Hennessey’s La Jolla

I was denied my punched out id while carrying a valid temporary but valid id. The manager working there (on the 06/​04/​2016) denied it, and I do not think think anybody should conduct business with people refusing legal document. Actually, this is a ground for closing the place.
Bottom line: please do not go to this place.

I had fun time hennesseys drinking laughing and enjoying the show. In addition, Victoria, Justin and Alex made the evening spectacular.

We stopped by this little gem on our vacation! The food was excellent and the service was even better! Thank you Kasey for taking such good care of us!

Love this place! It’s a fun spot to hit up after work. The drink specials are affordable! Went on a Monday and the daily special was a beer and shot for $ 5 can’t beat that! The food was delicious got the Irish nachos and they were like potato skins but thin so it was perfect. The tomato bisque is the most delicious tomato soup and I recommend it ¹⁰⁄₁₀. Our server Alina was so sweet and accommodating! Will definitely return!

The Gaelic Chicken salad is a hidden gem in this hidden gem in downtown La Jolla. I highly recommend it. My only criticism of this place is that the bar area gets chilly at night as the front of the restaurant is open air.

I give the 5° just to the 5 $ shot and a beer … So just few month ago when i was the chef of Stella ItalianFare in la Jolla !! I was a good great yourwelcome. Tonigth i stop here for a drink and a beer and Justin the bartender did not look happy to serve some drinks to me … Maybe a la jolla selection of thinking … So i know a lot of restaurant people living and working around here … Thank you for youre house shot, but next time put some love in what you do !!! …

Wednesday Dinner: The Lad’s Steak & Shrimp — the ~5 oz steak was tasty but the two large shrimp on top were old and stinky. Salmon was good. The Shepard’s Pie was dry, thick and pasty with no sauce, barely a hint of burgundy at the far reaches of the bottom and the garlic mash was devoid of garlic. (I brought it home and doctored it up for palatability.) The mashed potatoes accompanying the steak and salmon was good but the broccoli and carrot combo was crunchy (I like my vegetable to be slightly al dente.) and both sides were served tepid on both plates.
To top it all off, the server never checked back after food was served.
I shall not return.

Stopped by for lunch on my way through La Jolla. The food was great and the drinks were even better. Loved the outdoor fire pit and patio.

I really like this place. It has several separate and distinct areas. There is the bar, two outside patios and a more formal type dining area. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. They have a good happy hour and the food and the service was very good. It has a very nice down to earth relaxed atmosphere.

Used to visit this place every Sunday as a kid after church when it was in PB and loved it. Captain Crunch French toast ftw!!! Moved to Texas for 10 years, came back and found it in La Jolla. I’ve only been on Sunday mornings for brunch (not during football season) and it’s always very quite and comfy. Very unique seating arrangements make some areas very intimate. Friendly staff and great food and drinks as usual.

Ugh. Friday night, on vacation at a place where Bar Rescue and Bartending 101 is needed. So disappointed. We stayed at the Empress Hotel and thought this would be cool since it was close and supposedly a «locals spot.»
We went to the bar and asked the bartender for two sazeracs. She asked if Buffalo Trace would be ok and we said yes assuming she was going to make the cocktail with that. Nope! She just served up two bourbons neat. So I ask if she can make the actual sazerac cocktail and I got a «deer in the headlight» look from her. (BTW, she was very courteous and nice). So I figure, «ok, they don’t know what a sazerac is, let’s try something else». Another bartender walked up who also didn’t know how to make a sazerac so I asked for an Old Fashioned. I watched in dismay as he opened a PACKET granulated sugar and split it between two glasses. Followed by throwing an orange and cherry from the garnish bin, filling the glass to the brim with ice, then pouring our previously poured Buffalo Trace over it and topping off with water. WHAT-​THE-​F$&? I literally have a bottle of Bulleit and legit simple syrup in my hotel room down the street and could have made out better. In their own defense they were at least courteous but talk about a let down… (2^nd star is because the gal had cool ink)
–Pack an Old-​Fashioned glass with ice
–In a second Old-​Fashioned glass place the sugar cube and add the Peychaud’s Bitters to it, then crush the sugar cube
–Add the Sazerac Rye Whiskey or Buffalo Trace Bourbon to the second glass containing the Peychaud’s Bitters and sugar
–Empty the ice from the first glass and coat the glass with the Herbsaint (absinthe), then discard the remaining Herbsaint
–Empty the whiskey/​bitters/​sugar mixture from the second glass into the first glass and garnish with lemon peel
Identity Crisis: instead of trying to be a club and have a weak DJ play random crap this place would do much better with some classic tunes or upbeat lounge music to go along with the fire pit. It’s hard to buy into a club vibe when there’s bottles of Heinz 57 on the table.

Came here for happy hour 5−7pm. They have a pretty good selection for drinks on the HH list. For food there wasn’t so many. I ordered the meatball sliders and chicken quesadillas, $ 5 each (1 – 10 taste was a 4). I also ordered the Irish nachos which was good!
This place is a cute little bar at the corner of Herschel, street parking. Nice setting and not too crowded. Our waitress was very nice, & kept coming back to check up on us. I wouldn’t mind coming back next time when i’m in the area for a drink or two.

