The Shim Sham Room

Inventive mixologists, great music, sweet spot near an ocean.
The tacos aren’t bad either. The bartenders and servers seem to really take great pride in everything they do.

Loud music and drinks. I don’t do it often but when I do I go to Shim Sham. If you tip the drinks will flow all night.

I can’t say too much about Shim Sham Room because we didn’t get to enjoy the vibe here.
We are not from Jacksonville Beach, so we asked the server at the previous bar if we had time to make one more drink in this area. The answer was a solid yes, but we were denied at the bar we tried to go to.
The bouncer at Shim Sham tried to turn us away, too, but we told him we just wanted one last drink for the night. The bartender said no more beer, so my friend got us 2 picklebacks. I think that was the first time I’ve had one, and I quite enjoyed it.
Not the friendliest last call server, but hey, they did let us come in and get a drink. So 4 stars for them!

Sexy bar with a great vibe. Fantastic mix of quality cocktails with great music! The bartenders are very knowledgable and will cater to your tastes anytime!

Piece of crap, make sure you have 2 IDs, just in case they don’t accept you’re state legal form of ID since apparently that does not make a difference

Tremendous wait staff and the chicken tacos exceeded expectations. Nicole was great behind the bar and made a great recommendation with both drinks and especially the tacos.

Great spot. Inside and outside bars, drink specials and good food.

Awesome happy hour special and the pork tacos are simply perfect. Bartender is the GM and personally smokes the turkey and pork for the tacos. Awesome service and good times.

Came here with my best friend and it was a nice atmosphere. Our bartender was joe and he was so funny. He told us the drink specials and i told him to create something he did on the spot and it was sooooo good! We also told him it was our first time there so he told us where everything was and mentioned where the Dj was. He was just so nice and pleasant. It wasn’t really that crowded so it was a nice little mellow vibe. I would definitely go vack

Man, I tell you what, this place has GOOD food and drinks. I mean better than a lot of good restaurants’ food. Every drink I’ve had here has been tasty, and actually rather fast considering many are multiple ingredient, craft cocktails. It might be a little more expensive than the $ 2 wells specials, etc at many places, but it’s always a good time. The girls that come here/​work here are always good looking too ;)

Fun place, excellent Sazerac, great mixologists! Young crowd, good music. Like the goth/​Victorian kind of look.

First off, I’m not a Jacksonville local. I’m from Charleston, SC. This bar was filled with a young crowd (21 – 25) and had a crowd more focused on getting drunk quick — rather than having a good time. Lots of guys looking for girls — women were out numbered. My buddy and I left quickly. Go to Pier Cantina instead.

Upbeat tunes, cheap drinks, and plenty of party people ;)

Went on an Odd night, i had the Chicken Nachos! The nachos were Great, so much i only at a corner. I was impressed, it was a nice cool atmosphere.

Nicole was awesome! She’s the best bartender we’ve encountered in Jax Beach. The place was very clean and smelled nice (not like smoke like all of the other bars.) We didn’t order any food but everything that I saw come out of the kitchen looked wonderful and the regulars had nothing but good things to say. Surprisingly everything was pretty cheap too. It was happy hour and they had $ 2 tacos. The menu isn’t very big but features everything from mini burgers to chicken and waffles. I drank The Red Dawn (ok a few) which were delicious. Nicole is very knowledgeable about the area and gave us lots of suggestions of things to do the rest of our vacation. Would definitely go back again.

A small night club feel. I wasn’t here very long, but it’s been transformed pretty significantly from the previous bar that was here. It certainly looks nice and would be a good spot to visit every now and then. I’ll give it another shot later on, but for now it’s just subpar until further notice.

The bouncers are really intelligent. We got kicked out for «sneaking in» by DJ as we were looking for the bathroom. His argument for the reason we couldn’t have possibly been in the bar for the past few hours (including the hour long line) was that we were holding that «blue can» beer that they don’t sell there. This of course was the can of Dale’s Pale Ale that all 4 of us had bought from the bar inside after a 10 minute wait. I’m sure it wasn’t the Natty Light that DJ is used to, but he wasn’t about to listen to reason because he is a product of the Florida school system. All we asked was for him to help us find the bathroom and he treated us like dirt.

Something about a guy in suspenders just does it to me. Watching my bartender mix up a mojito with ease. It was like watching an artist paint and do a peep show. I slide the mojito to a friend and tell the bartender I want something with bourbon, whiskey, or ginger beer.
I step back from the bar and look up to catch some of the game and ask my friend about her drink. She enjoyed her drink. (She said it was better then the previous spot and has now since lowered her standards for Jacksonville.) I have to agree the same for my drink. I guess I was watching a magic act. I saw the ingredients go in but something was still missing.
The crowd around us was getting younger as we got to the bottom of our glasses. When we entered it was an after work type vibe. People just unwinding. In under an hour it toured into sweaty dudes and a guy being asked to leave or be arrested by cops. The guy was blabbering about random mess as he held his smartphone out and recorded the cop. It was a sad site.
So girls close to us said that this happened at least once a night. :-/​It’s an okay bar for the beaches but not one I would make a habit of visiting.

Reliable go-​to spot for a night out. Generally good music (mostly DJs but sometimes bands) and dance floor (although it can get quite hot upstairs) and awesome staff. The line can suck if you don’t have an «in» with the door guys and can bypass it, because after 10:30 they are usually at capacity and you’ll wait for 15 – 20 minutes. Come in the early evening or during the week for a more chill experience with a slightly older crowd. The nightlife scene has turned from hipster hangout to college bar, which can be annoying if that’s not what you’re into.
Once you’re in, you usually aren’t waiting long for a drink. There are three bars (downstairs, upstairs and outside patio) and those bartenders know how to hustle! And very generous pours on shots.
A lot of people don’t fully appreciate that their bar staff is actually quite skilled, plus their food is excellent. Every signature cocktail is perfect, so I willingly fork over the few extra bucks. I would have never pegged the place for having such fab bar food, but it’s one of the best-​kept secrets at the beach. It’s just a small menu of bar bites — maybe eight items total — but it’s delicious. Get the steak taco for a quick refuel.
As one of my favorite bars at the beach. I’d give Shim Sham five stars, but the place just doesn’t seem as fun as it used to be. Maybe it’s because the crowd has become younger or the newness has worn off. It probably deserves five and I’m just being stingy today.

Real mixologists (not bartenders) work here. Order an old fashioned and watch them do their thing.
Drinks are reasonably priced, and beyond delicious. There’s something for everyone. Do yourself a favor though, and stay downstairs or head outside to the patio. The second floor is a cluster. Ass to elbows all night long. Also, it’s close to the beach, and if a break is needed, a 3 minute walk puts you on the water.
Only thing that sucks is that Jax bars shut down at 2 AM, so last call is hella early!