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Side Bar SD to Close for Renovations

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After an impressive, nearly 15-year run in the Gaslamp, Side Bar will temporarily suspend its industry nights, DJ sessions, and bottle service-fueled dance parties. The well-established bar, lounge, and nightclub is closing this Sunday, June 24 for a top-to-bottom renovation by RMD Group, which also operates the adjacent Ciro’s Pizzeria and Rustic Root and Volcano Rabbit in the Gaslamp

The remodel will reportedly take the venue in a more upscale and elevated direction. When it reopens this fall, Side Bar will feature a craft-ier cocktail menu as well as offer food service. A countdown to Sunday’s closing date starts tonight with its very last industry night, follow by the final Latin-inspired Stilo Thursday. Demolition Night is scheduled for Friday, with memorabilia and other pieces of the bar up for grabs, and an over-the-top “champagne war” blowout will go down on Saturday.

Best Rooftop Lounges & Bars in San Diego

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Rooftop parties bring a big crowd to downtown San Diego every weekend, especially during the summer. We have some beautiful views from atop the buildings: the breathtaking cityscape and the gorgeous San Diego sunsets over the water give a beautiful backdrop for an exciting party. San Diego can throw some good ragers, and we made a list of some of the best places to dance your heart out while you enjoy a view of America’s Finest City:

Downtown/Gaslamp Quarter

Top of the Hyatt

Raise your glass and sip in style with a spectacular view 40 stories above San Diego Bay atop the Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer dramatic panoramic views of the city below, Coronado Island and beyond.

The Poolhouse

Head to the Pendry Hotel Downtown for the city’s newest rooftop lounge. During the day the third-floor space is reserved for hotel guests, but from 5–9 PM the general public is invited to the hotel’s daily rooftop social, with specials on drinks and light bites.

Rustic Root

When Gaslamp is a complete shitshow and you want a bit of a reprieve from insane lines and fighting for elbow room at the bar, head to Rustic Root. The super-relaxed atmosphere pairs really well with the rooftop view for watching the masses as they roll down Sixth Ave.

Float

Skylines, cityscapes and sunsets – San Diego has them all. But Hard Rock Hotel San Diego is one of the few places downtown that offers panoramic rooftop views of San Diego’s best sights. Float, Hard Rock’s rooftop bar, overlooks the harbor, historic Gaslamp Sign and the famous Coronado Bridge. Float offers you and your friends a lavish look into one of Southern California’s most stunning views.

Float is a stylish oasis in the afternoon, but at night the poolside lounge evolves and out come the fire pits and DJs. Private poolside cabanas feature lounge seating and flat screen TV’s, and are able to be reserved day and night. Whether the sun is up or down, there is something to fit every mood and satisfy every impulse at Float.

The Rooftop by STK

By day, The Rooftop by STK will sweep you away with stunning city views and creative regional cuisine. Using organic, locally sourced ingredients, our rooftop restaurant serves breakfast and lunch featuring American dishes with a cool SoCal spin. By night, The Rooftop by STK is San Diego’s ultimate rooftop destination and nightlife experience high above the city. This cool sky-lit nightclub and lounge is the place to be seen in San Diego. There’s a live DJ every Friday & Saturday from 9pm-12am, VIP bottle service available, and farm direct American cuisine. The rooftop party at STK has a way of making you feel like a celebrity.

The Nolen

A 14-story jewel in the Gaslamp, The Nolen features both a patio and a rooftop, because why not? Its beautiful setting — which features a communal fire pit — underlies an immersive cocktail menu. It’s cocktails only at The Nolen, but the barrel-aged and classic menus featuring cant-miss drinks like sidecars and new-age cocktails like a Christmas in Nicaragua.

SummerSalt Rooftop Bar and Lounge

Hosting some of the hottest events in town, the SummerSalt Rooftop Bar and Lounge at the Palomar San Diego lets you rock the night away, cool off in the pool or relax while sipping their signature cocktails.

East Village/Petco Park

Altitude Sky Lounge

Living up to its name in more ways than one, Altitude Sky Lounge lays claim to being the highest of all San Diego’s rooftop bars. Perched atop the San Diego Marriott Gaslamp Quarter at 22 stories above street level, Altitude offers fantastic views of downtown, San Diego Bay, and Petco Park. It’s the ideal place to sip a cocktail while watching a Padres game or relax with a beer and take in the sights.

Level 9 Rooftop Bar

The Level 9 Rooftop Bar has a way of capturing the vibe that only the Gaslamp Quarter offers. It’s not stuffy or exclusive but it is vibrant, delicious and offers quite a few indulgences for those who make their way up here. It’s actually the picture-perfect place to begin a night out on the town, because nothing goes better with cocktails and conversation than a stunning sunset over San Diego. Level 9 is a great place to pre-game before you set out to explore San Diego’s wilder side. Happy hour specials are popular here with the locals, and include $5.00 well drinks, domestic beers and selected wines from 5pm to 7pm Sunday through Friday. In addition to the full bar, extensive drink menu and happy hour specials, Level 9 also offers some great culinary delights that are perfect for sharing.

Fairweather

Nestled in the East Village above the restaurant Rare Form, Fairweather’s patio bar pays homage to San Diego’s amazing climate with “drinks from sunny places” including daiquiris and piña coladas, mai tais and zombies.

La Jolla

George’s at the Cove

Considered one of the region’s best rooftop dining locales, grab a bite al fresco at Ocean Terrace overlooking the picturesque La Jolla Cove. House specialties include a range of unique vodka infusions and new twists on the traditional, like the Seasonal Caipirinha.

