Being somewhat hidden in the bland Civic Center, Downtown Johnny Brown’s is not that hard to find when in downtown San Diego - once you are able to wend your way through the herds of street drifters psychos and myriad homeless, which seem to own the city. But I digress ... Upon entry, Johnny’s is a small, but humble venue with an excrutiatingly small bar, where the well-oiled locals trade banters with the tattoed servers. The rest of the room is devoted to an array of tables and hightops, the latter being along the windows that look out onto the roomy patio. The beer selection consists of local brews - as it should be in this beer-centric city. These are scribbled on the chalkboard opposite the "Order Food Here" sign. The service was indifferent but efficient enough. (The table service is initiated after 4pm.) I hit the place during the $1.00 Fish Taco special - these were damn good and obviously reasonable in price. This was No 4 of my recent SDBW 2012 sojourn - there were plenty of decent specials held here, including one that included Pliny - who gonna quibble bout that. A worthy stop in the downtown area.

Beer bar very centrally located in San Diego. From outside it does not look very inviting. They have a very good range of local brews and the owner is a very nice and funny guy. A must stop for me when being in San Diego.

Kind of hidden away down town, this spot has a decent selection, decent service, and a decent ambiance. Worth a stop if you’re nearby.

Downtown Johnny Browns is located only 5 minutes walk from Broadway, but is hidden in the middle of the Civic centre, so may take a bit of time to find - but it’s worth it! Interior is a pretty typical US bar. They had 15 taps on the go at our visit from some very interesting microbreweries - Alpine, Hess, Grand Teton , Craftsman etc. They also had DFH 120minute on, which I haven’t seen before. They have a very small, but good quality bottle selection of RR sours, Jolly Pumpkin and The Bruery. Food is typical pub selection of burgers etc. Very worthy of a visit when in central SD.

You really have to know what you’re looking for; we barely found this place, but I’m glad we did. Beer selection was decent. The bar was empty when we went, which was nice. Service was great. They change out beers often, so you’ll always have a new beer to try.

Really glad that I finally made it here. It is a little hard to find, basically almost nestled up against the Civic Center. Police during the 99% takeover demonstration (yay!) were very friendly and helpful in the last move to get here. Place has a great pub feel with plenty of breweriana, sports memorabilia, old school stuff, sports tv, rock music. Bartender is a very knowledgable, helpful, and friendly. Attractive too! They’ve got a decent San Diego Beer Week selection available. Food was excellent! Full service bar. Oh, and old fashioned full length shuffle board. Place has to be overwhelmed during Civic Center events. Only a few blocks away from Best Damn Beer Shop whom helped guide me here. Would love to come again!

Went on a slow Tuesday, and service started out great but went south slowly. Good selection of local micros, and decent food.

Wow what a hidden Gem. Went here on a whim and the tap list was phenomenal. Looking at some of the beers they have had on this doesn’t seem out of the norm. Open spaced sports themed bar. Cool place for Downtown, heck for anywhere!

We stopped by for their Bitter vs. Sour night but after happy hour, probably why the place wasn’t too busy. Their beer list was fantastic- I ordered a Ballast Point Hout Series-Black Currant, Lost Abbey Red Poppy, a new IPA by the Bruery, and a St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition. The bar staff is quick and knowledgeable. We sat in the outside porch area under heat lamps... it was a really nice Friday night.

A great stop. A very superb local draft list with great prices especially at happy hour. Very knowledgeable staff overall, some experts. Did not try the food.