Seau’s of San Diego

It was unfortunate about Seau, may his family have closure and may he rest in peace. Along with the passing of Seau, the trustees of Seau have decided that without his leadership, the restaurant will also be closed.
While there are other bars around Mission Valley to catch the games (Hooters/​Tilted Kilt/​etc.) this will always be my favorite. I will sincerely miss coming here.

San Diegans will have many different ways to mourn San Diego’s own, its son, its home-​grown sports superstar, future Pro Football Hall of Famer, Junior Seau. San Diegans have cried reliving the great sports memories attributed to this gridiron legend and have shed tears thinking about how big of a heart this giant of man had for the foundation he set up as well as the charitable events he hosted throughout the years. Memorials expanding similar to the Princess Diana memorials can be seen at this San Diego institution that bears his namesake and also at his Oceanside home. It’s unfortunate that tragedy has led me to finally write a review about Seau’s, but it’s my personal way to mourn the loss of a man who embodies my favorite team, the San Diego Chargers, and epitomized through his loyalty and devotion why San Diego is truly the Finest City.
Junior was one, if not the greatest, San Diego high school athlete to come out of the city and ascend to Hall of Fame prominence. I was blessed to experience first hand how great of an athlete Junior was in high school. In high school, I played basketball against Junior’s Oceanside Pirates in a spring basketball tournament. What I still remember to this day was playing against a man amongst boys. Reflecting back to how big he was, I honestly thought when I was playing against him that he was taller than 6’5″. Although his listed height is 6’3″, his superior talent on the basketball court made him bigger than he really was. From what I remember, trying to defend him or post up against him was like running into a brick wall. That experience I had was a brief glimpse of how great an athlete Junior would become. He was that good. Outstanding basketball player and even greater football player.
My other fond memories of this San Diego legend were the many years my close friends and I, also known as the Sheppies of America, held our annual Fantasy Football draft in Seau’s Restaurant’s private room. The Sheppies of America Fantasy Football league has been in existence for over 10 years and in that span of time, most of our live drafts have been held at Seau’s. We deviated twice from this location, but always returned because it was never the same at the other places. To memorialize Junior, I intend to propose to our league that all future drafts remain at Seau’s forever.
What’s great about holding a fantasy football live draft at Seau’s is the privacy of the room and accomodations. Our league has 12 owners, but this room can sit comfortably a lot more. There’s a long table where you can situate laptops, cheat sheets, a championship trophy, and eat Seau’s delicious food. There are flat screen televisions mounted around the room so that you can watch a variety of sports. If you need fresh air, there’s a back door to a patio. Compared to some of the other places we’ve gone, Seau’s private room is top notch.
As for the food… For our annual draft, this is the one time gluttony is in effect. All 12 owners order whatever they want from Seau’s vast menu, starting with an appetizer, then an entrée, and finally dessert. After we stuff our face, the bill is split up between the owners. We’ve always ordered Seau’s Sampler Platter, which consists of a sampling of most of the listed appetizers. This scrumptious platter can be a meal in itself, so don’t stuff your face. I’ve had the calamari, which is one of the better calamari appetizers in San Diego.
For the entrees, you can’t visit Seau’s without trying Mama Seau’s Teriyaki Chicken and Beef, which is Seau’s signature specialty. Not only is it tasty, but it’s filling. I also recommend the Loco Moco, which is my go to meal whenever I eat at Seau’s. Even though my pants might be bursting at the seams, I always have room for dessert and what I recommend is the blueberry and peach cobbler a la mode. This sweet melody of hot fruit and vanilla ice cream creates satisfying music for your belly.
On Wednesday May 2^nd, I woke up at 1pm from working graveyard and turned on the television. As I was trying to shake being groggy while watching the images on the tv, I was shocked to hear the local newscaster announce breaking news that Junior Seau was dead of an apparent self-​inflicted gun shot. I was stunned and in disbelief. This could not be true, but unfortunately it was. Although this is a terrible loss and bad memory, this bad memory will be overshadowed by all of the good memories Junior Seau has provided to me, the city of San Diego, and countless of others throughout the nation. May God have mercy on your soul Junior. You will truly be missed.

