The Nolen Rooftop — Restaurant in San Diego

To start off, this place felt really off. We came on a Sunday night, and it was completely dead—nobody else was there. I thought that was strange, considering it was the weekend. I didn’t expect it to be packed, but I expected to see at least a few other people. I’ve never been to a rooftop bar in San Diego that was this empty on a weekend, so that was weird to me. The vibes were off from the start.

Next, after we sat down and got settled, my group opened the menu and saw that an 18% gratuity is automatically added to all checks, regardless of party size. I can understand adding gratuity for large parties, but applying it to all checks is crazy. Definitely something to keep in mind if you’re considering coming here.

When it was time to order, not everyone in our party had arrived yet. We asked to wait before ordering drinks, but the server came over three times, making us feel pressured to order even after we politely declined and said we’d wait for everyone to arrive. Throughout the night, the servers were rude. When we asked if they could take a photo for us, one of them rolled her eyes. When the food came out, another server made a big deal about where our drinks had been moved—even though we had simply made room for the food. It wasn’t just one server; both of them had an attitude, which made the experience really unpleasant.

As for the food, the options—especially for dinner—were disappointing. I get that it’s mostly snack foods, but they should have had way more variety. The food we did order was nothing more than okay. I wouldn’t even say it was decent.

If you’re considering coming here, I’d recommend checking out other spots in Gaslamp instead—unless you’re looking for an empty rooftop bar with rude,...

We had big group celebrating a birthday, people were consuming food and alcohol during several hours. We pretty much got kicked out of the table because they had other reservations. When we were told we needed to move by the manager, we asked if there was a time limit to be on the table, the response was "well you've had this table since 7" several of us thought the staff was rude and the waitress refused to order another drink because "we had closed the tab" even though I told her to open up a new one and I would pay it. I believe the treatment from management was horrible. There are multiple bad reviews on Yelp that all have to do with Servers being rude but even worse, the manager being rude, DO NOT GO TO THIS BAR, THERE ARE OTHER CHOICES! We were moved to the bar area where we had an opportunity to be assisted by another waitress. She had long curly hair and was very nice, she made a difference in our stay as we were all frustrated with the previous contact just minutes earlier with management. I though the food was good, the drinks were ok, but the initial service was horrible. If I reserve a dinner table and decide to stay there for hours, as long as I'm still consuming food and alcohol what's the issue. I did not know we had a time limit and after two and a half hours we had to give up the table. I don't think that's the way to do business and although the view is great, customer service is everything to me and some of the staff don't know what customer service is. There are plenty of rooftop bars to choose from, I won't be returning here to be treaded...

Awful management! We asked at the door if there is anything we are not aware of as it seemed strange we could so easily get in when other places seemed to have a long wait. The guy who checked our ID said "no but the place is packed". As we got our drinks (the bartender was awesome even though the tip was included I would still tip him jist as much) and we started walking towards the lounge area we were approached by the gentleman who told us we were only allowed to have a drink at the bar which is the tiny standing area if we don't have a reservation. The bar was packed and the standing area was truly tiny with no tables or chairs. We approached the manager because the gentleman said we can ask her and asked if we can sit at the booth. No was the answer. My husband asked if we can stand till the time their reservation arrives and the manager basically didn't even want to talk to us. Then I asked if I can return the drinks and get my refund because I wouldn't want to stand next to the waiters station at the bat as there qs literally no place to move. The manager went to get my refund while the waiter who stood next to me looked at me and rolled her eyes. I responded that she can't roll her eyes at me and the manager asked me to leave without giving my refund. This was awful and truly traumatic experience. This will be followed up with their general manager as such behavior towards the customers is...