I've seen this place described as a "dive" but I guess that is relative. To me a "dive bar" is a place where they seem to have no concept of a public spaces smoking ban, you are considered a "regular" when you occupy a stool there no less than 8 hours a day, and you can potentially find a hitman for hire playing pool in the back. I'll agree it is probably as divey as you get in Newport Beach. Its a dimly lit no frils old fashioned bar. Plenty of tvs to watch the game on, some seats have ocean views and there are a few pool tables. I only had beer, so I can't comment on their cocktails. $3.50 for a budlight was a nice break after $5 bucks each at Mutt Lynch's down the street. read more

The cashier called me a dumbass and told me to go fuck myself because I turned around to say something to my friend before signing the check. So for the rest of you Beach ball bartenders you can thank the kid behind the counter for being the reason I'll never leave another tip at this place read more

Went in to have a drink with friends played a song on jukebox bouncer said he's tired of hearing song and it won't be played he skipped it. (Large white guy with beard) COMPLETELY RUDE SPENT 50 on round of drinks left them on bar and left..First night in Newport Beach stayed for 3 days at hotel next door gave me a bad taste for Newport Beach FRIEND TRYING TO GET AHOLD OF OWNER IT WAS THAT BAD. read more

I love this place. It is a lot of fun, and the people are friendly. I was disappointed that the female bartender charged me more than double what the other bartenders charge. $25 for one drink with Absolut vodka. A shot of Ciroc was only $10. My husband was upset, but paid it and we left. If we come back, we won't order from her again. Hopefully it was an accident, but it didn't seem like it. It seemed like she thought he was intoxicated and was taking advantage. We weren't intoxicated, and would have noticed that anyway. Sad. read more

WOW place hasn't changed in 25 years. But $7.50 for a Coors light draft. As I wait for 3:00 to come so I can pick up my daughter from surf camp. read more

I am knocking off a star only because it happens so damn often....if the bartender doesn't like the song that you picked (and paid for!) on the jukebox, he has this control where he skips it. No acknowledgment of the party foul. No remorse. No refund! Other than that you really can't ignore this legendary hot spot. Just party it up with all the pretty people and try to ignore the crappy music. read more

The servers are aweeome....drinks are fair...view is awesome and they let you bring food in...great place. And the patrons play the best music read more

Me and my Family were wondering if a bartender named Natalie quit or was on vacation or what!?! We really enjoy her personality.

We were visiting from out of town and have heard about the dive bar atmosphere of this place. Bartender was ok but the prices are absolutely outrageous. Paid close to $55 for 3 WELL drinks (which barely tasted like there was any liquor in them) and 2 CANS of beers. We actually were shocked and thought he was joking when he said the price. We don't mind paying for good drinks in a cool place but this was not the case here. For the price, we could have went to a much better establishment in Newport. We won't be returning and would not recommend this bar to anyone. read more

Cool oceanfront dive bar to meet new people and have some fun. Yelp brought two friends and me to the Beach Ball one night, and the Beach Ball brings me back to Yelp. I'm not a Newport local, so we had some trouble meeting our friends here - confusing the name for all possible combinations of "Beach Ball Bar" ("Beach Bar Ball", "Bar Beach Ball", you get the point) did not help. But we finally made it and were relieved to find a cool, unpretentious place with a cute and friendly crowd. 1. The setup/atmosphere: divey, of course, but not an empty-except-one-crazy-drunk kind of dive bar. It's cool but unpretentious, lively but not crazy. There's a long bar when you enter, and as you go downstairs in the back there are two pool tables and some arcade games. The bar area is dim but the back is more brightly lit. It may get crowded around the bar, but then you can just go downstairs in the back or get a breath of ocean-fresh air outside. 2. The crowd: seemed like younger (20s) locals. Ethnically mixed. Middle-class. I think most people came with at least one friend, but generally not with a whole mob of people (that's more than 5). 3. The drinks: were good to me! I think my vodka/tonic was served in a plastic cup, but my beer was served in a glass. 4. Location/parking: great on both fronts. It's right alongside the ocean, and right by several parking lots. I wish I could have stayed longer. I'm sure that if I was in town for more days and hung out here more, I would give the place 5 stars. Heck, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt... read more

The only place this place isn't getting 5 stars is because I haven't run into Lisa H. with her breakfast goodies. But a comfy "We don't care if you roll in wearing your pajamas" bar that opens at 6am is all right in my book! A great place to go find the proverbial hair of the dog. They even let me pretend to work the hundred year old register because in my drunken state I thought it was "The coooolest thing I've ever seen!" Stay away from the ladies room if you can at all help it. It's tres tiny and there's a good chance some chick just puked in there 5 seconds ago. read more

