Madam Bonnie’s

This is my second visit in two years, and I'm really impressed by the improvement in quality, service and ambiance. I ordered calamari appetizer, cheese and meat board, as well as the steak and salmon dishes. Each option was exceptional—fresh with generous portions. The salmon, in particular, is one of the best meals I've had in San Diego in quite some time. I'll definitely be ordering it again. The restaurant hosts live jazz performances every Friday from 7-8pm. Wheelchairs accessible.

A non-profit that I work for held a reception at Madam Bonnie’s in June 2024 and it was phenomenal! From the attention to detail to the staff going above and beyond for our group, it was amazing. For the event, we wanted to have a ‘whiskey flare’ and have ‘Tennessee’ themed foods. Then Mason and the MB team aged Jack Daniel’s speciality for us, had a list of five incredible and fresh cocktails created in house, and worked with us to have Nashville hot chicken and Memphis BBQ with a Madam Bonnie’s touch. On top of it all, the music and the staff were fantastic. It was truly one of the best social events and logistical experiences I have had in my career planning and promoting receptions. If you want to host an event in San Diego, reach out to Mason and the Madam Bonnie’s team; you will be in great hands.

We had an absolutely wonderful time here. Mason welcomed us in and took us right to a table with comfortable bunker seating and chairs in a very well designed and enjoyable room with a lovely atmosphere. Everyone we interacted with on staff was pleasant and attentive, and the craft cocktails were spectacular. The food was designed for a Mother's Day styling and looked beautiful with great flavors and portion sizing. Highly recommended this establishment for an overall cohesive and satisfyingly elevated dining experience

We chose to go here for Valentine’s Day, they had a special experience with jazz music playing that was absolutely phenomenal to listen to on this holiday. Although we got to our reservation on time service was a bit slow, they were very transparent that they were backed up and clearly working very hard which we appreciated and you could tell from the hostess to the waiters and bartenders it was a well run ship. I’m not sure if the drinks or food we had would be on the regular menu but they were all very good, especially for making red/pink drinks for Valentine’s Day. Parking is hard as always in Gaslamp I would recommend parking further away and walking or taking a taxi/uber. The prime rib was giant and well cooked I’d have it again, my wife loved the chicken pot pie and saved some for leftovers for lunch the next day and loved it the same. We skipped out on desert since we were running out of time (they were only letting us sit for about 1.5 hours). We would love to come again on not such a crazy night to sit at the bar, enjoy the aesthetic, and hopefully catch some jazzy tunes again!

If you find yourself in San Diego, you MUST include Madam Bonnie's to your list of places to visit! It's an incredible piece of San Diego's history, that actually started out as a Brothel, but has burnished its reputation over the years, and morphed into a wonderful and classy place to dine and drink. You'll love the history of this place! Mason, the very welcoming Manager at Madam Bonnie's contributes to the charm of the place. He is always ready to take you on a stroll through the history of this wonderful establishment. We totally loved the place and the people!! And we'll always look forward to visiting Madam Bonnie's again any time we're in San Diego!

We were seated quickly by Abby, the hostess, at a charming 2-top at the window. Richard, our server was prompt and friendly, bringing us water and our drinks in short order. Our food orders arrived at the perfect time (right after we finished the cheese board) and they were both absolutely delicious! I had the truffle salmon with pasta and my spouse had chicken cavatappi. Both dishes were perfectly prepared. The manager, Mason, stopped by our table as we were finishing up to make sure our meal was satisfactory. We assured him that 10/10 we'd be back again. We'll be bringing friends with us!

Breeza's professionalism at Madam Bonnie's elevates the experience to a new level; a visit is a must! Last night, my husband and I went to Madam Bonnie's for the first time to celebrate my cousin's birthday. From the moment we arrived, Breeza was attentive and familiarized us with the drinks and food items she recommended. She also gave us a little history lesson on the origin of Madam Bonnie's, which I loved! We only intended to go for drinks, but thanks to Breeza's suggestion, we decided to have the goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, which were amazing! Breeza, the other staff members, and her boss, George, whom we had the pleasure of meeting, were all fabulous. Their attentiveness and friendliness ensured we had a great time, and we did! The atmosphere is excellent. I love the architecture of old buildings, and their decor was charming. I am already planning to come back with my girlfriends. I was so happy that our first experience at Madam Bonnie's was as fabulous as it was, and I look forward to returning, especially when Breeza is working!

Thank you Mason for such great service while I Hosted our private event. It was fantastic. You want above and beyond to make sure everybody was accommodated. Excellent meal, the salmon was perfect! And a great drink selection. The chocolate cake dessert was fantastic. This restaurant has a super great vibe. An Awesome bar. On. Oh sides. When there’s jazz playing, it’s a lot of fun. Nice big long bar to sit at and have a drink. highly recommend if visiting the San Diego area.

