U-31 — Restaurant in San Diego

Went to check it out because of an eventbrite event run by cocktail city san deigo. Alien ant farm was the band playing and open bar was advertised. Tickets were free. This all sounded too good to be true. And surprise surprise it absolutely was. My group of friends and I show up an hour and a half before the show/open bar started. By that time the line was already wrapping around the building. It's really fun when they give out unlimited free tickets to a small limited occupancy building. The show should have just been a first come first serve experience. But they were solely out to trick a large crowd into showing up because it looks and reads better when talking about the show. It was a complete and utterly pointless waste of time. They probably had around 4x the place max capacity just in line. Then an employee came out and eventually said anyone past a certain point in line that you were basically not going to be able to get into the bar period. If you were lucky enough to get in before the open bar was over you got the great treat of cheap garbage beer and everyone stuffed in like sardines. If you got a free drink you were lucky. Two was a near impossible feat.. Just scummy tactics to get people in and worse, to make a big Lome outside the club like it was the place to be. These are the kind of tactics used by the worst kind of places. I won't be going to U31 again and cocktail city san diego is pure garbage. Avoid both like it's a spoonful of super AIDS. I'll be sure to let everyone I know about the shady tactics both of these companies/establishments employ to try to trick people to come to their garbage bar and/or events. Just waste peoples time because you can't get a line a d packed bar the honest way. This review is coming from someone who got in and a free beer. I ended up leaving before alien ant farm started because of the principle of the matter. Went to a much nicer bar that doesn't need to trick and manipulate people to get them in the door or have people in a line outside to make it seem hip under false pretenses. Awful place run by jackoffs. You aren't hip. You are just the annoying drunk desperate for attention. Recommendation = go anywhere else that does not do the shady...

So you pull up and it looks more like a pub than a club, dark windows, tiny awning and alot of people posted up on the outside blasting cigs or waiting to get in. The doorway is cramped and usually has a gal jammed in the corner taking cover and stamping hands while a large fellow is checking ID's 3 feet away. A hard left and your in, but are usually surprised at how dark it is and how large it is.

On a busy night just a few feet to the right and your at the bar corner waiting in line for a few minutes to get a drink. The bar area for the mixologists to work is large and unencumbered. They are flying around cracking tall boys and tearing through a bucket of ice in half an hour or so. Unlike most bars where the crown is less diverse the drinks they are ordering are very diverse. Most bartender have the well drinks within reach, but are going through certain bottles quick, but here they are going through their entire tray fast. All the while running back and forth for speciality bottles or top shelf. I personally think the bartending is mediocre, but they get the job done.

If it's a busy night the stage is packed with DJ's and their entourage and the crowd is packed from stage to about the last support pillar with the only respite is the booths and the lounge in the back. No one really congregates anywhere else.

Everything else is the same except on a slower night when you have about 1/3 of the people so you have more space, less riotous noise, but there is one thing i like is the change from day to day and the diversity as well as the drinks.

You should all go there a few times a week to see the big differences from a Thursday to a Tuesday or a Sunday. Your opinion will probably stay the same and you'll learn "which U-31 night are you?" Some of the other reviews are clearly a Sunday and others more a Tuesday while I myself...

The first two-hours of the night at U31 went without a hitch. Our server Kat was great. Unfortunately, the staff failed to properly facilitate the closure of the male and female restroom. As a result, a male employee began to berate me in the midst of me using the restroom. I was falsely accused of taking a sign down indicating the restroom was closed. Addition, this male employee made remarks about my lack of common sense. I questioned this employee as to why neither himself nor any other employee had taken the initiative to inform us as patrons that the restrooms were closed and that we could seek the use of the restrooms at another location. In addition, I had asked this employee why the restrooms had not been properly secured in accordance with City and County laws. This employee never provided an adequate response. Instead he chose to continue to berate and verbally attack me. Long story short I left the bar without incident. I've sent an e-mail to the owner, Steve Billings, in which I'm awaiting a response as I write this review. Additionally, I've filed a complaint with the County of San Diego Health Department as to the improper closure of the restrooms. As I write this, the County has responded and will be sending a Health Inspector out to look the U31's employee practice concerning the maintenance of its restrooms. As a result of this incident and the subsequent poor handling by the staff concerning the closure of the restroom, I strongly recommend that you do not patronize this...