The Merrow

Staff is a little grumpy. (Door guy)… Great music venue, love the vibe!!! I will be back for sure!!!

When I first found this bar, it was still The Ruby Room. We were bar hopping, and found it by mistake.
Ryan was still the Bartended there. I asked for him to surprise me, and got handed a drink he said was called a Tokyo Tea. There was a Rockabilly Chick at the center of an art class of some sort on the stage. Dr. Sketchies, I found out.
I was hooked. I live nowhere nearby but would plan my trips to see my family in the area based on what was happening in this strange little bar with it’s pink caddy in the roof and it’s local art on the walls.
Then it changed hands, or the owners got in a fight? I don’t know if they’ve gotten better, but the bartender that was where after Ryan vanished wasn’t nearly as knowledgeable. They painted over the huge funky mural.
They made the, entry area near that bar more. Nautical. Renamed it.
It’s not the same. The drinks don’t, taste as good. The quirky art is still there, near the stage, but I miss the Ruby Room.

This is a nice little dive bar in the Hillcrest/​Mission Hills area. It looks like a GREAT venue for concerts, but I’ve never been here after the sun has gone down. Drink prices are reasonable and strong. Like I said, I can’t speak to the nightlife, but the bar facilities are extensive. The issue here, like all of Hillcrest, is parking. There is nowhere to park without fighting in the Hillcrest traffic gladiatory arena… and this is just during the daylight hours, mind you.

Good selection of beer and the bartender allows outside food in. Great place for crowds. It is a little divey bar, which I didn’t know existed till I came here. Has a great casual vibe.

To persons whose regular attire consists of a black t-​shirt with a metal/​punk band logo and a smattering of tattoos, this would be a five star establishment. To persons such as myself who last purchased a t-​shirt at a Fleetwood Mac concert (Rumours tour), not so much.
The Merrow is very gritty and basic. but at least we got there early enough that there was a place to sit (very important). The Anaconda was in charge of fetching drinks, and informed that they had beer or beer. I’m not fond of beer, but I can choke it down if it’s cut with tomato juice. They had no tomato juice. The Anaconda obligingly trotted across the street to a convenience store and smuggled some back in, so 5 stars for the Anaconda.
The bathroom situation was also a little tricky. They did have facilities marked for men and women, but no one seemed concerned with adhering to the guidelines. No big deal, I guess, but they all seemed perpetually occupied, and when I’ve gotta go, I’ve gotta go. I spotted an «extra» restroom back by the stage, and happily pulled open the door, only to be traumatized by the sight of a guy squatting on the can, who did not seem in the least disturbed to see me.
Just another night at the Merrow, I guess.
Obviously, this is not a place that would be in my regular rotation, but my beloved Dread Crew of Oddwood plays here occasionally and I would go anywhere to see them. And since this bar has the great good sense to book them, I will return.

Took me a moment to realize we were going to the old Ruby Room, and from the looks of the inside, not much has changed but the name. Still dark, still moody, still rockin’ that death metal vibbeesssssss — but I love it. Good place to see a show and grab a stiff drink. Even for a shorty like me there was enough space to stand around and actually see the band! A plus when you’re used to getting elbowed in the head by enthusiastic fans. Cheers to that.

Hole in the wall. Surprisingly loved this place so much. There was a live indie band when I came here on a Friday. There’s a lot of room, not overly crowded. Bathrooms were clean – yay! I would definitely come back!

Not sure why this place is still referred to as a dive bar, I think it’s a fairly classed up establishment. Was just here for the first time this past weekend as my band performed there as part of the San Diego Music Thing festival. We all had a great experience and not because we were playing there. Unfortunately there are a lot of bars/​music venues that treat bands and their patrons poorly but this was not the case at The Merrow. The live room has great sound, stage and lighting. Pleasant, courteous staff, plenty of clean comfy seating, nice dim lighting… Oh, and my new favorite… Hard Rootbeer! Whhaat?!
Thanks Merrow, looking forward to coming back!

