Machete Beer House

Craft beer places are a dime a dozen in SD, but I knew after one visit that Machete is easily going to become a favorite water hole to visit when I am in the mood for a good variety of craft beer. They have a bunch of different styles, and a selection of beers from breweries that I either haven't heard of or never tasted before. Love that. It gets boring seeing the same 3-4 breweries at every place that offers craft beer in SD. Vibe is super chill, casual and divey. Staff here is really nice. I didn't get his name, but he let me try a few different beers and gave great recommendations based on the styles I like. No food here, but the Papi’s Teppanyaki food truck is here from time to time. Check their IG for their schedule. Not sure if there are ever other options since I only recently found out about this place. Cheers! Edit: I came back a second time and the super cool bartender's name is Jett. If you come in on a day he's manning the bar, you're in great hands. :)

Look I'm not saying this place is bad, but unclean tables and loud music isn't my vibe. For the younger crowd you should stop on by. They had some tacos outside that were pretty good and they're beer selection was awesome but the overcrowding and not being able to hear myself talk kinda ruined it.

Fantastic tap room in National City. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable, and whoever did the beer list artwork is very talented. I don't get down to National City very often, but this is a must-visit spot on the list now. Great beer list and great folks.

Chill spot to hang out with friends. They have a lot of IPA beers if your a fan of those and the bartenders are pretty nice. I believe I tried around 5 different beers because I personally don’t like IPAs at all nor do I like super light beer that tastes watered down. I had a stout and it wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t as creamy as I hoped it would be. Hence the 4/5 stars because I wish they had more of a stout selection. Otherwise chill atmosphere, the women’s restroom is cute and there’s seating outside, inside, and at the bar.

One of the best if not the best local hang out's I've been to in awhile! This place has a great section of craft beers on tap, and awesome atmosphere to enjoy a good time with friends. Place is a bit small, but I enjoy the great music and craft beers which make up for the small location. Another plus is that you can walk next door to Salud (Mexican Restaurant) which in my opinion serves some of the best food in National City and bring it back into Machete's Beer House to enjoy. The staff were very friendly and attentive to all customers and even help you pick a good beer you enjoy drinking. I will definitely be coming back here again very soon from LA.

Loved the beer selection! Great spot. Went next door to get food since they allow you to bring in outside food! Loved this spot.

Cool and friendly place in National City to enjoy a beer. Nice variety of beers.

Nice selection of beer & ciders 🍺 great service 🍻 relaxed atmosphere. Parking can be challenging. Salud! Tacos next door.

Looooove it here. It's the best to watch sports, and they have good music playing. Not only do they have an amazing selection of beers but they have bomb snacks! They are super cool and nice, shoutout to Adam. Very cool spot.

no words. Horrible atmosphere. Horrible bartending. with the exception that drink were okay. I have never met employees as rude as the ones that worker here. Dirty looks and snarky remarks. will not be returning -ms licks

Came in on a Saturday night, it was pretty busy. I'm a dark beer drinker and they had ONE. Decent selection of other stuff tho. Customer service was aight as I had to ask the bartender lady for service instead of it being offered if u get that... the staff was more into themselves than the customers if u get that too... The tacos outside were BOMB tho.. tacos El Villasana (sp) I believe. Had a couple different tacos & salsas and DEFINITELY will hit them up again... The staff inside brought in pizza, so I guess they're all tacod out.. UNBELIEVABLE right???? I didn't get pix but there's always next time.. maybe

Eclectic revolving gastro-pub, super mellow and chill crowd. They have cider, kombucha, sours, stouts, lagers from Mexico, local San Diego craft beer and snacks. They have merch to buy and a solid place to visit.

Friendly good service and great selection of beers. Visited for the first time in 3 years and really pleased to see it popular.

Tropical mayhem!! Wow.. so I like fruity ciders and at 9% it doesn't disappoint.. I don't know if they still have outdoor seating but it was so nice to have a drink outside especially in national City

Another enjoyable visit to Machete Beer House this past weekend. As usual, professional service; eclectic, ever changing selection of suds, righteously hip tunes filling the pub, along with plenty of air & space make this brew oasis a must visit whenever cruzin highland boulevard or anywhere near South Bay. Coffee/pasties in the am...tacos later. Dig the ambiance, crowd & vibe i do. RUN don't walk...i'm serious.

