The Reef

What time is it? Time to get a drink.
We were wandering around one evening and decided to stop at The Reef. They have patio seating which was perfect for us. It’s always fun to just sit and people watch.
Service was just ok. It started off great early in the evening. Since it gets busy at night, it takes a lot longer to order and replenish drinks. Luckily they play great music from my day mixed with today’s top 40.
This was a decent place to enjoy a few cocktails and wouldn’t mind coming back.

When I lived downtown, this was my favorite spot to grab a drink. I’ll start by pointing out that the bartenders are some of the nicest, friendliest and hardworking-​est (not a word, but the sentiment is the same). On top of that they are talented and make some amazing drinks. It’s almost always happy hour. I’ve never understood why it was so quiet because the prices and atmosphere provided by the bartenders is great, but, since I lived downtown, I appreciated having a quiet little spot that felt like a neighborhood bar would feel in a smaller part in San Diego.

All I have to say is yikes, came here on a weekend night and it A) smelled funky and B) the drink was horrible. We had a shark attack or something along the lines of that, and it was gross with a capital G. I don’t know if if was too much blue Curaçao or what but it was undrinkable.

We stopped by for some Saturday day drinking and I saw that this place had great happy hour deals. $ 5 shots and beers were listed so how could we pass that up! This place was pretty packed with a nice sized crowd. When we came there was only one bar tender working so it did take a while to get an order in but the bar tender did a nice job serving everyone in a timely manner. We only stayed for one round of drinks though because the cleanliness of the cups used kind of grossed us out and left a weird after taste with our Patron. Some of the Patron shots came out murky with stuff floating around. I want to come back though and give this place another shot since the deals and atmosphere were good.

This place has great food and a great atmosphere.
But what really sets it apart from the rest of the bars in downtown?
DEVON’s micheladas.
they are so delicious!!! over the past few weeks i have brought friends to this place (specifically when Devon is working) so that they could try his michelada mix and they all have loved it.

This place is amazing! Visiting from out of town and came on a recommendation, MJ the bartender took amazing care of me. She knew the menu and drinks very well and hooked me up with an amazing margarita and fish tacos. If you’re in the gas lamp you must come here. They just finished painting the floor and it looks incredible, great music and an awesome staff make an excellent vibe.

The Shrimp fries were amazing. Shannon was a very personable waitress… we came in just before happy hour and she made us feel welcome. She also makes an amazing Moscow mule/​Bahama mama and is so fun.
We are not San Diego locals but live north in Orange County and would come back just because of her. She deserves a raise!
Great atmosphere and music. Highly recommend.

Tacos tacos tacos! Come here for my lunch break almost every weekend. Love the vibe, the people, and the food. Mj is always super helpful, and I love the music she plays. Devon is my DOG and he always brings the best energy to this place. Love Tina to pieces too– this place just makes me happy :) but those surf and turf tacos though… Nom.

They serve amazing food! The mocajete was out of this world. Say hi to MJ, she was quick with a drink and as friendly as they come!

We came here to enjoy a night out after the Marathon.. Devin totally made our night. thanks to this place for getting us drunk and delivering a Togo menu..

Went with two girlfriends after dinner. The happy hour there lasts from 3−12am, with pretty good deals on drafts ($ 4.50) and big margaritas ($ 9). Drinks were decent, the bar wasn’t super crowded but had a good amount of people (20−30s crowd), music was mostly top 40. All in all, an ok place to hang for a bit.

Loved it here! Shannon, MJ and Tina! Music was great and they actually knew how to make a four horsemen!

What a GREAT dive bar! This place has awesome beer specials and a huge selection of beers on tap. We happened to mosey on into this place and ended up staying until close.
The bartenders were hilarious and happened to truly enjoy our company. This is a great spot to pound a few away from the other pricey Gas Lamp District bars.
Well done guys, I can’t wait to come back!

They share a kitchen with Mariscos next door. Food is awesome. Went with a big group and everyone loved their food. The ceviche, shrimps tacos, lobster tacos, and molcajete were fantastic. I ate tons of food but still craved more it was that good. They also have homemade sour cream. Everything we had was fresh and flavorful.

The hubby and I found this place last night as we were walking the streets of Gaslamp. What lured us in was the happy hour from 3pm to midnight. Drink specials on a Saturday night, yes please! They had $ 2.50 Tecate/​Tecate Light, $ 4.50 for ANY draft beer (a pint of Sculpin for $ 4.50, you can’t find that anywhere), $ 5.50 shots of Jack Daniels, Grey Goose, Fireball, Jameson and some other liquor (what a steal!). They have some special drinks they make as well for $ 7 and $ 9 bucks. We sat at the bar and the blonde bartender (sorry forgot her name) was fun to watch make drinks. She was super attentive and made sure we always had a drink in hand. Kudos for that!
Here’s where we go wrong.
What turned me off was when I was ready to order food off the menu… I opened the menu and there on one side was a dead cockroach smushed onto the menu. :(I really really wanted some mariscos but after seeing that no thank you. I really wanted to tell the bartender but didn’t want to make a scene so hopefully they read this and clean those menus in the bar area.

This is the place you want to come if you’re in gaslamp and you love ceviche. Everything else we had was good too. I ordered the fish tacos and they were just right, San Diego style, fried fish tacos.
Our waiter was trying to bartend, serve the entire restaurant, and didn’t bat an eye when I asked him if we could sit out on the patio. He was super friendly and attentive without being overbearing as well. I like that a lot.