This is my second visit in two years, and I'm really impressed by the improvement in quality, service and ambiance. I ordered calamari appetizer, cheese and meat board, as well as the steak and salmon dishes. Each option was exceptional--fresh with generous portions. The salmon, in particular, is one of the best meals I've had in San Diego in quite some time. I'll definitely be ordering it again. The restaurant hosts live jazz performances every Friday from 7-8pm. Wheelchairs accessible.

I am going to be shameless - this Friday September 15th from 7 to 9 pm Frankly Swingin' will be entertaining at Madam Bonnies The restaurant/bar - The food truly is a culinary treat it is tasty, well prepared nice presentation and the serving is plentiful. The mixed drinks OMG - spoil yourself. The selection of top shelf booze delightful. Make your reservation - take your loved one or very special person to an evening which replicates an East Coast entertainment hub. You'll love the Jazz we play to boot. Use my name when you book Ed

I got to spend my friday night at this amazing restaurant @madambonnies , they had live music by lovely band, the atmosphere was so much fun. When it comes to food, I'm speechless, the salmon is completely different story, well served and cooked with that crispy taste. The steak was so tender and tasty. even the shrimp and calamari dish was too much for appetizer. i highly highly recommend it.

10/10 service always on point. I've been here about three times and the last time I came was for my cousins birthday. Despite being a very large group, service was phenomenal! Very attentive and quick to serve our table. As soon as we sat down the bottle service and appetizers my cousin had pre ordered was placed on the table right away. Food was nice and warm. My favorite appetizer was the chorizo clams. They were served lovely broth along side yummy bread to soak it all up! Highly recommend. Love the ambience! It gives vintage vibes with a modern feel. The people that go are of all ages. And don't get me started on the DJ! He is the best! Always playing the best of all kinds of music. Only negative was the main course of my dinner. My plate was forgotten so I ended up getting it when everyone else was finished eating. It was also very salty. I ordered the porketta and had to return it. My husband reported the same about his steak. For some reason food was heavily salted and my husband loves salty food so for him to say it was salty too meant it had to be reallllly salty. On a positive note they were super nice about taking it back and offered me something else. I think I'd come back for drinks, appetizers, and dancing but not sure about dinner. Overall, I could see why my cousin loves coming here. They are really nice people that work here and vibes are great.

Celebrated my birthday here and was so excited to try this place. Based on the mixed reviews, I was a bit nervous. We were seated at the lounge area, and it was set up like a dinner, even though I had told the manager that we would be there for cocktails. We ordered a few desserts and those were pretty good, and the drinks were delicious. What soured the evening was they told us the bar was closing at 10p. That was very odd for a Saturday night in downtown. The ambience was lacking and it was not busy at all. Maybe that's why they closed early? I would give it another shot, but not to celebrate something special.

FIVE STARS FOR BREEZA!!! Breeza's professionalism at Madam Bonnie's elevates the experience to a new level; a visit is a must! Last night, my husband and I went to Madam Bonnie's for the first time to celebrate my cousin's birthday. From the moment we arrived, Breeza was attentive and familiarized us with the drinks and food items she recommended. She also gave us a little history lesson on the origin of Madam Bonnie's, which I loved! We only intended to go for drinks, but thanks to Breeza's suggestion, we decided to have the goat cheese stuffed mushrooms, which were amazing! Breeza, the other staff members were all fabulous. Their attentiveness and friendliness ensured we had a great time, and we did! The atmosphere is excellent. I love the architecture of old buildings, and their decor was charming. I am already planning to come back with my girlfriends. I was so happy that our first experience at Madam Bonnie's was as fabulous as it was, and I look forward to returning, especially when Breeza is working!

We needed sustenance and wandered the streets aimlessly, in the mood for burger'ish type food. Checked out reviews and happened to be standing AT this place, so wandered in. We are *SO* glad that we did! The hubs ordered a burger and fries, and I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich. Because of an egg allergy, they set me up with a healthy stack of lettuce to eat it as a sandwich. The hubs said that his burger was cooked PERFECTLY (for some reason, places have a hard time with medium rare). And I thoroughly enjoyed by chicken sandwich. The fries. Were. SO. Good. So so good. I'll admit that it's been a while since I had fries, so I may be speaking from a dry spell or not! :) We were there for lunch, right when it opened, and the only table. The waiter was FANTASTIC and attentive, but not in that desperate-I'm-bored sort of way. The place is adorable with a speak easy kind of look. I think I read somewhere it used to be the lobby of a hotel? They didn't have a history on their menu, so I can't say for sure. (tip - story on the menu like that makes for a 'fun' history lesson for the diner, plus a great dining conversation for those of us that have been married for 35 years and have already shared ALL of our stories!) We'll be adding this to our list of regular SD restaurants. Can't wait to go back!

