Sidecar Bar

I would say this is a great place to hang with friends or drink, especially if you're a student at the nearby USD. Sidecar Bar has a parking lot that usually has spots when I come in the late afternoon. The staff is generally pretty good and hands off. It's a great location close to the airport, Fiesta Island, at the center of San Diego.

Emmanuel is the best!!!!! Such great service and he was so helpful when I couldn’t pick from all the great menu items. 10/10 would recommend. GO HERE!

Fun, divey and arcade-oriented bar right off the main road. very spacious with numerous places to go grab a drink and hang out, play some games, watch some Padres, or grab food at the food shed outside. Extreme variety of drinks and cocktails, all good quality and taste. Same goes with their smash burgers. Cordova Bar is across the street, also worth the visit!

Upset that I lived so close to this bar and I didn’t hear about it sooner. Food was so good! We got the Cajun Fries (so mf good) Chicken Slider and the Buffalo Max and cheese all for $24 and made to order. Pool table is 75c and not only do they have many cues but they are decent quality. You need to play the hunting game and buy 3 rounds not 1, it’s $3 per person but it’s so fun. I think we spent $18 at that game and I plan on doing it again. Cheap alcohol, great food and good people - will 100% be coming back.

Tucked away and quiet, feels like a locals regular haunt. Not quite a dive bar but similar feel that makes it homey with character. Food option was just a truck outside that's a little pricey otherwise great gem.

Centrally located in Bay Park. First time here, used to be a big dive bar but the renovations and atmosphere are so awesome. Great local watering hole, nice specials and the bartender Trish was funny and on point! Didn’t play but they had darts and other bar games there. Will be back!

Every time a go to San Diego, it’s my must-go-place. I love the vibe, the place, the service and the cool beer. I only miss the free popcorn :(. But i will definitely be there soon to celebrate my birthday

Great staff, great drinks, calm cool environment. Games a major plus! They are not just a beer and shot bar, they use fresh ingredients and make great cocktails. Fresh food vendor outside with killer steak quesadillas, everything you need in one. My go-to spot out here in San Diego

Great ambiance Great service Plenty of seating Reasonably priced drinks Highly recommend

I love it here it's a perfect local dive bar without all the questionable old men lol. I would still consider it more on the hipster side tho. They've got a pool table as well as a few arcade and board games with extra seating further towards the back. Bar service is great and they do a great job remembering their locals and making you feel welcome. My BF and I started coming here because they have a smash burger joint called The Shed on their patio. Lemme tell yall sum... BEST SMASHBURGER IN SAN DIEGO, but I digress aha this is also a great place to grab a casual drink, ya just can't go wrong. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Sidecar cocktail as been one of my favorite cocktails for many years. As many San Diego cocktail bars don't serve brandy, it can be a little more difficult to find. The Sidecar Bar opened up a few years ago, and, somehow, I had not visited until recently. It so happened, that we had tickets to check out a band at a venue just around the corner, making Sidecar the perfect place to grab a drink and a bite. I had expected a chill dive bar scene, especially knowing that Sidecar is sort of known to be a biker bar. However, it was absolutely packed when we arrived. The bar felt to be more of a mainstream bar, with customers from all walks of life, the majority being in young, casually dressed adults. It was pretty cool, in that they had lots of games on one end of the bar and a small stage area for bands at the other end. We came on a band night. I have no idea who was playing, but it was a cover band and they seemed quite popular. It was cool to see the the Sidecar was the first cocktail on the menu. I ordered a Sidecar and my husband ordered a Sazerac. Somehow, despite the crowd, we were able to order our drinks quickly. Also, somehow, we found our own table on the side of the bar. The drinks were very well made, so we ordered another round. It is rare to get cocktails as well made as these for $12. Since we hadn't had dinner, we both ordered protein bowls from The Shed, the small eatery that is attached to the building. We ate inside the bar with our drinks. All in all, it was a great stop before our show. I would gladly head back for more Sidecars, but would prefer to go on more of a chill night.

Nothing great but nothing bad. Need a drink go here. Parking is not the best but that is San Diego. Does have a chill atmosphere. a lot of USD students. Cool games (currently the record holder on pac man). Service is great.

This bar is full of locals you might get some looks when you walk in. The bartenders are very flirty with each other and sometimes theyre paying attention to each other more than the patrons

This place was GREAT!!! I am not a Colts fan by any means....we didn't know this was a Colts bar prior to walking in. We were just driving by and said "Oh this looks fun!" If only there was a picture of my face walking in with my 9ers jersey and my 9ers shoes when it hit me.....BLUE and WHITE everywhere!!! Atmosphere was fun and loud! Staff and patrons were so nice and service was amazing!!!! Drinks were nice and strong with great beer selection! Good times!!!!

