Pro Bartending School

This was an awesome experience and it has helped me further my skills and knowledge of creating drinks and being behind the bar. Matt is an excellent instructor and knows what he’s talking about. I’m glad that I did it!

So much fun! We listened to music and made an endless amount of drinks. Matt was super chill and knows a lot about beer (Cicerone qualified). A huge recommendation for anyone who is looking to become a mixologist. #6Stars

This school is professional and legit. You learn a ton of drink recipes, skills, and tips for setting yourself apart from the competition. Materials and setting made it feel like I was learning at a real bar. My instructor Brenda was amazing. She was so incredibly patient and always willing to help. If you’re on the fence, do it! Thank you Brenda!

I joined the school a little over two weeks ago and was able to get my certificate and enroll in a lead course in Chula Vista later on this month. Brenda Calderon was not only my instructor but the instructor for my girlfriend as well. We both were able to graduate and take the classes together which was really helpful when studying. We are now enrolled in a lead course just as Brenda had instructed and ready for our next steps in becoming a bartender. We have received the training and now ready for the next step which will also be provided by the school.
Chelsea and I have been having fun making drinks and love trying new combinations. Another beneficial quality of the Bartending school is that we are able to go back whenever we’d like in order to practice and keep our speed up.
For anyone joining the school, it is definitely suggested to keep up with the information being taught and don’t save all the studying for the last minute. Take pride in your work and great things can come from this opportunity. If anything, it’s just a great way to learn a new trade, meet new people and have a good time making some drinks!
Joe Martorano

I want to first start off by saying you should never do anything your not going to enjoy doing!!! Brenda is by far one of the sweetest coolest instructors ever. A true breath of fresh air!!! She made learning very easy and FUN! I would definitely recommend attending this school because not only will you learn how to make several different drinks i feel prepared and ready to start getting bartending jobs and hopefully starting a business Brenda has inspired me. YAYYYY I completed and finished school thank you so much!!!
–shakira

It’s only been two days since I completed my two week bartending course, and I already miss it! The reason I miss it, is because of my instructor Brenda Calderon. She is absolutely wonderful. I had no idea what I was doing at all, and felt very intimidated when I first started. Brenda, made my entire experience fun, informative, exciting and definitely worth every minute of my time. Brenda is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the wonderful exciting world of «Bartending, Customer Service, Safety, Mixers, Glassware, Beer, Alcohol, Steps and Shortcuts, basically she just knows exactly what she is talking about. She answers any questions you have and works with you no matter how long it takes you to get the hang of something, no matter the level you are on. She makes sure you feel comfortable and confidant. I am so glad I took this course, and even more happy that Brenda instructed me. I feel so much more knowledgeable than I did two weeks ago and I don’t feel I would have had the same experience had Brenda not been my instructor. She makes this course! I highly recommend anyone to take this course, but only with Brenda! :)

Brenda is an amazing teacher! I feel very prepared and confident to use these skills in future bartending jobs. There is so much hands on learning and it is really fun whether you take the class with a friend or by yourself. An advantage to this is there is a lot of hands on learning and you become very comfortable standing behind a bar. It was so much fun and I would highly recommend this class for anyone looking to learn bartending. I would also highly encourage them to pick Brenda as an instructor.

I want to start off with saying Brenda makes this class! I had a blast and actually looked forward to going back every day. I learned so much in such a short amount of time and feel confident with using my knew trade at my job. Thank you so much Brenda it was such a good experience. I would recommend this class to anyone looking to get into the bar tending industry. Or even if it’s just something you want to learn for yourself.

Was such a great class! A lot of hands on experience with great people and an even better teacher. Brenda is amazing, very approachable, and makes the class fun.

Brenda is obviously passionate about bartending as she is about the success of her mentees which is encouraging throughout the intense bartending-​learning process. Class was on the pricey side, but it would not have had been had I known about the Unilocal discount xP oh well! I am now licensed and ready to show off my skills at any bar! :D

Brenda is seriously that best instructor ever ! She makes the class super fun, easily to learn, and motivates you to do great ! Highly recommend taking this course with her !

I went in to refresh on my bartending since I’ve been out of the busniness for so long, Brenda who instructed me was awesome !! Course was simple and very knowledgeable, thanks again Brenda you Rock !

If you’re looking for a reputable school with teachers who know their stuff, it’s here! They were really flexible and very understanding of my schedule. I was with Josh in San Marcos for the first week and Brenda in mission valley for the second and they were both awesome! Josh will make you laugh and Brenda is really sweet, And they both know their stuff and went above and beyond. Whenever I had a question they both went above and beyond to help me out. Overall I learned so much from both of them and had such a great experience I was sad to leave. Heads up to future students, start making flash cards the first day and try to get the drinks down asap so then you will have an easier time working on your build process and studying for your speed test!