Bar has a the best vibes! Me and a couple friend were there to have a relaxing day and ended up turning up lol. Peter service was amazing super ineradicable and kept us going. I recommend anyone to stop by Sun-Wed! (Because that's when Peter is there) read more

I always stop for a drink when in the area, (except when i have my daughter) lol! Great dive bar, decent prices, Amazing view. I love bars with Jubeboxes & pool tables, if you're looking for a chill spot to have a drink, stop by the beach ball. read more

Beach Ball - Dive Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Some of the cheapest drinks on the peninsula. A great dive bar. Don't expect much, but do expect a grouchy bartender, some locals, and a dark, dank interior. By far a great place to meet with friends and start a bar crawl. read more

Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnyyyyy hole in the wall dive bar. No food here, just liquor. And the tiniest bathroom known to man. I had to wait behind 8 girls for one stall and nearly didn't make it! That being said, drinks are cheapo and the crowd is diverse. There's the old locals, the young locals, and of course some of the crazy characters I know. haha. They have pool tables too which seemed to be full on a Sunday afternoon, but this place just didn't do it for me. And this tiny joint got so packed that as I left, I almost didn't see the keg just chillin' in the middle of the walkway at the entrance. Um, hello, that's me tripping over your beer and into the id checker chick. D'oh! read more

I'm not sure how this can be considered a dance club seeing as how there were maybe 5 people total when I visited, but if your looking for beer and a game of pool, this place will fit the bill. It seemed to be mostly 30+ and locals, which is all well and good, but probably not the crowd I will seek out for a night out. They do card and charge for pool, so have your I.D and some extra change if you plan on hanging out for a while. read more

If you are going to Beach Ball, it is most likely past 12:30AM and you have made your Newport bar rounds. No matter how the other places treated you that night, you will always have the one constant, and that is The Ball. For all the years I have come here, they have always had some of the stiffest drinks, chillest bartenders, and a divey divey mellow vibe, which I love. Finish off your night with some shitty music from the jukebox, a few games of pool, and a few last shots and/or beers before being booted out. (and if you aren't fully satisfied, at least you can rest easily knowing that it will be open again in 4 hours.... it opens at 6AM.. and from what I hear, at times there are actually people there at opening..... good ol' Newport alcoholics) The Ball never disappoints. read more

Come into this place thinking it's a dive, and you'll have a decent set of expectations. For a dive bar, this Beach Ball is actually pretty pleasant, with decent stools available and an active pool-table complex in the back. Its location, very close to the pier, makes this place a frequent stop when drinking in Newport, a pleasant laid-back experience that offers a most excellent view when staggering out drunk. They take credit cards. Parking is available in a lot near Sharkeez and just on the streets of Newport. Parking can be tough fri/sat night. read more

Oh how I love The Ball. It's not one of those places that is ever a destination for me, yet I always end up there. It's a dive, but I love it. Love the pool table. Love the jukebox. Love the upstairs bar so you can stare at the people playing pool. It tends to be a less obnoxious crowd at night than some other bars in the area, which I like. It can get crowded, but never TOO bad (although I remember one time I actually had to wait in line! The horror! It was so funny that we were waiting in line to get into The Ball that we took a picture). Plus, you wanted to make some new friends, right? In some places you pay extra for that hand on your ass. The Ball doesn't take itself seriously and I like that. Always good times there. Just booze and the divey bar scene...just the way it is supposed to be. read more

It's rare that I write reviews but this place was downright awful. This was our first stop in our night in Newport with a couple other friends and it took less than a few minutes for us to walk right out the door. I'd normally take low reviews with a grain of salt and attribute them to isolated bad experiences, but after reading others' experiences, I am not one bit surprised and advise you to believe the low reviews. I get that it's Newport so my expectations are already low, but we walk in with masks and this old raggedy divorced looking lady starts asking us "are those to protect us" (referring to our masks) in an obvious sarcastic and condescending tone. We ignore her but she then proceeds to legit cough on us. We immediately move away from her and don't engage with her and we let one of the staff know but they simply shrugged it off and didn't care. The staff said they couldn't do anything about it. Maybe there was some truth to it, what can you do? What bothered me was the low effort and non chalant attitude they had though. For me, how the staff treats you as a patron is key to a good experience. The least they could have done is told the lady to chill the hell out, as she was also obviously past her limit and probably her bed time. Read others reviews though, it seems that low effort staff are a common theme at this place. On top of that, be wary of who this place attracts, as this also seems to be a problem at this place. Frankly, do yourself a favor and spend your money somewhere else. read more

Great dive bar. Came here on a recommendation from our Uber driver. We were in town for a concert and staying in Newport Beach. We heard about the 'War Zone' of the bars and restaurants near the beach and pier, but it was pretty low key during the day. The place had cheap drinks, a good crowd, and some good beers on tap. Next door you can go to Blackies which is even Divier. Would come back with friends for sure. read more

