They sure know how to cook an excellent breakfast! Lunch & Dinner, never disappointed me! Surely enough food, great atmosphere inside & out. Great outdoor dining during the plandemic, heating was efficient too. Very nice, I'll be back!

Great dinners specials. About $5 cheaper per plate than regular price. Food has been mostly good tasting every time I have gone. Fish tacos are amazing... Strongly recommend staying away from carne asada tacos. Or maybe start with one just to try it out.

Great drink (bar) and food menu selection. Very dog friendly outdoor covered seating available, covered, fenced, and fan/coolers running. Only negative was road noise that isn't within their control, but they do have fencing and solid bushes up to seperate yourself from it as much as possible. Food was great, wide variety to fit everyone. Burgers, pasta, and breakfast all got rave reviews from our visit.

Mainstream burger was great. My neighbor and I enjoyed our visit. My birthday is coming soon and I plan to return with family for another gourmet meal.

Have been coming her for a while now. Never disappoints. Great service, good food and nice drink menu. Can't beat the $4.95 bottomless mimosa's on Sunday. And great weekly specials all week long. Just experienced Baja Monday this week. $1 fish tacos and they are HUGE! 1 was all I could handle. Can't wait for the new live music and Open Mike night Sundays.

Absolutely LOVE the food! Love the menu variety. Since the evil plague hit we always order to go. While often times other restaurants to go food is just not the same quality as eating in, we have found they are just as excellent as always. The staff is always very nice, and very helpful. ZERO complaints. I hope you will try them out and I look forward to reading your reviews. I especially hope you find Mainstream as great as we always do!

Excellent bar and grill. Food was good, service was friendly and there was an abundance of TVs to watch Sunday football. Also noticed that they were pet friendly.

Best homemade mozzarella sticks I’ve ever had, the Ahi was delicious, all our food was awesome, our server Renee made us feel right at home!! The place is very comfortable and welcoming! I can’t wait to come back and I’m definitely going to come and enjoy some live music one weekend!!! If you love good food, good atmosphere, welcoming staff then you will love Mainstream Bar & Grill!!!😎. I’m a former restaurant owner and I’m hard to please but Mainstream checked all the boxes!!!

Two major things that make a great restaurant, great staff and great food. Mainstream has both. It’s easy to give a review after you’ve had time to think about your dining experience and the interaction with your server. It’s also fair to say that just because any restaurant that would like your opinion, it’s also easy to trash or nitpick it. From the owner down to the dishwasher, they have always gone out of their way making sure we were satisfied. Keep up the great job Mainstream. Montana Chuck

Our first time here, we're definitely going to be coming back regularly. Very friendly servers and bartender. Huge portions and delicious food. ~$25 per person for a dinner, split appetizer and adult beverages. Easy to get to and plenty of free parking. All with a great, comfortable atmosphere, what else could you ask for?

We came across this gem while we waited for emergency car service next door. The food was really good but the staff was amazing. Such a breath of fresh air. I wish for nothing but the best for those wonderful ladies who took such great care of us tonight!

Great band. Did not know Poway had a night life!

Zach is an amazing server, remembers and uses all our b ames. Food great at good price. Large margarita is aweso m e. Entertainment great. On and on...

BEST New Year's Eve party! The Sticky Sweets are wonderful!! Thank you for giving us an amazing New Year's Eve!!

+4

Manny the bar tender was wonderful, birthday twins!!

Wow! This place was BUSY on a Saturday night. The server in the restaurant was very nice and very helpful. (Oops, I didn't get her name. But we were sitting all the way outside on the patio and we ordered from her. I was like 'how are you going to find us to give us our order?' She was like ' orange 🧡 shirt Diana'. Great server, service with a smile & very attentive. She made our experience even better. And Mike's band made the night pretty awesome as well.

I am new in town. I love the staff. These girls are beautiful and super friendly. Any song I play on the jukebox, they all sing along with me. They charge my phone. They totally cater to my every need. I love to chat with the locals and watch the many tv shows they stream. I am heading in now for breakfast. Their food is delicious. They are always open. Beautiful atmosphere and I love the large horse statue! ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️

We always come to Mainstream Bar & Grill and we absolutely love it. Amazing customer service, great food and atmosphere. Our Chamber of Commerce event takes place here every year never dissapoints. Hi From Crystal Gardens Florist!

