Drift Distillery & Smokehouse

Meghan Wells

Hubby and I came in on a peaceful Sunday night. Farrah was our server and just wonderful. Very informative on the menu and the sweetest demeanor. We ordered the Manhattan and SC Iced tea, 1 lb of brisket, the Brussels sprouts, tomahawk fingers, and corn bread. Everything was FANTASTIC. We left with a good amount of Brussels sprouts and brisket for leftovers. Great experience. We will be back and recommend to others!

Tami McBride

HUGE and delicious portions! Staff was fun and attentive! We hope to come here again and again!! Hubby had the Cuban and said it was the best one yet! Smoked turkey on my salad. Delightful! Brussel sprouts, OMgoodness!!! A must visit in San Clemente!

anwesh reddy

Excellent cocktails and food. The brisket was perfectly cooked. The Leaving Early Shirley, Old Fashioned Espresso and I’m on vacation were brilliant. We will be back!

SNAP Architectural Photography

So refreshing to see a restaurant that has enlightened and new offerings. Everything here has been delicious. The environment is inviting and fun as well as allows you the ability to have privacy and enjoy an intimate meal. I am so tired of seeing the same eight items on every appetizer menu, this place definitely breaks the mold and I truly appreciate what they have created here. Every new ones of this place is fantastic and enjoyable and delectable. I don’t know who owns it but I hope I become their friends because I wanna be here all the time and eat here every night

Drea Holt

I’m from Chicago!! And This was the BEST brisket I have ever had !!! Service is awesome, Luke was my first serve he has such a great Spirit and positive attitude. I went back four days later and Fernando was my second server and he also has great hospitality. It is so worth it if you live in the San Clemente area, please try DRIFT’S You will not be disappointed.

J. Brocc

Great experience. Service was on point, Hunter did a fantastic job with the drinks. Food was great, atmosphere was awesome. This is a great addition to downtown, can’t wait to get back and enjoy more food and cocktails.

Chris Coyne

Great BBQ and Cocktail’s! The whiskeys and vodka are exceptional! Get the Twinkies 🔥

Emilce Sivil

Best experience! I came looking for some gifts and stayed for lunch after Jasmine welcome me with a smile, explaining everything with kindness about the difference of each bottle. The food is delicious, and the customer service is amazing. Big shoutout to Jasmine — I ended up buying more gifts and staying for lunch because of her kindness. She even prepared a delicious mock drink for me. Best customer service ever! Thank you so much, Jasmine!

Howard Karjala

What a great local San Clemente experience. You must try the various liquor made on site. The smoked meats are amazing and the staff is over the top. Highly recommend dropping in...you will enjoy it

Nayt Grochowski

Fantastic BBQ and super friendly service. My wife and I shared a combo plate with an extra side of corn bread. Was perfect size for us for lunch, and the pulled pork was absolutely our favorite. Definitely going back to try their Cuban sandwich!

John Early

Great spot! Yummy cocktails and delicious food! I had the chicken/bacon sandwich and was happily blown away with its amazing taste! Maddie the bartender was very friendly and helpful. I’ll be back!

Mickey Wilson Ph.D.

Craft cocktails like no other place anywhere near here. And, if you like pork these guys know what they're doing. Brought two girlfriends to try Drift... One girlfriend NEVER eats leftovers, NEVER. Her pork ribs were so good she took what she couldn't eat home AND ordered a second plate to take home to her husband. You will not be disappointed here.

Last night was our first time at this fine establishment. Both the food and service were outstanding! All of the sauces are homemade, without preservatives. The portions were far larger than expected, and everything was fresh (the wife loved their homemade Ranch Dressing). Our server, Joey, was both knowledgeable and affable. This place is going to the top of our list of regular restaurants which we frequent in town. A+++++

A great Smokehouse that has some unique sandwiches. Pork and brisket or wonderful nice beer selection a large selection of spirits made in house. Great service.

Best smokehouse distillery in So Cal!!! You will love the food, service, gorgeous restaurant and unique drinks made from there own distillery. Amazing!

Finally!!! The best smokehouse food and drink you will find in So Cal. What a fantastic story that adds to the uniqueness of this restaurant.

We held a company event here and couldn’t be happier with the experience. Ryan made booking a breeze, the food and drinks were incredible, and the service was friendly and fast. The pulled pork was honestly the best I’ve ever had. Everyone was still talking about the Tomahawk fingers the next day. Their spirits were great too—I loved them all and took home a bottle of gin. Even the restroom was spotless, which I really appreciated. Fantastic venue all around.

Outstanding Q in San Clemente. I had the very smokey briscuit burger with tots, she had the charred Brussels sprouts. Both of us loved our meals. We also got a pound of smoked turkey to go, the slice we sampled was Outstanding. Friendly service, reasonable priced.

