In Los Angeles, we’re lucky sufficient that must-visit wine areas and drink locations, akin to Santa Barbara and San Diego, are solely a pair hours away. However, admittedly, I typically take that without any consideration. So, being overdue for a go to to SD, I used to be excited to compensate for the town’s cocktail scene. I’ve my go-tos like False Idol and Raised by Wolves, nevertheless it was time to discover the newer choices, which included all the pieces from a curated cocktail expertise hidden in a Japanese cafe to a spaceship-inspired tropical bar. Listed here are some picks for the place to drink in San Diego proper now, all inside a rideshareable radius, from North Park to Seaport.
Lafayette Resort
Hospitality group CH Tasks has reworked this historic North Park resort into the cocktail fanatic’s dream barhop. In the event you’re a visitor on the resort, well-crafted cocktails are mere steps away because of a number of intriguing on-property bars and eating places. Take pleasure in a banana coconut milkshake with rhum agricole and Benedictine on the 24-hour Newbie’s Diner or finish the evening with a tequila and aged rum Espresso Martini at supper membership Lou Lou’s Jungle Room. Even the poolside choices transcend the standard Margs and Mojitos, with drinks akin to a Saturn variation with navy-strength gin, bianco vermouth, amaro, and keenness fruit. However don’t sleep on the in-room minibar curated by Paul McGee, previously of Misplaced Lake. With high-end barware and glassware, recipe playing cards, and high quality bottles akin to Don Fulano tequila and Jefferson’s Ocean “Aged at Sea” bourbon, you’ll be tempted to remain in.
Mothership
Mothership steers away from the tiki bar trope by infusing its 1,500-square-foot area with immersive sci-fi parts. As an alternative of a desert island, your spaceship has crash-landed on an alien planet. The bar is intermittently interrupted by a ship malfunction with blinking lights and mysteriously smoking gear, as an alternative of a manufactured thunderstorm or erupting volcano. Peruse the flight guide/cocktail menu for out-of-this-world takes on tropical classics just like the Mindkiller, a Painkiller made with a Tang cordial, and Warbird, a Jungle Chook with yuzu, pomegranate, and blood orange. It’s a enjoyable detour from the standard tropical bar theme. Stroll-ins are welcome. However if you would like a seat on the bar, make a reservation first.
Youngblood
Situated steps from beloved speakeasy Noble Experiment in restaurant Neighborhood is the hidden entrance to Youngblood, a extra intimate, reservations-only bar with 16 seats and a three-course cocktail expertise. Don’t search for a menu to skim when you sip in your welcome glass of Champagne. Your subsequent drink lives within the minds of the 2 good bartenders behind the bar. All they want is your favourite flavors and cocktail types and they’ll take it away. In a mere 90 minutes, you’ll get pleasure from a refreshing aperitif cocktail, a spirited second course, and a dessert drink. The general expertise will depart you feeling seen—and wishing you possibly can have stayed longer to discover the in depth spirit choice.
Roma Norte
On the subtle Mexico Metropolis-inspired bar Roma Norte, the habanero Margarita isn’t simply one other spicy Margarita. It’s mixology magic. Beau du Bois, award-winning bartender and Puesto’s vice chairman of bar and spirits, vapor-infuses tequila with habanero to retain all the pepper’s taste with none of the warmth. It’s good for spice wimps who desire a spicy Marg with out the ache. In the meantime, fireplace fiends could make the cocktail as sizzling as they dare with an accompanying dropper of capsaicin shrub. However that’s only one instance of the technique-driven mixology behind du Bois’ bar program, which boasts a powerful 72 cocktails. Regardless of the flowery, behind-the-scenes prep that features liquid nitrogen, power carbonation, and a centrifuge, the cocktails stay approachable in each taste and worth.
Bar Kamon
Step into this elegant cocktail bar hidden inside Japanese cafe Asa Bakery and be transported from the East Village to Nineteen Twenties Japan throughout the Taishō Roman period, when the nation first began to import parts of European tradition. The East-meets-West idea is carried all through from the wooden decor to drinks just like the black sesame Outdated Usual and the clarified ube Jungle Chook. Adventurous imbibers will need to order the ramen-inspired Fifth Ingredient and the Trash Panda, a coconut-infused shochu cocktail with durian. And ensure to reach hungry, as you’ll need to snack on the crispy spicy tuna with caviar, hen karaage, and ceviche.
Half Time Lover
Whereas this high-fidelity listening bar in North Park celebrates vinyl sound and tradition in a craftsman-style lounge area, don’t anticipate subdued vibes. There’s a line out the door, soft chairs are at a premium, and the bar, which focuses on Japanese spirits, beer, and cocktails—can get about two-people deep. However the vitality is enjoyable, the drinks served shortly, and when you discover a seat and make new buddies, you gained’t need to depart. Make sure to head to the backroom report retailer and flip by the albums with a Japanese whisky Manhattan in hand, or discover the bar whereas having fun with your highball and the state-of-the-art sound system by Uncanned Music.
Completely satisfied Medium
All the pieces about this North Park neighborhood bar is welcoming, from its wide-open, roll-up home windows to its slushie cocktails served in to-go jungle cups. Most nights the nook bar is packed, however that doesn’t decelerate service because of batched and draft cocktails. Noble Experiment alumni and Completely satisfied Medium co-owners Eric Johnson and Christian Siglin are behind the artful, high-volume bar program that includes a blue Negroni, a Ward Eight with Tang, and the preferred cocktail Tremendous Grass, made with lemongrass mezcal, tequila, lime, pandan, and mango. Come by for brunch on the weekends and make it an all-day affair, beginning with breakfast burritos and Occasion Pimms Cup topped with Purple Bull.
