By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.con San Diego Nightlife Blogger
The holidays are here and for the second year in a row a pop-up Christmas bar is open in the Gaslamp Quarter.
Xmas bar, on the corner of G Street and Fourth Ave., is a temporary bar and it brings some Jingle Bells rock to really rock San Diego’s nightlife scene during the holidays. In the former Tin Roof location that is currently disco bar Good Night John Boy – yep, San Diego has a disco bar! – it is a fun, different kind of bar that is full of the holiday spirit. To say nothing of holiday spirits, too.
The decor is all Christmas. Through the doors are Christmas lights and Christmas trees – lots of Christmas trees – tinsel and more holiday decorations than Chevy Chase has in Natitional Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. which, along with Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and other holiday classic, play on TV screens. The music ranges from “Let It Snow” to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
It’s like being at a big, fun holiday party. If you can’t get into the Christmas mood after five minutes in this place then you are a real Scrooge!
A DJ plays a lot of Christmas music – more so in the early evenings and mixed in with fun party music at night – and a lot of the patrons are wearing Santa hats and dressed in Christmas colors in an upbeat setting. It’s fun, festive and everyone is in a happy holidays move. Plus, it’s unique and adds a new and excitement element to the San Diego Gaslamp nightlife.
There’s a limited menu of beers ($8) and holiday-themed cocktails ($12-$16) and a small food menu.
Sure, there are other Christmas-themed bars in San Diego and elsewhere. But few have the combination of the decor, the music and the all-out bar experience with dancing and a DJ as does Xmas bar.
The San Diego Xmas bar is owned and operated by Forward Hospitality Group, which also has Xmas bars in St. Pete and Cleveland. It will remain open through the holidays until early January, when it will transform back into the disco bar.
There is a $10 cover after 9. Most of the Christmas music is played before then; afterward it’s mixed in with its usual fun party music that includes, yes, disco.
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