I have a vendor at Thursday’s Farmer’s market to sell my art prints. And last night was my first day there. We came here for dinner after the Farmers Market to celebrate my successful first day. I’ve heard and seen this place for a lot of times. I was wondering why it’s popular because it doesn’t look anything unique. But when I had their foods, I know the reasons, it is delicious!!!! I also love their menu, simple, all look good and very easy for people to make decisions. I love my Encontro sliders, my husband’s hot dog and the portobello fries are amazing, I almost finished all the fries by myself as he had dinner already. The sangria is only $5, it’s absolutely worthy your money. We will come back here for sure. Maybe after my second Farmers Market day in two weeks.

The food here is great. There is indoor and outdoor seating. Their restrooms are also open. Their variety of appetizers, burgers, and drinks are a great selection to choose from. If your choosing to go for the fries, I would recommend asking for them to be crispy. The customer service was great. Pictured is an ahi taco (comes with 3) and a friend chicken burger.

What the F@&&!? Why, why, why would any customer want to open up their meal to stickers of Big Ed’s face!? If you don’t know who he is then this would be even more disturbing! Encontro really!? I thought you were classier than throwing some “Z List” celebrity face around as your claim to fame! Just because a waitress dated him don’t stoop this low! Plus who f$&@ makes stickers of themselves!? Thanks for making me lose my appetite! He’s such a creep.

I rarely write reviews. Im big on restaurant referrals and love to eat out. I really want to love it here especially being a local but We were there last week for lunch and were not happy with the service, the oily chips, or the lack of tuna in the tuna melt. This was our first time ordering from True North. Really wanted it to be a good experience since we are next door often. I think it should be transparent that there is a charge to order from next door. Also, we were unhappy with spending $26 on this one item that came looking like a scrambled mess and not receiving any additional utensils or sauces.

Great service, beautiful environment and good tasting food! Try the albacore tuna melt it’s delicious

The desert menu tells you everything you need to know. Tip for the kitchen staff. The food is phenomenal, on a Monday. Asparagus wow. Lobster roll wow.

Second time here. I tried the lamb burger and the cardiff sando. Both were pretty good. There is a charge for upgrading chips to fries but it is worth it, I guess. Overall, this is a nice spot placed in the corner with large windows and street views. They also have a pretty good beer menu.

Decent spot ordered the encontro burger, needed more seasoning and didnt catch that it didnt come with cheese so it wasnt too impressive but it was not bad either Im not upset but Id prob not order again even with cheese which is an extra cost along with fries being an extra cost otherwise the sandwiches/burgers come with chips. Wifey ordered the Marys chicken with the honey vinaigrette on the side. Hers was really good I think vinaigrette on the side was a good call cause the flavor was very strong might be too much on the sandwich but it was really good and she got truffle fries with shaved parmesan and those were good too. Oh my fries were the regular fries were on point too. Waitress was cool nice and attentive she let me sample a beer before I ended up ordering it because I liked the sample. But the food took kind of a long time to come out like 40 min and they werent packed this was at 2:30pm. Overall I might come back.

Missed the mark on food for the price:$70 for two burger, side of asparagus, and 2 drinks…. The “brioche” bun was cold and dry, muting all the flavor from the luke warm meat.Great location with friendly inexperienced wait staff.

Came on here just to post this beautiful sangria picture! It’s been weeks and I can’t stop thinking about it. I definitely have to go back soon for more!!

The food was delicious! They had a great variety of draft beer on tap. The atmosphere certainly had that Cali vibe. The service was excellent! The fresh cut fries and homemade chips were really good. Looking forward to trying more on their menu.

This place was so good, the food was great and really good ambiance. Highly recommend the truffle mac and cheese. Charmaine was a sweetheart and had great recommendations as well.

All I can say is wow amazing from service,food and drinks

Pretty rich food. Great service.

Really good breakfast place to try if youre tired of eating at snooze. I found the menu to be versatile with easy descriptions of the food. When i visit new places Im always nervous the food is described differently than what comes out. I didnt have that issue here. Exactly what I read on the menu is how it comes out. Packaging was beautiful and sturdy for the ride home. We ordered online and picked up about 15-20 mins after placing it. Bu the time we arrived, one of our orderes were complete while the other one was being packaged. This was on a saturaday around 10 am. The employees had a good flow going (1/30)

My fiancé and I had hoped to sit outside or at least in some sort of comfortable seating arrangement, but instead we were told that the bar style seating next to the grill was our only option. This detail alone really made for a bad experience. The food was mediocre and uninspired. My fiancé had to get creative and put our appetizer on the slider to make it somewhat interesting. I would never expect food at this level of quality in this part of town. We cannot recommend this place. The second star is for our server who was nice and provided great service.

