Verified by SPOT · 8.5

The Balboa

Bankers Hill, San Diego · Burgers · $$

Bankers Hill sits just north of Balboa Park - a neighborhood of Victorian houses and regulars who know exactly where they eat on a weeknight. The Balboa fits right in: all the visual language of a dive bar (vintage decor, low lighting, zero pretension) but with a burger that punches well above its station. The garlic fries are loaded enough to require social forewarning, and the back room - a speakeasy with arcade games - means nobody is ever in a rush to leave.