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  • With its fresh contemporary French / California menu

    Dobson’s remains a landmark in the Downtown San Diego restaurant scene.

    OUR MENU
  • A 4% surcharge will be added

    to each bill to help cover increasing operations and labor costs.

    Read more about the financial solution for restaurants
  • Make a reservation

    Due to the limited seating and popularity, reservations are highly recommended.

    RESERVATIONS
  • Daily Happy Hour

    Come and join us!

    ALL SPECIALS
  • Private Dining Space

    Experience Fine Dining in a Casual Atmosphere.

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About us

Dobson's Bar and Restaurant is a hidden treasure in the heart of Downtown San Diego/Gaslamp Quarter. For the last 40 years, this has been the hot spot for business lunches and frequented by many local and nationwide celebrities. 

Paul Dobson, the namesake for Dobson's bar and restaurant, is one of America's few professional Bullfighters. The food is California cuisine with a touch of Italian, French, Spanish and Asian cuisine. One thing that both local San Diegans and Zagat can agree on is that this is one of the top restaurants in San Diego. Due to the limited seating and popularity, reservations are highly recommended.

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SPECIALS

HISTORY

The site where Dobson’s Bar & Restaurant now stands began as the "Theater Buffet and Bar" complementing the new Spreckels Theater which was built to commemorate the opening of the Panama Canal in 1912. The interior’s Tiger oak and mahogany, brought “around the Horn,” still remain, along with the now “earth quaked” original tile floors.


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Reservations

Join us today for most memorable dining experience

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our chef

martin san roman

Chef Martin San Roman brings to Dobson's a vast array of international culinary experience and creativity. Born in Mexico City, he graduated from L'Ecole Lenôtre in Paris, France. His experience in Fauchon and Le Meridien Hotels in Paris, the London Hilton and the San Diego Westgate led him to his role as chef owner of Tour de France and Rincon San Roman, both in Tijuana, Mexico. His cooking show with the Televisa Network ran for eight years with a strong following on both sides of the U.S. - Mexico border.

perfection takes time

Have a drink at the bar

A beautiful mahogany bar and the rich glow of tiger oak is the first thing you see when you enter Dobson's. They were both brought around the Horn from England to fill the bar that took care of the guests of the new Spreckels Theater - 1913.

For 93 years the bar has been a meeting place for the movers and shakers of downtown San Diego. First as the Theater Buffet, then the Press Room when the Copley Press was across the street, and finally as Dobson's Bar & Restaurant which has carefully preserved the tradition for the last 33 years.

Today you will find the bar jammed with judges and attorneys, and packed before and after the theater. It takes a week's notice to get a reservation to eat at the bar for lunch on Fridays.

Stocked with the finest liqueurs, wines and beers, and offering a special tapa bar menu you will experience the magic of San Diego's oldest, most popular local bar.

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Location
956 Broadway Circle
San Diego, CA
The Patricios restaurant
Hours
Lunch Hours Monday- Friday 11:30 am - 3:00pm
Dinner Hours Monday - Saturday 4:00pm- 9:30pm
Bar open 11:30am- 2:00am some days may closed earlier
Happy Hour 4:00pm- 7:00pm
Closed Sunday. However, some Sundays we may open for Theater or Private events