Sidetrax

Great bar. Thursdays they have Drag BINGO. Chantal is always an amazing host and always looks amazing. The bartender on Thursday knows my order when I walk through the door which is always really nice. Sunday night drag shows are so busy and so awesome. Its where you get to see Chantal and the rest of the queens do their thing. This is just an awesome bar and its e cig/​Vapor friendly. Also they have tvs by the smoking area so you don’t miss any of the action. Love this place!!!

Cheap drinks! House shots for $ 2! Can’t beat that. Mixed drinks for around $ 5-​$ 6. I didn’t really like the mixed drinks. I had a few but I’d rather drink the shots. The bartenders are very fast and nice. We were here on Friday so they had karaōke. That was pretty fun. I would come back here.

First and foremost, I met a bartender here who changed my entire perspective of this place. Her name was Kathryn, and she made the most tasty drinks ever! This place has FANTASTIC drink specials, and has a side entrance into badlands. Piano bar in Friday’s is alright, but there are a few certain creeps that wander around trying to buddy up to anyone who looks alone. All in all, best dive bar in the gay district.

If I could give Zero stars I would. Just because you stop SERVING at 1:30… I can’t finish my drink?! Armed security guards at bars that don’t even search you?! The guard felt the need to place his hand on his m-​9 bc I hadn’t finished the last drink I PAID for?! The illusion of ‘control’ via weaponry is bullshit and over the top. Ya’ll realize that security guards are NOT THE SAME AS POLICE!!! LOL
Also the upstairs bar overprives for HELLA weak drinks and when i complained no one cared.
BOTH bathrooms are unise which lessens the wait time and that’s nice. But, I’m not sure what the gentleman by the doors is being paid to do because the line is insane and the bathrooms are absolutely nasty!
I, personally, have worked IN both bars AND have done security FOR bars. The way Sacramento, particularly Sidetrax, runs security and bar hours is complete BULLSH*T! I don’t usually hype up the East Coast, but honestly … downtown Sacramento could use some tips. Wtf Wtf wtf?!

Ummmmmm 12.75 for a Grey Goose and Cran. GTFOH. $ 5 cover at 1am Okay cool. DJ was great but I was so pissed at the restrooms. Unisex… okay whatever I guess BUT… That bathroom was so damn filthy I thought I was going to catch something. Definitely will not be back. Costly drinks and you can’t pee after you drink their watered down expensive drinks. Thanks but No Thanks!

The times I frequent this area, I often pass by this bar. It can be easily overlooked compared to the others surrounding it. So, one evening my partner and I decided to check it out. And to our surprise it turned out to be a pretty cool spot after all. The music was pretty good. Not all crazy and over the top. The bartender was on point with the drinks (Which those who know me, I love great drinks). We really didn’t walk around the entire bar much, pretty much just stayed in the same spot and feeling it out as it started to get crowded, but it appears to be a pretty small bar. It’s definitely a spot that I would not mind checking out again in the near future.

So first off I want to say why I only gave four not five stars. Get the bad out of the way right? There have been plenty of times I have tried to take a friend from out of town there, or go myself, and they are closed during the posted hours. It happened enough that I had eventually stopped going. The other downside is that though they are not a cash bar, they won’t open a tab on a card. I understand why some places avoid this but if you are going to accept cards and get the hit from the credit card companies why not make it worth your while.
I absolutely love this place. The vibe is always awesome. The drinks are spot on, the service is great, the atmosphere is welcoming, and their martini menu is a favorite. I have never had a drink there that was not awesome. The music is always enjoyable to listen to whether you are on the patio with friends or on the dancefloor sweating it up. All in all a great and welcoming place to go!

This bar is definitely underrated. I went for my second time last night for a lesbian night called She Said… A Ladies Affair that was a special event put on by the event company She Said San Francisco.
Sidetrax first came on my radar when I found out that it’s the only bar that has a weekly Ladies Night called Twisted! which starts at 9 p.m. I have yet to go to this particular night, but have still been happy with the other two times I’ve gone.
As far as atmosphere goes, it’s a small place and you have to walk upstairs immediately when you enter to get to the main bar area. The main bar area has a small dance floor right behind it and the DJ Is up higher in the far right corner.
I have always experienced good service from the bartenders here, both downstairs and upstairs, including being asked if I would like water when I bought a drink later in the evening for my friend but not myself. As far as drinks, I would definitely recommend the White Gummy Bear Martini (Razberry Svedka, Peach Scnapps, Sprite, Sour Mix, and Gummy Bears).
There are two outdoor patio areas including one that overlooks Faces and is good for crowd watching (that patio is by the upstairs bar). My only complaint about the patio overlooking Faces is that if your short, you have to stand on your tippy toes to overlook the side rail or pull up one of the few seats available to look over.
The crowd last night was primarily 21-​mid 30s and I felt comfortable there as someone who is about to turn 32.
I’ll definitely come back for other lesbian nights here and to drink more White Gummy Bear Martinis.

