this is a great dive bar at the end of state street in santa barbara. The pool table is a dollar a game. The place was kind of empty in the afternoon, and the patrons who were there were really mellow. A great place to shoot pool, relax and enjoy an afternoon. the cool latina (mattie?) bartender was funny and helpful. read more

Being old people, we arrived 5:50PM... and sat at the bar... my partner went to the bathroom... I went to the bathroom... we sat at the bar... after a few minutes, we left. No bartenders. read more

Stopped by this bar midweek for a nightcap, and the place was pretty empty except for the pool tables. I asked the bartender for a recommendation for my wife, and her response was basically, "Well, what do you like?" My wife mentioned she enjoys martinis and even asked if they had a specialty menu, but the bartender just said, "We can make anything." Unfortunately, the vibe felt cold and unwelcoming. The bartender seemed more focused on her phone than on the guests, which really set the tone. Everyone has bad days, but that attitude shouldn't spill over to customers. When you're behind the bar, you leave that negativity at the door. Overall, not the experience we were hoping for. read more

Love a bartender that tries instead of a drink slinger. Our bartender was quite lovely and made drinks that were not on the menu, and did quite well. Nice little hang out and laid back crowd. read more

Drinks were quick to get and well made. The bar was lively and the pool tables were cool to have as an option to play. Nice spot to pop up in if you're walking along State St. read more

Good place for a late night open mic. Crown was sparse but very enthusiastic. This venue had excellent sound equipment and Don the host and technician made every performer sound their best. Light sign-ups gave everyone plenty of stage time. Bartender Brian was very welcoming and enthusiastic. Drinks were tasty and fairly priced. Overall a fun place to visit. read more

Haven't been DTSB in 5 years. Stumbled across the legendary dive on our exodus home from the "Funk Zone". After a few IPA's here the bartender told Is that THIS was Whiskey Richards LAST NIGHT of business. It has sold to new owners who plan to make changes. Lots of memorable times here. Great Bands, Solid staff & Stiff drinks. Here's to you! read more

Whiskey Richards - Grown Folks... - Dive Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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A very good time! Chill environment with great drinks and a personable staff. Fan hosts a fun open mic.

Tonight we stopped by to grab a drink before dinner and the bartenders are attentive and friendly. They have metal and punk bands on the weekends and karaoke during the week so check out their live music schedule. There are 2 pool tables upfront. They just switched ownership and moved the music stage to a better spot and are in the process of an interior refresh. There is a front patio that faces State Street to hang and have a drink. read more

Whiskey Richards - Stopped to grab a Santa Barbara Blonde while figuring out our dinner plans! - Dive Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Wanna hang out and have a great time this is the spot karaoke !!! Loved the whisky the service the ambiance!!! Would definitely go again!

Heard the dopest version of a fallout boy song and wandered in. 3 drinks later and I'm still having a blast! LOVE the music for emo nights! This is how bars are supposed to slap. read more

I recommend the place depending on what you are looking to do. This is full bar with pool.

I play guitar for several different bands and have played at many bars, clubs and restaurants between LA and Santa Barbara. This has to be one of the most friendly places I've played at. From the guy at the door, to the sound guy, to the amazing ladies behind the bar, everyone was so nice, friendly and made you feel welcome. This place isn't fancy, it's a good old fashioned unpretentious local dive bar, and a great place to hang out, have a few drinks, play pool and watch a live band. The folks that work here are the best and I'm looking forward to going back. read more

Drinks are served with very little effort ( if you like making a sour face afterwards this is place to go), vibe is cool. Nice little hole in the wall dive bar. Wouldn't recommend playing music. I put a $20 and only got to play one song. The owner decided to switch to karaoke. Never told us and essentially stole my money after I asked if we were going to get our money back. Bar tender said "No" . It's ok , apparently they need the money more than I do. 2/10 would recommend, if everywhere else is closed I would come. And put up with the heavy metal music. People were nice. read more

Had so much fun last night for karaoke. I am normally very shy to get up in front of people and sing. But the crowd felt like family and made me feel comfortable. Sarah the bartender was amazing. read more

Over priced , ghetto , and bad customer service . Horrible I do not recommend!! We had to pay for a spilled drink !! I wouldn't put no stars but this is how it works . read more

Went for the first time on Saturday. It was a nice clean bar. Just forgot to close my tab and they gave themselves a 67% tip. I understand they should tip themselves, but do the industry standard of 20%. Not sure if that is even legal to tip themselves 67%. read more