Delicious drinks, hearty and flavorful food, and awesome service - definitely make a stop here to grab a burger on-demand with a cold drink and chill out. Thank you for the awesome service, Emmanuel!

This place is scuba hidden gem! Kind of located in a weird area with not a lot around it but you can come here and stay here all night! Came for a friends birthday party and they were able to rent out the back area which was nice for a small group of friends. They have great cocktails with fresh citrus and they are really well priced and very spirit forward! They don't serve food at the bar but have a food truck that was delicious.

Yup!!!! Sidecar is still one of the best!!! Made it back down here today with my now fiancée and we tried a couple new drinks that I hadn't yet tried. After a traditional old fashioned we decided to order a penicillin which was a fantastic cocktail with great flavor and then we both had a paper plane. Albeit we just had our first experience here a couple months ago, Sidecar remains one of our favorite bars now.

I was drawn here because this place was the only spot in town that had Melvin 2x4 IIPA, 9.9%. This beer is quite elusive to find on tap. They always have some rarer ones on draft. It was well worth the visit, and I noticed this is a really lively place as the night progresses. While the crowd was primarily younger Gen Y and Z, this Gen Xer had no problems feeling out of place! Then again, I'm at the age where I don't care anymore about petty stuff like this.. Not really a biker bar, but this is also a hangout for newer age dudes with motorcycles. All types of bikes. You don't need a Harley or Indian to park it outside and feel like you fit in. They seem to have some interesting and creative cocktails, which I would come back to try without a doubt. This was specifically a beer mission that was accomplished. The other cool thing is they have games! Not on the arcade level, but still quite a few to enjoy with your friends while drinking. I dig this place, and just wish it was a little closer to home so I could hit it more often.

Colts bar! Cool atmosphere especially for football. Great beer selection and tasty food. They have games and lots of TV as well!

Came here for a first meet up online date. We both enjoyed the vibe and drinks. Service is attentive. Also get to play some arcade games in between the conversation:)

We stopped by for drinks with friends, I don't really like bars or crowds, but it was surprisingly light and quiet on the night we came by. The vibe was pretty chill, they had a nice selection of beer and cocktails to choose from. We will be back to try the food and other cocktails.

Visiting in town, and stayed in a nearby hotel. Saw this place when we visited a nearby gas station and decided to stop by for lunch and a drink. Both the burger and cheese curds were AMAZING! Extra points for having Coors Banquet on draft. The bartender was very friendly and easy to talk to! 10/10 would recommend this place.

The redhead short female bartender is horrible and rude! Her drinks suck and she over charges for poorly made drinks.

Updating my review. Although my fella and I haven't yet had a chance to give Side Car another go because of the busy holiday season, we will definitely be back as soon as we can based on the response by the owner and bartender (which totally blew us away, so refreshing!) My fella (who loves Pliny) is in food service too so completely related to the POS challenges you had the night we were there. We look forward to our next visit-happy holidays to you and yours!

cool new games bar across from cordova bar. my boyfriend and I decided to stop here after a drink at cordova. it has a small dive bar feel but with proper cocktails and games. I loved the vibe. I could have my fancy mezcal cocktail and play Billiards all in one place.

Side car is one of my fan bars the drinks are amazing. I love the penicillin the food is also a must have the Birria quesadilla is my favorite and the pinball.

Love this bar! Anytime we go out it is our top choice! Can never turn down the vibe, food and drinks!!

Great Bar with good prices! Came here during a Monday afternoon and loved their beer selection. They have a couple of games you can play there, Pool, Basketball, and Pinball. Overall good vibes!

Sidecar is awesome. Pretty unique beer list compared to most places, great staff, and good vibe. One of my favorites

Love the chicken and sides. Service was great. Spacious room. Friendly atmosphere and service.

I ordered water at the bar. Although it is cold and comes in a tall glass with plenty of ice, the water had an odd flavor to it. I do not recommend the water.

The best water and cleanest glasses I've ever seen in my life! What an establishment! A must go if in San Diego!

This place is so laid back . I love it. Bartenders are so attentive and have good personality. Anyway no mask needed No food . But they allow you to order food or deliver food and eat it there. Would recommend it to anybody I know . Tasty drinks.

