Kiku Room

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

In 2025, the original Casbah space on Kettner Boulevard reopened as Kiku Room, the room where Kurt Cobain and Alanis Morissette once played before that club moved down the street. The name comes from the Japanese verb for "to listen," and the bar leans into it: vinyl, reel-to-reel tape and a sound system tuned for the room rather than a stage. There's no kitchen, just a rotating set of affordably priced classic cocktails such as Negronis, martinis and Midori sours alongside a pricier specialty list, poured behind a stripped-down bar of concrete and warm wood. Doors run Thursday through Tuesday until 2 a.m., with dark disco and Balearic house filling the room some nights.