Puesto at The Headquarters sits in the old San Diego police building near Seaport Village, between the USS Midway and the convention center. The award-winning tacos and the curated agave bar are the two reasons to come, and the craft program runs deeper than the taco-shop reputation suggests.
Who would love it: drinkers who want a serious tequila and mezcal list with food that holds its own, and anyone after a margarita with a waterfront walk attached. Who would hate it: a guest after a quiet neighbourhood dive, since this is a polished downtown room that fills with tourists and convention traffic.
The room takes over a restored wing of The Headquarters, high ceilings and tile giving it a bright, designed feel rather than a back-street cantina look. The San Diego Tourism Authority points to the setting in the original police headquarters as part of the draw, and the patio near Seaport Village widens the room on a warm afternoon. It reads as a destination room first and a bar second, though the bar earns its keep.
The drinks programme is built on agave. Puesto runs a craft bar grounded in carefully curated tequila and mezcal, the kind of list that rewards a sipping pour as much as a margarita, and the house margaritas lean fresh and citrus-forward. A mezcal flight is the smart order for a first visit, since it shows the range the bar is built around before the tacos arrive.
The kitchen is the half that built the name. Puesto is an award-winning Mexican artisan kitchen, and the tacos carry it, al pastor with pineapple and crispy melted queso among the plates that draw the lines. The food is reason enough to arrive hungry rather than treating it as a bar snack.
What regulars say: reviewers on Yelp and OpenTable return to the tacos and the agave program as the draw, with the waterfront setting the recurring note and the tourist crush the common caveat. It reads as a polished room that backs its food with a real bar.
Best time to go: weekday afternoons run calmest for the agave list and the patio, while weekends and convention nights fill fast. Happy hour is the value window for the margaritas before the room turns over. For a quick read: an award-winning taco kitchen with a serious agave bar in a restored downtown landmark.
The Harbor Drive location keeps it walkable from Seaport Village and the waterfront, so it slots into a downtown day without a long trek. It belongs among the best cocktail bars in San Diego and in our wider cocktail bars guide. Plan the day from the San Diego bar guide.
The agave list is the part worth slowing down for. The curation across tequila and mezcal reaches far enough to make a sipping pour a real decision, and the bartenders can steer a newcomer toward a mezcal that drinks better than the house margarita base. Pair a flight with a round of tacos before the patio fills, and treat the waterfront seat as the place to settle in early. For drinkers who came for the agave rather than the convention crowd, a weekday visit rewards the list more than a packed weekend does.
Sources: Puesto official site; San Diego Tourism Authority; Yelp (updated 2026); OpenTable.
