The Nolen

We went to this roof top bar on a busy Saturday night around 8pm. Luckily, our group of 5 (later grew to 7) could immediately be seated on two comfortable outdoor couches. Despite the fact that it’s a roof top bar (i.e., outdoors) it felt very cozy, thanks to the wall fireplace and the fire pit integrated into a large group table that are nearby. This along with the tall glass surroundings really helped keep the space at a perfect temperature even on a January night. (My guess is that the glass panes are probably serving both wind shield and safety purposes. No matter, they were clean so we still had an unobstructed view across San Diego.)
Our service was friendly and pretty prompt given how busy the place was. We were informed when our staff member was going to be on her half hour break and advised which other individual would be taking care of us in the meantime. That was helpful, as was the splitting of the bill at the end of the night.
We ordered guac (very fresh, spicy chips), honey glazed meatballs (tasty, though I don’t know why they were placed on a slice of half cooked potato each – neither delicious, nor easy to eat), a quesadilla (par for the course).
I very much enjoyed my two drinks — the Darjeeling Nikki (cocktail) and the Raison for the Saison (a hoptail — gin based cocktail involving beer), and I loved both of them. My husband is an Old Fashioned drinker and he said his two Old Fashioneds (?) were top notch. There were plenty more on the list that I would’ve loved to try, but I’ll have to come back another night. It didn’t hurt that they were fairly reasonably priced at $ 11 and $ 12, respectively. By no means a cheap cocktail, but I have been to other roof top bars that see their sky high location as an excuse to charge sky high prices…
In any case, I would certainly come back.

Decent view with good drinks, but I think the management still needs to get some things together (most importantly, their service)
The BF and I came here for happy hour on a Friday night after hearing so many rave reviews about this place. We got in the elevator to take us to the roof and it opened up to the entrance way of the Nolen. We looked around for a host but no one was there. We looked around and noticed a lot of people standing near the edges of the space, so we figured we’d grab a drink from the bar and find a place to post up as well.
The bartender was really nice and friendly! I ordered the cocktail of the day and it was a sweet apricot and gin drink. Very refreshing! All the HH drinks and appetizers were $ 6. We asked where we could order food and he said he could place our order so we got the quesadillas. They were delicious and filled with black beans and jerk chicken.
Now, this is the part that left us with a bad taste in our mouths. We had our drinks and started looking for a place to sit. We approached the tables with our drinks and a woman appeared to ask us if we were planning to order food. We said we already had but were looking for a place to sit. Her response, «these tables are for people who are ordering food from our servers, so they can be served. (Long pause) uh but I guess you can sit here». Umm. no one was around when we first got there to clarify so we didn’t know! We decided to just stand at the bar since we clearly weren’t welcomed at a table. we ate quickly and left to find another spot to go.
I wish we were the only people this happened to but it was clear that a lot of people entering were confused. We watched people get off the elevator and look around a bit trying to figure out where to go. They need to get a host to greet people and direct them to either the bar or a table for service. It’s not clear at all. The woman who spoke to us seemed very busy as she was running around with a clip board so I think they need someone who is specifically a host to help. This would make the place more organized and define their concept.

The Good: The décor is very modern and elegant, and the view of downtown is fantastic. The staff is very polite and friendly, and the glassware has a good, heavy weight to it.
The Bad: The drinks. I was about to order an Old Fashioned, but then I saw that it’s served «on draft.» A pre-​made Old Fashioned? Seriously? OK, so I ordered a Boulevardier off their cocktail list instead – bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth. I found it odd that the server cautiously asked if I’d ever tried Campari before (which I had). Well, that made sense when I was presented a pink sweet-​and-​sour monstrosity of a cocktail. It was completely unbalanced. All I could taste was the Campari and vermouth – I’m sure there was bourbon in there somewhere, but I couldn’t taste it.
(Note: if you have to caution your customers that a drink contains Campari, then you’re putting too much of it in there.)
I flipped through the drink list for a different whiskey-​based cocktail, but found none that I liked. I then tried to peruse their whiskey selection, but it wasn’t listed on there.
Bottom Line: Nice place with a lot of potential, but they really need to work on their cocktails (or at least rebalance their Boulevardier and try making their Old Fashioned by hand). Otherwise, I recommend ordering a beer.

Two words… F-​cking Amazing!
Great atmosphere. Gorgeous view. Lounge at its finest.

