Established in 1964 in Encinitas's Cardiff by the Sea, The Shanty is one of the area's longest-running bars, set on Chesterfield Drive just north of San Elijo State Beach. The interior retains its original large wooden bar and mid-century layout alongside pool tables, foosball, and a Golden Tee arcade — a dive-bar format distinct from the oceanfront cocktail experience at The Kraken down the road in Cardiff. An expanded outdoor patio features fire pits, heat lamps, and synthetic turf, creating a second venue within the same footprint that draws both Cardiff locals and post-beach crowds from San Elijo State Beach. Weekend food trucks rotate through the lot to complement the full cocktail program, adding an open-air dining component to the Cardiff corridor that includes East Coast Pizza on nearby Restaurant Row. The bar's liquor program spans a 30-plus-bottle tequila selection from Fortaleza Blanco through Don Julio Añejo alongside a rotating craft-beer draft wall anchored by North County breweries.