The Bancroft Bar

A music venue and bar should be owned by a musician, who likes drinking. And that, my friends, is really the bottom line.

Been watching this club for a while and as far as drinks are concerned they do a good job mixing and serving alcohol. There are better drinks in the city but not many cheaper. Karaōke is usually pretty good but not a lot of people the two nights that I was there. The other thing they have there is music if you could call it that. It’s mainly punk rock or really loud metal of some sort. Generally the music is so loud that you can’t really make it out as anything other than noise. Which is too bad because we need a good music venue in this part of east county and the owner just missed the boat. If you’re looking for music this is not the spot except Wednesdays for karaōke.

Great venue. Not full and good crowd. Good beer selections. The employees have a wonderful attitude and are great as well!

Love this bar… great staff and they have a very nice variety of beers. It’s where I first lined up several popular local IPAs and did a comparison tasting. No food, except for nuts/​chips. Could use more Vaginas.

This place is such a hidden gem! Unexpectedly amazing Bloody Mary’s and beer list for such a great casual dive bar. They have live local music at night, and a bunch of games, including pool and arcade games. Good jukebox. The staff is friendly and makes you feel welcome and at home. Cleanest bathrooms I’ve ever seen! Also, had one of the best meals I’ve ever had from their BBQ vendor Smoke n Aces. Unreal chicken and mushroom risotto. I think they are there every Sunday. Definitely worth the trip to Spring Valley!

I’m new to San Diego /​East County and this has become my favorite watering hole and hang out. Great bands and chill atmosphere. Bartenders are awesome as well !

I love a bar where you can experience karaōke and still hear your conversation. I love a good dive bar with a small town vibe. Beers were average priced with a great selection. Had a great time!

Was new to the area and popped in to check it out. They had a pantera cover band who was rocking it, was not what we had expected but enjoyed it. The drinks were good and cheap.

came here before the change and a much better time.
maybe i hit the wrong night but im willing to give it shot again.

have a drink, hear some music and its close to home. win win

This is a nice little bar that it seems mostly locals go to. My band played here and it was raining so it was pretty empty, but it’s a nice, clean version of s dive bar. The bathrooms were clean and the place has a nice old time esthetic without actually being old time.
They have some arcade games and 2 pool tables. They also have darts and a free broken foosball table. That may sound like a complaint but it makes foosball way more fun.
They have a raised stage and large sound system which is nice. However if you’re on stage, you can’t hear a thing. I’m not sure the monitors were working and my amp was ignored and my guitar taken DI so I didn’t even have my amp for reference. You can see why the Beatles quit when you can’t hear yourself.

Great locals and good beer. Live music on the weekends. My new new favorite local dive. Jillybean rocks.

It’s like a slice of North Park all nestled away in a part of town I wouldn’t be caught dead in otherwise.
Monday night trivia with Shantih is amazing too! Go Shantih!

Fun bar, good beer/​drink selection, great live music. I’ve seen punk and heavy metal there, 2 of my favs! Really cool owner. Nice bartender’s. Pool tables, video games dart boards. Good scene for east county. Good ambiance. Very open set up, you can get away from the music if you think its to loud.
Rarely ever a cover there. Cheap drinks. I’ve spent a little cash there before and saw 3 bands and shot pool… No complaints here…

My kind of bar! Karaōke, multiple pool tables and great happy hour specials. The bartender was cute and not full of herself/​distant like I have seen at a lot of bars in SD. The video game machine and pin ball was a nice touch. I will definitely be back looking to add that fifth star.
And in response to the people complaining about new ownership/​management… Maybe if you ditched your feeling of entitlement you might enjoy this place. New management is a good thing. They purge the clientele that is bad for business. That may mean kicking out creepy regulars and customers who feel they deserve a discount because of how long they have been coming around. No one wants to hear your sob story, go be creepy and bothersome somewhere else

Wow what a change! This place used to be a dump! Great beers. Good prices, and amazing bands/​events.
It’s a little slice of north park in east county.
Good times are to be had here!

Great live music venue in East County!
When you roll into the parking lot (which is not a big lot), you probably will second guess on coming into this place. Once you walk in, you might even third guess it. Just stay a while. Have a few drinks and watch some live bands. The sound system is pretty descent (I would know since my band has also played here). The crowd is your normal E. County crowd, but they are good folk. They have a few craft beers in a bottle and some of your normal stuff on tap. There’s plenty of areas to smoke outside and they also have a hot dog set up on some nights.
If you’re in the area and looking for some good music and good fun, you’ll be surprised that this place might have what you want.

Off highways 125 and 94, down Campo Road you will find a dive bar named The Brancroft. It’s isolation and location make it stand out. Former business signs of Fannie’s Cocktails still hang around the business structure.
My first encounter was with a dude, making eye contact as I pulled into park. He was soliciting a bass speaker, which I had no interest. We partaken in sharing a smoke, while he asked bluntly, «let me know if you want me to kick anyone’s ass. I got your back».
Moments later I soon walked into the bar, only to hear screams of a victim screaming to get his bag pack back. It was the dude with wide bug eyes, making him chase around the parking lot across the street. I dared not to look back, but entered in anyway.
The Brancroft is your typical saloon with a few beers on tap, full alcohol bar and several delicious beers brewed locally. Normally I tip my bartenders well, in which this one particularly noticed. Soon after she was giving me samples to try.
I was here to see my buddies perform live. Good thing there wasn’t any cover, but they have a decent sound system here. Along with a lifted stage, it was worth while to see live music here.
I normally don’t go out of my way for any type of dive bars. However it is worth checking out for the live music, extra curricular activities on the streets and hard core motorcycle club stickers proudly displayed throughout this wild establishment.
The fat: Perhaps the only dive bar in Spring Valley.
The skinny: Decent beers here served cold.

We started our evening with hors d’oeuvers of sautéed brussel sprouts with pork belly over a bed of arugala. We washed this down with a dry Californian pinot noir. Our soup was an eggplant purée with shallots and ginger. The main course was a stuffed goose with fois gras and steamed vegetables. Simply delightful.
Ok. This place doesn’t have any of that. And if that’s what you’re looking for then you’re in the wrong place. This is as divey as a dive bar gets. They’ve tried cleaning it up since it was Fannies. Now they have a credit card machine and a really good jute box that plays a huge selection.
Great place for a shot and a beer.

This place used to be Fannie’s Cocktails, and just recently changed ownership. I came to see a friends band last weekend and was pretty impressed with how much the new owner has improved the stage and sound system. I played some shows here a few years ago when it was Fannies and the space was always a good size but the sound system sucked and the bar didn’t seem to care too much about the shows. Now all of this has changed for sure, and I can see The Bancroft becoming one of the better bars for live music in East County.
Also, the place is not only better for shows, but also its looks like it got cleaned up a bit, there are more beers on tap, and some decent drink specials. A lot of times I get bummed when bars that I go to change hands and everything changes, but this place needed it. Good job.