Nice addition to the Gaslamp rooftop bar scene. Pretty fire pit, plenty of seating and the food looked good as well. Came here the other night after a meal, so wasn’t hungry… but I do look forward to having an appetizer and a cocktail one of these spring/​summer nights… but hey, its San Diego so its always summer around here.

Great place to come and get a drink in one of the only rooftop bars San Diego has to offer. They have a pretty good cocktail section just don’t think the bartenders are really that good at making them. other than that the views are pretty nice and at least the have a TV. Would suggest anyone to come here if you want to have a chill night in the city

Hey there Unilocalers, I had to take the time to review this spot, The Nolen is my perfect bar for a number of reasons. Without further a due let’s…go to the list:
1. The view — The fact The Nolen is at the top of the Marriot between the gaslamp and petco park makes the view perfect. You can see the park, the gaslamp, Coronado island and the skyline.
2. The décor — Many times there is too much of a club feel on rooftop bars but not here. There is great seating near the bar, in the dining are and out on the patio. The spot is new so the leather is nice, fire places/​heaters everywhere and a very refined vibe.
3. The Drinks — So I am a lover of bourbon and whiskey, their old fashion was on point and served in an awesome glass. No plastic or boring glassware, I felt like I was in Mad Men when I drank it
4. Happy Hour — The Old Fashioned was even better because it was $ 6 during happy hour. They had a number of drinks, beer, wine and food for heir 5 – 7 happy hour.
Down sides… I don’t have any. Didn’t try the food so that is the only unknown but hopefully I can try that soon and review it.
To all you after dinner drinks folks or late night partiers, GO TO THE NOLEN! You will not be disappointed.

The Nolen is one the newer rooftop bars in Downtown SD right above Courtyard by Marriott off of 6^th ave.
— Amazing views of the city!
–Private entrance/​elevator to the top.
–Plenty of space for lounging and hanging out
–Fresh and modern décor since it’s brand new
–Similar to Altitude at Marriott with seats along the ledge
–Big circular fire-​pit and heat lamps around
–Only one bar for ordering drinks. drinks made just right.~
–Good service from bouncers to the bartenders =]

Giving this place 4 out of 5, if it wasn’t for the slow service it would by a solid 5. So first off the views are just stunning! Go for the views. Did I mention the views?! This would make for a great date place. My husband and I went on New Years Eve, it was quite romatical! Try to get there when they open, 5pm., I believe. You will want to see the views by day and by night. There’s a fire pit with bar stool seating, that looked like a cool place to be, but I did notice that some patrons got a little too warm and moved after a while. It’s an open air bar/​lounge so dress accordingly on chilly nights.
Can’t wait to take our next visitors up to the Nolan, it’s hard not to be impressed with this place!

Food is legit but not a big selection. Dope view with nice service equals a happy guy. Turn down for what?

Awesome rooftop bar in San Diego.
I came here one night while in town for business. Glad I did. The selection isn’t huge, but what they have to offer is pretty darn good. I was a huge fan of the Avery White Rascal (for my beer folks out there), as well as their mac ‘n’ cheese. The wife had a variety of cocktails, which all seemed to be pretty tasty, as well as some wine.
It was a bit chilly when I came here, but the huge fire pit kept us all warm. Overall, in fact, the ambiance here is very nice and relaxed. The crowd is a a total grab-​bag from your mid 20’s to the older business-​y crowd.
Our server, the poor girl, was running back and forth all night, waiting on (at least) 12 different groups. She tried her best, but there was at least one portion of the evening where we waited a good 25 – 30 minutes to order another round. She was very courteous and professional though.

Came here on a Friday night after work with some co-​workers for a happy hour. There were happy hour drinks $ 8/​each. The drink were good and strong and the staff very helpful (FYI they will only split a bill 6 ways for big groups). The place has a great view and nice ambiance. It did rain that night which meant half of the patio was unusable, but this is San Diego so i don’t think that will happen too often. Even so there was a nice large fire pit table to cosy up to and get warmed up!
Love this place and would definitely come back.

Nice views, even though totally open it was warm on this chilly night due to its heat lamps and fire pit. Snack menu had about ten items to choose from from flatbreads to quesadillas to hummus items but if you are looking for a big dinner, eat before or after. Was there on a Saturday night, bug band/​Sinatra type music — loved that. Crowd was mixed all ages, but moreso with the 20 somethings on this particular night. Stayed til about 10pm and every seat was taken when we left and a line at the elevator waiting to come up.
Bartenders are very friendly and mixed good craft drinks — drink menu consists of craft cocktails, barrel aged cocktails, hoptails, and a nice selection of wine and craft beers.
Only Negative — very loud!

