Petar’s Restaurant & Lounge

Hi Peeps, this place is shutting down this weekend. You should get in there either this Friday or Saturday night to see Diamond Dave! I’ll be there Friday. Saturday already sounds nuts.

Wow, this place is an East Bay icon for Lafayette, such as Casa Orinda is for Orinda.
The first time I went to this restaurant I was but a wee little girl. This was at the old location (whew, I’m getting old) on Mt. Diablo Boulevard in/​near where Pizza Antica is now. It was a typical Italian-​esque restaurant with red naughahyde semi-​circle benches and tables.
I’ll never forget that first time with my dull and boring dad and his lively exciting brother. My uncle decided to order escargo (French sea snails), and I TRIED ONE! I guess I was also (1) a Francophile and (2) a foodie.
Fast forward to the 80’s and Petar’s moved to it’s location on Lafayette Circle. No problem, since it was the third leg of the triple bar trifecta (the other two being the then Killarney House and the Round Up Saloon).
Even with La Tourelle (now Postino) serving the best food in Lafayette, Petar’s gave diners a run for their money with reasonable, quality food.
I haven’t eaten dinner there in years, but lunches have always been good. The menu is a little outdated with sandwiches that my dad remembers and loves (ewwww).
In any event, it will be sad to see this place go after this weekend. Ah, the memories!

Never eaten here and never would– it’s old, dirty, and has odd smells. But the bartender is great and when you have out of towners in and the novelty wears off on day 3– it’s a great place for them to view Lafayette’s finest geriatrics, mid 40’s divorcée’s, and the Amazonian St. Mary’s 21 year olds dancing like a puppy begging for a treat to Diamond Dave singing Snoop Dog and Neil Diamond while playing his Casio keyboard. It really is a fun place to live vicariously through people making monkeys of themselves… once or twice a year, when your guests are wearing out their welcome.

Petar’s has been around for a VERY long time and I have always enjoyed Diamond Dave’s show. Dave was introduced to me by my wife who grew up in the area along with growing up seeing Diamond Dave. She is a St. Mary’s alumni.
Given it was her 29+11 birthday she wanted to spend it with her friends enjoying Diamond Dave. So I rented a Bus and brought 40 or so people to Petar’s so they could enjoy the music and spirits. On to the review…
1^st the positives: Diamond Dave was his usual crazy and fun self and I have to say that the Bartender and our waitress were pleasant and did their job. Drinks were not watered down.
Now on to the negatives.
1. Petar’s started this year with a $ 5 cover charge. We were caught a bit off guard by this and I tried to «work a deal» with the manager. I had suggested since we were bringing such a big group that I would pay $ 100 for our party and that there would be plenty of cost made up by the drinks. He refused, which is fine, but the WAY he refused was completely inappropriate. He complained about how high his rent has gotten and that Diamond Dave charges him too much so he has to charge. Also, that the ladies in our group wouldn’t’ drink… remember I rented a BUS! If he would have been polite about it rather than cry me a river (and frankly be rude to me because I wasn’t eating his food) I would have been fine but he was basically a jerk. He did let the birthday girl in for free and saved us a few tables. Oh, my bill alone was $ 200. Most everyone else was drinking in our party… poor manager with his rent and a good DJ.
2. Management is a joke and frankly they are JERKS! Bringing about 40 people crowded the small place and it became quite hot and stuffy. I kindly asked one of the bouncers who was standing by the back door if he could please turn on the fans. NO… was his answer. I asked Why not? His response was he doesn’t control things. I asked who does and that it was getting stuffy. He basically then ignored me. I then asked if he ever heard of the words «customer service» and he started yelling at me so I just walked away. A few minutes later one of the gals in the group asked him again. His response to her was that they don’t work. Oh… ok, why didn’t you just say that? FINALLY I think the manager opened some of the doors to get a breeze going. Then the fans were on because the gal who was told they didn’t work asked the bartender and he turned them on right away, no questions asked. What BS!!! I think he was someone who understood customer service.
Again…Management doesn’t give a rat’s you know what about customer service. They obviously don’t care about repeat business. If it wasn’t for my wife’s birthday wish to see Diamond Dave we would have gone elsewhere.
Diamond Dave is probably the ONLY reason this place is still open and I find it so un professional of the manager to tell me how much his rent went up and that Diamond Dave charges too much. He actually was going to tell me how much but I didn’t care. By the way, the manager also cried this same story to my wife and her friend who were also trying to see if we could get a deal on the cover charge.
Whoever owns Petar’s should quickly change management and I think Diamond Dave should find another venue.

