Came here for my first gay bar experience last night....and I love this place. The bartenders are friendly. Music is great. I love that they have music videos and a lot of monitors. The drinks are strong and cheap. Definitely will be coming back here a lot. read more

Love it, vibe is chill. Cheap drinks. Wednesday night used to be 80s night, now its hip hop night, sad. Large smoke pit although it may get crammed Saturday. came for karaoke night. Mellow, not crowded. read more

Great environment, great atmosphere, great music, amazing, spectacular, fabulous drag shows. I recommend giving this place a try.

Celebrated my 24th here last night and all I can say is YAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSS loved the atmosphere! People are so fucking chill and sweet i swear! read more

Me and my bestie came here for the first time last Thursday night. The drag show was awesome! The performers are all great entertainers for sure and the drag queen host is HILARIOUS! The place isn't so great. Needs serious remodeling because honestly, it's a tiny piece of crap. Tiny dance floor in the back, small stage area in the front where the queens perform and then a HUUUGE bar that seems a little unnecessary considering the rest of the space. The only music they play is that loud, EDM-ish, typical electro-pop that ruins every otherwise good song but if you like that, you'll have fun dancing. There's no cover (at least on Thursdays) so it's at least a cool place just to go watch a show, get good drinks, and maybe dance a little bit. I recommend. read more

My Saving Grace! Went bar hopping while on a trip home from Washington and the whole night was one crappy place after another. Fortunately The Menagerie didn't disappoint like the other locations. Quick service at the bar, fun atmosphere, some dancin' music and friendly faces. I think if it weren't for the fast service here our girls night out would have been a sober one since we couldn't seem to get service anywhere else. Thank you Menagerie staff for knowing how to get customers served in a timely fashion! read more

I enjoy coming here with friends but the bartender "Steve but with a D" is rude! I'll make sure I get service from someone else.

I've been to this place many times, I love it here, I like how you can come in and be yourself, like the vibe, music and the people. The service is great there really helpful if you have questions about drinks you may want to order, they don't give you a weird face like your dumb or whatever, the dance floor is big compared to other place I've been, and they always play good music :) read more

Love it...I used to live in San Francisco, so to me it's very striaght for a gay bar. Never a cover charge and drinks are good, music is great. Best club in town!!! read more

I love this bar!! Michelle, who works Tuesdays and Fridays, is one of the best bartenders I've ever had. So down to earth, easy to talk to, and makes some bomb-ass drinks. Definitely recommend this bar to anyone who is looking for a fun and friendly environment read more

Ok sooooo Tony the bartender literally took care of us. He recommended every drink and as expected the drinks were AMAZING!!! Please management see what this gentleman is doing and make sure it happens alllll the time. He's the reason why I come back. Great staff means management must be doing really good. This man made sure me and my date were taken care of and I'm extremely satisfied. read more

Not really my scene, however, the bartender (TONY) made me feel welcome and relaxed. Not to mention the best pour ever in my life! Being in my 50's I have been served in more than a few bars over the years! So I know a good pour when I get one! Thanks Tony, you made a potentially did night into a fun experiemce. Also thanks for the information on the style of bar I am into. Much appreciated. As I said, not my kind of bar, but with talent like TONY you have the winning equation! SlaInthe read more

Had a fun fun time with my besties!!! The drinks were super expensive however! All in all I like this place I always come..

I went here yesterday to support my queens. The cool thing small venue a lot of tvs which is cool. The vibe was welcoming and I thought staff was nice except the bartender she was a total b! I was thinking wtf is her problem she is acting not professional . Why work there if you dont love your job. Another I am short temper so I was happy to see my friends I didnt want a cause a scene so I didn't say anything this venue would of got 5 stars but because of the bartender attitudes not knowing how to speak to guest they get one star. Another you have to spend 10 bucks in other to use your debit card wtff !anyway I rather go to the hook up or any other bar where they treat you nicely. read more

Came here on a Monday for karaoke night. Delightfully seedy atmosphere, casual crowd, up-to-date music selection, helpful bar staff. Raised stage with spotlight makes you feel like a washed-up burlesque queen. I would give it 4 stars except THEY DO NOT HAVE "EDGE OF SEVENTEEN" IN THEIR CATALOG. Seriously, what kind of clown-shoes karaoke joint doesn't have the entire Stevie Nicks catalog on tap? Oh well -- the show tunes selection was good at least. read more

I use to live in the IE and it was the place to go during 80's night on Wednesdays but i heard it's not the case anymore... Oh how i miss the old days. read more

If your opinion is that this bar is mildly depressing and you post it on yelp, your review will be deleted!

