Central Bar

I think I may have found a new weekly spot to wind down from a busy week. I’ve only been a few times, but once you find your way in, it’s kinda hard not to come back. I mean, it’s in the middle of the Union Market and you’re bound to walk by it if you shop or eat within Union Market.
Every time I come through, I always try to get something new, either from their leather bounded menu or by asking the bartender to whip something up. Their craft mixologists combine fresh juices and other tricks up their sleeve to put together a great cocktail. Fire is always an interesting one, but it just adds an element of fun if you sit barside, which is highly recommended if you can find a seat.
As much as I love coming after work, it’s packed… and for good reason. The happy hour menu is legit and covers some good variety. You can’t go wrong with a Moscow Mule, but Shot & Beer is a good deal. It’s a shot of Buffalo Trace and the beer is on rotation, but typically a lighter variation (think wheat or pilsner). Get there before 7pm to imbibe :)
Some of my favorite orders have been Apple Martini (you can have it three different ways: vodka, whiskey or brandy based), Blood Orange Gimlet or an Old Fashioned. However, I like surprises every once in awhile, so I leave it up to the bartender. And now that they have extended their hours, more opportunity to come through any time: P
Enjoy!

I went here last night and I enjoyed the ambience. I had a Hefeweizen beer which was delish! I also had a tequila mule instead of vodka I requested tequila. Hands down really good too. I would recommend for anyone who is looking for a chill time to go here.

A little pricey but very tasty craft cocktails! Came here on a Saturday around dinner time; it got a little bit too noisy for conversation though.

«Great Bar, At the District,» Fabulous Service Carlos our favorite mixologist is great, he gives us quality service great fun personality, fantastic drinks he always had a special creation for us when we come in. The entire staff here is really great. My husband like to spend a Saturday afternoon here for happy hour, or we just stop in anytime day or night for one of Carlos’s «Special Cocktails.» The music is nice & relaxing this place is one of our regular stops definitely. Busy & bustling with a great crowd we love the vibe here for sure. For happy hour or a pre-​evening drink you can not go wrong here its an awesome bar to hang out in. Nice variety of drinks, beer & wine. For The Hip Vibe Go To Central Bar Its Da Bomb!

Too kid friendly… Decent drinks, but just avoid it. Chardonnay mom’s come in with gaggles of children. So, really weird thing if that’s what you look for in a bar??? Children???
At least last time there wasn’t a mom breast feeding!!! Just one mom brought in her sleeping toddler.
Just avoid this place, unless you’re into children. Which is weird for a bar.
Sometimes the drinks are decent and you get a mixologist.

I love the location and ambiance of Central Bar. This is a «grab and go» type of spot since there isn’t a ton of seating. Drinks are a bit pricey. I had the Apple Martini, which was anything buy ordinary. I loved the sliced apple and enjoyed the aroma of the spices added on top. I usually like to hangout here whenever I’m waiting to grab dinner at Kettlebar or other nearby restaurants.

Funky nycish bar with kickass happy hour and a bartender that’s a dead ringer for scarlet johanson. What’s not to like?

Came here for HH on a Thursday night & had an awesome time!
HH hours:
Mon-​Fri: 4−7PM
Sat: 3−6PM
— they have a couple cocktails for $ ⁷⁄₈ each and some wine as well!
— no food
Came here and snatched a table for some friends and I around 6PM and stayed around 730. The service was on point! There was only ONE server for the entire bar (30 – 35 people) and she was awesome at getting us our drinks, checking up on us, and clearing our table.
I opted for the Moscow Mule after reading so much about it on Unilocal and because it’s my favorite drink. I’d give it a ³⁄₅ though. I’ve had a good share of this drink at other bars and restaurants, but I still think Yard House’s is the best I’ve had. The one here just wasn’t that great, & the flavor of the ginger beer was too much. My friends didn’t like it either but somewhat enjoyed their champagne cocktails.
Overall, the HH drink deals are good but the drinks are so-​so. The 4 stars I’m giving them is for the awesome service & the chill environment! The Union market is finally done with opening a lot of their restaurants that were under construction & they have a bunch of samples all around the building too! Would def recommend for a date night or simply a night out with friends. :)
Cheers to happy hour!

If you’re into bartenders taking their time and making a cocktail the way they should be made, this is a place for you! Really good ingredients, meticulous preparation, makes an awesome drink.
We went on a Saturday night before dinner at Kettlebar, we enjoyed our drinks so much we came back after as well. The ambience was nice as they had an open mic with ppl playing live music.
If you don’t mind paying over $ 10 for a well crafted cocktail, this place is highly recommended and you hauls check it out.

