THE FIELD Irish Restaurant & Pub in San Diego, California.

This is one of the many Irish hang outs in Downtown San Diego. A weird thing since I really don’t run into that many Irishmen here in San Diego. O, well... it is a good eatery with very friendly staff, great Irish traditional food of generous portion and at very reasonable price, too. No big screen TV in dining area, though. It’s a neighborhood hang out kind of place rather than a sport bar.

Location:
Historic Gaslamp Quarter (5th Avenue between Market St & Island St) in Downtown San Diego.
544 5th Avenue (about 4 blocks NE of Petco Park, 6 blocks N of Convention Center)
San Diego, CA 92101
Tel (619) 232 - 9840
www.thefield.com

5th Avenue is well crowded and well patrolled at night. In the wee hours, it isn't as safe to walk south beyond 6th Avenue toward Petco Park (this might change in a few years since that area is being aggressively developed).

If you’re coming via the trolley (Orange Line), the nearest stop is Gaslamp Quarter one at the end of 5th Avenue. Just walk north and it will be on your left after Island St. If you are coming from Downtown proper (Horton Plaza area), be patient at the Market St and Fifth Avenue intersection. The traffic light there only lets pedestrians cross after Market St traffic, but then you can cross diagonally as well as just straight across.

There are many (though can be expensive if you stay too long) parking lots around, and with the luck of the Irish you might even be able to find spot to park on 5th Avenue (metered, but free between 6PM and 8AM). The cheapest covered lot is Park It On Market on Market St between Sixth and Seventh Avenue.

Though the front facade of The Field is quite chic with shocking blue color, the interior is very rustic Irish. Wooden tables with wooden chairs (no cushion) in dimly lit parlors, wooden floor with patches of stones, stone walls with wooden furniture. It is a long dining room with narrow street opening, and it is always a bit of a place-warping experience for me eating there. Every time I start to walk out of the place I’m expecting cloudy sky with pending rain... like in Ireland, but, being in San Diego, I’m always stepping out the door into bright sunlight and dry weather (well, I usually come here for lunch since it gets pretty crowded here for dinner especially on live Irish music nights). The interior is so nice and homey feeling that it’s a bit of an escape eating there. The shop front being narrow, the walkway gets blocked quite a bit but folks are usually good at noticing you and making way though (and if they don’t then Danny the cool barman will make them move for you).

The bar here is very well stocked with American and imported beers and ales. There is additional dining room upstair as well... Off limit to cane-dependent me nowadays; however, since there is no elevator. I did get up there once 3 years ago and liked it. It was even more quiet and better lit than downstair (during the day, anyhow, due to the street-facing windows).

There are separate restrooms for gents and lasses downstair... sometimes very clean, other times just relatively so (it’s a pub, after all).

HOURS:
The Irish sure are hard workers. This place is open for dining;
Mon - Fri : 11 AM - 11 PM (Happy Hour from 4 - 7 PM)
Sat - Sun: 9AM - 12 PM (Happy Hour on Sat from 9 AM - 5 PM)

The bar remains open until 2AM daily. There are live entertainment on Sunday and Thursday evenings. Check their website for schedule (www.thefield.com)
For to-go (carry-out) orders, call (619) 232 - 9840

All the major credit cards are accepted.

FOOD:
APPETIZERS: ($3.25 - $11.95)
Lots of appetizers! And I generally make whole meal out of them rather than on the real entree. The cheapest one is the Homemade Chips which comes without a sauce... you can order one with cheddar cheese or curry sauce for $4.25, though. The Onion Rings with Ranch dressing is absolutely awesome and reasonably priced at $5.50, and so as the Irish Potato Skins filled with melted cheddar, bacon, and green onion ($6.95). The most expensive is the Combo Platter.... which I haven’t tried yet.

SOUP & SALAD: ($2.95 - $9.95)
Soup of the day comes in a $2.95 cup or a $3.95 bowl. There are 5 kinds of salad, I’ve had Cobb Salad with marinated chicken, bacon, blue cheese, and mixed greens, and it is wonderful at $9.95.

SANDWICHES:
There are only 2 kinds of sandwiches. I don’t care much for their Corned Beef Sandwich ($9.95), but that’s more because I don’t like corned beef in general. This is served on really fresh grilled rye bread with chunky homemade chips. You can also order a burger here for $8.25 (chicken, beef, or vegetarian), though why would someone come to an Irish restaurant for a burger is beyond me.

BOXTY ($9.95 -$13.95) is served for breakfast (9AM - 1PM on weekends). These are homemade potato pancake wraps with different fillings (8 kinds). My favorite is the Rasher & Cheese Boxty with Irish bacon and cheddar cheese filling and covered in white wine butter sauce. Haven’t tried the Vegetable Boxty yet... it is the cheapest one. The Salmon & Shrimp Boxty is the most pricey... haven’t tried that either since I don’t like seafood that early in the day.

ENTREE: ($13.95 - $19.95)
Ranges from the cheapest dish of quite delicious and creamy Chicken Curry over steamed rice, to the most expensive dish of Garlic Steak... which I have only smelled as it passed on its way to richer patrons. For what it’s worth, it is a chunky New York cut and smells of whiskey and garlic. If I get my pay raise this year, then I might be able to tell you how it taste later. The entree that I go for most is the Halibut Fish & Chips at $14.95.

TRADITIONAL IRISH FAYRE: ($9.95 - $17.95)
The cheapest dish of Bangers & Champs and the most expensive one of Irish Sampler, I haven’t tried. I really do not like their Corned Beef & Cabbage... at all! Had it twice and consider it a soggy waste of 11 bucks. The Shepherd’s Pie ($11.95) of ground beef with diced carrots, onions, celery, and champ in baked pastry is very good, however.

My favorites are the absolutely addictive Guiness Beef Stew ($11.95) with really chunky cubes of beef and carrots, onions, and potato; and the heavenly Fish & Chips at the same price (though you can order a mini serving of this one for only $6.95, which does a fine job of filling me up at lunch time). The fish is very crispy and the chips (French fries) chunky and with deliciously crispy potato skin. They give you ample ketchup and malted vinegar for to-go orders, too.

SERVICES:
All the staff are very friendly and Irish (at least the ones that work the dining room are). Very efficient, know all the dishes and very fast in taking and filling orders. O, they even have The Field merchandise for sale (shirts, cap, gift certificates, and shot glasses).

All in all, a great restaurant to visit if you enjoy Irish food and like a more subdue kind of pub (except when they’re playing Irish music, which is always nice to me). Not all that good for people watching; however, since there’s only a few stools out front (partly fenced off sidewalk dining area), and you can’t really see anything outside from the dining area aside from the door.

PS: Thanks a bunch to megugrrrl for adding this place to the database faster than I can say 'boxty!'

Recommended: Yes

Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations Great traditional Irish food. Killer Guinness Beef Stew and Fish & Chips. Opens for breakfast on weekends at 9AM (great boxties).
Best Suited For: Friends