d bar… for the last time

I’ve been to D Bar in Hillcrest many, many times. One of the first times we went was during our Bacon Crawl back in 2013. I’ve also gone for a few birthdays and just as a treat and I was very sad to learn that D Bar will be closing up shop on December 20th. Excuse me while I weep over a bowl of crue fries!

Jake, T and I went last night for one of our last dinners at D Bar and got the chance to talk to Chef Keegan. We asked him why they were closing up D Bar in San Diego and he said it was a tough decision but that he and his wife wanted to focus on their efforts back home in Denver. He had thought he’d do more ventures in California but that wasn’t going to happen anymore and he wanted to spend more time at home and be with his wife. It makes a ton of sense and our only consolation is that at least there’s still a D Bar in Denver. Denver has now immediately gone on our “cities to visit” list.

[bacon wrapped dates / $9]

We started off with the bacon wrapped dates which T and I shared since Jake is a date hater. These fell apart really easily since they weren’t wrapped very well but they still tasted quite yummy. The salty-sweet combo is my favorite!

[crue fries / $10]

I was sad to see the crue fries were lacking the usual ranch sauce that normally gets draped over the fries. To be honest I didn’t know it was missing until I looked at my older posts but I had felt the dish was missing that extra tasty element when we were eating it though I didn’t know what it was until later. The fries were still good though (crispy and crunchy) with the yummy melted cheese enveloping the fries with bits of bacon and chives all over it. 

[southern fried belgian / $14]

Jake and I shared the Southern Fried Belgian which is fried chicken breast with a softer waffle acting as the bread to hold it all together. The honey mustard sauce is my favorite on this sandwich. I barely made a dent in my sandwich as I was already getting full from our meal! I like that this dish is served with sweet potato waffle fries on the side to fit with the whole waffle-criss-cross theme going on. 

[bacon macaroni and cheese / $13]

The macaroni and cheese has always been my favorite here and I could really see that the love was starting to dissipate – this macaroni and cheese was definitely on the drier side and didn’t have enough creamy sauce. Usually it almost looks like a soup with the amount of creamy sauce and this time it really missing that extra sauce. The flavor was still fantastic – putting cheese nips on top is a great idea – but it the lack of the creamy sauce made my heart a little sad.  

[mini kobe sliders / $12]

T ordered the best thing that night – these Kobe Sliders were really yummy! The meat was tender and flavorful and there was a wonderful garlic aioli sauce that really complimented the meat. The cheese and caramelized onions added a ton of flavor and I wish I had ordered a plate of my own.

[deconstructed lemon bar with raspberry sorbet]

Jake asked our super nice waiter if we could order just the raspberry lemon bar that was on the prix fixe menu and our waiter hooked us up with this complimentary dessert. We didn’t want the prix fixe but we wanted to try out the lemon bar. It turned out to be a deconstructed lemon bar! There was crushed graham cracker in the bottom with lemon filling/curd and a lovely raspberry sorbet on top. It was served in the cutest little martini glass with two tiny spoons. It was so flavorful and delicious! 

[nutella beignets / $5]

We also got the beignets to share but these were not the best, sadly. They tasted very dense and as T said, it was kind of like eating heavy pizza dough filled with nutella. 

[cake n’ shake / $10]

On the other hand, the cake and shake has never let me down. It’s my favorite thing here! The chocolate cake is rich and fudgy with that delicious chocolate frosting. I got it paired with a raspberry shake to offset the sweetness with a bit of tartness and it turned out to be the perfect pairing. I’m going to miss you, chocolate cake!!

Jake and I hope to make one more visit for lunch before they officially close on December 20th. While some items were not quite as good as they have been in the past, we are still super sad they are closing. Hopefully I can get my cake fix in one more time before they’re gone!

D Bar
3930 5th Avenue.
San Diego, CA 92103
619-299-3227