The Willow Den

Pros:
+ decoration
+ atmosphere and ambiance
+ staff
+ nice cocktails+ heavy drinks
Cons…huh…I dunno… maybe toilets could be cleaner? I mean it.
I went there on a Friday night, the crowd seemed ok. I had a really fun time with a couple of friends.
They got pool table, jukebox and old video games.
Nice place for getting drunk in loose in early evenings. When we left, bunch of security guys was there filtering people… cops showed up at some point… not sure how safe it is in late nights but do go check it out it’s a fun place!

Super fun dive bar in suburbia — a sea of restaurants where actual bars are hard to come by. They have Jenga, retro video games, a juke box and shuffleboard so essentially anyone can find something to do. It is a mixed crowd for sure which worked for us since we are 40 year old parents who rarely get out! We had a blast. We were there early– we left at 10. As we left, security bulked up and we got the sense the crowd thickens and gets tougher. If you want a fun, unpretentious place to grab a drink and let loose– this is your place.

Great place to hang out. Shuffle board, Pac Man, Space Invaders, etc. love it. Place for adults.

Came here with a couple friends on a random Sunday night and to our surprise it was pretty packed with «regulars». As soon as we walked in rude looks were shot our way not only from the regulars but also the staff behind the bar. Took about TEN minutes to get a beer which I mean if it was packed is understandable but NOPE the crew is just lollygagging behind the bar, LITERALLY ignoring us. I mean a couple times they would stop their conversation with the regulars and look our way but then just continue their conversation.
The place is super divey and grimy and totally reminded me of my favorite college bar so i didn’t mind that one bit. But the staff was SO RUDE that this place deserves one star because no paying customer should be treated as my friends and I were on this day. We did nothing to deserve to be treated like this. The management needs to either check their staff or hire some new people because everyone behind that bar is an asshole.
Def will NOT be returning here.

The Willow Den.
Fun place to meet up. If you ratchet and you know it clap yo hands *clap* *clap*
Pros:
(+)Dance Floor
(+)Giant Jenga
(+)Shuffle Board
(+)Pool
(+)Ms. Pac Man
(+)Drinks are between $ 8-​$ 15?
(+)Security is chill,& they have metal detectors so I won’t have to be worried about getting poked
Cons:
(-) at times gets super packed (can also be a +)
(-) Music sometimes doesn’t match the atmosphere (Katy Perry? uh)
(-)You gotta pick up the Giant Jenga every time lol
Summary:
Though it isn’t my go to spot, it’s one of the better divey bars. For people who don’t like just standing around it has quite a few things to keep your group interactions fun.

I went to Willow Den with my boyfriend tonight to play some pool, and for 2 bucks, was able to play two games. We didn’t have to wait for a table, but I’m assuming that is because it was a Monday night right after the holidays. We had an enjoyable time, and played a quick game of life-​size Jenga before we left. Truth be told, I’ve only been here one other time, so I can’t give a thorough review on the drink selection, but from what I could see, there was a wide variety. Would be willing to go back for a few drinks with friends, to see if it could earn another star or two.
It looks like your typical dive bar, with ripped up stools and sticky tables, but hey– sometimes those are the best and most loved establishments! I enjoy that they have games to play, and the bar itself is fairly large and wraps around.

It’s a little grimey but there’s a lot to love about this place.
It has a lot of space compared to a lot of other bars that are too small to fit a bigger crowd. The wrap around bar gives you a lot of opportunities to get bartender’s attention and drinks.
The games are the standout for me. This is more of a hang out and chill bar. It has two pool tables, large sized Jenga game, Shuffle board, and arcade machine.
On busy nights, there’s also a dance floor that can get pretty packed.
The bathroom get nasty and small the biggest knock.
The drinks are good and reasonably priced.
Not the best area, not the worst.
TL;DR It’s a fun hang-​out bar to play games and chill. Looking for a fun dance club there’s better places.

My favorite bar in the willow glen/​Campbell/​San Jose area! Always a good time and great people every single night. Meeting fun new people here for SIN-​SERVICE INDUSTRY NIGHT Sunday’s and a dj most other nights. Karaōke Wednesday’s also it’s like why would you go anywhere else?
The bartenders– amazing! I have made friends with most of them and honestly when I come here feel like it’s a big fun family.
Shuffle board and pool.
Never bad on prices and always something to do! This bar is the go to stop on this area. Has been for years.

security guards at the door sucked. there’s no cover charge but their attitude is terrible! why can’t they get some new security guards? DJ sucked too, mixing good songs with bad ones. I traveled all the way from South San Francisco for this!!! are u kidding me? smh I don’t think I would ever come back! bye Felicia!

Super shady bar with shady clientele. Restrooms are dirty, glasses dirty and bouncers seem to back the shady clientele that visits. As a person who bartended for years, there are some basics necessary for running a well maintained bar and this place doesn’t have it.