I really like the Fish & Chips here. Big portions and their fries are fantastic.

Food is good. Very large portions. Excellent service. A+

Great place, fantastic band called Heatwave!

Went to see Sticky Sweets Band and had some drinks. The band was Fantastic! 🔥

Really cool place. Been there twice now and love the food. First time was a month ago, Casey was our waitress and she recommended the chicken piccata and it was amazing. Chicken was tender and just all out good but the service was even better. She is the sweetest waitress we ever had. Then this last time we got her AGAIN! Meant to be!!!! She told us about the new soups they now have and had us try Shepard pie and my husband had a bison patty melt. She nailed that again too. Coming back for the bands Casey mentioned on the weekends. Huge place. Go see her and the restaurant you won't be disappointed.

Really enjoyed the food and service. I adjusted the menu a bit, which was well received and well performed. Breakfast served until 2:00 is a winner. Service was fantastic.

Love this place! Great food, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Great service ask for Casie, she exceeds our expectations every time!! Best hamburgers around. Want a great start to your day? Start at Mainstream. Their Breakfast is Outstanding along with smooth coffee.

When we are planning to be in this area, we go here for breakfast. We went for dinner once. We are not bar visitors but it always seems like an active place. The dining area used to be in the main area but has now moved into another area that was planned to be a Mexican restaurant. The breakfast are typical with a hefty Mexican offerings. The food is always warm and good. I do feel that the servers sometimes forget that people are in this area to eat, you might sit 5 minutes before they see you. It's off to the side, a large space and usually quiet. There are still a few tables in the original space, but a pool table was added there. Bottom line good food with lots of choices

All of the food was excellent! We loved how dog friendly they were!!

The staff is incredibly friendly. We came for breakfast and highly recommend the avocado toast. Sitting outside on the patio was just lovely!

Wanting to watch a hockey game we decided to check this place out. They have a lot of televisions for sports viewing. So many bar top long tables in and around bar area to watch your favorite game. The staff is so very friendly. Atmosphere casual and welcoming. The jambalaya was amazing, the fish and chips too! Oh my...the french fries, everybody talks about them and they are so good! Highly recommend! BTW...the breakfasts are very good and best part they have a dog friendly patio and yummy bottomless mimosa's! Ohhhhhhhh!!!!

Went for breakfast on a Sunday. They had every NFL game on with multiple TV. The service was super fast and friendly with no sacrifice of quality. The food was so good I ate more then I would normally. Sarah was my server and I loved the instant seating with a smile. All around great spot. Will be back

We go here every week and we get so much delicious food for an affordable price. And pet friendly

Excellent cocktails. Enjoyed the BOGO appetizers. Terrific server, Zach.

Our band plays at Mainstream every so often, and we have a perspective on local restaurants, etc. They consistently have great food (it always tastes good, and looks appetizing). The service was top notch at the bar, and at the tables. Everyone was very nice in addition to how they took care of us. Our friends, and families were very pleased.

Tracy Heida

Service is always great and the food is delicious!

chino cochino

Laura was great.. really enjoy my visit..

Daniel Cain

Good food with an amazing happy hour menu. Generous pours and tasty cocktails too! The service was excellent for multiple visits. Relaxed local vibe.

Sandy Crays

I LOVE this place. Been going there for many years. The food is fantastic....every item is so so good. They have specials that make it even more economical. The staff is always friendly. Its my favorite Go-to for breakfast and casual dinners. Lunch is great also. Can't say enough good things about Mainstream!!

Armida Deroo

First time here, we had the best fried zucchini, great service . My lemon drop martini was awesome!

Jodi Wagner

First time visit. Met up with some friends for a quick bite and to enjoy a live band. Ordered their Hawaiian Burger with a side order of French fries. It was delicious! The band, Bad Rabbit, was playing on stage...loved their music!

Ryan Archer

Went here because we wanted to try something new and different - though it has been here for awhile. We were very happy with our choice! Live music, good food and a great server. We'll be back! We were upsold the mozzarella sticks - and they were worth it!