If you’ve ever wondered where the most vile cesspool of the East Bay was you’d be surprised to find it in Lafayette. This God forsaken dump houses rotten smells that kill fields of Nebraskan crops that are fertilized with cow dung. It’s a cross of turpentine and jarred piss. Peejars, as a friend of mine coined. So I came here for a good friend’s birthday and did my best to keep an open mind about it. Just because it’s not my kinda joint doesn’t mean I won’t like it. The start was decent. Our food and drinks came out like, ya know, they’re supposed to. No fail there. The food had a little flavor. Ok, I’ve tasted worse. The birthday cake was brought in and our server did her job with plates and forks. Well done indeed.
Then…
everything rode the turd down the drain. DJ Diamond Dave, the establishment’s golden boy, began his karaōke set. My lip curled up at the freak show that followed. The sing-​a-​long was so awful I laughed myself to tears. But that was one song. Soon after I was very, very tired of this massive lack of entertainment. Let’s pay the check. Let’s get outta here.
As any average large party we took a few minutes to split our bills by cash/​credit card. What I noticed at the bottom was a «Cakeage 21» fee. I wondered what that was. I thought someone ordered some $ 21 bottle of wine. No! When we asked our waitress she said she charged $ 1.75 for every slice of cake she cut. W.T.F? I’ve worked in a few restaurants of much higher caliber than this sanitarium of sorry service and have NEVER charged or even heard of a «cakeage» fee. Another friend of mine said the same. We were appalled that we were not told about this beforehand otherwise we would’ve cut it ourselves. Like it’s that hard! «Well I had to bring out the plates,» our waitress tried to make a point. Of course you did. You are our waitress. That’s. Your. Job. Oh, and the 12 slices she so laboriously cut to earn her $ 1.75 (it would be easier to work in a steel mill, wouldn’t it?) was out of calculation, too. There were 9 of us. She could’ve cut 20 slices to charge if she wanted to. Immediately we asked for the manager, so who arrived? The bartender. No, we wanted the manager. He told us the manager wasn’t working that night so he was in charge. What restaurant does not have a manager on staff every night it’s open? The best the double-​digit IQ’d meathead would do (not could do; never satisfy your customers) was knock off $ 9 of the cakeage fee. Oh, and his argument: «If you didn’t want to pay the fee you should’ve ordered one of our desserts,» to which we all looked at the open fridge and saw… flan. Screw the delicious, professionally done $ 25 ice cream cake we brought in. Everyone order the $ 4.95 flan-​from-​the-​can and stick a candle on one. What a better bargain. This guy came from Brown, no question.
While we were waiting a young waitress right next to us started yelling, cussing, and crying at this geriatric lush who apparently yelled at her in front of other customers for prematurely taking his drink away. That was professional. No wait, THIS was professional: the customer walks right into the kitchen (no one escorts him out) and starts telling the bartender/​manager/​meathead «she took my drink!» The meathead favors the belligerent walking artifact over the crying waitress! I was in shock. And right in front of all of us.
The checks were split. We wrote down whose card gets charged what amount and left in the hands of our «overworked» waitress. Intelligence and her pair like thin ice and adult elephants. The cards were charged the wrong amounts and we told her to cancel the charges and swipe the cards again with the right amounts. «I can’t do that.» Shocking insolence. It hurts, physically. It does. We grabbed meathead and he said the same thing. Again, my friend and I had to point out that we worked in restaurants before, and that we had made the same error before, and we know the charges can be reversed. «No, I closed the check already.» Idiocy beyond tolerance. Your eyes roll in the back of your head, you scream in boundless frustration, and your skin melts. Basically, the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark is what this place becomes when you try to pay your bill here.
I cannot despise this place enough. Oh yeah, and for the ladies who heard it’s a great place to go because there’s no guys hitting on you: my own fiancé has recounted back-​to-​back incidents of drunken men getting all up in their faces and wanting to fight them. Trust me, the guys want to hit on you, literally. This is the distinguished, mad cow diseased clientele this place calls its own. Where’s the zero star rating?

Oh Petars… how I love you. Here’s the thing… if you go into this restaurant knowing what it is and what it isn’t, you won’t be let down.
What it isn’t — It is not a fine dining experience nor is it a trendy restaurant. It is not a good place for a date and it is not updated or modern in any possible way. I would say it’s not really a place for young guys. It’s very, very old.
But…
What it is — Petars it is a place to grab a really tasty meal even if the décor is soooooo old and dark and there’s a distinct musky smell. I promise, the food tastes good. I LOVE the skirt steak. Delicious. And the night life with Diamond Dave is fabulous. Go with a group of girls and just be silly and have fun. It’s sorta like dancing at a wedding. Super cheesy songs and super cheesy dancing but it’s wonderful. It’s a safe place to go in the East Bay to dance and have fun without going all the way to the city. There’s plenty of parking and a full bar.
I am there probably once a month! Love it!