George might have a whiskey palette a polar opposite from mine — he likes it smooth — like baby bottom smooth — whilst I like it rough and dirty: gasp: — like kick me in the throat DIY — but he introduced a whiskey whore to a few whiskies she’s never heard of and the bill left no memories of their existence. Although there was a bug, a chili, etc. today as comes with the territory when it comes to finding things in your drinks here it seems, they were courteous and accomodating about swapping your drinks when it doesn’t suit your palette. I might just be biased about Argentinians who know about Italians but mostly someone who is awesomepants + knows their whiskey even if their taste buds don’t match mine. Kindness + awareness of karmic generosity/​plain good customer service can take you a long way.
My last review of this place mysteriously disappeared but there was a hair that looked like it came from down under in a moscow mule and it went in the mouth of one of my inner circle … notified, the waitress treated us like beggers until one of the managers got wind of it (+ proceeded to scold the f*ck of her for acting like a stinky, sweaty, hairy ball nut … which was quite entertaining). The waitress is no longer here and George is sooper awesomepants. He makes up for my last nonexistent review.
Yay, George!

The Moscow mule is the best I’ve had, and you can bring in food from any restaurant in Union Market.

Just drinks in a modern and comfy atmosphere, next to the stage, in the middle of the Union Market. Full bar, lots of seating options, couches and arm chairs. On the expensive side, but you can’t put a price on a conversation with a hip mixologist!

Head up– drink menu has more added items.
Happy hour– M to F 4−7pm
Before they only had wine and beer, finally they started serving cocktails. I love how the bar is the center piece for union market. Every market place is not complete without alcohol. It’s open seating and BYOF. Date spot for sure.
Parking– huge ass whole food parking lot across the street.
Food– none
Drinks– ward eight, run for roses
I will definitely come back to drink with close friends or a date. If you’re on a date, I highly recommend taking a stroll over to whole foods after drinking, and pick out some beers and some snacks then home on home for round 2.

A craft cocktail bar in an Irvine shopping center. Perhaps that sentence has one too many contradictions and oxymorons?
If you’re looking for cute-​sounding or hipster-​invoking (stroking?) cocktails, then this may be right up your alley. If you’re like me and just want a beer or something simple such as a Manhattan or vodka martini, well I suppose Central Bar can be good for that too except that their beer selection is very limited and that evening their only beer tap was busted.
Atmosphere and and the ensuing clientele (or is it the other way around…), can be lumped into one of two categories: 1) corporate by day, hipster by night crowd and/​or 2) bearded, lumberjack bad boys (and gals) with man buns.
Service was very slow on a Friday evening. Two bartenders working at peak hours, which in this community is around 8PM because we need to get tucked in by 11PM. I’m one of them =)

Good drinks, iffy management.
Bartenders were solid, they know what they’re doing and will make you something special if you ask.
The bar manager on the other hand is very unprofessional. I didn’t even realize he was the manager till I had a miscommunication issue on a couple of drinks. At which time he butted into our conversation. It appeared to me he was a patron hanging at the bar but no he’s the manager. *scratches head*

So the drinks here are really great. The bartenders are friendly, and they’re more than willing to help you find a drink that you’ll like.
Shout out to their Moscow Mule. Apparently it’s made with freshly squeezed ginger juice rather than actual ginger beer. The difference seems to be that it’s less sweet than usual, but it is super spicy and strong.
Unlike several Unilocalers, I had no problem with getting drinks quickly. The bartender was fairly attentive, and our drinks came out pretty soon after we ordered them. However, it was waiting-​hell to get our check and close out. There was a point in the night where we did not get visited by the bartender for half an hour or so, and we were ready to bounce for a good amount of this time. The bar was getting really busy at this point, so I’d recommend not going here if you have many other plans for the night – you could end up waiting here much longer than planned.
That all being said, the drinks were great and the service was friendly. I plan on coming back, but I’ll probably come on a night when I have nothing else going on.