The drink menu looks amazing but it is mid day and wasn’t time for us to be imbibing. We had a great lunch! Try em out!

This place smelled so foul. We stopped in because there was not a wait or cover on Saturday night and we left very shortly after. It was basically just a place for everybody to use the restroom. Because they keep the door wide open, it was hotter inside and much more humid than it was outside. Saturday night was 90 degrees already.
One person in our group did order shots, but I have no idea how much they cost. They appeared to be huge but were actually pretty small (in those deceptive shot glasses.) The limes were all slimy and gross.

My girlfriend and I stumbled upon The Reef last minute searching for a cheap and easy place to eat and drink before a Padres game. In all honesty, this bar was 100% more enjoyable than the game and I wish we would have just stayed here!
Their happy hour goes from 3 PM — 12 AM everyday. I dare you to find a better special than that. We ordered the Mahi Mahi tacos and the Surf & Turf along with a few draft beers and a couple shots of Patron. (which were only $ 5.50) As if this place wasn’t already doing everything right the bartenders, Devon and Shannon, were some of the nicest and most knowledgeable bartenders I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.
I struggle to find something that I disliked about this beach themed dive bar in the heart of Downtown San Diego.

Our favorite after dinner spot for cheap drinks and people watching when we’re in Gaslamp. They ALWAYS have drink specials, I don’t recall there ever being a cover charge (we wouldn’t have paid it) and usually it isn’t too loud so we can actually hear each other when we speak.
Sometimes it gets a little rowdy, like when the elderly man opened his shirt and proceeded to give a lap dance to the woman celebrating her 50^th birthday or when sed woman decided it would be a good idea to stand up on top of the bar. Nothing too crazy though. Just some good old fashioned people watching.
We haven’t eaten here but they’re affiliated with Funky Garcia’s and Mariscos El Pulpo which both have decent food.
All in all if you’re in the area, looking for a cheap drink and not interested in going somewhere super crowded give The Reef a try.

We actually tried to get to Mariscos El Pulpo for dinner late one Friday night, but were told at the door that they were full up. The hostess told us that they had bar seating, and asked if we’d mind. It sounded like a good deal, so she said she’d «walk us over». Huh?
Turns out, The Reef and Mariscos El Pulpo are one and the same, though they’re separated by that sushi restaurant. It was interesting. The Reef was much less crowded, though SO MUCH louder. She took us to one of the tables along the back wall, told us that she’d grab some menus, then said to the bartender, «Hey Devin, I’m putting two more diners in here. Is that okay, or is it too much?»
That should have been our first clue.
Devin, initially friendly though he was, should not have answered «Yes» to the hostess. I get that you guys are doing what you can to manage overflow, but you really should know your limits. They were completely incapable of handling diners at the bar that night, and it absolutely showed.
We were asked what we wanted to drink. I asked for water with a lime and received a slight — though noticeable — sneer to that. Hubs ordered a beer. The drinks came out quickly enough, and half of the water ended up on the table, because apparently it’s too difficult to set the glass down gently?
At any rate, we placed our order — Shrimporizo burrito for me and the Fish a la Diabla for the hubs. They had brought us a small bowl of chips and salsa, though we weren’t given napkins or utensils. The chips and salsa were good. We plowed through the bowls pretty quickly (they were tiny, honestly), and they brought more out for us. That was nice.
The food, when it arrived, was a bit uninspiring. The burrito looked super bland and tiny on the huge fish plate that they put in front of me. And my husband’s plate? Well, it certainly looked delicious. Only problem is, he was handed a plate of shrimp, not fish.
It took a few minutes to flag Devin down, and when hubs told him that he had ordered the fish, not the shrimp, there was a pregnant pause from Devin — significantly longer than was required — before he said, «I thought you said shrimp.» Another pause. Then we got a «Hmm.» Pause. «Well.»
Meanwhile, I’m sitting there thinking, «What’s the hold-​up here? You put in the wrong order, just fix it, already!» Finally, he picked up the plate and told us he’d be right back.
Twenty minutes later — with my burrito sitting in front of me untouched because I didn’t want to eat alone — the plate came back out.
My food was good. It didn’t blow me away, but the mix of the sauces, the chorizo and the shrimp made for an interesting combination. Was it worth the $ 14 price tag? Nope. My husband seemed to enjoy his dinner, and said that the flavor, and the heat (chile sauce on the fish) were both good.
My final gripe of the night is pretty significant. One of the helpers came by because my water glass had been sitting there empty for some very long minutes. He picked up the glass and asked if I’d like a refill. I said yes, please — water. He nodded, repeated, «Water?» to me, and walked off.
And promptly disappeared. With my water glass.
It took flagging him down again, plus trying to flag Devin down once more (who was way too wrapped up tending bar to care about the patrons buying food) to get the water back. And when it did come back to me, the guy who originally took my glass from me walked to another table and tried to drop it down there, only to realize his error. Maybe it’s nitpicky, but you don’t take someone’s only drink from them and not replace it, even if it IS just water.
There was an apology for the mistaken entrée order, but not for the horrendous wait time for everything else, or for the fact that they jacked me of hydration.
Sometimes I think this is why we stick with the places we know, instead of trying new spots.