Rick Price

We like everything on the menu here. The Brussels sprouts are great. Good service and good vibe.

Rebecca Mejia

The food was delicious and the drinks were delightful! The staff was so friendly and accommodating with our large party. I loved how beautifully crafted the design of this restaurant was. You can tell how much time and care was put into everything!

Don Hering

Last night was our first time at this fine establishment. Both the food and service were outstanding! All of the sauces are homemade, without preservatives. The portions were far larger than expected, and everything was fresh (the wife loved their homemade Ranch Dressing). Our server, Joey, was both knowledgeable and affable. This place is going to the top of our list of regular restaurants which we frequent in town. A+++++

Super tasty, great atmosphere plus a live band playing the blues and rock n roll. This is a good night out make sure you get reservations on a Friday or Saturday night.

True Oceanside

Super tasty, great atmosphere plus a live band playing the blues and rock n roll. This is a good night out make sure you get reservations on a Friday or Saturday night.

Was greeted by what seemed to be an owner while staff was in the back, showing real concern for their guests! Food was fantastic, definitely going there again soon! Had a beer with the meal, Sara the waitress was very friendly and let us know her favorites... loved the spare ribs and brisket, butter for the cornbread was tasty! You will love it, nice parking and can't wait to go again! Definitely have to go back for their on site made spirits... really felt at home (traveled up from Rancho Bernardo to meet a friend from Yorba Linda).

Todd Koenig

Was greeted by what seemed to be an owner while staff was in the back, showing real concern for their guests! Food was fantastic, definitely going there again soon! Had a beer with the meal, Sara the waitress was very friendly and let us know her favorites... loved the spare ribs and brisket, butter for the cornbread was tasty! You will love it, nice parking and can't wait to go again! Definitely have to go back for their on site made spirits... really felt at home (traveled up from Rancho Bernardo to meet a friend from Yorba Linda).

Been here plenty of times in the past everything tasted great. Was here tonight and I had bite of a pulled pork and a tri tip sandwich and it tasted like straight up some kind of gas. Wether natural or butane. Drinks always phenomenal.

Sam Henke

Been here plenty of times in the past everything tasted great. Was here tonight and I had bite of a pulled pork and a tri tip sandwich and it tasted like straight up some kind of gas. Wether natural or butane. Drinks always phenomenal.

Brandon schurman

We recently went to the new location for the first time. Always had incredible service at the OG location. However, this was a different experience. It was a Monday afternoon, and hardly anyone in there. The guy behind the bar was just an order taker. Shortly after we got our drinks and placed our food order, a VERY young guy pulled up to the bar (Clearly a friend of the guy working). He never placed an order, yet mysteriously received a mojito. They engaged in conversation from that point on until he left; we were ignored. I sat for 25 minutes with an empty water, empty beer, and mouth on fire from the Twinkies (I highly recommend those by the way). Once his friend left, he asked if we wanted anything else. Almost like we were an inconvenience sitting there. I worked in the restaurant industry for 10 years, the attention to detail is severely lacking here. The food was AMAZING as always. Note to manager: keep an eye on carding for alcohol. Poor service is one thing, serving to minors will get you shut down. We've loved Drift for years, the family, great food and drinks. However, the service was very disappointing and will deter us from coming back anytime soon.

10 out of 10 would avoid this place at all cost. Upon first glance drift, seems like an elegant one stop shop for good food and drink. Only took a few minutes to realize this establishment is a surface level façade. Took over 15 minutes for the hostess to assist my family and I… This only came after getting berated by the bartender for seating ourselves after not being helped. The quality of service throughout our experience was inattentive and dismissive. They need to rethink who they hire and reassess the quality of service they expect from their employees. The food was OK… Enough to be enjoyable… But left a lot to be desired. After spending close to $150 for a family of four, we were rudely informed that we needed to move our car out of their parking lot before we went anywhere else or they would be happy to tow us for the inconvenience. Someone needs to cite the actual ownership of that parking lot. We simply remind the repulsive ownership of how to be decent human beings.

Ryan Arthur

10 out of 10 would avoid this place at all cost. Upon first glance drift, seems like an elegant one stop shop for good food and drink. Only took a few minutes to realize this establishment is a surface level façade. Took over 15 minutes for the hostess to assist my family and I… This only came after getting berated by the bartender for seating ourselves after not being helped. The quality of service throughout our experience was inattentive and dismissive. They need to rethink who they hire and reassess the quality of service they expect from their employees. The food was OK… Enough to be enjoyable… But left a lot to be desired. After spending close to $150 for a family of four, we were rudely informed that we needed to move our car out of their parking lot before we went anywhere else or they would be happy to tow us for the inconvenience. Someone needs to cite the actual ownership of that parking lot. We simply remind the repulsive ownership of how to be decent human beings.