My friend had been urging me to go this place for so long and i finally got around to it. I must say, for struggling to find a new San Jose night spot to hang out, this definitely fits the spots. I love the location (since it is a few blocks from my home), enjoy the environment, and am definitely drawn in by the cheap & strong drinks! This will definitely be my new recommendation and hang out spot :)
BUT PLEASE — I don’t know why, but the place is so stuffy and unbreathable. Please fix this! My friends and I couldn’t be in there for more than half an hour without feeling claustrophobic, when the place wasn’t even packed like you would expect at a normal club/​rave!

My favorite bar in San Jose. You can’t go wrong with $ 2 well drinks on a Thursday night after a long day at work. I come here all the time to pre-​game for whatever I might have going on Friday night. Gotta give a shout out to my friend Cassie, one of best bartenders I know.

I came here after I had a Swirl at Aquis restaurant down the street and I had a GREAT TIME. They played good music from old school to new school and I danced the night away. It was a great time!

Large dive bar complete with pool tables, HUGE JENGA blocks, shuffleboard and a dance floor where you can harmoniously stand with other people. I at least don’t recall much dancing, lol.
This place looks quiet on the outside in typical dive fashion, but it’s fairly large inside and gets packed with people. The best dive option I’ve seen in the area thus far. As long as you’re looking for a dive I can’t see you leaving hear unhappy!

I really like this dive bar. It has character and maybe a bit grungy for a few. There are dollars with messages decorating the ceiling, a inflatable penis behind the bar, and bras (yes bras) wrapped around the pipe above the bar. This place must get crazy where bras just starts flying off women. I am not sure, I went on a weekend. At the back is a stage where you get a chance to showoff those vocal chords and karaōke. Thank god the girl who sang Creed was good.
The bartender was attentive and saw that I took out the straw and didn’t put straws in the next drinks. The prices were decent and the music was good. However, it was a little loud for chatting and the meetup group that was there. I heard it is really busy on the weekends.

For years I avoided coming to this place because I prefer to play devils advocate and explore the unknown. This place does live up to the word on the street, and I’m glad I came by the other night.
I experienced no bad energies and the bartenders were attentive and friendly. The space is also a huge plus, I never felt crowded even though several people were present.
Thank you for a nice time. Arguably the nicest dive bar ever!

Don’t expect anything fancy here, but it’s a fun place to grab a few drinks and hangout with your friends. It’s a divey bar with dollar bills and bras tacked to their ceiling so that gives you a good idea of what kind of bar this is. It’s located a mile or 2 from downtown willow glen. They have a few parking spaces right in front of the bar, but if those are taken, there’s plenty of street parking.
There are 2 things that make this place great: the games and the amazing tacos they make right in front of the bar. They have giant jenga and shuffle board! It’s a great way to make new friends and to make your friends who lose the game buy everyone a round of drinks. The drinks are fairly priced and are strong enough to give you a buzz. As for the tacos, they are the best thing after a night of drinking! They aren’t the best tacos ever, but they are good enough to satisfy my late night cravings. Nothing better to end a fun night than a few delicious tacos!

This has to be the worst place to be in willow glen. My advice… go down to goosetown. Much nicer crowd and you’ll be treated with respect and dignity and be surrounded by positive people that enhance your life.
I went here and at first it was just super overpriced drinks out of dirty glasses. Bathrooms smelled horrible, and the crowd was shady. I met some guys who at first seemed cool. Played pool with them
for an hour or so, then went on and minded my own business and went back to the bar. An hour later I went outside to smoke
and I saw one of the guys I was playing pool with leaving so like a good guy I went and said goodbye. Out of nowhere and for no reason he proceeded to sucker punch me and run away. Luckily the dude couldn’t land a punch correctly and so I was just like what the hell just happened. I got security to come after trying to chase the dude that assaulted me down and they just decided to kick me out after I had been assaulted. Then Hans backed by his mediocre wanna be mma fighters came shooting off his mouth disrespectfully for no reason about some
nonsense.
Here’s to you Hans: the people of willow glen do not want you or your bar here. You are unprofessional and unwelcome in willow glen. This place was far better when the hells angels ran it. You have brought a wave of crime into our neighborhood that we do not appreciate, and we can’t wait until you eventually are shutdown. I don’t even think your minions you hired to protect you like you very much either so I would recommend you boost their salaries before they turn their backs on you too.

I LOVE this place. It has just about the best atmosphere of any dive bar in the bay area. It has a large stage, but apparently the music is mostly DJs at night, no live bands. But it looks like a place that the Ramones would play, and I mean that in a good way. Regardless, they’ve also had some good music playing on the jukebox when I was there.
I’ve stopped in here a couple times for a beer while in the general area, and the daytime bartender has always been great. If you want to duck into a cool, dark place and escape to where nobody will bother you for a little while, I can’t think of a better place than this.

Since the homies moved down the street in the Willow Glen community, they of course needed to find their new watering hole. I’ve always seen this place driving down Lincoln, but never bothered going until the homies said to roll through with them. Upon entering it is totally a dive bar with bras hanging up all of the ceiling, pool tables, dance floor, shuffle board and massive Jenga. Though it can get pretty ratchet and crazy on the weekends, it can still be a lot of fun. I prefer going there during a weeknight when the bartender isn’t hammered and the music isn’t preventing you from having a conversation. Overall, it’s a chill place on weeknights and straight up party on the weekends. the choice is yours.