A coworker of mine told me to check out this place and so happy I decided to go! Husband and I went on a weekday shortly after it opened for the day and it wasn't busy at all. Parking is suuuper small so we parked nearby in the neighborhood. The inside of Machete isn't huge but it's a nice little beer house that feels local. They have a great variety of beer on tap, some TVs and projector, and several tables. I could see this place getting pretty busy for sports games or weekends. I did notice some picnic tables outside however in the inside before you walk out, it says no alcohol beyond this point. Could be for the coffee house in the mornings? Idk. Long story short, husband and I are new to the area, and I think we found our go to "grab a beer" spot!

My friend came down from Italy and we decided to go out and meet at a halfway point and have some beers. We came across this location and decided to try it out since it had decent reviews. Once we arrived parking was pretty interesting since the parking lot is small. Plus the bigger parking lot next door has a strict tow away rule about parking in their area if you're there for Machete. Once walking in I got a strong hit in the face of urine. The whole bar smelled of it and it was pretty potent. Non the less we still got our beer and sat down. Service was good and the prices were decent but the only thing that was a huge downfall for me was the smell. Maybe it was just that one night but I couldn't stop smelling it, especially since we were no where near the bathrooms either.

Great spot. Good vibes and staff is awesome. The tacos outside are authentic asf. Definitely pull up

Bartender added a tip to my card when I tipped cash. Pay cash if don't want them taking money from your card.

I live like 3 blocks away been coming here for years. I've ran into a few rude bar tenders here that rubbed me the wrong way but never wrote a review. Esteban was the exception. Completely un cordial did not welcome us into establishment would walk off randomly without telling us. When asking for a sweet lady drink did not know what to say ( a good bar tender knows his product ) , suffice to say if I come to machete again and see Esteban I'll walk right out to another establishment regardless if it supports my town or not. The city they call nasty!

It's a rustic, unapologetic taproom that's thriving in the middle of a culturally infamous street. In other words, it's not the first place you'd recommend to tourists, but the go to place you'd meet up with friends. Cheers!

First timer here! I pass this location all the time and never knew it was here! Glad to have stumbled across this place. Machete is a nice, low key, chill spot. Definitely my scene. I had a raspberry cider which was amazing! There are a lot of drinks to choose from which is nice and it's right next door to Salud. I mean come on?! Perfect location. I'll definitely be back.

Machete coffee is pretty cool! I got the Iced Mexican Mocha and it was amazing. I like the environment. Morning time is coffee shop. Evening it's a beer house. Parking can be a little scarce.

Went on a bike ride with a group of people Friday night. We arrived at a first break and I was at first stoke to stop at this place because I've wanted to go. Me and friends went in and I was asked to put a mask on. I didn't have one and asked for one. The bartender handed me a blue one. I was stoked on how nice he was to give me one. I thanked him multiple times. What is bad is we looked later at the receipt via the credit card and the bartender had charged 5 dollars on to the tab for it without giving me the option or notifying me before hand. That is not right. My wife could've ordered me a beverage while I waited outside. I was on a bike ride and didn't think I was gonna need one.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SPOT. We moved to National city just a couple of years ago and I've been here a fair share of times but hadn't left a review until now -we actually found during the World Cup because they would play the Mexico games there . Extra points for that !! AMBIANCE - great , always chill and very locals feel. I've visited both on weekdays and weekends and they always seem to have a good crowd there. STAFF- low key during the weekdays and a small group during the weekend. They're pretty nice. BEER SELECTION- they seem to rotate quite often. Lots of IPAs , which I'm not a big fan of. Lots of Sours and a few dark ales and stouts. Beer is from everywhere but mostly USA . They also have chips and other snacks and I saw a menu from a restaurant nearby so they prob cater - I'll check for next time.

I am not sure why it's taken me so long to review this place. This is my Wednesday early dinner/drink place, I'm usually here around opening time so its fairly empty which makes for a nice relaxing time. The guys behind the bar are super nice, and friendly, always willing to let you ask questions and taste the beer. They dont just have beer they do have wine as well but their beer selection is pretty big and not just local breweries but from other states too. I'll will keep this as my Wednesday hangout.