Love it that they have board games and a few arcade games (and the usual pool & darts) Reasonable pricing and simple restrooms - not a ton of parking but decent street parking around

Typically, this bar is what you ask for. Dark. Quiet. Good drinks and some cool games. Today, we experienced harassment. The old man I posted below said sexually suggestive and inappropriate things. I told the bartender, and she simply responded "yeah, I'd suggest moving, he says that." We'll certainly steer people away from here unless, you'd like to encourage harassment.

The bees knees was great, and tabatha was amazing! She has so many regulars and we loved watching her make drinks! She's so friendly

Bang for your buck version of Toranado if you enjoy the basketball games and pinball! For $1 you can shoot for around 5 mins if you can make it to round 3. Pinball is $1 per play and you can get extra value with $5. Stepping in on a Thursday night, it was pretty slow and the staff was very attentive and friendly. I can count one hand the number of times my bartender has introduced themselves to me and if memory serves me right.... Doug is the man! With parking in the back in an area with limited parking this is a nice hideaway from other bars in more popular areas but is well worth the visit.

I've started coming here for Colts game and have a great experience! Reasonable prices for drinks and enough room to sit and enjoy the game.

chase is the best, and he always will be, i'm sorry for my bad review with my bipolar ass i'm loyal to my guys

I love going to Sidecar; the atmosphere always creates an amazing experience. The staff is always friendly and excellent. I love the patio area; grabbing a table and having a few drinks with friends is nice. I recommend Sidecar to anyone looking for a dive bar that isn't too dive bar.

What a fun place. This unique bar features pool tables, arcade games, dart boards, and clean seating for large parties. This is a great place to bring friends and visiting loved ones.

WOW! What a hidden gem! Seriously. I was not expecting much from this small bar off Morena but it was absolutely perfect! First off, it's impeccably clean. How often can you say that about a bar?! We thought we were going to some dive bar but it was so clean. Wow. They've got great beers and drinks at a reasonable price. We ordered a pitcher, two draft beers and an old fashioned all for about $45. They've got a good draft list along with house made concoctions. Lots of awesome options to choose from! What's fun is that there's a lot of open space and big booth seating, but also tons of games! There's pinball and basketball. There's also a pool table and a shooting game. Such a fun place for a chill night grabbing drinks with friends! Unexpectedly even more awesome than anticipated!! A must go to for the neighborhood!

Quite a random bar in an unexpected part of town, but I guess not really since they are near USD anyways. It was very lively on a Thursday night and they seem to have stolen the show since the bar across the street was painfully empty. This bar had a great open setup which really seemed to open up the bar itself. I think they hit the nail on the description for their own bar - Not too divey, not too douchy. The crowd was a mixed bag - you had the casual fun-seekers, the laid back dog people securing the booths (friendly and handsome Pitbulls they were!), the fancy Prima Donna's, and the chill homies. A very eclectic crowd which is something I loved! They mostly serve alcohol, but they had a food truck out front which was thoughtful. There were about a dozen craft beer on tap, the selection being quite grand for a bar of this standing. Their craft cocktail menu (located to the right of the beer) had quite the selection with each drink at a VERY reasonable $8-9. Don't expect anything fruity or sweet as their cocktails are quite bold and spirit forward. I ordered the 'Side Car' which was mostly cognac served straight up. The sugar rim was very deceiving as I all but downed my drink, feeling such a lovely buzz almost immediately. Be careful, but enjoy! If you're looking for an unpretentious bar with beer, strong drinks, and some games (they have Pacman) and billiards, then look no further and hit up Sidecar for your next debauchery-filled night. :)

Sidecar is a fun time. It's a relatively large bar with a lively atmosphere. There weren't many booths for sitting, but lots of high bar stools. It's dark and loud in there, but this contributes to it's dive-y atmosphere. There are arcade games at Sidecar like single-shooter basketball, video games, pin ball and pool, as well as several board games including Jenga and Cards Against Humanity. There is a taco stand outside (~$4 a taco) with lots of different options and the staff serving tacos is courteous and bring the tacos to you. There is parking up front and around back for ~35 cars. It's fun to go here in a large group.

Strong drinks Laid back atmosphere Bathrooms Pool Table Pinball games Darts Other misc games Attentive service Friendly staff No weird smells I don't think you could ask for much more. Solid bar offering I plan on visiting again when I am in the area for a concert. Would recommend if you are in the area.

