Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The wild scene of the Gaslamp's new Werewolf

The mythical movie monster wearing sunglasses is an admonition against taking anything here too seriously.

Always happy when a pile of food tastes good. Short ribs and Brussels sprouts at Werewolf American Pub.
Always happy when a pile of food tastes good. Short ribs and Brussels sprouts at Werewolf American Pub.
Place

Werewolf American Pub

627 Fourth Avenue, San Diego

I hate to pigeonhole a place, but when you stake out a central-Gaslamp location, write the word "Shots" in giant letters along the back wall and name it Werewolf, you've pretty much decided to cater to a non-discriminating (read: young) drinking crowd.

It's actually not that silly a place from the outside.

The place does offer a full dinner menu, though, so when I found too long a wait at a "classier" establishment around the corner, I thought I'd brave the wild scene of Werewolf and give it a fair shake. It didn't hurt that it was mostly empty at the time.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Perhaps on busier nights guests don't receive the almost over-welcoming level of service I experienced. Overt friendliness must be endorsed by the restaurant's charter or something. One server actually took the trouble to learn the first name of everyone in my party, while another periodically dropped in on our booth and took a seat — you know, just to hang, and to make sure the food tastes great. Like people do.

Actually, the food wasn't bad. Apparently the chef didn't get the memo that this is foremost a party place.

Given the environment and the illustrated depiction of a werewolf on the menu cover, I expected otherwise. Granted, I veered away from the likes of burgers, meatballs and tacos, opting instead for short ribs with roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.

And the food's better than the menu artwork would suggest.

Entrées range from ten to sixteen dollars, but between cocktails, appetizers and sides, you might easily find yourself spending more than you'd like to at a place clearly inspired by the same zeitgeist as Teen Wolf.

I suppose if nothing else, naming a restaurant for a mythical movie monster wearing sunglasses is an admonition against taking anything here too seriously. Probably, if you can embrace the quirkiness of it, soak yourself in booze and share in raising a few middle fingers in the general direction of stuffy nearby establishments, Werewolf is for you.

But I'm not as fun as all that. And tasty short ribs aren't so tough to come by that I need to subject myself to a fresh young take on the American gastropub to get them.

Still, if you're aroused by the phrase "audacity of hope" and the idea that body shots might happen any minute, check out this oddly conceived eatery while it's still here.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Spa-Like Facial Treatment From Home - This Red Light Therapy Mask Makes It Possible

Next Article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Always happy when a pile of food tastes good. Short ribs and Brussels sprouts at Werewolf American Pub.
Always happy when a pile of food tastes good. Short ribs and Brussels sprouts at Werewolf American Pub.
Place

Werewolf American Pub

627 Fourth Avenue, San Diego

I hate to pigeonhole a place, but when you stake out a central-Gaslamp location, write the word "Shots" in giant letters along the back wall and name it Werewolf, you've pretty much decided to cater to a non-discriminating (read: young) drinking crowd.

It's actually not that silly a place from the outside.

The place does offer a full dinner menu, though, so when I found too long a wait at a "classier" establishment around the corner, I thought I'd brave the wild scene of Werewolf and give it a fair shake. It didn't hurt that it was mostly empty at the time.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Perhaps on busier nights guests don't receive the almost over-welcoming level of service I experienced. Overt friendliness must be endorsed by the restaurant's charter or something. One server actually took the trouble to learn the first name of everyone in my party, while another periodically dropped in on our booth and took a seat — you know, just to hang, and to make sure the food tastes great. Like people do.

Actually, the food wasn't bad. Apparently the chef didn't get the memo that this is foremost a party place.

Given the environment and the illustrated depiction of a werewolf on the menu cover, I expected otherwise. Granted, I veered away from the likes of burgers, meatballs and tacos, opting instead for short ribs with roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.

And the food's better than the menu artwork would suggest.

Entrées range from ten to sixteen dollars, but between cocktails, appetizers and sides, you might easily find yourself spending more than you'd like to at a place clearly inspired by the same zeitgeist as Teen Wolf.

I suppose if nothing else, naming a restaurant for a mythical movie monster wearing sunglasses is an admonition against taking anything here too seriously. Probably, if you can embrace the quirkiness of it, soak yourself in booze and share in raising a few middle fingers in the general direction of stuffy nearby establishments, Werewolf is for you.

But I'm not as fun as all that. And tasty short ribs aren't so tough to come by that I need to subject myself to a fresh young take on the American gastropub to get them.

Still, if you're aroused by the phrase "audacity of hope" and the idea that body shots might happen any minute, check out this oddly conceived eatery while it's still here.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Could Supplemental Security Income house the homeless?

A board and care resident proposes a possible solution
Next Article

Classical Classical at The San Diego Symphony Orchestra

A concert I didn't know I needed
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader