Sure you can drink at home, drink on a plane or drink while you drive but sometimes you just want a…read morechange of scenery. However, you don't always want to feel like you're trying too hard to change your scenery, bumping you too far out of your comfort zone. The answer my friends, is the good old classic American dive bar. Now, many places like to call themselves a dive bar just because they never clean a single inch of their establishment and have seedy patrons that love to play the more than occasional 80's songs on the jukebox but don't be mistaken, a good dive bar is hard to find. Well, I happen to have found one and it's in Fullerton of all places. That's right, Fullerton, not Los Angeles, nor Hollywood nor some pop-culturally over-hyped city. What makes The Blue Door a good dive bar? First, there's earned consistency & routine. The drinks won't always be made well, or the bartender won't always be attentive but if you come a few times, you'll soon know at what time and day the drinks are made properly by knowing the schedules of the bartenders. Secondly, the drinks are stiff, the service is friendly and nobody bothers you unless you bother them. The atmosphere goes from lively and loud to quiet and solitary, again depending upon when you visit. Lastly, they're open from 6:00AM-2:00AM. They're not just there when the hipsters are around, they're there for you whenever you make the bad decision of using alcohol as an anesthetic. Stay searching for the last remains of Americana my friends....

Dive ambiance 5/5 Ambiance 4/5…read moreRestrooms 2/5 Pool? Yes Beers? Yes Jell-O shots? Yes Darts? Yes Arcade? Yes. Smoking area outside? Yes Never knew about this place till someone brought me here! Total 100% dive Plenty of interesting decors all around to look at.

I think this is on everyone's speakeasy list!…read more Make sure you make a reservation It is very packed. They offer bar seating and booth / table Follow the wall from Randy's donuts and Look for a wall of Japanese sake/beer barrels and head towards the restaurant - the rolling boil. There will be a check in host and stand there and wait (it will be located up against the wall with a big secret door right next to the hostess station) It's very New York inside. When I first came in Spring with the amazing, Karen, the menu and everything was great Now, I took my friend who was in town from Nashville and it was a brand new theme. It's the great Gatsby. Even our waitress, Jasmine was dressed for the occasion. I would say this place is known for Absinthe. They have cocktails featuring it or you can get one of the huge apparatus (huge and glowing green) which, if you are into it? I highly recommend. Just one of the huge apparatus makes one regular drink. Or, what Karen and I did, was split it and make it into a shot for the both of us. The waitress comes out and shows you how it works and goes over everything. Karen, who I came with, was a pro and knew her way around it. She showed me the ropes lol. Honestly, if you are here? When in Rome. Go all out and try it, since it's where they shine here. They took off a few menu items and added some themed drinks. ( a couple new champagne themed drinks) They have big entree items but I suggest small bites and sharing and mostly coming for the drinks. There's no bathroom inside, so you do have to leave the bar and go to the closest one (over behind Randy's donuts) and then enter the speakeasy again Both times coming here I've never had an issue. It's a small, packed place. And yet they still have the cocktails flowing and the food coming out in a good time. So the food and drinks are good Atmosphere is lovely. Service is good. Especially for it usually being very busy in here This place is located inside the Anaheim packing district. So I suggest hitting up a couple other spots before or afterwards for some more food or drinks P.S. it is very dark In here. They never cared if we used our light to look at the menu. However, they do not want flash photography They also do not strictly enforce a dress code (my friend from Nashville asked) however, they suggest dressing business casual and not too underdressed

Date night for mom and dad away from the kids type of night. Very mellow and chill. Small but cozy…read more I loved the Gatsby decor. We chose to be seated at the bar. Service was decent. I really liked the clarified strawberry drink, similar to strawberry and cream. I ordered a drink after that unfortunately forgot the name (photo attached with a tall glass) but there was no special cocktail craft taste to it. Just hard liquor taste and undrinkable :( the bartender kindly offered another drink. Unfortunately none of the food was the least bit good. Steak and fries was ordered medium rare and cooked to medium well with what seemed like no seasoning was on there at all. Crab cake was just ok and the slaw beneath it was drenched in a vinaigrette that was just sour and unpleasant. And the Mac and cheese, as we were very hopeful and looking forward to, was probably the blandest Mac and cheese we ever had. We asked the lady bartender for salt and she handed us, no exaggeration (and you guys will probably think I am) a salt shaker with 10 grains of salt in it and said "looks like there's a lil something you could still get out of there" My jaw dropped. But yeah. The shredded meat on top of the Mac and cheese was cooked beyond the point of edible. That one was unfortunately sent back bc we just couldn't eat it. We were bummed over all mostly about the food.

I had an absolutely incredible experience at the club, and a huge part of that was thanks to…read moreDaniel. He went above and beyond his role as a bouncer and took the time to personally show me around the club, including some of the hidden and secret rooms that most people never get to see. I look forward to planning a future event here. Cold beer and good music excellent times.

