Monkey Paw

Bar offered a good selection of beers and stellar IPAs. We enjoyed the IPA called Chimpin’ Aint Easy the most. This place offers plenty of group seating on high rise tables or picnic tables.

Beers are great, but I wouldn’t come here for the food. We got the stoner fries and the naughty monkey sandwich and both were just classic bar food, nothing to write home about.
About the beers:
Chimpin’ Ain’t Easy is easily the best beer I’ve ever ordered. I’m a fan of stouts and WOW.
Billing situation is a little sketchy as I was charged an extra $ 25 a few days after my visit.

The truth? They like you when you’re local and love you when you’re a regular.
I see that the bad reviews come from visitors. So yes, I’m bias. San Diego itself is changing. East Village is changing. So I’m sorry that you were served last. But I’m not sorry that you’re dissuaded from coming here. I’m sure you’d understand: this is our brewpub and it comes with attitude.

Love this place! I live a few blocks away so it’s an easy walk to and from Monkey Paw. They have a great beer selection along with their own brews. The food is decent for a bar and the staff is always friendly. Cheers!

Came here with some coworkers after work. We ordered the naughty monkey (Philly cheese steak with some spicy sauce) with the garlic fries. This has been the best Philly cheese I have had in SD. The only better ones have been In Philly. The garlic parmesean fries were delicious. I will definitely be returning for their food!
We also got some beers. My coworkers had been here before so they ordered their regular. This was my first time so I ordered a flight of 4 4oz beers. And everyone of them tasted great. I’m not a beer coniseur so that’s the best description you’ll get from me. The flight only includes any of the monkey paw brews.
Will definitely be returning to this place
Ps. Don’t get the monkey paw Marin unless you like to drink salty beers.

I love this place! Living next door introduced me the this bar and I haven’t veered from it since!
The bartenders are always cool and knowledgeable about their products.
I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I still love this place. My husband always gets a different beer (half their list they brew themselves) and I usually stick their amazing Old Fashions.
Cool atmosphere, awesome jukebox, and delicious bar food! Also, two girl bathrooms!
My husband and I are moving soon and during our search for a house, we wanted to make sure that we could always take a cheap über ride to the bar.
That’s how much we love this place.

Hole in the wall bar with a great beer selection. Nice local hangout.
Extremely loud inside which makes conversation difficult and communicating with the barkeep can be frustrating.
I would come here again but with reservations due to noise level.

this is for the food only, beer/​bartenders are always on point. The food use to be up to par with the beers and bar service, things have changed for the worst recently. No more Padres double? don’t worry you can build your own. No more Waffle fries? don’t understand that as this was always a huge hit. The burger though. EH. it wasn’t a burger, it was a badly made meatloaf put on a bun and I love meatloaf sandwiches. One paddy was easily twice the size as the other and seriously inedible. I’m scared to see what changes they’ve made to the cheesesteaks and wings. Maybe they’ll take them off the menu too as there big sellers as well. use to love the food.
not anymore. I gave 1 extra star for the fries, at least they were crispy :/

This place is on the same block that I live on so it is a go to place for some quick food or a drink.
Pros:
Great Beer
Great Happy Hour
Good food
Cons:
They no longer serve waffle fries which were nothing short of amazing.
Local tip: They give a discount if you live in the area.

Great beer list! They had a ton of collaboration beers from local and non local breweries when I went in. The had some of their own brews and featured other lesser known breweries which was really cool. Props to the beer list.
I also had dinner here and their wings were so good. Amazing. Fantastic. Their cheesesteaks were extremely good as well. Nothing fancy, just good.

This place is a dark little pub. As a non-​local, I didn’t know the rules. We waited forever at a table until the neighboring table took pity on us and told us we had to go to the bar and order drinks and you had to go to the window in the back and order food from the incredibly disinterested woman in the cage. The food was ok, unremarkable, and the beer on tap was ok. There are better places with better food, better beer and people happy to be employed there.

Really enjoyed this little dive, which has a large on tap menu that includes hard cider that was quite good and not too fizzy, which I was a fan of. There were a lot of TVs around the walls so it makes for easy sports viewing and the service was quick, we didn’t have to wait too long for our drinks. It actually reminded me of another hole-​in-​wall place I used to go to back in Lexington so I appreciated the nostalgia. The only downside is that Monkey Paw is a little far from downtown proper so you have to make a point of getting there. But if you’re anywhere close by I would definitely recommend stopping in!

