistline. They’re really addicting!
Even though the burger was damn good and the fries were super tasty, it was a little too pricey for me. I dunno… when people are shelling over astronomical amounts of cash for gas, seems silly to waste $ 9 on a burger. Should be in the $ 7 range, if you ask me.
I’d probably to back… once G-Dub’s hooks me up with my stimulus chizzzeck!

Going for lunch before 12pm on a Saturday, we were able to find a parking spot and a seat relatively easy. I can see how during peak hours this would be a problem. This place is small and most likely popular and crowded so I would recommend going on off times.
The burger itself was very flavorful. Juicy, seasoned well. A good burger. The fries were crispy and sprinked with seasoned salt. Yum.
I saw they have a lot of drink specials too.