When was the last time you walked into a real authentic pub? Do you even know what that means?  Like when you’re dog tired and you need a stiff drink and a basket of chips (that’s what the English call fries).  I know the feeling.  Walking into a bar is not the same feeling at all.

There’s something warm and familiar and calming and hobbit-like about walking into a real, rugged all wood old fashioned pub when the weather is just rotten and cloudy outside and rainy and its all warm and toasty inside and then you get a nice favorite tap beer with the thick foamy head and fresh chips…mmm..

Shakespeare Pub & Grille is just that kind of place.   It’s been on India street downtown forever and has a legion of loyal customers and a great reputation for authentic British pub food that’s well deserved.  You can order real pub fair just like you get from across the pond like a Scotch egg and steak and kidney pie and bangers and mash, and for dessert, spotted dick- it’s a pudding, which means cake, topped with custard, and it’s totally fab..  They have weekly roasts and Pimms- which they serve the traditional way, with muddled fruit and cucumber and ginger ale.  The little storefront across the courtyard sells English candies and licorice and teas and cute little double decker bus toys and other terrific English stuff you really can’t get anywhere else.

Their crunchy and delicious fish and ships is their signature dish and if you can eat 4 pounds of it in 45 minutes or less, you get the honor and bragging rights of winning what they call the Great White Challenge.  Also you get a t-shirt, which hopefully you can still fit into after eating 4 pounds of fried food.  Eat it the English way, drizzled with cider vinegar- actually I think they may throw you out if you don’t eat it that way.  I wouldn’t chance it anyway.

They do a terrific curry, and all day proper English breakfast, a big ben burger and the chef’s daily soups are always terrific and hearty-  with crusty fresh bread and a schmear of butter, you will be super satisfied.

When there’s a football game on (you call it soccer) you can watch it live on the many flat screens up on the walls.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a day of cruddy weather than at Shakespeare’s.  But, should the weather be beautiful and sunny, like most of the days in San Diego, there’s an outside patio with a gorgeous view.

One of the reasons locals are so loyal, aside from the warm service and great food, is the Sunday roast, which is a big dinner at your mom’s kind of affair- or at least it would be if your mom made a huge roasted side of beef, Yorkshire pudding, mash and homemade gravy which is practically its own food group.

In the next few weeks we’ll be setting up a live food challenge where we’ll see if a grown man can eat 4 pounds of fish and chips and live to talk about it.

Shakespeare Pub & Grille
3701 India St
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 299-0230
Monday-Friday: 10:30am-12am
Saturday: 8am-12am