Bankers Hill Bar

For several reasons, I very much enjoyed my first meal at the Bankers Hill Bar and Restaurant. The first and foremost of which is the quality of food. But they also do a great job of keeping a fairly simple, and straightforward menu. It covers all the bases in terms of variety, but with one targeted, quality item in each category; fish, beef, pork, etc. I'd call it a great representation of high caliber bar food.

I had the watermelon and watercress salad as a starter. It's a simple concoction, and the name pretty much says it all. But they touched it up with a nice presentation, and a chilled plate and all that. So for what it was - I liked it.

For a main course, I had the fetuccine bolognese, which was very very good. An extremely good combination of tastes, with very soft, fresh pasta. It was a thing of beauty.

I washed it all down with a locally brewed Sculpin from Ballast Point (branded as the "Bankers Hill Beer"). That really hit the spot, and any San Diego craft brew connoisseur will tell you that it's one of the best IPA's out there. Well done, BHBR.

The only negative point that I can make is when the check arrived, and I noted that my [excellent] Sculpin IPA cost about as much as my entree. But in reality, I would have paid a couple bucks more for my entree, and hoped to save a couple bucks on the beverage, so I guess it's all even in the end.

Altogether you can bet on some great food from a targeted menu; but don't show up too thirsty, or Bankers Hill may break the bank for you. It's a short but healthy walk from Balboa Park if you're looking for a convenient location after the museums. Plenty of street parking. Friendly staff.

The newly opened Banker's Hill Restaurant has earned a bit of a reputation amongst the San Diego foodies in its short life. On my past few attempts, it was a bit too crowded to get in. Finally, on a quiet Monday, my pudgy friend and I were able to check it out.

So, I pretty much knew what I was getting before even taking a seat at the fairly-empty bar...the BH Burger with truffle fries. Wanting to get a bit of variety, I also ordered the deviled eggs--let's start there. They were able to take a very mundane dish and turn up the quality. The whites were as expected, and the yolks were light and creamy. Bringing the flavor was a bed of arugula and bacon, with potato sticks for a bit of texture. If they weren't the old processed version I used to get in the old cardboard cans, I couldn't tell.

Next up was the burger. I have to say...it lived up to the hype. I asked for it medium and it came out a bit under, but I'm glad it did. The meat was so fresh and simply adorned, cooking it any more wouldn't have done it justice. The cheese was just sharp enough to make its presence felt, and the bun was simply amazing (although it did get a big soggy at the end). This is on par with the Jayne Burger for one of the best I've had in San Diego.

I will say, I was a bit taken aback at the price of the beer on tap. We got their local special (a Ballast Point IPA), which was $10 a pint. Considering one can walk about a half mile down the road and get a huge selection of local craft beers for $3 bucks a whack, It seemed a bit strange (we got 2 beers, with apps and entrees, and the beers represented more the a quarter of the bill). I didn't check out the price of their remaining selection, so maybe we just got something pretty rare.

Anyway, the food here is pretty special, certainly worth the trip.