04/15/07

Very Stylish and Hip.

by jhathaway00

Very stylish and hip. The food was amazing and I loved the French fries, which I shouldn't have eaten but did anyway. I loved the drink menu but kept to my favorite drink, the Lemon Drop! The eye candy crowd was very nice and the staff was very sweet. Its the only scene in the neighborhood so I stayed for a long time at the bar with friends.

06/10/08

Anticipated Banker's Hill lounge-style restaurant leads the charge on San Diego's supper club scene.

by Erin Chambers

The Scene
Between the large bar area on the right, adjacent outdoor patio and comfortable dining room, there is a corner for everyone at this moody restaurant/lounge. Gray walls, modern black chairs and pops of red accent the expensive-looking space. Service comes quietly and pleasantly from bartenders, servers and, occasionally, the chef himself who often wanders through the restaurant.

The Food
Perfectly cooked steak frites served simply on white sushi-style plates with herb butter anchors the dinner menu with other classics like pork chops and lamb. Small plates such as pork dumplings with tamara sauce, cauliflower tempura and spinach salad complement the standards nicely, as do old-school cocktails like mint julips.

Hits: Excellent cocktails, good company at the bar and perfect frites.
Misses: Lack of a decent happy hour

02/15/08

Terrible Service and Rude Owner!!

by haochima

I tried to take my out of town guests to Modus last night and what a DISASTER!! We waited for 40 minutes before our appetizers were brought, which we only ordered because, despite having a reservation, our table was not ready (again for 40 minutes).. and then an hour later, our first course still was not out! How long can it take to make salads?! When we asked where our food was, the only response was "Hang out and have fun. It will come." We could not get anyone to help us. And unfortunately, when we wanted to leave, the "owner" rudely thrust the bill at my husband and said to us "Good Luck." (Only when we wanted to leave did they actually pay us any attention) We have never had such rude, inattentive treatment from a restaurant, let along the OWNER of the place. It's too bad, because the few skimpy appetizers we did get were pretty tasty, but overall a TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE, and I would warn anyone from going there. There are SO MANY BETTER restaurants to try in San Diego like: Jordan at Tower 23, Quarter Kitchen at the Ivy hotel and Chive in the Gaslamp.

• Cons: Rude staff, Even Ruder Owner, Don't care about customers at all

04/17/07

Creative cocktails & amazing pomme frites

by epv

I have been to Modus numerous times and have always been delighted every time. Their cocktail menu is simply brilliant! Very imaginative in the creation of the recipes! Bittter Bit*h is my favorite, but there were 2 new drinks on the menu I had this past week, one with Pimms and the other with vodka, cucumbers, edible flowers, etc., which were delightful as well. Another one of the exciting features of this supper club is the fact that their kitchen closes at midnight. Where else in San Diego can you get European quality cuisine at that hour? Try the Pomme Frites. Lovely, simply lovely. Great food menu as well. Modus has a sophisticated, yet down-to-earth atmosphere in the bar, dining room & outside patio and not to mention a live dj who spins cool tunes. Overall highly recommended!

• Pros: cocktail & menu selction, parking, music, atmosphere, kitchen open until midnight

03/17/07

Best Cocktails and Food in San diego.

by nativeeater

I have been to Modus several times. The food is always incredible...especially those braised short ribs. They also have the best french fries in town. The Chef only uses organic local produce. I wonder about the other person's experience, as I have had several large parties there (for my office crew) and everyone always has a good time. The Head bartender, Ariana, (I think she is also part owner...)just got named one of America's top Bar Chefs by Playboy magazine. Her cocktails are insanely good. Anyways...this place is one of my favorites. Don't let the tyranny of opinion sway your desicion. Modus is on par with any place in the country, let alone San diego. Give it a try.

• Pros: plenty of free parking
• Cons: the place can get packed on the weekends...go for your first visit during the week

01/24/07

Disappointing Modus

by zmohler

Twelve of my friends and I went to celebrate the holidays at Modus. We read all of the great food reviews and were looking forward to a cool vibe. Although the vibe was cool, the service was horrible. We waited 45 minutes for our bread, the waiter never once poured our wine for us, we had to order more wine from the bus boy and we stacked our dishes at the end of the table for them to be picked up (the dishes sat there until we asked a passing bus boy to pick them up). The food was OK although it arrived in about 4 waves with the servers not knowing who ordered what meal. It took about 15 minutes for all of us to be served. By the time we left we were tired of asking for service (our dinner lasted over 3 hours and that was not by choice). It was very disappointing especially considering our dinner was over $1k for the 13 of us. We wrote a comment card three weeks ago and have yet to hear back from management. We will not go back.

• Pros: Cool vibe, great music, good bread and salt
• Cons: Horrible service, average food considering the price

12/21/06

Awesome Mint Julips!

by notasurfer

I had the best mint julip at this new Banker's Hill supper club. It's a cool vibe, but the fries were over-cooked. Love the bar and mini-patio outside.