PubClub Classics: The Lost Bars & Events Of San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter

Before bars like barleymash, Goodnight John Boy and Trailer Park After Dark dominated the Gaslamp, there was another era of San Diego nightlife – one filled with legendary live music venues, cantinas, bars and events that locals still talk about today. Here’s a look back from someone who experienced them first hand.

By Kevin Wilkerson, San Diego Nightlife Blogger

San Diego has some great nightlife, especially in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown.

There’s the ever-popular barleymash, the let-it-all-loose Trailer Park After Dark,  Moonshine Flats for country music and line dancing, Goodnight John Boy for disco (yes, there’s a disco bar in San Diego!), Bootlegger’s just for fun and dozens of other happening places.

But there was a time it was – arguably – even better. For there were some super-lively bars, cantinas and live music venues, plus two awesome events all of which  for some reason are not around today. With that in mind, here is a list of the top bar haunts and events in the Gaslamp Quarter that no longer exit.

Malone’s Tavern

Oh, how I miss Malone’s. This was the ultimate PubClub bar: a pub on the top level and a club in the basement. It was also come-as-you-are casual; just walk in and join the party. And there was a party to join, especially in the large downstairs area. It also served draft beers in huge mugs, always a plus in my bar book. At the corner of Fifth & F, today there is Tacos el Gordo out front, a nice club where the basement used to be and the pub entrance? Well it’s boarded up, which makes me sad every time I walk past it.

Jimmy Loves San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

San Diegans loved Jimmy Love’s and I did, too. It was a large live music venue with big curtains and a good-sized stage that featured bands playing rock ‘n roll, jazz,  blues, reggae and funk. With a capacity of 650 people it was one of the largest bars in the Gaslamp Quarter. Located in the old city hall, the bar Toro now occupies the building.

Tin Roof San Diego

The live music seemingly never stopped at the corner of Fourth & G, for Tin Roof was a casual live music venue. Today, it’s still fun as Goodnight John Boy, tho it would be nice to have both bars in the Gaslamp.

Fred’s & Funky Garcia’s

This is when Mexican places were cantinas first and restaurants second. These two places were hang-out bars that played fun music in a lively atmosphere. Today, there are taco shops and Mexican restaurants opening seemingly on every corner and you know what – they are all boring! Fred’s still exists, in Old Town, but of course as locals know Old Town is not where singles go to party.

Wild Mexican Cantina Where The Hard Rock Hotel Is Now

I don’t know the name of this place and I was only “allowed” to go into it once because I discovered it while in town for a work assignment (tho I snuck in a couple more times when my boss at the time wasn’t around) but the memories are stuck to my brain like velcro. Let me set the stage for you.

It was a white wooden building, you went up a couple of steps and into a tequila madhouse! I have seldom seen something so wild, or at least in a civilized city at 4 or 5 in the afternoon. I don’t recall if it had an upside down margarita chair or the beautiful and tanned people in there were tossing their heads back doing shots but it was a scene that had the boss dragging me by the ear because she knew if she let me stay I would never leave that place sober. And she was right!

Croce’s Jazz Bar

One year, after going to Street Scene (keep reading) as I was meandering around the Galsamp from bar to bar in my eternal search for the perfect blonde, I stumbled upon this place. It was not as wild and loud as some of the other bars but it had live jazz and I instantly just loved the place. I was drawn in by the name because Jim Croce was a folk singer who died tragically too early – as have so many talented musicians – and, some say, led MCA records to start pushing a new folk singer by the name of Jimmy Buffett.

Anyway, Croce’s was run by his wife Ingrid and was a part of the San Diego nightlife scene for 31 years until closing in 2013. Some locals call the closing the day the music died in San Diego. Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and James Taylor all played there as tributes to Jim. Robin Williams once showed up and did a one-hour improv comedy show. On the corner of Fifth & F, it became Cafe 21 for a while, but that closed during the pandemic and the spot now, sadly, sits vacant.