Madam Bonnie's is now offering Sunday Brunch! Highlighted on that menu is a burger: the House Brunch Burger in fact, and boy let me tell you, it's a winner! The brunch burgers 8 oz house ground patty is made from a 50/50 combination of beef brisket and short rib. That combination of beef seared over a well season charbroil grill results in excellent flavors and textures. The beef was outstanding. I could tell that it was going to be quite good just by the the way it looked and the wonderful scent it gave off. The meat essentially melted in my mouth and offered that quality beef flavor that lingers on the palate. The burger also came with several strips of quality thick bacon. The bacon alone was outstanding, and then added to the burger's patty, well you know. It was some good eating. The burger also comes with a medium fried egg, avocado, and a tasty chipotle aioli. Service was great. Other brunch items include avocado toast, a veggie omelet, a prime rib hash, rotisserie chicken chilaquiles, a crispy seafood platter, a classic cobb salad, and oysters on the half shell. They also offer an extensive cocktail list.

I came here to celebrate my birthday dinner. We had a phenomenal time. They set us up in a cozy little spot. They made it extra special by putting a fur top over where I was seated. The service was phenomenal. The food was delicious. I will definitely be coming back. The staff went above and beyond to make the night special.

This place is awesome! Loved the ambiance, service, food & drinks! Happy hour is Monday-Friday 4:30-6pm and my fiancé and I almost didn't go because google says they aren't open till 5pm but ignore that because it's wrong. They open at 4:30pm. We arrived and sat at the bar. Our bartender Ashkon was so friendly and greeted us promptly. He asked us if we needed any help with selections on the menu and we expressed interest in the house blonde ale which they were out of so he provided a beer recommendation that we loved- Coronado brewing Orange Ave Wit. Fantastic. We also ordered the happy hour prime rib sliders and rosemary garlic fries. HOLY MOLY. I was blown away. Ashkon told us the prime rib is literally the whole prime rib slices from what they don't sell from the night before. MELTED in my mouth. I regret sharing lol. The manager Mason approached us and thanked us for coming in. He was engaging throughout our experience and really friendly. The ambiance in the restaurant is phenomenal. I'm not sure how I didn't discover this place sooner but I honestly can't wait to come back!

Came here Friday 5/10 for some post-dinner drinks. My bf and I had been here previously and enjoyed it, and were happy to bring our family here. We also wanted something a little more laid back since it seemed like everywhere else was chaotic after the game (LFGSD!). We sat ourselves in a booth and I truly forgot how much I loved the vibes here. We ordered our first round with George who was really nice and made us feel welcome. Breeza made our second round of drinks and that girl is amazing!! She was so sweet and funny, and my bf and I just talked to her for a bit almost forgetting about the rest of our party lol, she was that fun to talk to. The drinks were top tier as well. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back here soon, and am so appreciative of the service we received, and the energy and ambiance you can tell Madam Bonnie's works hard to cultivate.

Came to have dinner, didn't have reservations. We sat at the bar. We ordered from the happy hour menu. Chicken sandwich was okay. French fries taste stale. The calamari was good. The blackened salmon was served cold with potatoes. Was very disappointed. Our drinks was great! The bar tender we had was very nice and apologetic about the cold food. The ambiance was nice but it's very loud! Restrooms are very dark. The happy hour menu said $15 for the blackened salmon, we were charged $20. Again, very disappointed!

Came here on a Friday afternoon just on a whim. Our friends and I bought pizza next door and ended up getting drinks here during happy hours. We were helped by Arturo, one of the coolest servers I've ever met! He took care of us and helped us with all our questions. 10/10 recommend! Shoutout Arturo!

AMAZING VIBES! My cousin flew in town from Washington DC on a business trip: neither of us are into the party scene but she was eager to see what the Gaslamp looked like, since she hasn't been here in almost two decades. It's changed so much since her US Navy days. We scored the perfect parking spot on 4th Ave and Market abs headed east on the south side of Market, where we were approached by the kindest man; the music BEAUTIFUL live music caught our attention in the background. My cousin and I declined the man's invitation at the door and promised we'd stop by on our way back to the car. We walked around and I showed her how cool 5th Ave looked being closed off for the public to explore. After about 20 minutes wandering around we made our way back to the corner bar we passed earlier in our adventure. I don't remember the handsome guy's name at the front, but his spirit was so sweet and welcoming that we HAD to make good on our promise. The first initial step into this spot took my breath away! Absolutely STUNNING! From the chandelier to the wall paper, I was in AWE! We took a seat at the bar where another sweetheart approached up and introduced himself as Richard. The kind man with the most beautiful hair, pulled back into a neat and professional, yet fun, ponytail attempted to take our order but since I am not a much of a drinker, I was stumped. He asked what I had a taste for and I described something sweet with a hint of fruit. He asked if I wanted wine or something with wine in it, to which I replied "I have no idea". He asked if he could make a drink for me based on my taste palette and I agreed. Mannnnnnn this guy made the meanest damn white sangria with what tasted like infused oranges. It paired so well with the garlic and rosemary fries I ordered. I can't get over how NECESSARY it felt to be there. I felt like the stress I was feeling earlier that evening lifted. I will be back for a PLANNED dinner. Thanks again for making me feel so welcomed. The musician had a WONDERFUL voice btw.