This is a beautiful hangout spot with co-​workers and friends. I love the view too.
We ordered 2 different cocktails and both tasted soapy. They don’t have a wide selection of drinks either.

I swear, Marriott is taking over San Diego. The Nolen is located on the rooftop of Courtyard Marriott and has a pretty good view of downtown. My friend lives in the area and wanted to check out this new spot.
The place is pretty swanky, good ambiance… it was dark and they had the fire pits going… but I wasn’t impressed by their bar food menu as we were extremely hungry and couldn’t find anything we liked or appetizing on their bar food menu. We decided not to eat and drink some more. The hand craft drinks on the other hand, was delicious. There was this lemony one that we really liked.
The Nolen is a good hangout with friends or a intimate date for drinks.

One of SD’s newest bars shows a lot of promise. I went with friend/​fellow Unilocaler Hazel C. as she was in town one weekend and I wanted to show her some of downtown SD’s gems.
The Nolen was named for John Nolen, one of the renowned early city planners who also contributed to the early SD landscape. It is SD’s newest rooftop bar sitting atop of the just-​opened Courtyard Marriott at the Gaslamp. A separate entrance and elevator takes people up to the bar.
The rooftop bar has quite the seating arrangement. There’s limited bar seating (less than 10) but there’s plenty of seating all around. One of the big perks is the fire pit that’s also close to the edge… which means more opportunities to check out the awesome views of downtown SD. Whereas the Hard Rock Float is closer to the Convention Center and offers less of a view, the Courtyard is closer to the hubbub of Gaslamp activity.
The business is serious about its cocktail program and the servers are *very* knowledgable about their cocktails. Valerie and Daniel were our bartenders and watching them work was a show in itself. Hazel and I were impressed that they were passionate about their cocktails and it showed in the effort as they made our cocktails, from shaping the ice by cracking it with a spoon to stirring the liquor with the ice and actually shaking the mix. Daniel has mentioned that Valerie took home a prize in a bartending competition.
The Nolen’s take on drinks is twofold: they are a spirit-​forward bar (base spirit enhanced by a liqueur such as vermouth) and they serve classic and their own interpretations of cocktails. They also try to be true to the craft by not having any of their menu drinks contain vodka (though they do make vodka-​based drinks). An additional sidenote is that they make their own syrups.
Hazel and I had a sampling of their cocktail menu.
— She had a «on the fly» (menu item: gin, crème de violette, Luxardo, and lillet) and a «bijou» (classic cocktail: gin, green chartreuse, sweet vermouth, orange bitters). Hazel mentioned that the «on the fly» reminded her of the bijou and liked her drinks. I appreciated the attention to detail to her drink but this proved to be yet another sad reminder that I cannot appreciate a gin-​based drink that doesn’t involved masking gin.
— I had a «shirley temple of doom» (menu item: mezcal, tequila, absinthe, grenadine, lemon, soda) «penicillin» (classic cocktail: scotch, honey, housemade ginger syrup) and a drink that reminded me of a pineapple-​flavored pisco sour. The shirley temple is due to the grenadine but the mezcal imparts a smokiness to the grenadine, which is unusual for a sweet cocktail. The maraschino cherries add more of a sweet bite. The penicillin was made for me as a recommendation by Valerie as I mentioned my preferences for mules (a vodka-​based cocktail, don’t judge me). As the drink is made with ginger syrup as opposed to beer the gin flavor is very noticeable and the scotch gives it more of a bite than vodka can ever impart.
I appreciate a good cocktail but this was quite a humbling experience as there’s still a huge list of cocktails I can’t fully appreciate because I’m not used to the liquor + bitter combination I see with bourbon and gin-​based drinks. This is why I haven’t learned to appreciate an old fashioned or a classic martini. On my next visit I wish to finally tackle my uneasiness with gin and bourbon and learn to appreciate such drinks. Upon hearing of my experience the No1DP wishes to try this bar with me on his next visit.

Great service. Great view. Great drinks. Great vibe. Like Tony the tiger once said, The Nolen, THEY’RE GREAT!!!