Great food. We poped in for brunch and had excellent service. we were visiting from Seattle and this is our first restaurant in San Diego... Very impressed! I got the smoke salmon board for breakfast it was amazing! Bottomless mimosas for relatively cheap it was great!

Incredible customer service. Seating was sparse and the setting sun was bright but they did everything humanly possible to find us a space without the sun glaring directly on us. They had to move us twice but they continued to check in and make sure we were having a nice experience. Highly recommend this place

Kasia was amazing person. She suggested yummy burger and delicious salad. Place is very clean and price is affordable

Great food super friendly service! Try the Cardiff Crack or Portabella fries and you wont be disappointed. Top it off with Souffle Au Chocolat and end your meal right!

I always see this place as Im driving down University, so I was pretty excited when my friends wanted to meet up here. Its a pretty large location for being in north park, and they did a great job utilizing their windows and turning them into seating areas. We sat at the window looking out on University.We came here on a weekend for brunch. Bottomless mimosas for $18 - the way I see it, if you can drink at least 4, its worth your money! I also ordered the Cali breakfast burrito and it was so flavorful and worth my money. I was a bit taken back to see it was $11, but come to think of it, thats actually pretty cheap for brunch and like I said, worth every penny!The service is great and the servers work together to take care of every table! Parking can be tough on weekends, but around the corner, theres the parking structure and on weekends, its $1/hr.

The menu was interesting. I had the chicken fried trout. It was really tasty. Good beer selection, friendly staff and dog friendly.

Great service, lovely/cozy atmosphere, and yet sadly average food.My friends and I came for dinner and ordered 2 different burgers and one truffle mac. The burgers tasted ok but the brioche buns were dry. (I thought I was crazy at first but my friend thought so as well for his burger). To upgrade your already expensive burger to have regular fries, its an extra $2. The truffle mac and cheese was also underwhelming. Although the truffle came through, it needed some salt, or better/more cheese... something to help it out.In addition, a man also walked inside and started bellowing/singing/shouting. We sat uncomfortably at our table for about 5minutes before someone asked him to leave. Not the establishments fault, but beware of unexpected performances from a local homeless person.

The service was terrible. We ordered something for our dogs that they offer on their menu and they never brought it out. Never refilled our water. Waited and hour for our food. Never asked us if we needed anything. Servers were also rude when taking our orders. The food isn’t worth the price of it. Maybe the manager or the owner, should try to have better customer service. In general I would never come back or recommend the place.

The food was really good, a bit expensive for what it was but tasted great. the beer and wine selection was pretty good too.

Perhaps I am missing something. Spent 100+ on bland at best food. The milkshake had a fat chunk of chocolate in it. The Bread was great. The service was great. Was a chili night so the inside was cold. The appetizers came out in 25 minutes. I got the Cardiff crack, wife got the salad and my son got the wings. Wings were good. The salad wasnt good and the Cardiff crack was bland. What ever those things that looked like scalloped potatoes were nasty. Not trying to leave a bad review but it is what it is. Popular spot. Just dont know why.

Enjoyed the patty and tuna melts. Great service. Very dog friendly. Homemade chips were wonderful. Highly recommended.

Friendly staff and great food. Ordered salads, along with Truffle fries (so delicious).

Absolutely wonderful. Highly recommend.The Chillaqueas were spot on. Husband had the Cali Burrito, loved it. Beer selection perfect. Diffently a new favorite in the neighborhood.Staff super kind.

Nice ambiance but the food was fairly average. The asparagus side was worth getting. The smoked salmon Benedict came on a really thick and dry biscuit.

Randomly stopped in with a friend yesterday. We didnt take advantage of their Thursday drink special ($5 red, white, rosé sangrias) cuz we didnt see it till it was too late. :/ But we did enjoy a few things off the menu! I ordered the pulled pork sliders, which ended up being the only things left on the plate (you only get 2, and there wasnt a lot of meat, mostly just bun)...they were okay...not bad, but not worth the calories, esp compared to everything else we had. I also ordered the Spinach & Bacon salad with bacon vinaigrette. It sounded interesting because of egg zest. What the hell is that? How do you zest an egg? Haha It was DELICIOUS. My buddy orderedd the Chicken Sliders and the Butter Biscuits. I dont remember what he said about his sliders, but he ate them all so i guess they were good. But the Biscuits.....those amazing honey buttered biscuits were absolutely delicious! I will come back for those any day!

