Padre Gold

Padre Gold is back open to members and active duty military. It is much nicer and a really great place to hang out and grab a drink.
Go on by and get a drink.

New management has turned this bar from a local mainstay (divey but wonderful) to an exclusive, poorly run bar. If you’re not in the American legion, you’re no longer welcome. If you lie and say you are, you’ll be treated to poor drinks, high prices, and incompetent staff. I’m sad to see the only bar in Linda Vista go this way.

I really hate to do this but i had no choice! I don’t ever give a bad review here on Unilocal but Padre Gold has really gone down the drain lately. Ive gone to Padre Gold a few times a month with co-​workers, friends and even family to have a few drinks and have a good time. I live and work not to far away from this place. I recently got back to San Diego from a 3 month business work stay in New Jersey so I was so glad to be back and meet up with good friends. I asked my friends to meet up at Padre Gold to have a couple drinks and to plan the rest of our night. Now i wished i never did! It was a group of six of us. This place looked dead! I had to make sure they were open! The bartenders were some older ladies that had no idea what they were doing. My friend Brian ordered a pitcher of YELLOW TAIL and one of the bartenders did not know which one it was. He had to point it out to her. Two of us ordered a captain and coke. Simple right?! Wrong, She grabbed a Captain Morgan Tattoo bottle and that’s when i stopped her. «Hey that’s the wrong bottle!» After we were all set on drinks, this other lady was coming in and out from the back teaching the bartenders how to use a new fancy cash register. Really??? can’t you train before or after you open to the public! We were there for almost 2 hours and we were the only ones there. I learned that night that changes has been made and there was new management and staff. This place is now dead on a Friday night and you will be lucky if they get your drink right the first time. I don’t remember all the names of the bartenders who got replaced but they did 1000x better then these newbies. What a shame, why change something good? New management really needs to step things up because if not, I wouldn’t be surprised if Padre Gold goes out of business here soon.

Today I had very bad experience at this place by a new employee named penny she seems to be rude to everyone I had the worst service at a bar I been coming to this bar for a very long time I’m a regular and this bar made some bad changes with their employees it is not the same anymore I’m very dissapointed I’m never coming back here again and I would not recommend it to anyone else this place is racist and not the same everyone that is local is goin to the nearest bar because it has been real bad at this bar it has changed a lot it is bad dnt go there on sundays u will get thrown out for no reason.

I’ve been here many times but on 11÷13÷13 the female bartender said there is a $ 10 minimum on credit cards (security guard said not true) after serving me a draft beer and bag of Funyunns. I’ve never heard of this policy, so I walked out. Now you got nothing and just wasted a beer and a bag of chips.

Newly redone, lots of TVs & sports, Karaōke, DJ, cheap drinks, and friendly people! It’s a dive bar in a smart location, convenient. Debbie is great! Lots of fun. Go here anytime of the day, there are people here.

Super random location for a bar, but very convenient. The prices are alright, but the place is definitely made for an older crowd. The atmosphere is nice and the manager and bartenders are super friendly. :)

This place is great for the community and anybody living there.

Yes a dive bar, but it was fun for weekday afternoon. Crazy regulars that believe that they are seers… Check it out and have a good time…

I love Padre! Always heartfelt hellos and welcomes when we walk in. This is an American Legion Hall, and there are lots of Vets inside. Pull up a chair, say hello and thank them for their sacrifices for our country.
Friday nights has DJ (Dave or Dan?) on Friday nights who busts out the old skool jams on the large dance floors. It’s a BLAST! Now, there are some people who are more territorial and may give you the stink eye. Ignore them and have fun all night!
On Thursdays you can have a steak, salad and bread — for $ 8!!! Yes, it
tastes like a Costco 8 dollar steak. There are other dinner specials that occasionally appears on the events calendar. Check it out in person!

If you are a HATER then don’t come to the Gold or Linda Vista for that matter! I live in Linda Vista & we are a small but very close community that isn’t La Jolla– we are a multicultural neighborhood where old fashion family values & being a good friendly neighbor takes precedence over flashiness, vanity & money grubbing. The Gold is the ONLY bar in Linda Vista, the people may not look like La Jolla people– but I bet they work harder & are way more friendly

I thought this place held AA meetings. Guess I was wrong.

We had our HOA meeting there tonight. Afterwards one of my buddies from the condos and I stayed and enjoyed the music and sceanery. It was an enjoyable time; played pool and had a couple of beers. They have an mp3 jukebox that had lots of good songs. For a dive, there were lots of cute, sexy women there.

I have demoted the Gold 1 star because living right next to the place, i have Heard and Seen Friday and Saturday Nights go extremely awry out in the parking lot. the most recent a few weeks ago, brought forth what sounded very much like gun shots accompanied by fighting screeming yelling and out-​right chaos. This isnt unusual for weekend nights at this place. i understand a venue has only so much control over who comes to their bar, but in this instance, i waited watched and listened for the authority figures to arrive to disperse the crowd. They never came. I worked security for three or four years at a bar locally, and never once was there a shot fired where i didnt request assistance from the police. Now im like the next joe when it comes to not really being a fan of uniformed peace officers, but BULLETS WILL KILL. I know if i heard the shot, they (the employees only a ¼ of the distance away) heard it too. And theres no way the cops were so busy that non holiday night that they didnt or couldnt respond to a shot fired call. Simply put, i believe they wernt called when they should have been. As a member of the nearby community, i have to voice my opinion and say i would have made a different decision.

