Sidewinders

We are new in town and didn’t know what to expect. The bar is huge and has room for all sorts of activities with multiple stages. Friendly people, good food — we will be back!

Last great gay BAR in Albuquerque! Reasonable drinks and great entertainment weekly. Comedy shows, Karaōke, pool, leather/​gear night, and of course drag shows!

Friendly people and staff. Good selection of libations. No real food to mention. Poor lighting in parking lot. For a small town, it’s to be expected. Thanks for reading. The Bike Chaplain

Sidewinders has good bone structure, but has long awaited that makeover. A few of the female bartenders are great. It’s missing that ‘je né sais quoi’ as you sit there sipping your cocktail. Leans toward the less sophisticated crowd, if you know what I mean in the area of Central and Wyoming. It’s a shame because I think it could be hopping there if it lived up to the new direction of the International District, right by the NE Heights with three spaces that could be redone with something with more effort than more than «old quincenera» decorations and left over Christmas lights.
Upgrade in all directions.

#KeepItLocal #PRIDE #LGBT #Albuquerque #ABQ
I came all the way to this area just to visit this bar. I already had planned to come here over the weekend as well but, something happened and I cut my trip short. I left Albuquerque that Friday. I was going to leave that Wednesday.
Originally, I was going to go to Santa Fe then Roswell to see the history of My Peoples, an Alien Species from Outer Space, then, back to Albuquerque. If you follow me on Social Media, you will remember me posting the picture of my passport. So close to México? Sure, why not? I really wasn’t in a hurry to come back.
Going to a local gay bar is another one of my «things» when I’m in a town I’ve never been in before. I like to see how the local gay folk are. I must tell you all, one must be honest on Unilocal,I was shocked. I swear to St. Penetratus, Patron Saint of hungry aggressive bottoms, this trip was one shocker after another.
I can’t remember if it was the first night or the second night I was there. All I know is, we were all watching RuPaul’s Drag Race on TV. I had a blast. The people that were there keep-​up with this show. Not a whole bunch of people but, enough considering it was a workday during the workweek in Albuquerque.
I also remember being there for Karaōke Night which coincided with Cinco de Mayo. It started getting crowded late. I was there for a while already but, I left early when people started to get there. I remember clearly that was the night before I was going to go back home to Miami unexpectedly. So, that makes this a Tuesday and the other paragraph a Monday. Yeah, that’s it.
Karaōke wasn’t «super busy» but, there were people there just for that and the pool tables. They have several large pool tables there and, in case you’re wondering, people in Albuquerque that go to Karaōke can’t sing either.
By the way, this night, Cinco de Mayo, since I knew I was going to be drinking quite a bit, I used UBER. Both to and fro, very pleasant and talkative individuals they are. I was happy to know UBER was in Albuquerque. I did something I never do for any trip, I had it all planned in advance down to the last minute detail. I’m more of an «at the moment sporadic individual» kinda crazy person. This night was my first time ever using UBER but, that’s another Unilocal.One of the best decisions I made while in Albuquerque, though.
Normally, the first thing I Unilocal about after going to a bar, is related to their Evil Liquids and how the bartender mixes them together. The first night, I had beer. I wanted a local beer but, they only had it available in a can. Sorry, I just can’t do beer from a can. On Cinco de Mayo, being so close to México, I continued with the Politically Incorrect theme of the evening with Margaritas. I had so many of them that I lost count. I was having them as I normally would here at home, Top Shelf. Sorry, I also cant do cheap Evil Liquids. I almost passed-​out when I saw the total of my bill. Let’s just say, you won’t find that here in Miami on a themed night like Cinco de Mayo. Not even close. I was left with plenty of cash to spend in Your Community and, I was being served the good Tequila.
The bartender that was helping me on both nights was nice, knowledgeable of Evil Liquids and a very nice looking young man. He is definitely in the right place of employment. On Cinco de Mayo, they also had two ladies there bartending that made it a point to interact with everyone and, they were equally as beautiful. That is, equally as beautiful if you’re into that.
It’s a very large place. I wasn’t expecting that. Plenty of room to roam around. There is even a stage. What a shame I didn’t get to see what happens there.
Things to note and blah, blah, blahs:
* Parking — there is enough.
* Patrons — This bar has a very loyal local gay and straight following as it should have. Proud of you Albuquerqueans for that.
* Age range — Everything from I just turned 21 two minutes ago to a nurse having to follow you around with a Defibrillator ready to yell «CLEAR.» I was not the oldest one here on either night.
* This bar is women with tallywhackers larger than yours friendly.
* This bar is real women friendly.
* This business is not in the prettiest of neighborhoods in Albuquerque. Not far timewise but this isn’t in the touristy part of town. On «the» Central Avenue it’s just on the outside of the nicer historic parts of it.
* I wish I lived there so I could watch RuPaul’s Drag Race with you guys again. I already knew that’s what you do there on this night. This bar has a very informative and easy to navigate website.
* For the record, taking into consideration the unfortunate event I had to endure while in Albuquerque, the picture I uploaded was actually taken by the gentleman who was sitting next to me on both nights using my phone. He was taking pictures with his fancy camera too. Nope, I didn’t take mine. A very pleasant individual who is obviously a regular here. We LOLed a few times.

