Update: This restaurant is now closed.
O’Brothers is a restaurant inside of Horton Plaza in Downtown San Diego. They boast of 100% organic burgers and all organic foods on the menu (except for the ketchup, mustard and wine – the website will say only wine, but I heard the cashier say the ketchup and mustard were not organic, either). It’s mostly all burgers, with some salads, desserts, sodas and beers. Some of their burger selections include: a Chicken Burger with chicken breast, tomato, onion and avocado for $9.25, a Portobello Veggie Burger with portobello mushroom, tomato and onion for $7.25 and the Big O’ which is a cheeseburger with bacon, avocado, tomato and onion for $9.50. Each burger is served with an organic salad.
We went during “Happy Hour” (every day from 3PM – closing) and I chose to try one of the Happy Hour specials: sliders and fries for $5. The “sliders” is basically a burger cut up into four pieces and served with only cheese, ketchup and mustard. You get a little bowl of fries as well, along with a little cup of ketchup and what looked to be ranch sauce. I’m pretty sure it was ranch, but with a twist I couldn’t quite place – in any case, it was really good with the fries. The burger was cooked perfectly – medium with the cheese melting and the soft bun. The fries were sadly overcooked, but I kept eating them anyway, probably just to eat more of that sauce.
I also opted to try the organic onion rings – they use a breadcrumb batter for the onion rings instead of a more traditional batter. As you can see, these were overcooked as well. I thought they were also pretty heavy (literally) for an onion ring. The breadcrumb batter seemed to be too thick on the onion rings, making you eat more batter then onion. I could hardly taste the onion at all and I didn’t even finish eating these. I will say that the herbs and spices in the batter smell awesome – it just didn’t execute very well.
And yes, the sodas (and beers!) are also organic. I got the Organic Ginger Ale ($1.75) and it was… quite gingery. Not undrinkable, but definitely a stronger ginger flavor than I’m used to. While I enjoyed it, I would pass on the organic soda because it seems a bit pricey for one 12 fl. oz. can of soda, even if it is organic.
My sliders were good, the other items were overcooked, but we did eat in a really pretty restaurant! It’s a order-up-at the-front kind of place and you sit and they bring you the food. As you can see from my bad indoor photo above, it’s got a sort of cocktail lounge feel to it, very trendy and hip looking. The food is very presentable on clean white dishes and garnished well, but I think they need to work a little bit on not overcooking items.
O’Brothers
188 Horton Plaza, Level 1 (Above the Levi’s Store)
San Diego, CA
(619) 615-0909
holy crap that is the biggest onion ring i’ve ever seen. how was the burger? was there a noticeable difference in taste between organic and not?
O’Brothers has a 1/2 off burger monday special that seems worth trying!
I went yesterday and saw their happy hour special of sliders and fries. I asked if they could do a veggie slider happy hour, and O’Brothers kindly did. I ordered a Portobello burger and a stout. They special was a $6, 22 ounce organic stout. I couldnt finish it.
When my burger came, It was a full burger and salad. I guess it got lost in communcation, that I wanted the happy hour slider in fries, substitute meat for veggie. Anyhow, I was charged $5 for the portobello burger (regularly $7.95?) How nice. I’ve never had a portobello burger, and this was preeeety tasty 🙂 I think they grill with garlic, and its served with a juicy tomato, and thin red onions. The bun was soft, and I had to eat quick before it got soggy. The burger was on the small size, and I don’t know if that is because it was my “happy hour” special. I wanted to try the fries and ranch aioli. I guess I have to go back. See you on a monday 🙂
Sawyer:
The burger I had was juicy and tender and cooked to medium (some red showing, totally fine by me). The meat tasted a bit more tender and was quite good, otherwise I couldn’t really notice any other difference between organic vs non-organic. Maybe if I had two in front of me and I tasted them together I could tell, but as it was, it was still a tasty, juicy burger.
Jenn:
I’ve never had a portobello burger either, I think I really want to try one sometime. That’s awesome they were able to switch it up for you!
For those looking for the BEST burger in San Diego, you must check out Burger Lounge at any of its four locations: Kensington, La Jolla, Coronado and now Little Italy! They serve amazing and organic grass fed beef, fantastic turkey-basil patties, and for you vegetarians, a unique quinoa burger that is sure to satisfy!
In addition, Burger Lounge has unbelievable fries and onion rings, and you HAVE to top off your dining experience with one of their red velvet cupcakes- HEAVENLY!
Suckers. “Organic” is one of the most widely used terms that means absolutely nothing.