My friend and I passed by this place once before, but decided to dine in the next time we were downtown. The bar is on the right side, with live music at night. We were seated on the left side of the restaurant, which is quieter and more spacious. She ordered a martini and I got a mocktail. The drinks were simple and mine was refreshing. We shared the cast iron blackened shrimp, mussels and chorizo, a side of rosemary fries, and the chimichurri stuffed porchetta, and a beet salad. The food was pretty good! I really enjoyed the crispy fries! The shrimp were plump, but could have used a little more heat. The mussels had a nice brothy flavor. The porchetta was filling, but I like the skin a bit more crispy. The beet salad was refreshing, but some of the beets were on the salty side. For dessert, we chose the peanut butter mud slide. It came with an Oreo crust, peanut butter mousse, and chocolate ganache. If you love peanut butter, this is the dessert for you! After dinner, we went to the other side and danced a little. I came back with different friends last weekend and we sat at the bar this time. My friends ordered some cocktails and took some Tequila shots! There was a jazz band that played good music. It's definitely refreshing to have live music in the Gaslamp area. They are known for their rotisserie items and plan to have taco Tuesday specials with rotisserie chicken etc. I would love to come back and try these new items!

Madame Bonnie's has brought life to this corner on Market Street! We came on a Friday as a band set up to play for the next few hours. It's great to find a place with live music in the Gaslamp. I think they have live jazz on Thursdays, as well. And at the end of the meal we joined people dancing by the band. For dinner we sat in the dining area and started with the mussels and a side of fries that were good sized portions. We ordered the porchetta and cast iron shrimp which were both delicious!! And topped off our meal with a peanut butter chocolate dessert that was describe as "like a mudslide"!! Overall, the food was great. The Gatsby-esque decor was charming, adding to their unique ambience. There is a lot of space for large parties as well. Service was good. I'll have to return to try the red velvet cake!!

Thank you Richard and Joseph for your hospitality and this great bar! Definitely enjoyed the new cocktail menu and the happy hour!

My friends and I were looking forward to trying this place after looking at pictures and reviews, but across the board thought this place was kind of disappointing. I don't recall the name of the drink and don't see it on the online menu, but I ordered a fruity/tropical tequila drink with cacao in it. My friend got the same thing. Mine was fine, not bad but nothing special, but my friend's was very, very chocolatey. I'm not sure if the cacao was supposed to be lighter to non-existent like in mine or heavier like in hers (almost like cocoa powder in water, which was the consensus trying this around our table)... the latter was definitely interesting and maybe other people would like this flavor profile, but regardless I thought it was weird that there was such a difference/inconsistency between our two drinks. We also ordered the mushroom flatbread and calamari to share. The flatbread was just ok, kind of hard/dry; and the calamari looked and tasted like frozen fish sticks. All in all they were OK, but I think this did not meet the price point. It's a cool spot, and we were excited to have the live jazz music playing too, but it was SO loud. We were joking that we'd have to squeeze in our conversation in between songs/sets. That was a major reason we didn't end up staying for dinner, and closed out after shareables. Granted, they did give us the option to sit on the other side of the restaurant when we got there, but also really encouraged that we sit and listen to the music on the band side. Lastly, upon closing out, my friend covered everything for our table on a single check, and was overcharged $20. She pointed it out before they charged the card, but they charged anyway and then gave her $20 in cash. Ultimately she got her money back, but I'm not sure why they couldn't just correct the tab before running the card. No item above in isolation was THAT bad, but being unsatisfied or having issues with multiple different aspects of our experience is why I'm giving this 2 stars.

I ate here when I went to San Diego for work. The food was great, service was fast, it was not crowded at the time so a great place to have dinner and conversation. I highly recommend this place!

I came here on Saturday for Happy Hour with a group of friends. I was excited that they offered Happy Hour on a weekend day. We sat outside near the entrance since the weather was nice. We wanted to grab a quick bite before heading off to our event at Petco Park. Seating was quick and we were given a selection of menus. We got a handful of choices from the Happy Hour menu. I ordered the Shaved Prime Rib Sliders and a well cocktail. My friends ordered Rosemary Fries, Mussels and Chorizo, and Dry Rubbed Chicken Wings. The horseradish cream paired well with the shaved prime rib slider. The drink I ordered was a Coco Chanel, nice and sweet. Another friend ordered the La Valentina and Padres Manhatten. The Manhatten was strong, definitely a sipping drink. The La Valentina had a unique combination of flavors (sweet, sour, and a little spicy). The only thing I didn't like was that they didn't have any ranch! I need ranch to dip my fries and wings in. They only offered blue cheese, bleh. The sauce that came with the wings was a bit too sweet along with the dry rub that was also sweet. Overall, not a bad experience, would recommend it to people that want a nice Happy Hour location.