My instructors name was John in mission valley.
Each Friday he would bring in a bunch of alcohol and encourage everyone to take try shots and drinks. He tells them to hide from the camera while drinking, which is in the classroom and monitored by the owner. All the young girls drink too much and act silly and he tries to flirt with them.
The whole experience was completely unprofessional.
John got upset with one girl my first week (her second) because she wasn’t into him like he was hoping and told students about how she made him angry because she got nervous on her test. The next week he starts to hit on me. I make it clear I’m not into him and on my last day (which again involved drinking) he tells me I’m making him upset and to leave right away (after I pass my test). When I leave I hear him telling all the rest of the students how mad I made him and how much he couldn’t stand me. I really have NO clue what I did to make him so mad, but I left gracefully and happily.
It was very unorganized and unstructured. We were told the very basics of bar tending for one day (which was mostly from a video) and then the rest of the two weeks we just made drinks from a book over and over. I really could have just memorized what goes in the basic drinks on my own and learned just as much.
Also, they start new classes every Monday. So even though your class may have started last Monday and you’re at a different level, they bring in a new class the following Monday and start them new with you.
John was passing everyone, even the girls that get almost every drink wrong. It was a joke.

Was looking for this Arny guy from all the great reviews but the new guy is Erik. Pretty skilled bartender however very contradicting. He had answers for everything, but they just didn’t make sense. He teaches one thing and the book says different. I just went along with it but as soon i got home i would look up drink recipes and terminology to find out it was something completely different. It is what it is.
Another thing the class is a mixture of people on different days and its all mambo jumbo. I felt bad for the teacher. Was like a jungle in there. I didn’t come everyday but the days i was there i had to teach myself. I just feel like everything is very unorganized. Did I learn something, yes. Was it worth my money…
Was super easy and they let anyone pass. i took my test online line like everyone else and used my book the whole way through it. Doesn’t feel like i earned it but like everyone got a certificate too. I just dont feel like i was able to really get what i wanted. I wanted a refund but the owner yelled at me on the phone saying he can’t get his education back so why would i get my money back. So i went through with the last week of class.
The last day of class he asked everyone to write a review for him. They had their computer already on the review screen where i saw someone writing a review in the office. Little did they know i Unilocal too. So its now two weeks later and i decided to waste some time on this. Oh and the thing that really really makes me mad is the so called Job Assistance. I called the number in the book and all i got was a full mailbox. Any ways after the owner talked to me that way i want nothing to do with them. I would look around other school reviews before entering this one. Good Luck

I wanted something new to do and this course wound up being the perfect outlet for me. I went into it expecting to learn tricks of the trade but learned so much more. Coming from a military background, I found that diving into it helped me learn much faster, I learned the basics of bar tending and a few tricks here and there. Erik was very knowledgeable and had answers to even some of the tougher questions I asked. I highly recommend this to anyone that is interested. Just know that you will have to memorize a few drinks, don’t half-​ass it.

I had a great time taking this course, even though it was online and not in person. My motivation was just to become proficient enough to tend bar at personal social events. I feel like I got that, but, in addition, I gained a whole new level of respect for the multi-​faceted skills of a good bartender. Arnold’s professionalism cultivates more than the mechanical skills involved in bartending — he models an exemplary degree of pride, integrity, and ethics in his profession. It’s evident that he loves what he does.
I found this to be a fun and rewarding learning experience. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants a solid grounding in the art of bartending.

I was hesitant on which bartending school to choose from in San Diego, but boy! am I glad I took this course.
Jason, the instructor, has a tremendous amount of knowledge in different fields of bartending (night clubs, dive bars, hotel, restaurants) and will teach you everything you need to know to be the perfect bartender. He is very patient, helpful, organized, and fun! If it wasn’t for him, I would probably lose confidence in memorizing all 50+ drinks. He also takes extra time to help you find jobs, so take advantage of his generosity!
I would highly! highly! highly! recommend this class to anyone who wants to get their feet wet.
Warning! this is a challenging course, so be prepared to study!

I finished this course on Friday and received my certificate! I should be happy right?! But I’m sad because I am going to miss this class so much! It was honestly so much fun. I went into it not knowing a thing about Bartending and I now have my certificate and can make 12 drinks in 5 ½ min! Arnie was a fantastic Teacher and was very thorough in Teaching so many skills. I could not recommend this course any more! Had a blast! Thank you so much!

The instructors here are absolutely amazing! Tarl and Arny care about the success of all of their students. They continuesly offer their real world experiences in the classroom, which is great to be taught by guys who are the best in the business giving you their incredible learning lessons that you can use behind any bar!
Their knowledge and expertise mixed with the great location and functional classroom is simply second to none. I learned so much from these guys and this school and would recommend them to anyone starting off. Even an experienced bartender who needs to brush up on their skills would benefit from going to this school. Since they encourage students to come back and share their successes it’s a very welcoming environment.
A big thank you from me to all of you guys!