Came here for the first time tonight. My first reaction was kinda neutral. It reminded me of a little Hamiltons. I wasn’t exactly impressed at first. The beer was good and the bartender seem nice enough, but I got bad vibes from a small very loud, very drunk group of guys plus one chick, who by the way was openly and very sloppily making out with the fellow next to her. These people needed to be cut off.
Two of my coworkers swore by this place so I still gave it a chance. And I actually enjoyed myself. My coworkers ordered a variety of fries, once the food arrived I felt like I was in safe comfortable arms made of fried potatoes, meats and cheese. I shifted attention from the loud group, who ended up leaving and got my grub on. The stoner fries we got came w/​steak, cheese and all the veggies. They were good. Reminded me of a philly cheesesteak. We also ate the piggyback fries which tasted like a pulled pork sandwhich minus the bread add the fries. Lastly my other coworker got another order of stoners fries with just cheese and beef. Which was good as well. I think the best thing was the fries period. I could eat them plain with a beer and enjoy them. Golden crispy outside and fluffy potato inside. Although its not my number 1 choice for a bar it was actually pretty chill.

I’ve contained a lot of excitement leading up to visiting Monkey Paw. I’ve tried their beer before at an event and heard great things! We arrived on a Sunday and found street parking right in front. They were already open since football season has started.
I was a little shocked to find this place reflected more of a dive bar than the other breweries we’ve seen around the county. Instead of an industrial factory vibe, there was old wood paneling, bar stools, and picnic benches. The volume on TV was cranked to 11 with 3 football games on.
We ordered some cheesesteaks and bellied up to the bar to taste their brews. Once again, I found it odd that they mixed their own brews in a list with guest taps. I could have looked at their short list to the left, but it did not explain the type of beer. I ended up going with the honey harvest, a honey cream ale.
I found the ale a little hoppy for me. I’m anti-​establishment (IPA) and was expecting something closer to a cali creamin. This does not make the beer bad, just not my cup of … beer.
The food, however, was DELICIOUS. I loved that the roll they used for the cheesesteak was thinner and sturdier. I never worried about my sandwich breaking and could get a solid bite of all the fixings. The naughty monkey sauce will blow your mind with heat, so tread carefully. The cheese curds weren’t anything to write home about. They were far too greasy to enjoy.
So for me? Monkey paw is A-​OK because it’s just not my style. If you’re looking for the perfect man cave, this is the spot.

After going to Monkey Paw for the second time, I’m glad to say I found my new local bar within walking distance of my place. The setup and look of Monkey Paw looks a lot like Hamilton’s tavern, but from what I was told they’re owned by the same person? Either way it’s a great place to eat and drink.
Unfortunately I haven’t had a chance to try any of their food yet, but after seeing a few plates that other customers have ordered, and from what my best friend has told me. It looks, smells, and and taste great! So I’m looking forward to trying any and all of their food eventually.
I had several different beers there, but so far the only one that really stood out or let alone I can remember was the red dragoon red ale. It was smooth and great! Looking forward to trying out more of their wide selection of craft beer. Service is what ever, I mean it’s a bar so don’t expect much when it comes to that.

Stopped in here yesterday with a co-​worker for happy hour. Excellent selection of beers on top, including quite a few of their own. I opted for a Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, as I am a big fan of coffee and coffee flavored beers. Bartender was nice, and attentive which is very important to me. I went with the Monkey Paw Oatmeal Pale Ale for round two, and found it to be incredibly delicious! Nice crisp start and a clean, hoppy, but not too hoppy smooth finish.
Ambience was nice and chill, food looked pretty tasty, but I did not partake. Beers were well priced also, and it was $ 1 off all drafts during happy hour. Great experience overall.

