Bullpen Tavern

WE LOVE THE SALTY FROG!!!!! Come down for karaoke best bartenders, best people, best vibes.read more

Fun divey spot and there was live music on the day we went! Loved the decor and lighting in here…read more There's also pool tables and a lil board game corner! $5 drink specials and happy hour. They have a touchtunes machine so you can play songs from your phone and change up the vibe. Limited parking but if you're coming to drink you shouldn't be driving anyway lol XD

Seating

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Panda hazy IPA on tap

Ye Olde Plank

3.7(199 reviews)

0.8 mi

Is this the review where I finally lose all credibility? Nah, Yelp reviewers don't have credibility…read moreto begin with. Normally, I just judge the food. Like, when I go to a popular bar, I don't care about the popularity or the vibes. If the food doesn't meet my higher standards, it can't get five stars. Conversely, the customer service could be super rude, but I might give it five stars as long as I love the food. Lol. Which makes this review out of character for me. Or I'm just being a hypocrite. Even when I gave Brigantine five stars, I love their mixed drinks and a lot of their seafood. I'd have no issues with writing another five star review of the food at the Brigantine. Those lobster quesadillas are immaculate. This place on the other hand...... Okay no, that makes it sound bad. It's definitely not bad. The mango habanero wings here had a nice crisp and flavor. The pizza definitely had a cheap crust and cheap ingredients, but the final product still had a decent flavor. Like, it's not going to win any awards, but it'll still taste like heaven when you're consuming alcohol. This is one of the most popular bars in the area. I've floated or driven past it quite a few times already since I currently live in IB, and I've never seen it not slammed. I finally decided to walk in here at like 1400, and the bar was still packed. However, the clientele is mostly locals. And the bar and clientele is of a variety that will affect your mileage. Specifically, there is a ton of active duty or retired U.S. Navy, there is Navy memorabilia all over the walls, and it probably leans conservative pretty hard. So you might feel like an outsider unless you fit one of those categories. That might've been me if I wasn't also in the Navy. Lol The dude on my right immediately told me that the owner is retired Navy. And the somewhat drunk dude on my left started chatting also. And I somehow almost immediately participated in getting an orange Jaeger bomb (which I suggested since the orange Jaeger was directly in my line of sight.) Uuuhh, all that just to say, I mostly use Yelp to look for amazing food. If you're just looking for Michelin star food, I don't think there's anything particularly ground-breaking here. However, the locals do claim that this is one of the most popular bars in San Diego. There are reasons for that, whatever those reasons are, because it definitely doesn't have anything to do with the Yelp average.

While in Imperial beach we wanted to find a dive beach bar. Nailed it!!! 100 steps to the water…read more Great to walk out and watch the sunset. Dollars in the ceiling and lots of boat and nautical decorations!

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Coral

4.2(35 reviews)

0.3 mi

This is my go to place. I love Coral, the vibes, the food,…read morethe people. Everyone that works there is super nice. The cook Victor is an amazing cook, his food makes this place stand out like no other. Plus the guy is super nice. Honestly this place is a gem in IB

Tammy and Liz are super awesome and create such a welcoming vibe…read more Javier is a really friendly guy!! Very inviting atmosphere and great options of drink and entertainment! Thanks so much!!

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VFW Post 5477

4.1(8 reviews)

0.8 mi

I have been a member of this post since 2009. The music, bartenders, camaraderie, fundraisers are…read moreone of a kind. They tend to have breakfast on the weekends and lunches durning the work week. I'm a lifetime member of this club and will never change that!!

Nice Post friendly people! They serve breakfast Sat and Sun. Stop by if you're a in town!read more

Burgers, pulled pork, hot dogs, and hot links! Delicious!

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Taco salad yummm!

IB Forum Sports Bar & Grill

Family-owned & operated

Came down here from Stockton, California to see the Padres game. Me and my friend had a hangover…read morefrom the night before so we decided to look for a brunch or breakfast spot along the Imperial Beach. It was a little cloudy that day but we finally found the place. They had a huge brunch menu. I didn't really have an appetite so I ordered the green pozole with tortilla chips and a side of biscuit and gravy. $10 was a reasonable price for the portion and the soup was very good. Helped out with the hangover! My other friends ordered other breakfast plates and it seems they give a lot for the bucks. Very cozy grill, we were situated near the entrance and we had the view of the beach and the streets. Very clean location! Server was extremely friendly and talented too. She was on roller skates while serving us, now that's dedication! I would recommend this spot!