+5

Danielle Domville

BEST New Year's Eve party!! The Sticky Sweets rock!!! This place has EVERYTHING! Great service, wonderful food and drinks, love music, dancing! You can't go wrong! What are you waiting for? Get over there! You'll be happy you did 🥂🎊

+5

Catherine Hunt

It’s been a long time since we have been here and first time since the pandemic. We primarily came with our friends last Saturday to listen to 2Little2Late Band playing rock music that we can dance to. We ate dinner as well & the food good. Our server was friendly and came by to check regularly if we needed anything. The band was awesome.

+1

Jen Ren

Good food and lots of good beer to choose from! I really liked the Beer Battered Zuchini and housemade ranch was bomb! The Carne Asada Burrito was not bad. The service is awesome and so sweet and fun! I forgot to take a picture until we were almost done!

Chad Tollard

Amazing staff And friendly. Bartender was on the ball and rhere if you needed something. Had a live band called Natural Selection. This Bar and Restaurant is in Downtown Poway California. They make you feel like family and very good service. I recomend checking out I be back.

The band playing in the bar was great, the food was tasty, service was good. A friend asked me to go with her to hang out with some ladies she works with, they all seemed to be having a blast, as did the other people there. Much older crowd than I'm used to but they were all dancing, or trying to, but seemed to be having a blast. If i were maybe 10 years older I would have enjoyed it more.

Have only tried breakfast and it wasn't bad, just wasn't good enough for me to beat about it either. Love how friendly the crew is no matter what time you come in. The atmosphere definitely makes up for the taste. They have friendly atmosphere and a lot of events to keep you occupied even in a small town like Friday. The bar has a lot to offer and you can't go wrong coming here after a round of golf with the guys.

I went in for lunch to see if I'd like it especially for a Happy Hour experience. It wasn't very busy, but I could see there were several regulars there. The staff was very friendly and attentive. I decided on the burger with bacon and an egg on top. This was a very good burger and the side of tots made the meal even better. I looked through the menu and the HH specials. I decided that I would return for Happy Hour and I look forward to having a great time!

Fun place to watch a game. Excellent service every time I’ve been there. The food portions are large. Everything has been good and solid. Shepard Pie, Meatloaf , burgers , salads. Everything has been good. Recommend

Server was excellent. I got a Philly Cheesesteak. Bread was dense yet soft and overall taste was good. Only drawback; meat was cooked so well it was dryer than a piece of jerky. I will go back again.

First time! Celebrated my son's birthday and everything was great! I want to give another 1/2 a star as there is always something to improve though maybe not much. Servers were great and food was fantastic! Too many TV's on at lunch time is a bit distracting but good shows.

Good crowd and music. Food is good friendly service. Love Country music outside and rock n roll inside 😊

Normally love the food here but usually eat breakfast. Today I had lunch and I was somewhat disappointed. Had an open- faced buger with chili. The chili was bland and the bun was not toasted. Service was quite good as usual. Earlier in the week had breakfast here and it was great, as I have come to expect over the years.

Great little bar with a good bartender good fun energy with good food

If you're going for food I'd go for brunch. Weekend evenings are lively and loud (live music) with a slightly older crowd. There's also a couple pool tables and regulars that shoot a good game.

My family and I come here at least twice monthly for breakfast. We always receive amazing service from Leslie and Emily. Breakfast foods are cooked to perfection and almost never disappoint. We have tried their dinner service a few times and haven't been back since. Though the service itself was good, the food was o.k at best. Their Mexican food is flavorless, regardless of meat choice, and their rice and beans were sad. The selection of hamburgers is decent, but almost always cold and pink inside upon table delivery. The garlic fries were my favorite with their rich garlicky flavor and actual minced garlic. There are two sides to the restaurant, the bar with billiards and the jukebox and then the larger dining area that has been painted with murals of their attempted, but never took off, Mexican Restaurant, 'Tequila Fuente', if you've made it this far, then you know why. Overall, we enjoy having breakfast here and is my family's go-to place for good, fairly priced food and awesome service.

Food and service was wonderful. We were there for lunch. Wasn't very busy. They have a nice setup. Only disappointment is they have live plants. The soil needs to be treated with pest control. We had a ton on knats flying around. I was going to mention it as we left but couldn't find anyone.

