The Propagandist

ugh. «I’ve experienced better» is an understatment. I so did not enjoy this place for a few reasons…
1) the crowd
2) it was FREEZING and then BURNING HOT… the temperature was all wrong
3) the drinks… were not that good… come on. And cash only for less than $ 20 is just mean.
4) I was bored
5) there was no where to sit
I would not ever choose to come back.

I came here to see The Gift Curse play and really really really really really had a great experience! The thing I miss most about living in New Orleans is stumbling upon amazing venue after venue and getting to hear bad ass live music. This place gave me the joy of reminiscing about home, where most nights your could find a place like this and it was guaranteed good times and a solid buzz!.. and more importantly than the atmosphere and a G$ location is the kind of people that frequented the establishment.
The staff was ballin and everything was very clean!
I do not have the power to review this place any longer because it is Friday and I just talked myself into going right now and having a few drinks…
Just read Brad B.‘s review of this place and copy and paste it as everything I would have taken the time to type if I was not already on my way to the bar.

Been wanting to go here for a while now, but it’s only open Friday and Sat and I normally like to do bar on weekday. Finally i got to check it out! General idea, was once an underground club, didn’t do so well so they turn it into a speakeasy.
Drink: small selection of liquor. I order a Manhattan (I just had to, if it’s a «speakeasy» or «craft cocktail» they need to be able to make a good Manhattan) and it was light. Some people might like and a bit diluted.
Ambiance: Nice escape from buys crowded downtown. Totally a place if you just wanna come n chill. Big space with lots of booth and table, there’s a stage. If you wanna have a big get together for drinks and mingle then it’s might be the place for you. A good rest stop, but not the main attraction.
Service: N/​A since I didn’t have interaction with them.
Price: Typical bar price

The Propagandist prides itself in being an alternative to the galamp quarter circus and in a sense, yeah it is.
I came on a Friday and there was electronic music on a constant loop. It was pretty awesome that they had an art gallery in the back and a big screen on the front for movie showings.
Propagandist gets an A-​OK because my friend and I waited a while for somebody behind the bar to acknowledge our presence when it wasn’t even remotely crowded (at 10pm on a Friday, maybe it’s still… too underground? Who knows.) One of the bartenders was too busy competing with this other guy about whisky knowledge, and there I was wanting to consume whisky. Finally, this really awesome female bartender noticed us and that the other guy was ignoring us. I asked her to make me something with bourbon and ginger and she made me this delicious drink. The other sad part was that there was plenty of dancing space, but I didn’t know how to dance to loopy electronic music that was kind of just background noise so we ended up leaving to a place where we could dance. Maybe it wasn’t meant for what we were looking for that night.
If you’re into art, things being underground (so underground that there are only about 20 people in this basement and they all know each other), and loopy techno music, this is the place for you. I really did enjoy the drinks though so I might be back for movie night or something that doesn’t involve loopy techno music that will put me to sleep.

The Propagandist… hidden in plain sight.
Seriously. It’s right in the middle of the Gaslamp craziness on 5^th & E St, but damn near impossible to find unless you look for a discreet sign pointing down toward what appears to be the basement of Urban Bar and Grill.
Anywho… as my friends whisked me down the rabbit hole into the Propagandist, I had no idea what I was getting into.
Turns out that the Propagandist is a fun and spacious bar, with a little something for everyone. Amusing faux-​Soviet-​style propaganda posters? Cute. Recycled church pews strewn all over the place? Also cute. Local art on display? Definitely a fan. Deejay spinning bouncy tunes? Yes please.
The real highlight of the Propagandist are the craft cocktails. The menu is small, but well-​curated. I especially liked the Cornwallis Fix, which had a base of Earl Grey-​infused gin. Hurray for something delicious and completely unique! (Cocktails are also about 2 – 3 bucks cheaper than comparable places on the same block, which I appreciate.)
One puzzling thing about the Propagandist is that it’s almost always completely empty… even at peak time on a Friday night. There are five huge booths along the wall to one side, and they were all empty. For our group, setting up shop over there was a no-​brainer. (The pews aren’t that comfortable anyway.)
All in all, I left the Propagandist impressed and intrigued… Hopefully it fills up as the rest of the Gaslamp party-​goers discover its crafty secrets.

