The earth and the ocean in a glass. The taste of plants, a hint of salt. It arrives nearly naked, proud. Trustworthy, like a good dog or a sharp knife. Agave, grown for years before harvest; limes fresh from the tree; a touch of orange booze. The pleasant sting of citrus, the medicinal wallop of tequila.
The Daisy was an early cocktail of the 1800s—a brandy sour with a sweet liquor, often orange. Swap brandy for tequila, and you have a close cousin to today’s margarita. After all, margarita means “daisy” in Spanish.
Hard to say for sure when or where this miracle first happened, but it was probably the 1930s and likely in Mexico. But does it matter exactly where our prophets are born? Or are the lessons they impart and their place in our lives more important?
Regardless of nativity, the margarita has gone from variation to center stage. A good one seeds a song in your heart and brings meaning to the moment. This is holy water.
Is the margarita the perfect drink? It can be. It is no doubt a first-ballot hall-of-famer. Around here, the margarita is part ritual, part rebellion—a cultural point of pride. We bring you 10 you can hang your hat on.
Cantina Mayahuel, North Park
Purasangre Blanco Tequila Margarita – $12 ($7 on happy hour)
SD’s gold standard margarita. A balanced, salty elixir of life, it’s the grading key against which all other local margs are judged. Solid tequila; fresh lime; orange liquor; and rich agave syrup imported from Mexico, unfiltered and thick as honey. Some may say a true marg skips the agave, but Mayahuel’s ratio is immaculate. Biting in the most pleasing way. A bona fide local classic for a dozen dollars. Never change, Cantina Mayahuel.
Ponce’s Mexican Restaurant, Kensington
Original Margarita – $15
The margs here taste like history. With more than 55 years on a corner of Kensington, Ponce’s is the type of full-bar Mexican joint that brings a neighborhood together like a Dublin pub. There’s a mix of margs here, so order with intention, as some come with bagged sweet-and-sour mix from the gun. If you don’t mind, Ponce’s happy hour might be your new favorite go-to ($7 margs every day, HH tacos, you get the idea). But plenty of the dozen margs on the menu feature fresh lime, and real watermelon purée goes in the sandia option year-round. Respectable margs served with old SD vibes.
Valle, Oceanside
Maggie Clarified Margarita – $20
This is the margarita you drink before a job interview: crisp, clean, agave-forward, and slightly bitter. Suddenly, I am sitting in a plastic chair in Baja or Tamaulipas, watching the sun dance with the ocean, and I am content. The beauty of a margarita is its simplicity and complexity, both holding space simultaneously. It’s cognitive dissonance in a cocktail. At Valle, quality tequila, Cointreau, and tiny (more bitter) limes get milk-washed and served in a cut-glass tumbler on a single cube with a daisy garnish. Worthy of its Michelin-starred origins.
Tahona Bar, Old Town
House Margarita – $14
The house margarita at Tahona is a straightforward blend of good tequila, housemade triple sec, and fresh lime, and it holds its own with any marg in the city. It’s a bartender’s margarita, in which the agave shines. If you want to branch out, mix things up with the Nube Rosita, a flavorful bevvy with Diega brand hibiscus-lavender gin from Mexico City, coconut tequila, strawberry, and egg white, featuring coconut fat–washed mezcal that adds to the egg’s thick, rich mouthfeel. Worthy of a trip to Old Town all its own.
Polite Provisions, North Park
Traditional Margarita – $13
It’s certainly a choice to come to a cocktail haven like Polite Provisions and order a margarita, but trust you will not be disappointed. The traditional marg here is made with agave and curaçao and served extra-dry for the classic-lovers in the crowd. If you want to spice it up, go with the Cactus Jack, an herbaceous, slightly spicy cousin made with mezcal, smoked pineapple liqueur, lime, cucumber, mint, and a housemade jalapeno-serrano oleo, plus a salt rim. Honestly, plan for a rideshare and get one of each.
Blanco Cocina + Cantina, Mission Valley
The Margarita – $15
A great traditional margarita using a house blend of orange liqueurs that aims to give the robust orange flavor of sweet liqueurs with the balancing heat of higher-proof versions. This is an upscale backyard barbecue marg, utterly drinkable. Be sure to try Blanco Cocina’s negroniesque strawberry and mandarin marg—the fruit takes the place of sweetener, with the mandarins offering an astringent, dry effect on the pallet. Pair with the happy hour tacos on housemade corn tortillas while you kill time at Fashion Valley Mall.
Puesto, Multiple Locations
Puesto Perfect Margarita – $16
Puesto keeps fresh lime juice on draft, a bit of ingenuity that means the lime in your drink hasn’t been sitting in some refilled, unwashed bottle for days on end. Poured into a heavy rocks glass over hefty ice, this marg subs agave for orange liqueur, so it loses the triple sec depth, but simplifies the flavor in a way that highlights the above-average tequila and super-fresh lime. This is a few-frills, well-crafted, repeatable marg that will never disappoint. And don’t sleep on the sandia version: watermelon-infused mezcal, rosé vermouth, and a dash of absinth. Served with mint, it’s a summer day all year round.
Cocina De Barrio, Multiple Locations
Original Margarita – $12 ($5 on happy hour)
From the salt to the ice, the OG here is a no-frills yet dangerously drinkable classic margarita. Cocina de Barrio goes extra hard on the flavor offerings, with housemade mint syrups and fragrant mango purées. (The staff here will even drop a range of flavored popsicles in your marg, if you’re so inclined.) The standard tequila choice won’t blow you away, but nor does it break the bank. Drink your $5 marg with an order of happy hour tacos (three for $12) for a quality $20 spend. Ask for the salsa macha.
PARTNER CONTENT
Black Radish, North Park
Clarified Margarita – $19
A tuxedo margarita. Quality tequila, serranos, cilantro, lime, and agave all get fat-washed, clarified, and pre-batched. The resulting aroma is pure Jalisco, served in a weighty rocks glass on a big single cube with a charred bit of that soaked serrano as a fragrant garnish. A little rich, a little herbaceous, a little spicy. A marg in name but something wholly different in practice. A slow-sipper that gets as much detailed attention as the impressive food menu at this North Park hot spot.
Coasterra, Harbor Island
Deb’s Coconut Margarita – $17
Is this a margarita in a coconut costume? Or a piña colada with an identity crisis? Either way, this marg-inspired drink is pleasantly balanced, with the lime and tequila flavors not buried by the weight of the housemade coconut cream and lime cordial. This drink features no orange element, but there is plenty going on. The margarita menu at this Harbor Island deck is plentiful and fruity, so come with your adventure hat on. And don’t miss the smoked hibiscus margarita with mezcal, hibiscus-lime cordial, habanero bitters, and a Tajín rim. This is the bartender’s choice: dry, spicy, flavorful, juicy. A great drink to take in the view.
