Ok, ok, ok. I'll finally break-down and review my favorite bar in North America and Mexico. Yes you read that correctly. Sótano Suizo is, has and probably always will be my favorite bar of ALL-TIME. And it has been my favorite bar for 20 years now, no matter where I travel, all the cities and different countries I've been to, Sótano is my number one bar.
My first visit to Sótano was in 1997, I was in love. It's like being in a weird but cool 1980's scene in Zurich while being around the warmest Mexican people in Tijuana. Perfectly dimly lit, dark, lively, great use of indoor and outdoor patio space, and professional. It's incredible how much more freedom you have once you cross the border in so many ways, you immediately feel this freedom.
In 2000 I came back west after 4 years on the east coast. Things were a lot different in the late 90's early 2000's. The scene wasn't interrupted by phones and apps, texting and other dumb shit.
For starters the SMUG hipster movement and internet hadn't exposed Sótano so much and TJ was a lot less accessible and less sought after than it is today. Think insane levels of organized cartel crime and other things Americans don't like. This kept TJ almost American free. Sure some rebellious dudes like myself found themselves here, we will always find themselves somewhere else less mainstream and safe, anywhere international.
Plaza de Fiesta had so many great bars in the early 2000's. S.S a total institution then and always will be. Revolutlcion and the red-light district was still somewhat pumping with drunk Sailors and Marines and slowly losing steam, until the bottom totally fell out and it now is simply a shell of what it once was. 9-11 was the knife the stabbed TJ in the heart, technology kinda finished it off, and slowly TJ is becoming so much better and different.
Sótano is just a perfect hangout, anyone would want to revisit even experiencing it just once. Sótano is also hands down the 'father' of the beer scene in Baja and I won't even say "craft beer" because they don't even need the recognition nor don they even care. Anyone who knows anything about the Tijuana bar scene and or René Bösiger for that matter, knows the truth. Him and his wonderful staff has provided the people of TJ and some adventurous Americanos like myself a place of refuge from the crappy entertainment scene of San Diego.
As of today S.S is still standing proud at 30 years old, gas-torches lit up like a old Swiss tavern, the absolute best 1980's music videos and music thumping away, and solid drinks and beers are being slung by highly-proficient bartenders and bad-ass waiters, the service alone here is worth a visit.
It's everything you could ever want and more. It's the only space I'd consider saying "sports bar" and cool in the same sentence. It's an after hours, it's gritty, it's soft, it's I feel home here, it's a dinner in a private setting, it's locals only yet arms wide open to your gringo-ass, it's warm and so damn inviting. When Plaza Fiesta was at it's height of revelry.....it was just too cool to even explain. The bloggers and self loving Instagram fakers won't ever know.
From around (2000-2005) I found myself many of nights in San Diego, probably the Gas Lamp Area at around 11:30pm, totally appalled and disgusted. Realizing that everyone around me was drunk, boring and lame. I would hail a cab one way, or take the trolley and head to TJ. It's so amazing to think that this gem is and always was right there for me, or us...you know who you are. Us, the people that didn't need apps, we didn't need the reader magazine or thrillist to coach our travels & adventures. Too many people today need some lame-ass like Anthony Bourdain to tell them to travel, to teach them how to eat good food. This place is a gem & time machine.
I can't quite ever explain it. There's just a feeling I get when I come off of Paseo de los Heroes and cross over Blvd. Independencia....I slowly walk though that old guarded parking-lot...most likely passing an old box truck with no refrigeration yet filled with crystal clear bags of ice, dropping off huge loads of cocktail ice to the bars. The smell of doggos, cigarettes and tacos in the air. The sound of REAL laughter. Then you walk down that long narrow corridor and there it it is, my refuge Sótano Suizo. The greatest bar on earth.
Great beer deals, fun menu. The infamous giant hot-dog, non-stop 80's & 90's and that feeling of being somewhere, you cannot quite put a finger on it. You're not quite in TJ....not in the USA, are you in Zurich? No.....where is this magical place? That's what it does, it puts you in the safe place, it transports you to a better time in life.
Tip your waiters, bartenders and bathroom attendants! Add a great song to the DJ's playlist and if it is the holidays grab a Noche Buena for me. I've spent so many birthdays here....and made so many great memories here, and plan to make so many more. read more