Best Bar.

Wintermute · Post by **Wintermute** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:00 pm

I'm enjoying these local review threads, so I figured I'd kick off one of my own. What's your favorite bar/pub/tavern/alehouse?

Although Stone has a fantastic beer selection and wonderful grounds (some of us have even gamed there), I have to rule them out for their overpriced, mediocre food. O'Brien's Pub also has a fantastic beer selection, and tho the grounds are meh (it's in a strip mall on Convoy) the food is great, but it still isn't my favorite. That has to be Churchill's Pub in San Marcos. Great beer, great food, nice atmosphere but what really makes it is the staff.

Also, a shout-out to Player's Sports Bar for always having a table open for us when Game Empire didn't.

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:12 pm

Oh man, I've got a list for this! Again, for me it's mostly about atmosphere, and then secondarily about beer and/or drink selection.

Whistle Stop in South Park, on Fern. Nice atmosphere, live music, good (not great) beer selection.

Air Conditioned Bar on 30th by Adams, sorta on the western border of Normal Heights. Cool Atmosphere and a neato sunken lounge area to sit in.

Hamilton's Tavern, in South Park on 30th - a great selection of beers, including some awesome Belgians and Hefeweisens.

Bar Pink (used to be called Pink Elephant Bar but they had to change the name recently because of some punk bar in NYC. Fuckers.) on 30th in North Park. Love the atmosphere here too. Also has live music.

Blarney Stone, on Balboa in Clairemont. Straight ahead Irish pub. And speaking of which...

Ould Sod on Adams Ave in Normal Heights. Also very straight ahead Irish pub. One of my personal favorite bars in SD.

I've got others I could post, but I'll let someone else have a chance!

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:50 pm

I will have to agree with Mord on some of his especially Hamiltons.

Hamiltons looks like a dive bar but it's go mainly funktastic large selection of beers from all over the place. It's probably why the Whistle stop doesn't even try to compete. Aside from beer they have great food. Especially if your gonna share food I would suggest the Deer Hunter...;)

Air Condition Lounge Bar has got a nice retro feel about it as well and 94.9 Sonic Chill used to host there. The outside looks like a plain building so don't miss it by the corner of 30th and Adams

I always wondered about what happened to the Pink Elephant Bar. And now I know. thanx Mord

If your going to a Padre game then I would suggest the Tilted Kilt bar and grill. It has a psudo-Scottish mottif that is fun with scantily clad women.

The Field is also another cool downtown Irish Pub. Bangers and Mash with a pint of Guiness. I just like going there

Now if you want English Pub then I would suggest Shakespeares on India street. Good fish and chips. nice place to hang. Albeit I would rather go to the Field

If your in for a crazy azz time and drag queens are fun then I would suggest LiPS. Food and drinks might be above average price but it is a fun time to be had.

Its almost been a decade since I've been there but the Red Fox Steak House on El Cajon Blvd and Lousianna used to have a low key jazz bar.

Hooley's...yeah another Irish bar with boxty's.

So yeah take my picks with a grain of salt because I don't really dig beer like the folks in AA. But these were some of the ones that hit me in the head

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:31 am

~~[quote="Skyman"]~~If your going to a Padre game then I would suggest the Tilted Kilt bar and grill. It has a psudo-Scottish mottif that is fun with scantily clad women.[/quote]

This place is sorta fun - like a Scottish Hooters with better food. But it's super-duper crowded after a Padres game. Good luck getting anywhere to sit!

~~[quote="Skyman"]~~The Field is also another cool downtown Irish Pub. Bangers and Mash with a pint of Guiness. I just like going there[/quote]

Love this place too. But it also has a crowding issue. It's in the middle of the trendy Gaslamp area, and you have to fight the Ken's and Barbi's to get a table.

~~[quote="Skyman"]~~Now if you want English Pub then I would suggest Shakespeares on India street. Good fish and chips. nice place to hang. Albeit I would rather go to the Field[/quote]

I've never been to Shakespeare's. But that reminds me of another English pub in Little Italy called Princess Pub, down the street from Fillipi's.

cczernia · Post by **cczernia** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 3:19 pm

~~[quote="mordraine"]~~Oh man, I've got a list for this! Again, for

Whistle Stop in South Park, on Fern. Nice atmosphere, live music, good (not great) beer selection.

Blarney Stone, on Balboa in Clairemont. Straight ahead Irish pub. And speaking of which...
[/quote]

I'll second these two. Both great time. And if you are with Devlin1 the Redfox is awesome for the old people dancing and singing.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 7:58 pm

The Princess Pub is nice but it tends to get too crowded and access is not that great as Shakes.

Yeah the Tilted Kilt is like Scotish Hooters and it is crowded but it wasn't a problem getting seats if you get there before the game

Speaking of Crowds...Hamiltons can get butt ass tight. Which isn't bad depending on the crowd

JALU3 · Post by **JALU3** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:57 pm

Work Graves, have MON & TUE night off. Aweful for going to BARs. And worse, I am married, so no bar for me.

Back when I use to work swings my buddy and me would frequent Bennigans after work in Mission Valley, the food is OK, but the service is hit and miss, and the crowd can be so much better. Went to this one place in Lemon Grove, where he likes to be a bar fly at, as it is just down from where he lives. Dirks. It's OK, but it is a real dive, with the local 35+ crowd being the regulars.