Product itself: I ordered the half rack of baby back ribs, the potato chicken soup, upgraded the…read morefries to their garlic Parmesan fries and an avocado bacon burger. To drink, water and a 22oz Pacifico. The burger was good, tasted like it came from the grill and the bacon came extra crispy without even having to ask (I love crispy bacon!). The ribs were underwhelming :( I know it's a sports bar so food is expected to be fast (which it was) but they just lacked any flavor and had very minimal bbq sauce (I asked for extra). Customer service: I was served by Maria P and she was AMAZING! It seemed like she had a full section and was running around every which way and still have the best energy when she was serving us. She is the reason we ordered the soup and she did not fail us! It was very good. She seemed very hard working. Value: The bill total was $55 so overall I would give the value for what we ordered an 8/10. It was a big volume of food which I can appreciate, but the ribs were just underwhelming when it came to flavor. Atmosphere: I can say for atmosphere I give them a 10/10 because it gives entirely sports bar vibes, but clean. You don't feel dirty small town sports bar vibes like some of their competitors in the city and the vibe is very uplifting. Overall experience: I have been going to the IB forum ever since I was a little girl and I have ordered the fish and chips before (usually my go to), the wraps, and salads. Everything has always been decent that's why I'd I could go more detailed than 3 stars I would say 6.7.

Buffalo fries half order

BBQ chicken wrap

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Full Rack ribs

Mike Hess Brewing - Imperial Beach

3.7(473 reviews)

0.9 mi

We always stop for lunch at IB Hess after the big VW show, Air Cooled Fiesta, and it never…read moredisappoints. We live in Alpine and there's Hess up there, too, but they don't have the tacos. ALPINE HESS NEEDS IB's TACOS!! Alpine needs Jasmine, too. She was awesome and the Alpine location could use her smile and energy. My only suggestion for IB is to make sure those little fly propellers are charged every night. Those flies are hella aggressive.

Horchata latte and fish tacos and the birra great!!…read more Nice relaxing vibe also love that i can have fish tacos early with the breakfast menu now One con staff is inconsistent sometimes i can order my food and drinks at the coffee area. Sometimes i have to order food at the other side wish they would make up their mind idk ‍

Bar area

Mexy Fries

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Beer flight! Free beer can glass with order + $6 fills!

Novo Brazil Brewing - Imperial Beach

4.4(242 reviews)

0.7 mi

Elizabeth is an awesome server, food is very tasty, but portions are a little small for the price…read more Beer could be colder as well. Fantastic ambiance for watching sports - huge screens!

Salma had amazing service. The poke nachos were amazing. Great beer and atmosphere. Would recommend.read more

Strawberry Margarita

Poke Nachos

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Carne Asada Nachos

The Scoreboard

4.0(134 reviews)

0.3 mi

My first visit was for open mic comedy. I ordered a patty melt which came with hand cut fries. It…read morewas pretty good, although the onions were described as caramelized but were just lightly grilled. Probably delicious for true onion lovers but I pulled most of them off. The cheesy patty on rye bread was still delicious, and there were more fries than I could eat. Not much of a crowd except for the comics themselves, maybe 10-12 with a very entertaining host in between. All were good but many were hilarious including a first-timer. Fun vibe for sure, I would happily go again. I deducted one star because as a new guest, I asked the bartender if they had any special house cocktails. She seemed to hear the word special and thought I meant cheap. I said not necessarily cheap, but do you have any interesting house cocktails here. She said no, so I ordered something boring. Then I got the food menu which on the back had an entire list of house cocktails. But service overall was excellent.

Always a great time at the scoreboard! This ketchy dive bar is exactly what you need! The food is…read morereally well Priced (check out happy hour) and I love to come for the events! They do Monday night Music Bingo and Tuesdays Trivia. The staff is great and the drinks are strong. They have 5$ cocktails before 6 on

Inside

Carnitas tacos

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The Elwood

4.2(18 reviews)

3.2 mi

The best dive bar in Chula vista ! Meganakes the best drinks and is great company- come for the…read moreold fashions and micheladas - you're welcome;)

Without a doubt the best staff and the best service I…read morealways tag them cause they make the best micheladas\ Bloody Mary's in all of the world of San Diego def recommend it

It is what it is

Cheers friends

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The best Old-Fashioned you'll ever wrap your lips around.

Chief’s Da Tiki Bar

4.3(90 reviews)

6.9 mi

Quite a hidden gem this place. Good food and the prices are great…read more The only unfortunate thing is something out of their control. And that's the weather. It's an open bar to the outside, and when the heat and humidity kicks up, you know where I am going with this. Would change a thing though? Just plan accordingly for weather and you'll like the place.

Never been in a place where the bartender is so so lousy and disrespectful…read more The guy just cannot help interrupting and making homosexual innuendo left and right or making fun of disable people or anyone Truly lame!

Things to do in Imperial Beach

(R) side of the bar, featuring our amazingly sweet bartender

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View from the bar

Why does Yelp recommend reviews?