Easily one of my top favorite bars in the South Bay area and for two main reasons: 1) It's open til 2 am every day. And 2) they usually have a great tap selection, occasionally featuring hometown favorites like Pure Project, Abnormal, Mikkeller-- with a wide range of different up-to-date beers. I only know of one other bar open til 2 am every day which is Hamilton's Tavern in South Park, but when I learned that Machete is a lot closer to me (National City), I knew I'd be coming more often. I think they're a sister bar to my other favorite, Third Avenue Alehouse, in Chula Vista which is also not too far but closes earlier. But I like Machete a lot because of it's proximity to other late night spots i.e. some bomb Mexican food. It also offers more of a relaxing atmosphere to enjoy good beer, doesnt really get too crowded, and music isn't blaring like most taverns. The staff there is also pretty cool, always super chill and know a lot about what they're tapping. They also have some cool Mexican themed decor going on which adds a neat Mexican vibe for a place literally a few miles from the border. Parking lot only fits a handful of cars but it isn't hard to find parking nearby.

Sub par place. Gave them one star since they got cafe moto (and you cant give 1/2 star) other than that I wouldn't recommend this place. I got the feeling like they are just copying trends that work at other places.

Hint: get tacos at Salud and bring them over to machete. This place has a great vibe...good music. Good people. Miguel was a friendly and knowledgeable beertender as well. The mural completely lured me in. Cool art on the inside as well.

If you are looking for a chill night out or a place to enjoy some good beer and relax while listening to some good tunes this is definitely the place. Machete is the to go spot if you want to try some local brewery beers. While I was there they played oldies, rock en español, Ramon Ayala, and cumbia. The music was loud enough to have a good time but not loud enough to where I couldn't hear my husband. Outside machete you can find a beautiful mural and on the inside it felt like I was at a modern vecindad, pretty cool. The staff is very friendly and helpful. Due to covid-19 we had to wear masks while ordering drinks at the bar and while we were away from our table. Tables were spread out and they also added outdoor seating which was great. I think machete did a great job following protocol during these times.

The go-to spot for beer drinkers in the South Bay. The list is always changing, but the Vibe is always Quentin Tarantino movie-Esque and super chill. Nearby food options are amazing too. Tacos El G!

I absolutely fell in love with this place! I came by myself to "celebrate" my 6 month anniversary of me living in SD and loved it! I found this place on yelp (of course) & stopped by Sunday night a little before midnight. Not crowded but not empty either. I found a parking spot away but I must say parking would seem like an issue on a Friday or Saturday night just FYI. Ok on to the beer, all of their beers are hand written on a chalkboard along with alcohol content. I had an IPA called green hat ($7) & it was delicious not too hoppy but def delicious. Taking into consideration that I was alone, I didn't feel Out of place and def got the "chill vibe". I will def be stopping by again soon.

Minus one star, I am a fan of really COLD beer and for some reason the glasses arent cold which makes the beer not stay as cold as it could, only 4 parking spots outside, bathroom is very dark lol. They have rotating beer list and salud is next door if you want some grub. I recommend adding darts or a pool table. I'd come back again.

I've been coming to this bar, the set up is cool, trendy, wide selection of beers, good tasting beers at that. But customer service sucks! I've been holding back on writing a review I like to give small business a second even a third chance but after the last 3 times I wont be back or telling anyone to go there. I dont know if they think they are too cool or hate thier job but They are not friendly or seem unhappy to serve you.

Just recently discovered this place with a friend for a late night beer. Glad to see more communal dive in and bars in National City. This place had all of your basic needs for a bar: TVs, local beer on tap nice seating arrangements and awesome Mexican snacks and treats xP They also got a jukebox playing good music all night long. Came in on a Tuesday and last call I believe was 1:50. Prices were great, but parking is sooo small. Overall great hole in the wall bar!!

My old roommate and I came beee the week after they opened and it's really cool to see what it's become. The beer selection continues to be superb. When you come, you know the folks behind the selection and the place itself love beer and want to share that love with you. The taps are carefully curated, and there's a beer for every taste. The vibe is the cherry on top, and the food options within walking distance make it so you can extend your drinking!

Best spot for, great rotation, great vibe. It's perfect for beer lovers. My personal favorite place in SD to get a beer. The staff is the s#!+ they're great.

Finally stopped in again to give it another go and what a good time. We showed up around 8 on Saturday night and there were just a few tables open outside with some TVs and heaters too. I had the right now or later later mango sour and it tasted exactly like mango Jumex. Chris added a tajin rim too which made it even better. There's plenty on tap for everyone and I liked the variety on tap + how much are available in cans too

I'm from Arizona and came in to have some weekend fun. Found this place late night after the strip club to finish off the night. Would 100% come back when I'm back in town. Only thing is I would recommend close your tab after every drink got charged for two extra drinks I didn't order but the bartender was super cool about removing them and apologized. Service was awesome!!!!