A nice little club /​bar with front and back patios. I have been here many times, always a good crowd. Calender girls shows are fun fun fun fun !!!

Love this bar. They have a huge list of cocktails for happy hour with almost everything at $ 5. The white gummy bears are addicting. There are multiple rooms and an upper floor patio for anyone wanting to get some fresh air after getting down on the dance floor. Beautiful lighting and great music on twisted Thursday.

After a big dinner and numerous cocktails at The Porch, I felt the need to dance off some calories. The dance floor at Badlands was packed so I went through the upstairs door that connects Badlands to Sidetrax.
The music at Sidetrax was more my style — less on the pop side and more house and techno. There were a good number of people dancing but still plenty of room to get my freak on.
My next visit to Sidetrax was for a charity event and I was excited to see that the place was packed. Sierra College professors and professional drag queens shared the stage to solicit donations. I had a wonderful time but there was an issue with the Moscow Mules, a drink highlighted on the menu but made inconsistently and without the proper ingredients. Next time, I’ll probably stick to beer.

Great drinks poured strong! It always seems to be pretty clean and not too crowded. Best part is an awesome front balcony overlooking all the action on the streets below. I’m a fan and I will be back again soon for sure!

Over priced-​watered down drinks. Lousy DJ. Stay away

Great modern lounge ambience and wonderful long happy hours with awesome bartenders.
The problem is that there are no consistent hours of operation and when open, closes early if not crowded. The Depot is is often dead but always open regular hours.
Great front balcony for people watching when open.
I really thing Sidetrax needs to be put out of its misery. Can’t really seem to get going, even after stopping the 18 and over crowd in September.

Nice and clean with a strong pour– that’s my kind of watering hole. I was surprised that there weren’t too many people there for happy hour on a Saturday night but most people seemed to congregate near the front balcony which looks out on to all the other bars on the block. Our bartender was very friendly and made great drinks. I ordered the same drink at all the other gay bars in the neighborhood and Sidetrax did it the best (probably because their Grey Goose was chilled and they keep their soda guns extremely clean). I’ll definitely be back!

This is a really sweet venue. Two balconies, two bars, a nice sound system, intimate setting, good lighting, and visual screens. The bartenders and the location are prime. I have no problems with this spot.
Occasionally, ‘Trapacana’ (Wednesday night Bass Music/​Trap) is moved from Badlands to Sidetrax, and while Badlands is a better looking and larger bar, Sidetrax hasa better sound system (in my opinion). Either way, both are great options.

As much as I want to not like this place, at the end of the day it’s not as bad as everyone makes it seem.
Sure, it’s not 5 star food, sure you have to walk your happy butt up and down a flight of stairs, but I think it adequately serves its target population — 18+.
When I was 18 and we had Club 21 up the street, it was ratchet as all hell (I swear I’m going to get lung cancer with all the time I spent in the ‘smoking area’ which really felt like a Dutch oven). It was rough but sidetrax is a fantastic improvement.
On the tails of that last statement, Sidetrax also serves bar food. Now keep in mind it comes from the downstairs Hot Rods place, so if you’re expecting something different, know that it isn’t anything special… and you’re tummy might just hurt afterwards, but it’ll serve it’s purpose of filling you up.
As for service, it is certainly good considering how packed it gets in here and the bartenders are always sweet and amiable.
If there’s one piece of advice I’d give to prospective guests it’d be to not take the pushing and shoving personal. It’s a small venue, so you can’t expect wide open spaces nor adequate ratchet dancing room; folks got places to be, right?!
Good luck, have fun!

For the love of God, Sacramento, please open a gay bar that isn’t a wannabe ripoff of a bigger/​better bar in another city. Badlands/​SF was enough — now you’re on to Chicago?

This bar seems confused, starting with the non-​complimentary food (fast food from Hot Rod’s) and beverage (martini-​centric) menus. Would you like some chicken
strips and garlic fries with your dirty martini?
We passed on the food and tried a couple drinks– one classic, one off the menu. My adventurous friend ordered the «White Gummy Bear», which literally tastes like bubblegum mouthwash. I ordered a Manhattan, which was way too heavy on the vermouth. Thankfully, he didn’t serve me the initial one into which he’d poured Worcestershire. We abandoned both nearly full drinks.
I would encourage this bar to focus on doing the classics (and doing them well) and offering complimentary food.

Sidetrax is the newest gay bar/​dance club in the Lavendar Heights area downtown, next door to Badlands and Hot Rods (actually sort on top of Hot Rods). This new venue may be small but in this case small is good, because it’s only got enough room for the basics…
Bar: check.
Dance floor: check.
Patio for air/​smoking: check.
Good dance music: check.
All your essentials in basically one room. As there isn’t multiple rooms/​dance floors/​bars, there isn’t enough room for the vibe to become clicky and segregated (which is why I don’t like Faces as much anymore). Sidetrax is perfect for when I want a strong drink and to dance my ass off for a few dozen songs!