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Multiple cocktails in a dark setting.
Kindred
Arlene Ibarra

The Hottest Cocktail Bars in San Diego, November 2023

The newest drinks in the city can be found at these bars

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Kindred
| Arlene Ibarra

Fall is here. And while temperatures drift up and down, cocktail menus across town look fall-ward, featuring warming spices and seasonal ingredients like squash. From cinnamon smoke wafting over deep purple vermouth to a reimagining of the pickleback, San Diego bartenders are fully embracing creativity this season.

The Eater Cocktail Heatmap will be updated frequently to highlight new openings or fresh menus that are generating serious buzz around town.

Know of a cocktail spot with a decent amount of heat that should be added to the list? Send us a note.

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Frankie's

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Under the helm of popular local bartender Leigh Lacap, Frankie’s is a favorite of locals and the service industry community. This fall the menu flipped to a collection of America’s beloved regional favorites. Visit the Mid-Atlantic with vodka, orange juice, triple sec, and Sprite in an Orange Crush or slide into Indianapolis and sip on a Elmo Cola, a whiskey sweetened with cherry juice, a vinegar shrub, vanilla, and Coca-Cola syrup.

Hamburger Hut

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The cozy, family-friendly space is stocked with games and a rum-forward menu of drinks like the hurricane slushy and the Guapo with mezcal and Belizean rum with almond and lime.

Pale white cocktail with dried blood orange and marigold.
The Guapo at Hamburger Hut
Kelly Bone

Understory Bar

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The Del Mar Highlands Town Center cocktail haven is just one of a handful of Sky Deck tenants participating in an appealing new happy hour that includes deals on food and drinks. Understory is featuring 50 percent off its classic cocktails on weekdays between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and again on Fridays and Saturdays between 10 p.m. and midnight as well as daily specials ranging from discounted mezcal flights on Mondays and $10 dealer’s choice cocktails on Thursdays.

An artful arrangement of cocktails on a bar table.
An array of cocktails at Understory.
Kimberly Motos

Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters

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Formerly of East Coast tiki bar Cellar 335 and the Ace Hotel in Brooklyn, new bar manager Andrew Phillips has repositioned Sandpiper’s drink list around California-meets-tropical cocktails. Expect to encounter the Sea Plane with Old Forrester 86 bourbon, bitter Amaro Nonino, lemon, and a macerated strawberry oleo. Guests can enjoy happy hour from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m on Fridays and Saturdays and from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays when specialty cocktails, well drinks, draft beer, and wines by the glass are all $4 off.

Hurricane glass with tiki cocktail.
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
Courtesy Photo

Marisi brings the sensibilities of the Amalfi coast to San Diego. VP of bar and spirits Beau du Bois offers a menu of classic cocktails made with unexpected techniques like the new Lemon Drop spangled in lavender sugar. Customers continue to flock here for the three-course Porn Star Martini. Except house-made vanilla bean vodka and passion fruit with a Champagne and half a passionfruit on ice.

Lemon drop cocktial on stone bar
Marisi
Kelly Bone

Puesto La Jolla

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A classic reborn. Puesto makes the classic pickleback their own with a shot of Blanco tequila with a pickled pineapple and poblano brine chaser and fresh slices of pineapple. Margaritas are the overwhelming bestsellers, from the Puesto Perfect with fresh lime to the Sorrento with a hint of yuzu.

Double shots with fresh pineapple
Puesto
Kelly Bone

Common Theory

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While cocktails were once only the realm of Common Theory’s hidden speakeasy, the main bar now offers a drink menu too. Locals can enjoy a well-made Gin Rickey, Negroni, or Tommy’s Margarita in a casual setting along with more than 30 beers on draft, plus bottled beers, ciders, and hard seltzers.

Multiple cocktails.
Common Theory
Courtesy Photo.