Wanted a place with a good happy hour, clean drinks, outdoor seating, and a balanced menu with light and hearty options, and we got exactly that! Fresh squeezed juice for happy hour drinks, charming courtyard with a variety of seating options, pleasant and timely staff, quiet save for the chatter of friends, all presented and accounted for. From experience I can recommend Irish nachos to split, the Moo Cluck Oink burger, and ahi tuna poke salad.

Ok so this has been long over due, but better late then never. In February I had my best friends surprise 50^th birthday party here. It was Fantastic! Dan the general manager was an absolute delight to work with. He did an awesome job helping me coordinate the food and karaōke. We had the private dining room all to ourselves which really made the whole night a success. All of the staff was super friendly and have great service. The food was delich. We had a buffet set up which was priced very reasonably.
If your looking do have an event on a budget look no further. The prices can’t be beat. The location is prime and the service is outstanding. Call Dan! He will take very good care of all your party’s needs.

Just a $ 3 Über ride from restaurant row in La Jolla, or a quick five minute walk, enter a classy dive bar fit for La Jolla. Showing up here unexpected after appetizers and drinks at another establishment in La Jolla we fell into this locals favorite, smoker friendly, bar /​karaōke ‘dive’. Sitting at the bar and looking at the selection of top end spirits I went for the 18year old Scotch, neat. Served quickly and carefully this Scotch sipped smooth and was accompanied by some of the friendliest locals SoCal has to offer. Step outside to the covered patio and enjoy the large fire pit and even a smoke if you deem that necessary. A nice selection of wines keeps the ladies happy, and the Roberto Martini (the namesake of with whom I had the pleasure of sitting with for the evening) is a cucumber jalapeño vodka based martini that is powerful to the senses and smooth to the tongue. Find this place as a classy post dinner happy hour, or a pre-​flight for your evening. Easy to find, and not over crowded with tourists as found in many of the other area bars.

Food=All american burger was delicious! Friends also liked their burger and calamari.
Service=rude! Laura needs to introduce herself (got name off bill), learn to smile, keep water filled, not clear table while we’re still at it (or at least not slam all the dishes together), check in with us by stopping at table as opposed to while she is walking by, not rush us by asking if we want boxes but instead ask if there’s anything we’d like since we’d been trying to get her attention for five minutes, not be trying to chat with the bartender as opposed to serving her tables. Or maybe she should consider a different job?

Brief review since I was there briefly (just for some mimosas and to watch the game). Our friends arrived earlier and took spots on the front patio watching the game. The waitress did NOT mention to them that a large group had reserved the patio. The group was (rightfully, but rudely) frustrated that there were interlopers in the space that they had reserved. The waitress told the other group our friends were «just leaving» when we moments before ordered another champagne bucket and nachos. Cue more leering as we attempted to watch the game.
Finally, the other group complained and we were asked to move inside. We were accommodating and moved all of our order inside. The waitress didn’t try and own that this was their mistake and seemed entirely overwhelmed with her workload. We had to ask for glasses and napkins SEVERAL times and finally just had to go seek it out at the bar.
Really cute patio in the front, but terrible service. Also, SMOKING?

Avoid! Avoid!
That may just have been the worst meal ever.
$ 8 beers, soggy fries, neglectful service.
Karl Strauss is better and cheaper.

If you want a lungful of second hand smoke then Hennessey’s La Jolla is the place to go.
Unbelievably Hennessey’s management ALLOWS SMOKING inside the restaurant in the patio area in the front of the restaurant and the enclosed patio in the middle of the restaurant. The law is smoking is allowed 20 feet away from a building. Not only is smoking allowed within 20 feet it is tolerated inside the confines of the restaurant.
So if you are okay with breathing second hand smoke while you eat and drink then this is your place. If on the other hand you expect restaurant management to adhere to state and city law and enforce the laws on smoking then I would avoid Hennessey’s at all costs!!!

My husband and I stopped into Hennessey’s for lunch with our dog on a Sunday. Not only is the seating out front dog friendly, but the outdoor patio areas in the front (where the fire pit is) and in the back are also dog friendly! We were able to enjoy burgers and caipirinhas while watching the World Cup.
The service was very good. We were the only ones on the patio, so I was afraid we’d be forgotten, but our server did an excellent job of checking in on us. Our food didn’t take long at all either. I had the bleu cheese bacon burger and my husband had the hawaiian burger. Both burgers were cooked to our desired medium rare and were pretty tasty. The fries were good, but I was expecting more fries; it was really just a small handful of fries. My burger was very cheesy and the bleu cheese was very creamy with the bacon mixed in it. I really like cheese, so this was perfect for me, but if you were expecting bleu cheese crumbles, you won’t find that here (see my photo). The bacon is mixed in with the cheese, so I couldn’t really taste much of the bacon, but I still enjoyed my burger. My husband thought his burger was good as well, but thought it could have used more sauce. Our drinks were specials they were offering during the World Cup; only $ 5 for caipirinhas. You could taste the rum, so we liked them!
Overall, we had a great experience at Hennessey’s and liked that we could sit in the patio and watch the game with our dog. A manager came by as we were finishing up to check on us and he was very friendly and gave us some great info. I didn’t realize they had brunch on weekends with bloody mary and mimosa specials and their happy hour looks pretty good too. And they have 2−4−1 burgers on Tuesdays. He mentioned that Hennessey’s does stay open until 2AM; which is definitely good to know since most places close early in La Jolla.
If you’re looking for a good bar in La Jolla; check out Hennessey’s! We’ll definitely be back again soon.