OB Warehouse

Last month we attended the Grand Opening celebration of OB Warehouse, one of the newest Cohn Group restaurants in San Diego. We're already long time fans of their restaurants, particularly The Prado and Indigo Grill so of course we were interested! The grand opening required an online reservation and was only $15 for 2 drinks plus appetizers from 6-9pm. We figured that drinks alone were well worth the price!

OB Warehouse front entrance

We found the entrance without too much trouble.

OB Warehouse awesome comic cartoon entrance

You wouldn't expect it but as soon as you stepped inside, BAM! Bright retro comics adorned the hostess area before you headed up the stairs to the main restaurant.

OB Warehouse bar area

The bar is on the right and super easy to find. The lighted drink sign is a big hint.

Henderick's Gin and Sailor Jerry Rum Cocktails at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

We started out with two of the included cocktails. The Handtruck cocktail (left), was made with Hendrick's Gin, fresh grapefruit juice, and basil syrup. There was a strong mint taste with a tinge of the grapefruit bitters. We also got the Workbench cocktail (right), made with Sailor Jerry Rum, the King's Ginger, and Luxardo maraschino cherry. All I could say was WHOA because it was quite alcoholic in taste.

Crispin American Craft Cider in the bottle or on tap

They also included Crispin American Craft Cider with your choice of bottle or tap. Dennis and I preferred this over the cocktails since it was smoother to drink! I'm actually surprised they had logo'ed glass for the cider! It must have been one of the sponsors of the event.

OB Warehouse metal food kitchen

The kitchen was contained by this huge metal structure, almost like a movie trailer RV or something! And in case you were lost, another "food" sign was there to help you out. For the event, a DJ was spinning jams nearby.

15-20 minutes into the event, the appetizer samples started to appear. Early on there was plenty of food but later you sort of had to stalk the food servers to get a bite since they were made fresh. Or, you could just have an extremely cool waitress like Nina hook you up with the ones you haven't tried!

Triple Crown Flatbread with shiitake, crimini and king oyster mushrooms at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA Chipotle Chicken Flatbreat at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

We were able to try all four flatbreads they offer. The first was the Triple Crown Flatbread with shiitake, crimini and king oyster mushrooms. I really liked the super creamy and rich cheese with the nice chunky mushroom toppings. The second was the Chipotle Chicken Flatbread with tasty chicken, roasted corn and red onion. I began thinking about chicken wings when eating this.

Banh Mi Pork Belly at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA Merguez Sausage Flatbread at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

The third was the Banh Mi Pork Belly with ingredients you'd typically find in banh mi, such as the pickled carrots/daikon and jalapeno. It was like my mom’s version of fish sauce on top because it has the fish sauce plus a sweetened vinegar taste. Of course I like my mama's cooking so I liked this too. The fourth was the Merguez Sausage Flatbread with oven roasted tomato, feta cheese and harissa. This had a tiny bit of spicy flavor to go with the succulent sausage and more of that ooey gooey cheese. The crusts were nice for all flatbreads and held up the ingredients well for the samples.

Ahi Tartare at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

This was the Ahi Tartare. I could taste the sesame oil plus bursts of sweet from the citrus fruit. Avocado, chips and a light sprinkling of black sesame seeds rounded it this nice appetizer.

Pomegranite Mixed Greens Salad at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

We enjoyed the Duck Confit Salad with the contrasting ingredients like the salty bleu cheese and the candied walnuts and mini explosions of tart pomegranate seeds. The duck meat was tender but shredded into tiny bits. I would hope the full appetizer has more duck meat.

Crispy Artichoke Hearts at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

At first, I thought they were chicken nuggets but these were really Crispy Artichoke Hearts. They had a lemony plus almost ginger-like taste. The sauce is tiny bit salty but artichoke itself was lightly battered, fried and tasty.

Filet Frites at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

Here’s a sample of the Filet Frites. The orgasmic beef was seared almost raw like tuna slices. The fries did soak up the sauce quickly so weren’t as crispy as I would have preferred.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken Oysters at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

The Buttermilk Fried Chicken Oysters were buffalo style with a nice “skin” and topped with slices of shishito peppers. The accompanying corn was fresh with a good firm bite.

Hoisin Chicken Potstickers at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

The Hoisin Chicken Potstickers were huge, bigger than the size of a golf ball. Unfortunately they had a very strong ginger taste so this was pretty much the only dish I didn't like. At all.

Mahi Mahi at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

Their Mahi Mahi sample was so incredibly tender, better than any cooked version I can remember. On the other hand, the white sauce was so mild I didn’t even know what the purpose it served.

Tapioca Guava Puree at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

For desserts, which were also included, we started with the Tapioca Guava Puree. The cream part was like the buttery insides of creme brulee and it contained fresh fruit.

Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding at OB Warehouse in San Diego, CA

The Pumpkin Pecan Bread Pudding (seasonal flavors) had pieces of apricot on top. Inside it was soft and creamy with a brown sugar sweetness. Dennis suggested that it was churro flavored!

OB Warehouse more dining areas OB Warehouse fancy bathroom entrance

I really like the foods we sampled and am totally digging the neutral decor. Even the entrance to the bathrooms was intriguing with its shared central sink. The restaurant seems very promising! I can't wait until we get to try some dinner food!

Click to add a blog post for OB Warehouse on Zomato

OB Warehouse
4839 Newport Avenue
San Diego CA 92107
(619) 222-1700

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Comments

J.S. @ Sun Diego Eats's picture
Submitted by J.S. @ Sun Dieg... (not verified) on Thu, 12/18/2014 - 8:25pm

I've seen that place from the outside but have never gone in! It looks like its huge from the outside. I am sold on the duck confit salad, fried artichokes and super rare looking steak and frites :)

lynn's picture
Submitted by lynn on Sun, 01/04/2015 - 8:20pm

Hmm, it didn't strike me as huge but now that I think about it, the building IS tall (with the restaurant on the second story). I'm glad that these appetizers were tasty because bar food can be so blah. Hope they stay that way when you make it out here!

Mary's picture
Submitted by Mary (not verified) on Mon, 12/29/2014 - 8:34am

Ooo, looks like you sampled a little bit of everything! Those flatbreads look and sound so good (especially the mushroom one, om nom nom) and the Mahi Mahi almost looks like pork to me for some reason! Looks like a fun spot, I especially like the decor and the "FOOD" and "DRINKS" signs. Awesome!

lynn's picture
Submitted by lynn on Sun, 01/04/2015 - 8:38pm

We sampled everything they served! I didn't want to leave hungry! We plan to go back soon, especially since it's Cohn Anniversary Week (starts tonight Jan 4 until Jan 8) and restaurant week later this month.

Fran @ G'day Souffle''s picture
Submitted by Fran @ G'day So... (not verified) on Thu, 01/01/2015 - 7:16pm

Looks like a really RETRO interior design- the Food area looks like it's inside of an old Airstream trailer- very unique. I would head straight for the Pumpkin Pecan Bread pudding!

lynn's picture
Submitted by lynn on Sun, 01/04/2015 - 8:39pm

i loved the decor! the pumpkin dessert picture turned out really nice. i kinda wish i had some now!

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