Realm Of The 52 Remedies

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Bar manager/beverage director Chris Lee’s travels through South Korea thread through the current cocktails, which each highligh a city. Your tastebuds can travel with Lee to cities like Go Heung by sipping on his yuzu marmalade-infused sotol and whisky cocktail spiked with fermented yuzu kosho and lemon. 

Opaque cocktail in warm light.
Realm Of The 52 Remedies
James Tran

Paradisaea

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This stylish Bird Rock restaurant boasts a lively cocktail bar that crafts drinks that the trendy-again espresso martini. Paradisaea’s version bends smooth cold brew liqueur with cinnamon and highlights the coffee’s natural chocolate notes with a swirl of smoked salt. Their new happy hour runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. where signature cocktails, beer, and wine are 50 percent off as well as half off bar snacks like halibut tempura and a dry-aged cheeseburger.  

Pale brown martini with a swirl of smoked salt.
Paradisaea
Kelly Bone

The Fishery

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The growing cocktail program by Eddie Avila continues to impress. Known for its milk punch, the latest oat-based version is infused with Don Fulano blanco tequila, vermouth, and Rare Tea co. Sri Lankan lemongrass. Welcome fall with the Jack-Be-Quick, with Weiser Family honeynut squash and El Pintor blanco tequila accented with thyme and lime.

Captain's Quarters

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The latest cocktails on deck at this nautical speakeasy next to the Grass Skirt in Pacific Beach include the Sirens Spritz with butterfly pea tea-tinted gin and the Skippers Colada, which blends mezcal, lime, toasted cocktail, Ancho Reyes poblano liqueur, and mirto verde.

Swan Bar

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The Adams Avenue bar is getting into the spirit of the fall season with special cocktails running through the month of November that include the Poison Apple made with proper 12 Irish whiskey, allspice dram, orgeat, and cinnamon and Pumpkinhead Punch, a vegan traditional sour featuring rye, amaretto, pumpkin, black walnut, and aquafaba.

Wormwood’s The Secret Garden

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Nestled behind a topiary wall and beneath a clear canopy, the intimate bar soars toward the sky with shelves stocked with absinthe bottled near and far. Fall into the cocktail menu and find your potion.

Storybook dreamy cocktail surrounded by baby breath flowers.
Wormwood’s The Secret Garden
James Tran / Instagram

The Lafayette Hotel & Club

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The highly-anticipated Lafayette Hotel has landed, bringing with it a new wave of bars and restaurants that enables choose your own adventure-style drinking. Indulge in a boozy milkshake at the 24-diner, a Pimm’s Cup under the glass atrium of the Lobby Bar, bask in the tropical-meets-Italian vibes of the poolside bar, grab a classic drink at its bowling alley, or sip Oaxacan rum in the dark, church-like setting of Quixote.

A circular bar under a glass roof.
The Lobby Bar.
Kimberly Motos

Tribute Pizza

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Renowned for its food, this North Park pizzeria has an equally stellar cocktail program. From the simplicity of the Paloma with tequila blanco, Stiegl Radler, and lime to the stirred and direct Seven Caves barrel-aged Old Fashioned.

Golden cocktails with lemon peel.
Tribute Pizza
Kelly Bone

Mabel's Gone Fishing

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Awarded Bib Gourmand status by the Michelin guide, this North Park wine bar and restaurant also excels at cocktails. Gin and tonics are the specialties, from the London Dry with grapefruit and jasmine to the Spanish with nordes, lemon grapes, and sage.

Warm bar filled with bottles and painted green below the counter.
Mabel’s Gone Fishing
Kimberly Motos

Books & Records

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Classic cocktails take flight on beverage director Chris D’Apice’s menu for this recent arrival in Bankers Hill. Familiar notes like rum and Carpano vermouth are infused with pimento liqueur in the Dark Side of the Moon, which is presented tableside under a veil of cinnamon smoke.

