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Understory Bar, San Diego, CA

Understory Bar

4.4 (39)
$31 to $50
Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
12841 El Camino Real 209, San Diego, CA 92130

About this restaurant

  • Good for groups
  • Romantic
  • Great for creative cocktails
Named after the layer of rain forest between the forest canopy and forest floor. Understory is the central cocktail bar at The Sky Deck. Created by Scott Slater, founder of Slater 50/50 and managed by Chance Curtis, Understory offers an elevated selection of spirits and craft cocktails. In addition, guests are able to select menu items from any of the Sky Deck's restaurants to be delivered to the central bar.

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Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu, Sun 12:00 pm–12:00 am Fri, Sat 12:00 pm–2:00 am
  • Phone number
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Private party facilities
    Please contact drink@understorybar.com

What 39 people are saying

Understory Bar reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

4.4
4.4 based on all time ratings
  • 4.3Food
  • 4.1Service
  • 4.6Ambience
  • 4.0Value

NoiseModerate

39 Reviews
  1. UrsC

    San Diego8 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on July 30, 2022

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Always a great time at Understory. The drinks, ambiance, concept and staff are amazing. Highly recommend!

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  2. SeanW

    San Diego1 review

    4.0

    Dined on June 26, 2022

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Great place for a group setting for drinks and food to celebrate my birthday.

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  3. DinaS VIP

    San Diego33 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on May 29, 2022

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 5
    This place is a great concept. You sit in the middle of an elegant “food court” and they serve you drinks while you order food from the surrounding restaurants and they bring it to you. However, last night the drink service was too slow. It took over 15 minutes to get our first drink. They also didn’t warn us that all the food comes to you at the same time so if you are in a big group you barely have room on the table for everyone’s dish. They really need bigger tables for people to really enjoy their meals.

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  4. MaliaG

    Los Angeles2 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on May 15, 2022

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 5
    First off I NEVER leave reviews but I have also never had a worse experience in my life. The bar is beautiful, food and drinks good but the service was horrific. Very rude wait staff, we had a small table and dishes were starting to pile up. I nicely asked if they could please clear some dishes (after I stacked them all up) and she rolled his eyes. The service continued to decline through the night. Incorrect drinks and food and when we very nicely mentioned it again rolled her eyes and even laughed in our faces. By the end of the night we got our $800 bill which included gratuity bc we had a party of 8 and she came storming to the table telling us there was no tip! We again nicely and respectfully showed her the receipt and the gratuity that WAS included. She just said, ok and walked off. Again the service was SO bad and the wait staff SO disrespectful that I had to warn anyone. We all had to get babysitters, time away with friends and spouses and shelled out a ton of money to be treated so poorly. Will never return to understory again.

    2 people found this helpful

  5. OpenTable Diner VIP

    San Diego3 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on May 14, 2022

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Cool spot if you’re in the neighborhood. Cool cocktail options but not much food options. Staff was okay, the person who gave us our bill had such a nasty attitude and was rolling her eyes because we asked her to take our picture. Maybe she had a bad day but don’t bring that energy to those who are paying.

    1 person found this helpful

  6. SandraG

    Las Vegas24 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 8, 2022

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Beautiful bar, excellent drinks and service

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  7. Feli VIP

    Nashville1 review

    1.0

    Dined on April 16, 2022

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    More like a club than a bar. Really loud music with live DJ. The service was extremely bad. They messed up our order several times, and instead of acknowledging it was their fault, they tried to blame on us that we forgot what we ordered. If you want to ruin your weekend night I would definitely recommend this place.

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  8. OpenTable Diner

    San Diego3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on April 13, 2022

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Awesome!!!

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  9. RachelV VIP

    San Diego9 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on February 5, 2022

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I had made a reservation to take clients there for food and drinks, I wasn’t told there was 1.5 hr time limit on tables. So we were asked to leave before we were able to order food and more rounds. Would have been nice to have a heads up.

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  10. Imck

    Minneapolis - St. Paul10 reviews

    1.0

    Dined on January 25, 2022

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    Wasn’t open when we got there… no one answered the phone. Maybe it’s closed that day but if so need to fix their hours!

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FAQs

Understory Bar is rated 4.4 stars by 39 OpenTable diners.

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. San Diego
  4. North San Diego
  5. Carmel Valley

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?
Claim this listing
Google Map for Understory Bar

12841 El Camino Real 209, San Diego, CA 92130

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Carmel Valley
  • Hours of operation
    Mon–Thu, Sun 12:00 pm–12:00 am Fri, Sat 12:00 pm–2:00 am
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Bar / Lounge / Bottle Service
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Parking Lot
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cocktails, Entertainment, Full Bar, Late Night, Non-Smoking, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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