The Best Dive-bars in Normal Heights

The best small live-music dive in San Diego, in a building shaped like a tower.

Tower Bar is a City Heights institution with a tiny stage, cheap drinks, and a booking calendar full of local punk, metal, and garage bands. It is one of the last places in the city where you can see three bands for under twenty dollars.

Local tip: Shows are cheap and often local punk and metal — check the calendar before you go.

The best Irish dive on Adams Avenue, with live music several nights a week.

The Ould Sod is a proper neighborhood Irish bar with a well-poured Guinness, regular live sessions, and a crowd that talks to strangers. It anchors the Adams Avenue bar walk in Normal Heights.

Local tip: Tuesday and Wednesday nights usually have live Irish or bluegrass sessions.

A dive with a real stage and one of the best small-venue bookings in the city.

Til-Two Club pairs a low-key front bar with a genuinely good small music room in back. The sound is better than the setting implies, and the drinks stay dive-priced through the show.

Local tip: The back room is a separate space — check whether the show requires a cover.