The Hopping Pig

The Hopping PigThe Hopping Pig
The Hopping PigThe Hopping Pig
Bar, Eatery

734 5th Avenue
San Diego, California, 92101
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.87
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
13
pDev:
10.08%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Gavage:
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Reviewed by Gavage from Nevada

4/5  rDev +3.4%
Easy to find amoungst all the bars and restaurants in the Gaslamp District. There are a few outside tables which we decided to eat at, and inside there is a nice sized wooden bar taking up the left side of the interior. Some other tables are inside.

I counted about 30 beers on draft here covering a large portion of CA beers. The beers here ranged from easy to get to several tougher to find. The beers we had were fresh and reasonably priced.

Service was prompt. Food was very good especially the tacos and pulled pork sliders. Definitely a worthy stop if in downtown San Diego.
Sep 03, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of cratez
Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
Visited with my wife on a recent trip to San Diego and Los Angeles.

Tried the following:
Left Hand Death Before Disco (draft)
Artifex Bye Felicia (draft)

The Disco was fantastic while the Felicia was a bit boozy for my liking. Also had a tasty Southern Pork Chop with mushroom pork gravy, mashed potatoes, and mixed veggies. My wife enjoyed her salad, tacos, and cocktails. Service was fast, though not particularly engaging. Good atmosphere with a large, attractive bar, some games on the flat screens, and lots of natural light coming in. Our overall experience was above average, and we would possibly come back.
Mar 29, 2020
 
Rated: 3.85 by socon67 from New York

Feb 24, 2019
 
Rated: 3.93 by MickeyHops from California

Jul 23, 2016
 
Rated: 3.96 by KarmicSkrambl8 from California

Dec 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by atrocity from Virginia

Dec 01, 2014
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Reviewed by mrcraft from California

4.16/5  rDev +7.5%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4 | food: 4
During a recent trip to San Diego, I checked TapHunter and found The Hopping Pig had a couple of Societe beers on draft. As I was always meaning to visit the brewery at some point, I decided to swing by this place to try a couple.

I found this place to be a nice small-ish bar in the Gaslamp Quarter. Nice atmosphere.

The servers were friendly and knew about the beers they were serving. The taplist was good, mostly California and local stuff. I had a flight of 4 beers while watching a portion of Game 6 of the World Series.

I'd visit again, and next time check out their food menu.

Update - 12/4/2014: I went again last night, I had Societe Pupil on tap, and the bartender was cool.
Oct 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.6 by James_NelsonIV from California

Oct 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.1 by Camjmorton from Virginia

Sep 09, 2014
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Reviewed by jjboesen from Maryland

4.44/5  rDev +14.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Located amid the uber-touristed Gaslamp District, the Hopping Pig is a recent entry to the San Diego beer scene – not that it really needed another place – and was Stop 5 on my SDBW 2012 visit.

It is a single room with a high ceiling and dimmed lighting; on the left, there is a long bar on that takes up nearly the entire space. Opposite is the requisite row of high-top tables. The tap selection is made up of about 30 local drafts, which included Ballast Point Sculpin, Greenflash Friendship, Mission Dark Seas and several other smaller brewers. (Decent flights are available.)

Service was excellently provided by an affable and generously tattooed server, who was knowledgeable about the beers and the famous craft scene. While I would not make it a point to spend too much time in the area – although many of the 19th Century buildings were pretty cool, I did make it a point to stop by twice (Stop 5A?).

Another decent place to grab some great San Diego beer.
Jan 02, 2013
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Reviewed by crossovert from Illinois

3.9/5  rDev +0.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Right on 5th avenue this place is easy to spot if you keep walking form the convention center about 6 or 7 blocks. It was dead when I went for lunch, I was the only one at the bar and there were only like 4 tables seated.

The bar tender was good, gave me some samples. There are about 20 taps, all craft. Some rarities and oddities and some strong selections. A good mix.

The food was alright. I had their "signature" burger and they wouldn't cook it to rare because ti was pork. You can cook pork to rare if it is high quality so I am assuming it wasn't, taste wasn't amazing either.

A decent stop in SD.
Jul 27, 2012
Photo of cbutova
Reviewed by cbutova from Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Maybe the only chance stop in all of CA for me (beer-wise). We just happened to be walking by and looking for somewhere that wasn't too busy. Didn't even come in looking for beer.

Welcoming atmosphere with both a bar and a good amount of tables to sit at. We were interested in watching the World Series Game 6 (amazing) and they had it on. The crowd at the bar was probably not craft beer people at all but everyone was interested in the game and most people ordered CA craft beer. The quality was nice, proper glassware and a cold water rinse before each pour. Full pints for everything that I had. The bartender didn't talk at length about beer but he also wasn't clueless.

Selection was good. They had AleSmith, Russian River bottles, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Lagunitas, Stone and some other local breweries I hadn't heard of at the time. Not a place to go for one-offs but they had the regulars and seasonals. A well rounded selection overall.

The food was good. We had a gnocchi dish and it was very good with creamy bacon sauce. They used good ingredients and the food was creative, some things you don't find on standard american-fare menus.

Not a craft-geek must but certainly a respectable bar. I enjoy places like this because you get a good pint, watch a game and the other people in the bar come from a diverse crowd.
Dec 02, 2011
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Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)

2.7/5  rDev -30.2%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3 | selection: 2.5
Visited for a change of pace from Neighbourhood for a pint when I didn't feel like venturing out of the Gaslamp.

The tap list was decent but nothing to go out of your way for. It inlcuded about 12 or so taps, some of which were macro crap like PBR. the craft taps had a varying selection from Stone, Ballast Point and a few others. Nothing on tap was overly interesting, prompting me to try BP Yellow Tail for the first time and my girlfriend had yet another Stone Smoked Porter.

Wasn't even worth staying for a second pint as there wasn't a single thing that really interested me. Service was friendly. The type of place that you could visit with friends who don't like craft beer but not a place to seek out as a craft beer lover.
Jul 07, 2011
The Hopping Pig in San Diego, CA
Place rating: 3.87 out of 5 with 13 ratings