Just like the man, the restaurant was electric during game days. I will always remember coming here to watch lakers and Charger games.
I will always remember ordering your Mom’s plate lunch.
Now the next time I come back I will come here as a sort of pilgrimage, to pay homage to the man that represented not only the San Diego Chargers, but the City of San Diego with a passion and zeal that was unrivaled. I will continue ordering your Mom’s plate lunch and I will continue watching Charger and Lakers games there.
We’re gonna miss you buddy. Thanks for everything you gave to SD!
RIP

One thing that keeps my coming back: LYCHEE MARTINI!
I used to have a few friends that were sushi chef’s here and they were pretty good. Since they’ve left, the sush is meeehhh.
I like coming here for football games and having my martini and favorite alternative, the vodka pineapple. I havent had a chance to have their food, but when friends order it seems like the typical bar food.
Great place to come for games, TV’S EVERYWHERE, the size of your house and great drinks. I’d be back! Especially on game days =p

Seaus is atypical Sports bar. It is owned by Junior Seau formerly a San Diego Charger before playing out in another team to end his career. I am sure that during football season, this place is packed.
We were going to see a movie as part of Movie and a Brewski Unilocal event and decided to meet some people here pre-​movie. Despite a rainy afternoon and drive from UTC to Mission Valley, I managed to get there with plenty of time to spare before going to the movie.
I can’t say much for the food since I wasn’t hungry but I ordered a miller lite that was on the Happy Hour list (not on the HH menu) of drinks (always ask the server what else is on HH pricing). Reasonably priced.
Quiet crowd on a rainy Tue evening. Overall, it might be a different vibe during the football or March madness seasons. I remember visiting this place once before when we were new to San Diego and had just gone through the MV mall.
Curious about the sushi part/​connection though. Maybe next time.

Taco Tuesday…
We decided to hit up happy hour before our movie. Bar area was spacious and there were several parties already hitting up happy hour.
Ordered a beer ($ 4) and 2 tacos ($ 2.50/ea): Carne Asada and Fish. I got a fish and chicken… –1 star
I tried a bite of the shrimp quesadilla ($ 10), which was actually descent. Comes with a side of rice and beans.
Tacos were forgettable, unfortunately. Nothing notable. Service was good with a couple of the girls coming up to our party taking our orders and following up on how our party was doing. Convenient…

FOOD:3
EXPERIENCE: 4
Ordered:
Spicy Salmon Hand Roll
Spicy Scallop Hand Roll
I went here for Wednesday’s happy hour with a couple of friends. The service is fast and friendly. The spicy salmon hand roll was a bit too spicy. I would recommend the scallop hand roll — it’s way better. Overall, it’s a good typical sports bar with live entertainment on Wednesday nights.

Seau’s is one of those places we sometimes end up at when we’re sick of what’s in the usual rotation, sick of cooking, and don’t really feel like driving too far. The happy hour is good, so that’s a bonus, and the TVs mean that if we don’t feel like talking for a few minutes we’ll both zone out without repercussion (sort of — when the other person is talking, it doesn’t go over too well. Trust.)
The food is meh, but again, at happy hour a pizza that we can share and a pitcher of beer are alright and we’re not going to complain. It’s our own 2 for $ 20 (or $ 25 I can’t remember.)
Junior is there a lot. He’s usually in the bar area, but I’ve seen him be really nice to little kids excited to meet him. I, on the other hand, probably did not thrill him when I attempted to take a not-​so-​incognito photo of him strumming a ukelele and singing.
Anyway, for a sports bar it isn’t bad. The service is friendly, the food is just fine and sometimes you might spot a «celebrity.» So there you have it folks.