Smokey drink with wooden skull lid.
Books & Records
Kimberly Motos

KINDRED

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Autumn brings a major overhaul of the vegan cocktail palace’s menu. Feel the weather change while sipping on a Lunar Vision, brimming with the flavors of carrot cake, coconut, zesty falernum, orange, and cinnamon with rum or travel down a curious path with the Horn of Plenty, made with tofu/tomato/pineapple juice, shochu, gin, lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

Dark purple cocktail clutched in tattooed hands.
Kindred
Arlene Ibarra

Kingfisher

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The acclaimed Golden Hill restaurant continues to excel under a reconfigured culinary team that includes bar manager Stephen Mallory. Standouts on the cocktail menu include the Shiitoki Manhattan, made with shiitake mushroom-infused Suntory Toki Japanese whisky, Amaro Foro, sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters, and the Cielo Alto, a mezcal-based drink that also incorporates Alma Tempec Licor de Pasilla Chile, tepache tamarindo, pineapple, and lime.

A Manhattan cocktail.
A Manhattan at Kingfisher.
Kimberly Motos

Youngblood

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The hidden bar behind East Village speakeasy Noble Experiment was recently named as one of the 50 best bars in North America by 50 Best’s list of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2023, claiming the 49th spot. Run by bar pros CH Projects, it offers a customizable and interactive cocktail experience in an hour and a half sessions in which Youngblood’s bartenders will create a series of three drinks tailored to each guest’s palate.

Arlene Ibarra

Bar Kamon

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Slip beyond the Tokyo-style cafe and into the Beshock Ramen team’s new speakeasy, inspired by 1920s romanticism in post-war Japan. Bar manager Brett Grimsman fills the bar with inventive cocktails that showcase Japanese spirits and Asian ingredients.

Clear ice cocktail with purple flower.
Bar Kamon
James Tran

La Bamba Room

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San Diego-born bar manager Tony Roehr (Mabel’s Gone FishingCH Projects) settles into a new family at Barrio Logan's newest neighborhood bar where the ¡SALUD! Tacos-adjacent listening room offers a hi-fi experience for all the senses. With cocktails named for Salud and La Bamba owner Ernie Becerra’s life and family, the extensive menu is designed to be read slowly while sipping on cocktails like the Since I Fell For You, a gin martini accented with peach and passionfruit.

Thin stemmed glass with clear cocktail and lemon.
La Bamba Room
Kelly Bone

Frankie's

Under the helm of popular local bartender Leigh Lacap, Frankie’s is a favorite of locals and the service industry community. This fall the menu flipped to a collection of America’s beloved regional favorites. Visit the Mid-Atlantic with vodka, orange juice, triple sec, and Sprite in an Orange Crush or slide into Indianapolis and sip on a Elmo Cola, a whiskey sweetened with cherry juice, a vinegar shrub, vanilla, and Coca-Cola syrup.

Hamburger Hut

The cozy, family-friendly space is stocked with games and a rum-forward menu of drinks like the hurricane slushy and the Guapo with mezcal and Belizean rum with almond and lime.

Pale white cocktail with dried blood orange and marigold.
The Guapo at Hamburger Hut
Kelly Bone

Understory Bar

The Del Mar Highlands Town Center cocktail haven is just one of a handful of Sky Deck tenants participating in an appealing new happy hour that includes deals on food and drinks. Understory is featuring 50 percent off its classic cocktails on weekdays between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and again on Fridays and Saturdays between 10 p.m. and midnight as well as daily specials ranging from discounted mezcal flights on Mondays and $10 dealer’s choice cocktails on Thursdays.

An artful arrangement of cocktails on a bar table.
An array of cocktails at Understory.
Kimberly Motos

Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters

Formerly of East Coast tiki bar Cellar 335 and the Ace Hotel in Brooklyn, new bar manager Andrew Phillips has repositioned Sandpiper’s drink list around California-meets-tropical cocktails. Expect to encounter the Sea Plane with Old Forrester 86 bourbon, bitter Amaro Nonino, lemon, and a macerated strawberry oleo. Guests can enjoy happy hour from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m on Fridays and Saturdays and from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays when specialty cocktails, well drinks, draft beer, and wines by the glass are all $4 off.

