New OC Tavern in San Clemente is a sprawling, high-energy sports bar and entertainment venue that recently underwent a transition to new management. It is known for its multi-functional layout, offering everything from a casual dining room and an outdoor patio with ocean views to a dedicated horse racing satellite wagering room and a game area with six pool tables. It is a classic, bustling sports bar with over 60 HD TVs. While some locals appreciate the "new and improved" layout and the addition of live music, others have noted a shift from a traditional family restaurant toward a more high-energy bar and nightclub atmosphere. The menu focuses on elevated pub grub and "Main Event" entrees, with large portions. read more

Was a weekly patron before the new management took over. They have made some nice improvements to the layout, now have some entertainment, but the food and drink need attention. The food is not that great at all. We had a few items after golf, and no one really liked any of it. The price for drinks is extremely high. $9 for a Modelo! $12 for a rum and coke? They are pricing the regulars out. They don't have any consistency with the front of the house. The reason we were consistent patrons in the past was we knew our bartenders and waitresses. read more

Live music on Fridays a great comeback for this place I'm hopeful that this trend will continue as the band was a great venue for this place. The service for food was slow had to remind waitress 2 xs for an order of nachos and waited over 1 hr but hoping this place makes it this time around because we can use something in San Clemente like this for more music events ... shall see read more

New OC Tavern - Sports Bars Near Me - San Clemente, California

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Not clean, not well run, shoddy service ripoff. The food was cold. This place is too big to run effective food service. The drinks were weak short pours and pricey. read more

They need to figure out their Direct TV. In October with Football and playoff baseball no infomercials or dodgeball tournaments should be on TV NFL package. Bartenders were top notch the layout it ideal to watch sports but still working out kinks in their system. Will try to go back in a few weeks. Hopefully, they hire a bar manager to work their TVs an optimize this time this season read more

The NEW OC Tavern is horrible. Dirty, tables and bar sticky, tables all wobbly and broken. But worst of all, we called to ensure that it would be ok if my group of 4 women came mid week early afternoon and while we ate we played a game of Mahjong- we were told SURE! We arrived, ordered our food and drinks and were told we could move to the side room where it was quiet ( there was NO ONE in the dining area at all) We sat down set up our game and the manager/ owner came to us and said, "GET OUT you can not play a game here?" We explained that we ordered meals and drinks AND called ahead to ensure it was ok. He again in his very hard to understand english, GET OUT. So we did, without eating or drinking our drinks - and we will NEVER RETURN TO THE NEW OC TAVERN AGAIN! read more

Food was below average at an above average price, beer selection weak. They served our food ONE PLATE at a team (meaning they had to walk out with one plate at a time). The live music was a plus but we won't be returning or sending any friends read more

I love the new Oc tavern ! The food is great, the staff is super nice and a bunch of tv to watch ufc , baseball and football:) this place us great read more

We went for a friend's birthday. We made a reservation for ten people . When we got there they told us they had no table & they were really even trying to help us . We just chose to out a big table together so we could eat . Otherwise they basically ally were not going to do anything to help us get a table . No one apologized or tried to help and the staff was unorganized, when they brought out the food they brought out 1 meal only at a time vs 2-3 meals so it took a few hrs to get our food . The bathrooms had no toilet paper , no soap or paper towels and everyone was having to wipe using seat covers . read more

The Food, Service & Ambiance were excellent despite the fact that they were super busy for the Super Bowl. I highly recommend this place.

This place is great. A girl named Stephanie treated us like perfection and a teller Connecticut taught me how to read a racing form .

The waitress that served me seemed less than thrilled to be helping me. Maybe it's because I don't drink. I ordered the barbecued chicken pizza. It was the worst pizza I ever had. I barely made it through the first piece and threw it away. I won't be returning to this place. Two chances was enough. read more

Derby day They only had one TV playing the DERBY We asked the owners if they will turn on the other TVs and he said there's one TV playing it. The owners had no idea what was going on. Everyone there wanted to watch the Derby But only one TV was playing the Derby. Our waitress wasn't sure what menu we could order off of. She had to ask someone about what food to order. They were not ready for today. We left to go somewhere else to watch the Derby. read more

Not impressed. Burger was bland and beer was flat. I usually don't give out bad comments but this wasn't fun

This is THE place for sports, drinks & bites. Super fun. Always a great place to hang out with friends. Big plus is the horse betting. Too fun. read more

Great place to watch all the games. Food is very good. Nice atmosphere for any occasion. Service is very kind.

