Arena

Arena Sports Bar Niteclub
215 N Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054

(760) 966-2622

(760) 966-2600

Arena has been opening in my neighborhood since before I even moved here... over two years they have had a sign up. It's finally open, and its pretty cool. It's located in the middle of downtown Oceanside, next door to the popular Inner World head shop and the Sunshine Brooks Theater. Inside, it has classic sports bar decor; dark wood bar, dark green walls, lots of various framed sports junk. They have 30 beers on tap, including 2 from the Oceanside Ale Works! Pints were a little pricey however. I had 2 pints and a burger and my total was just over $20. The burger was SUPER tasty though and came with a ton of fries. This is just a beer and wine place but at least they also have over 50 wines to choose from. They have 40 tvs scattered through the place including 2 widescreen LCDs behind the bar. I was able to get the bartender to put the Padres spring training game on 1 of those. The Pads killed the Rockies 11-3. Arena has a large bar and tons of tables. They also have a pool table and internet jukebox for additional entertainment. The staff was friendly and attentive. They also have 30 bottled beers if you can't find something you like on tap. There is a happy hour on weekdays from 4:30-6:30 with 50% off appetizers and drink specials. Overall, I like the place and I will for sure be back. It has the feel of some of those hole-in-the-wall type places they have back east.

SIMDQ: One More That's It

The first of an unknown number of Sand In My Drink Quickies:

One More That's It

Its a shithole biker bar in O'side with a great drink special called the "Power Hour."

Mondays from 7-8pm. 50 cent drafts, wells, and house wine.

Embassy Room

Embassy Room
1835 S. Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054
(760) 722-9187

The Embassy Room is a pretty sweet beer only dive. They have a huge bar with plenty of seats, 3 pool tables, darts, an internet juke and three small TVs for sports. World Cup and Padres were on when I was there and the Padres pulled out a come-from-behind win vs the Nats! This place is a Padres bar. (and Chargers..) They have a really cool wall with news clippings and junk from the Pads' two world series runs including framed Cub-Buster and Tiger-Tamer t-shirts. So good! They serve mostly draft beer in two different size mugs. The small mug holds 24oz and cost $3.50 for a Red Trolly. They only have a half dozen taps or so but you don't really come here to drink fine beer. You come here to drink 36oz of PBR for 4 bucks. They also have a Sopranos pinball machine. Unfortunately, it needs a tune up really bad. So, don't waste your quarters. Overall, I like the Room. The crowd was friendly, the beer was cold and cheap, and Piazza hit a solo shot to win it in the top of the ninth! A good day indeed.

The Boardroom Bar

The Boardroom Bar
107 Diana St.
Encinitas, CA
92024
(760)634-3515

I had been in The Boardroom once before many years ago when I thought this thing was going to be a coffee table book and not a blog. Today was a great day to go back. The Boardroom is just off the coast highway and easy to miss if you don't know it it's there. The bartender was a hot little rockabilly chick who had some classic stories like the time she "ran over" an 11 year old girl. She was constantly, and comically, frustrated by the two other patrons, who were typical friendly older beach-bar-drunk-bums. The one dude just couldn't stop from telling her how cute she was and how much he liked her pin-up girl belt buckle. The other dude told us all about how many more sheriffs there were on the coast now and how he got a DUI on his bicycle. It was all good fun and free entertainment. The bar itself is just a big open box with the usual stuff: internet jukebox, pool table, a dozen or so draft beers, and limited cocktails. On a hot sunny day like today it was perfect though, with a nice fan blowing cool beach air through the bar. Overall, I really like this place. It is a simple, hidden, beach dive. Check it out if you are cruising the coast.

Rusty Spur (Revisited)

Rusty Spur
406 Pier View Way
Oceanside, CA 92054

(760) 722-2216

Reports of the Rusty Spur's demise were premature. The Spur did close down but is now open under the new management that also owns the Pier View Pub. I went into the Spur twice today, once at around noon and once at around 7pm. During the first trip I talked to the bartender, Matty, and he was telling me the drama around the liquor licenses and the city council. It seems they still can't get a full license for the Pier View Pub like they would like. That is a bummer, because it is a much nicer place than the Rusty Spur. The Rusty Spur does have a full license and a stocked bar. They only have a few beers on tap. There's a pool table, internet jukebox, and one crappy small TV. At noon the place was almost empty but the few people that were there looked normal and friendly. That changed when I went back at 7pm. Now the bar had about a dozen really drunk dudes who were still getting served by two bartenders who didn't appear to be in control of the situation. I left pretty quick. So, for a beer at lunchtime, not too bad, not too good, it's a typical dive but within walking distance of the beach. But don't go near this place after the sun goes down.

Tremont St. Sports Bar & Restaurant

Tremont St. Sports Bar & Restaurant
311 N Tremont St
Oceanside, CA 92054

(760) 435-9555

The Tremont St. Bar is an average, casual, beer/wine bar with ok food, but it is not much of a sports bar. There is no sports memorabilia in the whole place. COME ON! REPRESENT! They have several crappy old TV's hanging around the dining area and behind the bar they have 3 really dark big screen rear projection TV's and two nice LCD widescreens (the only TV's worth watching in the place.) I was there to watch a Padres game and it was not on any of the TV's until I asked them to turn it on. They quickly did so, but that is not a good thing for something that calls itself a sports bar. Also, for just being a beer bar, their draft selection is pretty poor, with only 6 taps with Guinness, Firehouse, and Fat Tire being the highlights.
They also serve a black and tan varient made with Guinness and Fat Tire but I think they do not maintain their lines very well as the beer tasted pretty bitter and we ended up switching to bottles. They serve about a dozen different beers in bottles... a pretty average selection. Sake shots are also served in various fruit flavors that look like shampoo. The bartenders tend to be good looking rocker chicks w/tattoos and piercings and they were friendly and fast. They have some sidewalk seating and the bar itself is pretty big with lots of seats. Overall, not a bad place to watch a game and have a few drinks but certainly nothing to go out of your way for.

R.I.P. Rusty Spur

Well, I didn't have a chance to get to this one before they served thier last drink. The Rusty Spur in Oceanside had been open for over 50 years. It was a total dive. They got busted for the 2nd time in 3 years for serving minors, so rather than start a 45 day suspension, the new owners (who also own Bub's) decided to shut it down. It is supposed to open up again in a few months with a new name as a higher class joint. Bub's also now has it's new name, The Pier View Pub, but looks like shit because it is just on a craptastic banner hung over the old sign. I did not venture inside to see if they started serving cocktails there or not.