Hurricane glass with tiki cocktail.
Sandpiper Wood Fired Grill & Oysters
Courtesy Photo

Marisi

Marisi brings the sensibilities of the Amalfi coast to San Diego. VP of bar and spirits Beau du Bois offers a menu of classic cocktails made with unexpected techniques like the new Lemon Drop spangled in lavender sugar. Customers continue to flock here for the three-course Porn Star Martini. Except house-made vanilla bean vodka and passion fruit with a Champagne and half a passionfruit on ice.

Lemon drop cocktial on stone bar
Marisi
Kelly Bone

Puesto La Jolla

A classic reborn. Puesto makes the classic pickleback their own with a shot of Blanco tequila with a pickled pineapple and poblano brine chaser and fresh slices of pineapple. Margaritas are the overwhelming bestsellers, from the Puesto Perfect with fresh lime to the Sorrento with a hint of yuzu.

Double shots with fresh pineapple
Puesto
Kelly Bone

Common Theory

While cocktails were once only the realm of Common Theory’s hidden speakeasy, the main bar now offers a drink menu too. Locals can enjoy a well-made Gin Rickey, Negroni, or Tommy’s Margarita in a casual setting along with more than 30 beers on draft, plus bottled beers, ciders, and hard seltzers.

Multiple cocktails.
Common Theory
Courtesy Photo.

Realm Of The 52 Remedies

Bar manager/beverage director Chris Lee’s travels through South Korea thread through the current cocktails, which each highligh a city. Your tastebuds can travel with Lee to cities like Go Heung by sipping on his yuzu marmalade-infused sotol and whisky cocktail spiked with fermented yuzu kosho and lemon. 

Opaque cocktail in warm light.
Realm Of The 52 Remedies
James Tran

Paradisaea

This stylish Bird Rock restaurant boasts a lively cocktail bar that crafts drinks that the trendy-again espresso martini. Paradisaea’s version bends smooth cold brew liqueur with cinnamon and highlights the coffee’s natural chocolate notes with a swirl of smoked salt. Their new happy hour runs on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. where signature cocktails, beer, and wine are 50 percent off as well as half off bar snacks like halibut tempura and a dry-aged cheeseburger.  

Pale brown martini with a swirl of smoked salt.
Paradisaea
Kelly Bone

The Fishery

The growing cocktail program by Eddie Avila continues to impress. Known for its milk punch, the latest oat-based version is infused with Don Fulano blanco tequila, vermouth, and Rare Tea co. Sri Lankan lemongrass. Welcome fall with the Jack-Be-Quick, with Weiser Family honeynut squash and El Pintor blanco tequila accented with thyme and lime.

Captain's Quarters

The latest cocktails on deck at this nautical speakeasy next to the Grass Skirt in Pacific Beach include the Sirens Spritz with butterfly pea tea-tinted gin and the Skippers Colada, which blends mezcal, lime, toasted cocktail, Ancho Reyes poblano liqueur, and mirto verde.

Swan Bar

The Adams Avenue bar is getting into the spirit of the fall season with special cocktails running through the month of November that include the Poison Apple made with proper 12 Irish whiskey, allspice dram, orgeat, and cinnamon and Pumpkinhead Punch, a vegan traditional sour featuring rye, amaretto, pumpkin, black walnut, and aquafaba.

Wormwood’s The Secret Garden

Nestled behind a topiary wall and beneath a clear canopy, the intimate bar soars toward the sky with shelves stocked with absinthe bottled near and far. Fall into the cocktail menu and find your potion.