Who the hell gets wasted before heading back to LA? Apparently we do! We totally had to stay another night. -.- Had this place bookmarked just because I thought it was all Whiskey bar, false alarm! Don't let the name fool you, because it fooled me :( but it was okay, dive bar = cheap drinks! This bar hands out chex mix! perfect for munchies! :D As always, we sat by the bar. Not too many people on a Sunday afternoon. Well drinks were $4 during their happy hour. There was only one bartender who was serving us. She did a pretty good job. Kept refilling us up. Her pouring was never watered down nor weak. Ahh... Now you know why we ended up staying another night. Ha... The crowd? Well, I would say it's a mixed during the day time. I have no idea how it's like during the nights. Great dive bar to go to if you're in downtown SB. I would suggest to eat before coming here if you're planning to get swasted. :P read more

Whiskey Richards - Whiskey! - Dive Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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Everyone was so friendly! If you're looking for drinks with no frills and friendly service, definitely stop by! read more

Whiskey Richards - A look at the bar - Dive Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Unpretentious with friendly staff and great regulars. Good beer selection and great selection of whiskey. It's commonly a shot and beer type of place, but the bartenders are skilled at making cocktails. There are two coin-op pool tables, so the wait isn't long. Photobooth in the back to commemorate your visit. The music is the reason to visit. They have an open mic, karaoke, punk and metal bands, and DJ nights. Seating is somewhat limited, and the bands can be a little loud, but it's a great place to relax just off of the crazy block of State St. read more

I honestly don't know how what these knuckleheads are saying when they refer to Whiskey Richards as "an unsafe bar for women". Whiskeys could not be any safer for women. They have great service and their staff is extremely respectful. I have been there multiple times and watched staff members ask patrons to leave for speaking to women inappropriately, let alone touching them. It's one of the few places in town you don't have to worry about someone slipping something into your drink, constantly hitting on you, or getting your ass groped. Don't let false accusations deter you, if you want a good night, stiff drinks, punk on vinyl, pool, or karaoke, Whiskeys is the place to be read more

Whiskey's is great, lots of tourists walk right by and that's fine with me. Its a family establishment where people remember your name and what your drink is. However as others have mentioned, it can be unsafe for women when I'm here, because I've been known to break a few girls' hearts. Ohhh Snaaapp read more

The bartenders were super tentative, kind and served us with a smile. I enjoyed the classic rock music while we were there. Will definitely come back for a game of pool, chill and good drinks! read more

One of the best local dives/lounges! always a goof crowd. karaoke Saturday is always fun.. all the bartenders rock!! literally. and Brendan makes one of the best bloody mary's in town! read more

Whiskey Richards - Brendan makes one of the best bloody marys in Santa Barbara! #boom - Dive Bars Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

A literal hole in the wall bar in the heart of college party town in Santa Barbara. The bartenders are always really friendly, and even helpful. A small group of us brought a friend along and wanted to have her try a few different beers. The bar doesn't technically do a tasting, but the bartender was accommodating and was able to whip up a small beer tasting for our friend. Its great they they go above and beyond to please their patrons. I've been here a few times now and anytime I'm passing through SB, if I have time for a game of pool and a drink, I stop by here. read more

I enjoy this place. Not too fancy. Decent prices. Good service & friendly staff. Everyone that I've spoken to here has been nice. I always enjoy stopping in for a drink (or three). read more

Great spot on State Street. Good people great drinks. Great for pool. Karaoke and open mic nights.

In town from South Los Angeles and was in search for a good Bloody Mary! After coming up short a few places we decided to give Whiskey Richards a shot. Alice was our bartender and made the most delicious spicy bloody mary! My mom got a cadillac margarita and said it was delicious! Alice gave us lunch and dinner recommendations we went with and she did not disappoint! We'll definitely be back before we leave town!! read more

This is the first time I've been to this area of Santa Barbara and Ive never been so at home. Our bartender Alice was amazing she was so sweet and taught us so much about the drinks we were ordering that we ordered new ones that were amazing as well. We will be back again. read more

So many things so say about this establishment and all are bad. This place smells of the streets of San Francisco. Smells like urine and feces also vomit. I got a drink and the glass was dirty and the bar was sticky. Stay away from this diseased bar. read more

Horrible and disgusting service. Watched the bartender walk from the women's bathroom (identifying as a male) without even stopping to wash his hands whatsoever --to RETURNING TO SERVE DRINKS. Actually horrifying given the current COVID crisis. Clearly no consideration of the very real health crisis. Avoid. This is very concerning. read more