Sidecar is a really neat, albeit grungy, bar randomly situated in the heart of the Morena area. While it is a decent sized building, it is easy to overlook as it faces away from the street, so driving by, it just looks like a wall. It is also surrounded by businesses, so it's not the type of place that you would happen to drive by when looking for a place to go out for a drink, you'd be going there intentionally, which is why it came as no surprise that most of the crowd were locals. The dress code is very casual, and I mean very! I felt overdressed with my dark denim jeans and black booties. While there is ample seating with a few booths, pub tables and barstools, it did get a bit crowded by 10:00 on a Thursday night, so I'd suggest getting there a little earlier if you are wanting to guarantee a comfortable seat. It's a full bar so I'm sure you can order anything you'd like, but I chose to go with their Black Irish Mule for $8.00 and boy was it strong! I couldn't finish my second because I had to drive home shortly thereafter and I could feel that it was no weak drink. Uber here if you want to drink their specialty concoctions (and also because the parking isn't great)! Perhaps what really set Sidecar apart from other run of the mill watering holes though, were the games. Darts, foosball, pool, and even an arcade style basketball game are scattered around the bar. Overall, I really like Sidecar for a casual place to grab a drink and play a few games, but wouldn't necessarily recommend it for a girl's night out, it's just not that type of place.

My friends and I had a fantastic time here! This was my first ever time at a dive bar and the experience here was exceptional. Loved the fact that this place was pet friendly! Everyone was super nice and completely welcoming. The bartenders were extremely attentive and efficient, no complaints about the service whatsoever. P.S. I too, feel that soggy French fries are unacceptable.

Probably one of the best dive bars in San Diego. The drinks are great and they have a small selection of arcade games. Favorite drinks were the penicillin and sidecar. Great place to meet up with friends and not feel overwhelmed to go drink like if you were at downtown.

We love this bar and found it when looking for the perfect meet-up between us in NoCo and our downtown friends. Halfway between we found ourselves at Sidecar and we've shimmied into the booths there for solid hangouts ever since. Drinks are solid, and a decent taco truck is usually around. I've seen folks get pizza delivered there and more than one has a group walked in with a whole birthday cake or cupcakes, etc. It's a watering hole, no doubt, but they don't seem to blink at random baked goods on the premises. So hey, put that donut in your purse and come on over. The best part about the place is the games. They've got the basketball one where you can compete with a friend shot for shot, table hockey, pinball, darts... but you know what?? They took away the skeeball, and honestly, it broke my heart a little. Can we have that back, guys? I would come around even MORE often if that toy made a reappearance! The staff is amazing - just nice, San Diego dudes who made a chill place to relax with friends. Hi-five to Chase and his crew.

Great dive bar with great beers. Perfect place to just hang with the bros honestly. Fantastic music selection when I was there. Plus they have a few pinball machines--always a win! The beer prices were reasonable and there was plenty of seating.

There are NO donuts here. Think sex. Think Champagne Room. Uh uh. But there are insane Coal Bros rib eye, shrimp, and tuna tacos being grilled in the parking lot to then enjoy inside this very proper watering hole. Even had Coors Banquet on draft.

Love this bar. It's not a high class bar but it's nice to hang out away from busy areas. I specifically come here for the Colts nfl games as it is the San Diego colts bar. It's a great group to watch with. Drinks aren't too expensive. And there are drink specials throughout the week. There's not bar food or a restaurant available inside so plan ahead.

Great drinks! Cool bar! Come here every Friday with my co workers; it's nice to see the same two bartenders every Friday!

Ill make this short and sweet: classic dive bar, surprisingly awesome beer and drink collection, great arcade games, phenomenal taco stand outside. Will definitely return!

I've found my new bar. Came here on a Saturday night to celebrate my birthday and I didn't wanna go all the way to downtown in the middle of comic con weekend. First, it's in a random location which is great for parking. Second, I LOVED the atmosphere here with the games. It's a dive bar that's clean and wasn't super crowded, so it's great for a chill night out. Drinks were great, but only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was that bartenders weren't friendly at all. I felt like I was bothering them when I was asking for a drink. Still, I had a great time and will definitely be back.

Above all other things that I would like to mention ( popcorn , games , good drinks) I'd like to comment on the pen that I used to complete my transaction here at sidecar. It was of the highest quality. Truly noteworthy and I may return simply to use a writing utensil of this caliber again very soon. Cheers, enjoy a penicillin

Love this place! Especially on 0pen Mic Night! It's always such a pleasure to hang out here. The staff is awesome & helpful when it comes to choosing a good libation!