The Belly Up is a great place for a concert in an intimate setting. The talent to be seen there is staggering. The food is OK, but next door at the Wild Note Cafe, the food is excellent.
OK. A lot of the current bands play here and if you are past 30, you may be outnumbered. But The Belly Up provides a little of every rock style for every age group. Check out the coming shows - some of your favorites if you are past your 20's may be coming - and they sell out fast! I'm a Boomer with boys in their 20's, but I am sad when bands they introduced me to get sold out - Tears for Fears, etc. I have CD's by the Brian Setzer band - sold out. I have taken my kids to see people we all like, like Donovan Frankenreiter, and we all fit in fine there. And - boomers - prior to the headline later show, the Belly-Up puts on early shows with all the 70's and later rock for us rockin' over-the-hill cool adults. Lots of dancing and fun, and a way to get those endorphins goin'. Small place, great dance floor, and easy parking in a nice part of San Diego - Solana Beach. Keep an eye on it's calendar and check it if you're coming to our area. Young years fun with a reasonable bed-time.
Second time I've been here - and second time I got to see Kelley James Band perform - along with Ed Roland of Collective Soul. The evening was amazing and we were the last to leave / get kicked out ... haha.This is a great venue for a very intimate gathering and getting close to some great performers. Looking forward to coming back.
We visit the Solana Beach Belly Up frequently to see the bands and artists we like in a close-up, informal setting. Staff are friendly and not heavy-handed. Arrive early for best sight-lines. Love the neighborhood.
I've been there for a Imelda May, nice place for small venues, very intimate! The service is very good and have a bunch so options of beer! Recommended!
The Belly Up is a fixture in North County, known for years to be the place where the best music acts go to play a smaller, more intimate venue. Sitting and standing room, as well as a loft area. A 21+ venue with a full bar in the back. Great place to get close and personal with the artists themselves and their music fans. Walk to/from the Solana Beach train station. Wild Note Cafe is attached, allowing a nice sit-down dinner before the show. In the heart of the Cedros Design District in Solana Beach, near the 101 and the beach.
I saw Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience there. It was a sold out show. The venue is set up nicely for live music. The floor is pretty big with some stools and railing table rows around the outsides. There is a balcony for premium tickets. The place perfect sized, not too big, still intimate, you can get up close to the band. Very loud, awesome concert. The venue attracts plays a lot of cover bands and occasionally some big names will run through. Its one of the best live music venues in SD.
This is a restaurant, bar, and music venue. Go to the restaurant or bar first, in order to get preferential seating in the music area. Food is average, drinks are good, but the concerts are usually very good.
If you subscribe to their band schedule you will certainly find a group to your liking. Variety is a very strong feature of Belly Up ! We wanted to be able to sit so we went early - about 8:15 for the 9 show. That way we got our bar food and drinks shortly after finding a seat. Food was good - we had filet sliders which had crispy thin onion ring curls. Waitress was very nice. The place was packed but it was a friendly comfortable venue. Big enough get a lively crowd interaction but still feel up close and personal. Definitely will look for more artists we like and will return
Went up to Solana Beach to the Belly Up Tavern to see Matthew Sweet play.Great venue friendly staff awesome concert. Highly recommended!