Brunch Review: Queenstown Public House

Last week when I was alone in San Diego, I had set myself some goals. One of which was to brunch. I was so committed to that goal, I did it twice. I approached the situation with some trepidation, because one facet of brunch, which seems essential to the enjoyment of it all is the camaraderie. When I was, "Sara, party of one," I was definitely missing some (or all) of the socialization of brunch, but the food was on point both brunches.

On Saturday, I went to Queenstown Public House, in what I know now is the Little Italy community of San Diego. It was also a stone's throw away from my hotel: bonus points. When you first approach Queenstown, it looks like a friendly island bungalow. There was a little patch of grass in front with stones that lead up to the door, and tables fenced in around the front. While you'd be sitting still pretty close to the sidewalk if you were outside, it still seemed like it felt a little separated. Not that I'd know first hand, as I brought my party of one straight to the bar.

The inside is really cute for the most part. There is this lamb room up front, which I couldn't quite get down with, but I think it would be pretty cool on Halloween if they put some faux blood splatters around the room. But I digress. The rest of the bar maintains the beachy, island feel. The bar itself had cute little plants on it, which added to the effect. Overall, excellent decor.

I ordered some water and coffee for my beverages, as something about drinking alone at brunch sounded exponentially more sad than just brunching alone. The menu itself was pretty incredible. I had my heart set on the lamb hash, because duh -- lamb. But if I hadn't immediately set my sights on that, I would have also considered the oink (because jalapeño corn bread AND pulled pork) or Sheila's guilt (because ice cream AND cinnamon buns?! My waist would have cried, but I would have also probably happy cried).

Usually when there are multiple options that I really want from a menu, I have extreme FOMO, and wait -- I have terrible FOMO from Queenstown. I really want that oink plate too. However, I regret nothing about ordering the lamb hash. The lamb was tender and flavorful, and the two different potatoes complimented the taste. I didn't quite love the parsnips, but when consumed with other elements of the dish, it wasn't too noticeable. The eggs and the hollandaise sauce were pretty standard, so I don't have much to say about those, but if they had more flavor, it would have competed with the lamb.

One hidden gem of the meal was also the bread, because #carbs, but also because of the jam. I can't tell you what kind of fruit it was, but it tasted wonderful. It was an added bonus that I wasn't expecting, as I didn't know I'd be getting bread.

Would I recommend Queenstown? Yerp. Would I go back? Yerp, especially because that would mean I am miraculously in San Diego again.