Callahan’s Pub and Brewery is a local Irish Pub in Mira Mesa. They hand craft their own beers in small batches, make excellent pub grub, and are a local joint to get your sports fix, if that’s your thing. They have TV’s all over the place, in every nook and cranny, showing as many sporting events as possible. Since I’m not a sports fan, I come here for the food and the beer and leave the sports to itself.

I’ve been here quite a few times and it dawned on me that I have never reviewed it. I had asked Liz earlier in the week if she wanted to go out for a beer, envisioning myself drinking my favorite Blueberry Wheat beer (yes, Blueberry Wheat. And yes, it does taste like blueberries – it’s so tasty!). Luckily she agreed and I had a partner in tow for an actual review of Callahan’s.

First thing we gorged ourselves on was the Onion Rings. You get a big basket of these beer battered onion rings served pipping hot to you and ready for you to devour. Liz and I seem to never be able to resist the allure of these onion rings, since we pretty much get them every time we come here. They’re light, crispy and not overdone. The batter doesn’t take away from the onions and while they are fried and greasy, you don’t really feel like you’re eating a ton of greasy crap. But they are filling and delicious.

Liz opted for the Fish and Chips which she has gotten on a few occasions. I have never had it, so I can’t say anything about it really except that the portion looks huge. The pub chips though are really good here. They are like big potato wedges and they are always cooked perfectly – crispy and yummy. I seem to be afraid of wedge like fries at other places because it seems like sometimes they are not cooked all the way through – but these fries (er, pub chips) are always good and crisp.

I tried the Shepherd’s Pie for the first time, feeling like I should get something appropriately Irish-y for my review. It’s filled with ground beef, carrots and peas on the bottom and spread with pipped out mashed potatoes on top. This was very good and very filling. The meat portion had a good flavor to it and was a little saucy. It paired very well with the mashed potatoes which had a slight crunch from being in the oven. I only ate about half of this. The onion rings took up room in my stomach and were not allowing anymore food to come in, so I had to take the rest of this home to eat on another day.

The also have these amazing pies: the mud pie and the grasshopper pie. They are both ice cream pies – the mud pie has mocha almond fudge ice cream with fudge and whipped cream. The grasshopper pie has mint chocolate chip ice cream with an Oreo cookie crust and is again, smothered with fudge and whipped cream. I didn’t have one of these last night, but I have dreamt about them. I will be back to take a better photo of this in the future though, you can count on that. This photo is of a mud pie that I have had in the past, and it’s sadly blurry. I was probably too excited to eat it to bother taking a good photo.

Callahan’s also has a “Wing Night” on Wednesdays from 7P-10P. I believe it is .50 cents per wing but I haven’t gone in awhile so I can’t remember. They have a variety of wings, including the “Suicide” wing that my boyfriend tried out once. It was seriously so hot that when I kissed him 3 hours later, I could taste the spiciness of the sauce. I will never eat a suicide wing, ever. They also have Happy Hour specials, specials on the appetizers and pints are 50 cents off (4-7PM, M-F).

Callahan’s Pub & Brewery
8111 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126
(858) 578-7892