Really wonderful experience! We went there for the first time last night and were completely blown away! The restaurant is beautiful and feels very glamorous. The drinks were divine and the food was amazing! The server Jaron, the manager Mason as well as the bartender and waitstaff whose names I unfortunately cannot recall were all very knowledgeable professionals who clearly care about their customers and their craft. Really impressed and would highly recommend! Can't wait to return!!!

We were invited to Madam Bonnie's a few weeks after opening, and we're so excited to have this place only a few blocks away from us! We brought friends, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The staff is gregarious & knowledgeable. JJ brought his bright energy to our evening, despite not even being our server. The food was DELICOUS! The sliders were amazing. The prime rib was good, but the pretzel bun & horseradish cream were the stars of this dish. The chimichurri that the seasonal veggies came with made the perfect dipping sauce. I'm not drinking at the moment, but we've gone back multiples times since our first visit to have their mocktails. They're bright, citrus forward, and quite tasty. I highly recommend the Bonnie's Paradise. We had a few sips of some of their "real" cocktails, and they were quite tasty. Looking forward to trying them once I start drinking again.

Came in for happy hour on a Friday (4:30-6:30pm) and immediately got that 1920s vibe from the decor and the fantastic live soft jazz music. Our waiter, Johnny, was awesome! He gave us some history about the building, what the place was about, and provided great recommendations on the menu, as well as great service! I ordered the coco Chanel cocktail and it was super refreshing and tastefully made. We ordered the tomato and burrata salad to start, which was delicious. The burrata was nice and creamy and was complimented nicely by the arugula, heirloom tomato, olive, and beet salad. We also ordered the prime rib slides (comes with 3), which came on cute pretzel rolls. The prime rib was super tender and the slider overall was flavorful. Last, we had the roasted vegetables which were so well seasoned and perfectly cooked. All of this food was on the happy hour menu. The discount is only a few dollars, but it's still nice they have one! Come check out this fun new rotisserie spot!

We made reservations for happy hour on a Thursday and I'm so glad we did! They open at 4:30 and we're the first customers inside (which worries me a little at first) But, from the moment we walked in the door- the service was impeccable. Arturo was our server and he came and checked on us frequently so that we were never waiting too long for our next drink or food request. Mason had greeted us at the door, and called us by name the entire evening. Alessandro took time to visit our table every so often to see how we were doing and tell us about the venue. We didn't try dinner- but we did have some of the apps. Happy hours fries, chicken sliders, and calamari & shrimp. All delicious and all devoured. For drinks we went off the cocktail list - we enjoyed the Hokum, the Kisser, the Giggler (I think is what it's called) and ended with an Espresso martini. All great choices! Thursday-Sunday they have live jazz, last night was 7-9. I saw some reviews say it's was too loud, but if you're sitting in the main room- it was a nice addition to the evening (there's 2 rooms each with a bar- the band was on the other side) We ended up staying for like 3.5hrs and had a great time. I can't wait to check out their brunch!

Made a reservation for 6 pm on a Saturday and it was not busy yet. When you walk in there is a long cool bar to your right and on the left side there is seating for 2/4 tops. The chandeliers are fun and since it is October, they decorated for Halloween. The booths and chairs are super comfy. At the back of the room it looked like a bigger seating area. There was a small party of about 6 girls there the night we went. Also as you walk in there is a ramp to another room and it has more seating and the restrooms are there. The band was setting up and they were fun to listen to. They played jazz which my husband and I love. We sat down and waited a bit for the server. When he came over he was very nice and apologized and took our drink and appetizer order. We ordered the mussels and chorizo. On a side note, I had made reservations here b/c we wanted the prime rib but the waiter told us that they just switched to their fall menu and no prime rib but pork chops. Not their fault but was a bit disappointed. So, waited a bit for our drinks and another server realized we had not gotten them so she asked us what we got and went and checked. They can out shortly after. Then our main server stopped by and asked if we wanted to place our order for more food. We did. We ordered the short rib and skirt steak. My husband asked for his skirt steak to be med. rare. Our appetizer came out and it had been a wait but again, we had the music so that was nice. The mussels were good and it had nice big chunks of chorizo. Then we waited for our main courses. We had 2 of the managers come over and apologize and our servers did the same. The servers and managers were very nice and owned they were having an issue. So our food came out at around 8 pm. It was a very long wait. When we did get the food, my short rib was fantastic. It was tender and flavorful. Unfortunately my husband's skirt steak was over cooked and a bit tough and the fries were cold. Not slightly warm. We let the server know and they took that off the receipt. My husband literally just had a bite and left the rest. They also paid for one of my drinks. Again, they owned the mishaps and we appreciated that but it was just too bad the food portion of the evening was not great. Would I try it again? I think I would give it another chance. I have read some of the reviews and they are positive so maybe we just went on an off night.....?

A really pretty spot downtown! I didn't try the food but the drinks were excellent. The manager, Alessandro, told us the story of the 13th step and showed us around the restaurant. They have jazz on weekends which sounds pretty fun. You should definitely stop in if you happen to be in thr gaslamp!