Storybook dreamy cocktail surrounded by baby breath flowers.
Wormwood’s The Secret Garden
James Tran / Instagram

The Lafayette Hotel & Club

The highly-anticipated Lafayette Hotel has landed, bringing with it a new wave of bars and restaurants that enables choose your own adventure-style drinking. Indulge in a boozy milkshake at the 24-diner, a Pimm’s Cup under the glass atrium of the Lobby Bar, bask in the tropical-meets-Italian vibes of the poolside bar, grab a classic drink at its bowling alley, or sip Oaxacan rum in the dark, church-like setting of Quixote.

A circular bar under a glass roof.
The Lobby Bar.
Kimberly Motos

Tribute Pizza

Renowned for its food, this North Park pizzeria has an equally stellar cocktail program. From the simplicity of the Paloma with tequila blanco, Stiegl Radler, and lime to the stirred and direct Seven Caves barrel-aged Old Fashioned.

Golden cocktails with lemon peel.
Tribute Pizza
Kelly Bone

Related Maps

Mabel's Gone Fishing

Awarded Bib Gourmand status by the Michelin guide, this North Park wine bar and restaurant also excels at cocktails. Gin and tonics are the specialties, from the London Dry with grapefruit and jasmine to the Spanish with nordes, lemon grapes, and sage.

Warm bar filled with bottles and painted green below the counter.
Mabel’s Gone Fishing
Kimberly Motos

Books & Records

Classic cocktails take flight on beverage director Chris D’Apice’s menu for this recent arrival in Bankers Hill. Familiar notes like rum and Carpano vermouth are infused with pimento liqueur in the Dark Side of the Moon, which is presented tableside under a veil of cinnamon smoke.

Smokey drink with wooden skull lid.
Books & Records
Kimberly Motos

KINDRED

Autumn brings a major overhaul of the vegan cocktail palace’s menu. Feel the weather change while sipping on a Lunar Vision, brimming with the flavors of carrot cake, coconut, zesty falernum, orange, and cinnamon with rum or travel down a curious path with the Horn of Plenty, made with tofu/tomato/pineapple juice, shochu, gin, lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.

Dark purple cocktail clutched in tattooed hands.
Kindred
Arlene Ibarra

Kingfisher

The acclaimed Golden Hill restaurant continues to excel under a reconfigured culinary team that includes bar manager Stephen Mallory. Standouts on the cocktail menu include the Shiitoki Manhattan, made with shiitake mushroom-infused Suntory Toki Japanese whisky, Amaro Foro, sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters, and the Cielo Alto, a mezcal-based drink that also incorporates Alma Tempec Licor de Pasilla Chile, tepache tamarindo, pineapple, and lime.

A Manhattan cocktail.
A Manhattan at Kingfisher.
Kimberly Motos

Youngblood

The hidden bar behind East Village speakeasy Noble Experiment was recently named as one of the 50 best bars in North America by 50 Best’s list of North America’s 50 Best Bars 2023, claiming the 49th spot. Run by bar pros CH Projects, it offers a customizable and interactive cocktail experience in an hour and a half sessions in which Youngblood’s bartenders will create a series of three drinks tailored to each guest’s palate.

Arlene Ibarra

Bar Kamon

Slip beyond the Tokyo-style cafe and into the Beshock Ramen team’s new speakeasy, inspired by 1920s romanticism in post-war Japan. Bar manager Brett Grimsman fills the bar with inventive cocktails that showcase Japanese spirits and Asian ingredients.

Clear ice cocktail with purple flower.
Bar Kamon
James Tran

La Bamba Room

San Diego-born bar manager Tony Roehr (Mabel’s Gone FishingCH Projects) settles into a new family at Barrio Logan's newest neighborhood bar where the ¡SALUD! Tacos-adjacent listening room offers a hi-fi experience for all the senses. With cocktails named for Salud and La Bamba owner Ernie Becerra’s life and family, the extensive menu is designed to be read slowly while sipping on cocktails like the Since I Fell For You, a gin martini accented with peach and passionfruit.