Now, I live in Chula Vista, and for Happy Hour, the deals at Miguel's isn't bad. But the beer selection is non-existant. If you want something better head down to the Brew House. Good food, good service, and quiet even on Baseball nights. Go Padres!

Sadohara · Post by **Sadohara** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:12 pm

I'll jump in on this one to plug the Stout Public House on 6th Ave between B and C. Not in Gaslamp proper, so much less crowded.

It's a Canadian/Irish pub, so the bar is long, the food is good, and if there's hockey on, they show it. Also, they have a good selection of Canadian domestic beers (especially if you ask.)

devlin1 · Post by **devlin1** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 12:26 pm

I don't drink, but I used to go to the Red Fox with friends on a weekly basis.

ekomega · Post by **ekomega** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 1:15 pm

~~[quote="Wintermute"]~~O'Brien's Pub also has a fantastic beer selection, and tho the grounds are meh (it's in a strip mall).[/quote]

That particular strip mall has Green Tea House, a chinese hot pot place, a Tapioca Express, Yogurt World AND Tofu House (one of the best places in San Diego), besides O'Brien's. It may be the best food/drink strip mall in the universe, and I highly recommend every shop in there. Parking sucks, though.

Hamilton's is great.

Used to love The Liar's Club, but now that it's in Alpine, I can't recommend it because it's too damned far.

I would recommend The Blind Lady Alehouse, on Adams near 30th (where A La Francaise used to be). One of the owners is Lee Chase, who pretty much put Stone on the map when he was their brewmaster, and invented all of their signature beers. He is awesome, the food is great, the beer selection is killer. The only thing is it gets really crowded and noisy on weekends.

Also, recommend Ritual Tavern for food and drink.

Wintermute · Post by **Wintermute** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 3:47 pm

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~Used to love The Liar's Club, but now that it's in Alpine, I can't recommend it because it's too damned far.[/quote]

They closed. :(

Digital_Boy · Post by **Digital_Boy** » Sat Apr 25, 2009 10:44 pm

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~That particular strip mall has Green Tea House, a chinese hot pot place, a Tapioca Express, Yogurt World AND Tofu House (one of the best places in San Diego), besides O'Brien's. It may be the best food/drink strip mall in the universe, and I highly recommend every shop in there. Parking sucks, though.
[/quote]

Not to mention there's a new shabu-shabu restaurant in there now as well.

And yes, the parking there is made from epic suck.

JALU3 · Post by **JALU3** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 12:16 am

~~[quote="Digital_Boy"]~~Not to mention there's a new shabu-shabu restaurant in there now as well.

And yes, the parking there is made from epic suck.[/quote]

I wouldn't say everything there is great. I use to not say bad things about those stores, but I went to Green Tea House, and the past couple times the service became slower, and the drinks didn't sit right in my stomach. Which is disappointing cause I liked that place.

ekomega · Post by **ekomega** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 9:23 am

~~[quote="Wintermute"]~~They closed. :([/quote]

Really? Was that because of that DUI-related cyclist death after a guy got super trashed at The Liar's Club?

Louis is a really nice guy, but I never could tell if he really knew how to run a business. I heard at the original locale they didn't make any money (or even lost it constantly), which is weird since they were ~~[i]~~always[/i] busy. But that's just rumors, so who knows.

It used to be my favorite hang-out spot, but now that's divided between Blind Lady and Hamilton's.

Also, the shabu-shabu place is a chinese hot pot place. It's chinese, with soup broth, and not oil and high quality meat like a real japanese shabu-shabu place. It's nice to have in that strip mall, but I highly recommend Little Sheep on Clairemont Mesa Blvd if you're interested in trying hot pot.

Skyman · Post by **Skyman** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:18 pm

We obviously need a Best Shabu shabu thread

Wintermute · Post by **Wintermute** » Sun Apr 26, 2009 2:27 pm

~~[quote="ekomega"]~~Really? Was that because of that DUI-related cyclist death after a guy got super trashed at The Liar's Club?[/quote]

No clue, a couple of friends and I went out there to check out the new location only to find it'd closed the week before.

jimmy corrigan · Post by **jimmy corrigan** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:15 pm

they've already been mentioned, but i like the vibe of the whistle stop and the ould sod. and the lamplighter will do in a pinch.

i've heard good things about, but have never been to, many of my neighborhood north park bars: u-31, bar pink, toronado, and true north. proceed at your own risk.

if you're in the p.b. area, actively avoid the west end.

mordraine · Post by **mordraine** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 2:39 pm

~~[quote="jimmy corrigan"]~~if you're in the p.b. area, actively avoid the west end.[/quote]

Unless you're a 20 yr old frat-boy, in which case, HAVE AT!

smartmonkey · Post by **smartmonkey** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 4:54 pm

Hey look, thread necromancy.

A double up to the Ould Sod. I burned out some of my better brain cells getting shitfaced and fucking up at karaoke in that joint.

If any of y'all end up in PDX, the Gladstone Street Pub has a pretty decent tap and some fucking amazing burgers. I am buddies with one of the owners though, so, hey.