Dobson opened his namesake restaurant in 1984 inside the historic Spreckels Theatre building, transforming a struggling downtown bar into what would become a cornerstone of San Diego’s power-lunch culture and pre-theater dining scene. For more than three decades, Dobson’s served as a meeting ground for attorneys, judges, reporters, executives, and theatergoers, earning a reputation as a place where deals were made, traditions were formed, and relationships were built over martinis and mussel bisque.
The site itself carries deep San Diego history. Originally opened in 1912 as the Theater Buffet and Bar to complement the newly constructed Spreckels Theatre, the space later became known as the Press Room when the San Diego Union and Evening Tribune operated across the street. In those years, the bar was famously filled with smoke, whiskey, and hard-charging reporters. When the newspaper moved its offices to Mission Valley, the business declined, setting the stage for Dobson’s reinvention of the space decades later.
Dobson, along with a group of lawyer friends, saw opportunity where others saw stagnation. He envisioned a San Francisco-style business lunch destination with a strong happy hour, tailored to a downtown core that was still finding its footing. During renovations, builders famously discovered a secret passageway once connecting the Spreckels Theatre men’s lounge to the bar, an architectural relic that only added to the restaurant’s mystique.
Dobson’s opened with a heavily French-inspired menu, anchored by what would become its signature dish, a rich mussel bisque that the restaurant estimates has been served more than one million times. The restaurant was an immediate success, quickly cementing its place among San Diego’s most important dining rooms. Its tiger oak and mahogany interior, original tile floors, and century-old bar remained largely untouched, giving Dobson’s a timeless quality that stood apart from trend-driven restaurants.
In 2014, after 30 years at the helm, Dobson sold the restaurant amid financial pressures following the economic downturn. At the time, Dobson said the transition would allow him to spend more time with his young daughter while remaining a familiar presence at the restaurant he knew so intimately. Ownership passed to San Diego attorney Chad Ruyle, alongside partner Marcos Luciano, with Dobson continuing to greet guests and maintain close ties to the operation.
Subsequent updates brought new life to the restaurant without sacrificing its old-world character. Chef Martin San Roman, trained in Paris and known for his French-American-Baja sensibility, refreshed the menu while preserving Dobson’s essence. The mussel bisque stayed. The bar stayed. The rituals stayed. For regulars, that continuity mattered.
Even as downtown San Diego changed dramatically around it, Dobson’s remained a constant. It was the kind of place where longtime patrons were known by name, where the lunch crowd bled seamlessly into pre-theater cocktails, and where history seemed to linger in the walls. Stories of a mischievous clock behind the bar and whispered accounts of late-night ghost sightings only deepened the sense that Dobson’s was more than just a restaurant.
Paul Dobson himself was inseparable from that identity. A former bullfighter with a larger-than-life presence, he was as much a part of the dining room as the bar or the booths upstairs. Friends and colleagues remember him not just as a restaurateur, but as a host in the truest sense, someone who made it a point to know who walked through the door and why they mattered.
According to information shared with SanDiegoVille, Dobson passed away following a tragic accident on Christmas Day, when he fell down the stairs at his home, suffering a severe head injury and a broken hip. He underwent two surgeries but did not respond well and was placed on life support. He was peacefully taken off life support two nights ago.
With Dobson’s passing, San Diego loses not only a restaurateur, but a steward of downtown’s civic and culinary life during a formative era. Dobson’s Bar & Restaurant remains open and operating, and its current team has emphasized that the restaurant will continue honoring and preserving Paul Dobson’s legacy. His influence lives on in the restaurant that still bears his name, in the countless conversations held within its walls, and in the generations of San Diegans who came to see Dobson’s as their place.
In keeping with his wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service. Paul Dobson did not want sadness or mourning, and he directed in his will that his body be donated to UC San Diego for medical and scientific purposes.
With Dobson’s passing, San Diego loses not only a restaurateur, but a steward of downtown’s civic and culinary life during a formative era. Dobson’s Bar & Restaurant remains open and operating, and its current team has emphasized that the restaurant will continue honoring and preserving Paul Dobson’s legacy. His influence lives on in the restaurant that still bears his name, in the countless conversations held within its walls, and in the generations of San Diegans who came to see Dobson’s as their place.
In keeping with his wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service. Paul Dobson did not want sadness or mourning, and he directed in his will that his body be donated to UC San Diego for medical and scientific purposes.
Dobson's Bar & Restaurant remains open during normal business hours at 956 Broadway Circle in downtown San Diego. For more information, visit dobsonsrestaurant.com.
Originally published on January 7, 2026.