GREAT FOOD! 🤤 but the service was slow. Which is such a bummer because the food and experience was great. My husband ordered a second drink and it never came, we wanted to leave but the waitress didn’t come back for 20 mins. Eventually we packed up (our baby stuff & for the stroller ready) and walked to the hostess to be helped. Who snarked and said “oh I think she’s right there actually” too many young girls who obviously aren’t customer service centered. Sad

Plenty of outdoor seating, beer on tap, and wine. The food was tasty, and portions seem adequate. I tried the honey Sriracha wings and the Brussel sprout appetizers. Both were great. Only thing missing in this menu is a hard liquor section. Beer and wine is all they have.

Sorry, I cant support a business that glamorizes a d-list celebrity with a history of ill-treatment towards women.

Clearly super short staffed but they did amazing with what they had! Jlo was awesome.

Great vibe. We loved the speciality IPAs and beers. The fried chicken sliders and lamb buger was tasy. Servers were great. I plan on going back when Im in San Diego.

The veggie hash was amazing! Staff were friendly and quick. Great outdoor seating.

They added the Ahi tacos to the menu !!!!!Not just happy hourSupport local !!!!Great restaurant

Food was creative and very tasty, service was great (Stephanie is awesome). Thanks so much!

We had such an amazing experience here tonight!! Amanda was such a sweet waitress and took such great care of us. Our food took a little long to get to our table and as an apology, they didn’t charge us for anything! We really were not expecting to be compensated at all and this was such a wonderful treat for our first time eating here! The whole staff was phenomenal and we can’t wait to come back and try more of the amazing food and drinks they offer!

Unbelievable menu, Cardiff crack, portobello fries, great beer, I could go on and on for days. The staff was amazing, I will make this a norm!

Absolutely love this place!! The food is amazing and also so much to choose from. The best.

Definitely one of if not our favorite place in North Park. Hardest working staff and Chef Jason is the coolest guy youll meet. Cardiff Crack is a must so dont forget to order it every time you go.

The Ahi Tuna Poke Tacos are delicious.

This place is wonderful. The food was fresh, and well prepared. My only complaint is that we were seated a bit far from the restaurant on 30th instead of university which took away from the experience a bit, so I would have preferred to just wait a bit longer for a better seat. The restaurant is super cute! I highly recommend.

San Diego visitors and locals! The main attraction drawling you into the experiences of a world culture of food, exquisite art, and cultivating beverages. The passion for food, dining etiquette and the dedicated staff provide a one of kind experience! Highly recommended savory desserts accompanied with nitro cold brew. Exceptional, talented, compassionate, owner of Encontro Northpark Jason Hotchkiss hats off to a outstanding job well done.

Had the pleasure of meeting Chef Owner Jason and had a wonderful dining experience, I love the atmosphere and what he creates from his appetizers, main dishes, and luscious desserts, I truly enjoyed the Brussels sprouts salad, ahi wonton tacos, portobello fries to name a few, his prime pork chop is amazing, Fried trout, and of course the Chicken and waffles, and for the finale you can’t go wrong with berry cobbler, churro icecream sandwhich and whoa a souffle, the service was grest and will for sure come back, had a great girls night after work:)

Good food, fun atmosphere. Outdoor seating. Good beer selection. I always end up getting something new whenever I come (Hot Chicken last time)

Had large, sharp pieces of glass in my arugula salad last February and when I told the waiter they didn’t say a word and just took it back to the kitchen and brought me a new one. No apologizes or reaction at all. They were not even a bit surprised, just emotionless. I didn’t assume we’d get the salad comped (which we didn’t) since I got a new one but some sort of reaction would’ve felt more human than the interaction we had.At other restaurants, much minor incidents like a messed up order has received more care and attention than the shards of sharp glass that I could’ve swallowed.

Get the Baja Jalapeno Caesar salad. Trust me.

Good food and great service!

Awesome!! Food and service is amazing. Recommend trying prime pork chop.

Encontro at North Park its a great experience as it comes to food place and as well looking for a regar pub crawl with your friends at North Park, this place has both of them worlds.Great staff, friendly and customer service oriented always making sure youre doing great and comfortable.Will come back again and recommend this place to friends.

Great sausages here. Nice breezy seating area. Can get pretty crowded.

Attentive staff and food was good.

The service was really great and the food was pretty delicious, however we felt it was pretty pricey. A $14 hamburger should come with a side at least. I would try it again but hope to see more food for the cost.

Nice place, excellent beers and meals !

Super cute date spot! Good wine list, good apps.

Awesome food, great restaurant, server was very nice, fast and helpful, lunch was perfect, love seeing big Ed here, and I literally said “this could be my new favorite lunch spot” and then when I got the bill they told me they don’t accept CASH, with no warning before I ate, making me feel completely embarrassed and awkward on my lunch date. I won’t be coming back and I don’t care for whatever excuse it is for going cashless. Don’t support restaurants or businesses like this that don’t accept cash.