That was some snarly service for a calm, quiet and empty Saturday night! I really don’t mean to have a stick up my butt about not having fancy service, but when we are practically the only ones in the bar, ordering at least four drinks and tipping you generously, please try not to have an attitude about it!
What began as a fun night turned into a pretty harrowing evening as our table (one of three occupied in the whole ding-​dang-​darn building) was repeatedly ignored over requests for water (and just pointing in the direction of the water jugs would have been acceptable as well!) and then overbearingly harassed for the bill (when we were not done or asked if we wanted more drinks). I can understand you want to dot all your eyes and cross all of your T’s, and I am sure that had the place been bustling and people waiting for table space, we would’ve been rude to linger, but we were the only ones there, and are all upstanding citizens, and are above stiffing you $ 20! When we all finally did cave and get together to pay (after asking four times,“oh. you haven’t paid yet?”) our waitress bounded away holding only one credit card despite the fact that we had requested the bill be split, which only happened when we all yelled after her to do so, which warranted «I know, I know, I know…» Maybe it was just a bad night?
I have never tried the food at Petars, so I cannot comment or judge, nor am I dissuaded from trying it one day, and I will continue to come back because I am in love with Diamond Dave, but seriously folks, please try not to chase away the ONLY customers you have on a pretty empty Saturday night, will you?

We brought a big meetup group (approx 40) last night to dance to Diamond Dave but one of our female staff was harassed and bullied by one of the bouncer regarding a door by the patio which was left open by management. Our female member reported that he spun and yelled at her after she tried re-​opening the door when it was closed as the dance floor was fully packed. This guy screamed at her and said that he will kick her out if she tried re-​opening the door!
This guy/​bouncer/​manager accused her of not paying when she paid the cover charge and a bottle of wine! She called the following day to report to management and unfortunately talked to the same person last night who yelled at her again and castigated her again and pointing out some imaginary and derogatory physical features (w*) which our female member does not even have. Our female member felt very much violated and disrespected by Petar’s management and this type of customer treatment by a local establishment is unacceptable!!!
Because of this unfortunate incident, potential customers should be leery in coming to Petar’s. They could be violated and disrespected at their own risk! Too bad, Diamond Dave is not performing elsewhere in Contra Costa.

Diamond Dave has lost his touch.
A fight almost broke out while I was there, and it appeared that the bouncer was there to assist the attackers. This place blows now.

My family and I used to come here a lot of happy hour and food. The food has gone downhill (as has the service) but Diamond Dave rocks and the drinks are strong. 5 stars for Diamond Dave — 2 for Petar’s itself — giving it a 3.5 but Unilocal doesn’t give half stars.
Make sure you check Diamond Dave’s schedule before heading down though because he’s not always there Wednesday — Sunday and will sometimes be at private events.

Three stars for the bar, one extra star for Diamond Dave. Hanging out at Petar’s is a Saint Mary’s tradition, and, because of the Double D, that tradition flows right on into the alumni years.
I can’t vouch for the food, but if you’re on the east side of the tunnel, you need at least one night moving between Petar’s and The Roundup.

I can patronize Petar’s in two ways. First, as a take-​out option. The food quality is reliable and tasty. Their pasta dishes are excellent, and their appetizers are delicious. I go crazy for the Italian vinaigrette salad dressing.
I can also visit Petar’s as a «second location», if you know what I mean. To spend any extended periods of time here, I have to already have gotten drunk somewhere else. Bar service can be slowww. I am over the nightly freak show, so yeah, I have to already be drunk to want to spend any time here.

This review belongs in the category heading: Dave Hosley. (Check it out). Because truly, were it not for Diamond Dave, I would never step foot in Petars. Read through the reviews and you will get a glimpse of what Diamond Dave is. And what he does. It is truly mind-​boggling to walk into Petars on a Friday night and watch the place morph from a so-​so bar into the most rockin’ dance party. It truly rivals many of the dance clubs in SF. Only, in Lafayette things roll a little differently. First off, you can expect to see an 85 year old lady dancing with a 40-​something guy. I kid you not, I saw that. Yes, there are the typical suburbanites. But there is a huge contingent of people who come out to Lafayette from downtown SF, and farther away to see Diamond Dave.
Every time anyone comes out to visit us from back east, a trip to Petar’s is a must do.
True story: when my hubby and I were searching for a house in this area, we ended up finding Petars one night after having dinner at Postino around the corner. We’d spent a day with a stuffy realtor looking at ‘fabulous’ properties in Orinda, and were just not feeling it. We heard the live music and walked over to find… well, you know the rest. Lafayette rocks. Eclectic and unpretentious. That’s why someone like Diamond Dave is so appreciated in Lafayette. :)

Got drunk and danced the night away with senior citizens. The music was more youthful than the clientele, but drinks were a bit overpriced and the bartender didn’t know how to make our order.
Fun, but not as fun as the Roundup right next door.

