Ironside Fish & Oyster

Oysters, Craft Cocktails and a wonderful atmosphere!!! I may have died and gone to heaven.
The place has everything you want, just please don’t order vodka here or you’ll get laughed at. Their crafts are incredible as you can taste all the ingredients and even note the preparation style as you can notice it in the consistency of the cocktail. As a former bartender, I’ll tell you they got it. ¹⁰⁄₁₀.
The staff will blow your mind. I’ve had multiples, Megan is my fav but of course I’m bias as she also works in my neck of town so I see her around. They don’t bug, make sure you’re happy and that you have whatever you need.
Food wise I’ve only done oysters and that was about a week ago. I’ll say that they are some of the best I’ve ever have, rivaling Fishermans Wharf in San Fran for overall quality. Usually I am more of a East Coast oyster fan as I prefer the thickness of e oyster in comparison to what I’ve gotten usually from Western Farms. They also have clams and mussels on the half shell.
Overall a place worth every minute you take getting ready. Good for special occasions, drinks and dinner. The best overall place to eat in Little Italy.

This place has all the right things for them. It’s located in popular foodie neighborhood, big open space with large bar area, interesting bar seating (you will know what I mean when you get there), friendly and personal staff, fresh tasting seafood, great crowd of hipsters and plenty of cool drink options.
You gotta go and check it out for yourself. That’s all I have to say.

Everything from the décor to the food is incredible. My first time here and I was extremely impressed at everything they had. Everyone knows SD has the best seafood and if you’re trying to find where the good spots are, this is definitely one of them.
Lobster roll (~$ 22) — the most amazing thing ever. I’ve had a good share of lobster rolls in different cities including Slapfish in OC and EMC Seafood Bar in LA, but I have to say this one tops it all. Something about the flavoring gave it this amazing kick of flavor and the lemon juice complemented the sandwich perfectly. Tons of lobster meat too! Wowwiee~ changed my life.
Seafood paella– the clams on this have a nice sweetness to it – that’s how you know it’s super fresh. I took most of this to-​go but when I microwaved it the next morning it was just as amazing. I can’t really handle spicy foods at all but this one had tiny bits of roasted jalapeño that gave it a wonderful burst of flavor! This is probably the first time I enjoyed eating something spicy.
Clam chowder– DELICIOUS. Not your regular clam chowder with a bunch of fillers in it – this one is the real deal. Comes with 2 delicious pieces of seasoned bread on the side that goes perfectly with the soup. Don’t skip this.
I’ve heard about this place a lot from my hairdresser, friends, and even my own mom, LOL. There’s a clear reason why everyone seems to love it – it’s the real deal. The inside décor is very nautical too and the bathrooms are especially creative.
Looking forward to trying more things on the menu!

When we’re in a coast city, fresh seafood is always our first option. Our search led us to Ironside in Little Italy on a Friday afternoon. The restaurant was packed as it was New Year’s Day, and no tables were available, but we were able to snag a few seats on the rail in front of the oyster bar. These were great seats as we had a prime time view of the raw bar with the oyster shuckers building their entrees while still close to the patio and able to feel the fresh outside air. Top the great seats with an excellent seafood platter and you have a formula for a satisfying meal.
Our server took a little bit of time to get to us and was absent often for extended periods of time most likely because he was busy and we were located at the corner of the restaurant. He did have a good suggestion for a cocktail for my wife which was the Mazarin Diamond ($ 9) consisting of cocchi americano, pamplemouse rose, cucumber, and champagne. A sweet, refreshing drink but possessing a nice alcohol kick. I paired our seafood with an Alpine Irish Red ($ 6).
Meant for 3 to 5 people the bigger seafood platter ($ 78) was not enough for my wife and I, not because it was short on quantity, but because we couldn’t get enough of the fresh seafood. A dozen freshly shucked oysters, 14 shrimp, 14 mussels, and a half pound of lobster was well worth the extra time to prepare. The chilled lobster and oysters stood head and shoulders above the other items. We polished off everything and when the very friendly and courteous gentlemen at the oyster bar told us it was happy hour, and oysters were $ 1, we immediately ordered another dozen. I took a video of them opening a fresh bag of oysters for our order.
Ironside is very busy, so your best bet if you don’t have reservations, is to come at non peak times. The atmosphere is loud and touristy but everyone is having fun enjoying America’s Finest City. You’ll pay a little extra for the freshest seafood available, but well worth it for us.

