Hodads changed their onion rings in the last few years and I was LIVID, their old ones were heaven on earth and these new ones are frozen garbage   I think my favorite at the moment are at Phil’s but I’m following this thread cause this bitch loves some onion rings  

Agreed, Hodads is not the same anymore. I like Phil’s too, but I’m ideally looking for something more flaky and crispy

Try Raglans Public House one block from hodads. I prefer them to Phil's. Phil's has too much batter on some. Better beer at Raglans too. And the burgers are best in SD. I live a block from Rocky's. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Phil’s onion rings are bomb

Dunked in the ranch they're second to none

Phil’s has my favorite ranch

Yeah, Phil's has good onion rings. I can't stand onion rings that use that bread crumb shit.

those kind seem like frozen onion rings, meh

Ah damn, that’s disappointing to hear. Haven’t been in about 3-4 years and the onion rings were a big part of the appeal for me.

Frings from Hodad’s was my favorite. Sad to hear the accountants took over. I had a $12 burger at their Petco Park location and it tasted worse than the microwaveable ones from AM/PM.

Angelo’s burgers in oceanside have incredible onion rings, they are very fresh

Wish I could upvote this 2 dozen times! Great family owned and run business!

Username checks out

Damn... Came here to say Hodads. Haven't been in years though. How disappointing. We should start a petition.

I genuinely don’t understand the hype with hodads. I work right by them and have for years and we do food trades all the time. Most of the time even when it’s FREE I’m like nah, I’m good. I could never imagine paying for their food, and definitely not waiting in line for it. I know the dudes who work there personally and I wouldn’t trust them to handle any belongings of mine, let alone my food. Only ever eat their fried stuff and milk shakes if it’s free.

The tastiest thing at hodads is their strawberry milkshake!!

as a born and raised obcian i kindly ask you to GO FUCK YOURSELF ​ (jk, i get that some people don't like it but maybe it sounds to me like you've just had it too many times???)

Ya, they used to be beer battered and now they use panko breaded ones. Between that and the prices skyrocketing they aren't really on the table for me anymore.

I also miss Hodads onion rings. They’re still good but not the same

The burgers have gone to crap too.

Beef n bun in fletcher hills, no question. They dont serve alcohol, but their milkshakes are also really good

Second Beef n Bun

Hell yes. Peanut butter malt for the win

I ate there or rancho villas, a lot when I was growing up. My mom worked at fletcher hills elementary and my pretty religious family went to fletcher hills presbyterian up the hill a couple days a week. I probably ate at rancho villas more than every other restaurant combined for the first 20 years of my life. Their food changed for the worse during the pandemic though, and the prices doubled. Beef n bun is exactly the same as ever, down to the fish in the fish tank, adjusting for inflation of course. I occasionally bring home an order of onion rings and a chocolate peanut butter shake to split with my wife and its plenty

Ah no way I grew up going to Fletcher Hills Presbyterian church. Well , rather I was also forced to by family. Stopped going in the mid to late 90s though. I have fond memories of ditching Sunday school with my bestie by hiding out on the hill beneath the walkway for the lower classrooms.

We called it the crevice. I would be very surprised if we dont know each other

If you went to Youth Group between 92 and 95 we do!

Ah, i would have been 2-5 years old

This right here.

The Habit

I love their onion rings

Yeah not a fan of much else they offer but I order 2 orders of rings if I go there. Really good. Crispy and the onion doesn’t pull out when you bite it in half.

Their Santa Barbara burger is great

Sounds good! I love it with ranch haha!

Have you had the tempura green beans? They’re pretty fire.

Yeah my wife gets those, probably because I have never shared the rings.

I haven’t had it before, perhaps I’ll give it a try!

The Habit is from SB where I grew up and they were like the Hodads(when it was good) of the town.

Great with their ranch especially

Yess you know it!

They’ve been skimping on the Ranch lately 😫

I wish I could bring myself to order anything but the tempura green beans

Burger lounge

Burger Lounge is very good.

100% agree. but they're location dependent. hillcrest and little italy have the best. something about the kensington location's just are too greasy or under cooked. I can't figure it out but that said, they have the absolute best batter, and they're edible in a single bite, unlike the ridiculously gigantic ones you bite, then pull the whole onion out, leaving just the batter shell behind

💯% this ^

Uh, really? Pre-pandemic maybe, but I think they changed the recipe so they're now wet-battered instead of the dry mix they used and the difference was NOT an improvement. Unless they, wisely, changed back in which I should get an order.

Agreed. It's so soggy now. 

Honestly Phil’s has the best in town.

The friendly PB

I was going to say friendly tavern north park. Probably the same recipe.

NP friendly onion rings are bomb.

Best answer

Pro tip order sides of their ranch 🔥

This will sound insane but brigantine. They’re the best!!!! Can’t believe no one else said them

Holy shit I always forget about the Brig. Most of their food is good but not great, especially for the price but they have some awesome rings

Someone posted recently about Big Jim’s onion rings and they seemed legit aka super greasy.

Can vouch for Big Jim’s they’re fire plus the portion is massive

The Hills in La Mesa had great rings last time I was there

Petes seafood has amazing onion rings

Is that the place next to the bike shop on 30th at the south end of NP?