Farm fresh salad with a delicious and generous piece of salmon on top! Yummy! The game changer was the sweet potato truffle fries! The service was outstanding!

Carnitas tacos are the best, ahi poke very good too, happy hour very good deals, worth itMy second time and not the last one

Me and a friend came here blind, after walking up and down University. It was a good choice. The food was tasty, the service was attentive, and the atmosphere was pretty neat. It was a bit expensive, but worth it.

Excellent food--no misses on the food. Wings are perfectly cooked. Dog menu if thats your thing.

The food here is fantastic, really good!

So good. The chicken and waffles is awesome:) service was great. Just a heads up they do not take cash

Great food. Dont miss out on the date night special (Wednesday)

Had a really bad experience here and was embarrassed since I was trying to show a friend from out of town a good meal out in north park. They do not have a huge selection of drinks beyond beer and wine and we were not enthused with this selection either. Both of our meals were soggy and soaking in the sauces and the Mary’s chicken I got was absolutely dry and flavorless. When the bill came we both were disappointed having to pay $70+ for a meal we didn’t even eat or enjoy and ended up getting takeout on the way home. The service was also difficult as we rarely saw our server and they couldn’t accommodate bringing out small plates as appetizers instead we were forced to eat everything all at one. We definitely will not be returning.

This place was so good, the service was phenomenal, ambiance was nice, low lights, pretty informal. Great beer and wine selection, daily drink deals, and dog friendly(dog menu avaliable). I tried quite a few menu items; the farmhouse salad is to die for, as well as, the buttered biscuits, pulled pork sliders, house bread, truffle fries, etc. I didnt have a bad bite of food during our visit. Beers were kept full as well as waters, waitress was super helpful. I would absolutely recommend for a night out, small plates restaurant are so fun as you can try so many things!

This is such a great place to eat and have a couple drinks. Great beer list, excellent food, and their happy hour makes it all even better.And a HUGE plus, theyre super dog friendly. We were able to hang out inside and they even have a dog menu.

Great place excellent food. service is a bit slow.

Get the butter biscuits. Trust me.

I just want to say thank you to Encontro. I recently had an order experience that came out sub par and Encontro handled it extremely well. I spoke with Matt and Jason, both of which were friendly and helpful. By the end of our conversation I felt everything was addressed and resolved.I know times are hard right now with the food service world (and everywhere else for that matter), but you guys are still doing great despite some hiccups. Thank you again for a great customer service experience. We will be ordering from you again.

Absolutely one of the best meals I’ve had in a very long time. The flavors of everting we had were unique and absolutely delicious. Good selection of craft beer and wine to go along with it. Do yourself a favor and don’t skip over the crispy green beans.

Wonderful good and great owner

I have never been so Dissapointed with a restaurant. I have visited Encontro for lunch several times and had great food and service. When my dad was in town to see his best friend who he hadent seen for years, I trusted Encontro on a Friday night to deliver. They would not take a reservation but said the wait for a 6 person party would be 20 minutes. We got there they said 20 minutes. We waited over 2 hours to be seated. What made it worse was on visiting the bathroom, we got to hear our server complain about having to serve a 6 person party... After waiting two hours.. and then the chef skimped on the recipes on several of our favorite dishes.Ended the night feeling horribly sorry for my dad for showing him an awful time. If you want to visit Encontro, go on a Tuesday during lunch hours. Encontro does not hold up to rush hours.

It was good. Chicken Sandwich was good, fries cooked perfectly. Service was alright, it was very busy so that may have had something to do with it.

Get the red sangria.... marinated in fruit

Some of the best food in San Diego. Try the prime pork chop and the asparagus with shaved parmesan and fried egg. Oh yah!

I really enjoyed this spot. I somehow ended up with a pink colored beer (Blood Orange flavor). But, it was good.To eat, I had their burger which was fantastic. Homemade potato chips are also better than they sound.Only downside I would point to is kind of subjective: with the open sides/windows, the street noise is quite loud.

NICK IS GREAT.I had a great time at this restaurant! Nick was amazing and kind. The brunch menu was great as well, and the endless mimosa choices were delicious.

Solid selection of beers and wines, service was on point. Food was hot and tasty. Would recommend to anyone in North Park whos looking for a great place to eat and drink with friends.