Despite me being a San Francisco 49er’s fan, I enjoyed watching Junior Seau played on TV. His ferocious tackling on the football field and off-​the-​field friendliness makes him one of the popular sport’s figures of his time. He is just a good man and the city of San Diego appreciated all his works including leading his Chargers to the only Superbowl appearance in which my 49ers beat them in 1995.
His loyal affability has earned him his own restaurant located in the west side of the Mission Valley Mall.
My visit to his bar chalked up a «Barfly» badge on my Unilocal app.
When I walked in, I see local sports and autographed memorabilia’s, at least 20 televisions including a giant one for the biggest event, and a bar that has 25 stools. There is also a huge outdoor patio with the view of the mall and freeway.
I was at the bar and looking at the menu, I had one of his favorite cocktails: «The Samoan Slam». For $ 8.00, the cocktail has huge shots of vodka, gin, rum, triple sec, sweet & sour mix and a splash of coke in a huge 24 oz glass. Basically it is a Long Island Iced Tea, but a creative name renamed after him. Nevertheless, I felt a fat buzz after his cocktail. My cocktail:
I also ordered a plate of Onion rings for $ 7.50. The order comes with a dipping BBQ sauce and Ranch sauce. Eight huge rings with huge flavor. Onion rings:
The bar also has 24 beers on tap. A pretty good selection, I should say.
Many retired athletes and celebrities do have a business named after them. I’m happy Mr. Seau opened one in his beloved city.
With my kind words, I’m surprise I didn’t get my butt tackled by the future Hall of Famer. It would’ve been «UGLY»!

Unilocal, Unilocal,yelp, this is where the mighty ½ star would apply. A solid 3 ½ stars for Seau’s.
We split the Bolt Burger and the BBQ Chicken Salad. The salad was really good with A LOT of chicken! Can’t say I enjoyed the Bolt Burger as much. It was way undercooked for Medium. The bun was very generic school grade. Really no taste to this burger considering it has bacon and avocado piled on it. So sad. Just a very bland burger.
Service was friendly and prompt. She refilled our glasses and brought napkins immediately when we asked. Prices were reasonable considering it’s a «celebrity» restaurant.
And Junior even made an appearance!

I headed over here to watch some MNF with some of my mAss Kickers crew. Shout out to Eric G. down there!
This place is BIG. Not too loud and the staff is pretty friendly. It’s not the usual type of sports bar I’d usually hang out in (a bit kitschy with the paraphernalia displays-​though said paraphernalia is nice!) and a little too «commercial» for me, but it gets the job done with its 1,671,869 screens!
Wasn’t a huge fan of the sushi, so I’d say stick to the regular menu.

Seau’s
SD: Mission Valley
Wednesday September 28, 2011
One Star
GARBAGE!
A magical night for Major League Baseball, but it was horrible meal at Junior Seau’s restaurant. We were really pumped to watch the last four games of the MLB season to see which wild card team would end up in the playoffs. We decided to go to a restaurant so we could watch all four games at the same time. This establishment was virtually empty except for a bunch of lonely guys and litter of little kids. I ordered an old fashioned and got a muddle radioactive looking cherry topped with Jack Daniels (at least it was only $ 5.50). My friend Matt ordered an appetizer and the waitress left before the rest of us could order anything. I ordered a cobb salad, which came out before the previously mentioned appetizer. The Salad was gross. The avocado tasted like a truck tire. The hardboiled egg yolks had an armor of turquoise. There were two large scoops of red onion. The bacon and lettuce were okay, but there was no blue cheese. The service was poor, the food was awful, and the TV situation was abominable. They played the rain delay on the big screen and they were incapable of changing it (believe me, we asked). I am sure this place is great to watch a charger game but anything is very questionable.

I only come here when there’s a group dinner or if there is nowhere else to watch a game. The food isn’t anything special or cheap enough to warrant coming back for a regular meal.
That being said, this place is good for groups because of the two private dining areas, but I think you have to put down a credit card deposit to hold it. When you go for a game there is a $ 15 minimum per person and a one game limit. I’m not sure how strictly this rule is enforced but I did see it posted at every table.

I hate to write a bad review. Especially when it is my first visit. There were 3 things majorly wrong with my experience here and its really those 3 things that will keep me from ever coming back.
1) service was extremely slow. Had to ask for refills several times and waited and waited until I had to remind the server yet again. Then it took forever to get our check… We even missed our movie because of the lack of urgency any of the staff members had.
2) ordered a sushi roll and it never came. When I brought this to our server’s attention, she said something to the effect of, «Do you still want it?» Well, I would not order something I didn’t want. I guess she took that as we didn’t want the food we ordered and it never came.
3) charged us for «splitting «our meal… what? We said we were going to share our meal not that we necessarily needed it to be split into 2 different plates. The $ 2 upcharge to split the meal would not have been a problem if they would have let us know instead of us just magically appearing on our check. We would’ve been happy just picking off the same plate. What the heck is the $ 2 charge for anyway? Because they have to bus another plate and wash it? It’s tacky… much like the service we received here.
The food was actually pretty good which is a bummer because I will never come back here. This place is a joke.

