The Gaslamp Quarter
The Gaslamp Quarter Sign
When hanging out in San Diego, I manged to check out the historic Gaslamp Disctrict. It’s located downtown and wasn’t hard to find since the hostel was actually located in it.
The Gaslamp Quarter had a lot of bars scattered around it. It reminded me of 6th Street in Austin only smaller (in terms of the amount of bars). The bars varied in stlye from tequilla bars to wine bars.
Saturday afternoon, my girlfriend and I ended up going to the Gaslamp Bar and Grill for a few beers and a margarita. It was a pretty cool bar and the happy hour prices were reasonable (in terms of California prices). The best part of all was the fact that Pacifico was their beer of the month for 3 bucks. Yum.
The bars were much different after happy hour. Everyone was dressed to impress and there were lines to get into every bar. It was way to “upscale” for me and I did not like it at all. It was way different than the relaxed type of atmosphere that I like. It sort of reminded me of Los Angeles the last time I was there.
So instead, we ended up going to a bar called Dicks Last Resort which was a lot more casual. It had an outside bar with picnic tables which was pretty cool. We both ordered a Leinekugels, but the guy came back with only one and said that was their last one. So my girlfriend ordered a Killians instead, only to find out 5 minutes later they didn’t have that one either.
The area was very cool during the daytime; everything was very busy and people were everywhere. At night, it turns into a bar scene with a lot of upscale clubs, which isn’t bad if you prefer that type of thing. It was worth checking out but I don’t think I will be heading back there anytime soon.
Posted on: March 10th, 2009
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That’s the only part that I don’t like about that area of San Diego. Well most of San Diego is like that. During the day they cater to everyone, but at night it’s when the snobs take over.
Your review is spot on. If you love dressing to impress, you will love the San Diego nightlife, and if not, well, it kind of sucks. Long lines and high cover charges are the norm there. Try drinking at Pacific Beach next time though, it’s one big frat party down there, even in the middle of the day.
Quite lame about the bar scene there…what’s the point of living in San Diego if you don’t wear shorts and sandals everywhere?
we’re heading to cali in a few weeks for about a week. when we go we always hit up bandar’s. great persian food…prices aren’t too bad either.
I love going down to the Gaslamp district. There are so many great restaurants, nightclubs and just an all around fun scene down there!
I’ve taken a Limo Party Bus with Cali Party Bus downtown to the Hard Rock, Stingaree and On Broadway. Just a fun way to get around!