Hundreds of millions of reviews are posted on Yelp, and our automated recommendation software works in the background to showcase the reviews that it …

11 reviews that are not currently recommended

The reviews below are not factored into the business's overall star rating.

Kim G.

715

91

76

13 years ago

Go here on Thursdays! They have prime rib night that is to die for. Going to a bar you wouldn't expect anything but.. Basic bar food. This place is different. I've had several menu items and they're all above average. If you're in the area I would highly recommend. My server phoebe was the best.Phoebe always makes sure I have everything I need.. And then some. The staff, the bussers and the bar work great together here. My drink is always full, the food is always excellent and the atmosphere is great. Nothing is more annoying than sitting in a crowded bar with crappy food. Go here, the experience is the opposite. Good place to go for a casual fun meal. They have a million TVs so you're never bored. The place is huge so they always have seating and it's perfect for big groups or birthdays (or even just a casual dinner because of the great menu items! ). read more

Shyanne C.

5

9

0

5 years ago

If you're poc go ahead and just walk right back out this place. We called ahead of time to check the dog policy and she confirmed dogs are to be on leashes. As soon as we get there a dog became aggressive toward ours. Not once did we receive an apology. We weren't even acknowledged by anyone. Well, expect the racist white man that attempted to intimidate us as soon as he saw us. Avoid this place in its entirety and take it as a lesson that racism is still well and alive. read more

Ben F.

0

1

0

14 years ago

The toilets are horrible, and the people are trashy. Went here for a gathering and found too much personal drama and the bartenders were involved in personal shiot. The music sux and it takes forever to get a drink when people are busy taking photos and letting smoke drift into the dive, this place is weird. The people even weirder. Sorry. Bullpen sux read more

Evan P.

745

1

0

8 years ago

Best Dive bar in San Diego. 30 beers on tap at the cheapest prices in San Diego. The new patio is awesome for soaking in the rays while enjoying a drink. 3 pool tables that are always free and the friendliest bartenders and patrons! read more

Akina C.

0

49

2

5 years ago

Wow. Talk about the perfect spot for KKK members! If you are a person of color, just walk right back out. The service was absolutely terrible! To be disrespected, stared down and harassed... it's not worth coming here I promise. read more

Chris S.

0

6

0

7 years ago

Enjoyed my time @ the Bullpen Tavern last week! The drinks were well priced and the service we received was fantastic! The only reason I didn't give 5 was because it took Along while to just get two drinks. read more

Troy J.

65

1

8 years ago

Best beer selection in town ,great prices , nice patio to sit outside and drink. This place is the best spot in town. Great people, prompt service and an amazing selection on the jukebox. read more

Tiare W.

0

17

18

3 years ago

If you know the bullpen you can never leave (; thats on hotel California. "We are programmed to receive You can check out any time you like But you can never leave" read more

Gabe R.

0

1

0

5 years ago

Bartenders are very rude, saw the bar back/ bouncer drunk behind the bar harassing customers. would not recommended to anyone at all

Chase W.

267

1

0

7 years ago

Didn't take me seriously on the phone and then unplugged the phone and refused to take my money!

Mike L.

Elite 11

613

157

63

17 years ago

small dirty and digusting. stay clear!

Bullpen Tavern - bars - Updated September 2026

Best of Imperial Beach

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Ye Olde Plank

3.7

(199 reviews)

Is this the review where I finally lose all credibility? Nah, Yelp reviewers don't have credibility…read moreto begin with. Normally, I just judge the food. Like, when I go to a popular bar, I don't care about the popularity or the vibes. If the food doesn't meet my higher standards, it can't get five stars. Conversely, the customer service could be super rude, but I might give it five stars as long as I love the food. Lol. Which makes this review out of character for me. Or I'm just being a hypocrite. Even when I gave Brigantine five stars, I love their mixed drinks and a lot of their seafood. I'd have no issues with writing another five star review of the food at the Brigantine. Those lobster quesadillas are immaculate. This place on the other hand...... Okay no, that makes it sound bad. It's definitely not bad. The mango habanero wings here had a nice crisp and flavor. The pizza definitely had a cheap crust and cheap ingredients, but the final product still had a decent flavor. Like, it's not going to win any awards, but it'll still taste like heaven when you're consuming alcohol. This is one of the most popular bars in the area. I've floated or driven past it quite a few times already since I currently live in IB, and I've never seen it not slammed. I finally decided to walk in here at like 1400, and the bar was still packed. However, the clientele is mostly locals. And the bar and clientele is of a variety that will affect your mileage. Specifically, there is a ton of active duty or retired U.S. Navy, there is Navy memorabilia all over the walls, and it probably leans conservative pretty hard. So you might feel like an outsider unless you fit one of those categories. That might've been me if I wasn't also in the Navy. Lol The dude on my right immediately told me that the owner is retired Navy. And the somewhat drunk dude on my left started chatting also. And I somehow almost immediately participated in getting an orange Jaeger bomb (which I suggested since the orange Jaeger was directly in my line of sight.) Uuuhh, all that just to say, I mostly use Yelp to look for amazing food. If you're just looking for Michelin star food, I don't think there's anything particularly ground-breaking here. However, the locals do claim that this is one of the most popular bars in San Diego. There are reasons for that, whatever those reasons are, because it definitely doesn't have anything to do with the Yelp average.

