Taverna Blu

San Diego, United States

3.6

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 858-509-3950
Website:
www.tavernablu.com
Address:
12873 El Camino Real Ste M-1, San Diego, CA, 92130
b/t Carmel Valley Rd & Elijah Ct
Carmel Valley
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Lunch
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Open now
Local time (San Diego) 12:35 Thursday, 28 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Saturday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Sunday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
4:30 pm – 9:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Taverna Blu is a Casual, Social, Neighborhood Place that features delicious, affordable Mediterranean cuisine and a great selection of Wines and Beers. Great Tapas and Entrees. Small Plates — $ 3−5−7, Gourmet Salads, Sandwiches, Pasta Dishes, House Specials from $ 14-​$ 20, and some incredible Desserts — Hungry, Thirsty, for Creative Food and Drink, Come have fun with us!

Join us on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch specials, offered from 11:00am– 3 pm. Popular choices include: Gyro Scramble, Shrimp and Feta omelet, Greek breakfast burrito, and our bottomless Mimosas for $ 15.

History

Established in 2011.

There Once was a Man with a Dream

Of a Place with Fine Drink and Cuisine

Greek, Wholesome and Blu

Taverna Faire just for You

A Fun and Tasty New Scene!

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20 reviews of Taverna Blu

No registration required
Place rating: 4
Temecula, CA
Excellent, food was great and our server Norberto was very good and attentive. The service was quick and the location is nice as well as the place is clean and we leave in Temecula and decided to just jump and in the car a drive. We found this little gem by accident and we are glad we did. We will definitely make the drive again. The only reason they got a 4 stars is because the dessert wasn’t that great and the selection wasn’t either but oh well we can have dinner there and go have dessert elsewhere.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Great food and amazing staff. The lamb shank is definitely my favorite dish there. Go seat at the bar if you are a sports junkie, the bartender is up to date in every sport you can think off.
Place rating: 2
Central West End, Saint Louis, MO
Highly recommended since we were looking for good Greek food. Very busy on a Wednesday night. A god sign. Not greeted at the door. So we waited. Then We were asked to wait… so we waited and waited… Finally decided to leave and asked how many… though it was obvious here was three of us standing there for 15 minutes… we said sorry we are going to go next door… so the hostess said… ok. Sad that she did not even say please stay. Not the Greek hospitably that one would expect. I guess business was so good that good customer care goes out the door as did we. No second chance here. Service at Divanti down the street was better. No question why the Italians are more popular.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Great food, best service. Hasani the bartender is very personable. Sometimes I feel like we go in there to see him. I love how it’s dog friendly. My dog Berkeley absolutely loves going there.
Place rating: 3
San Jose, CA
I’ve came here one time because my friend had a groupon for this restaurant. It was decent green food but I wouldn’t come here again because of the price.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
The gyros and calamari are very good! Love that they have small plates so you can try the many food options. Would def come here again
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
Although I seemed to have loved my chicken pita on my previous visit, I wasn’t as thrilled with it this time around. It seemed like there was way too much lettuce (I ended up with a pile of it on my plate) and not quite enough chicken to fill the whole pita. There were also a few onions in my wrap despite asking for no onions. The fries were pretty good though.
My boyfriend tried the crispy falafel wrap, which as a vegetarian is his go-​to at Greek restaurants, and thought it was dry. He ordered the feta fries as a side and they were seasoned well but a little undercooked.
The service was good though. We arrived shortly after they opened at 11:30 and were one of the first few tables in the restaurant. It quickly started to fill up and by noon was at least half full inside.
Someday I’ll have to try dinner here and reevaluate my rating.
Place rating: 2
San Diego, CA
Nice atmosphere. Have been here quite a few times. First time was good. Next few times spinach pie, falafel were dry and old. Salad was marginal, Kalamari decent.
They do so much volume, is very inconsistent. They just shovel some food out. Service is hit or miss. Have waited quite a while more than once for bad food. Not enough consistent quality for the price.
Place rating: 3
San Diego, CA
Ambiance:
I went on a Sunday, at 5:30 pm with three other people. We found good seating outside. Ambiance outside is pretty nice and relaxing. Sweet and patient waitress.
Food:
I ordered the Falafel sandwich. I’m Middle Eastern, so I know what a good falafel is supposed to taste like and I’d like to say: you guys should not make anymore falafels. Please remove it from your menu. The falafels were not cooked. It was this raw, dense paste of beans instead of a crunchy, fluffy thing that it’s supposed to be. I didn’t complain or return it. I just pulled out the fralafels out of the sandwich and called it a night.
The Spanakopita appetizer was good though.
Happy hour:
They have good discounts on the dishes and the drinks.
I’d go back but NOT order the falafels.
Place rating: 1
Encinitas, CA
The service was terrible. Our server messed up our order. It took over 45 min to get our order. She said that one of our dishes will be on the house but the management over rode her and just gave us a discount. The food was ok. Certainly not worth the wait and aggregation. Not going back there again.
Oh I forgot to mention the hair in my food. No extra charge.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
The best Greek food in Carmel Valley! The owner’s and the entire staff are fantastic and
always accommodating ! I have never had a bad meal there. I have bought friends and family there since it opened and they have enjoyed it!
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
LOVE THIS PLACE. The food is great, I always order the hummus as an appetizer and one of their salads for my meal. During my most recent visit we ordered spanakopita app as well which was to die for.