Drinking in their "LGBT" establishment, received unexpected call to deal with family so we asked for water to sober up before we drive and they stated with an attitude that they would not give us a glass of water but that we could buy bottled water from them. When someone needs water, you give them water... period. Basic human compassion. Scummy place, worse people. read more

I was a regular here when i lived in Riverside, popped my bar-cherry here right after i turned 21 after midnight. Everyone came here because it had the cheapest drinks in town, and although it's a gay bar it have many heterosexual patrons because of that. The music is your typical pop music from all of the major pop divas and gay icons. Bartenders could have been a little more attentive, in the past. I have some personal problems with this establishment, but Yelp isn't the place to discuss it. I had some good times here, so I won't complain too much. It's decent for what it is in Riverside, where there is only 2 gay bars. read more

I think some of my funnest nights on the town when 21+ in R'side were here. This is the place to go if you love to just have fun dancing with friends! Drinks were a little pricey to me, but for the area they were average. read more

The bartender refused to give me water!!!!!? Dingy place, rude staff and terrible drinks. Take your business elsewhere.

Great priced drinks. Fun, good time!! A little crowded but luckily i'm short enough i could stand in front of people and they can see over me to see the drag show ;) fun dance music, me and my friends really enjoyed it! read more

I come to this bar a lot. The atmosphere, music, and bartenders are nice. A large crowd usually comes in Thrursday thru Saturday.

The Menag is pretty cool. Cheap drinks. Staff is nice.

I loved this place!! So much fun, no drama, great music cheap but strong drinks! Ive only witnessed one altercation so not too bad. The only problem with this place are the bars around it. Oh yeah, their bathrooms could use a face lift! read more

Michelle is an amazing bartender. After a year away from menagerie she is my only motivation to return because she not only makes amazing drinks but is an amazing employee who makes drinks perfectly and makes me want to return. read more

I love this place stumbled in by accident on a Saturday was really busy and crowded but despite that I really enjoyed myself. I loved that they had no cover charge like the many surrounding bars. Came back a second time on a Thursday and I really enjoyed the drag Show and then they had awesome music to dance to after. I even lost my phone and they were honest about it and I got it returned. This place would be a 5 if it weren't for the 10 dollar fee charge to use your card if it's less than 10 dollars and the one bathroom women stall. Overall my friends and I have enjoyed it every single time. Oh and they have good drinks they can make about anything. read more

Defiantly a hole in the wall, but a solid place. Everyone is super friendly, and has quick service. They have karoke, and it's hilarious. Lots of good times here. read more

Not a bad place to relax and have a drink. There is no dancing that I have ever seen though so I would be careful there. Also some angry gay drunk guy called me a breeder, which I guess is meant as an insult. Still it wasn't a bad time. read more

Not a good first experience me and some friends were here last weekend where we got some drinks and then we paid and we all tipped the bartender and decided to go outside because another friend had arrived. We were having a good time so we went back inside and got two more drinks and when I asked the bartender for a lime he told me "you know it would be nice if I got tipped but whatever". And I was like "um I tipped you when we were just in here a while ago" and he was like "Ok" and gave me the lime after that. (Which I tipped like $15 plus the tip my friends gave him) I was like really dude? I wish we never tipped him. We all thought it was so rude and left. I'll never be back again. Nor will I recommend this place . Sucks that it was a great place to hang out and get drinks until the bartender decided to be a ass. read more

