San Diego is a family friendly place. There are family friendly restaurants and family friendly beaches and family friendly parks and family friendly amusements scattered throughout this wonderful city. You probably don’t need a guide to suggest that Sea World is a family friendly place. Or Legoland.
But we are here to offer something a bit more nuanced. We have made a series of 24 hour itineraries that are family friendly in the sense that kids will be welcome and have a good time, but they are places where mom and dad and grandma and uncle Steve can have a drink and enjoy themselves too. Places where you would go even if you didn’t have kids, but the kids will have fun alongside you. Places where half the customers will be families, the other half will not.
Perhaps you live in San Diego and have kids, but your kid-free friends are coming to town and you want to take them out for a drink – this guide is for you. Or the opposite – you live here and have no kids, but your friends with kids are coming to visit and you’re not trying to go to Chuck-E-Cheese- this guide is for you. Or maybe mom and dad just need to unwind and you can’t find a babysitter… anyway, you get it.
The Itinerary
1. Lounge By The Pool At The Lafayette Hotel
2. Get A Beer At Barley & Sword Brewing
2. Have Dinner At Blind Lady Ale House
3. Map to this itinerary
Daytime
Lounge By The The Pool At The Lafayette Hotel
The Lafayette Hotel is located on El Cajon Boulevard, an area that is mostly mechanic shops and fast food spots, but is sprouting luxury apartment buildings and trendy restaurants quicker than any other part of the city. The Lafayette, the pace setter for the rejuvenation of El Boulevard, was completely remodeled in 2023 and has quickly become a highlight of San Diego nightlife.
Lafayette Hotel hosts two restaurants – a 24-hour diner and an Oaxacan mezcaleria – as well as a beautiful and lively lobby bar, a moody bowling alley that feels more like a speak-easy. Most importantly, the hotel has a completely remodeled, beautiful pool that nods to the SoCal’s 1940s Hollywood heyday when famous actors came to this hotel to drink cocktails and have affairs in private. The hotel offers day passes to the pool without having to be a guest (purchased on their website). Once there, the pool bar serves beer and drinks and you can order food from the diner to be delivered to your seat poolside.
So sit by the pool and pretend you are Gregory Peck or Ava Gardner, hiding out from the press while sipping a cocktail in your oversized sunglasses and skimpy suit.
Get A Beer At Barley & Sword Brewing Company
Barley & Sword Brewing Company is a small brewery in North Park that serves mainly European beers – Kolsch, Irish Red Ale, Scottish Ale, Pilsner, ESB – and they do them all damn well. This brewery is a throwback to the original craft beers of the world aka European beers for hundreds of years before Bud heavy was invented. The staff at Barley & Sword is friendly and welcoming and happy to educate you about what good beer tasted like before IPAs dominated the map.
The location is in a shared space with two other breweries – Goal. Brewing and Seek Beer Co – with a relatively large courtyard/beer garden outside. They have picnic tables and turf grass, umbrellas and a food truck. Plenty of space for kids to play and adults to sit and reminisce on when PBR was their favorite “shitty” beer (it’s still pretty good).
Nighttime
Have Dinner At Blind Lady Ale House
Blind Lady Ale House is located north of El Cajon Boulevard in Normal Heights, a diverse and eclectic neighborhood north of North Park. Blind Lady serves beer and pizza and various appetizers and everything they do they do it well. The space is large and casual and the food is top notch. We love it so much we reviewed it here.
Blind Lady is kid friendly (you will see lots of local families here) without sacrificing any of its coolness or quality. There is often live music and you might even catch Will Ferrell dropping in for a visit. Pro tip: order the fries for the kids and then proceed to eat them all yourself. They are delicious alone, but come with three homemade dipping sauces that are all fantastic. Other things that are fantastic include: the cheese pizza, the pepperoni pizza, all the other pizzas, and all the beer.