A very unique downtown experience for those tired of clubbing.
I came here last night for my friends birthday and I was very impressed with this place. Its downstairs in the basement with only a chalkboard outside to indicate where this place. Its very hard to miss. Thats what made this place very nice. Not a lot of people know about this place yet so it was a very intimate experience. You can finally have a nice conversation with people without yelling over blasting speakers and drunk girls yelling. Its very spacious and has several booths and church pews for people to sit on and mingle. I think this place has live bands playing since I saw a stage but last night it was only a DJ spinning. They don’t play your standard top 40 or EDM/​hip hop. Its more of indie bands as well as old school funk/​indie pop. Very refreshing to my ears although I am a fan of EDM and hip hop. It gets over played for me especially when every other bar/​club plays that music downtown.
The bartenders were also the owners I assume. They were very friendly and customer service oriented. My friend even posted on their facebook page about having her bday here and the owners even said they would have the DJ play to suit her needs as well as reserving a booth for her. Thats great service right there! My only gripe was that I ordered a moscow mule twice and the lady didn’t make it correctly. Moscow Mules are supposed to have ginger beer in it but i only noticed her putting in vodka and what looked like lemon juice. It tasted like a very sour lemonade. No impressed but the beer selection was very good. Not your typical bar beers. They had very good brews on tap and bottled beers.
I would definitely be coming here more often to have a more relaxed and chill night. Finally an anti-​downtown kind of place in the best kind of way.
Side note: credit card is $ 20 min so bring cash or you will have to leave your tab open to hit the min.

In my humble Unilocal opinion, this is the best bar to enjoy a drink with friends and get your feet wet to nightlife… it’s not the usual club vibe, so don’t worry if you didn’t dress in the 9-​in. high heels or bikini-​skirt. As the sign atop the stairs says, «Where the drinks and people don’t suck.» This underground establishment is genuine, with the short wooden tables and the tall-​backed church pews to gather around and huddle up against. The bar itself is well stocked, and you can watch a B&W film while you’re waiting for your drink (during the times I went, it was always the Little Rascals playing… my girlfriend and I tried figuring out what the dog’s name was).
One of the appeals is this place isn’t ridiculously sardined-​packed. I feel like there’s a fair amount of people inside during the Friday/​Saturday nights once the crowds get going… there’s only been one instance where the place was empty. Like Daniel R. said, the music’s great, so I’m not sure why more people aren’t gravitating to here when they play a lot of adult alternative/​80s/​newage/​anything not on AMP radio (you won’t have to worry about hearing Daddy Yankee or Pitbull — it just wouldn’t fit the atmosphere)… I also think some Twilight Zone would be a great fit, or any silent/B&W goodness.
Even with the goth kids, this is the usual bar I drag my friends visiting SD to… none of us are in to the bar scene on the regular and love that The Propogandist gives hope that you don’t have to dress slutty or wear copious amounts of Ax body spray to enjoy night life. I love going in and getting recommendations from the bar. I’m the «I-don’t-like-tasting-alcohol-in-my-alcohol» girl and was so impressed when given a gin cooler… I had originally ordered the Propacillin, but gave it to my better half, who downed it and ordered another one.
Props to the owners for giving the nerdy spectrum of the hipster community a place to congregate!

Located directly below the George’s on Fifth restaurant, the Propagandist is a refreshing change from the rest of the Gaslamp district!
The super-​friendly husband and wife couple that owns the place works behind the bar most nights, and actually CRAFT your drink — they make each drink as carefully as if they were to drink it themselves. The cocktails are amazing.
Should you bring your large group here? Absolutely. There are spacious church pews in addition to booths and seats at the bar. There is a fantastic non-​pretentious ambiance, with «The Little Rascals» episodes playing (without sound), and great non-​Top 40 music, as other reviewers have mentioned.
It’s got a neighborhood feel to it (and really clean bathrooms, yay!) with great drinks, no cover, and good service. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Local business owned by a cool San Diego couple-​I love how it’s almost pop up in style. Peak down assorted stairwells off of 5^th till you find it!
I love a good basement-it’s a certain kind of feel, just like when you used to party in your parent’s back in the day! It makes you feel sexy, illicit, and kids who are underground have always been cool. Hit it up for a show, rent it our for a cool meeting space, the reclaimed church pews lend even further to the vibe that you’re doing something you’re not supposed to. Naughty naughty propagandist!
The sound is surprisingly good for being in a basement, drinks are great, staff and owners are super nice. They have a movie night on Wednesday I hear and check their website for show details.
Industrial, low key, good stuff.

