False Idol

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

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

MelloMan

MelloMan is a semi-regular at False Idol.

September 11, 2018, 10:42 PM

The best tiki drinks in Southern California. Great decor and spot. I often prefer quiet and grimy, but the crowded and fun atmosphere at False Idol worked b/c the drinks were amazing, the spot was done right, and the bartenders took care of everything perfectly. Plus I got a nice Bosko

Shuckslbj

May 2, 2018, 7:23 PM

One good thing about tiki coming back into popularity is that the �craft cocktail� types who start these joints know how to make the drinks good without too much goddamn high fructose corn syrup. There are tiki bars that I love and will not name that have what I�d call... a sweetness problem. Not so at the False Idol. Everything tasted good. Sometimes I prefer greasy diners and shitty bars to �health food� (cf. Rupert Holmes) and less-unhealthy cocktails, but if you want to feel modern and refreshed rather than like a seasick sailor, places like this are a good call. And there�s a waterfall. Why not, right.

Happy hour is literally just an hour � 6-7 � and has half-off deals on 3 of their drinks (chi chi, missionary�s downfall, 151 swizzle). I�m really not a fan of annoying speakeasy-style concealed entrances. I had to dig through the yelp comments to figure out that it�s inside a different, more boring bar. But small and hidden though the False Idol is, they do it right.

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