Cool place 11/05/2004

My favorite bar in all of San Diego. I would describe it as the Regal Beagle of S.D. (remember Three's Company?). Great bar tenders, reasonably priced drinks and a great jukebox selection.

Nunu's is one of San Diego's best. If you want to get a seat (or booth) get there before 9pm. It gets really packed between 10ish pm and after. The bar keeps are charismatic and mix a good drink. There's a patio where you can smoke and drink (I think). This bar used to be an old Portugeuse mobster hang out. Occasionally the actors from the Old Globe Theater will throw one back here too. Have fun!

i love nunu's...good memories;good drinks;good music;good location;great ambiance and company...one of the best places to go in SD! Just be your cool self.

By John Shore

FOR SIGNONSANDIEGO

The young crowd is thrilled to have discovered such a cool and hip place; the local thespians are thrilled to have discovered a nightspot that makes them feel like they're still in a play ("Death of A Carpet Salesman"? "A Streetcar Named Buddy Hackett"?); the old-timers sit and sip and wonder what all the excitement is about.

The exterior features fat, '60s-style plastic lettering painted in an appalling brown-and-orange color scheme that -- through some sort of bad, drug-induced national psychosis -- came to mark places the Rat Pack would find positively swingin'.

Inside, Nunu's is cozy in that skewered way bars can be. The seats at the long and winding bar are hefty-load size, and the round booths lining the walls are made of button-riveted, industrial-strength naugahyde. There's a "gettin' it on in Tahoe" fireplace; mirrored walls; cheesy, faux-Tiffany hanging lamps; plastic ivy intertwined with (inexplicable) Christmas lights above the bar; and "wallpaper" made out of some bizzaro carpet material that manages to be at once utterly hideous and surprisingly inoffensive. Antique memorabilia here and there completes your smooth launch into the Twilight Zone of interior decor.

So the place is old. So what? For the grizzled guardians of this hip, haute hang-out, Nunu's has always been good news.

12/07/2006 Posted by notasurfer

I love because i always run into someone I've known in the past, and they have a kitchen that serves foos until late.

Pros: nice people, good food and drinks

Cons: crowded sometimes

What It Is: Man, this is what neighborhood bar is all about. This hangout, between Banker's Hill and Hillcrest, is one of those places you've seen but would never think to stop in. But then you do, and you think, "This place is pretty cool, in a tattered way."

Dive Factor: Large vinyl booths surround a curving padded bar where barflies seek the darkness during the daylight. The carpet might be threadbare, but it's too dark in there to notice.

What Makes It So Cool?: First off, the mid-century architecture and sign. Second, NuNu's doesn't have to try hard. It just is. You don't come here to be seen. And if you want to drink alone, even better.

Drink Factor: Full bar, and cheap, especially the beer. If you order cocktails, keep it simple - this ain't the Gaslamp.

Food Factor: You can order burgers and sandwiches from the kitchen through a hole in the wall out back. Now, how divey is that?

Your Guide's Take: NuNu's is one of those classic bars that every neighborhood should have. It's a throwback, and attracts a diverse crowd, depending on the time of day (it's a popular hangout of Old Globe actors). NuNu's doesn't try hard to be cool because it doesn't feel it has to. And that's the appeal.

This hangout, between Banker's Hill and Hillcrest, is one of those places you've seen but would never think to stop in. But then you do, and you think, "This place is pretty cool, in a tattered way." Large vinyl booths surround a curving padded bar where barflies seek the darkness during the daylight. The drinks are stiff and cheap, and there's a funky kitchen in the back where you order your food through a, yes, hole in the wall. 3537 Fifth Ave. San Diego (619) 295-2878.