The Reef

This was actually a very quiet bar on the Fourth Ave., side of Funky Garcia’s but it had the most fun bartenders in town. There were three of them, all bored because they had hardly any customers, so when PubClub.com would roll in, they would liven up and, well, we made our own party so much we would often spend most of the night there.

Dublin Square

I liked Dublin Square on Fourth Ave., because it had bands in an authentic Irish pub setting. It was kind of an upscale version of The Field, which is still in business over on Fifth. I do miss the Friday and Saturday night bands at The Field, tho, especially the Irish bands on Saturdays. The bar has not had them since the pandemic.

Hennessey’s San Diego

I was living in Manhattan Beach when I first visited San Diego and at the time Hennessey’s was one of the best bars in that Southern California beach city, so when my friends and I saw one in the Gaslamp then naturally we went into it. It had that typical white tiled floor, a musician playing in the corner, a cute bartender and drinks made with squeezed-in-front-of-your-eyes fruit as part of the mix. Alas, now nobody in their right mind would open a bar there because it’s on one of the worst homeless corners in all of the Gaslamp (and that’s saying something), Fourth & G, at the base of the low income Golden West hotel.

There is a pretty nice Hennessey’s San Diego, in La Jolla.

The Tilted Kilt

Ahh, the Tilted Kilt. Located by Petco Park on the 10th Ave., side (there’s some type of Navy business there now), the Tilted Kilt was Hooters on a different level. The super-sexy girls dressed in Scottish kilts and tight kilt-type tops. Sure, guys went in there to flirt and leave big tips (guilty!) but the place was pretty lively and was also a very good sports bar, especially for college football, the NFL and of course, before and after Padres games. It was also well managed, meaning the staff was on the ball, the food was solid and the place was spotless.

Hooter’s

Yes, the Gaslamp had a Hooter’s. It was either on the corner of Fourth & F where the 7-11 is now  or on the next block at Fourth & Market where the funky WNDR Museum is now. Anyway, it was a nice place to go in for a beer and some wings. FYI, San Diego does have a Hooter’s; it’s in the Mission Valley next to Best Buy.

Coyote Ugly San Diego

Yeah, it got ugly in there sometimes but it was a good place to slam some beers and watch girls dance on the bar and put other people on the bar to pour shots down their throats. Silly fun but and it was cool to pop in occasion and a great pit stop to take visiting friends.

San Diego Gaslamp Quarter Past Events

Street Scene

The best event to ever take place in the Gaslamp Quarter (well okay, actually East Village), was Street Scene. This was a multi-stage, multi-night, multi-fun, multi-party scene music event. It took up several blocks on Fifth Ave., between J & K streets. It started in 1984 and technically went until 2009 but in 2005 it moved from downtown to Mission Valley (and eventually to Del Mar and then to Chula Vista, where it pretty much died). Its downtown demise started when a new policy meant you had to consume your drinks in designated “beer cages” as I call them instead of by the stages. Well heck, part of the experience of hearing bands at a music festival is to be drinking near the band! That’s when it became less fun and far less popular.

Fat Tuesday Parade San Diego

If you couldn’t be in New Orleans for Mardi Gras, then one of the next-best places was San Diego. Seriously. There was a full-out Carnival parade down Fifth Ave., with people throwing beads off floats and hundreds of spectators lining the streets or hanging out on the balconies of bars. Added to this were passistas (Brazilian dancers), DJs, and, well you name it.

Then, suddenly, it was gone. When I asked a representative at the time of the Gaslamp Association why, he said the cost did not justify the event. I beg to differ!

Comment On This Article

Let us know your thoughts on this article by leaving a comment! Do you have any memories of these or other San Diego bars and events? Do you agree with this article?

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 Kevin Wilkerson is the founder of PubClub.com, an award-winning journalist and San Diego resident. He has covered destinations, events and entertainment for more than two decades and received an Associated Press award for investigative journalism while working as a newspaper reporter.