Convoy Music Bar Brings Vinyl Records and Craft Cocktails to Kearny Mesa | Eater San Diego

"Tucked into one of Kearny Mesa’s busiest dining complexes and hidden in the alley behind the strip mall next to the latest Taco Stand on Convoy Street, Convoy Music Bar opened Friday, May 13 as an intimate, elegant 40-seat Tokyo-style listening bar. Created by Showa Hospitality (the team behind Himitsu, Showa Ramen, the Taco Stand chain, and several upscale Japanese restaurants), the bar was built to pair high-quality sound with a high-end yet relaxed cocktail experience: Kenrick custom speakers from Japan transmit evenings’ soundtracks drawn from a vinyl collection curated by Showa’s Yuichiro Edamatsu and selected by different nightly DJs. Bartender Michael Rougas leads a team serving refreshing, spirit-forward cocktails in delicate glassware sourced from Japan, often using Asian ingredients like hojicha-infused scotch, matcha-pistachio orgeat, and passionfruit–Szechuan peppercorn syrup; highlighted cocktails include the Red Bottom Sky (a negroni variation with gin, rum, cacao-infused Campari, Barolo Chinato, black currant, and raspberry vinegar) and the tiki-ish Double Bird (mezcal, sherry, dark chocolate balsamic, grilled pineapple juice, and lime). The bar is currently walk-in only and serves no food yet, though they plan to add Japanese-influenced bar snacks in the future; hours are Wednesday–Monday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m." - Candice Woo