I'm a traveling Tattooer/Piercer currently splitting my time between Vegas and IV- thank god I stumbled across your bar and was able to get away from the Shitshow down there! Great place, chill people, cool staff, drink prices won't kill you, and they make a strong Jack & Coke! read more

Stopped at this bar after a long drive from SF. It is well placed in the middle of a lively street. They check your ID at the entrance. Drinks were economic ($6+tip for a coke and a tap beer) and they have a photomachine (not sure if it was working though, since we didn't check). However, one of the walls was plenty of pictures from there. It was easy to find free street parking close by for us (we went on a Wednesday evening). read more

Very poor service. Bar tenders were not friendly. Disappointed for it being the holidays.

I wish I had four hands so I could give Whiskey Richards FOUR THUMBS DOWN! I recently vacationed in Santa Barbara for spring break and during the course of my week in town, Whiskey Richards is the only establishment that I have an unfavorable review of, so way to go guys. At least you have succeeded admirably at something: Being the singular fail of my SB vacation. Unfortunately during the course of my travels, I lost my driver's license, but did still possess a valid military I.D., clearly depicting my photo and date of birth. For whatever reason, that wasn't an acceptable form of (government issued, fingerprint embedded, hologram studded, rendering my blood type and religious denomination for pete's sake!) I.D. for this establishment. I find it strange that I wasn't turned away from any other bars or restaurants when I ordered a drink and in fact was offered free beverages or discounts at many of them, in recognition of my service. To some, this may not be a good enough reason not to visit a bar, but I found it to be pretty despicable. Turning away vets? You guys can do better than that. Oh well, more money for The Press Room, down the street at 15 E. Ortega. Better crowd of people in there anyhow. read more

Whiskey Richard's is further down State Street than the rest of the pubs visited on the Evil Pub Tour, so it was our final destination. We have mixed feelings about that because it was our favorite spot by a pretty wide margin. Had we discovered it earlier, we may not have tried the rest of the pubs, so I supposed it's good that we found it last. Whiskey Dick's has everything you could want in a pub. Fun crowd? Check! Pub games? Check! Indoor and outdoor seating? Check! Good bartenders? Check! Good music? Check! WR was a real down-to-earth feel to it. Evil loved it. read more

When you're driving back from San Francisco/San Jose and you end up in Santa Barbara at 1:20am looking like crap, what do you do???? Go to a bar for a drink!!!! We had finally parked and gotten physically onto State at 1:25am so we went to the first bar we saw. Whiskey Richards. Definitely an interesting joint but I liked it! Rock/Emo vibe. Pool table. Black lights. Little dance floor. Random bands and artists pictures on the walls in collage form. Best part was we looked like crap from driving ALL DAY and I didn't care at all! Coronas and New Castles here we come! read more

Compared to the rest of the crap on State street, this place is actually pretty good. Its dark, kinda sexy, kinda cheezy, but the setup is nice. Drinks: wellll made drinks, bartenders have an extensive knowledge of mixology, and will make you a good strong drink that tastes fantastic! Also.....bartenders were hot in a very punk/hipster way. Dance floor is small, but so is everything else in SB. BUT the music was good, where an equally hot DJ was playin some DuckSauce remixes, even tho no-one in the local crowd knows much about it! So grab a drink at probably one of the better bars on the street.....hit up that Whiskey Dicks! read more

Alice is an absolute doll! So knowledgable and professional. I just rolled into town and immediately looked for a bar, found my new home. Great music, great service and an enormous selection of precious bourbons and whiskeys. I'm really happy! read more

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BANDS BEWARE Our band has been booked at this venue for the first Saturday of 2016 (1/2/16) since September of 2015. We have played there before, with great reception, and based on that performance were invited back. We secured a second band, coming up from Los Angeles, to join us that evening. TWO DAYS before an event that we had held on our calendar for over THREE MONTHS, we were notified via the promoter that we were canceled because the band members weren't 21. This should have been NO SURPRISE to the venue. We played there before. We don't hide the band members' ages - they are freely available on the band bio. To add insult to injury, all voicemails, texts, and emails to the venue have been unreturned. They will not even discuss this with the band, having all messages go through the promoter. They didn't even give us the courtesy of acknowledging receipt of said voicemails, texts, and emails. We have non-refundable hotels booked and now are left with hotel reservations and no gig. I cannot express how upset I am with their lack of professionalism. read more