We stopped here on a rainy night. The chicken pot pie was very good. I wouldn't recommend the the kale salad. Unfortunately they were out of the squash. The service was great - Aubrey was super nice and attentive. They had live music but it was extremely loud. We could barely have a conversation with each other. We had to scream out our server when giving our order. It was pretty overwhelming. We wouldn't have minded but it was only 7pm at this point. Best part is when the band took a break and we could actually hear. Also our table was super wobbly.

Read some of the great reviews about this place and was excited to try it out. Was hoping for their prime rib but they just changed over to the fall menu (see pictures). Took a bit for someone to stop by and order our drinks but after that the service was great. We ordered the chorizo and mussels for an appetizer. There was a decent wait for it to come out but there was a fantastic jazz band to occupy us, so we didn't mind. We then ordered our main dishes. My wife ordered the short rib and I, the flat iron steak. The wait for the food was extreme - almost an hour. When it finally arrived, the short rib was amazing but the steak was way over cooked and the fries were cold. I didn't eat the steak but they removed it from the bill. The staff were gracious and apologetic which was refreshing. They mentioned the kitchen was short staffed and having issues. We understand that these things happen and it may have been an off night. We may try it again, just a lot of great options in this town, so we will see.

I recently celebrated my graduation at Madam Bonnie's with a group of around 12 people. Describing the food, service, and ambiance as perfect would not do justice to how exceptional this restaurant truly is. I had a direct conversation with Mason, their manager, who was extremely accommodating and attentive, addressing all our questions and fulfilling all our requests. As someone who has lived in San Diego for five years, I can confidently say that I have never experienced a restaurant as outstanding as Madam Bonnie's. If you find yourself in downtown San Diego and are looking for a place to eat, and a place to enjoy jazz music, I highly, highly recommend visiting Madam Bonnie's. PS: their drinks are phenomenal as well.

Madam Bonnie's was a wonderful choice for our anniversary dinner. Our waiter, Brad, was incredibly attentive and helpful for the entire experience. He picked the right cocktails and entrees to suggest; every part of our dinner was delicious. Ashkon, the bartender, even agreed to a mini-photoshoot when I asked him if I could simply take a photo of the bar; I highly recommend enjoying one of his wonderful drinks when you visit! Mason, the manager that greeted us as we arrived and chatted with us throughout the night, was so welcoming and enjoyable to talk to. He met the extreme levels of kindness that every other staff member showed us, and his outgoing New Yorker personality left us feeling like friends. The second room, with room for a band and a bar, is magical at night. Live jazz music is one of my favorite things, and Madam Bonnie's provides an excellent venue for it. I plan to come back the next time I have a reason to be in San Diego, which I very much so hope is soon. (I hope the photos came out well, Ashkon!)

My boyfriend & I came across Madam Bonnie's as we were looking for a nice place to hangout, enjoy a drink & dinner. The hostess, Abby caught our attention from her bright & exciting energy. She was amazing by giving us great suggestions regarding the menu as we are both vegetarians. We ended up going with 1 of her recommendations, the goat cheese stuffed mushrooms. It was surprisingly really tasty! Abby even went beyond for us by bringing us a side of bread to dip in the sauce that accompanied the dish. So sweet. Next, our server, Katy, was not only hospitable but incredibly attentive and kind towards us. We appreciated that. For those who are interesting in history & the making of a restaurant, Madam Bonnie's holds a great one. Overall, we can't wait to be back in San Diego & hope to see Abby & Katy again! Bonus: live music!

Madam Bonnie's! Don't step on the 13th step! Ask the bartender for the story!! Great Rudolph Valentino! It was delicious! Bartender could have been more knowledgeable about the history of the location as there is a lot of history in the area and if you work at a location that used to be a brothel... there has to be a lot of great stories behind the scenes. He didn't know anything. He told us I clock in and I clock out... that's about it. I would have loved a great story to go with my wonderful drink. (Sometimes it's better to make up the story than to admit that you don't know it!) And have you ever visited a round bathroom with a fur on the floor??? Well if you visit the bathroom at Madam Bonnie's you will!!

Gaslamp needs more places like this. Deeply thoughtful menu (not a single bad choice) but even more importantly the STAFF! Mason was a hospilal manger, Breeza was a superb bartender! Best Charcuterie board downtown. Most places here throw a few yellow slices of American Cheese on a piece of wood and call it a day. Not this place! The Charcuterie board sets the standard for downtown! Come to Madam Bonnie's for thrilling experience!

Amazing little place. Food was delicious Staff was super friendly and A+ for ambiance. Band was supposed to be a jazz band so was a little disappointed but still totally enjoyed our visit.

We stopped in for drinks before Karaoke we were greeted by Allesandro the GM our drinks weren't served by James the best bartender in San Diego I was served the bestrmpn drop I've ever had...next time I'm going to try the food ..