Solid place, good music and servers. Come here often for $1 fish tacos on Monday night, and hit there happy hour between 3-630. Local watering hole, decent beer selection - mostly IPAs at the moment. But love a good Mongo IPA sooo it's Perfecto :) see you guys next Monday!

I came when it was happy hour. I had a quesadilla and potato skins. Both were very good. The staff are very friendly. I definitely want to come back.

Fun location - week nights are very chill - staff is quite lively, there is a very local feel but they are friendly to everyone. Live Music is very good, more country in case that matters - but will play a good mix of older music. They have a fantastic bull pen and stage setup out back. Food is above average - a burrito and melt sandwich were both good (although I wish the sandwich came on I more solid or flavorful bread - the white sub roll was a bit soft and got soggy). Either way - didn't stop me from finishing it!

Fun place to hang out. Good foods and nice live music.

George Toth Jr.

Because i was in the area, I stopped in for a bite to eat. Huge place. Lot of TV's Ordered the pork pot stickers as appetizer and for lunch ordered the standard burger with bacon, and fries. If i was going to be disappointed about anything it would be that this is a Pepsi joint, not a joke joint. I do not drink Pepsi...ever...overall, the pork pot sticker was great, had crispness and still chewy. Dip was great with it. The burger was simple, but very good. I will return and order her again.

+9

Natalie

What a nice little restaurant. Nothing jaw dropping but good food and kind waitresses. This is in the parking lot of the strip mall. This Saturday early afternoon it seat yourself and we grabbed a booth. Quickly we’re given waters and our menus. Waitress took a bit to come by to get our order but seemed like she was in charge of all the tables on our side of the restaurant. I got the mainstream breakfast over easy eggs sausage links hash browns and a side pancake. She got biscuits and gravy with o Brien potatoes. Food didn’t take too long to make and it was good! Food is a little more bland than other breakfast spots I have been to, but that is fine since I can season to my liking and others may not be a fan or overly seasoned food. Everything was cooked perfectly and their butter was soft and delightful on my pancake. When we got our bill she did accidentally comp the biscuit meal which turned out to be an accident. We asked her to make the correction to include it because that’s only right and it came out under 30$ which is not bad at all as we recently tried a burger place and it was $35 for two burger meals. Not bad spot I’d love to come and try their lunch and dinner menus

+4

Danielson GettinAround

Popped to catch a game. Had some appetizers, drinks and food. Good time overall. Good service very friendly. Food was good. Wings were good. Salsa and chips were NOT. Nachos were ok...i guess. When you have nachos and chips on the menu, they gotta be good you can not mess up chips and salsa or nachos....some how they did. They did take the chips and salsa off my tab...5 stars. Atmosphere was cool, bar section of Mainstream is actually real nice. The bar side, is your typical dive bar side. I will go back for drink and game day. Just won't get nachos...lol..

+7

Maverick

My family and I really enjoy this place. We always try to sit in Leslie’s section. She takes great care of us and seems to have a genuine interest in us and she’s easy to talk to. The food is always good and the place is always clean. They also have a New Mexican restaurant open in the back which I have not been to yet but looks great. You can find parking at the front of the restaurant and at the back. Parking in the back may be limited as actual spaces go. There is also covered seating in the rear parking lot. There televisions and heaters if necessary. Mainstream has a large bar seating area as you enter on your left and I believe they still offer a discount on Fireball shots when the Fire Department next door gets a call. There are two sets of bathrooms. One is near the bar and the other is in the back of the restaurant. It’s in the new Mexican restaurant which is attached to Mainstream. I would recommend visiting Mainstream for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Or to catch a sporting event playing on one of their tv’s. They have something for everyone. Enjoy!

+3

Cool band, great wings and the beer was good!

3 out of 5 of us liked it- which is why I have it 3 stars. Hubby and son (18 yrs old) had burgers and loved them, oldest daughter (18 yrs old) had a chicken pasta that was super oily, but she said it was still delicious! I had the chilaquiles, I figured they weren't gonna be great, but they weren't even good. My youngest daughter (17 yrs old) had enchiladas with green sauce. She wasn't pleased with her plate either. The beans tasted like canned Rosarita refried beans and the rice was awful. I think if you avoid the Mexican options you'll be good. On a good note our server was awesome and a half! They served me the chilaquiles from the breakfast menu even though we got there about 15-20 minutes after they stopped serving breakfast. Food came quickly and everything was hot. Hubby enjoyed watching the game too- atmosphere is nice and it is family friendly. Their patio is also pet friendly.