This is a really fun place when they have shows. Super friendly, and welcoming. Doesn’t matter if you are a regular, a visitor, gay or straight. It’s a fun time! Drinks can be a bit inconsistent depending on the bartender — sometimes regular and sometimes strong. Not a huge beer selection, but a couple locals, which is nice. The place is dark and dicey, but when they have the drag shows, watch out! Super fun with lots of glitz and glamor.

Had a blast here. Came out from Texas to visit family and worked this into our vacation. They had an event for veteran’s day. Both of us are in the Coast Guard and they were all about us. They made sure we had a good time. Tiffany Star did an amazing job putting together the show. I would for sure go again

Watched the bouncer not only do nothing about a man being battered in the parking lot but actively participate by slamming his head into the pavement. Lest visit for me, if u go here use caution, management doesn’t take safety seriously here…

I went here recently when my best friend came to town & wanted to check out the local gay bar scene. Since I had heard there are essentially 2 gay bars in town, I brought him to Sidewinders first, thinking we’d move on later. In actuality, we stayed there all night. Yes, the bar has a slightly corny cowboy-​slash-​hula tiki hut appearance, and it’s in a slightly sketchy area of town, way the hell away from the other bars downtown. But it was a fun blend of people – younger club kids, a couple of drag queens, a few lesbians, a bunch of cowboy types, and some upscale Nob Hill types – and all of them were incredibly friendly to the obviously out of her element straight gal in their midst. So I wouldn’t let the location or exterior dissuade you, it’s a pretty fun diverse mix for a gay cowboy bar.

Horrible paid 8 bucks for two sodas.

It has been reopened by a Vietnamese lady and it is one of the alternative that does not charge steep cover charge like Effex. The crowd tends to skewed towards younger as wee hours approaches and I had a hard time finding a parking spot. Many of my friends have passed from AIDS and memorial plaques remains (big plus for me). It is better run than it used to be and the prices are extremely reasonable and friendly.

This bar was the greatest place back in the 90s. I wish we could bring those days back when it was standing room only. This bar has the best dance floor in ABQ for country music. You’re not dancing on a postage stamp size floor.
I wish they would have a longer time period dedicated for two-​stepping rather than a three hours on a Friday night and then it gets switched over to hip hop. That’s fine if you want to switch to club music but put some country music in the mix, your crowd may stay longer. There isn’t any other place for us to go two stepping unless you go to lessons on Thursday night. Not all our friends can make it into ABQ during the week and would love to have some where to go on the weekends for two stepping.
Also this is a non-​smoking bar and you can actually breathe. Thank you for doing that.

I went on a sunday afternoon and it was a real dud. No one cute. Drinks are cheap and strong and there are plenty of specials. Music was OK, wasnt country. I befriended some lesbians. The gays I met say its better fri and sat night, but then they also said they all go to Exhale, which is a lesbian bar that all the guys go to.