Blonde Martini

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The blonde martini was just ok. We came, sat down, waited for drinks, couldn’t find anyone that wanted to serve us drinks after 25 minutes so we left. I will never come back here again. This was on ¹⁰⁄₄

Maybe it’s because I missed the disappointment that we’ll now entitle «Why the F would you take your Valentine to Blonde Martini,», but I actually enjoyed myself in this random San Diego hole-​in-​the-​ground. I’d like to go on record for saying that I had ZERO expectations, and had a great buzz prior to stumbling down the stairs with my friends.
One of the bartenders charmed me enough the evening prior so that I’d go take a look at the place. However, even he shrugged his shoulders a lot when I asked what he thought of the place. If the bathrooms had been at all tolerable (seriously, ew), I probably could have stayed all night…

3 stars solely for Ryan the Bartender and his Delicious martini’s“s !! I highly suggest you try the strawberry lemonade, its refreshing and good or the Pom Beach! There’s tons of fancy vodka and liquors, but I cant recall right now.
We started off the night here, it was a Dub Step show put on by some of the homies. 1^st off I hate Dub Step, I didn’t jump on that bandwagon. I prefer my DnB, hard dirty and raw thank you! But the brother and his 21 yr old posse were in town and wanted to do something gaslamp’y. I said, I had no clue when it comes to downtown. Imma grandma and like seedy cheap dive bars. So I suck it up and we go .
The joint itself is nice, the bar stools are kinda funky, not fat people friendly. ha ha, my brothers friend found out the hard way, sux sometimes to be fat guy in a little chair! I think the entire time we were there, 40 people max were up in the club. Saw some of the old school posse, that was cool and started to get my drink on.
3shots, 4 cran&vodkas, 5 martini’s = $ 73.00 = Imma whinny cheap ass girl who almost had a drunken heart attack when you she closed out her tab. But I was tipsy and having a grand ol time.
I read some of the other reviews on here, dude the bathrooms were super clean, there were no cougars at all. People that run the joint were super chill, nice and polite. We kept tryin to figure out what the bar was called before it became Blonde Martini. still don’t recall.
I saw they have a dope happy hour deal, so I highly recommend going there then! $ 5 a martini is so much better than $ 12, they ain’t no Martini Ranch, with big martini glasses and exquisite martini’s, but they ain’t to shabby! Props to Navid & James Peligro for doing a good show! & again HAPPY BDAY TO MY DANIEL JUNGLE RIDDIM, Your Awesome & I Missed you boys!

**NICE PEEPS AND NICE STAFF**
Not sure why this place was hated on.
I actually liked it. Meaning everyone we encountered was super nice. From bouncer to bartender, the vibe was laid-​back, cool, and friendly.
No cover charge and Melly, one of the promoters, bought us some Grey Goose shots.
Lounge was dark but comfortable. Bartenders can make mean martinis, but don’t ask for specialty drinks like Manhattans, etc. Stick to the basics and you should be fine.
Nice establishment and good people warrants 4 stars for me.

You can’t do a couple things and rename the club. We’ve seen this with other clubs in the gaslamp. This place is still trashy. Whoever owns it is an idiot.
–Caped Crusader

I came here the day before Valentine Day and had a good time. The line wasn’t that long and what I noticed from the beginning is that the crowd was very diverse in age. I did see some cougars out there which I didn’t mind as long as they didn’t go after my boyfriend.
When we first go there of course we went straight to the bar and had to wait for what seemed a while for our drinks, which the bar wasn’t even that full yet and the drinks were Pricey. But come on people its Downtown of course the drinks are gonna be pricey, its a given. Anyway the plus side is that the drinks were good. I had apple martini, whiskey sour, I think a friend of mine had a Mai tai and man the drinks were really good and strong to boot.
The music was chill, after all this place is a lounge not a club. I did enjoy the music, which the DJ played a variety. There were swingers there when I went and I can say is that if swingers are trying to get at you tell them you don’t play, unless you do in that case go for it.

I can honestly say that I am a guy who looks on the ‘bright side’ of a situation, but Blonde Martini was a grand disappointment. I will now give my fair assessment of the situation…
I arrived at 10:30 PM on Saturday 2÷13÷10 to a place that was busy, but yet not too crowded. I enjoyed the light crowd, but the bartenders were rather slow. I would have understood if the bar had been very crowded, but as stated earlier the crowd was on the lighter side and I had to wait 10 minutes for a drink. Not a good first impression if I say so myself.
I enjoyed the music and atmosphere very much. The girl serving candy and the shots service girls were very polite and welcoming. I did find it odd that half the bar/​club had been rented out by a swinger’s group, but to each their own I guess.
I can say that I found the door girl to be very, very rude when I left to make a quick phone call. The bar was not anywhere near fire code capacity and it was only 12:30 AM. The club was not allowing anyone back in who was not part of the swingers group (they had wristbands to show group membership)! I was not heavily intoxicated and it was quite obvious I had only stepped outside for a brief moment to make a phone call.
I tried to explain my situation in a polite manner to the door girl and was told ‘I don’t want to hear what you have to say and you will do what I say and get in line’ and at that remark I texted my friends in the bar and decided to take my money elsewhere. As I waited for my friends to leave the club (as they were still inside and I couldn’t get back in), there were three or four people who were trying to get back in the club that were treated with the same utter disrespect as I was.
I understand bad nights happen and I try to give places a second chance, but I can honestly say that this place does not deserve a second chance. The only saving grace were the nice staff members serving candy and shots inside, but quite honestly I can get those things somewhere else.

