Chief’s Burgers & Brew

Love this place! Terrific place to wait for your train to come. I recommend the hot chili. :)

I mentioned to some friends that my brother was coming out for the holidays & he is a huge Broncos fan & they recommended this bar. This bar is conveniently located right next to the train station in Solana Beach. I can confirm it is a real Broncos bar, complete with orange everything & lots of noise. Service here was great. It was packed for Monday night football but the staff were still on point. Food here is what you would expect at a sports bar, lots of giant burgers & bbq. Sure they had some salads & healthy options but who wants to eat healthy while drinking & yelling at the tv? I had the tri tip sandwich but paired it with a salad & drank the rest of my calories. The sandwich was yummy lots of cheese & meat. They have a decent beer selection here, lots of local craft beers that we are proud to say are from San Diego. They don’t have a full bar though which was disappointing but I get it. Would come back here for the atmosphere & food. Great place to watch sports while enjoying a burger & beer, especially if you’re a Broncos fan.

Worst… service… ever…
Had just finished getting my hair cut and, at the suggestion of a friend, decided to try Chiefs. Was starting to fill up before the broncos/​patriots game but was able to get a two-​top on the patio. Was quickly greeted and placed my drink order. A couple minutes later the waitress asked if I’d like the heater turned on. So far so good. Unfortunately, that was my last communication with her. She was still serving the tables around me but never asked how I was doing, would I like to order some food, nothing. Ignored for over half an hour. Finally just stuck four bucks under my diet coke cup (it was 2.75 per the menu) and left. Maybe you need to wear a broncos jersey to get decent service? In any case, it’s a restaurant I won’t go back to.

Thanks guys for the great chicken sandwich and even adding the extra buffalo sauce for me. Love the place and will be back soon.

Expected this to be a fun broncos bar, didn’t realize it was a creepy old man bar. My girlfriend and I went in to watch the game, and every person in the place seemed to be over 40+ single male bragging about how much money they make, as a way of impressing the only under 30 year old female in the bar. Staff was nice, so I kinda feel bad leaving a poor review, but the clientele truly ruined the experience for us. Creepy old dudes legitimately touching her hair when she wasn’t paying attention. I thought PB bars were bad, they would be preferred to this one.
If you are 40+, twice divorced, and claim that you have $ 10k riding on the game, this place is for you.

There isn’t a day when I wouldn’t dig a cold beer, juicy cheeseburger, some bomb French fries and a patio in the San Diego sun with my best friend. Few things are better than that, well… at least when it comes to food.
*Note to readers who have gotten this far in my review:
Chief’s isn’t the sort of spot that I’m prone to even consider. It’s tucked back in a pseudo-​tiny strip mall-​ish place, next to a Karate studio and last but not least boasting the words ‘Sports Bar’ a tantalizing trio of warning/​red flags/I’m not that hungry– a stop at a liquor store and a drive through Jack in the Box is more enticing kind of thing for me.
I know the following will be for some a juxtaposition of elements rarely expressed. Though I love beer, burgers, bar food and hot salty French fries I DO NOT WATCH NOR ENJOY WATCHING ANY SPORTS on TV. Games blaring, huddles of jerseys and dudes shouting at televisions ranks high on my list of checking all the boxes of things I like to avoid.
Actually, the number of TV’s a place and the volume of those said TV’s can and often has been a deal breaker when it comes to my relationship with divey little joints or restaurants proper.
Advertising as a «sports bar» immediately put Chief’s in the red. They had to really triumph in several areas to even have the prospect of getting into the black with my cold, cold sports bar loathing heart.
And…they did!!!
Chief’s sliders are solid! Beer is always cold and in clean un-​chipped glasses and kegs that don’t tast like they’re on their last pint. And from a self proclaimed French fry enthusiast– their fries are really freakin’ tasty.
I’ve specifically been shy with my Unilocaling proclamation of Chief’s greatness and have gone 4 times over the span of a few months for sake of sound data collection.
And, I’m pleased to use adjectives like the service has «always» been great and the sliders have «always» been awesome… At least the 4 times I’ve eaten the sliders & fries.
Oh… And they have a cool little patio that gets a brilliant few hours of sun. But you’ve gotta time that right though or you will just be sitting on a cool little patio in the shade.
So, if you’re in the mood for good, hassle free timely service, a parking lot where you can easily park/​find a spot even if you have kids, elderly or limited mobility peeps (like myself when I was on crutches the whole freakin summer), pretty freakin good eats, clean bathrooms and a bill for two with a snack and beers for under $ 40 bucks check out Chief’s… And hopefully, like me, you’ll be glad you did.
I know it’s like upper echelon, can beat this, when I give 5 stars for a place. I was thinking 4.5 would be where I’d put Chief’s. But since historically this place has been solid and the teacher in me doesn’t have any little comment for improvement– I’m rounding up and giving them a HIGH 5 & 5 STARS.

Stopped for a quick afternoon bite and drink after driving all day from Tucson, staff was friendly and service was fast. The sliders were yummy! Nice little ma and pop place to stop and enjoy the game and atmosphere.

Great local sports bar with a good selection of beers. Simple food (burgers are great) and daily specials. Nice outdoor patio that is enclosed from the parking lot. Definitely recommend for a chill night out.

