48 Hours of Drinking in San Diego

Addison Bar draws a steady local crowd in Carmel Valley. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Drop bags. Find a hotel-adjacent bar within a five-minute walk. Order something simple to anchor yourself to the city.

Altitude Sky Lounge at Marriott draws a steady local crowd in Gaslamp. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The polished room you'd take a first date to. Sit at the bar. Talk to the bartender. Stay one drink — you're scouting, not committing.

Fox & Hound Pub draws a steady local crowd in Mission Valley. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Walk into the city's drinking quarter (the heart of the night, not the tourist version). Two drinks, two rooms. Pace yourself — Saturday is the long day.

Ballast Point Tasting Room draws a steady local crowd in Little Italy. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Sunset. Find a rooftop. Order whatever the house specials around sundown. Take photos but don't lose 90 minutes to your phone.

No bar in San Diego commands a room like Born and Raised. The three-floor building in Little Italy was designed with the architectural ambition of a five-star h Eat somewhere with serious bartending built in. The right room is one you order both your dinner and your nightcap from.

Bottega Americano Bar draws a steady local crowd in East Village. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. The bar that made you book the trip. The pre-research one. Reservation-only ideally. Stay until last call.

C Level Lounge draws a steady local crowd in Harbor Island. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Mary, Mimosa, or whatever low-ABV house play the room runs. Eat. Pay. Walk.

Coasterra Restaurant Bar draws a steady local crowd in Harbor Island. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening. Find the hotel bar at your departure airport equivalent — somewhere quiet, low-volume, well-staffed. End the trip on a martini and a clean conversation.