Mission Bay & Beaches

Cannonball

Besides the delicious California cuisine, Pacific Rim influences and sushi, this oceanfront restaurant is serving up one of the best views in Mission Beach. Sip on refreshing seasonally-inspired beach craft cocktails while soaking up the essence of this bustling, beautiful San Diego beach.

Amplified Ale Works

An ocean-view gastropub and craft brewery serving fresh Mediterranean-inspired dishes alongside craft beer and wine.

 

San Diego New Years Eve 2016/2017 Event & Nightlife Guide

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New Years Eve 2016 is almost upon us! Wondering what’s happening in San Diego this New Years Eve? You’ve come to the right place.

Not going to be in the SD? We have a guide to NYE 2016 in Los Angeles as well as NYE 2016 in the OC!

NYE falls on a Saturday this year which means most clubs will be 100% sold out! Book your tables early!

You can use our free mobile app to book your tables – we highly recommend booking tables as early as you can – prices will go up as the date gets closer.

Omnia SD New Years Eve 2016

TBA.. check back for details!

Parq SD New Years Eve 2016

TBA.. check back for details!

Fluxx SD  New Years Eve 2016

TBA.. check back for details!

Onyx Room SD New Years Eve 2016

TBA.. check back for details!

Cake Nightclub San Diego Opens in Gaslamp District

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The much-anticipated CAKE Nightclub will swing open its sexy doors on July 25 in the space formerly occupied by Voyeur.

The 17th century boudoir-themed venue with acrobats and dancers is the latest high-end club to debut in the Gaslamp, proving San Diego is solidifying its position as a nightlife destination. (The Alice in Wonderland-esque Parq opened last fall and this spring The Hakkasan Group debuted Omnia nightclub in the former Stingaree space.)

Now it’s time for CAKE.

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The concept was birthed by hospitality group EveryDay Life (EDL), co-founded by hospitality vets Amrou Manaseer and Tosh Berman (Toca Madera West Hollywood).

The team opened the first CAKE in Scottsdale in early 2014. The San Diego iteration was announced a few months later. EDL gave the former EDM club on 5th Avenue a major makeover, breathing a new life into the space that’s sat quiet since Voyeur vacated in late 2013.

Some say the club is like a mini version of XS, the lavish club inside Wynn Las Vegas. Berman, aka the man behind Hollywood’s hot AV Nightclub, says CAKE falls somewhere between a DJ-driven club and theatrical stage show that he hopes will appeal to a sophisticated audience.

The nucleus of the club is the Baroque era-inspired DJ booth, which will have a 30-foot translucent LCD display. Expect lots of eye candy, including yummy “Cake Dolls” prancing around the 6,000-square-foot space with bottle service in tow.

Omnia Brings Vegas to San Diego’s Gaslamp

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As much as downtown San Diego has matured as a nightlife destination in recent years, its profile pales in the glow of Vegas and Miami Beach, where high-end, over-the-top venues compete for hip, well-heeled club goers, not to mention the hottest DJs.

While a rapid transformation isn’t in the offing for San Diego, it’s likely that the long-awaited opening of the Omnia in the Gaslamp Quarter will do a lot to raise the city’s nightclub quotient while bringing a bit of Las Vegas to downtown. Omnia San Diego has already announced a star studded DJ lineup, including Armin Van Buuren, Chuckie, Afrojack, Tiesto, Martin Garrix, Nervo, Markus Schulz, and more.

The Hakkasan Group, a Las Vegas-based global hospitality and night life firm that last year bought the former Stingaree club on Sixth Avenue, has spent the last six months overhauling the 22,000-square-foot space and transforming it into what the company boasts will be a level of opulence unseen in other San Diego nightclubs.

It will be the company’s second Omnia, the first debuting in Las Vegas earlier this year inside Caesars Palace. Like the San Diego location, the Omnia in Vegas was a makeover of a former nightclub, Pure.

A relative newcomer to the Las Vegas nightclub scene, Hakkasan opened its first club in 2013 — its namesake Hakkasan Nightclub in the MGM Grand — and in January debuted Omnia, more than three times the size of the San Diego club. Hakkasan never disclosed the costs of the Vegas Omnia, although various published reports estimated the investment at anywhere from $80 million to $107 million.

Similarly, Hakkasan executives won’t reveal the company’s investment in its new San Diego location, acknowledging only that it is significantly more than the $7 million spent to open Stingaree in 2005.

 

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The new San Diego venue’s high-end finishes and features are driven by the increasingly competitive Las Vegas market, which has demanded the very best in its nightlife venues, said Nick McCabe, president of Hakkasan Group, which was founded in London. While Stingaree was fine for what it was, upgrades were needed in terms of sound, state-of-the-art technology and improved sightlines for viewing the all-important DJs, he explained.

Toward that end, the former Stingaree, which had been segmented into three different areas, was opened up into one 8,000-square-foot main club floor and a 4,000-square-foot balcony overlooking the dance floor and lined with VIP boxes. Embedded in the walls of the main floor are LED strips designed to pulsate to the beat of the music.

Completing the club experience is a 7,000-square-foot rooftop terrace that’s designed to have the feel of a garden and is furnished with a variety of seating types, including tiered cabanas and sofas along the perimeter.

“There has been a complete sea change in the level of investment in clubs being built in Las Vegas,” McCabe said. “Clubs like XS, Hakkasan and Omnia raised the bar completely. We’re talking about a very luxurious product in keeping with the best hotels in Las Vegas.

“The same thing is about to happen in San Diego. It is a new level of investment and design concentration with a different level of finish customers haven’t seen before. It won’t be as epic as in Vegas but certainly a step up beyond what’s seen in San Diego.”