I absolutrly LOVE the décor here. The food… not so much.
Im quite sure when i ordered i looked at the prices and now im even questioning if i paid the right bill. How did 2 dishes become 58 dollars? My husband ordered the lunch catch of the day and i ordered chowder fries. Im sure i looked at the menu correctly and calculated it to be about 30ish dollars. Because i was in a rush out i didnt check the bill when i paid. But most likely i wouldnt be coming back. Other then the décor thats really all i liked about it.
The shark sandwich… didnt have much flavor. More bitter and bland.
The chowder fries were way too salty. Although it was packed with clams which is always a pro for someone who loves clams. It just left a bitter salty taste in every bite. Not impressed with their fries either. Thought he service was good i just wouldnt be coming back.

Guess what? I think I’ve found my new favorite restaurant in Sandyeggo!!! Hell yeaaaaaa.
One of my friends recommended I try this place on my NYE SD trip. Boy, am I glad I took her recommendation! I love everything about this place. The décor. The alcohol list. The food. The service. The wall. The bathroom. Heads up to the interior designer/​architect of this place. Absolutely stunning artwork!
We came around 2:00 pm on New Years day. Thankfully there wasn’t a wait at all and we breezed on in. Loved the style of the menu. Everything on one page and printed daily. Separate menu for drinks. Ironside does have an extensive alcohol list, from specialty cocktails to Japanese whisky! My boyfriend ordered an IPA and I ordered a glass of white wine. Omgggg the white wine was so tasty! It’s from France and it just tasted a lot better than the California white wines I’ve been drinking lately.
Our server was really approachable and professional. Great service from start to finish! After we received our drinks, we put our food order in. I really wish we had bigger stomachs so we could order more stuff! I literally wanted to order everything on the menu. We tried the following items:
Dozen oysters — – FRESH, cold and sooooo good. The horseradish here is moneyyyys. It was so strong it made my eyes water each time I ate an oyster! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! We tried three types and I liked all of them. Some oysters were small and some were medium sized.
Clam chowder — – probably one of the best clam chowders I’ve ever tried. There were large, delicious pieces of clam, cubes of potato, and crispy bacon bits in the chowder. Don’t even get me started on the cheddar biscuits that accompany the clam chowder… The biscuits are heavenly. I could probably eat like ten biscuits and call it a meal at Ironside.
Fish and chips — – flakey pieces of white fish with the perfect batter. The fries were even bomb! Two sauces accompanied the fish and chips, tartar sauce and some sauce infused with malt vinegar. The sauces went soooo well with the fish and french fries!
Seafood paella — – really good. The rice was cooked perfectly for paella and the seafood was fresh. The taste of the paella itself reminded me of chorizo for some reason but I’m not complaining!
After we left the restaurant, my boyfriend and I were talking about what we’re gonna order the next time we come back. Lol that’s how much we liked it! I can’t wait to go back.

Every year for NYE we always have a pre-​NYE dinner before we go into a new year. Ironside was the lucky restaurant for 2015. We have heard great things about this restaurant and decided to try it.
I was lucky enough to get reservations at 7:45pm the day before. We were immediately seated and attended to once we sat down. Since it was NYE they had a special menu for that night. There were about 6 items on the menu in which were hard to chose from.
My bf ended up getting the roasted ½ chicken and I got the fish crudo. Both were very delicious!
We will definitely be back and can’t wait to try other things on the menu, especially the oysters!

Came on NYE for a delicious early evening dinner. Super friendly waitstaff (very attentive) and wonderful cocktails. The atmosphere is definitely a conversation starter from the piranha wall to the octopus arm in the bathroom (although the water pressure in the women’s bathroom was really weak) this place is like eye candy, you can’t stop looking around at it.
We ordered the lobster roll which I thought would be similar to a sushi roll but it was lobster in a bun, very tasty but we didn’t need all that bread especially after we ordered the fresh bread as an appetizer. The sirloin was fantastic and sides were perfect! I can understand the high reviews it’s a fun place if your local or a great place to bring out of town guests.