libations and bites in San Diego

I have been hearing talk about Polite Provisions for months now from various sources telling me how much I would love this place. Why I ask? Because it has fantastic cocktails they say. So finally, we decided to pay them a visit one afternoon and see what the fuss was all about.

The exterior doesn’t do it any justice. Once inside, it is another story all together. The late afternoon light was reflecting a glow showcasing every glorious facet of the decor from the marble to the beautiful tiling. The art deco theme flows throughout and you will find various treasures if you take the time to look.

The wood paneling aligning the corridor leads to Soda & Swine, their sister establishment offering food and beer. You can bring your kids there, but unfortunately, Polite Provisions only allows 21 and over. First, order some food and then return back into Polite Provisions and find a place to sit. They will bring the food over for you.

We were lucky enough to snag some seats at the bar. There are a bunch of cocktails on tap and after consulting with the bartender, I decided to start with one of the tequila cocktails on tap, Tijuana Slowdance ($8), with Blanco tequila, blackberry and Pedro’s pomegranate soda. It was very easy to drink and I downed it pretty quickly. The dude ordered Pine Street Sour ($8) with rye whiskey, fresh lemon and grapefruit, campari and pineapple. The best part about the drinks here is the $8 price tag on almost all of them. What a deal!

As the sun set, the interior slowly becomes lit up with an almost eerie yellow lighting, but the unique, intricate decor fades into the backdrop and loses the intrigue. I highly suggest going when it is still light for a first visit. There are so many details in the decor not to be missed!

Our food arrived shortly after. We ordered all the meatballs off the menu in the form of sliders ($3 each). The Swine is a smoked pork meatball with chipotle and pepperjack while The Hog is chorizo with chipotle and mozzarella. The latter was definitely bursting with a whole lot of flavor. The Bovine was the traditional beef with marinara with mozzarella, but it was The Hen which blew us over. This chicken meatball with mushroom cream and provolone was absolutely the bomb! Vegetarians can delight in The Grain, a quinoa meatball with pesto and feta. Without the feta, it was on the bland side.

The Apple Salad ($4) was light and refreshing and even though I dislike apples, I found this pleasant especially with the bits of manchego cheese, celery and wonderfully crunchy toasted hazelnuts dotted throughout.

I absolutely loved the Scotch Egg ($4) which had chorizo surrounding the exterior lending a wonderful flavor to the egg. Texturally it was also perfect, with a nice crunchy outside and a soft melty yolk on the inside. Served with a dijon aioli this is one of the best Scotch eggs I’ve had in a long time.

The Crispy Polenta ($5) was terrific with soft burrata and a tangy tart arrabbiata sauce smothering the delightful polenta. The slight kick made it mouthwatering good. Very well executed indeed.

We ordered more drinks and decided to change it up a bit. This time, we decided on the Mayan Concubine ($8) Reposado tequila, fresh lemon, apricot liqueur and bitters; Ken Burns Effect ($8) rye whiskey, Oloroso sherry, maraschino liqueur and bitters.

What a great way to round off our visit here. Since we were going elsewhere after this, we didn’t have one more drink — gotta save some room for the next spot. However, we’ll definitely be back again real soon!

Polite Provisions
4696 30th Street
San Diego, CA 92116
Tel: 619-677-3784