Dive bar. Plastic cups for drinks. People that go in here look like what you think they would judging from the outside: dumpy. Guys don't even look better after 6 shots and beer goggles foggy. read more

Midway through a Sunday bike ride me and my gf decided to lock our bikes up and grab a quick drink at Beach Ball. "Quick" drink turned into an hour of good times. The bar has big windows facing the ocean. Nice view. We were not aware that this place had pool tables. Awesome! And for just a buck? Yeah why not. We got a quick game on. Of course I won because she made the 8 ball real quick. Lol. The only negative thing I have to say about this quick stop is that the pool table area has many people just standing around. Its inconvenient to have to keep asking the same drunk person if they can move out the way to allow you to take a good shot. read more

Beach Ball - Dive Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

Peter the bar tender is awesome!! I can't remember the door guys name but he was super cool too! This is my go to dive bar in Newport. Drinks are good, but this place can get crowded. Kinda small! read more

Beach Ball - Thirstyyyy - Dive Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

This place was creepy and what's up with all the stairs. Drunk people + stairs = ER But I liked it. The drinks are strong! And it's not as pretentious as the place around the corner. read more

I went here for my birthday last Saturday, what a fun place! My friends and I found it on yelp and I will say it is my kind of a bar. I love dive bars where people can just hang out and relax, maybe shoot a little pool or what not. My friend's only complaints were that the drinks were pricier than what they saw on yelp. I don't know what that's about. The bars vibe was awesome. This bar is a great place to people watch, all sorts of people were out and about! That night there was a huge pub crawl, so the place was pretty crowded. It was definitely entertaining, one girl ate it and on the way down hit a pole, the pool table, and then face planted into the wall. Poor thing...heels and drinks sometimes ends in bruises the next morning, hope she was okay! When I walked in I thought the place was tiny...but little did I know there were stairs that led down to a whole other level where there was pool and a little photo booth! I was SO happy because I hate bars where you're kind of pushed and shoved every other minute with people trying to squeeze by you. The employees were awesome, all of them were extremely friendly. The place was clean, I guess the one complaint I have is that there is only one girl's bathroom. That's insane for a bar to only have one girls stall! Luckily I never had to go, but I imagine it would be pretty frustrating if I did! Overall I think this place is a fantastic find, there was no cover and it was just all around a good time. There were no fights, no rowdiness (although the girls that we played pool against threw the pool stick across the table when they lost) but that was them, not the bar. I would definitely come back here again, it was fun. I also liked how they had stockings up for christmas, very festive! The photo booth was great too, I got some cute pictures of my friends and me having a memorable night! read more

Our Favorite Socal dive bar. This place has been consistently fun for the entire 30 years we've been coming here. The view is the second best in the state and gives you all that Newport has to offer. Come on in.....or her your drink and jump on a stool at the window if you can get it. It doesn't get much better then that! read more

Love this place! A cool bar with a great beach view! The owner and bartender are totally awesome, and the other customers we met at the bar were friendly and super entertaining. This is a great place for both locals and visitors. Best of all, it is open at 6AM! We came early (free parking until 8AM), grabbed morning-wake-me-up drinks and enjoyed brunch by the beach...great way to spend our Saturday! read more

Great drinks, great bartenders, great location, decent prices (Blackies next door is a little cheaper), love the mix of music people play on the juke box. My only complaint/suggestion is they need to get a modern cash register system. On a Saturday night when they could really use both bartenders behind the bar actually pouring drinks it seem one is stuck on the credit card machine closing people out. Sure the old fashioned cash register they have is unique and all but a modern system would really speed things up behind the bar. read more

I love this bar! The crowd is always super cool, always a good male to female ratio. Drinks are strong and they always run the AC :) Good spot to stop for a drink and some shots whole cruising on your bikes. read more

It's a dive bar. . . The bartender, Peter, was super friendly, the drinks were good . . I met friends here and had a great time. . . Monday nights, I think, are best. . I will be back. read more

Good place for pool. Bartenders are pretty nice. Can get crowded especially around sunset. Usually there are a few pub crawl groups here on the weekends, which is pretty entering. Overall good bar right on the beach. read more

Beach Ball - Dive Bars Near Me - Newport Beach, California

See all

Love the ball. I am known by the guys who run the place, so I think that shows they care about their customers. Todd is the man! Prices are great, and drinks are strong. Sometimes you get the occasional bar hopping jerk off, but for the most part it's a good crowd. It's pretty easy to get a pool table even when it is busy. My favorite part about this place is definitely the staff. They always make sure everyone is having a good time. If there is a problem between customers it is quickly solved. The only downside is that it is small, but it makes it a little more of a local spot. read more