Madison was off the hook tonight! Excellent atmosphere, first class service, and their chicken wings are the bomb! If you're in the area, I highly recommend! read more

Fantastic Sports Bar and Tavern in South San Clemente. Good food and great bartenders! Highly recommend. read more

love the place awesome place for sports and friends. horse racing also. Try the egg roll and chicken sandwich!! read more

New OC Tavern - Sports Bars Near Me - San Clemente, California

So, to start off, I will agree with the strange vibe sentiments in some of the reviews. My wife and I used to visit the OC Tavern two-to-three times a year when we are camping at San Mateo. And it used to be one hell of a sports bar (games, different games on every tv, sports memorabilia, sports fans, etc). Now it is more of an old-guy drinking place (which is fine, I'm an old guy), but definitely different than it used to be. I will also agree with the comments about the creepy owner dude. He hid in the shadows mostly, unless a woman walked in and then he pounced on them like he was a cheetah going for the kill. He would seat them, whereas men were having to fend for themselves as far as seating. We were in the bar on playoff Sunday, NFL playoffs...Sunday, big day, three games!! ONE bartender/server. The bar top was completely full and there were three of four tables of two to four people each. She was responsible for all of it. Initially, I thought this stinks, but eventually my heart poured out to her. She was kick-ass though and powered through drink and food orders for, probably 40 people. Natalie, that was her name, awesome at her job, but shame on the guy in the shadows for not getting her some help. The food was actually pretty good, we had egg rolls and teriyaki wings and they were decent (although, no one offers you a menu, you have to figure that part out on your own). Overall, not bad. I will give it one more shot, but it had better wow me or I will seek out one of the other 20 bars or so that are in the area. Strange place. read more

OC Tavern used to be our go-to for great wings and fries. Unfortunately, now with new ownership, this place is horrible. Food was terrible and the service was minimal to say the least. Wings were nothing like they used to be and the experience was just strange. Only a handful of people at the bar. I now understand why. read more

Food is tasty and the one waitress Britney (i think that's her name) is super attentive and provides great hospitality each time we stop by. There's pool tables in the back for laid back nights and live music every weekend. OC tavern has become a staple in the community read more

Amazing local spot nestled into a residential community with lots of TVs! The prices are more than reasonable especially for the quantity of food you get. It's a pretty diverse menu but the staff is super helpful in guiding you in the right direction and always friendly. You can tell the owner cares a lot about this place and is always here helping out. Love this spot and will continue to make it our local go to spot for sports! read more

This is the best local bar you could ever ask for! Everyone here is so friendly and the food is great! In today's economy, it's impossible to find a place that has good food, huge portions for a good price, but this place has it all! I can't say enough about Kevin the owner, he is super friendly and welcoming. 10/10 recommend this spot!! read more

Stopped in for a quick bite and beer. Good service and really good appetizers. Had the egg rolls and probably the best egg rolls I've ever had. The wings were super crispy. Hit the spot. The owner goes out of his way to make sure you are happy with the food. read more

Great food, service and value. The new and improved OC Tavern is better than ever. The have added pool tables and more TVs to add to the experience. read more

Never going back!!! Miss the original OC Tavern where food was real bar food and you could watch multiple games. Now, they only show the same game on every tv, even when NFL is airing different games and college football is on. Ordered fish and chips and got a fried fish steak with Asian dipping sauce. Very few customers in bar, unlike the old OC Tavern where seats were hard to find. Left being very disappointed with the service, food, atmosphere and won't be going back! read more

I was there last night it was a bit busy so I understand the bar tenders are going to be stressed, they had 3 girls working. I sat at the bar for about 30 minutes and asked a black haired bartender with tattoos about 10 times if I can order a drink when it's most convenient for her. She ignored me every time then finally after about 45 minutes of me waiting. She came up to me, asked me what I'd like to order. I ordered a drink. I gave her my card. She said that it declined. There was plenty of money in the account and no problem with the card. She refused to give me my drink. I pulled up my bank records and showed her that she charged me $27 3 times and she still refused to give me a refund or even give me the single drink. It Was completely outrageous. The bitchiness and attitude were Completely ridiculous. If you're looking to have a nice night with friends in San Clemente on a weekend I would recommend not going to oc tavern. There's plenty of other bars in town that have great service great bartenders and great food unlike OC Tavern. This problem can be fixed very easily. If they switch their staff, I had dozens of other friends there that were complaining as well about The ridiculous service. read more

So this place has new ownership. The inside has been remodeled and it's very clean. That's the best I can say about it. There is a very off putting vibe at this bar now. They do have a ton of tv's but if there is a ufc event or horse race going on every tv will be tuned to this and they will not allow any other event on their tv's. I was there for the college football championship games but they would not allow any of the tv's to broadcast anything but UFC. It's idiotic. They drastically reduced the number of beers they have on tap. The crowd is predominantly old men. The food is passable but nothing special. They advertise the patio on the website but they never open it. The owner stalks around or sits in the corner, staring, being generally creepy. I understand why there's no women there. Oh and there was a fight there last night and the bouncers were completely ineffective at dealing with it It's a shame because it is a really great property, but it is such a strange place now, with such weird vibes, I won't be going back. There's a ton of good sports bars in San Clemente. Go to one of them. read more

Great burgers, beer and a good vibe. I'll be going back! Glad this place reopened. Right off the freeway so it's easy to meet up with friends. read more

The BBQ chicken wings were really good! Pricing was reasonable. The bartender (Rachel?) Was awesome as well. I'll be back

Love to bet horses and drink beer. Food was delicious with excellent service. Great location off 5 freeway in San Clemente, Ca.

Place is incredible!!!!!! I win 450 on the horse bets was a great day! Kevin and all the staff were great, highly recommend!