So let’s get this straight from the beginning. I’m biased. Colorado girl… missing home. Nothing like a Broncos bar to make her feel back home!
My husband and I stopped in this place to watch his Nebraska football game one saturday morning before we had tickets to KAABOO. We had a couple drinks here, all priced really great! Service was quick and place was really clean for a hole in wall place. By the time we left here, a fairly large CSU group was filtering in! I was glad to see the bar host a Colorado team, my alma mater! **PROUD. TO BE. A CSU RAM!!!**
We ended up liking this place so much that we ended up returning on Sunday night before we had a catch the train back up to LA. This is when I had a life altering moment. Colorado’s Finest Pork Green Chili. I heart must have stopped and I think I died for a moment. I have not found a decent pork green chili since moving to California. Could it be true that this Colorado bar had my comfort meal!!! YES!!! It was cooked perfect. Great spice, fall apart pork, huge chucks of roasted tomatoes and the tortillas nice a hot!
I have no clue when I will be in Solana beach again, but when I am, I am coming here for that darn pork green chili. You haven’t lived until you have tried this stuff!

Awesome beers and food that is actually really good bar food!
The name Chiefs is because the owner is NOT a chargers fan but we can’t hold that against him. Chargers may leave us anyway.
Sliders are cooked to perfection. The Cobb Salad is good!

I really like this place. Simple food (great burgers!) and drinks-​not a full bar but they have 20+ beers on tap! Most importantly though-​everyone in the place is NICE!!! Bartenders, waitresses, and Front Row Joe!
I try to come in whenever I’m in town :-)

I’ve been here a few times and if I’d only sat at the bar, I’d give 5 stars because the service at the bar is always good. The service at the tables, no, not good, actually more like 2.5 stars, so they get 4 stars today. With that said, sit at the bar if you can:).
Chief’s makes a great burger, it’s huge, the do a lettuce wrapped burger right, they’re bacon is epic, the cooking temp is inconsistent on the burgers but the meat is juicy even when it’s a little overcooked for my liking. I get the side salad instead of the fries most of the time, which makes me feel less guilty about adding the bacon;-). I like that they offer the option of a salad without an up-​charge. I also dig their shirts, «In dog beers I’ve only had one.» LOVE it! This is a chill spot with a lot of locals, a good beer selection and good prices. If you’re not a Bronco fan, I’d choose another place when they’re playing… I’m a Patriots fan sooooooo…

Great Solana Beach bar with wonderful food and lots of TV’s to enjoy your favorite game. Came on a Tuesday and order the special of the sloppy joe and for no up charge was given fries instead of coleslaw. I had the hand battered chicken tenders and was given 6 generous size pieces with BBQ & ranch dipping sauces. The tenders were warm, fresh, not greasy, and had a delicious crunchy coating. My favorite chicken tender in North County as the chicken is moist and s great bang for your buck as it is under $ 12. I noticed they had a wide selection of bottled and on taps beers which is great for a sports bar. Can’t wait to come back and watch a game !

Not a bad spot. Burgers are on point. Wings & onion rings where delish. Onion rings stayed nice & crispy which is w big plus. Lots of beer on tap including IPA’s which is a real big plus. Service was excellent so I definitely recommend this place. A bit of a mix crowd but it works.

I ordered the B.L.T. and it was excellent…
However, the server could not have been more blatantly rude. Awful service, and she made it very clear that she hated her job as a server.
The server’s name is «Christine»
I strongly recommend offering the B.L.T. And I strongly recommend asking the manager or owner to fire Christine for her terrible lack of people skills & genuine customer care.

This is the best burger joint in Solana Beach. Everything on the menu is delicious but The Big Joes quesadilla is truly a work of art and deliciously mouthwatering. I go there all the time and the wait staff are great. If you’re ever in Solana Beach you must go there.

I think I have only gone to Chief’s after triathlon training, so I *think* the food is DELICIOUS… but I would definitely need to go without biking for at least three hours first to be sure. Ha!
For example, the last time I went, I got potato salad as an appetizer. Yeah. Potato salad. And I thought that was the best damn potato salad I had ever eaten in my life!
Regardless of how hungry I am when I have gone to Chief’s…I know every sandwich and salad must be promptly created because when I go there, my stomach is eating itself, and I have never felt like they were taking too long. As a triathlete, I can think of no better compliment because at that point, my mind is usually in the «Order food. Food go in mouth.» mode.
And Chief’s never disappoints!

Bleu Cheese burger was good, my only real complaint is that it needed more bleu cheese. My dad enjoyed his Mushroom Swiss.
The burgers are really big and messy, we both ended up using a knife and fork when they fell apart near the end. Fries were plentiful, although kind of flavorless. I had to really pile on the salt.
There’s also a nice selection of beers at reasonable prices. Service was fast, despite it being incredibly busy.

This is a review for lunch. I love everything on the menu here but, for a quick weekday lunch, I grab the children’s burger and fries meal. Do you get a smaller version of the world famous Chiefs burger and perfectly seasoned fries and a drink.
With the generous tip you can spend under $ 10 for lunch here and it’s pretty damn amazing

I feel like it’s my first time here! I came years ago but I was young and my taste buds were undeveloped ;). Living down the street and craving a good burger, I was recommended to try this football joint and I’m so glad I did!
First off, come in with a relaxed attitude. Find a seat to your liking and look over the drink list until a server comes over. No they will not jump over to your table immediately but once they know you are there, I experienced great service!
Second, sit on the patio! At night they have a cozy fire pit going and although the bar seems inviting, I’m a patio kind of girl :). Monday night is all night happy hour so take advantage of those $ 3.50 top notch drafts and order a burger! They are known for their burgers so why risk anything else? I ordered their blue burger and was completely satisfied! No they are not a charger pride kind of place but hey, relax a little and enjoy the competition! Our chargers are always the best anyways ;). Right!!! Well I don’t need to be told any different. I love my team!