If a dive bar and a queer bar were to combine, The Mint Bar is exactly what comes to mind. Located smack dab in downtown Bakersfield, this spot features cheap drinks and a relaxed vibe. What I appreciated was how laid back the patrons and staff were. They have an outdoor space with a few patio benches and a tv outside. Short & Sweet - it's a safe space for everyone and all in Bakersfield. Not too shabby of a spot. read more

Not knowing what this place was, heard music and out of curiosity I walked in .... oh boy lol This is an eclectic group. No cover charge Pool table outdoor space with music Plenty of parking as it sits near the corner Came in and left read more

We have loved going to The Mint Bar for over three decades now. It's a great dive bar in downtown Bakersfield, with a unique atmosphere and eclectic group of customers. Bartenders are quick with service, even when the place is packed. There's a pool table, and a few high tops inside, and there's usually loud, live music on the back patio. We always have fun when we drop in for a drink. Only thing we miss - we wish they would still make the "Flaming Dr. Pepper" cocktail. It was always a fun drink to get when we had friends visit from out of town or celebrated someone's 21st birthday. read more

Fav bar ever! Best place to come in bakersfield. Fun, relaxed dive bar atmosphere A++++

Cheap thrills and great music dj's on the weekend patio open daily. Open 7 days a week!!!. Dive bar. Good drinks

Fuck this place. I literally just walked up and the person said you've had too much to drink. Literally just showed up. Dumb af.

If you like dark divey bars this is your spot. It's been around forever. It's located on 19th Street in a rather seedy area of downtown Bakersfield. Low lighting, dark wood walls and the well worn old fashioned long old wooden bar with the mirror behind. Drink prices are very reasonable. They had a BBQ that afternoon and have parties here and there. They have a regular crowd and are a great place to people watch. They have a very diverse clientele with a lot of characters. It was a Sunday afternoon, I had lunch out with family and just wasn't ready to go home. So off I go to the Mint. I hadn't been here in years. I was hoping to run into a few old friends. I'm so glad I stopped in. Rome was behind the bar doing her thing. I was just chatting and catching up with her when a couple of old friends came over to say hey as well. I spent a leisurely afternoon catching up with old aquatints and soaking up the ambience. read more

The Mint Bar - Sitting at the bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Hello I love the mint playing on the pool tables. But are they open today for the fourth of July

Matt with two Ts is a fuckin angel!! He's a super good bartender and a nice person to talk to!! Thanks Matt for the service!! Keep it up been going to the mint for years and he's by far the coolest bartender ever!! read more

The Mint Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Bakersfield, California

The bartenders are very rude and ridiculous, just yesterday one of the bartenders asked my significant other and I if we wanted shots on the house and then proceeded to try and charge us. We were confused on the matter because he brought us the shots and asked us if we wanted them, after we drank them he then told us that he forgot who he was supposed to give them to. The bar wasn't even busy so he must've been drunk because I know I've seen them all drink on the job. He said he couldn't remember if we were the couple that had ordered the shots, we disagreed and told the bartender that we were about to leave and he told us that we needed to leave anyway although we had never done anything wrong. Never had such a confusing and terrible experience. We left and won't be going back to this disgusting bar with horrible bartenders, horrible bathroom cleaning and horrible customer service !!!!! read more

Mid bar. It's never really fun. Same shit all the time. Every time I go in, I get a drink and go right out.

The dj set kind of sucked. They only ever play beats that are repetitive. I go here quite often. Besides the music sucking recently there was an ugly bartender that was extremely rude. I was gonna go to the alley and three men yelled at me. The ugly bartender with the big glasses proceeded to spew a bunch of words at my face. Then decided to walk away and continue giving me dirty looks. So one of the other MEN that yelled at me stated that they thought my fan was a drink (???) when you can tell it was clearly a fan. Initially this is why they all yelled at me. But when the ugly bartender with glasses realized he was mistaken he did not apologize just proceeded to yell that I'll have to go around to come back in. Which I told the other guy that I already knew that. The other guy apologized for yelling and we laughed it off. But how come when the ugly bartender with big GLASSES on realized he was wrong decided to continue looking at me CRAZY instead of apologizing ? If you are the ugly bartender and reads this I hope you are kinder to people. Being so serious in a bar where people are trying to have fun is lame :( Try working on being a nice human being and admitting when you are wrong :) read more

