20 Best Cocktail Bars in Carlsbad

“excellent drinks & food.“

“Trendy but relaxed and really good margarita!“

“Excellent food. I eat out a lot and I’ve tried many Thai restaurants in my life. This one is my favorite and the wait staff is awesome. Took family and friends here a few times already. Discovered them over a year ago.“

“Amazing food. Delicious & unique drinks. All very reasonable. Will definitely return & highly recommended!!“

“Great drinks and authentic tacos.“

“A beautiful bar area located inside the Park Hyatt Aviara. We stopped by here on two occasions during our stay, once for Japanese take-out, which was awesome, and once for an after-dinner coffee, tea, and a date at the Top Golf simulator. You have to check in at Pacific Point for the Top Golf experience fyi.In any event, this is a great, sophisticated spot to grab a drink or dinner at the bar. Pacific Point even had live music playing on a Tuesday night, which was very cool!“

“Better than some other bars where you have to mess about with credit cards, pay later, &c. Friendly bar staff. Decent pinot noir. Classic rock on the sound system: like most of Southern California, they haven’t progressed past the early 1970s, so much of the music is 50 years old!! Warning: not a drinker’s bar. Locals sip on kombucha while you’re sitting there getting slaughtered.“

“This is a staple in Carlsbad and it seems the people who have problems are expecting something different than what Golden Tee is or are a high maintenance problem themselves. This is a dive bar and it’s meant to be a dive bar. If you want something else, go to the village or a hotel bar. The bartenders here work incredibly hard, and deal with problematic people in a swift but courteous manner. The drinks are always poured correctly, the tab is always correct. They’re professional and I have never felt unsafe here even at night stopping in by myself. Both male employees with long hair and the bald Mexican guy have always been fantastic and take care of business. Recommend this place if you’re in a no frills, calm mood just looking to be comfortable. Great job, guys!“

“Great food and great service from a very friendly and attentive staff! Had an awesome date night! Our first time here but won’t be our last.“

“overall good experience, hadn't been here for a long time. I would recommend the Lasagna it's one of my fav Dishes.“

“Super attentive service. From the Hostesses, wait staff to buss boys. Food is delectable. Entrees were well prepared, fresh ingredients, served hot & salads crisp. Highly recommended.“

“Food and drink is good love it and recommend to anyone“

“It's friendly, quaint and lay back. Reasonable prices

Vegetarian options: Tamales, appetizers and tacos

Parking: May need to find street parking around the corner

Kid-friendliness: Pet friendly too“

“Just happened upon this place (new in the area). Sopes were fantastic, as well as their Margaritas. Will return, for sure!!!“

“Love this place. The staff is so sweet, and the food and atmosphere are amazing. We randomly found them at 10 p.m. while looking for food on the road. There was a little mix-up with the order; we asked just for guac, but they gave us all the burrito ingredients in a HUGE amount. We didn’t expect that at all! Thank you for such great service—we will definitely come back!“

“The service was impeccable, and the food was great“

“Quite a wonderful golf course pool view to enjoy a lovely sundown dinner. The service was terrific from start to finish. The food was tasty and presented beautifully. The efficiency and attention to detail was lovely. Definitely a resort highlight.“

“super cute little place to hangout in. they could use better happy hour deals to bring people in tho. My friends and i sat in the bar and were taken care of by Yesi who was super awesome in taking care of us and many others at the bar alone!! such a superstar. she was so funny and we shared a lot of laughs.
for the kitchen and managers- the rice needs more salt, the birria is disgustingly dry; like eating dry rubber. al pastor could use more marinating time and better sweetness. the carne asada was just a tad bit dry but not horrible compared to the birria. i even drenched my tacos in lime to get it less dry. the rice is fantastic. some tweaks are needed in the menu and consistency but i am not turned off by this restaurant. they have a lot of potential if they keep it up.

Parking: good luck finding parking“

“Over the weekend my husband and I came by for a lunch date
Trap shack was amazing I ordered the west coast lobster roll it was well cooked, deliciously butter and flavorful! We also ordered the chicken strips with fries just to try and ended up loving the sauce and seasoning will definitely be back! My husband ordered the lobster tacos and found the pork/steak included to be bit tough and out of place as he expected lobster tacos (so this was likely user error on our end not reading the menu too in depth) including two fountain drinks we ended up paying just under $100 including a 20% tip. Aside from that it was an amazing lunch date, we sat inside the 101 and people watched, then walked along the beach. Definitely recommend the Trap Shack!“

“It was amazing we are going to come back“