For a sports bar, this place actually has some decent food. I’ve been to their sushi bar before, and although it’s a bit pricey, I actually loved everything I tried.
Yesterday, however, Sunday Funday, if you will (as usual), I was forced to come here because Rosie O’Grady’s was a disaster because of the Roots festival on Adams. I’ve been meaning to try Rosie O’Grady’s brunch, but there was no where to sit and when we decided to leave, the bartender cussed at me, ouch, but I digress.
In typical Demanda fashion, I had some stipulations for where we dined and it included the following-​the Padres game must be playing, we’d prefer to be on a patio, I wanted a mimosa, and I was in the mood for breakfast food. Well, Seau’s fit the bill on 3 of the 4 (it was almost 2pm, so we missed brunch).
I went with the seared ahi salad and the boy had the Trojan pizza. Mmmmmmmm, I was very happy with each of our entrees. My ahi was fresh, the presentation was beautiful, and the vinaigrette was delicious.
The Trojan pizza had sausage, goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, basil, capers, and artichoke hearts, omg, so delicious. I have been on serious pizza kick lately and was definitely jealous of his entrée.
They had $ 3 mimosas which turned out to entail an entire split of champagne, and a champagne glass half filled with OJ. Good deal! Also, $ 3 vodka drinks (one brand, can’t remember which) and $ 3 coronas. Pretty good lineup for a Sunday afternoon. So, it is a sports bar, right? And I was in the bar area? So why did I feel like I wasn’t getting bar service. The purpose was to drink and yet I had an emptyy glass more times than necessary! It wasn’t even that busy…
That Padres won (was it possibly the first series that they won so far?) so that was great, but the service knocked a star off. Even at the end, when it came time to pay our bill, our server seemed a bit snooty. I get that she was at the end of her shift, but we did come to watch the game, that’s why we stayed so long, not to make your life miserable.
We were more than happy to close out when you said you needed to leave, so chill out. Ugh, I wish my morals allowed me to tip less than 20% because her attitude definitely didn’t warrant it.
4 stars for the food and atmosphere, 2 stars for service, I’ll split the difference for now.

Previously I had only visited their sushi lounge, but as a sports fan, their regular dining area is so much better! Since there are so many tvs throughout the place, the game of your choice is usually viewable on at least one of them. It’ll probably be my go to place for my Padres game viewing!
As for the food… Appetizers: loved their spicy scallop roll — cold, crispy, refreshing. Potato skins are pretty tasty. Wings are of generous size, Island BBQ (i think that’s what it was called) was a sweet/​sour kind of deal, not bad.
I’ve had two salads:
Seared ahi salad — at first I thought I wouldn’t be too keen on the modpodge of ingredients — ahi and lettuce with a salsa of melon, tomatoes, olives, and some other stuff I can’t remember. Avocados and hard boiled eggs as well. But it all worked, found it pretty refreshing. I was also very intrigued by the perfect dicing of the tomatoes and melon… love attention to detail.
Skirt steak salad — nice grill on the steak. Corn and blue cheese was a great compliment.
Staff has been very accommodating about switching channels and staying late to finish games. This is, however, not during football season — it seems it gets exponentially crazier during that time.

Pretty big bar area, so you shouldn’t really be concerned in finding a place to sit. Or you can sit out in the dining area or the adjacent sushi bar as well. Happy hour is pretty decent, $ 3 bud and miller; $ 3.50 for other drafts, house wines and wells.
Lessons Learned: Dont get a house wine in a sports bar. It just doesn’t seem right and it also tastes like crap. I got the Robert Mondavi chard, and it tasted like piss. Could have drank San Miguel if they had that since it is a slightly better tasting piss beer.
Watev…I also ordered some of their hot wings. Note: Although its great that the wings came out in like 3 minutes, but it is going to be super hot on your first bite. Wait like an addtional 3 minutes. I like the sauce, but too much breading on these wings. Cool, she gave out a bunch of wet naps.
Décor ok, sushi bar, patio seating, upstair seating, plenty of tv’s and huge tv out in the main dining area. ATM at the entrance. Kid friendly, bathroom clean and smells good.
Now off to a wine bar to get some real wine.