I came here recently with my fiance and a group of my friends. My fiance had been wanting to come here for some time and I am really glad we got to go. I actually like the ambiance and the look of the beer house and they had a great selection of beer. There's plenty of room throughout the venue, the stools are uncomfortable so try not to wear a dress or shorts ladies. The male beer-tender wasn't very nice, he was little douchy. Fortunately the female beer-tender was a lot more friendly! It's a great little local spot, larger than what it looks like from the outside. Make sure to park your car in their lot or the street, you do not want to get towed! Kind of a bummer that they close so early.

Tonight was our first time here and since the parking lot I liked the mural on the wall in front of where I parked. They have a really big menu & so many local beers to try !! The bartender was super duper extremely nice && the vibe this place has seems like everyone is chill asf that's what I like ! We were talking to everyone and again the bartender ! I didn't get his name but he was Great ! I will definetly be back! My ciders were bomb and everyone was talking it up with us. An amazing experience !!

Meh, just meh meh. Parking sux, beer selection was ok, it's a dive bar next to Salud. If your in the area give it a try but I'm not going outta my way to go back. It's cool but meh-ish

Interesting location ... but a hole in the wall worth visiting. Not only is the theme fun but they appear to pick beers that also have fun names to go with their theme. I had a "Superstition" coffee stout by Arizona Wilderness What I loved was they didn't stick to the usual Tap House pours Love going somewhere and trying something different. Great Selections, decent prices. Only thing I can say bad is their stools are made for petite peeps... My big ol' bootie did not fit.

It only took me a few times of visiting this place. Maybe three or four times to make a conclusion it was always sort of like a hit and miss until I became a miss miss. I wouldn't say that the idea is interesting or it works well it's something super basic. There's a lot of clutter in the beer bar. The beertenders have attitudes like if they were real bartenders. Outside sources pretty much complain about the same thing about this place that the service is terrible. "nepotism" the tables are dirty sometimes sticky as well as the bar. I am in the industry I do know what I'm talking about. I've done consulting for restaurants and bars. If some format this simple can't run well obviously nobody knows what they're doing. This is a simple beer bar that doesn't make beer. There's struggle when there shouldn't need to be. Advice? Maybe the ownership spend a little bit more time there. When you rely on buying maybe six barrels, half barrels you're about making about $5 per person add to that the cost of rent labor and all other bills you end up with a couple dollars if that. You need more customers and maybe not lose any more. Replace or train better.

I don't get to places like Machete's Beer House much. You've seen my check-ins: church, restaurants, ballet, taekwondo, Goth strip joints...just seeing if you're still there. Anyways being family guy makes it difficult to be drinking guy at times. Ever get wasted at your kid's recital? Apparently that is frowned upon! Who knew? So when I had a chance to catch up with an ol' pal I found that I had bookmarked this place a long time ago. Super excited! So excited that I arrived 15 minutes before the place opened. Yep that loser sitting in the minivan at 2:45pm in front of a bar was me. Anyways my friend arrives and right on cue the door opens. I'm giddy with excitement. Remember that scene from Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood Prince of Thieves" where Costner reaches the English shore jumps out of the boat falls to the muddy beach and kisses it? I was so close....I spent the first several minutes not even looking at the menu but taking pictures instead. When I finally sashayed (did I just say that?) up to the bar I was then presented with the dilemma of choosing from 20 different taps. Lagers. Ales. Ciders. Stouts. They don't brew their own line (that would be cool!) but no matter your tastes, owners Eddie and Joanna make sure something is on tap. Speaking of the owners, Eddie is great (I didn't meet Joanna but other reviews say she is too)! Very welcoming. Patiently answers any beer questions you might have. Has awesome taste in music. While I was there it was all classic rock. Zepplin. Maiden. Ozzy. It's like he was a Jedi and could read my mind! The ambiance is total chill. Very clean. A lot of tables. The stools kept literally tripping me up though. The design didn't let you rest your feet naturally and I kept trying to put my feet down only to lose balance. A minute into sitting and I almost tumbled over and hadn't even touched my drink yet! Dark wood but enough accents ( like pinatas, Dia de los Muertos masks, and random "Donald eres un pen**jo" posters) to keep it from being morbid. Multiple tv's playing. There is no kitchen. He does have some chips and nuts for sale and you can also bring in outside food. It would be great if they could finagle a food truck like other beer houses. But even without it being a gastropub this place is fantastic find. Would I come again? Heck yeah! Or as I would say after too many, "Shleccccck yaaaaajj!" Craft beer establishment in the South Bay! Hip, hip hooray!

