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Praising the Bar

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We bellied up to some of the best restaurants in town and found a full menu of reasons to eat at the bar. Here are our top 10 bars (plus bonus picks).

ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Charles Bukowski, Sam Malone—they’d all attest that a good bar is much more than a slab of wood upon which to rest your brandy snifter. It’s a convivial hangout, a buffer between the pressures of the office and the familiarity of home. Even better when it comes with a side of four-star service and cuisine that’s a few notches above, well, bar food.

Some savvy local restaurateurs deliver the bar experience within a traditional restaurant setting, and for single diners or those eager to skip a lengthy dining-room waitlist, eating at the bar is just the ticket. But not just anyplace will do. A great bar meal must meet most, if not all, of the following criteria:

A) Friendly bartender: The person on the other side of the bar is your de facto dinner companion, so a good rapport is essential. B) Equal amenities: Bar diners should be treated with the same deference as dining-room patrons—place settings, prompt service and access to the full menu. C) Amiable atmosphere: Sitting at the bar is by nature a social experience, so the joint shouldn’t be too empty or too crowded. Your fellow diners should be approachable, not surgically attached to Bluetooths and iPhones. D) Purse hooks: Ladies, I don’t have to tell you of the importance of the purse hook. A winning eatery has plenty, and they are smartly positioned. E) Speed: For those on a clock, a bar meal should, if necessary, take less time than full-blown, sit-down dinner service. Finally, F) Amazing food.

With that, and in no particular order, here are our top 10.

Kensington Grill

Too often, the restaurant bar is an uncomfortable place to be stuck while waiting for your table to open up. At Ken Grill, you might be tempted to stay even after the hostess offers to seat you. This low-key neighborhood spot on Adams Avenue features comfy cushioned seats at its two parallel bars, plus intuitively placed purse hooks and, not least, delicious victuals. The bartenders are authentically friendly and willing to shepherd guests through the lengthy wine list or recommend the horseradish-crusted sea bass over the hand-torn pappardelle with sausage (or vice versa). Padres and Chargers games light up an unobtrusive television mounted on the far wall—a bonus for solo diners, as this bar is often populated by couples on dates. 4055 Adams Avenue, Kensington, 619-281-4014.

Avenue 5

The mantra at Avenue 5 seems to be “Service, service, service.” The bartenders and other staffers at this relative newcomer to Bankers Hill’s Fifth Avenue take an active interest in diners’ well-being, from offering entrée suggestions to trading banter across the small but attractive wood bar. Advice from behind the bar during one recent visit yielded spot-on menu recommendations (wild-mushroom tortellini in a delicate Madeira broth, magnifique) and a sample of a new favorite cocktail, the St. Germain (candy-sweet St. Germain elderflower liqueur mixed with bubbly). 2760 Fifth Avenue, No. 100, Bankers Hill, 619-542-0394.

Dobson’s

This is the place to go when you’re very important—or you just want to feel like it for an hour or two. A continuing favorite of judges, lawyers, newspapermen and other bigwigs, this powerlunch institution is an unmistakable locals’ joint, where the bartender not only remembers your name, he can recall your entire order, soup to nuts. Longtime regulars have their names inscribed on bronze plaques that adorn the bar, the walls, the liquor cabinet and pretty much any available surface. Photos of folks such as James Carville, Mary Matalin and George Stephanopoulos hang on the wall. When the time comes to order, skip the salads and sandwiches in favor of Dobson’s signature mussel bisque and a dry martini. A seat at the bar can be hard to come by, but it affords a chance to get up-close-and-personal with City Hall types, or perhaps to convince owner Paul Dobson, a former bullfighter, to spill details from his exploits in the bullring. 956 Broadway Circle, downtown, 619-231-6771.

Café Chloe

A cozy bistro table for deux may seem like the best way to experience this romantic French boîte in the East Village, but check out the handsome, marble-topped semicircular bar. For pairs, the bar’s flattering lighting sets a sexy mood, to say nothing of the sparks generated by sitting side-by-side while sharing a cheese plate and a glass of bubbly. But single diners are welcomed here, too. You’ll get no pitying looks as you tuck into a steaming-hot wild-mushroom vol-auvent or savory custard du jour; in fact, a nearby stack of magazines—good ones—seems specially designed for parties of one. 721 Ninth Avenue, East Village, 619-232-3242.

