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.

The Strand Bar and Grill

The Strand Bar and Grill
608 N Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054-2436
(760) 722-7831

Or maybe just bar... for the life of me, I could not find a "grill" anywhere in this place. But then again, it doesn't really need one with Angelo's right across the street. The Strand seems like a really cool place. The bartender was a cool older lady who seemed real friendly but I didn't get her name. Seems like it is a real neighborhood place with working folks and surfers as the primary customers. The outside looks very intimidating but once you get inside there is a lot of room and a big bar. Entertainment consists of 2 pool tables, an electronic dart board, an Elvis pinball machine, a cd jukeboss (classic rock mostly), and 5 TVs including one large nice LCD on the wall behind the bar. This is a beer and wine bar and they have a good selection of brew on tap including "The Strand Amber" which was pretty tasty. Overall, it seems like a cool place to stop for a beer and shoot some pool.

El Paso Bar

El Paso Bar
113 S Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA
(760) 722-5968

The El Paso is really a crap bar. They just have bottle beers and not a big selection. They have two pool tables and the jukebox is mostly mexican music. With a little work, this could be a really cool dive but as it is, it's not much fun. This bar is very close to my house so I wish very much that it would be a little friendlier... but at this point, I have to recommend that you avoid it.

Bub's Whisky Dive

Bub's Whiskey Dive
301 Pier View Way
Oceanside, CA
(760) 757-2827

This was a really good trip. It was Lisa's first day and she was an excellent bartender. The clientele was mostly young marines with a scattering of older beach folk, both men and women. This is a beer and wine bar only but that may change soon. Until then, they have a wide variety of beers on tap including Karl Strauss, Fat Tire, and Guinness. It is close to the beach and has a nice view of the pier which is its biggest selling point. Bub's has a stage for live acts and features a happy hour that runs from 4-6 weekdays. There is always plenty of free popcorn (freshly popped and serve yourself) and peanuts in the shell (chuck the shells on the floor). They have a pool table and an internet jukebox. I met and talked with two of the new owners and they are investing heavy into downtown Oceanside.

Sand In My Drink

The point of this is to create an online directory of all the dives along the northern coast of San Diego county. The road might be a little bumpy until I find a format I like. The bars I will focus on all have to be north of La Jolla and west of the 5. They have to be open during the day. Customers should feel comfortable wearing flip-flops, a t-shirt, and shorts. That is the start anyways...