Service was really slow. Just getting drinks took forever, never asked about water or maybe extra napkins. Omelet was requested to be a scramble, a menu option under omelet or scramble. Dish arrived as omelet, on mentioning it should have been a scramble, plate was returned with the same dry omelet chopped up. LoL, prediction before plate was returned. No biscuit or toast ever delivered. Ruben sandwich was more cheese than meat, sauerkraut was none existent. Now we know why the table next to us was so irritated, and It was not busy, So much for a special day.

Friendly greeting. Chicken sandwich was delicious. A few more fries would have been nice. Fish tacos we good. Beans and rice nothing special and not warm. Service was friendly but had to ask for ketchup, drink refills etc.

Was there in July 13th. Fun place for entertainment and dancing. Menu is big and we were a table of 8 and all our meals were average. We all ordered different things from Mexican to American etc. Chefs might do better with a smaller menu and mastering some things. Our waitress was great and attentive in the back room till the music started and she ended her shift. We were told about waitress would be waiting on us and we never saw another for the next 3 hours. Way too many people for one waitress all night back there and the bartender that night in the dance area was swamped and only one gal behind the bar. Bad night for staffing or maybe this is the way it is. This was our first time here and we've talked about going back but with mobility issues, having to get up to get own drinks and clear our plates to another table isn't enticing us back.

I wouldn't eat there, the grilled chicken sandwich came out grey like it was microwaved. No grill marks. The beer needs to be colder, not cold enough. Alot of other Bars too go too in Poway. This place is ok at best.

Went last Sat. night. Sat at the bar, the bartender was a bust. His personality was Bad, never once smiled or even tried to be friendly. The last 2 times there I ordered a Margarita, both time had to send it back. Just nor good anymore.

The waitress here was really friendly and informative. However we did order diet coke and instead of telling us they didn't sell Coke she brought us Pepsi which is not the same and we don't like Pepsi. Also my husband's was fine but my cup was brought with food floating in it. When I bought it to the waitress's attention she fixed it right away and apologized. The food was very mediocre. The atmosphere of the restaurant felt a little run down. It wasn't a horrible experience but we probably will not go back.

Really good service and a relaxed casual atmosphere. No wait on Friday night to be seated. Decent prices. Loud lively bar on opposite end of the restaurant. Free parking lot.

ordered chef special, it was like scramble eggs with mushrooms and veggie, the appearance was.. not decent, slightly affected appetite

Sharon B

We ordered the Mainstream Egg Breakfast plate and the chilaquiles. I should have listened to the other reviewers and not ordered a Mexican dish. The chilaquiles had dry carnitas, the salsa had absolutely no flavor, and the tortillas were soggy in the middle. The waitress was very attentive and checked up on us often. She was great!

Every time I'm at Mainstream, I'm extremely disappointed in the level of service. Today was absolutely terrible. The place wasn't extremely busy and the bar was half empty. We walked in and it took 5 minutes for someone to greet us. They told us to sit wherever, but then no one came with a menu or even to say hello. Someone else came in and sat and was greeted almost immediately. After 10 minutes we left.. Update: went back because this is one of the few places you can have a dog that isn't the Pub. And I can't take Nana and Papa to the pub. But... Crunchy onions should be crunchy, not soggy, chewy and tough... service hasn't improved much either... still disappointed but upgrading to 2 stars because I feel like 1 is harsh.

This is NOT a good Green Bay Packers bar!!! They are listed as one, but they don’t highlight the game and don’t even have sound! It wasn’t good last season and it started off horrible this season!! We left after kick off! Bar staff is also not friendly at all!

$8.50 for a pint of draft beer, before tip. I dunno why we bother eating out anymore :/ Staff working the bar was awesome. The lady who serves clients seated adjacent to the bar is horrible. Imagine sitting with a friend to have a drink, only to be told "you order from the bar, you need to sit at the bar". You should be grateful we are even patronizing the restaurant when so many other businesses have closed due to this pandemic. The owners should fire her.

