50 Best Bars near Imperial Beach

“I was there for the first time this past weekend for the Canelo vs. Charlo fight and loved all of the positive vibes at this establishment.

The owners (Otto & Selena) are amazing!!

One thing I noticed is despite how busy they all were Otto had a smile on his face the entire time.

Normally when it's busy and chaotic people tend to lose their smile because their stressed out. This is proof that when your doing something your passionate about it's fun and you enjoy every minute of it.

All of the staff provided excellent customer service. Regina is my favorite!! ?

Dj's Money Miner & Jay 2 we're in the mix playing all the old school jams!! At one time all the boys took over the dance floor just vibing out Lol!! I know because theirs video footage Hahaha!!! ??‍♂️?

Can't wait to go back to try their food!!

Highly recommend checking out The Scorebord if you're ever in the area. You will not be disappointed!“

“Had a lot of fun. Highly recommended“

“Great venue. Right on the beach. Has inside bar area and great outdoor patio. Knocked off 1 star because the drinks are pretty weak. $9 for a tito cranberry in a small glass with a 3 count pour. They could suffer to be a tad more generous with the booze at a dive bar.“

“Food & Folks are always Fabulous“

“I absolutely love all four bartenders! Sweetest women in California! Maddy is a lovely young women, without a racist bone in her body! Mercedes, Ruby and Yvette are also very sweet!

Whomever is posting this garbage insulting these wonderful young ladies probably sucks to be around and honestly no one wants them at our bar anyway“

“Amazing! We have a place on Seacoast and I highly recommend this Grill! We give it a 10!!!! We we are so happy with the food and service. Two nights in a row!!!“

“Amazing experience. Amadeus our bartender was exceptionally helpful and attended to our every need. The food was delicious. The cocktails were impeccably well balanced. The setting was beautiful. One of the best cocktail bars you will find in SoCal A+“

“Absolutely amazing atmosphere, 10/10 service, and bomb drinks. What more could you want. Easily one of the best tiki bars period.“

“What a fantastic place! Food was excellent and great proportions, likely the best flatbread I’ve ever had. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable. Would highly recommend and will return if in the area again.“

“My husband was in a business dinner and they walked some of gaslamp afterwards. After they parted ways, he needed to use the bathroom so he ran in the closest restaurant. They said he couldn't use it unless he was a customer. I totally get that but they were packed out so it made no sense.... Either way, he bought a chicken quesadilla to go. He brought it back to the room for me and our sons to have. It tasted good...until my youngest son spit out a piece of plastic he found inside the quesadilla. My Husband called about it the next day bc they were then closed. Their response was "oops sorry" like wth?! They then said "bring it back along with the plastic." No mention of a refund or investigation of how it happened. And by that point, room service had come and took the box of the rest of the food plus no one wanted to fight downtown traffic and pay to park to have them possibly offer us another quesadilla . 🙄 Again the food we did eat, minus the plastic, was good but the service wasn't.“

“Everything about Fernside is great!“

“Very odd little place that has the best name. 🤣 We got a mix of cocktails and some snacks. Service was good, decor was definitely on the quirky side (Ronald McDonald says hi). I also had the No-loko which was a great caffeine boost for midday.“

“You can't call it a dive bar when they have $300 bourbons on the shelf! Erin is great. We went there twice and will probably go back again later. And there are pinball machines and a pool table and other arcade games. Fun place.“

“One of the best speakeasy’s I’ve ever been to. Been to several in LA, SF, Vegas, Miami, and NYC and this one compares. So glad that it’s in my city! Speakeasy’s are the way to go! Bravo 👏🏻“

“We had our pregame, Puerto Rican Heritage Padre, celebration there yesterday and the staff and food were AMAZING!!!!!! 🇵🇷🇵🇷🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🇵🇷🇵🇷“

“The Whiskey house isn’t just for whiskey! We enjoyed a great brunch outdoors. The cinnamon pancakes are to die for! Great service from Jackie!“

“🙂👍 Gonzalo and the entire staff are awesome!“

“Super fun place to celebrate anything!“

“Good restaurant, delicious food. I recommend everyone to try it“

“There’s no losing in Dice - you can only win: win with free drink or win by buying drinks for your friends. Best to get the “read ahead” on rules from Naval Aviator before “winning” and buying entire round a shout(round).“

“Excelente cantina en Chuka Vista, 100% Mexicana. Gran atención de Omar.“

“Bartenders were great and friendly! Fun place to watch games! Love my girl Jordan!“

“Cool Spot! Always an interesting spot to hang out, have a few pops and people watch...“

“Great place for food, drinks and games. Have a wonderful time.“

“Everything about it is fantastic! The beers are delicious and the owners are so welcoming! Thank you for hosting my 29th birthday!!!💕“

“This is not a place for food, but the drinks are so delicious! I need to go back to be able to try the rest of the drinks. That's basically the reason why I didn't give 5 stars, I really would wish more opportunity to try the other drinks. Overall I am in love with the place.“

“Old dive bar! Been goin here for awhile… 25 plus years! Xoxox.. glad they cleaned it up but kept the dive feel“

“Great place highly recommended, amazing drinks awesome, come check them out and have a fantastic time“

“The skirt steak will make you cry. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️“

“Wonderful place! We got to enjoy a revamp of the menu, and it was delicious. Everything we ordered was truly amazing. The new cocktail list was just as great and invigorating. We tried a couple of them, and I finished the evening with an Espresso Martini. The cream and cinnamon on top were a little surprise I was not expecting. I truly recommend Storyhouse Spirits, and it's right around the corner from the ballpark. Thanks for everything!“