This place was perfect for the mood that I was in. It was 5 pm and I wanted to go somewhere that wasn’t too crowded and a little dark (low lights). We got a bottle of champagne for $ 10. When we were about to leave and we heard a band start to play in another room. They had free pool going on. We played a few games and then left. The staff was friendly.

My first time at The Merrow, this is a great place to see your favorite band. I was here on a Saturday for a Metal show, the place was packed, sound was good beer was great!
The staff were excellent, even with a packed house some how the bartender remembered my name the first time I came back to the bar for a refill. Kind of a dive bar and that is another thing I love about it!
Overall I had a great time and will be back for sure!

The Morrow, thanks for letting us celebrate the memory of our brother, father, and our friend. You guys rock!!!

Eddie + popcorn + drinks = super fun time! This place is great. Good bar and atmosphere. Will definitely come back.

Great venue. Nice staff. Fun location. Love the fact that they carry cider. Yum. Bands are cool!!!

This is a pretty cool spot. I went here to see Sad Robot. The venue is pretty big considering that the outside looks small. It’s kind of hard to see from the road, once you’re at the liquor store you will be very close to it. Your GPS might trick you. I never went to the ruby room though. The lights here are pretty cool as well.

it wasn’t until I got here, that I realized that I had been here before, many moons ago; back when it was the Ruby room. Everything is almost still the same as it was before, which is good on my book! I do love a good ol’ divey bar.
Came here on a Tuesday night, which meant that it wasn’t packed, and the crowd was laid back. Service was amazing and friendly. I am one of the most boring people when it comes to ordering drinks, just a plain vodka soda/​vodka tonic will do. My friends however, wanted something a little more elaborate… The bartender that night was kind enough to give suggestions and let them try out different mixed drinks before fully committing to their concoction.
The whole purpose of our visit was to come and listen to some local music, the merrow offers a more intimate experience. It’s not the largest of venues (not the smallest in SD either) so you can get closer to the stage and pretend you’re in the VIP area.
All in all, great place to come enjoy a drink and hang out for a while.

This was a review that just got out of control. I apologize to the establishment and the people that spun, you guys were actually great

first time back here since the Ruby Room…
pretty much the same place…
a lot of the same staff… all super friendly
good drink selection…
good prices ($ 5 for HH $ 6 regular for cocktails)…
saw POD & Greyboy play here last night… sound was pretty darn good when standing on the dance floor area…
what an amazing place to see such a huge act!!! super intimate… loved it!
i am excited to see what other shows come through here… the house engineer said that they are starting to do more shows. yay! love it… i get concerts and hillcrest all wrapped up in one! that doesn’t happen =)

Cool dive bar in the heart of Hillcrest! I’d never even noticed this place before, but I really enjoyed my night here. Walked over here after having dinner at Great Maple, and was planning on just stopping in for a drink before heading home. Turned out there was a cool band playing that night, so we stayed and had drinks while enjoying the Red Elvises. There are two areas to the bar– the area where the actual bar is is on one end where there’s a relatively quieter space in case you’re not there to see the show. The stage is in the other section, a pretty small stage, but there’s a small dance floor, and a few small tables lining one of the walls. Drinks were good, prices are fair, and staff is really cool and chill. I’d totally come back here on any given night for drinks and whatever random show might be playing here.

Nice place in hillcrest. Large area not a tiny crammed bar like most. 2 pool tables that are 1 $ to play. Air was on and it felt nice in there! Not obnoxiously hot like most dive bars. I tried the cherry cider and wasn’t the biggest fan but it wasn’t terrible either. Went to see a friends band play (saint diego! Woot woot!) and the RSVP feature was super nice so didn’t pay the cover, which was only 5 $ anyway. All the staff was very nice too

Probably the most divey out of all the dive bar venues in san diego. It used to be the ruby room but the changed the name to merrow but nothing else seems to have changed. The drinks are cheap and the crowd is «out there». I’ve only been there for the occassional drum and bass show and it’s always a good time. The music is intense and the crowd is always going crazy. AC? Yeah right. This place gets hot and sweaty. Like rain forest sweaty. Some people like the diveyness, some people like hate it. If you’re ok with a little dirt, then give it a try. If you can’t handle a dirty toilet seat, don’t bother coming.