Why I love this place:
Its a bar. The professional neighborhood kind. The kind where the bartender gets pissed at being asked if the margarita mix is fresh or pre-​mixed. The kind where you walk in and the patrons all turn to see who just walked in. Numerous old beer posters /​neon signs. Charger banners still up in late spring. A couple of tvs on their last legs. The bar where you have to talk to your barstool neighbor because they are sure as hell gonna talk to you. Where tattoos are abstract aged blobs of ink on wrinkled forearms. Its middle America in Linda Vista. Order a beer and a shot and feel the patriotism.

I’m at a dive, alright. O_​O
If you’re a female, it’s not ot a place to get drunk on your own. Dark, sketchy, old men, sketchy dudes, sketchy… sketchy…sketchy. Watch your drinks, watch yourself regardless if you’re there with friends.
It doesn’t matter if you’re tough enough to hang but be smart enough to leave. There’s other spots better than this. Cool bartenders and bouncers are the only reason for that extra star.
Not quite a fun dive that I’m a fan of. I’m just glad I’ve made it out alive… whew!

If YOU like getting hit on by Latin Quasimodos and Samuel L. Jackson look a-​likes or enjoy your drinks bartended by Auntie Panty with a fresh butterfly tattoo on her right shoulder. .then THIS is the place for you!
This place is a bowling alley bar without the bowling alley. Smells like rank, «off the strip» Las Vegas motel.
HUGE dancefloor, sprinkled with fortysomething’s doing the Cupid Shuffle or hoppin’ two times to the Cha-​Cha Slide remix.
The DJ blasts hits from the Gap Band, Jody Watley, Bobby Brown. all that «feel good» shit.
This place would be hella cool if you’re with a group of people who enjoy the bomb ass old skool tunes. It’s awesome hearing that music in your car, but awesomer feeling it pounding in your heart.
WORST part of the night? Walking to my car to find a fresh splash of vomit by my driver’s side door… PERFECT.
PROS:
bomb old skool tunes
CONS:
sketchy area
stanky
sketchy
stanky
cheap drinks give u the runs the next day

I drove by this place twice a week for many weeks before I noticed what it was. I take an evening class at Mesa College, and every once in a while when a friend and I want to celebrate the occasional high score on a test, we go out for a beer after class. She lives Downtown and I in La Mesa, so we wanted to find some place convenient in Linda Vista. We were racking our brains on places to go. Then one day when driving to class, I looked up and there it was like a beacon, the 30 foot high sign advertising «COCKTAILS». So that night after class my friend and I went. We parked our cars in the desolate parking lot and my friend was skeptical. «The sign says open to the public» I reassured her. We went in and instantly loved the spacious, dive bar feel.
Last night we returned to PG be pleasantly greeted by September the bartender. We quickly learned that it is September’s tradition to serve first-​time customers (first time served by her) a free shot. To chase the shot, we ordered our dive bar usual, Bud with a splash of tomato. She turned it into a spicy beer cocktail with tomato, lemon & olive juices & a few splashes of tobasco. That is my kind of bartender. She’s friendly and a super hard worker, simultaneously obtaining a nursing degree, raising an 8-​year old, and serving at Padre Gold. So go see September. And she said the best nights are Mondays and Thursdays. Apparently they have a steak dinner special for $ 8 on Thursdays.

This is a list of what I saw at the good ol’ Padre Gold. Nothing says classy like:
–The two guys in front that check your I.D. The one who checked my I.D. wasn’t too memorable, but the other guy was one step from holding cardboard in front of Food 4 Less.
–A bar run by two Filipinas that feel that counting the till is more important than serving the customers.
–Two pool tables, two electronic dart machines, a poker/​solitaire machine, and a claw machine that had a Luigi, a talking bottle opener, and a one eyed pig inside.
–A dance floor equipped with a mirror ball and blaring the old school hits that can be heard daily on Magic 92.5.
–The classy folks over 40 still rocking the 80s mullets, plaid jackets, and grinding on the dance floor.
–A restroom that was way cleaner than I thought it was going to be, but my old high school bathroom was nicer and that’s not saying much.
–The Padre Gold rents out the top floor for parties. As my friends and I were leaving we saw all these young folks dressed to the nines coming outside and getting onto a couple of British style double decker buses. My friend went over to them and asked them what was going on. They said they were having a fraternity ball. My friends and I instantly called their party «The Frat Prom.»
–I saw a woman coming out of her car wearing a rhinestone denim miniskirt, and pink pumps. I thought she was dressed liked that because she was overcompensating for being in her 40s. As she was walking away I realized that she was a drag queen. At that moment, I stopped putting her down for being dressed like that. I wanted to run over to her and give her a congratulatory high five for working that outfit.

You know how some dives walk the thin line between sketchy and awesome? I think that’s Padre.
Almost every time I come here, the median age is 55, and there are a ton of veterans in the place. It’s like a former military fiesta. However, when I’m with friends, occasionally, PG seems like the spot to hit, cheap drinks, friendly service, and although its cash only, the ATm hooks you up.
Not a bad spot, PG. Not bad at all.