Walking by on our way to another restaurant, we were drawn in by the live jazz music. Crab cake had a good taste, spicy mussels and the cocktails were all five stars. I would love to come back and try the brunch....

Absolutely delightful experience. Starting with the hostess, Abby, who was able to find us a table at the last minute and followed up with us throughout the evening to Richard, our server, who was attentive and available throughout the meal. We started with the cheese and charcuterie which was okay. Not great, but by no means bad. It was just a little small. I ordered the Grilled chicken cavatappi which was simply divine. My spouse ordered the truffle salmon and high was amazing as well. From the beginning to the end a fantastic experience. Mason, the manager, stopped by as we were finishing up to make sure our dining experience was exemplary. Of course, we made a new friend for life! I was! I'll recommend this place to everyone I know, forever. This is now our new go-to place in the gas lamp quarter. Especially on Sunday nights for salsa lessons and dance. I wish I could give more than 5 stars!!!!

Bar hopped around downtown on Sunday and was found by Arturo promoting the best drinks in downtown and all day happy hour. Of course we had to see for ourselves. Richard the bartender was able to pair us with margaritas that suited our taste and give us a lesson on tequilas. It turned out to be a pretty cool sunday. Will be coming back! Thank you arturo and Richard.

Attended a corporate event here at Madam Bonnies last week and I must say what an experience! From the service, to the food and cocktails just, WOW! The lounge area was amazing and had a very welcoming yet mysterious feel! (In a great way!) Thank you Mason and staff for creating such a memorable experience! We definitely will be planning future events with you!!

We loved this place! We went on a Saturday night to listen to Andrea Loraine. The music was awesome! The saxophonist was exceptional. They have very nIce decor with beautiful chandeliers and a brick background behind the bar. Large bar area. We tried several drinks. Our favorite was the Coco Chanel. It was very refreshing. Second place drink was the He Zhen. That one had a good flavor but a bit too sweet. Next up was the Frida Kahlo which was tasty and finally we tried the Valentina which was a little too bland. My husband had the 10 oz prime rib with mashed potatoes and he really liked it. I had the Apple and fried goat cheese salad with shrimp and it was very good as well. The deviled eggs were ok. Overall it was a wonderful experience with very friendly service. We will definitely come again!

Everything was amazing. You can taste the love in every dish. I was skeptical of the shroom appetizer, it was incredible. The deviled eggs were different and yummy. Must try -Pot of Shrooms -Mac n Cheese -Rotisserie Chicken

I am from Texas, and Texas knows beef. But Madame Bonnie's served me the best prime rib I have had in ages. In town for the week, I dined at a number of places. Madame Bonnie's is my favorite. It was wonderful food, excellent service, and a charming and historic inn. I came for the history, but I will return for the food and service.

Where do I start? The service was incredible! The manager Mason, the bartender Arturo, and Chef Jr. really displayed their passion for hospitality during my visit. The decor is 1920s inspired and has a great texture throughout. I ordered the truffle Mac n cheese with salmon per the staffs recommendation and was HIT with flavor! Beautifully balanced, which is hard to do with something as overpowering as truffle. Highly recommend! The drinks were also fantastic, their espresso martini is incredible, and the 13th Step was delicious and interesting since it's named after the locations roots. Could not recommend more! Will be back tomorrow night for their Jazz night.

Food and drinks were outstanding. Service was a little slow but not crazy slow. Owner has a great story about the restaurant's history. French eclectic vibe. Fair prices for food and drinks. Would recommend!

11 of us ate at Madam Bonnie's for the first time last night. We ordered everything from drinks to appetizers to nearly all choices on the menu. Everyone really enjoyed everything. The service was excellent. Our waiter ( I think his name was Jarren) did a really great job. The live jazz was so much fun. We are from the SF Bay Area and are used to good food. We will be back next time we are in San Diego

WOW!!! This place was sO MAGICAL! A PERFECT, start of Our Night! My family of 12, and I had reservations on a Saturday @9pm. Our plans ran late, so I called a few minutes before 9 pm, and the sweet girl who answered the phone thanked me for calling and rescheduled us for 9:30pm. Luckily it wasn't busy at all. I guess, since the live jazz music was over at 9pm. We were seated right away, and our server, Arturo, was incredibly welcoming! He said that we all reminded him of his family, and felt the warm love we had for eachother, a big group of love and support. So, he definitely treated us like family! We were having such a good time that we overstayed our welcome, past closing time. Closing is at 11pm, and we were enjoying the flavorful dinner, the cheerful drinks, and each other till 11:30pm. We felt bad and kept apologizing for keeping everyone on over time. Arturo respectfully reassured us that since we were having such a good time, it was ok. And he was more than happy to be included in our fun night of celebrations. Arturo even walked us out with an umbrella to our Party Bus that was parked in front. Because of him, we continued our family fun with an after-party! Thank you, Madam Bonnie's for making one of our rare family gatherings, memorable, without it having to be a wedding or a funeral.

