Mothership

On our list of the best cocktail bars in San Diego.

A crash-landed spaceship theme runs through this South Park bar, built by Ignacio 'Notch' Gonzalez, the designer behind San Francisco's Smuggler's Cove. Half the room plays the ship's console; the other half is a barren alien landscape, with plant life climbing the walls under a ceiling of shooting stars. The kitchen serves an entirely plant-based menu labeled like lab specimens - a scallion latke sandwich, a lemon-pepper tofu plate - next to rum-driven tropical cocktails such as the Forbidden Frequency and the Wormhole. Reservations run in 90-minute blocks, and there's no sign outside marking the door.