The Best Places to Drink in San Diego, According to Industry Pros

San Diego is nicknamed “America’s Finest City” thanks to its near-perfect weather, picturesque beaches and an abundance of world-famous, family-friendly attractions. But it is also a mighty fine city to drink in. 

In between suntanning on the beach, visiting museums in Balboa Park or heading out for a wine country getaway in nearby Temecula Valley, there are bars worth visiting in almost every neighborhood in San Diego. 

The city may be known as the craft beer capital with over 150 breweries, but it’s also home to some of the best cocktail bars in the country with vibes that range from divey to tropical. Themed speakeasies go all out on the decor and experience reign supreme and there’s no shortage of neighborhood bars that pour drinks made with experimental techniques. 

Best for Technique-Driven Cocktails

Realm of 52 Remedies

Convoy District 

Beau du Bois, Vice President of Bar and Spirits at Roma Norte and Marisi, can’t say enough great things about Realm of 52 Remedies. “They’re doing a lot of really deep dives into the creative well that they have as a team, and using techniques like clarification and forced carbonation,” says du Bois. 

To thrive in San Diego, it can’t just be about what’s in the cocktails, but also the atmosphere. “While I don’t know if San Diego needs any more speakeasies, the entrance experience to get into Realm of 52 Remedies is so very transportive and so well thought out and creative,” says du Bois. Themed around Chinese medicine, a stark white room lined with herb jars open up to a dark hallway, bringing you to the main “realm” with its backlit jade bar. 

One of the rare AAPI-owned bars in San Diego, Realm’s cocktails incorporate ingredients and spirits found throughout Asia from the expected like matcha to the obscure like matsutake shoyu.

Roma Norte

Downtown

Dark and sultry, Roma Norte aims to transport a piece of Mexico City to San Diego’s Seaport Village. What goes on behind the bar, though, more closely resembles a science lab. 

Caroline Pardilla, cocktail writer and author of Margarita Time, recommends Roma Norte for those who want to geek out on bar techniques. 

“It even features a spicy margarita that uses science to remove the heat but not the flavor from the habanero pepper,” Pardilla notes. To achieve this, they vapor-infuse the margarita with habanero. You’ll also find drinks with force-carbonated, house-made cola or tamarind blended with bourbon that’s then clarified with a centrifuge. 

Best Neighborhood Bar

Happy Medium

North Park

This North Park bar came from two veteran San Diego bartenders: Eric Johnson and Christian Siglin. They worked together at institutions like Noble Experiment before venturing out on their own.

With Happy Medium, the two managed to capture “lightning in a bottle,” says du Bois, “[this] is a bar that is so dialed in for the neighborhood.” The people in North Park did not even know “that they wanted that or needed that, but immediately [fell] in love with it.” 

The space is bright and airy, with vibrant green tiles lining the underside of the bar. “It’s a lovely spot to spend a beautiful, sunny day drinking, ” says Pardilla (it opens at noon on weekends). 

Best for Poolside Drinks

Ponyboy

Point Loma

Ponyboy at the mid-century modern The Pearl Hotel is a throwback to the 1960s in the best of ways. 

Dining and drinking at this poolside restaurant “immediately brought back to your childhood in a very elevated way,” says du Bois. The food and drink menu both draw inspiration from the counterculture decade with a twist that comes from veterans of the city’s fine dining scene.