Very inclusive! My fav dive bar! Been going to this place for more than 5 years now! Atmosphere and the people are great! Bartenders are fun and personable. Only downside is you can hardly get a drink on packed weekend nights, which is the best problem to have read more

I guess we arrived around 6:30 and we were first people or at least only people in the bar. The bartender almost apologetically told us the place would crowded later, but that was fine by us. We ordered a couple mixed drinks and play some pool. Drinks were strong and reasonabbly priced. Pool was free and they had a David Attenborough animal documentary on TV. This is a solid place to throw back a couple if Downtown. read more

I absolutely love this place and the vibe is so amazing. The DJ is always great and the drinks are always strong, but I would like to mention the Bartender that runs the back bar in the patio has the most horrible customer service I have ever seen in my life I am a person that tips very, very well, but this man treated us so badly so so badly That I did not leave not $1 and I feel so bad because that is not my character to do so but that man did not deserve anything! He needs to go! read more

Great atmosphere! You'll meet the best type of people here (:! There's no food but the drinks are amazing and the bartenders are very consistent read more

Nice local dive bar. Mixed crowd. They have a back patio pass the bathrooms. They bartenders def have a "gay bar" pour. And the drink were ~$8.00 each. Play tunes is the DJ (I went a Thursday night). Pretty fun. read more

Fine for what it is. The venue is a neat spot, and well kept. I like the balance between the quieter indoor bar space and pool table and the louder outdoor dance space (or at least configured for that when I visited), it ticks all the boxes. Staff all have a good vibe, and it is what I was looking for, a queer-friendly chill bar in Bakersfield. Doesn't really compare to what you'd get in a gayer city, though. Crowd is a lot smaller and more subdued, and much more mixed. But then, you're probably not in Bakersfield for the gay nightlife in the first place. If, like me, you're out here anyway for a Friday night, it's close enough. read more

so i'm a regular here I actually absolutely love this bar... but tonight. it's a different story. I watched Bryson (I guess a bar hand..?) run into a girl and knock a beer out of her hands resulting In said beer to explode all over all over the girl and on to the floor. literally all this boy did was shrug and walk away... are you kidding me? you spill someone's drink shrug and a walk away? at least offer to but her a drink... and when I said this to him... all he did was get defensive, cuss at me, shrug AGAIN! then walk away. not a fan of him 1/10 would recommend. EVERYONE else that works here 10/10. but like own up to your mistake and handle it. read more

Gurrrrl! I was living my best lyfe at this bar. Free pool! Good drinks! And a JUKEBOX. Gurl, we low key had the club lit, but it was one of those places where you could easily get inspired to get lit. Had a good time. Would come back. read more

The Mint Bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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The Mint is the definition of a dive bar. It's sticky, Grungy and rough around the edges. People from all walks of life come here and is usually pretty chill and relaxed to hang out. They also offer stiff drinks at cheap prices, which is probably the reason why people come here. It gets ridiculously packed after 10 PM on the weekends and it can be hard to get a drink because sometimes it seems the bartenders only give drinks to regulars when it gets this insane. You really have to be aggressive to get drinks when it gets packed. Also, the bathrooms here can be absolutely filthy and disgusting if you're there long enough. Then again, it is a dive bar. The patio area is also a decent area to hang out if you smoke or just want a breath of fresh air. They sometimes have DJs in the patio that play music, so that's pretty cool. Overall, the Mint is a decent bar that truly is the epitome of a dive bar. It can be rough around the edges and a bit dirty, but usually has good ambiance. I've never had issues with people here, but it can be really difficult to get service when it gets packed with people. Honestly, people come here for those stiff drinks at cheap prices! If you're into dive bars, this is probably THE best known spot in Bakersfield. read more

Killer cocktails at a killer price! Bartender Chris was way cool! Definitely worth a look!

