Toronado

ToronadoToronado
ToronadoToronado
Bar, Eatery

4026 30th St
San Diego, California, 92104-2602
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.48
Reviews:
122
Ratings:
255
pDev:
8.04%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by hops_and_waves:
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Reviewed by hops_and_waves from California

4.95/5  rDev +10.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
So, you're in San Diego and you visit beer web sites. Well, the Toronado has the best beer selection in San Diego. Great tap list and great bottle list. They also make some pretty good food. And the service at this location is much more friendly than the SF location, which I also love. This is one of the few places you can get Alpine beers on a pretty consistent basis.
Mar 22, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.22 by slasich from Pennsylvania

May 17, 2020
Photo of cratez
Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Visited with my wife on a recent trip to San Diego and Los Angeles.

Tried the following:
18th Street Brewery Dank Diesel (sample)
Kern River Just Outstanding IPA (draft)
Russian River Pliny The Elder (draft)

Beers ranged from very good to mind blowing. Also had a tasty house-made pretzel with cheese sauce. My wife enjoyed her Great Divide Strawberry Rhubarb. Service was solid as the bartender was quick to grab our drinks and she did a commendable job of recommending a beer for my oenophile partner in crime. Comfortable, relaxing atmosphere at the bar during the day, with lots of natural light coming in. Our overall experience was magnificent, and we would definitely come back.
Mar 29, 2020
 
Rated: 4.11 by REVZEB from Illinois

Feb 24, 2020
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Reviewed by WunderLlama from Massachusetts

4.66/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
Afternoon visit, sat at the bar

“Dress code: three tooth minimum”

NCAA hoops on tv, plenty on tap , bottles in the fridge, great play list on the speakers

Beer steins, bottles , signs, posters- this place sells beer- Russian river, stone, allagash, society, bocker, Firestone walker, etc

The beer tender recommended the thin sliced ribeye sandwich = excellent

Great bar
Recommended
Repeatable
Mar 21, 2019
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Reviewed by Bshaw22 from Wisconsin

4.89/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5
place is a beer mecca for beer bars. Had amazing tap list when I was there:
Society
Blind pig
Pliny
You name it, they had it.
Reasonably priced on the whole as well.
Dec 27, 2018
 
Rated: 4.8 by santig0nzalez from Paraguay

Oct 08, 2018
 
Rated: 4.44 by Clembo1957 from England

Sep 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by cryptichead from Illinois

May 19, 2018
 
Rated: 4.21 by spointon from Illinois

Apr 16, 2018
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Reviewed by chrisjws from California

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.25
Dingy vibe, but don't let it fool you. Selection here is some of the best you'll find anywhere. Russian River among many other great choices. They don't have a fryer so don't expect bar food. Get the wings and a Pliny.

They have a lot of random old goodies and a pretty extensive bottle list.
Feb 11, 2018
Photo of WillieThreebiers
Reviewed by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

4.3/5  rDev -4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Great craft beer bar, rustic and well-used. Place has a bit of a biker bar vibe. Around 30 beers on tap - stellar CA offerings - and an incredible bottle list. Quintessential San Diego beer bar.
Jan 05, 2018
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Reviewed by mdfb79 from New York

4.4/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5
Went twice on my trip, very cool laid back vibe. Bartender was awesome and very friendly since I was into beer. Great Cali selection and amazing to find Cable Car bottles. Expensive but sick bottle list. Average bar food.

A great bar and loved being able to order Cable Car but I actually preferred Hamiltons to Toronado.
Oct 13, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by von_kaiser from Connecticut

Sep 17, 2017
 
Rated: 4.75 by eawolff99 from Minnesota

Jun 10, 2017
 
Rated: 4.16 by epyon396 from Pennsylvania

Mar 22, 2017
 
Rated: 4.53 by PrestigeWorldwide from Michigan

Feb 23, 2017
 
Rated: 4.45 by Veteranbrew from California

Feb 11, 2017
Photo of neil2me
Reviewed by neil2me from Connecticut

4.55/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4
I loved this place. It's a craft brew dive bar, and the selection for me (coming from the East Coast) was tremendous. Had my first Pliny the Elder here and my only wish is that I could have had more time to enjoy my time there over a few more beers.
Jan 23, 2017
 
Rated: 4.75 by brycevolk from Ohio

Jan 11, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by ivegot3Dvision from Oregon

Dec 20, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by kjkinsey from Texas

Oct 10, 2016
 
Rated: 4.8 by Agentveba from North Carolina

Sep 02, 2016
 
Rated: 4.2 by SmokingWood from Connecticut

Jul 17, 2016
 
Rated: 5 by deniserat from California

Jun 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4.55 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Jun 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.39 by SunDevilBeer from Massachusetts

Jun 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4.39 by dexterk1 from Illinois

Jun 03, 2016
 
Rated: 4.5 by smartassboiler from Illinois

Apr 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.41 by AdamSteve from Michigan

Mar 29, 2016
 
Rated: 4.65 by mecmd from Tennessee

Mar 19, 2016
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Rated by CombsCreek from South Carolina

4.64/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
Nat the bartender was super cool. Locals there gave us great recommendations for places to visit while on vacation.
Mar 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4.59 by SimcoeKid from California

Feb 28, 2016
 
Rated: 4.47 by Brown120 from Pennsylvania

Feb 23, 2016
 
Rated: 4.32 by Brian29 from Ohio

Dec 22, 2015
 
Rated: 4.79 by M_chav from New Mexico

Dec 05, 2015
Photo of BillRoth
Reviewed by BillRoth from Maryland

4.39/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.25
Been to SD many times and had just seemed to miss Toronado. Had been to original SF location, and thought it about time to check it out in SD. Glad I did.
Old school beer bar vibe...somewhat like SF. Only here it was 30th street vs Haight. So your head is in a definitely different place when you head in. Once in...the vibe is more relaxed. More laid back and friendly. Staff took exceptional time to talk beer, quiz me on what I was looking for and offering many unsolicited tastes and trials. Also VERY impressed that staff asked my opinion on new beers they had tapped/were not entirely familiar with. Not just whether I liked or not...but the details. Not unlike T-SF the tap selection was very good, but nothing jaw dropping. Bottle list is extensive but only a few rare/special beers. SD has plenty of solid alternatives. So I would highly recommend a stop because of the staff and a much better than average selection list.
Nov 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.59 by mayorQuimby from Tennessee

Nov 10, 2015
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Reviewed by MilwaukeeBeerMaker from Wisconsin

4.49/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75 | food: 4.5
Stopped in here on a recent trip to San Diego and it was well worth it. A craft beer lovers bar. Lots of great taps and lots of great bottles. Even managed to get the famed Cable Car via bottle. My lunch was delicious and the bartender (Val) was pleasant and helpful.
Oct 26, 2015
 
Rated: 4.41 by Btip1969 from Oregon

Oct 26, 2015
Toronado in San Diego, CA
Place rating: 4.48 out of 5 with 255 ratings