An offshoot of a successful Los Angeles-based Mediterranean-style beer bar that has 8 locations, Spitz closed its San Diego location late last year after less than 2 years in business. Now open in Hillcrest in its place is 5th Ave Kitchen & Tap, a scratch-made burger bar & grill concept in collaboration with the owner of The Kraken in Cardiff.
5th Ave Kitchen & Tap is owned and operated by Ron Crilley, who has long run Cardiff seaside haunt The Kraken Bar & Restaurant, and Andrew Boyer, who was formerly the GM of Carver's Steaks & Chops in Rancho Bernardo. The space at 3515 Fifth Avenue was completely gutted and transformed into a sports bar/gastropub with roll-up garage door windows, high top tables, and many flat-screen televisions. Eventually, a 2,000 square-foot outdoor beer garden will open behind the main dining room.
Helming the kitchen is co-owner Boyer, who has designed a menu based around "Hamburgers of the World," including the Argentina Burger with house-made Argentine-style sausage, caramelized onions, smoked provolone cheese and Chimichurri sauce; the Parisian Burger with grilled pears, baby greens, bleu cheese and roasted garlic aioli, and the Columbian Burger with ham, provolone cheese, tomato, onion, cole slaw, potato strings, pineapple sauce, and house-made special sauce. There's also a variety of appetizer small plates, entree salads, po' boys and other sandwiches, and a few desserts, as well as a full bar with 16 tap handles and family/neighborhood nights featuring different dinner specials. Being that Boyer hails from New Orleans, the eatery will have a visible Cajun influence.
is currently open Sunday through Thursday from 10am to midnight and Friday and Saturday from 10am until 2am. For more information, visit 5thavesandiego.com and check out the menu below.