The two stars are for Diamond Dave
The rest — nothing but old people until a college crew rolls in, the food has gone downhill, and they’ve spent a ton of money to — make less space in the place.
I’ll drop in for a drink sometime, but maybe just for the nostalgia of Diamond Dave — other than that, I’m over it.

EVERY SINGLE STAR YOU SEE ABOVE WAS EARNED BY DIAMOND DAVE!
This is one of my favorite haunts because I adore Diamond Dave and the show he puts on at Petar’s. My friends and I have celebrated graduations, birthdays, going away parties, etc. here with Diamond Dave for years. The crowd consists of people ages 21 – 95, and everyone gets out on the dancefloor at some point. Double D, as we call him, takes pride in his work as a one man band and entertainer. He honors requests and keeps the crowd energized.
Other Pros: Unique décor (you’ll see what I mean when you venture inside), and a lovely Irish bartender that is always very kind and helpful at the bar on the dancefloor side. Also, there is usually never a line to get in, if there is it is usually a short wait.
My only suggestions for improvement: Petar’s is in need of bigger/​easier to navigate while tipsy bathrooms. Also, on weekend nights each bar is only equipped with one bartender, 2 at the most. With the volume of people in the bar, there needs to be more service during peak hours. And if they lowered drink prices that’d be swell, I would do less pre-​partying!

I would give this place 5 stars if it wasn’t for the fact that the waitress/​owner is a biotch. She is the older asian lady. She came up to us telling us there was a drink minimum and started arguing with us. We were probably on our 3^rd round. I’ve never eaten the food here and probably never will.
But the entertainment here is classic. Their regular shows consist of Diamond Dave and the customers. DD will sing anything you want. The customers consist of dirty old men, cougars and SMC students. The last night I was there, we had a coked up guy in leather pants, leather vest with a porn star stache dancing by himself all night.
It’s worth the entertainment despite all of problems with the place.

It’s kind of a hole-​in-​the-​wall in a small shopping center, but my two roommates and I decided to stop on by one random Saturday evening to dance the night away. I love the music they play; Top 40 that I can actually sing along to. It wasn’t incredibly crowded, but it was okay. The demographics was mostly either college or post-​college people, which I liked. However, there were several tables of guys just sitting there watching. Pretty creepy.
I only went there once and ended up dancing with a really cute guy most of the night (didn’t bother me that he was gay… whatever! Hahah). But I had a blast!

I’ve been here a couple of times for lunch since my first visit to see Diamond Dave. The lunch crowd is on the older side (average age 75) for sure. They served their veggie sandwich on bread so tough I had to abandon it altogether. Their fries are steak-​fries, likely frozen then fried, but they aren’t bad. They usually have a fish and chips and several other specials on the menu. I either have a hard time conveying myself to the wait staff or the kitchen doesn’t read the orders carefully because usually when I ask for something on the side or omitted (like onions or mayo omitted on a sandwich) the request is completely ignored. For a place patronized by the elderly you’d think this would be more of a proble. Their salads are surprisingly good, made with fresh veggies and perky lettuce. Parking can be a total pain, so if you’re coming for lunch, come early!

We finally made it in here. They aren’t open early on Sundays when we wanted to come by here. Finally on Saturday night we made it for dinner.
The waiter was very quiet but efficient. The menu has a lot of options and the specials were great.
I had the half order of Clams Linguine and my husband had the Fried Oyster Po’ Boy. Mine was very good. My husbands was a very fresh sandwich except the bread was bigger than he or I like. The food was good though.
They need a specialty cocktail menu. I was disappointed when I saw they didn’t have one. I went with Vodka with ginger ale. It didn’t taste very good.
We then got a flat tire and spent a long time in the parking lot fixing it. A bartender from another place around the corner got us a flash light and we were finally able to get it fixed. He totally saved our asses that night.
While we were trying to get our tire fixed Petars was gearing up to change over to a club like atmosphere. They open up the restaurant part, put a strobe light in and the 35 to 50 year olds pour in to paaaartaaaay.
I did get a chance to view the douches that hang out there on Saturday nights. I told a guy who had a scarf on, «Nice Scarf Douche!» He said thanks. He looked ridiculous. Some old guys tried to call me over to talk to them while I was waiting for my husband and I just stared at them like I wanted to bite their noses off and they laid off finally.
I would never want to hang out with such horrible douches on a Saturday night. You should have seen some of the awful Jersey Hair people were sporting. They may not be from Jersey but their hair was.