They had a really good system for covid protocols, masks required, spaced out seating and they took our temperature upon entrance. The service was good and so was the beer! Definitely recommend this spot!

About time a place like this opens up in South SD! I am really pleased with the selection of beers they had last weekend I went. Plenty of IPAs and a few porters, so I was all set :) The setting is really cool as well. Beers listed are written in chalk behind the bar, posters and signs here and there (my fav was the trump is a pendejo one), and the bathroom sink is located outside the actual bathroom and looks really cute. There is maybe about 15 bar stools around the bartop, and about 10 tables or so in the room. It is not a big place, so make sure you are open to standing if it is a busy night. 2 out of the 3 bartenders I saw were really nice and friendly, constantly checking in on us to see if we were okay. The last one though, was a female that had no interest in talking to us even though she walked by plenty of times. Outside there is only a handful of spots, but street parking lot does not seem to be that bad. Overall, great spot! Will be returning soon.

Anyone: Down for machete? Me: HELL YEAH! Yep that pretty much sums up my feelings. Best beer selection in SD the owners Eddie and Joann are some of the best and nicest people you'll meet. The love the have for the community really shows, there certainly is an uprising and they're doing a great job of that.

Home away from home. Great people. Great beers! Great environment and other locals have now became family. Oh. AC is a plus!

Perfect place to unwind and chill. The variety of beer's on tap will keep you curious, enough to wanna try and discover a new beer. The staff is very friendly but parking might be a challenge depending on what time you go. They change the beer menu often to give customers a chance to discover something new.

I have been coming here for years and love it. They have always had amazing service and great craft beer. If it were a TV show it would be cheers. Just more Latin

Super cool chill beer house, ambience is casual, the bathroom situation kind if threw me off lol the sinks are on the outside of the restroom so if you see a person use the restroom and not wash their hands when they come out you can definitely say "EWWWWWWWWWW" lol!! The decor was a tribute to Mexican heritage and I really liked the lights in the shape of pinatas!! Lots of beer on tap (my sister had what she calls a dirty chewy IPA and she loved it) and some are bottles. There's also a list of ciders (I had a pear cider and it was really smooth) and surprisingly there was even wine available!! You're allowed to bring your own food in because they do not serve food in the establishment. They were showing a pretty cool old school karate movie on a projection screen which was different. I liked this place and I really think beer lovers will like this place also!! It's kind of hard to spot tucked away right next to a tire shop but it was worth the find!!

What an odd place we will only visit if we are driving by, but worth the beer selection! Pros? Beers on tap I haven't seen since I lived in the pnw Very knowledgeable, patient beer tender Hello double IPAs worth sipping Funny interior piñatas and such Cons? Really awkward parking

This bar is a Premier Craft beer spot. A welcomed edition to the National City community. This is the only True Craft Beer bar in southbay! It is only a matter of time for National City to explode into the next craft beer community comparable to North Park once other bar owners follow suit within National City. Eddie changes his craft beers frequently (weekly) with different tastes for the craft beer connoisseur. With 31 beers on tap you can't go wrong here. If you are in the southbay area you absolutely MUST go to this bar!

Great atmosphere! 21 and up only. No food served, but you can bring your own. Good variety

Great beer selection. Even better they have a great cider selection which is my go to but not always available in other places. The Rose Cider is great but the Pear Cider was even better. Also, a great atmosphere and good music (not too loud but loud enough to enjoy). My only complaint would be that they need to have someone at the door if not to check IDs to at least make sure the wrong people don't go in. We were there for about 2 hrs and in that time this guy "Jonathan" kept coming in. He was obviously high on something and kept asking everyone for sip of their drink or if we had weed. All 3x it wasn't until a patron would let an employee know that they would even noticed he was there and kick him out right away.

I just love how close this is to home for me! The tap list is always good, and the staff is always welcoming. Usually there on Sunday's for The Walking Dead, and a beer. Definitely recommend checking this place out! Let's grab a beer! Cheers!!

Great local craft beer spot in national city.... No need to drive out of town for great beer.. It's small but that's what I like about it... It's all about great craft beer