–2 stars (and that is being generous) based solely on the bathroom. I’ve seen a LOT of disgusting bathrooms in my day (I used to frequent TJ and Rosarito), and this bathroom BY FAR takes the cake for the most disgusting bathroom I’ve ever had the misfortune of using. To help paint a picture of the level of disgustingness, let’s just say I’d gladly walk barefoot through a bathroom in Club Safari in TJ and take a shower in there before I’d want to use this one!
What didn’t make sense was the fact that there was an attendant administering soap and hand towels, (both tasks I’ve successfully been able to perform on my own since the age of 3) who not once paid mind to the fact that there was no toilet paper or seat covers in the stalls. Might I suggest giving her a mop so that she could clean up the pools of urine that resided all over the stall floors? I don’t know how it’s possible for women to miss the toilet… unless of course they too were so disgusted by the lack of cleanliness that they just said «fuck it» and pissed right on the floor?
Such a shame too, because the club itself has a pretty cool vibe. I actually would give this place 5 stars had it not been for the bathroom. I just don’t get how the bathrooms can be in so dispicable a state if this place JUST opened up. It otherwise it was chill and there is definitely ample seating. Great VIP area as well.

I have not written a review since mid-​July of 2009. Blonde Martini has inspired me to write a review. THAT’S HOW BAD IT WAS.
It was literally the douchebaggiest place I’ve ever stepped foot into… and I’ve been to some serious douchebag watering holes in my life.
We went there after dinner at George’s on Fifth (my next review!) for our friend’s 40^th birthday bash. Apparently, since we dropped a shit-​ton of money at the restaurant, they «invited» our party to head down to the Blonde Martini.
Bad music? Check. Pricey drinks? Check. Idiots all around? CHECK, CHECK and CHECK.
Okay, maybe everything was just off because it was a 3-​day weekend and Valentine’s … or maybe it’s just because it’s the area, but it was bad. I am not sure I can even explain how bad it was… Terrible vibe, terrible crowd, terrible music… and to top it off? Damn near impossible to get a drink. Thank GOD we didn’t pay a cover charge because we left after 10 minutes.
I was really trying to have a good time and I tried to dance to the bad music (I pride myself in having a good time wherever I go) but there was nowhere to dance… Because the whole dance floor was filled with people trying to yell over the music at each other and idiots trying to look cool… with their stupid sunglasses on… at night… in a club… that doesn’t have bright lights.
If you are looking for a good time and some dancing, I would definitely NOT recommend Blonde Martini. It was seriously amateur night there, especially with the stupid girl who spilled her drink ALL OVER HERSELF and the dance floor. That sloppy drunk before 10? Wow. Classy. Also, pretty impressive.
On the up side, we got a glimpse of the rare sabretooth (for those of you not hip to that lingo, just think of a cougar… but MUCH older) which was… half-​fascinating and half-​awesome, but alllll scary.

It was my friends first night working here and she invited me to come and check it out. I went with a couple of friends we got there early around 9:20ish since it was expected to fill up to capacity and it did pretty early. The doorman was cool enough to let a friend in who got there a little late…
The crowd was for the most part in their 30’s, it gave the place a chill vibe, people just having a good time. I enjoyed the music a lot the DJ was mixing everything at the beginning it was chill lounge type music, then salsa with hip hop sounds mixed in some «house» type of music which after some drinks is really good and gets, well at least me pumped up ha ha
The bartender was making the drinks well proportioned. The only thing I’m not sure he was very familiar with the computer system they use, when it came time to pay the bill he looked confused and they lost one of my friends credit cards… that sucks!
Over all i had a good time. I danced a little with my beautiful valentine, had some drinks with friends, and got hit on by swingers… oh yeah i hadn’t mentioned that huh? lol I guess that night the place had been half rented out by a group of swingers which was really interesting, i just took it as a compliment hah! I’ll go back especially having a friend who is the shots girl!!!

I went here with 2 of my roomies for ladies night out when I lived in SD. It seemed pretty cool going in… I got in for free because the guys behind us had some sort of coupon that got us all in for free. Sweet!
We came here on a Saturday night, and it was really dead. The place isn’t very big, and there was almost nobody in there. The bar was cool, the staff was nice, but the ambiance was strange. The crowd was weird, and definitely some creepsters hanging around. It started to get bumpin’ a little later in the night, but the atmosphere never really picked up. Good if you want to lounge around with your friends and don’t mind the creep-o’s staring at you from the dark corner…
I would never go back here, especially if I have to pay the cover (not worth it!).