First time @ this bar, the bar tenders were not friendly, i asked this guy for a drink a mango shot and the bar tender gave me a ridiculous look and whispered something to the other bar tenders next to him. Then instead offered me another shot with cheep liquor. Definitely didn't tip him for that. My group and i left after that. read more

I'm breaking my rule about not reviewing places that I haven't been to since I started yelping. At about 16 my friends and I started drinking at Mexican bars because they didn't seem to care that we were underage. When I was finally old enough to drink legally in Bakersfield the choices were lame singles bars or dive bars so my long-term relationship with dive bars began. While I haven't been to The Mint in quite a while this is one of the dive bars I cut my teeth on. I wish I could write about some of the crazy shenanigans I've seen and been involved with here but the best stories aren't for the public. One story I can tell you about happened during a visit back home in the mid nineties. After some family time I was at The Mint with a friend, it was pretty slow so it must have been a weeknight. I was putting money in the jukebox and some tweaker (hooker?) started yelling out songs she wanted to hear. I turned to her and said, "I don't take orders from barflys". I guess she made a call because some guy showed up and was talking to her and then he came up to us. At the time I was big but not yet fat, I had long hair and a beard; in other words intimidating. The guy said, "hey man, that girl just said you called her a fly". I gave him a steely stare and said, "A fly? That doesn't even make any sense." The whole time my friend just sat there quietly acting a little annoyed and a little bored but fully alert and ready to throw down, the typical Bakersfield tough guy back up thing. He then tells me that her boyfriend (pimp?) is on the way over to straighten things out. I gave him my hardest look possible, wrapped this big wallet chain I used to wear around my fist and said, "does he have a gun? Because if he doesn't I'm not worried." The guy just nodded, backed away from the table, and got that tweaker out of the bar. We got back to our beers and eventually some other people I knew arrived, of course the "boyfriend" was a no-show. This is a crazy exciting bar with cheap drinks and a wild crowd but it is in downtown Bakersfield so watch your back at all times. Here's a picture of my original Mint T-Shirt from the mid nineties in case anyone doubts that I know what I'm talking about. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/Lf1tXtvehxcmLNZGfT8Gfw?select=i3vA3TVljgmLpS363yFgWA read more

The Mint Bar - The Original The Mint T-Shirt - Dive Bars Near Me - Bakersfield, California

The mint, ahh on a crazy little street in downtown Bakersfield. Adult theatre down the street and a pawnshop caddy corner. Walk thru the big brown door and enter the loud juke box music filled 20 years of smoke residue smelling room. The bar is to your left. Small sitting area at the bar. Maybe 10 bar stools. A few tables to your right.. And a pool table against the back wall. Down a tiny hallway and to your right is the almost outhouse style bathroom. Tiny. Almost up chucked my booze when I saw that glory hole on the wall. Creepyyyy. Come on a Friday/Saturday night and order your beers by the bottle because they run out of pitchers pretty quick due to the crowd. I love coming here more on the weekdays honestly. It's just too cramped on the weekends. Mixed scene here. Straight, gays, lesbian, transgender. Anyone and everyone is welcome. Nice patio/ Smoking area out back. I honestly like to chill here on the weekends cause it's packed inside. The Mint, 3 stars. read more

The Mint Bar - Lol - Dive Bars Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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I must share my history with this location! I hope someone will enjoy the story. My great grandfather Domingo Mungai, from Italy, was my (and all my Destefani cousins') grandma Adeline Mungai Destefani's dad. Around 1890 "D" Domingo owned a saloon at that address. My grandma was very stubborn about not wanting to share our history with Bakersfield so even though during that period there were only 1000 people living in the city , great gpa wasn't mentioned in the history books. One historian of a small book did get gma to share a photo but my family didn't know about it until when almost everyone was dead, I started to do our family tree. Luckily I found that small book in my gma's collections! I went to the THE MINT BAR manager to tell my story when she directed me to a small cut out pic.of the Mungai saloon! I had a nice photo so I give the owner a real framed one". My grandma and her sister would change the prostitutes sheets upstairs D wanted a better life for his kids so he bought a house on the RxR station by BHS. There's an article about Bako bars is in the Bakersfield Life magazine...May 2010. pg.18-19 Bakersfield Wild Nights. Also about THE MINT . It features my greatgpa in the bar. D is not the bar tender. He is the white hair man in the photo along with the kids read more

Open minded gay friendly dive bar with free pool table. TouchTunes here too! Strong drinks with reasonable prices. Never a cover and an outdoor patio read more

The Mint Bar - Half empty? Half full? - Dive Bars Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Leslie and Ken were fantastic and kept me goin all night. Kinda of a dive bar but I love visiting places like this. Must go for downtown.