While in Imperial beach we wanted to find a dive beach bar. Nailed it!!! 100 steps to the water…read more Great to walk out and watch the sunset. Dollars in the ceiling and lots of boat and nautical decorations!

The Elwood

4.2

(18 reviews)

The best dive bar in Chula vista ! Meganakes the best drinks and is great company- come for the…read moreold fashions and micheladas - you're welcome;)

Without a doubt the best staff and the best service I…read morealways tag them cause they make the best micheladas\ Bloody Mary's in all of the world of San Diego def recommend it

Silver Dollar

3.7

(102 reviews)

The Silver Dollar Bar is an average-looking bar. I came here recently to celebrate a friend's…read morebirthday. All of us ladies thought the music from the live band was screeching so much that we just had to leave. The vibe wasn't there, and the bar just seemed outdated overall. They do have karaoke with their DJ, but the television screen isn't as big as I would've liked. There are a few pool tables and I think I might've seen a dart board as well. Some of their bartenders could be a bit more friendlier, but I could understand they probably are just anxiously waiting to end their shift. If you're looking for cheap drinks in Chula Vista, Silver Dollar might be a good spot!

Wow! What an improvement! Security guard was so nice and friendly for Taste of Third event. The…read morebartender helping out, he was great! My friend liked the whiskey sour they gave out but to me it tasted like vomit and regret. I would have picked the Mexican Candy drink instead to try. They had live music that was not deafening it was nice! We gave them a tip!

Manhattan Bar

3.5

(80 reviews)

Had a great time at this local bar. We were lucky in that we stayed in a local hotel and this was…read morewithin walking distance. The boys jumped in line for the pool tables, of course, and we sat down and ordered our drinks. I asked our bartender, Sammy, if she made a decent Old Fashion and then made one for me. She lied, she makes an incredible Old Fashion and we really enjoyed our stay here. We also had a Paloma and some beers. The crowd was young with a few of us old stragglers hanging around. Very cool ambiance and fun crowd.

I have lived close by there for 15 years. Today was the first time I ever went because a friend…read morewho's going through a divorce wanted to go I heard good things from people of all ages from 30s to 50 saying It was a good bar, but I had the most horrible experience ever in my life. Men have no respect for women who are they just hang out it was horrible. I am a 56 year-old woman who haven't had this experience since I was in my 20s and I am a very modern 56-year-old woman so it was horrible and for my conversation with other women that was the same feeling it seemed displaced had other things going on? I am someone who goes out a lot to all types of places but this place has a horrible crowd

Salty Frog

4.3

(92 reviews)

WE LOVE THE SALTY FROG!!!!! Come down for karaoke best bartenders, best people, best vibes.read more

Fun divey spot and there was live music on the day we went! Loved the decor and lighting in here…read more There's also pool tables and a lil board game corner! $5 drink specials and happy hour. They have a touchtunes machine so you can play songs from your phone and change up the vibe. Limited parking but if you're coming to drink you shouldn't be driving anyway lol XD

On the Rocks Cocktails

3.5

(70 reviews)

I haven't wrote a review in a while so I felt like if I were to do it anywhere why not here…read more I enjoyed my self, bartender was friendly and attentive an overall people person, a must have. Music was good, I like the visuals (music videos). The only set back was the A/C you have to keep it cool.

Hidden dive bar in chula vista, if you want some place quiet to go play pool and have cheap drinks…read morethis is your spot. Costumer service is great, bar tenders know their craft.

Club 13

3.9

(14 reviews)

•$$$

This is a friendly spot right off the I-5. I'm sorry that my sister and I missed the musicians…read morewhom we saw packing up their gear in the parking lot. Plenty of beer to choose from, cash only.

It's been awhile since I have been there,but i recommend you go there if your not faint of…read moreheart.ortherwise go somewhere else.but it's a great bar!

Coral

4.2

(35 reviews)

This is my go to place. I love Coral, the vibes, the food,…read morethe people. Everyone that works there is super nice. The cook Victor is an amazing cook, his food makes this place stand out like no other. Plus the guy is super nice. Honestly this place is a gem in IB

Tammy and Liz are super awesome and create such a welcoming vibe…read more Javier is a really friendly guy!! Very inviting atmosphere and great options of drink and entertainment! Thanks so much!!

Bar Sin Nombre

4.1

(89 reviews)