Voltaire Ocean Beach

Named for a 1913 amusement park with 350 monkeys that lasted exactly two summers, Wonderland Ocean Pub keeps a daily sunset toast tradition alive over the OB Pier with a rotating tap list that takes itself considerably more seriously than the monkeys did.

Locals just call it the taco and expect you to already know they mean South Beach’s legendary Mahi fish taco, 22 tequilas, no Wi-Fi, and a sunset deck that has been making Ocean Beach glow orange since 1992.

Pacific Beach keeps getting polished, and the Coaster Saloon keeps refusing to notice: cold cheap beer, pool tables, and the kind of dive bar realness that is getting harder to find nearby.

Cannonball does Japanese-Peruvian fusion on the calmer bay side of Mission Beach, proof that San Diego’s beach bar scene has range beyond margaritas and mai tais.

Mission Beach’s boardwalk is a nonstop circus of bikes and rollerblades, and the Beach House gives the chaos a proper anchor, cold beer, bar food, zero surprises, exactly what you want.