Tiki Bar

female bartender with brunette hair this afternoon was a fucking cunt. asked to see the drink list and was given nothing but attitude. Can’t wait for this place to close down so I can buy some tiki stuff at their liquidation sale. what an awful bar

alright, I had a lot to say about this place but, after seeing the 2 stars and reading the reviews, I can see that most of its already been said. it’s all true.
first off, the name is misleading. i thought I was going to a god damn tiki bar! when I asked about the tiki drinks the gal behind the bar looked at me like I was an idiot. you know what, i get it, bars have weird names. you know, obviously a bar called the firehouse isn’t actually a firehouse or a bar called the branch office isn’t actually an office or whatever. but tiki bar is very specific! that’s an actual type of bar! that’s like someone opening up a bar called bloody mary’s and not serving any god damn bloody mary’s. but alright, that’s cool, you’re not a tiki bar. just some really crappy locals only inside joke I guess. it wouldn’t be so bad if the bartenders weren’t such dicks though! I’ve been to shitty dive bars all over this beautiful red white and country, and I’ve gotta say that these fools easily fit on my top five worst bartenders list. their attitude was awful, they weren’t very helpful and, I’m no health code expert but, I’m pretty sure some of the stuff they were doing would not be looked highly upon in the health inspector community. I saw that one bartendress put a beer bottle opener in her pants! not in her pocket, but in between her bare ass and her jeggings, like it was cool. it wasn’t the handle either, it was the part that opens beers. it’s just… c’mon Unilocal,you don’t think that’s weird? I don’t know, there’s more to say, I’m just kind of over it now.
it’s a cool enough place, just needs people behind the bar that know what’s up. and who aren’t jerks. the only cool peeps that worked there were the sound guy and the doorman. super nice doorman dude the whole time, and just seemed genuinely stoked. my girl made a small comment about a cactus in the back of his truck in the parking lot and he came up and was like, «oh you like succulents? here, take a piece!» so now she has a cactus. cool man.
you’d think with the consistent shitty reviews and low stars they’d try to change their ways. either they don’t have access to the Internet or they truly, truly do not care about what anyone has to say about their bar. either way, I’m never goin’ back.
suck it, tiki bar.

This place is what you’d expect from the OC’s marginalized white middle to lower class. The entire cast is mostly drunk by 7 PM. So they misquote prices and can’t remember who served the overpriced misquoted drinks. Save yourself any stress trying to argue with a crew who quits drinking and tries to interact later in the evening, because they’re just drinking again once they close, and go to a bar with a sober team.

I stopped in here by accident after a movie and I was waiting for taxi service — I was pleasantly surprised by the very fair priced and absolutely delicious drinks — the incredibly friendly atmosphere the niceness and smartness of the waiters if I had one complaint I wish they made a few appetizers but at least they have chips and I rather enjoyed my time at this excellent bar and they really do make great drinks I have no real knocks on this place whatsoever and I will probably try to go there again soon.

Don’t bother.
Clueless staff and douchebag bouncer… Oh yeah, the place smells

A really fat bouncer literally attacked me before the concert I went to see even started because I asked if I could leave and come back. Really ugly inside. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this place like the plague.

Came out here last Saturday to watch Maoli… it was definitely a different crowd from what I’ve been used to watching from NorCal…
I read the other reviews beforehand so I figured not to expect much… therefore when the bartenders were nice… whoa, mind blown!
The sound system was a bit on and off… Maoli rocked it as usual so it was worth the drive down… but most definitely hoping to watch them either in Maui or SF… kinda missed the bro and his protective nature from lurkers.
If you’re going here to watch a band… just don’t expect anything. Really… it’s better that way!
It is what it is.

Don’t come here, unless you absolutely love the band or you are dragged by friends. I read a review from 2012… which said yard sale décor and bad service, and nothing has changed. Bummer! Why waste such a good name like ‘tiki bar’ and not have an awesome tiki drink menu. It’s not about the strength of the drink either mr. bartender, it’s about the ability to make a tasty drink that sails you away to the tropics! Geez.