If I lived in San Diego, The Nolen would be totally my go-​to bar! My friend and I had such a great time here I’m so sad to be leaving her and this bar behind!
This rooftop lounge has only been open for two weeks, but they already have their stuff together! Daniel, Val and Morgan are such rock star bartenders! They are so friendly, efficient and knowledgeable that you cannot go wrong in this place. I can say that because my friend and I sat at the bar for three hours drinking, gabbing and watching them work. When they weren’t busy, we’d talk to Morgan as she’s working and she was more than happy to tailor our drinks to what we liked. The Nolen has a nice specialty cocktail menu, but really if you’re wanting something fruitier, tarter or sweeter than what you see on the menu, she’d able to make suggestions! We even got to talk to Daniel’s friend who was a paying customer and was a former Unilocaler!
Love the décor and ambiance too. Clean modern lines, a fire pit, and great views of the city below and the skyline. You’ll have to check this place out if you’re visiting San Diego!

The bartenders are great. Very knowledgeable. Let’s be realistic if you only drink vodka and soda then maybe you should expand your palette and come here. Your eyes will open to great new flavors and drinks. The grass will be greener, happy thoughts and all that Disney BS.
Seriously, come here. It is a great craft cocktail bar. This is coming from a connoisseur of drinks, aka closet alcoholic.

I randomly heard that this new place was opening on the 5^th and I grabbed a couple friends to check it out on opening night. The bar is located at the Courtyard Marriott San Diego Gaslamp, but it does have its own separate entrance on 6^th ave. Your enter the door, go down a hallway with a mural, but the rest still looks very unfinished (like cinder-​block and drywall — not sure if this is on purpose or they have just not completed the work yet. Only time will tell) and stop at an elevator. When I went, they had an elevator attendant to take you up.
The article that alerted me to this spot’s opening let me know that it was a 2500 sq ft space featuring an 8 seat bar with a communal fire pit. I found the communal firepit to be more of a large circular table around a fire which was cool as well as a spot near a fireplace and heat lamps all around. It had lots of little seating areas for small groups which was cool. I liked the layout for a busy, but not too crowded night like it was for this visit. (I am afraid of what it may be like when it is crowded.) It was designed by the same team who designed Kettner Exchange and it shows. There will little details here and there that showed that they took some time to design it.
They have one large TV in the center, so it is cool to have, but may not be my go to for a sporting event. The view of the city was nice. They gated us in with clear Plexiglas to protect us from ourselves and whatever is below from us (and I imagine block some of the wind), but so far we could still see out of it so it still works.
Now for the cocktails and wine/​beer selection. They have some signature cocktails as well as a good selection of wine & beer. Wine seemed to range from $ 9-​$ 15 a glass. Not too bad, but definitely not what I will be paying for happy hour. Beers were priced $ 7 for draft and $ 6-​$ 8 for bottles/​cans. Cocktails were $ 10-​$ 14. (Not sure if they will be launching a happy hour or drink specials, but that would be awesome if they did!) I should also note that my friend ordered a glass of wine that was on the menu, but they did not have. It was the first night, only about an hour and a half after they opened, there was no way they sold out. They didn’t stock something that they chose to have on the menu.
It was a brand new place with a lot of craft cocktails (I hear the cocktail menu was created by Robert Yamul) so I wanted to try one of their designs.
On our servers recommendation, I tried the Shirley Temple of Doom. It had the smokiness from the mezcal that was balanced really nicely by the grenadine. It had a little sweetness, but not to much at all. Overall, I enjoyed it.
They had some snacks, flatbreads, salads, and slightly larger dishes as a menu. It is definitely not a full dinner service, but it is in no ways meant to be. We were going to head off and grab some dinner later, so we just got a snack of the «Crispy Tots.» I LOVE tater tots, and we were really looking for an easy to share snack that didn’t require silverware. They were basic. They were cooked well and crispy, but were not special or stand out in anyway. The tots were supposed to have chili mescal salt, but it didn’t taste any different to us. My friends said the house sauce tasted like a blend of mayo and ketchup (which one was a fan of anyway so this is not a bad thing.)
Also good to note, the server recommended the Funeral Potatoes which she described to us as sliced potatoes with like a cream of mushroom sauce and corn flakes. She said although it sounds weird, it is really good. I will keep it on the list for next time. Other things I would like to try include the «Chili Glazed Meatballs» and the «Mac & Cheese.»
Service wise — slow… so slow. She was very nice, but we had to ask for a few things a couple times and it was a good amount of time to get anything that we ordered. Again, opening night so they are still working everything out.
So this was my first impression on their first night. They definitely deserve some leeway. There is a lot more to explore here. I welcome another roof top option in downtown and will add it to the rotation.