Distillery, kitchen and cocktail barmiramar
Cutwater Spirits in Miramar San Diego, the 50,000 sq ft distillery, kitchen and cocktail tasting room running classes, tours and chef-driven plates since 2017.
Signature drink: Cutwater cocktails poured from its own rum, vodka, gin, whiskey and tequila
Food: Chef-driven full kitchen, lunch through dinner
Whiskey dive barmission-hills
Aero Club Bar on India Street near Middletown, San Diego, the 1947 pilot's dive turned whiskey shrine with 1,200 bottles, pinball and ten-dollar pours.
Signature drink: 1,200+ whiskey list, pours in flights or neat
Food: Bar snacks, no full kitchen
Arcade barnorth-park
Coin-Op Game Room on 30th Street in North Park, San Diego, the 2013 arcade-bar with retro pinball, classic console cabinets and game-themed craft cocktails.
Signature drink: Cocktails named after arcade characters, local craft beer rotation
Food: Bar food, smash burgers, loaded fries
Dive bar with live musicnorth-park
Whistle Stop Bar on Fern Street in South Park, San Diego, a beloved dive with twelve drafts, a jukebox that runs vinyl, live bands and a steady daily happy hour.
Signature drink: Twelve drafts, deep top-shelf list, daily happy hour
Food: No food, BYO from neighbours
Multilevel cocktail bar and loungegaslamp-quarter
The Tipsy Crow on Fifth Avenue in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter, the 1874 Spencer Ogden building running three levels of cocktails from the main bar to The Underground.
Signature drink: Pre-Prohibition cocktails on the main bar, draft beer downstairs
Food: Sliders, pretzels, bar food
British publittle-italy
Princess Pub and Grille on India Street in San Diego's Little Italy, the long-running British-owned pub serving fish and chips with rugby on satellite.
Signature drink: British and Irish drafts, single malts
Food: Fish and chips, bangers and mash, full British menu