Not my favorite dive, by far, but it's something to check out if you're in Cardiff and looking for a place to drink. Â They have a juke box, three pool tables, a shuffleboard table (brought over from the Leucadian), and a friendly staff.
Went on a Friday night. Â It wasn't terribly busy, and the crowd was a lot of fun. Â Parking is a breeze since there's a parking lot there, and you can pop over to VGs for a snack.
There's not much in the way of atmosphere, other than a guitar signed by Leann Rimes (really??), but it is what it is... a most standard of dives.
When people say "The Office" they are either referring to the tv show, the office in North Park,  "Father's office" the burger joint in LA or here. I think that the reason there is some confusion is that everyone leave's off the whole "Duke's" part of the name. Technically in Cardiff right next to VG's  it's a ways away from any other "bar" yes there is wine bars, but those don't count and it's a ways away from DT Encinitas or even Kraken. In a competition of the diviest dive around I'd say The Office takes the cake. It's divier due to the size, layout, age, and patrons. Before 11 on most night's it's dead, like really dead, just drunks. Good service, kind of friendly actually, but after 11 it gets packed on Fridays and Saturdays, usually there is no bouncer until 8 which seems a little late. Not that I'm against country, it's just not my thing and kind of a buzz kill to me, but having a few beers, shooting pool is what I come here for with a few friends, but doing that while listening to country music is the reason I stopped coming here as regularly. Now I don't' care enough to "override" their choice with my own money because I rarely put money in juke boxes, but even the Karaoke night at Kraken is better and I would even walk to Saloon, D Street.
The loft style levels can be a nuisance for pool players and it's pretty dark upstairs. They could use better prices on drinks imo too.
Honey, don't wait up for me its gonna be a late one at the office tonight. Dirt cheap drinks that pack a punch and being able to use a line like that is the back bone of what makes this place good. A hole in the wall bar atmosphere with friendly bartenders that aren't afraid to tip that bottle back. If you are in the neighborhood and need to wet your whistle this place is the a good bet.
Review Source:The Office is a Cardiff staple. However I will only go here if I have already had a few (many) drinks. It is what it is...a super dive bar. You never know who or what you will find here so for the adventure of it all I give the office 3 stars. Not a place to plan your night around but its a bar next to the best donut shop in San Diego so there are worse places to be.
Review Source:The two best characteristics of the Office, as far as I am concerned, are the pool tables and being dog-friendly during the day. Add to it the bartenders are friendly and the locals are welcoming and you have a great dive bar hangout within walking distance of home..... well, my friend's home anyway...
Review Source:Ok Bar, The bartender was friendly, and super cute. She winked at me while checking my ID; that's hot. I had a stone IPA while I was there, so I was happy. Â I bit small, and narrow. I found myself a bit annoyed because I didn't want to walk right through a group of drunk ppl blocking the narrow aisle.
Review Source:Good dive bar. Me and buddy went to watch a couple of soccer games and the pregnant bartender put the games on for us (too cool). Good selection of brews, enough flat screens, decent chill atmosphere, people r pretty cool at this spot. They're not snobby like some of the other locals roaming around the area. There's a dog named chuckie who serves as the bar mascot. And if your lucky like me and buddy you'll get flashed by a biker chick while your there. All in all 4 stars.
Review Source:Worst bar ever, didn't come here for years cause it was a mess, went last night to find out nothing has changed. Lack of security, lots of fights, no proper management what so ever. Witnessed chaos in front of the place and they did nothing to help regulate the situation. The staff lied to police when they showed up and covered up a racial based fight, truly a disgrace of a place. Don't waste your time, you can find handfulls of better and safer dive bars within 1 mile. They don't even deserve 1 star.
Review Source:How can you not LOVE a place that is dark, is totally a hole-in-the-wall, has a leather booth in the corner, a bunch of regulars around the bar, cheap and stiff drinks, and allows pups inside?! Â This place is awesome. Â The regulars were really nice and we all shared stories about our pups. Â The other dogs in there were great with my two and I can't wait to head back.
This place, easily, rocks it.
If you're brave enough to walk in, it's a very warm and friendly dive bar. Â Like my friend said, "how suspect could it be, we're in Encinitas"
Great stuff at the Cardiff Office:
1) The bartender was pregnant
2) Above average beer selection
3) They'll put any game you want on the TV. Â Even ones on "those mexican channels"
4) You can bring your dog and they don't enforce leash laws. Â
5) A biker girl flashed me
6) No windows
7) Friendly people who are a little rough around the edges.
Good dive bar which makes a great break from a day in the sun.
If you don't like dive bars, you won't agree with my rating.
The Office is a dive bar (read: my kind of place). Yes, it's located in a strip mall, and yes, it has wood paneling on the walls and a train running around the ceiling. If you're looking for an upscale wine bar or a dance floor with a DJ, this isn't for you, though I've seen a dance floor come into existence here when the jukebox gets a good run.
