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

Brunch at Heights Tavern

Normal Heights bar opens for brunch. Neighborhood hipsters have not had to run for cover.

The Heights Tavern (3377 Adams Avenue, 619-501-3455) has has made a solid bid to stick around and become a part of Normal Heights. At first, the rabble roused themselves over the presence of a second True North opening Uptown. For a lot of people, there was this idea that Pacific Beach bro culture, and its perceived violence, would somehow invade North Park, leaving the hipsters with nowhere to park their skinny jeans and flannel shirts.

Well, that didn’t happen, not really. If anything, twenty-something sports fans have a place to call their own and there’s more room than ever for the 30-plussers to queue up at BLAH. More bars isn't always mo' betta,' but it can be.

The Tavern, scenting success, now serves brunch until 3PM on the weekends. It’s a welcome addition, if for no other reason than that Antique Row, Adams Avenue Grill, and Park House are too busy half the time and it’s a hassle to get a seat!

The patio seating pulls the most weight in Heights Tavern’s bid for brunch patrons. With plenty of sunlight and good people-watching along Adams Ave, I could only wish for more seats than the handful of four-tops lined up along the sidewalk. Lots of sports on TV is a good or bad thing, depending on your predilections. Objectively speaking, it’s hard to find a better spot in the neighborhood on a nice day.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/17/47602/

As for the food, the kitchen at Heights has kept on an upwards trend since I first went there. Successive visits have shown improvement and the patty melt ($10.50) at brunch was on the better side of average. The burger remained succulent and the gently caramelized onions had a heady sweetness to them. The runny yolk of the fried egg turned the entire sandwich into a saucy mess, but that’s to be expected from a good patty melt!

I saw plenty of other nice looking dishes go out: some generous salads, benedicts, waffles, french toasts, and the like; nothing adventurous. Heights Tavern is not that kind of place. Like I said, the kitchen is a perfectly dependable average. You will be neither thrilled nor disappointed. The only thing that disappointed me was a lack of sugary coffee drinks. I’m all for Mimosas and Bloody Marys, but I also want a hot cup of decent coffee with my brunch. Always. Other than that, I left full of food and soaked with sun.

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

Previous article

Too $hort & DJ Symphony, Peppermint Beach Club, Holidays at the Zoo

Events December 19-December 21, 2024
Next Article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta

The Heights Tavern (3377 Adams Avenue, 619-501-3455) has has made a solid bid to stick around and become a part of Normal Heights. At first, the rabble roused themselves over the presence of a second True North opening Uptown. For a lot of people, there was this idea that Pacific Beach bro culture, and its perceived violence, would somehow invade North Park, leaving the hipsters with nowhere to park their skinny jeans and flannel shirts.

Well, that didn’t happen, not really. If anything, twenty-something sports fans have a place to call their own and there’s more room than ever for the 30-plussers to queue up at BLAH. More bars isn't always mo' betta,' but it can be.

The Tavern, scenting success, now serves brunch until 3PM on the weekends. It’s a welcome addition, if for no other reason than that Antique Row, Adams Avenue Grill, and Park House are too busy half the time and it’s a hassle to get a seat!

The patio seating pulls the most weight in Heights Tavern’s bid for brunch patrons. With plenty of sunlight and good people-watching along Adams Ave, I could only wish for more seats than the handful of four-tops lined up along the sidewalk. Lots of sports on TV is a good or bad thing, depending on your predilections. Objectively speaking, it’s hard to find a better spot in the neighborhood on a nice day.

http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jun/17/47602/

As for the food, the kitchen at Heights has kept on an upwards trend since I first went there. Successive visits have shown improvement and the patty melt ($10.50) at brunch was on the better side of average. The burger remained succulent and the gently caramelized onions had a heady sweetness to them. The runny yolk of the fried egg turned the entire sandwich into a saucy mess, but that’s to be expected from a good patty melt!

I saw plenty of other nice looking dishes go out: some generous salads, benedicts, waffles, french toasts, and the like; nothing adventurous. Heights Tavern is not that kind of place. Like I said, the kitchen is a perfectly dependable average. You will be neither thrilled nor disappointed. The only thing that disappointed me was a lack of sugary coffee drinks. I’m all for Mimosas and Bloody Marys, but I also want a hot cup of decent coffee with my brunch. Always. Other than that, I left full of food and soaked with sun.

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

Were I into making distinctions about favorite cups of coffee....

Next Article

Broke Girls Coffee Bar open in Normal Heights

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