I had the arduous task of picking a spot for me and some of my mates to head to on a Tuesday of all days. I asked my friends on Twitter and the bar’s own twitter account told me they’d love to have us.
My group’s a bit hard to plan for. Sometimes 15 people show up, sometimes it’s 100. You never know. But I talked to one of the owners and he said he would love to have us. He was accommodating and offered us a special, but I didn’t realize how accommodating he was until I found out that the bar isn’t supposed to be open on Tuesdays! He opened specifically for us which in this era of poor customer service made him look like he came from on high. The bartenders were quick, intelligent, funny and friendly.
Sure it’s a basement bar, but it doesn’t have that feel at all. It has some church pews to sit in and plenty of standing room for people to drink and converse and move around. I think the TVs were on an old episode of Little Rascals which was a trip for sure.
The drinks: the cocktails were outstanding, a bit on the pricey side for some places, but for downtown they weren’t ridiculously priced. One thing people might not like is they don’t have any beer on draft: all of it is bottled or canned. But no place is perfect right? At least they have some beer for those inclined to have some.
The only drawback is there is no signage to speak of! People are probably missing this place constantly, so guys get a big sign so we know where we are going! We’ll be back soon and I can’t stop speaking your praises to anyone who will listen.

I completely (well maybe only sorta) understand what they are trying to accomplish with this place. except one part
THE GASLAMP?
OK, maybe that is meant to be part of the appeal — a fish out of water, hidden underground, and a lot less kitschy of a hideaway than Syrah. But i can’t imagine that your target audiences — any of them — spend all that much time down in the land of a million laniards.
likewise, the handful of times I have been here, some random drunk kids have stumbled in and sort of loudly interrupted the event happening at the time.
Still, if you are down near 5^th, and need a little break from your crew anxiously waiting to ride the bull at Double Deuce, this can be a nice little escape for a beer, drink, chat with the friendly young owners, take in the entertainment/​art/​movie on display.
just can’t imagine that will be enough to keep these guys going. I hope I am wrong, because businesses like these should succeed.

You know? I dig The Propagandist. I was there early-​ish (8:30pm) on a Tuesday night, so I’m not sure if that’d still be true on a crowded Friday or Saturday night…
If you’re not looking for the chalkboard sign that leads down the stairs to the basement, it’d be easy to walk right by. It’s not your grandma’s musty, dingy basement, though. It’s dark and slick and cozy — an easy place to drink in. Parking can be tough in the Gaslamp, but I got lucky and parked right outside, yay.
Drinks aren’t cheap ($ 9 – 11 for their signature drinks), but they’re strong and tasty. I tried to go to The Propagandist website so I could find the exact recipes, but they don’t seem to have one that’s working at the moment. So, from memory, I had a bourbon based drink that had chai syrup in it, a cucumber and basil vodka (?) drink, and sips of many others. The bartenders seem to really know their stuff, too. One drink had Laphroaig in it, but I’m not a fan so I was asking how much it came through in the drink. He actually described it so well that I was convinced I should try it. I’m saving it for next time. :-)

The Propagandist is becoming one of my favorite places to stop by in downtown San Diego because it is actually a place where you can walk in and enjoy a great drink, find a seat, have a nice conversation, and if you are lucky hear a great local band.
They have plenty of seating whether its at the bar, on old church pews, or in big comfy booths. The best part is that you don’t have the buy a ridiculously overpriced bottle of alcohol to sit in them :)
The bar tenders are super nice and mix up delicious craft cocktails, and if you are not feeling those you can always get your standard drinks. They even use quality alcohol in their house drinks.
Sure there are a couple other fancy cocktail locations in down town, but they are so pretentious and give you the run around just so you can walk in the door. At the Propagandist you can just walk in on a Friday or Saturday night and have a no hassle awesome time.

I drank beer on a church pew!
It was satsuma beer or tangerine beer or maybe mandarin beer (in my defense it was toward the end of a big night out so the kind of citrus is a little hazy) and the place was empty. We only stayed for one drink because there was nothing happening in this basement-​esque room and some of our party were losing their buzz as a result.

Meh. I’ve experienced better.
It felt as though we’d wandered into an unoccupied basement that just happened to have some bartenders in it. On the plus side, there is alcohol in that hole. On the minus side, it’s overpriced.
I’d go with overall, this place is… about as comfortable as a doctor’s waiting room. With roughly as much character. Plus one point for the random dog resident, but I’m taking that point back because it’s not like she was friendly and that kind of defeats the point of having a furry animal running around you bar.