This is the single worst bar that I have ever been to in my life. I went in for a beer and was looked over by the bartenders and ignored. So, I left. No other bars in town open... I returned. After a while, I got up to give hugs and say goodbye to someone and came back to drink the cold PBR that I ordered and payed for and I get attacked by a lesbien . FUCK THIS PLACE read more

Great low key place to see music. Good sound, fully stocked bar, zero attitude. Fun place to bring a group of friends.

honestly better then casa blanca friendly to anyone chill laid back all types of people and music drinks are a good price and also worth it the pool tables is a plus read more

Very chill place to hang out... You dont have to dress like your going to the club or fancy when going. Drinks are very afforrable, they have a bartner that makes rainbow shots which are about 8shots all different colors(very neat and pretty). On weekends they have a dj in the patio so you can dance your butt off with your friends and have fun, along with an outdoor bar to get your drinks whilel your out back If its a busy night you'll definitely have to wait in line for the restroom, only has one stall for ladies but you will make cool talk with cool people while you wait...... So All in All go check out that cool spot to hang out read more

Absolutely the worst experience I have ever had dwntwn. My girl had a 9 dollar shitty bloody Mary. I had a 5 dollar bottle of domestic. Bartender chic was a complete asshole. She made it clear we weren't welcome. Apparently if you are a guy girl couple. You aren't welcome. It's clear. read more

For some reason valid Driver's Licenses from out of state aren't good enough to gain entry to a dive bar. Even though they're good enough to board an airplane. They apparently require your passport if you're from out of state. This policy has to make this the lamest dive bar I've been to in the 36 states I've been to. read more

Hate 2 low rate this spot as it was once our favorite, but me and my husband came in to have a drink or two and shoot some pool, like we usually do. Older Hispanic bar tender (that we have never seen here before) was giving us dirty looks the second we walked in then with the biggest obnoxious additude yells at us I NEED TO SEED YOUR ID'S , we say okay no problem and proceed to show him our ID's , I accidently hand him my expired ID and before I could correct myself and hand him my current ID he rudely snaps and says THIS ID IS EXPIRED I CANT ACCEPT IT! And THROWS it at me instead of setting it down or handing it to me, at this point my husband is mad at his rudeness towards me and tells him to calm down, he then starts to get all crazy with us and slurring his words, he was obviously drunk, you could just tell , I told my husband lets just leave and when I did the bar tender said all loud and stupid BYE! .. Wow!!!! Really? So F'n rude and un professional. All the other bar tenders we have delt with have been great , but not this dude. Because of him we will not come back ever. Matter of fact we are at a new bar right now called the library right down the street and it is awesome read more

I'm not too fond of the crowded bar atmosphere. I know this place is known for their "cheap" drinks. I know that an Adios is typically more expensive, but they charged me $10 for an Adios in a small plastic water cup. I've ordered it another day and I was actually given it in a glass. I just felt like the portions were way too off. Also, their prices for beers aren't that extraordinary, they're standard. If you like standing around, listening to loud music, and staring at other people, this is the place for you. Don't try and have a conversation here. read more

Fuck that place got a Margarita and a beer for $24. For a hole in the wall. Went to padres and got 2 glasses of wine and 2 vodka seven for that price. What a dum ass. Not cool. read more

Don't go if your black you will be ignored by the Bartenders. Super disrespectful. Other customers noticed and mentioned it.

the mint is messy and sticky I love it, usually crowds my age all tryna get drunk for cheap. The mint is the best way to start a bar crawl because it's cheap and lively (weekends) the patio area is cool and sometimes they got a band or dj, bathroom is trash but it's a dive bar so just drink and move on read more

Tbh I'm surprised this place is still open. Murphy's is more clean inside and yet that's been shut down twice. The mint has a very rude worker that charged me $10 for a drink and my friend got the exact same drink and only charged her $7. The bathroom is two seconds away from falling over, no idea how it passes inspection. The back porch is gross. Do they even clean? I won't be back after that shady drink thing though. If you want a bar similar but better staff, more clean, & over just better environment, go to the library. read more