The Manette

Very disappointed in this venue as a venue for Battle of the Bands.
They do not have AC. They will charge you $ 5 to sit in a hot room which wreaks of cigarette smoke because the bouncer decided it was completely fine for people to be smoking next to the entrance. The bouncer was more concerned that I was trying to talk to him while holding a glass of water, than he was of the guy standing next to the door smoking, which is actually against the law.
The only nice thing was that the bar maidens gave me lots of water with lots of ice to help cool me down. They were nice too. It’s too bad they have to work in a place like that. They deserve to work in better working conditions. If there was a separate rating system for the bar ladies, I would give them 5 stars because they were so nice to me.

The drinks here are pretty good but nothing special. The nachos absolutely suck. It’s like they took some store bought tortilla chips and threw some crap on it with cheese and threw it in the microwave for 45 seconds. I am not exaggerating. The «sexy» fries and tots are good but they’re just tots and fries with parmesan and whatever. Don’t come here for the food. Come here for a good drink and a decent atmosphere

Best LIVE music venue in kitsap for original local and touring acts. Best club PA in the county. It’s loud — as rock and roll should be!

Watch your change in this place; I just had a $ 13.00 can of Rainier. Called the bartender out, got nothing but lip. I know when I’ve been scammed, don’t let it happen to you.

Nice quaint place that looked grungy yet santitary. I have pretty high standards.
The band was alive and the people were friendly. They have a wide selection of alcohol for a small bar. Neat little nook of the place for a Navy town

The Manette Saloon & Sidebar offers happy hour specials ending at 7pm according to their chalkboard behind the bar. Be warned that the Manette runs on «bar time» all the time. So don’t expect to be able to order a happy hour special much after 6:30pm.
The backstory? After waiting in line I placed my order for a slider special and pointed at the chalkboard. The server/​bar tender asks me if I want the pulled pork slider. I ask if that is the happy hour burger special and she tells me that they’re no longer serving happy hour. So instead of saying that they’re no longer serving happy hour she goes with a subtle upsell instead.
I look at my watch, then phone, it’s 6:42pm. I point this out to her and she says that she uses her clock. Nope, they don’t bend on that either, it doesn’t matter that the customer just walked and that «bar time» only makes sense when you’re trying to get drunk customers out the door before 2am.
Normally I would post a gripe as a review but this isn’t an isolated incident – I had forgotten that they did this same thing to a couple of months ago as well. This time I decided that I wouldn’t do what I did last time, I didn’t order something else, nor did I order the pitchers to drink with my friends, nor did I tip the 20% that I usually leave. I just left. And posted a review this time, obviously.
If you do go don’t have high expectations of the food. It’s typical bar food, nothing more, nothing less. The beers are fine, but that’s pretty standard for the Pacific Northwest these days. Just don’t forget that it’s «bar time» all the time there.
(Note, this is a repost as The Manette has two listings on Unilocal

I usually hate to be negative to hard working businesses. but this is a disappointment. We used to come here after work a couple days a week to have drinks and food. Even for Thanksgiving dinner, which Adrian did a great job. We knew most of the staff, but after Leighanne, a main bartender, was let go with no reason, and no notice, we decided not to come back. Whenever I expressed my disapproval, the owner reprimanded me immaturely. She’s twice my age! Bad business in a small town with better options. We chose Toro lounge, which has better food and drink options for the price, or even brem bar and grill.

Good beer choices, and good bar food. Just the usual fried stuff, but it really hits the spot. This place has some character, and a nice side bar attached if you want a more quiet atmosphere.
The music can be a bit too loud on the weekends, but I guess that’s pretty common. Also, the only game is one pool table. Though they do have a huge projector screen downstairs. They let my buddy and I hook up his old Atari on it. It was pretty funny to see Pong and other classics on a ~120 inch screen.
All in all, a fun bar.

The Manette is my local watering hole. Things you need to know, decent beer on tap, bartenders pour a good drink what else do you need. Not a bad place to see a band either. If billiards is your thing they have a coin-​op on the Manette side and a couple other tables in the Side Car side.

I had just crawled off the ferry after 15 hours of traveling when I went here, so I wasn’t in a terribly «fun» mood. It was karaōke night, which could have been horrible but… it was actually a blast. The beer was cheap, everyone was having fun, and they had the most consistently decent karaōke singers I have ever seen. The crowd was pretty «hip», but it’s good people watching at the very least.