After working a long twelve hour day today, I wanted a decent meal (instead of the leftovers I had waiting for me in the fridge) so I met up with my bud at Seau’s for a quick bite before I continued on home.
It was a busy night since Raw Mana Sushi Lounge within the restaurant is happening on Wednesday nights with Stateside Islanders (a ukelele band singing some Aloha tunes). The parking lot was packed and it was busy in the lounge, but we got seated in the restaurant side right away. The hostess encouraged us to open seating at the bar, but I wasn’t up for sitting on a bar stool. I just wanted to sit back, relax and gab with my bud without competing with the TV’s all over the bar.
I got the BLT sandwich with super thin shoestring fries. I love fries, but these didn’t come out hot, almost like it’s been sitting on the counter too long. I chose sourdough bread for my BLT, it was extra extra crispy that it almost hurt the sides of my mouth as I bit into it. After eating half the sandwich, I gave up and picked on the second half since I was fearful of cracking a tooth, lol!
I sampled the shrimp potato salad that came with my friend’s Mama Seau’s Teriyaki chicken and beef plate with steamed rice. If Mama made that, it wasn’t slap-​yo-​mama good. I actually made a face because it tasted so bad. He didn’t finish it either since it was not tasty at all.
So here I am, about to go to sleep, bloated because the swine in my BLT was too salty. Oh well, lesson learned to stick to the sushi menu since that never seems to disappoint when I dine at Seau’s.
They have a lot of regulars that dine there. We go here enough to have it almost feel like Cheers where we’re bound to run into someone we know. It’s not the best food I’ve had, but it’s decent grazing food to hold you over, kindasortabutnotreally.
G’nite!

Katie, the bartender, you’re a rock star!
The buffalo chicken pizza was pretty amazing!
The excitement of the crowd during the game, was off the hook! I felt like I was at the game!
YAY! I’m a fan again!

After making a significant amount of our income tax returns disappear at Nordstrom Rack, my boyfriend and I decided to hit up Seau’s for dinner tonight because of convenience and an Entertainment book coupon. About 4 years ago I’d had an underwhelming experience of sushi rolls and a salad but was willing to give the place another chance.
Out of Guinness, at 6PM on a Friday evening? I don’t drink beer, but my boyfriend’s face literally drops whenever he’s told that Guinness isn’t available. He settled for the $ 3 «Beer of the Month” – some type of Samuel Adams – and we ordered the Blackened Salmon Quesadilla ($ 9.25) to start. I was disappointed when the quesadilla was brought out; it was greasy and a smaller portion than I’d imagined. Nevertheless, it tasted great, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much salmon was in it.
My boyfriend’s Avocado Turkey Melt and fries ($ 9.95) were also greasy but yummy, and my Mediterranean Chopped Salad with added grilled chicken ($ 10.95) was downright pitiful. Johnny V and Sammy’s, for example, serve killer chopped salads; Seau’s, on the other hand, seems to have difficulty delivering on the «chopped» adjective. The romaine lettuce pieces were as big as what’s to be expected in any regular salad; nothing «chopped» about them! There were 4 pieces of whole grilled chicken tenders and 3 whole cherry tomatoes (again, in what was supposed to be a CHOPPED salad). Barely a hint of pine nuts and feta cheese. A small sprinkling of canned sliced black olives, when, in my opinion, anything described as «Mediterranean» should contain kalamata olives.
I have issues when entrée salads are puny and boring; if I wanted to eat light I’d get a simple house salad, duh!
Service was simple and super-​efficient, but the tables, both in the dining area and bar area, were probably just 10% full, if that.
I don’t want to get into discussing the Seau’s ambiance too much, but to say that there’s a decent TV vantage point from every seat is far from the truth. Also, it’s disappointing to me that the massive screen in the main dining area – a projector, I believe – produces images that are of neither crisp nor vibrant quality.
You should probably come here at least once if you’re a Chargers fan or a Junior Seau fan. I think my boyfriend said it best when, after dinner, he mentioned «You know… the food was OK, but I definitely don’t ever see us coming back here.» Rounding up to 3 stars.