Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tobacco Rhoda’s

Shrimp cup-o-noodles and dried squid snacks beckon from behind the bar.
Shrimp cup-o-noodles and dried squid snacks beckon from behind the bar.
Place

Tobacco Rhoda’s

2591 University Avenue, San Diego

The term “dive bar” is thrown around pretty loosely these days and, not unlike “dude,” “epic,” and “excessive force,” the essential meaning has been all but lost. Enter Tobacco Rhoda’s.

Famous for its Filipina bartenders whose hospitality has been likened to that of a long-lost auntie’s, the North Park hole-in-the-wall (at one point literally, when a cabbie plowed his Crown Victoria through the front door five years ago) sits on the decadent nexus of Villa and University, a Bud bottle’s toss away from a smoke/porn shop, a marijuana collective, a liquor store, and the über-indulgent Carnitas’ Snack Shack.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“People used to come here to smoke cigars,” says bartender Roel. “And the original owner’s name was Rhoda, so they just put the two together.”

This is lowlife territory. Bukowski’s turf. The ambiance lies somewhere between the Star Wars cantina and purgatory, and it will make you question your dedication to intoxicating beverages.

An abject stranger to the natural light of day, Rhoda’s cultivates a telltale stink of stale suds, old smoke, and urine. The doorman looks as unkempt as the clientele, and your dentally impaired, Ed Hardy–clad bar mate will likely be muttering nonsense to himself as you order a beer (never more than $2.50) from the cash-only bar, which seats about 15.

There’s no liquor, but four taps, 18 bottled beers (mostly domestics), and a selection of sake magnums and bottom-shelf wines are on hand to fuel the budget drinker’s swagger. Twelve-ounce frosted mugs of Bud/Light and Shocktop go for $1.50 every day (effectively voiding Thursday’s $2 Bud bottle special), and Redhook Long Hammer IPA goes for $2.50.

Too glazed to grab a bite at the Snack Shack? Shrimp cup-o-noodles and dried squid snacks beckon from behind the bar along with peanuts, Hot Tamales, and Mike&Ike in a quarter machine. The bathroom has a 25-cent lock on it, but you’re better off avoiding the abysmal restroom and donating your quarter to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society coin board behind the bar.

A jukebox prone toward outdated gangster rap, a television seemingly stuck on the Wipeout obstacle-course game show, and a claw machine brimming with adult DVDs and sex toys attached to stuffed animals solidify Tobacco Rhoda’s place among the last remaining true dives in San Diego. That fact alone merits the place a visit. Just be sure to bring a buddy.

Tobacco Rhoda’s 2591 University Ave.

Hours: Mon–Sat, 9 a.m.–2 a.m.; Sun, 8 a.m.–2 a.m.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Next Article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Shrimp cup-o-noodles and dried squid snacks beckon from behind the bar.
Shrimp cup-o-noodles and dried squid snacks beckon from behind the bar.
Place

Tobacco Rhoda’s

2591 University Avenue, San Diego

The term “dive bar” is thrown around pretty loosely these days and, not unlike “dude,” “epic,” and “excessive force,” the essential meaning has been all but lost. Enter Tobacco Rhoda’s.

Famous for its Filipina bartenders whose hospitality has been likened to that of a long-lost auntie’s, the North Park hole-in-the-wall (at one point literally, when a cabbie plowed his Crown Victoria through the front door five years ago) sits on the decadent nexus of Villa and University, a Bud bottle’s toss away from a smoke/porn shop, a marijuana collective, a liquor store, and the über-indulgent Carnitas’ Snack Shack.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“People used to come here to smoke cigars,” says bartender Roel. “And the original owner’s name was Rhoda, so they just put the two together.”

This is lowlife territory. Bukowski’s turf. The ambiance lies somewhere between the Star Wars cantina and purgatory, and it will make you question your dedication to intoxicating beverages.

An abject stranger to the natural light of day, Rhoda’s cultivates a telltale stink of stale suds, old smoke, and urine. The doorman looks as unkempt as the clientele, and your dentally impaired, Ed Hardy–clad bar mate will likely be muttering nonsense to himself as you order a beer (never more than $2.50) from the cash-only bar, which seats about 15.

There’s no liquor, but four taps, 18 bottled beers (mostly domestics), and a selection of sake magnums and bottom-shelf wines are on hand to fuel the budget drinker’s swagger. Twelve-ounce frosted mugs of Bud/Light and Shocktop go for $1.50 every day (effectively voiding Thursday’s $2 Bud bottle special), and Redhook Long Hammer IPA goes for $2.50.

Too glazed to grab a bite at the Snack Shack? Shrimp cup-o-noodles and dried squid snacks beckon from behind the bar along with peanuts, Hot Tamales, and Mike&Ike in a quarter machine. The bathroom has a 25-cent lock on it, but you’re better off avoiding the abysmal restroom and donating your quarter to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society coin board behind the bar.

A jukebox prone toward outdated gangster rap, a television seemingly stuck on the Wipeout obstacle-course game show, and a claw machine brimming with adult DVDs and sex toys attached to stuffed animals solidify Tobacco Rhoda’s place among the last remaining true dives in San Diego. That fact alone merits the place a visit. Just be sure to bring a buddy.

Tobacco Rhoda’s 2591 University Ave.

Hours: Mon–Sat, 9 a.m.–2 a.m.; Sun, 8 a.m.–2 a.m.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Next Article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.