On our last trip out to California to visit Melanie's father, we took a two-day trip to San Diego. We began our little Fun Family Adventure in San Diego in the Little Italy neighborhood just blocks from the Pacific Ocean. While walking along India Street, we spotted an amazing looking eatery with the words "A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats" above the entrance.
Before we went into Ironside, we had Melanie's dad snap this family photo of all of us.
The interior is airy and bright and decorated with luggage above and an ealy1900's inspired dining room on board a classy steamship, complete with a beautiful raw bar.
The menu is seriously awesome. We we decided to start with some of their fresh oysters. We chose to get six with three being Sweet Petite from Massachusetts and Ironside Select from Washington. Both were incredibly fresh and well worth their price. Jake got grilled cheese on Texas toast with fries, he was quite pleased.
The raw oyster bar at Ironside.
Melanie and I both chose to go with some sandwiches. We are a big sandwich family. I chose a grilled chicken sandwich on an in-house made roll with cheddar cheese and coleslaw. Our sandwiches also came with some killer parmesan fries.
Mel got a sandwich which features locally caught yellowtail, done the same exact way as my chicken sandwich with some tartar sauce on the side.
Ironside also features their hot sauces on each table. If I recall correctly, the habanero was actually quite tasting and the 7-pot was very spicy. I used the habanero on both my oysters on the half shell and my chicken sandwich, it was amazing. The 7-pot was just a bit too hot for my taste.
Another look at the raw bar from the dining room. As you can see the bar stools are unique and fit right in to the decor.
And yes, those little anchors are there to carry you're excess baggage, aka your purse or backpack.
A wider shot of the bar area looking into Ironside from their sidewalk seating area.
The wall in the main dining room is very cool and visually appealing. Its the perfect spot for an Instagram photo, especially since it is made of replica piranha heads.
Hands down, Ironside was our favorite place which we ate at, for the entire two weeks that we were in California. The seafood is fresh, the drinks are unique and the food is worthy of much praise. For more info visit IronsideFishandOyster.com.
All photos shot with the Fujifilm X100T.