“Craft beer places are a dime a dozen in SD, but I knew after one visit that Machete is easily going to become a favorite water hole to visit when I am in the mood for a good variety of craft beer. They have a bunch of different styles, and a selection of beers from breweries that I either haven't heard of or never tasted before. Love that. It gets boring seeing the same 3-4 breweries at every place that offers craft beer in SD.Vibe is super chill, casual and divey.Staff here is really nice. I didn't get his name, but he let me try a few different beers and gave great recommendations based on the styles I like.No food here, but the Papi’s Teppanyaki food truck is here from time to time. Check their IG for their schedule. Not sure if there are ever other options since I only recently found out about this place.Cheers!Edit: I came back a second time and the super cool bartender's name is Jett. If you come in on a day he's manning the bar, you're in great hands. :)

Kid-friendliness: There was a young family here with a stroller, but it wouldn't be my first choice for places to visit with kids.“

“We came here initially because of the fact the “Great balls of fire” scene from the original Top Gun was filmed here, which alone made it a really cool visit. However, we were super impressed by how good the food was! I had the pulled pork sandwich with Onion rings and fries, along with a canned Moscow mule cocktail. It was all extremely tasty and I was thoroughly full after! However, this didn’t stop me from also having the s’mores brownie, which was so big the rest of my table had to “assist” me with finishing it haha.

On top of this, the atmosphere outside was really relaxed and it made having conversation easy, and the music in the background was a mix of great songs.

Overall, really 5 stars all round.“

“Omg where to start with sro 1st off best bartenders in sd every bartender has a amazing and different personality including Sebastian. Atmosphere is unmatched too i love the crowd and the people. I recommend it to everyone I know I love SRO!!!! Thank you Laur, Pedro and Pedro!!“

“Everyone was cool. Beer and margarita were good. It made me wish I lived nearby so I could make this my place.“

“Definitely not a place that gets going all night like a club would but a very cool and quaint spot to grab a drink with a group friends. Pool tables and a variety of drinks on tap. Bartenders are receptive as well. Juke Box is a plus to play music of one’s choice.It’s honestly kind of it’s own place in the middle of everything, but wouldn’t mind staying here for a night and drink the night away. The Elwood is nearby too.“

“Went there to see my good friend DJ Yodah spin, and enjoyed the views and rooftop views for photo opps/selfies…“

“I enjoyed myself ??? The co-owner was awesome as she moved around the crowd and spoke to ppl and seen her help clear tables ? The dj on Friday night was dope, had me dancing ?? The bartender (white dude with long hair ??) he has stellar customer service ?? met friendly people and staff! I like how they have a smoking area where you could still hear the music dead on , but they could have dimmer lights in the smoking section coz it bothered my eyes ???? I didn't get to try the food but I look forward to doing so soon!! Security was on it, great communication skills amongst each other and they paid attention all around; I felt safe.. I don't think anyone would mess with ??. Bathroom was very clean and the long mirror A+ ???. I ordered patron and redbull, I suggest they keep their redbulls chilled since a customer like myself orders the entire can ? price was decent!! I went earlier so parking was great for me but probably not for the late heads ?“

“Love the 80s night and the live music“

“My husband and I had the absolute pleasure to dine at Juniper and Ivy for our 33 year anniversary. Not only did they have special menus for us, but we had a complete and very special experience start to finish.The staff were so welcoming and knowledgeable. We had what I would consider the best seats in the restaurant. We sat up at the kitchen bar, and were treated to an amazing dinner and “show “ The kitchen crew were so impressive and friendly to each other and us. We had such a great experience, that we canceled reservations at another restaurant on the same block for later in the week, so we could come back and try more. Same amazing experience at the next visit. Highly recommend, when we come back to SD we will prioritize another visit. Thank you so much for such a great experience!“

“Great place to hang out and watch a show. The staff were helpful, friendly, and professional. We didn't have any food but the drinks were good and reasonably priced

Parking: Plenty of parking but the best bet was the valet for us, reasonable too

Wheelchair accessibility: Very easy for wheelchair to get around“

“GR8 service, friendly atmosphere, cold drinks and Happy customers.“

“I am a local and my boyfriend and I come to Margaritaville regularly for staycations. (5 times since the spring) I finally a writing this review because of the exceptional service we receive every single time from both Shayla and Damien who work at the rooftop bar. They remembered us by name after the very first visit, are so accommodating and both very hard workers, attentive and polite- rare for young people these days- especially in hospitality. Shayla always makes sure we are taken care of and is sweet and personable and Damien is always on his grind! Always moving! He takes his job seriously and has great energy. Both of them are always one step ahead which is exactly how you should be in the service industry. It’s not an easy job! I’ve also witnessed them both deal with difficult guests with professionalism and grace. They both deserve props for their efforts!“

“Awesome food, great service, perfect location“

“La barrita was so much fun! Brenda,Donna,Hailey,Brit
,Marlene were amazing they give me the best service always! I’m going to keep coming back, drinks were really good! Thank you for your guys hospitality! 1000000/10 RECOMMEND!!!“

“Awesome place for live music. Real live music . Shout out to the awesome DJ. Viejo Lowbo and great staff .“

“Great spot, with Great employee's, I rented the Entire Club for a 50th Birthday Party that included food and drink. I highly recommend this Place.“

“Great Brunch and John is an amazing bartender.“

“Great service great food will be back soon.“

“Used to go there after work at. USN. back in 1982-3. They had excellent chili and a great cheeseburger. I think it only cost a buck at the time😀“