Central Bar is where it’s at! Looking all fancy schmancy and all nice in the new «hip» Union Market in the Tustin District. Too many names for you to follow eh? That’s okay.
Central Bar is located near the middle of Union Market and you can even smell poutines from the Kroft. :) They have some seats that are at the bar and some tables that surround it. There aren’t too many seats there but considering that it is a bar– I dunno. It’ll fit 20 people.
But I had read happily that they have Happy Hour from 4 – 7 on M-​F so I was really excited to go after my classes on Friday!
They have a couple things on their Happy Hour menu.
$ 7 cocktails
Daiquiri. White rum, lime juice, sugar
Central Bar Punch: Cahchaca, lemon and orange juices, red wine, sparkling wine.
Moscow Mule: ginger juice, lime juice, vodka
Shot and a Beer.
$ 7 wine: red, white, bubbly
$ 5 beers
My friends got the central bar punch and it tasted great. If you love fruity and you want a kick in the alcohol, this is it. The fruit isn’t overpowered by the alcohol and this in no way tastes like red wine. Like at all. It’s that tasty. This one will get you buzzed if you’re really light. Cahchaca. Mhm. What a wonderful addition.
Moscow Mule. So when reading the ingredients, I was like why. Why should I get this? Then I drank it. Omg I don’t like ginger juice that much but this, when iced, is the perfect amount where you tongue won’t be like EW GINGER IT BURNS and «I don’t even taste it». It’s like the perfect amount :3. The lime juice– didn’t really taste it but they have a lime on top. And not a fan of vodka but seriously, they make cocktails amazingly. Sippy straws included.
I need to come back again.
I need to try their $ 13 apple martinis.
LOL.
Great bar service, as they do talk to you if you’re willing. :)

Superb experience tonight. Wanted to try this bar based on all of the Unilocal reviews & pics. Loved that the Unilocalers were saying that the bartenders customize the drinks for you.
We sat at the bar & was quickly greeted by George. He was super chill & explained the drinks to us. Said the menu is a guideline and he will create whatever we want. But I went with what was on the menu:
Mexican bonfire: Perfection. Not too sour, it was cool & refreshing. Absolutely loved this drink.
Apple Martini: delicious. A real apple. Martini. On point. Definitely try it!
Mojito: one of the best I’ve had. Very minty. Just perfect for my liking.
Hubs had: Whiskey Sour with egg white, his was good too.
I had a great time here. George our bartender was so amazing. He took the time to make delicious drinks and we all hit it off with him. Great company & great drinks. Salute George! We will be back!

I am not really sure when Orange County became so hip. I am pretty happy about it though! This place is about as hip as it gets. It is located inside the Union Market literally in the center (ha ha get it Central Bar). Anyways, they offer bar seating as well as have these cute couch/​bench seats you can sit at and enjoy a drink.
They make some pretty amazing craft cocktails, they will cost you between $ 12-​$ 14 bucks a pop but are carefully crafted with fresh ingredients. They do offer happy hour from 5 – 7 and some of the cocktails are on happy hour.
My favorite cocktail (though its not on happy hour) is the apple martini. It is made with fresh squeezed apple juice (like squeezed in front of you) not any of that weird green crap that was so popular with apple martinis back in the early 2000s.
Definitely, worth a stop in for a cocktail… or 5 (though that may cost you a pretty penny).

I have been dabbling a bit with craft cocktails recently, so when my cousin decided to grab drinks at Central Bar, I was excited to check it out.
It is located in the new Union Market at the District, right in the center of the building; I’m sure you could’ve guessed that from its name. The layout is also concentric, which I really like!
We got here during Happy Hour, which ended at 7PM on a weekday, so we got the Moscow Mule and the Punch. They were deliciousssss; the mule had a stronger ginger flavor, since they use fresh ginger! I love it. The only downside as a craft cocktail bar? It takes a bit longer to get your drinks to you, since they’re shaking, stirring and muddling all your ingredients to create the perfect cocktail.
Nearing the end of our little date, my cousin decides to get adventurous and tells Jacob (the mustachio’d bartender of the evening) to «surprise him», while I went with the Whilsner. The Whilsner had a delicious blend of Pilsner and lemon; it was so enlightening, I might just start adding OJ to all my crappy Pilsners. For my cousin, Jacob came back with a drink consisting of cocoa bitters, mezcal and I really have no idea what else, but it reminded me of barbecue sauce. I decided that cocktail would go perfectly well with some red, juicy meat. At this point, I was only two drinks in on an empty stomach and feeling those drunchies. :)
Given that Central closes a bit earlier than most bars, it’s a great place to grab a drink after work or to bring a casual date. The bartenders are friendly and easy to talk to, so there are plenty of regulars. Will stop by to try a few more drinks soon!