Little Italy · Best Dive Bars in San Diego
The Waterfront Bar & Grill Review
Last updatedRanked #1 of 8 in Best Dive Bars in San Diego
San Diego's oldest bar, holding its ground in the middle of gentrified Little Italy.
Score breakdown
- Character98/100
- Drinks86/100
- Value90/100
- Crowd & service92/100
- Extras92/100
The verdict on The Waterfront Bar & Grill
Ranked #1 of 8 — 92/100 in our Best Dive Bars in San Diego coverage
The Waterfront has been pouring since Prohibition ended and it never got renovated into something else, even as Little Italy turned into a restaurant district around it. The crowd runs from dock workers to condo residents, the drinks are cheap, and the kitchen puts out a better burger than it needs to.
What to drink at The Waterfront Bar & Grill
Across our coverage the recommendation is consistent: Well drink and the burger.
The burger is genuinely one of the better cheap burgers downtown — order it.
When to go
Bars and breweries in Little Italy typically fill up on Friday and Saturday nights; a weeknight or early-evening visit is the easier way to get a seat without a wait.
Is The Waterfront Bar & Grill worth the price?
The Waterfront Bar & Grill sits at $ — the budget band for this category. We scored 4 other $ options on the same list, and The Waterfront Bar & Grill outscores 4 of them. Within its price bracket, nothing we ranked does it better.
The Waterfront Bar & Grill FAQ
Is The Waterfront Bar & Grill expensive?
The Waterfront Bar & Grill is priced at $, which puts it in the budget band for this category. We scored 4 other $ options on the same list for a direct comparison.
Is The Waterfront Bar & Grill worth it?
It scores 92/100, 3.1 points above the 88.9 average for its list. That's a solid recommendation within the category.
What should I get at The Waterfront Bar & Grill?
We recommend the Well drink and the burger.
What else is nearby The Waterfront Bar & Grill?
Born & Raised (93/100 in our best steakhouses in san diego list) and False Idol (93/100 in our best tiki bars in san diego list) are also ranked in the same neighborhood, so it's easy to pair a visit.
What works
- Strong character — scored 98/100 in our ranking
- Strong crowd & service — scored 92/100 in our ranking
- Strong extras — scored 92/100 in our ranking
- Top-1 finish out of 8 spots we scored in this category
Know before you go
- The burger is genuinely one of the better cheap burgers downtown — order it.
The full review
The Waterfront has been pouring since Prohibition ended and it never got renovated into something else, even as Little Italy turned into a restaurant district around it. The crowd runs from dock workers to condo residents, the drinks are cheap, and the kitchen puts out a better burger than it needs to.
On our weighted scale it earns 92/100 — the top score of all 8 places we evaluated for best dive bars in san diego. We drink at the places we rank, pay our own tab, and re-score when a bar changes hands, moves or reworks its list.
What to drink at The Waterfront Bar & Grill
Well drink and the burger
Typical spend: $
How we scored The Waterfront Bar & Grill
Every score on this page comes from the same editorial rubric we apply to the whole category: character, drinks, value, crowd & service, extras. The criteria are weighted toward what matters most in the category, compared against every other place we ranked in the same list rather than against an abstract ideal. We drink at the places we rank, pay our own tab, and re-score when a bar changes hands, moves or reworks its list. Scores are editorial judgments rather than aggregated user ratings.