We had a fantastic experience last night at Madame Bonnie's for Valentine's Day and will definitely be returning soon! My husband had made areservation in advance and when we arrived, we were greeted at the door by an incredible helpful staff person who seated us right away. The initial table we were seated at was a high top and I realized pretty quickly that I was going to feel unsteady on the raised chairs as I'm five months pregnant and not feeling the most confident with my balance these days. My husband went to speak to the staff member and she graciously reseated us at a low table with larger chairs which we appreciated so much. Our server could not have been more friendly, professional, and helpful, and she checked in with us throughout the night so much which we really appreciated. We even had someone come by who I think was the manager to check in with us which was so kind. We asked for mocktails and the bartender made us the most refreshing cucumber ones that I've ever had! There was a special Valentine's Day menu and we ordered the crab cakes, stuffed poblano pepper, bruschetta, and Alaskan halibut with risotto, all which were delicious and very well prepared. The dessert was a chocolate flourless cake and a mini crème brûlée with berries, both incredible! The jazz ensemble was phenomenal and we loved the decor and ambience so much. We will definitely be returning soon!

We had stumbled upon Madame Bonnie's while searching for a spooky, Friday the 13th vibes dinner spot. I was pleased to discover they offered live music as well. Our group booked dinner at 7:30PM for a Birthday celebration. There were 7 in our party. We were running late so we called and pushed our reservation back to 8pm, this was greeted with a positive response as they were busy on a Friday night. We arrived a little before 8pm and were greeted by the hostess who informed us that our table would not be ready for at least 30-45 minutes but she would go and check if we could be sat earlier. During the wait time, we were approached by a server who said he could seat us in a VIP area and that the table would be ready in 10 minutes- In a little after 10 minutes, both the hostess and server approached us with two very different updates. It was clear there was zero communication between the two. My party was led over to a VIP lounge area and while we appreciated the table, it would have been impossible to eat as the table was up to our shins. We explained we would not mind waiting for an actual table as our main purpose was to do dinner. In the time that we were waiting, we were approached by Arturo who was very polite and accommodating. We explained we were waiting for our table and he had expressed he hoped to be our server, which was very nice! During this time, we had given one of the servers a cake to be brought out later after our dinner. We were all laughing off our experience at this point as we are in the service industry as well and we finally get shown to our table. We were approached by two servers, Arturo and the hostess that greeted us and it seemed unclear as to who would take our table. We ended up with Kayla as our server. This is where the evening rapidly deteriorated. As we settled in to our table, we saw a USED bandaid on our table- after trying to get our servers attention, she came by and removed it- still had not dropped of menus- and came back to sanitize after dropping off our waters. At this point, it is close to 9:30 pm and we are starving and had not even had our drink orders taken. We get handed out menus and decided when Kayla came back, we would order everything to make it easy for the team. The food came out rapidly (as we assumed the kitchen was closing) even before we got all of our drinks! We had ordered two bottles of wine and only one came out. The food was subpar- as it was rushed... mashed potatoes were cold and chicken was dry. Still, we were starving so we were just grateful to be fed. We let our server know to bring out the cake so we could wish our friend a Happy Birthday and while she was gone, a different server approached us very concerned that she would not be able to find the cake, which goes back to the severe lack of communication. After the cake, we had decided to get the check and head out. The check was presented to us and upon looking over the charges, we noticed the auto gratuity hadn't been added on. The total was $384.81. We had planned on tipping accordingly as we asked Kayla to split our check between us. We were immediately met with resistance that the check could only be split 3 ways, which we know to not be true as we have all worked with the Toast system, but we decided that I would pay and be reimbursed by my party. When the receipt came back, I was informed that I had actually been charged an amount of $455.91 as Kayla had added the auto gratuity on after the fact. This was the final straw as I am reasonably sure it is against all company policies to NOT BE TRANSPARENT about the auto gratuity. We asked for the manager and George Medina came the table. This man was awful. He would not listen to us and was patronizing, demeaning and very disrespectful. He had mentioned that the server forgot to add the party count in the beginning, which is not true as the original receipt very clearly says 7 guests. The point we were wanting to relay is that you cannot present one total to guests and charge another without consent. The proper etiquette would have been to come back and let us know that the auto grat hadn't been added on as a mistake and to present us with the new bill. George offered to adjust the check and comp items and remove the auto grat but it was too little too late. The adjusted check came back with the auto grat STILL ON and I was hassled by Kayla to sign the Merchant Copy- which was unnecessary and in poor judgment. Kayla's attitude and poor judgment calls are a direct result of poor management. I can cope with poor service, I will not stand for a "manager" to demean and gaslight me. The only shining light at the restaurant is Arturo, who came by to apologize for the scene his manager had caused. We tipped him cash and thanked him for being the only caring individual in the restaurant.

I've eaten there several times in the past few months, very good, service is spot on, good wines, food has always been good, prime rib on the weekends and for a great bonus, live jazz music some nights