I started going to the Sidebar when they introduced the small plates. I’m now there 2 – 3 days a week. I always get the Amberly Lemonade (I like the way the manager makes it) and whichever new small plate they have that week. When I’m being especially bad I also get the Sexy Tots. The roasted beet goat cheese salad was absolutely delicious. This week are steak bites, which I cannot get enough of! Adrian, the cook, is amazing!!! The bartender is always friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed. Usually on the weekend I head over to The Manette Saloon upstairs once The Sidebar has closed to catch the rest of the live bands. Plus they have a couple of pool tables and there are always interesting people to talk to.

I don’t know what changed or if anything really did change, but I’ve been enjoying The Manette much more than I used to. I’ve managed to see some interesting things happening here which keep me coming in despite no longer drinking. Thursdays are the best Kareoke night around town and the recent art local art shows and comedy shows give this place a new life. The place actually sounds much better as well. Manette has always suffered from the hallway effect when seeing bands here (as in, it feels like I’m listening to a band in a echo filled hallway), and it still does, but it sounds better even if it is still hard to make out vocals when bands are playing. As someone who has played here on the occassion, the staff has always treated bands right when playing here and that makes them one of the most solid venues around.

Fun place, good live music, one of the best in Kitsap County.

Karaōke on Thursday night: ladies night, discount drinks, «no country allowed». Was fun, entertaining regulars and pretty good singers. KJ was a little annoying, didn’t know his collection well and didn’t really keep good track of the order of singers. However the bartender was stellar, very attentive and fast. We ordered chicken strips and fries because they were only doing fried food at that point and they were excellent… almost home-​made excellent. Enjoyable atmosphere. Even though we live 30 miles away, we will likely go back in spite of the KJ.

Looking back on my old review, i realized that as time has gone by, my feelings about this bar have changed. Maybe we just got off on the wrong foot. Bad first impressions can sometimes hold you back from moving on.
Well…this place isn’t all bad, actually… a lot of the workers here are really nice people, and are great bar tenders. The booze is priced fairly and they have some pretty good events held here. They have everything from art shows to punk shows and they have a pretty decent stage set up for such. I very drunkenly karaōke’d from it the other night… VERY drunkenly. I’m pretty stoked that i didn’t fall off the stage, actually.
I can’t speak for their food, since i have only ever drank here. Doesn’t seem the kind of place to have much vegan fair, so i haven’t bothered. Since it’s in my neighbor hood i have found myself here more often since I warmed up to it. It’s a good place to have a beer, shoot some pool and shake your tail feather (and possibly talk others into shaking their money maker with you… this is my specialty… i have no shame)

I’ve got a lot of really great memories of this place, all the way back when it was the old Eastside Tavern. My band played there so many times and I can remember it being packed from front to back, with a crowd out front, and the whole place singing along with me. Happy times.
Nowadays I don’t go to the Manette unless a friends’ band is playing. I don’t know half the crowd anymore, haven’t seen it stuffed to the rafters like in the old days, but the drinks are always good, the bartenders friendly and the food pretty darn tasty.

For being my first time in a bar, I enjoyed the Sidebar thoroughly. The main part of the place was quite noisy and the happy hour crowd wasn’t too bad. The sidebar, however, was much quieter and more of an intimate setting – great place for a date or good conversation with friends.

It was Friday night party time and we were feeling indecisive. We needed something that’d be open late, preferably with live music. I had written the address of The Manette down weeks ago when looking for some place chic to go and drink vodka because The Sidebar was supposed to do that. However… where is the sidebar?
Anyway, The Manette is a large bar and its layout is pretty friendly. I was unimpressed overall though. My partner ordered the «sexy» fries, which smelled garlicky and good, but tasted like french fries. I ordered one, then another, Stoli dirty martini with olives.
The first martini was worth the $ 8.50 price tag (he even gave me three olives), but the second was made by a different bar tender who said the following when she handed it to me: «I wasn’t sure how much olive juice to put in, so I hope it’s not too dirty… or… too light!»
Insert put off, perceived, «tee-​hee» here.
I was tempted to send it back and request something she «knew how to make,» but after taking a few sips and putting my air-​quote fingers «aside» I decided that the first martini had given me a strong enough happy buzz to delay any ill effects of the second martini. I’ve become a cheap date.
The Manette is middle of the road. The interior is pretty nice, and it’s conveniently located, but it’s lacking any kind of special something in my book.

I like The Manette! Not only because it’s within stumbling distance, but because there’s always something going on.
Drink specials are usually pretty good, overall the food is fair to middling considering bar fare. I gotta say I’m a social being and enjoy the rowdy weekends (with a variety of live music), but also dig the Taco Tuesdays and Open Mic Wednesdays… just wish they were open on Sundays, that would be sweeeeeeeeeet!

This bar is the most perfect dive bar. I love it. Good drinks good price good bartenders… It’s fun. The group of people that go to this bar rock… actually have individuality and personality
Get away from the annoying crowds like those at the old town bistro.