Starlite Lounge

For too long, the good people of South Mission Hills have been deprived of an appropriate “local”—a place both laidback and classy that reflects the community’s sensibilities. Enter Starlite, a hip watering hole and restaurant co-owned by nightlife’s King Midas, Tim Mays (also responsible for the Turf Club and the Casbah). Beyond the hexagonal entryway lies a wood-paneled dining hall that’s part mid-century modern, part hunting lodge. In the center is a three-sided bar illuminated by the most awesome chandelier in the city—tiny points of light mimic the stars the place is named for. Pull up a ’50s-style plastic chair while contemplating the short and sweet menu of eats such as flatiron steak, jidori chicken and quinoa-stuffed squash, made with ingredients from local farms. And with a stylish crowd composed largely of well-coiffed and well-inked artists and musicians, the people-watching is unparalleled. 3175 India Street, South Mission Hills, 619-358-9766.

Farm House Café

It didn’t take long for this tiny French spot in University Heights to gain a voracious following—and no wonder, given chef Olivier Bioteau’s tasty creations like escargot risotto and grilled ahi Provençal. It’s especially packed at breakfast on the weekends, when the small, square bar is the quickest way to skip what is likely to be a lengthy wait for tables. It’s also the best way to soak up the friendliness of the staffers, who are often eager to share recommendations or help pick out a complementary wine. The bar has only a handful of seats, but many offer a peek into Farm House’s nerve center: Chef Bioteau can occasionally be glimpsed toiling over the burners between swings of the kitchen door. 2121 Adams Avenue, University Heights, 619-269-9662.

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Click here to see the runners up

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Morton’s, The Steakhouse

Normally a chain restaurant wouldn’t rate a blip on the radar, but Morton’s rolls out the red carpet, not only in the fancy dining room but also in the newly renovated bar. Expanded last year from what used to be a dark hovel with a handful of barstools and a cadre of letchy barflies, the newly minted Bar 12-21 now features wall-sized windows and nearly triple the seating, including a pair of breezy outdoor tables and a long L-shape bar capped at one end with a marble-top, communal-feeling circular area. Linens and place settings are laid out immediately, and a basketball-size loaf of steaming hot onion bread arrives—with deliciously whipped butter—soon thereafter. SportsCenter-on-mute provides a distraction for lulls in conversation. The crowd is a mix of conventioneers, longtime regulars and local celebs—Jerry Lewis and Padre Kevin Kouzmanoff, to name a few—while handsome, bow-tie-wearing bartenders shake some of the city’s best martinis with flair. 285 J Street, downtown, 619-696-3369.

The Grant Grill

If Audrey Hepburn were wandering San Diego in search of a martini and a meal, she’d probably stop here. Something about the sleek white furnishings and dark-wood paneling instantly identifies this place as a class joint. Opened in 1951 and completely redone last year, the Grant Grill is a living history lesson—especially in the bar, where you can learn about the 1960s sit-in that ended the lunchtime men-only policy (check the wall-mounted plaque) or ask the barkeep to tell you the story of the signature dish, mock turtle soup. And because it’s a hotel bar, peopled with fascinating characters from who-knows-where, the Grant Grill has an added anything-can-happen air, as if that handsome stranger you’ve been chatting with just might carry you off on his Vespa for a whirlwind tour of the city, Roman Holiday style. 326 Broadway, downtown, 619-744-2077.

The Linkery

One of the more casual spots on this list, the hugely popular Linkery recently outgrew its digs at 30th and Upas and moved into a huge, airy space on the corner of 30th and North Park Way, just down the block from the Birch North Park Theatre. Owner Jay Porter’s house-made gourmet sausage links and adamantly local menu pull in the crowds; he goes so far as to recognize his purveyors on the menu by their first name. Though the dining hall is often packed with regulars, the Linkery’s bar seats are coveted most, even when empty tables are available. As the name implies, this is a neighborhood meeting place, and friendly faces are in no short supply. Chat up the gal to your left about which esoteric craft beer she’s sipping, and she just might offer you a bite of her lamb bockwurst choucroute (sausage with a side of sauerkraut). 3794 30th Street, North Park, 619-255-8778.

Blanca

With adventurous flavors, fresh local ingredients and delicate presentations, Blanca’s an easy contender for finest restaurant in San Diego County, yet this very fineness makes it entirely too easy to relegate the chic Solana Beach spot to special occasions. A full sit-down dinner, after all, could take hours and cost hundreds. But there’s no reason chef Wade Hageman’s feather-light corn soufflé, decadent seared foie gras and sinful black truffle French fries shouldn’t be enjoyed on a more regular basis. Eating at the heavy stone bar offers a more low-key and speedier—though not at all rushed—dining experience. (We’ll even give ’em a pass for not having purse hooks.) Don’t miss the amusing cocktail list, complete with Bitch Grenache by the glass and Pabst Blue Ribbon in the can, regally served on a doily-topped saucer. 437 South Highway 101, Solana Beach, 858-792-0072.

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