The food sucks but the drinks are cold and best of all the girls are hot. The service could be a lot better but most of the people that come here don’t really care about service. Most people want a cold bear and to stare at a hot chick. If that is what you are looking for then this place is for you.

Awesome place and even better steaks on Thursdays! Beautiful bartenders and they have awesome live shows! Great atmosphere!

I’ve tried it a couple of times and today was the perfect example of why I won’t be back. This review is only for a weekday lunchtime experience, not the bands or other events…
Lousy service, overpriced pitcher, bad attitude behind the bar.
45 minutes for my burger to cook? AND not even done in time for me to get back to work!!!
Told to go to the kitchen myself to check on my order? («You really want ME to go check?» was what I was asked).
Mostly ignored?
Won’t be back.
Oh, should I mention the minor (little girl) in the bar while the waitress wore pasties?

Saturday April 4^th.
Came here to see Common Sense. They gave a great performance.!!
With that said the female bartender was such a b***h! We would order or drinks and before I could specify (like which whiskey I wanted) she made my drink with the cheap stuff. And gave a dirty look for ordering a cranberry juice when it was time to sober up to drive home. So rude!
Nice dance floor and they’re was a table set up by royal blunts and they were giving free wraps away. So that was cool.
Come drunk already bcuz their staff sucks.

I went in sort of knowing what to expect, thanks to the reviews on Unilocal.This is the epitome of a dive bar, but in no way shape or form is it tiki themed.
It was the overly intoxicated patrons that turned me off the most. As a woman, I would never feel safe coming here without my man.
To the bartender who continued to serve alcohol to the man who was completely trashed, stumbled up to the bar and knocked things over — that’s just reckless.
The reason I’m giving this bar 2 stars instead of one is because the sound system is pretty darn good. Joint Committee and Common Sense sounded amazing up on stage, and also the bouncer up front was friendly.

We LOVE The English Beat amd when they were playing somewhere close we were stoked. The band, of course, was awesome. The bar itself and the horrible patrons… I can do without. Never will go there again. We will go to Solana Beach or San Juan Capistrano to see them. No security or control of the drunken fools… who will surely make their grandchildren so proud of them. Nothing like late ⁴⁰⁄₅₀ year olds embarrassing themselves and making the band angry. A disgrace. As Dave said, «Welcome to the Tweaky Bar.» Pass.

Like most the reviewers have already said Tiki bar has a lot of potential. The stage is great size, nice sound system and the house sound man knows what’s up.
It’s spacious nice layout and the taco lady on the patio kills it.
That being said more parking would be nice and why the hell do they charge a cover?
I have so many friends who would frequent the place if it weren’t for the steep door charges.
They should make it free like Slidebar and try a little thing called paying the bands.

I came to the Tiki Bar to watch Gutter Mouth. Tiki Bar has no parking lot & required us to park on the street a block away.
We were given tickets by a man who’s friend couldn’t make it. We got in without a problem & the man at the door took our tickets. Closer to the end of the night a person in my party ask the man at the door if there are, ‘ins n outs.’ The man then asked to see our tickets but since he already took our tickets the man made us buy new ones because we told him how we were given tickets & we did not know whose name the tickets were under. He said, «you guys didn’t pay, so now you guys have to buy your tickets.» Whether or not we paid for our tickets is irrelevant, because someone did pay for the tickets we were given. Unless the man at the door is getting paid by commission, he had no reason to charge us again when we were already inside the establishment. Disregarding our initial tickets is a poor & cheap why to run a business. The only reason we paid was to support a band.
I gave Tiki Bar one star because I can’t give zero stars.