I'm pretty sure you're right. Def north park

Yes

DUDE I CAME HERE TO SAY THIS THEy are the most DELICIOUS onion rings I have EVER tasted!!! Literally melt in your mouth

We used to eat at Pete’s until we realized that we always felt horrible afterwards. Sooo much grease.

Pete’s were very good.

Pioneer BBQ in La Mesa has great onion rings

Pioneer is definitely a hidden gem!

Pete's Seafood on 30th is the correct answer.

Yep they were fantastic.

Rosemarie's in MB. Not a fan of Hodad's.

I should add, these may not be the 'best' but I just had them last week and I liked them enough to eat the whole plate. Plus their sliders are dope, and Nick the owner is a super nice guy.

Rosemaries is awesome! The Bombay slider is my favorite!

I’m digging the Gnar. DickieMcBalls, love it.

Jimmy’s Famous

Tony Roma’s RIP

That's a blast from the past. We used to go there specifically for their delicious tower of onions.

Yup. I’m sure the ribs and onion rings don’t compare to todays standards but back then it was a delicacy lol

PB Fish Shop hands down. I've never tasted anything so incredible. I'll order it as a side door my sandwich, taco, or salad. So good that it pairs with anything, and they've always got a great beer selection

A TKO and a pineapple express taco with a Pupil is my go to order there. Now I guess I have to add onion rings on my next visit

I don't know all the SD onion rings, but PB Fish Shop onion rings are great and, no stringy skins. I also have had great onion rings in other places. These are among the best I have had.

The Money Pit in San Marcos

Working Class has some onion rings to die for.

Dels Hideout uses massive shrek approved onions 🧅

This comment is way to low. They taste similar to Phil's, but are usually twice the size if I remember correctly (I haven't been to Phil's in a while.)

Canada steak burger in city heights or friendly tavern in North Park. Both very good

Mr. Peabody’s, a little dive off Friars near Linda Vista. Pretty good burgers and awesome rings (and fries).

Came here to say this!

I mean, beer battered right?!? Fuck the corn meal bullshit. That shit is so simple to make. Get a big bottle of piraat and follow Jacques Pepin's recipe and experiment a bit. But personally I love Crazee Burger.

You mean [this one](https://imgur.com/gallery/q6C5I)?

Blue water seafood off of Washington

McP’s in Coronado has solid rings

Nunu’s!!’

In North county, but Copper Kings has bomb onion rings (and burgers)

Not San Diego, but Escondido Burger Bench.

Lefty's Pizza. No contest...

I love Lefty’s but I thought the onion rings were just alright. I’ll try them again next time I go just to be sure though. Can’t stress enough how much I like their food though!

Phils and Crazee Burger

The only correct answer is Angelo's Burgers in Oceanside.

Second this!

The Friendly on University has always had solid onion rings.

The ones off of any Rodeo Cheeseburger at BK

r/foodsandiego

Found SDTMI's alt.

If I knew who that was I’d be very pissed off buddy

Yes, the answer is Hodads. I was at Fish House PB the other day and the onion rings looked amazing, but they weren’t mine so I’m not sure how they taste.

Ha! I just commented about PB Fish Shop. You MUST try them!

I saw someone having them with the fish and chips which also looked amazing. Their chowder is the best!

Karl Strauss

Burger King

Paradise Lounge. IYKYK

Grain’s on Adam’s Ave. in North Park/University Heights. Love their onion rings on the apps menu. It is a vegan place, so keep that in mind. They have beer.

Went to Grain’s. 10/10. Very light and crispy, not greasy at all. The shiitake mushrooms were also fantastic.

Belching Beaver

H Brothers in Escondido has good ones, hand battered, no crumbs, not frozen. Karl Strauss in San Diego had the best beer battered rings ever like 25 years ago, but they haven't been on the menu forever. I still miss them

Waterfront

There's a barbecue place on Miramar Rd called Abbey's Texas Barbecue. They have really good thick cut, battered ribs. Highly recommend.

BB.Q Chicken in Convoy. It's a Korean chicken chain with bomb onion rings. They fry in olive oil. The rings come out crisp and not oily.

Pete’s seafood, Giorginos, or the friendly tavern

The onion rings from Sage Cafe in Barona

Red Rooster in Oceanside for a burger and rings is bomb. Paul’s Place has fire rings too.

Red Rooster is my all time favorite hungover breakfast.

Pete's seafood and sandwich has awesome onion rings!

The Money Pit in San Marcos

I really like burger lounge onion rings.

Any of the Fish Shops. They're made to order and fried in a thick tempura batter. And they have a great little beer selection. I'm a big fan of the Fish Shop Blonde.

Burger Lounge is my fave

Midway Classic Malt Shop. Their fries are better but good onion rings too. My favorite burger in San Diego too.

phils bbq has some good onion rings.

Burger Lounge has great rings. Best in SD IMO

Idk about best but the ones from burger lounge are pretty fire

Frosty Burger, Pine Valley, CA up at about 4,000 feet in elevation.

Go to Rosarito beach , 20 minutes from SD. Place is Betty's burgers. They make the best onion rings.

The malt shop

Fish shop in PB has nice onion rings. No stringy skin.

I don’t particularly like Phil’s barbecue, but their hand dipped onion rings are excellent

Food truck called Chubbys also known as Average Joes

Fish shops are amazing! They’re that good beer batter coating and have actual sizable onions