What I do find strange is how dead this restaurant constantly is. It’s not just this location, it’s literally the two I’ve been too (one is now closed). I can’t imagine that the sub par service has caused the restaurant to be slow, because the food is fantastic.
I strongly advise those of you contemplating eating here to give it a try. No it’s not as cheap as Daphne’s or the «to go» Greek places. This is a sit down restaurant, expect your bill to mirror one from another «sit down» restaurant. Try the Greek salads they are amazing and try their in house made hummus and spanikopita! I promise you won’t be disappointed!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Great business dinner meeting at a casual spot with good food, great service and nice atmosphere. Choice of inside or patio seating. We elected to sit on the patio. The setting sun can be an issue — but they have umbrellas to shield you and an extremely attentive group of servers — thank you Tara — who will adjust them do the sun does not interfere with your evening. Healthy food. Great atmosphere. Incredible service. Carmen — manager is one of a kind.
Place rating: 2
Ventura, CA
Terrible service. Even worse food.
My standards aren’t very high and I don’t really write reviews but…
During a Sunday afternoon the place was completely empty. It seems this was for a reason. It took us 10 minutes to get a table.
The sangria was un-​drinkable. The gyro was mediocre. The fries were good.
I wouldn’t come back.
Place rating: 2
Las Vegas, NV
My experience here was underwhelming. We decided to come to Taverna Blu because the lines at Carnitas Snack Shack and Urban Plates were too long. There wasn’t a long wait here so we decided to give this place a try. The server took way too long to acknowledge us and took even longer to take our drink order. The food was almost as bad as the service. I don’t think I will ever come back to Taverna Blu again.
Place rating: 5
Ventura County, CA
The BEST Mediterranean food I’ve ever had.
The things that stuck out to me the most was how every single bite was immersed in so much flavor from start to finish. I normally don’t finish my entrees, but the size and portions are perfect without leaving you terribly «Thanksgiving Dinner» full.
Please refer to the yummy in your tummy pictures posted from my visit. You really can’t go wrong with anything that your order because again, everything is fresh, fresh, FRESH!
The restaurant is located in a super cute shopping center in Del Mar. There offer indoor and outdoor seating & if it just so happens to be cold out they have outdoor heaters. The restaurant décor is overall really inviting, modern and clean. Customer service is great too! Great date spot, dress code is relaxed, but you may want too look good since the area is pretty nice.
If your thinking about trying this, don’t think any longer… come in and give it a try!
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
Our experience was so awful that I did not take any leftovers home. I’m still in shock that I refused the «to-​go» boxes… but it was that bad.
Service (0 stars) There were 5 tables with 3 waiters/​waitresses. We had to wait couple of times and flag down staff to get our waters filled or have our plates removed. I had to wave my arms in an attempt to get our check. When that failed, I had to walk up to the bar and ask for the check.
Food (1 star) We ordered the meat (gyro, meatballs, kabobs) sampler plate with hummus, veggies, etc. The gyro was soft and mushy… texture more like Vienna Sausage than Spam. Meatballs were awful — so dry that the sauce ladled over the top did nothing but accentuate how petrified they were.
Value (0 star) Daphne’s is 1⁄3 the cost and tastes 2x better.
Finally, we got the impression that the staff didn’t give a s£!+. There are too many restaurants nearby (literally next door is Urban Plates) for us to go back.
(Dear Unilocal — why can’t we leave zero star or ½ star rating???)
Place rating: 4
Carlsbad, CA
Taverna Blue is a pretty freaking good if you ask me. This is a great spot for a casual lunch with clients or dinner hangout as the food is solid and the service has always been good. Several of the menu items are awesome here but I would highly recommended the chicken flatbread, it is freaking amazing. Pair this with an ice tea and possibly some hummus and you have an awesome meal. Was kinda bummed that the Unilocal check in deal was no longer valid during my last visit, oh well… Regardless I would recommend this place if you’re craving some good Greek
Food and are in the vicinity of Del Mar.
Pros–
Food
Menu
Taste
Service
Iced tea
Cons–
Slow
Small portions
Unilocal checkin not valid
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
I was really pleased with Taverna Blu, not just because the food was really good, but because of the value we got for so much food! My husband and I shared the Taverna Sampler and the Greek Taco’s and were VERY impressed at the amount of food staring at us on the table.
The Taverna Sampler is such a good deal for $ 18, definitely enough to feed more than one person. You can select any three (3) mezza plates, of which we chose the grilled calamari, greek meatballs and the tiger shrimp. The greek meatballs are so meaty, mmm. And the tiger shrimp is also crunchy and flavorful as well. All three of those along with the greek tacos were excellent. The gyro meat in the tacos was super tender, not dry like some places. And Greek Tacos, how cool is that?! The tacos also come with a side, which I recommend the pesto couscous. Super soft and refreshing. All this for $ 30 total, and it was well enough to fill us up :)
The venue itself is spacious, with high ceilings and a nice outdoor patio. Bathrooms were clean, our waiter was very friendly and loved trying to communicate with our 9-​month old! I won’t hesitate to go again.
Place rating: 5
El Cajon, CA
Just had dinner last night at Taverna Blu and I had the Lamb Shank for the first time. YOU HAVE TO have this dish, it’s ridiculously delicious, fall off the bone mouth orgasms. Also tried the Green Eggs and Gyros and I am in love. One more thing, I know I am actually going to discuss a dessert. A must have is Heaven, yes thats it’s name and it is correctly named. This marscapone, amaretto, dark chocolate TO DIE FOR dessert is named Heaven.
Rumor has it (from the owner) that a new menu launches in a couple of weeks. We had a sneak peek at it and it’s going to be a huge success.
I strongly suggest listening and ordering the fish special. Our dinner companions ordered the swordfish special last night and it was delicious. I’m still happy I ordered my lamb, but I have to tell you the swordfish was equally fabulous.