The Tiki Bar is definitely a divey joint. When you walk in, you expect leis, tropical themed décor and maybe overly sugar drinks being served with umbrellas. That’s not the case. The closest thing they have to tiki are a couple of paintings on the wall. Other than that, it’s just a bar with a name that doesn’t fit its look.
Pros:
— They have an eclectic group of bands that come through ranging from punk to bands that were popular in the late 90’s. If anyone was curious, Crazytown apparently still performs and they will be making a stop here…
Cons:
— $ 7 door charge to watch a local cover band. That’s pretty steep considering the place is empty — especially on a Saturday night. I’d use that cash and head to another watering hole with no cover and use that money on a decent drink.
— Bartenders are neither friendly or helpful. I had questions about a beer and the person had no idea what I was talking about. I kept pointing, she kept shrugging. I wanted to know what a particular bottle was (Anderson Valley Fall Hornin’) and she opened it and placed it on front of me. $ 6.50. I didn’t even know it was a pumpkin ale, so I lucked out.
— The bar was pretty empty and it was HOT in there. We were just watching the band and not moving and there were beads of sweat forming on our foreheads. They open the doors, but it’s not enough. It wasn’t a super hot night, so I can only imagine when the place is full and it’s a scorcher outside. This place would be miserable.
— Parking is difficult. It’s easier to look for spots in the street versus their small and cramped parking lot.
Tiki Bar wouldn’t be my first choice to come and hang with friends. I’d consider coming back for a show if it was a band I really wanted to see, but even that might be a stretch.

Came to this bar to see Metal Church live with a friend. I was tempted to give this place 2 stars only, mostly because some of the employees were rude as hell (namely the guy working the door and the sound guy) and biker bars aren’t really my gig.
But I’ll bump it up to 3 stars cuz the taco lady in the back patio was awesome, and the bartenders were nice. Even better, they let us chill after the concert to meet band members.

Tiki Bar, you are not a Tiki Bar.
Location:
industrial zone of Costa Mesa. Parking is non-​existent: the lot next door holds maybe 15 – 20 cars and if you try and double park, they’ll tow you. If you park in the bands loading zone, they will tow you. If you park in the parking lot next door, they will tow you. The only «safe» spots to park are down the street in a residential area or across the street from Tom’s Place (restaurant).
Ambiance:
dive bar, but a confused one at that.
Do they serve food? I never figured that out.
Lots of live acts come through here and I came here for the Lizzy Borden show in January. I purchased my tickets online at Ticketmaster. The sound was OK, I don’t recall hearing any issues during the time that I stayed inside. It was very crowded and there was limited seating due to a bachelorette party that had «reserved» a huge table with 15+ chairs during the show. There were only seats around the bar, which got taken up pretty quickly. The «patio» is actually just a cordoned off part of the parking lot where bands can load in. There were a couple of lawn chairs out there, but not much else.
Crowd:
a very diverse crowd of young and old, but all were there to rock. I saw a lot of VERY VERY drunk people. I, thankfully, was too hung over to be drunk. I’d be careful because I saw a couple of creepy looking drunk dudes skeezing up all the pretty ladies.
Bar:
I couldn’t get a drink to save my life. I politely waited at the bar, never was acknowledged. I finally had to shout «HEY! can I order a drink!» at one of the bartenders as he sat at the cash register, doing nothing. The pour was strong and worth the $ 5 – 7. Service is not up to par, there was no hustle from any of the 3 bartenders.
Suggestions:
–come early, park close
–since you’re there early, grab a seat at the bar and don’t move for the rest of the night
–order your drinks as a double in a tall glass to reduce time waiting for the barkeep
–eat a taco in the parking lot. They’re actually pretty good.

Weird location for a bar, there’s nothing else around that’s walking distance.
They also charge cover on weekdays and this place is pretty dead. It’s not very smart since there are far better bars in the world that are always free.
I have only come here to see my friend’s band perform, but if it wasn’t for his band, this place would have been empty. They also do not have happy hour prices on weeknights. I just don’t think they make any incentives for people to go here.