What you'll find in The Office, at any time of day, are the people who will make you realize that relaxing in a bar and having a drink in the afternoon or evening isn't about the building so much as it is about the feel of the place. The feel of The Office is all Cardiff; low key and low stress. It isn't until an hour from last call that the place gets a little loud, as everyone in the neighborhood runs from other bars who stop serving at 1:00am on the dot. The rest of the time you'll get friendly people who'll talk about anything from what they did yesterday to what they think of the ABBA song you just played on the jukebox. (Not me...a guy I know, I swear.)
This place is a lot of people's "Cheers". A great place just to hang out on the weekend, stop for a beer after work, or round out a Saturday night. It's pretty much why everyone else is there is there, and you won't break the bank spending a couple hours here.
Once, only once, have I seen that damn model train in all her glory. Perhaps that's why I still go here, clinging to some useless hope that she'll one day ride again. That, and the cheap drinks.
This joint has some charm and most patrons are the friendly sort. Seen a few fights, but usually it's people who've had a few too many. The crowd, though pretty homogenous, can be interesting. Met Sal Masekela -- of E! Channel and Winter X Games fame -- here once.
I prefer the afternoons here, but it can get packed and jumping on weekends. Definitely, a good meet-up or starting spot for a night out.
Oh, and if you ever hear Peter Tosh's "Reggae-mylitis" playing, I'm probably having a drink.
I always like bars that use names like The Office where husbands can truthfully call their wives and tell them that they have to stay late at "the Office". Â I think it gives it a nice breath of how things must have been in the 50's when men were men. Â Nowadays in 2009, Duke's Cardiff Office is a real [poop]hole dive bar. Â Not that that's a bad thing. Â
Located in a real crappy strip center left over from the 70's (same one that VG's Donuts is in), Duke's is a weird two room bar. Â The room you walk into has a long bar with 70's era chairs lining it. Â The back room has some pool tables. Â The place fills up on weekends with younger Cardiffians, but has its share of old timers that probably have been there since the joint opened at 10 AM. Â I think it gives the place character. Â The odor of vomit is always welcome in a dive bar, and you'll find that here.
The drinks are cheap, and its a great place to get hammertime on the odd weeknight when it's not as crowded.
Once upon a time, the overhead model train was really cool to watch. Then it stopped. Then they blockaded the back door, then foosball broke, then the whole place took on a heavy smell of regurgitation. Hooray for maintenance. Though you gotta give them credit for being the only open bar in the neighborhood during the wildfires when all the other bartenders went home to evacuate-- that's dedication.
Review Source:I agree with the tempering expectations nod.
The office is a small dive bar with two or three pool tables and not much else. If you're looking to get some tail, you'd better make sure you do her in the shower because there are a lot of dirty ones here.
To give you an idea of the crowd... I went here one night, and this 60-year-old guy that resembled Al Pacino was giving me a lecture about the economy and how to run a business. This dude was obviously not intoxicated from liquid cocaine but the pure stuff itself.
Seriously, grab your buddies, tell them to keep their mouths shut (I wouldn't want to start a fight here), and go drink and have a good time. This is one of the few bars that won't kick you out at 1:10.
This place is dirty, smelly, and on Fri. and Sat. nights, it's also crowded. Not super crowded like at a club, but just crowded enough to make it really really annoying. This rings especially true in the summer months. There are two pool tables that you will never be able to use, and bathrooms that are worse than an L.A. gas station.
However, I do give Duke's 2 stars instead of 1 because the drinks are dirt cheap, and if you happen to go there on a night other than Friday or Saturday, you will probably be delighted to a near-empty bar... but the carpet will still smell like 2 months worth of spilled drinks and vomit.
Also, kudos on the "remodel" they did a while back, which consisted of ripping out the only booth table in the place, and covering the hole in the wall with a large frog-era Budweiser poster. Â Way to go.
It seemed like piles of people would come and grab some drinks and then leave. Tons of older local types as well as younger peoples intermixed at this dive bar; the age gap seemed like at least 40 or 50 years. TV screens all over the place around the small bar area playing an array of things from NBA basketball to Entertainment Tonight. Something for everybody. The music was extremely loud when I was there so deep conversations are hard to carry on. The decor is pretty sick with a toy train set that circles you above on the ceiling. But yeah, I had no clue what my friend was saying except in between songs. People tended to be pretty friendly here.
Review Source:Duke's really is a dive bar with hours from 10am to 2pm. What you would want to do there at 10am in beyond me? I don't think I could step into this place before dark. Â Although I love dive bars this one is just so-so. It does have the usual billiard tables in their own room and a fine array of bad beers but the walls are a bit over the top as they are filled with sports stuff, especially surfing photos and old boards etc, which are cool and nicer to look at when you are on your last shot.
My favorite dive bars are in NYC's East Village. This one is just too happy for me.
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