False Idol

danbutt
visiting on
Monday, August 5, 2019
for the first time

Will probably get there close to opening at 6, as this'll be my first day in the States

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Regulars & Visitors

View all 410 False Idol regulars & visitors

Humuhumu’s description

False Idol opened in early September 2016 in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood. It is owned jointly by Martin Cate of Smuggler's Cove

and Consortium Holdings (owners of neighboring Craft & Commerce). The walls are covered with panels carved by legendary tiki artist Bosko. The ceiling is crusted with lit glass floats. Reservations are strongly recommended and can be made up to a month in advance.

Comments

Mahasamatman

Mahasamatman has visited False Idol.

May 7, 2019, 9:20 PM

False Idol is an absolutely beautiful place - literally every bit of wall and ceiling is decorated splendidly - and the drinks and staff are good. The biggest downside is that they apparently don�t have a reasonable restriction on how many people they let in the place. Patrons are packed in shoulder to shoulder and the ambient noise is overwhelming (you can barely hear the person sitting next to you). If that is your scene, then you will love this place. But if you want to enjoy any level of comfort or be able to hear the other people in your party without them yelling their throats raw, then beware.

Kyle

Kyle has visited False Idol.

April 6, 2019, 10:54 AM

Wonderful place with a great staff. Wish I could have hung around longer.

Cretin90

Cretin90 has visited False Idol.

February 13, 2019, 4:33 PM

First of all, San Diego is amazing and beautiful..I had not been there since the 80's. Wow. What a change. The downtown area is clean, with amazing new restaurants, coffee shops, etc. , but didn't have that overwhelming L.A. feel. I saw very few bums (homeless) as well. We went there for new years, and it was crazy busy of course....but if you make peace with that you'll be fine.
On to False Idol. ....we ubered, because parking sucks there. When we got there, there's no sign, no indication whatsoever that an amazing tiki bar is there at all. I love that. We did not have a reservation, did not know what to expect, so we had one drink at the regular bar, and put our names on the waiting list. Before I even finished a beer our names were called and we were escorted throw the hanging vines and into the cave that is False Idol. Oh my god, is is cool. I'm an architect, so my eye goes to all the detailing, and False Idol is near perfect. The decor is so much fun, but my favorite is the ceiling...there's not a square inch where you can see the actual ceiling....it's nets, globes, lamps, fish, bamboo,and MAGIC.

On to the service. The place is pretty small, with about 10 tables. the bar was packed--no seating. The hostess handed us off to a really sweet waitress who seated us at a reserved table, with the understanding that when the party came in , we would have to vacate the table. I thought that was really nice of her, and we agreed. There is so much to look at, I wouldn't have minded standing. Anyway, the people never showed up!. I asked the waitress if we were ok to stay at the table and she had of course. Keep in mind this is New Years weekend. This is what I call Ohana. She worked with us, knowing we didn't have a reservation, and made it work for us. The drink menu was very cool looking, and once I saw the "my embarrassing Uncle" I knew there was a tiki drink for me. So much so that I had two. This drink comes with a side shooter of buttered rum, which is decadent. We spent two hours there, and had the best time. I left the waitress a 40% tip. Happy New year! my advice?...when in San Diego, DO NOT MISS FALSE IDOL. A++++
Marc-
Black Lagoon Artworks

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