Bartender was awful ...seemed sooooooo unhappy to be serving and answer questions

Went there for a late dinner on a Wednesday. Service was prompt and friendly. We ordered fish and chips, meatloaf and Mac and cheese. All were pretty much below par, especially the meatloaf. I felt bad for my husband. He was looking forward to meatloaf. I tasted it, and it was awful! My son’s Mac and cheese was $18! What the heck?? The fish and chips were tasteless, but at least the fry’s were good, which we all shared. We were the only people eating there. Fruit flies surrounded us the whole time. Landing on our food. Gross! Music was loud (Santana doing a LED Zep cover) and competing with other different loud music in the bar area. Not pleasant at all for dinner. Might go there if there is live music to play pool and a beer instead. I don’t think any place can mess up beer and pool. Do not recommend having dinner there. Why do Poway residents always need to go to another city to have good food??

Shalice Emerson

Meh.. fries are hot and crunchy. Beer selection for an IPA lover sub par at best Food.. so-so. This is more a local hang out where ppl are used to their friends over food quality. I wouldn't recommend to a sports lover on a Saturday showing past Sunday games and not current college games. I'd rather be at Pitchers in Rancho Penasquitos. Food is better.

Would have spent some money on some drinks on a Saturday night, but the bartender didn’t want to look over our way. Looked only interested in talking to a group( maybe her friends?) on the other side of the bar. too bad. We dropped $50 with a $20 tip just down the street. Good luck to this bar. Feel sorry for the owner who is missing out on some patrons because of bad bartenders and waitresses.

Jon Taffer, where are you...? We need Bar Rescue! Gave it a try once again and it was just like a scene out of a Bar Rescue episode. Bartenders were talking it up with the regulars, one server for 10-20 tables. Other servers talking it up with the regulars... new customers like myself wondering when our next chance at a drink would come... band setting up for way too long... not sure how to explain the atmosphere. Sat there for two hours and was served two drinks each for a total of $30. Empty cups sitting on our table for 15-30 minutes. How is this place making money? Food doesn't look or smell that great... not sure about the 5 star ratings, maybe friends of the staff or band?? Looking forward to hearing the live band but couldn't stand hanging out any longer without another drink or some type of service. Sorry guys.. 4th time giving you a chance and I've been a Poway local for over 20 years. Time to make some changes.

I tried this place for the first time. The food was good but the service was very bad. First the forgot the fruit cup and my biscuit for mine and my kids order. Then after paying cash the server ran outside after me asking if we paid. I literally had just paid 100 for breakfast with a 20 dollar tip. Then the server had to track down the other server who collected the bill just to verify that I paid. That was totally embarrassing. Don't leave someone waiting 20 minutes for the bill then blame them for not paying. I wouldn't go out to eat if I wasn't going to pay...this happened today March 2 2024...that was ridiculous

Poor customer service. The food was horrible and the waitresses were trying to start drama with customers. I seen them call the cops on someone for no reason trying to traumatize a little 13-year-old girl. They took about a half an hour to bring us our check, and the food was horrible and over priced in the wine tasting like it was four months old.

Venue is decent and so are the drinks. Have not had the food yet. My husband paid for our drinks. And waitress never came back to give us our change. My husband asked and complained about it and they made us leave. I know they are busy and might forget so ask for your change right away. It would be awful if she actually did this on purpose.

The bartenders pay more attention to locals. I don't think they are trying to have new customers come in.

terri forrest

We eat here frequently. We had the worse service today EVER. Brought the wrong food. Had to ask for our toast and utensils wasn’t offered more coffee and dropped our check way to early never checking back with us

HEC TOR

This place is totally outdated, hillbillies-like, it smelled funky! Food is terrible, chicken wings & strips super salted, egg rolls were defrosted by deep frying them, so inside they seem to have some sort of "gel" with an insipid taste. Their nachos were barely sprinkled with beans and cheese, like trying to make a bigger profit out of their sale. Over all, a bad experience, I definitely DO NOT recommend going to waste your money eating there!!

Trina Reyes

Absolute worst experience ever. Went to eat breakfast on 9/26/2025. Took 1 1/2hrs Our server was slow!!! When we got up to leave she had misplaced my credit card. We waited another 10 min for her to find it and process. Will have to find another breakfast place!!!