Unfortunately we had a very disappointing lunch experience here. My wifes truffle mac & cheese was good (could always have more truffle flavour) but my burger was really not great. Supposedly cooked medium, it was well done, and the meat did not bind together. It just fell apart, like overcooked mince. If you want real burgers, go to Crazee around the corner.Additionally, service was questionable. We were not told that cheese was extra on the burger, and the stated cost of fries turned out to be wrong as well. When we asked a server to clean our table, it was done grudgingly and without a smile. And since the meal, we both had stomach issues that could only have come from this kitchen.The drinks were fine (although maybe serving wine in a water cup is not a good or serious way to show off nice wine) but due to the lacklustre service and mediocre food, we will not be returning.

Great food, beer and friendly staff!

It was good. Staff was nice and they were very efficient. If it wasnt for the mask, you wouldnt notice any differences.

Yummy food, poor service.Went for brunch and sat outside with my mom and dog. They have a good brunch and drink selection as well as a doggy food menu. Unfortunately, the service was lacking. We waited 15 minutes to be greeted by our waitress. The water glass I received still had lip and finger marks. I had to put our menus away myself because my waitress didnt take them. Even though everyone was nice, it did not feel like we got the same experience as others. Maybe it would have been better if we got drinks? And if we had more people to socialize with? And if we werent sitting outside? ...Regardless, none of these are excuses for our underwhelming experience. I probably wont go again or recommend to others.

Outstanding!!! There wasnt a bad bite. This was the best meal I have had in a long time.

Expected much more. Was just ok.

Great fries, great crab roll and nice humans. 10/10.

We came in on Tuesday night and everything was great. Ordered the pork chop which may have been the best I’ve had. The bartender Connor was also very accommodating and helped us make some good food and drink choices. I will definitely be returning when I come back into town. Cheers!

Excellent experience. We were greeted and taken care of by Jason the head chef.It is really cool to see the chef so actively engaged with their clients. We brought our 3 year old son and they catered to him so well. The pork chop is to die for and the lamb burger is excellent.Really cool design and ambiance. Highly recommend here!

I went to Encontro yesterday with 45 minutes to kill before a class at 3:15 p.m. It wasnt busy. I asked for a suggestion for a dry red wine. I think the young bartender offered the best of what he knew. He was busy discussing beer and dates with a friend who was there. The wine was terrible. I couldnt finish it. He gave me my check when he finished talking to his friend.Not good interaction. And no good wine. Ive been here before and thought it was mediocre.

I always saw this place at the corner of North Park, but never gave myself a chance to try it out because there was always a lot of people and I know why after my first time trying it out.The Patty Melt was really good and was super surprise, also their truffle tots. I also got the banana fudge milkshake and was icing on the cake. Service was also great and attentive and we were eating on the outside too! I would recommend this place if youre in the area.FYI: They got rid of plastic straws and added paper straws and oh girl, I was sucking the living soul out my milkshake.

Outdoor sitting area. Dog friendly. They even have a dog menu.

Decent food, poor service.Every table gets a pitcher of water without ice. Warm water isn’t great on hot summer days.Nice ambience. Big windows.Not my ideal night out. But looks like a good place for drinks on a Wednesday night.

Horrendous service, never been spoken to so rudely in a bar. Went in for a few drinks with friends and half of us asked for another drink but he brought a full round so people were paying for a drink they didnt ask for because we didnt want to be difficult. Therefore, didnt leave a significant tip and he asked if we were planning to and trying to shame us, told us it was customary in the US and to consider it an exchange lesson I assume because we are all international students. Nice to be welcomed into such a beautiful country where you are expected to pay for rubbish customer service. Wont be returning!

Good luck to this nice location. But $11 for a 5 ounce pour of wine and very limited menu I dont know how they will make it. A large staff which is disorganized somebody needs to manager place. The food was good. But $6 for an order of fries and they dont take any cash. Thats a first for me good luck guys

Good food. Friendly service. We had mac & cheese. Excellent. Fried cauliflower also excellent. Outstanding wine list of many Guadalupe valley wines.

I went here for the first time last week for some lunch and Beer 🤙🏽 I think this place was a good spot to do so the waiters were very attendant and helpful i orders my beer and a bacon BLT with a side of fries 🍟 it was 🔥 and I’m not a big bacon fan I just felt a bit dangerous that day and I was satisfied.Thanx all for a good experience I appreciate you.

Everything was exquisite! Corn dogs are amazeballs, grilled little gems are delicious!

The brunch menu was really good with a nice variety. I ended up getting the hangover cure which was cooked to perfection. The potatoes were nice and crisp and the proportion of each ingredient was well balanced. The service was very attentive as well. We went a little earlier in the morning than most do it wasnt too packed. The only drawback was the lack of a full bar but I would definitely go back for the food alone.