Me and my friends decided to go check this place out. We arrived we headed straight to the bar to get drinks. I purchased my drink with my CREDIT CARD it came out to be $8.50. I signed for it and made sure to leave the tip section crossed off because the bartender was just mad the whole time. I wouldn't want to tip him with that attitude. My friends did the same thing used our credit cards to purchase the drink. So days later we check our bank statements and they had TIPPED themselves without our consent. They overcharged all of us not the exact amount but different amount for ex. They charged me $5.00 my friend $4.00 and so on. Make sure if your using your credit card here to always make sure you take a picture of your receipt. Imagine stealing $5.00 from every person who goes and buys a drink with their credit card. That's a new low. BEWARE of this place and how they SCAM and commit FRAUD !! I will never come here again. The only reason I marked one star was to get my review posted. I have contacted the person who is in charge of cases like these. They will be held responsible. read more

Really good experience on 6/30/15. My sister and I were having a few drinks and were dancing too. The staff were friendly. I'd definitely go again read more

This place is a fun upbeat place if you are in need of a good bar. Come on a Thursday night and enjoy and super fun drag show and inexpensive drinks!!! Also you can get any more classy then a sign that says "fabulous" over the stage. read more

cheap drinks. great bar staff. drag show on thursday nights are probably the best thing going on in town. wish the music was better. wish they would patch the holes and replace the broken mirrors instead of buying new t.v.'s. however, i'll still be there once a week cause i have fun. tip: if you buy a drink. look for the card "we met at the menagerie" at the bar. it's fun to fill out. read more

Love the bar when its not over crowded.. No one pays attention to the fabulous drag show, which makes the show less appealing cause the performers don't put their best performance because no one us paying attention to them not not getting their well deserved tips.. Also drinks are all watered down greatly, I had 5 drinks and still never got a buzz at all, completely sober.. Even their soda was watered down, my friend ordered 2 cups of coke at different times, flat and no flavor.. Love the show, bartenders and the owner.. Who knows, maybe it was an off day for them.. No hate.. read more

Came here on a Saturday night with some friends. Just walked right in, after showing ID of course, and being my first time at a bar I was a bit intimidated. However, after entering and looking around at the people and ambience, I felt quite comfortable. We ordered drinks in the back and got them quite fast! The dancers up on the bar were quite a ttractive. The dance floor is small but personal and I liked it. People are friendly and there to have a good time. read more

Ok let me start by saying that I have seen better but what do you expect for Riverside. It is better than V.I.P. this said I do not like competeing with all of the straight folks. the wait for drinks is long. the best time to go is tues and wed when the place is slow. Mostly regulars there and mostly concieded. Other than that I ususlly have a great time and go frequently due to I don't want to drive to P.S. or WEHO read more

I always have a blast here! Good people, good music, GREAT SHOW! Drinks are weak but thats ok, the great show & the pre party make up for it :) read more

My friends and I have been patrons here for years. It is the only gay bar in downtown riverside and has been a safe place for all of my diverse group of friends. Tonight was a costume contest for Halloween and my friend entered, did really well, but unfortunately did not win the prize. That's fine. He was a little disappointed and decided to express his opinion to other "regulars" at the bar making conversation. They did not take it well and were offended by his opinion. The argument proceeded to escalate and the "regulars" say they've had it, running off and telling the bouncer 5 people were complaining about him which apparently warranted him to get kicked out of the bar. Yes they got in to a verbal altercation, but it wasn't physical. It was a difference of opinion. Because they were regulars of the bar they decided to use their power of knowing the bouncer and get my friend kicked out. While he was getting kicked out he was not drunk at all just excited to be there in a costume he had spent days on, they proceeded to kick him out. He asked why he was getting kicked out and the bouncer pushed him into a car without any reason. I would understand if my friend had been combative or insulting but all he asked was why? This will be the last time we step foot on this place and we knowingly understand that this has no affect on the business itself. We are just so appalled and hurt that our safe place and regular spot is no longer home to us. We are disappointed in you Menagerie. We don't understand why this happened. read more

First time there for my girlfriends bday...was very very slow and had problems from the beginning with your security guard about using the bathroom then called me a he/she while refusing to let me use the bathroom and trying to grab my cellphone. Then banned us from other bars for no reason but discrimination. Never referring this place to anyone. read more