Sisters with Blind Lady, Tiger Tiger and Panama 66; Monkey Paw is the furthest down the hill. They offer the same great beers as the other locations, in an area that can use a lot more craft beer. Conveniently close to City College, not certain why we didn’t study here more often during the semester…
Like the sister restos, Monkey Paw offer vegan items (on purpose) which I find to be a bonus for any restaurant. They also serve plenty of non-​vegan wings, sandwiches, poutin and the menu seems to change seasonally.
Also like their similar locations, you’ll find open/​group seating. Good for groups, works for dates, and also fun by yourself.
This place is more bike friendly than car friendly (as are the sister locations) and is priced along with restaurants in the same genre. (Can you use genre here? Style? Classification? Label? Type?)
I had a vegan tofu bahn mi style sandwich accompanied with waffle fries for about $ 12. The seasoning & peanuty curry on the tofu were great, the carrot salad in the sandwich tasted freshly prepared and my bun was soft to the tooth. Again, MP prices are about in line with other places of the same genre, and quite tasty, but don’t mind me for being butt hurt that their meat sandwiches are around the same price. When tofu and meat are the same price at the store I’ll either faint or celebrate, but in this case there were no celebrations. I guess I should save the rest of this convo for the larger scale meat pricing and not Monkey Paw’s review… ha.
All-​in-​all, these guys and their fellow restaurants are all worth checking out. Good food, great atmosphere, killer beers and not a bad location if you’re in the area. Definitely a fan!

My friends and I went here to enjoy their amazing piggyback fries but there was more to talk about this time. Our bartender, Morgan, was amazing!
Tequila Mule: We asked to be surprised for any drink with tequila and Morgan made this amazing tequila mule! I would highly recommend this to anyone. It is like a margarita but in a mule form. Don’t believe me? Try it!
Mule: Delicious with a good ginger flavor. The color and presentation of this is beautiful!
The Original Cheesesteak: This wasn’t what we ordered (they gave us our right order later), but I was glad to try it. The meat was tasty and cheez whiz has its own unique taste, but it’s not my thing. If you like original cheesesteaks, you’ll love this. The meat is tender, juicy, and flavorful. There are nice grilled onions, the cheese is melted and plentiful, and the bun is nice, fluffy, and warm. Served with their tasty crispy on the outside and soft on the inside waffle fries. Yum.
Naughty Monkey Cheesesteak: This is more up my alley! I’m not a big person for pepperjack but the flavor of this one was right up my alley. With the same tender and juicy beef and soft bun, they made the same thing better with a bit of a kick from the spicy serrano and melted pepperjack cheese. It was completely worth it!
Wings with BBQ and Hot Buffalo Sauce: Two different sauces but it was still tasty. I would highly recommend the BBQ sauce over the hot sauce because it was as addicting as the piggyback fries. The hot buffalo was tasty too with a bit of a kick to it. The wings were perfectly cooked and juicy on the inside. What more could you ask for?
Piggyback Fries: A must have! I always come here for these fries. They are ridiculously addicting! The shredded BBQ pork is intoxicatingly hard to resist. The melted cheddar, chopped green onion, and chopped red onion add a nice depth to the rest of the crunchy waffle fries. It’s a must have and it’s hard to stop eating!
Overall, this place has a great beer selection, great cocktails (which I found out recently), great service (even though it feels like forever waiting, but it’s because I’m so anxious!), and tasty food. It’s hard to get a seat at times but it’s always well worth it. I am a bit careful of where I park around here because of the bums, but overall it’s been a great experience and I always want to come back especially for those piggyback fries! Yum!

My wife and I were staying in downtown San Diego for a couple of days and I heard about this brew pub.
When you enter, it is kind of divey, but it is AWESOME! Our bartender was super cool and the open air arena is fantastic. I ordered an IPA to start off, the rotation is quick and small batches. So lovely.
The wall decorations were really fun as well. Lots of old beer signs and such.
I really enjoyed this place. We walked over to the Stone Tap Room at Petco Field after this, but this was a great warm up spot. LOVED it!

Who wouldn’t want to go to a brewery named «Monkey Paw?»
Great selection of beer (hugeee selection of Monkey Paw beers on tap), great service, and they also serve food!
Definitely one of the hipster breweries– decent sized (bigger than a lot of smaller joints). There’s bar seating and a good number of tables inside.
Not only did our bartender have an awesome beard, but he was super friendly and didn’t mind helping us pick out our beers. It’s always a bit hard to tell how all the beers taste (especially if there’s no description), so it’s always nice to have a helpful bartender.
This place seems to be popular for their variations of Waffle Fries– which I loveee. I’m going to make sure I don’t eat before I come here next time. those stoner fries look amazing.