Cruised in here Saturday for my boy Nate’s birthday. Had never heard of it before, but always open to new adventures when someone else is the designated driver.
Pretty stoked. Unpretentious, great beer selection, roomy, but not cavernous (should be good for a group if you’re rolling thick), solid DJ (I saw a stage, so I think there are bands there too). I’m not a liquor guy, but they seemed to have a few specialty cocktails that the girls we were with were enjoying. Oh, and the bar staff was super nice.
It’s underground, kind of like Syrah, so you may have to look twice to find it.
I don’t roll downtown that often, but when I do, if we’re not sure where to go next, The Propagandist is on the short list.

Was dragged here by friends of mine after seeing a show at Spreckles Theater. When I walked in I had an instant feeling of Deja Vu. Look me a few minutes but the bar REALLY reminds of the basement bar at the Bowery Ball room in New York. Which since I just moved back home to San Diego after living in New York City for 7 years felt surreal.
So it was totally empty, when we first got there but then people started coming in from the Comic Con crowd, but most of them were locals.
I talked to the owner who was really cool.
I hear they do movies on Wednesdays? I may have to stop by for this! That is something that really interests me!
Typically I am not a downtown kind of girl, i seek refuge in dive bars from Mission Hills, North Park and golden hills and all the other in-​between,
They have really great drinks too. I had the En Fuego something or other (sorry). It was Tito’s Vodka (my favorite) with Habanero’s, muddled basil and mango. May give some heartburn but I LOVED IT!
DJ was great met a group from Comic con I meshed well with and danced for about an hour before heading home.
Tons of potential here and I can’t wait to come back even if it is downtown!

Practically empty when we were here on Saturday night. We tried to start the party by dancing… and we were a group of 7 people. There was a DJ and everything, so we figured, we kind of want to dance. Then we got sad because we wanted more excitement and people and liveliness here.
My friends and I thought it would be cool if they had go-​go dancers dressed like nuns. Some kind of entertainment.
There was also a stage area… could be a cool place to watch a show.
If only there were a band playing when we were here!
My favorite thing about this place is that there was a super gentle and sweet dog here named Ziggy. He is the bar dog, and it was so fun to hang out and pet him! Seems like everyone who was here totally brightened up when they spotted him and pet him. :)

Love. This. Place.
There are only ten reviews on The Propagandist right now but I am sure that there will be lots more in the near future. For me this is going to be one of those places that you can say «I remember when» just like when you see a band that played your high school graduation party that went on to be superstars. It’s that kind of a feeling when you walk into Propagandist.
I first stumbled in on a Wednesday night for movie night and they were setting up for a showing of the Princess Bride. They arranged the church pews and set up a large projector so everyone had a clear view. Apparently they do this every Wednesday and have played some classic movies that I am sorry to have missed. Trust me, I will be back for this… perhaps tonight!
Where most of Downtown (especially 5^th street) is run by large restaurant groups and have very deep pockets, Propagandist is run by a husband and wife. It’s true! I met them and this place is their baby, their pride and joy, their passion, THEIR LIFE and it shows! Both are very nice and welcoming people and most nights it will be one of the two of them popping your beer or crafting your cocktail from across the bar. I picked a White Rascal from the case but saw some magic happening throughout the night with cucumbers, grapefruit, mint, basil and all kinds of other fresh ingredients.
The DJ played really cool music (not your typical Downtown catalog) and it seems that they are really making an effort to connect with the community with art shows, live music etc. When I sat and sipped before the movie I heard the owner talking to a local filmmaker about shooting a scene in the bar. He didn’t want to charge the guy to film there and was just happy to open his doors to him as a favor from one entrepreneur to another.
The Propagandist is an great escape from the typical Downtown affair and the irony is that it is right in the thick of it. Sometimes the best is right in front of your eyes… just look down. Welcome to the neighborhood, guys. I see good things happening for you.

They are right. As it says on their chalkboard sign, Downtown does indeed suck.
This place was a veritable oasis from the douchebaggery of Gaslamp on a Saturday night, and I am rooting hard for these guys. The cocktails are tasty, and the atmosphere is quirky and unpretentious. The DJ was pretty good. If I lived in SD, I would most definitely frequent. I would have liked to see a live band here. It looks like it would be a cool live music venue. One of the owners (a totally sweet chic, btw) informed me that they also do movie nights. I would be so into that. Overall, I had a good experience here.
Just a tip: The foot rails at the bar are actually church kneelers. As a Boston Irish Catholic, I tend to associate kneelers with extreme amounts of guilt, which may or may not be conducive to the DRUNKENING. But Christian guilt aside, it’s also really squishy. I say this because I almost wiped out trying to launch my vertically-​challenged self into a bar stool. Beware. #shortpeopleproblems
Also, a friendly recommendation to the owners: Get some cushions on those pews. Those things will break your sitz bones.