Ace Porter

I stayed at this hotel for a work trip, but came to this restaurant for dinner most evenings. Staff were absolutely amazing. Food was amazing. Therese is a gem, and was so pleasant to talk to. If I ever have to come back for personal travel, I will absolutely come back to this restaurant.

Food = edible. Basic flavors, exactly what you expect. Nothing fancy but looks wonderful. I had the salmon bowl. Service = no zero star choice, so just 1 star. Everywhere in the surrounding area has no problem with splitting the bill to at most 5 people. We give 25% tip because we know there is an extra step. Everyone was happy to do it EXCEPT for this restaurant. The server could also have said it politely, but it was very condescending and rude at best. She was obviously upset that we had to split the bill because we had to file our own expense reports after the convention. She could have handled it better even if she refused to do it, but nope. Atmosphere = uncomfortable. We were given a very small round table for 5 of us. No one else was at the restaurant for the whole 2 hours we were there, and we were not moved to a more comfortable table as we respectfully suggested. Might be someone's cup of tea but definitely not ours. All 5 of us were unhappy with the service.

Ok. This place is a one issue rating. Bathroom. You need a guest room key or a temp card from the front desk to use it. Sketchy gas station land. No homeless to be found on my visit, so God knows why. Sad. Used to be a nice spot.

Food quality and value are excellent. Our server was nice and patient.

Ace Porter is the restaurant located inside the Omni hotel and I'm happy to report that this is definitely a restaurant worth visiting and dining at if you are in the area, or of course staying at the Omni hotel. I'll admit, I'm not one for eating at hotels, especially in a city like downtown San Diego with so many options. However, in true fashion, after bar hopping all day, I was feeling a little queasy and the idea of hitting the streets again didn't seem appealing. I wanted to be able to go downstairs from my hotel room, eat, and straight to bed. Sometimes it is happy accidents that allow you to end up trying something that you would normally skip. Anyways, we thankfully went for an earlier dinner and that hadn't gotten busy yet so we were sat right away. In terms of atmosphere it's not great, feels like you are dining in a hotel and no real cute decor and such really. We got a little two seater table away from the bar so it was relaxed. Our waitress was very sweet and lovely. She was nice and all smiles. Anyone who does their job with a smile on their face always leads to a better dining experience for the customer that's for sure. She was attentive as she could be, given she was pretty much the only server for the small restaurant and she took our orders quickly which we appreciated. I think the key was coming early before the rush. Once it got busy I noticed service did suffer for other tables. Had I been in their shoes, I wouldn't have been so happy to wait as long, but going off my experience, coming early we had a pretty well paced meal and were in and out in a reasonable timeframe. The food was actually very good. The menu was more creative which I really liked. Had my stomach been feeling better I would have gone with some of their more creative bites but I stayed safe with picking a salad. The Cesar salad with steak was pretty good. I prefer a chopped Cesar salad tossed in dressing which this was the opposite. Even though presentation / easiness to eat wasn't ideal - it still was a really good salad. The steak was cooked to perfection and had nice seasoning. My friend ordered fried pickles as an appetizer and they were some of the best I've ever had! The batter was thick and crunchy, so so good. She ordered a burger and was happy, said it was more unique as the cheese was melted into like a crisp on the griddle. All in all we said our meal was a home run. If staying at the Omni I'm happy to report that eating here is a totally stellar option. The menu was interesting, the food very tasty, and the staff nice. Since I usually have lower expectations of hotel restaurants I'm happy to give this spot 5 stars.

I ordered the Ceasar salad with grilled chicken, which was great. The real MVP was my pineapple lemon drop. I started with a strawberry lemon drop and then asked about the pineapple. 10/10 if you like a sweet drink. Service was great. The Ambience was nice. My husband and I sat for a few hours.... We enjoyed the vibe and music. We enjoyed our stay at the Omni, and Ace was icing on the cake.

Ace Porter is the new ground level bar/restaurant at the Omni San Diego Hotel in the Gaslamp Quarter. It's the only downtown property that has a direct connection to Petco Park via a pedestrian skybridge. The space used to be occupied several years ago by a high-end national steak and seafood chain restaurant. The current setup was to the right of the lobby when you walked through the main entrance. A full-service dining room was not a part of the configuration. Instead, a U-shaped central bar along with adjacent lounge seating inside and outside were available. Because of its proximity to the next door stadium, there was a baseball theme to the decor and the menu categories. Appetizers were labeled as Designated Hitters; focaccia sandwiches were On Deck; a burger, chicken & waffles, and bao bun tacos were In the Glove; salads were called Fields of Green; entrees were considered the Clubhouse; sides were the Bench; and desserts were Postgame. The Chicken Sundae caught my eye from the In the Glove section. A fried chicken breast sprinkled with Mike's hot honey was served with a dish-shaped waffle cone that contained cinnamon ice cream. The presentation was one that I had not seen anywhere for chicken & waffles. A choice of crinkle fries, Tajín chips, or side salad came with the order. I picked the first item which came with a cup of ketchup for dipping. I liked the ice cream portion the best because it functioned as a palate cleanser after consuming the chicken and fries. I wasn't a fan of the seating arrangement as it seemed disjointed without a dedicated dining room. The stated capacity was 95, but I found that hard to believe if I counted the number of chairs at the bar, lounge, and outdoor dining space. The food variety was decent, however the prices reflected a premium for being located at an upscale downtown hotel.

The wife and I stayed at the Omni hotel downtown San Diego to watch a Padre game. We ate at the Ace Porter before we left for the park. We had the chicken wings which were astronomically delicious, nice thick legs, with a rub and a dipping sauce. Best I've had in a while. A must for an appetizer. The wife had a tender ribeye bone in, so tasty and juicy. I had the salmon bowl with all the different tastes, Also a must. Our server who was working several tables always had our drinks full with a beautiful smile, thank you Therese!!! And the manager Christine went from table to table making sure everyone was enjoying the service and food. She was delightful to talk to with a giant smile. The hotel was decorated with baseball memorabilia and we had a blast checking out all the autographed items. If you like baseball this hotel is a plus.

After searching all over Gaslamp for a restaurant my boyfriend and I decided to go back to our hotel and try the restaurant in the lobby, Ace Porter, and I'm so glad we did. Emily, our bartender/server provided outstanding service and made our night so much better! We were actually celebrating our anniversary so it was a special night for us. The food was delicious and such a nice lounge to have a drink at. Thanks again, Emily!!!!

Great service!! Go into the Omni San Diego, head to the Ace Porter Bar and ask for Daniel. He knows the lay of the land, great local knowledge and makes great cocktails! Wife had an espresso martini that was one of the best ever. Not too sweet and perfect amount of froth. Sit, relax and enjoy the beautiful bar and great people!

We enjoyed the service and the ambience! However, I ordered the Cobb salad and it was $24 compared to my husband's burger at $22. I am all for paying for food at a nice restaurant, but the salad was definitely not a Cobb salad. There were no eggs, bacon, chicken, avocado, blue cheese dressing or anything else I would expect on a Cobb salad. They instead had radish, cucumber and corn. The quality of ingredients was good, however, not a Cobb salad. Would recommend the burger, but would never order a salad here for the price.

Staff top notch. Recommended a delicious tequila that I had never tried. Great place to avoid craziness of Gaslamp.

Food was okay, but must say that the fries were dry and way too chewy. The service was hit or miss. Some employees passed by and didn't seem interested in help us. Others were nice, but we ended up waiting for much longer than originally told. It was slightly busy, but still do not think we should have had to wait so long.