The Regal Bar

I was introduced to Regal by a friend because she was hung up on a guy who lived in the area so of course she found any excuse to appear in his neighborhood all prettied up on a Friday night. What better way to coax me into co-lurking someone? Oh I don't know, cheap alcohol? Well fortunately nobody endured the awkwardness of running into the man in question but I'll say that Regal may be La Mesa's one little gem worth visiting. I don't know if it's because I'm in my 30's but I prefer Regal over Coin Haus and The Hills. Why? Let me break it down:- Full service bar vs. beer only- No line out the door vs. line out the door- Mature locals vs. barely 21 IG content creators- Bar on the main strip near cute shops vs. the isolated bar up the hillSo if you want the IG story tag with the novelty bells and whistles, the lukewarm beer, and the sub-par food, you go to Coin Haus. If you want something isolated and away from the main strip where you need to line up outside with all the Riff Raffs and Eminems, you go to The Hills Pub. I've done both a handful of times but I prefer the affordable and clean Regal bar where I can choose my usual poison then disappear into the patio. What else can I say? It's a local bar and it's not a bad one.

Happy Hour at 3:00 in the afternoon on a Saturday? In San Diego County? Welcome to The Regal Bar in the La Mesa Village!$4 cans of White Claw, $6 pints of Pacifico. Served up by our bartender du jour Chad. Hell yes!The Regal is a fairly small place. The bar itself has seating for about 20 and there is a smattering of tables. A pool table takes up some floor space and there is shuffleboard along the wall. There is an uncovered patio out back.The Regal is dog friendly. We met Louie while we were there. He was such a cool dog. Fresh from the groomer, Louie was loooking pretty spiffy!As we were sitting there, I had a strong case of Deja vu. I had been here before. Then it hit me. As a 20-something college student nearly 30 years ago, I was in this very bar when it was called Joe and Andy's. Some guys from one of my classes were in a band and had a gig at then Joe and Andy's. There is a small enclave behind the door, that's where the drum kit was set up. The guitarist was on the right and the bassist was in front of the door. The crowd clearly exceeded the legal occupancy total. I remember thinking:"If there's a fire, all of our lives are in the hands of a bass player". LOL! Thankfully, there was no fire. Compared to the dive that Joe and Andy's was, The Regal is indeed quite regal! Enough of memory lane. Becky and I had just one each while at The Regal. Our bar tab was 10 bucks, hell yeah we'd return!

The owner was so amazing. Poured a perfect drink. Offered popcorn and kept the party going can't wait to go back.

A good friend of mine just started hosting Friday night karaoke there! Starting at 9pm. Come on out & sing some tunes.

It's okay nothing to rave about it's a local dive bar no big deal ! Bartender was way nice and it really seems to be a chill place no bad vibes ! The locals look at me all crazy because I'm a chargers fan and it seems they all fallow each other on the neighborhood and decided to not be chargers fans ! Lol go to different areas of San Diego and you get chargers fans ! Just not many in La mesa hahaha ! One guy out if 20 I'd say ! Not the scene I'm use to ! Al well it's a fine place

Service is top notch, and the crowd is awesome. They allow dogs as long as they're respectful unlike another spot a couple doors down.

A friend from Mexico came to visit and they didn't allow her in. They said it was because her Mexican passport and visa didn't have a physical description of her (height-eye color). But it obviously showed her picture so it made so sense. She even tried using her Mexican ID and we explained she was visiting but they still said no. Guard and the door and the manager were extremely rude to us. Don't want to say it was a race thing but if it wasn't, then they just don't allow tourists visiting from other countries. My husband and I just bought a home in La Mesa, therefore we are very disappointed this was one of the first experiences we had in this city.

Ron Jeremy's nephew in the Navy told me he is a Navy SEAL.... I am 49 and served in the Marine Corps as a 7051 Fire Fighter.Ron Jeremy's nephew did not know I served.I learned about this from another patron.This "man" was going around telling BS to civilians.He and I got into it over his stolen valor,He got physical with me and assaulted me.The staff looked on and did nothing.This is a true review Yelp. Safety... BTW I have been going to this bar for 12 years.1st time seeing this stolen valor here.I can verify my claim...

I'm a regular here and most of the time things are great but my main issue is one of the bartenders. I believe his name is Tristan. He's just very aloof, doesn't make the effort to talk to the customers and on top of that other bartenders have to go out of there way to ask him for help when it's busy because if they don't he kind of just stands there. It's just very unprofessional and it's uncomfortable being around and trying to talk to someone who doesn't really look like he cares to be there.

Great place been coming here for years never had any issues. Bartenders a F ING amazing. If you want a good spot to go this is it.