After nearly two years of planning, permitting, demolition and reconstruction, The Jetty has officially arrived in Ocean Beach. The new bar and restaurant at 4934 Voltaire Street has actually been serving customers for more than a month as part of an extended soft opening, allowing the team to gradually introduce the concept before transitioning into full operations.
The project was first announced in late 2024, when local hospitality veterans Kyle Jaworski and Sebastian Widman revealed plans to transform the longtime Voltaire Beach House property into a neighborhood-focused beach pub and lounge. Jaworski, a longtime Ocean Beach resident and former managing partner of Raglan Public House, partnered with Widman, whose hospitality background includes Amplified Ale Works, Ocelot Brewing Company, The Joint and The Bowl.
What was initially envisioned as a relatively straightforward refresh ultimately became a much more extensive redevelopment. The partners rebuilt much of the outdoor patio, installed a new kitchen, reconfigured the interior and transformed the nearly 4,000-square-foot property into a flexible indoor-outdoor restaurant and gathering place with a full bar, televisions for sports, coffee service and dog-friendly patio seating.
The food menu leans heavily into approachable pub and comfort fare, with a few twists beyond the usual beach-bar standards. Current offerings include nachos piled with spicy beef, queso, black beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapeños and sour cream; tempura-battered crispy cauliflower with sweet cilantro vinaigrette; smoked wings with a choice of buffalo chili crunch or Jetty barbecue sauce; fried broccoli bites with marinara; and calamari served with chipotle lime cocktail sauce and grilled lemon. Roasted Brussels sprouts come dressed in a lime-Sriracha glaze with toasted sesame seeds and can be topped with pork belly or feta, while a wedge BLT salad combines bacon, egg, tomato, red onion and blue cheese.
For larger appetites, The Jetty's burger is built with Gruyère, fried avocado, sautéed onion, shredded lettuce and chipotle aioli. There is also smoked meatloaf and cheese with horseradish aioli and tobacco onions, pulled pork with Jetty barbecue sauce and coleslaw, and a honey chipotle chicken sandwich featuring crispy battered chicken, shredded lettuce and pickles on brioche. Other selections include a thin-sliced rare roast beef sandwich dubbed "Super Beef Three Way," a roasted vegetable sandwich with zucchini, tomatoes, whipped feta and chimichurri on ciabatta, fish and chips, and baby back ribs.
The beach theme carries over to the cocktail list. The names largely nod to Ocean Beach and San Diego surf culture, including The OB Jetty, made with blanco tequila, grilled pineapple purée, lime, serrano syrup and Tajín; No Surf, combining white rum, strawberry, lime and fresh basil; and Shoot the Pier, with gin, cucumber-mint juice, lime and agave. There's also the whiskey-and-coffee-liqueur Sunrise Session and a mezcal, watermelon and lemon cocktail called K38, a reference familiar to Baja surfers. For those skipping alcohol, the spirit-free menu includes a cucumber-mint Green Flash, passionfruit-and-strawberry Sunset Cooler and watermelon-serrano Jetty Lemonade.
The beer selection mixes San Diego breweries with familiar national and Mexican labels. Drafts include offerings from AleSmith, Coronado Brewing, Societe Brewing and Ketch Brewing, alongside Guinness, Michelob Ultra, Estrella Jalisco, Two Towns cider and Nova kombucha.
The overall concept falls somewhere between neighborhood pub, beach restaurant and casual lounge. Rather than creating another nightlife-focused Ocean Beach bar, Jaworski and Widman envisioned a place that could serve different purposes throughout the day, whether someone is stopping in for food and drinks, watching a game or spending an afternoon outside with a dog.
For The Jetty's owners, the project also represents an opportunity to write a new chapter for a property whose recent history was considerably more turbulent. The space most recently operated as Voltaire Beach House, a Nantucket-inspired restaurant and bar that opened in 2017. After changing ownership in 2023, the business became embroiled in a series of highly public disputes involving allegations of unpaid wages, employee complaints, management conflicts and other controversies before ultimately closing in September 2024. Its closure left one of Voltaire Street's larger restaurant properties vacant.
Jaworski and Widman subsequently took on a renovation that proved significantly more extensive than initially anticipated, ultimately rebuilding substantial portions of the venue before beginning The Jetty's extended soft opening this summer. More than a month later, that trial period is giving way to the restaurant's official debut.
The Jetty is now open at 4934 Voltaire Street in San Diego's Ocean Beach neighborhood. For more information, visit thejettyob.com.
Originally published August 15, 2026. Lead-in image is an artistic rendering, not an actual photo of the space.