This place us hit or miss. I’ve been here several times in Saturday nights because my friend’s girlfriend is a bartender.
If there is a decent crowd, I like this place. There is good dance music and there is usually a good selection of attractive women. It’s located in the basement but it is still a classy place. I wish more people knew about Faces.
A number of times we came and it was dead.
This place us hit or miss. I’ve been here several times in Saturday nights because my friend’s girlfriend is a bartender.
If there is a decent crowd, I like this place. There is good dance music and there is usually a good selection of attractive women. It’s located in the basement but it is still a classy place. I wish more people knew about Faces.
A number of times we came and it was dead.

I had a bit of a high school reunion here, which was random yet cool. I went on a «rock stars and porn stars» night, which was weird. The music was decent, but the place just never filled up. I also was planning on getting in for free, but that didn’t work out.
Two stars quote is accurate. «Meh. I’ve experienced better.»

this place is still open? i was forced to come here with a few friends one night for a birthday party. we got there at about 10 – 10:30. we were the only ones in the entire place. we were the only ones inside all night, until they decided to close at midnight.
maybe it’s changed since then.

Now I am not judgemental. I have a wide variety of taste and enjoy both nights at the Ivy and the Star Bar. I am not superficial nor snobby. I have just as much fun in the Rock Bottom Hip Hop Room as I do at Stingaree. But, this is one place I will never return. It is Ghetto to the max with poor service, overpriced drinks, and a scary crowd. «Am I easily intimated», you ask? Damn right I am. Intimidated and scared. Frightened even. For those of you that don’t watch the news or are new in town, this bar has something in common with the Silver Fox in PB. Yes, someone died there. But in PB, some poor heart-​broken mental chick shot herself in the head on New Year’s Day a couple years ago. At FACES, someone was murdered. Out front. In cold blood. With a gun. Is that reason enough not to return? You are damn right it is.

Wow. What can I say. I’ve been to a handful of clubs in the gas lamp. All of which I’ve found to be pretty satisfactory. I had never been to Faces… So my friends and I thought we’d give it a try.
Walking by, there was an extremely unhappy ‘small man’ staking his claim in front of the venue.
Not only was he incredibly rude, but he was condescending toward my party & I. His utter disregard and negativity (which was completely unprovoked) shocked me. Shock.
Not to my surprise, I observed his staff looked disilluisioned and unhappy as well. This SMALL MAN (my friend and I think he’s suffering from tha ‘little guy syndrome’) left such a foul taste in my mouth, that my friends and I took our business to Club Belo instead, where we ordered VIP bottle service for the rest of our 25+ party that continued to arrive later on that night.
If your reading this review, DO NOT GO HERE!!!
Based on what I’ve personally experienced & the other reviews… this place doesnt pack the house, and births a rowdy crowd (It must manifest and feed off of small mans baaaaaaaaad vibes) and ‘small man’ takes his frustrations out on his potential patrons.

Alright here it goes,
After having been gone from SD for about 8 months and then coming up to visit my friends designate me to look up a place to hang out that night. I relied on Unilocal to pull me through this one. Needless to say Faces had some great reviews on music and the atmosphere so i thought why not give it a try.
So after calling around for bottle service, we were pressed for larger places who had a 2 bottle minimum but faces only required 1. Well we roll up to the club and since it was in the basement level we couldn’t really see the place. We then find the manager at the time «Ricky» and asked if we can take a look before comitting to the place. The area is exactly what you see in the picture and thats it. There are three VIP/​Bottle Service Tables but with a bad design since you have to cut across other rooms to get out. Well at around 11PM the area was only about 10% capacity so we were worried about not having alot of people. We then discussed this with our crew and half didnt care about the crowd but the other half also wanted to have a packed place. The closing deal was that one of our friends was able to lower the Bottle price from $ 275 to $ 200.
Overall the drinks were okay, some bartenders were new but were really friendly. The club was clean and the AC was blowing. I enjoyed the music as it was moslty hip hop and threw out some old school beats. The crowd didnt end up coming till about 12:30 and even at that it was only about 70% capacity. So we were all having fun and enjoying each others company until…
Around 1:20, when a fight broke out that was like 1 on 10. The single person was getting choked and the security guards couldn’t even handle the fight. So instead of handling the fight and keeping the party going, they closed the club and kicked everyone out in a very rude manner. They were telling us to get the F*** Out and we havent even closed our tab out.
So this was the deal breaker and what gave it a three star. If this all didnt go down, It would probably be 4.5 stars.
My advice to the owners, get your shit together and hire a stronger and curteous security staff.

Simple. Great Dj, affordable Cover, great Hip Hop music. Ghetto crowd.
Its all about compromise.
I give it 3 stars

Faces is an awesome Jamaican/​Reggae club in the Gas Lamp district of San Diego. The cover was $ 10 on a Saturday (not too bad) and inside was clean and modern in layout.
The crowd was, predictably, pretty Rasta. Men virtually all wore beards and/​or dreads, the girls were throwin’ their grind down on the dance floor, and a hint of ganja permeated the air.
The drinks were a bit pricey, but they served Red Stripe — which was awesome — so I just stuck to that all night. It got you in the right mood to enjoy the Dub beats all night, hearing phrases like «Bumble Clot» and «Hail, Selassie!» at random intervals from the crowd.