I tipped cash and remember signing the receipt for $70. Stupid enough I did not keep the receipt…read moreand this place charged me $80. They tipped themselves $12 when I tipped cash! Don't go here unless you want to get wrongfully charged everyone !

The High Horse Saloon is a western themed restaurant and bar in downtown Fullerton…read more Parking in downtown Fullerton can often be a challenge. There is a small parking lot behind the restaurant which is often full. We usually park in the free multi-story parking garage just east of Harbor and Wilshire. It is a short one block walk to High Horse from there. As the name suggests, the décor is very western themed with lots of wood, cowboy hats and boots, wagon wheels, lassos, saddles, taxidermy, etc. Seating options include booths, high top tables, and at the bar. They have happy hour Monday through Friday from 3pm to 6pm with food and drink specials. We started out with the pickle fries ($12) which were excellent. The pickle slice thickness to batter ratio was perfect, and they were served with a side of ranch. My first cocktail was The Smoking Gun (bacon washed Elijah Craig bourbon, maple syrup, angostura bitters, orange bitters, $18). It is smoked tableside and was a healthy pour. The bacon and maple flavor was very light, but it was very smooth. Her first cocktail was What Would Dolly Do? (Hornitos plata tequila, Los Sundays jalapeno tequila, Del Maguey peubla mezcal, simple syrup, lime, pineapple, grapefruit, $16). It was balanced with good jalapeno flavor and pineapple below with a light smokiness. For my entrée, I had the half slab of baby back rips ribs ($28) with coleslaw and fries. The plate arrived steaming hot and I was impressed with the portion of ribs. There were seven meaty ribs that were very flavorful and the BBQ sauce was good. The fries were crisp and seasoned, and the coleslaw was good too. She had the Up The Creek spice rubbed cedar-plank salmon ($26) with asparagus and mashed potatoes. The portion of salmon was good and it was flavorful. The asparagus was cooked well, but they were over salted. She also enjoyed the potatoes. My second cocktail was the Skinny Dipper (Tito's vodka, St. Germain, aloe vera water, watermelon, lime, $15). This drink was light and refreshing, with floral notes, and watermelon and lime standing out. It also had a great looking color. Her second cocktail was Ladies Love Outlaws (rose petal infused Ketel One vodka, St. Germain, simple syrup, grapefruit, lemon, rose wine, $16). This was also light with floral notes, and had good grapefruit flavor. It was very lively at 6:30pm on a Thursday evening. We left a little after 8pm, and the place was packed as they have line dancing. There was a big crowd of at least twenty people dancing in front of the restaurant and having a great time. The service was good, and our server was very friendly. The food and drinks were great, and I think they were a pretty good value for the price.

We have been here a handful of times this year and have always enjoyed their food and service…read more Unfortunately, when we went this weekend the service was a total 180 from previous visits. We got there right when they opened and got seated at a booth. They had football running on all the tv's, except the large one above the back entrance was playing the Dodgers game. We were stoked! Within a few minutes the manager was pointing a remote up at the TV to switch to football. My husband politely went up and asked him if he could leave it on the Dodgers game. The manager just said "no." When my husband clarified if there was a way to keep it on the game, the manager again just said "no". This was a very rude way to answer someone just asking a question. He could have at least given a slight apology, or a quick explanation as to why he had to put all tvs on football, but he chose to just keep looking up at the TV and just say "no". We asked the waitress also and she said something like "we have to have all the tvs on football" or something. This was nuts considering there were a few other people in there,,and trust me, they weren't glued to one of the 5 tvs watching football. We were hoping they could just change one of the tvs by our booth. The food was great, as we love their wings and their fountain drinks. It wasn't a dealer breaker that we couldn't watch baseball, but it WAS a dealer breaker that we had such a rude interaction with the manager guy.

Came again for the second time the food is delicious and the girls are super attentive and nice. I…read morelove this place! I will definitely be a regular. Recommend if you are in the area.

Break Room is definitely a great spot! The tacos are amazing, and that spicy sauce is seriously…read morethe best. The bartenders are always friendly and make you feel welcome. Great food, good drinks, and an awesome atmosphere. It's the perfect place to take a break from life, relax, recharge, and then get back out there and attack the world. Definitely recommend!

Strong Water isn't just a place to grab a drink, it is an entire experience from the moment you…read morewalk through the door. We were escorted inside and our hostess immediately started introducing us to the lore of the place: a capsized ship with the space decorated using pieces recovered from the wreckage. The room is VERY dimly lit, and we actually stood near the entrance for a moment while our eyes adjusted, but honestly that just added to the atmosphere. On the way to our reservation in the Captain's Quarters, our hostess gave us a little tour of the main room and even pointed out the bathrooms for later. Once we sat down, we met our bartender, Drew, who was fantastic. He walked us through the different menus, explained the food and cocktails, and really added to the experience throughout the night. I'm normally a whiskey drinker, so I started with the Southeast Spice Trade while my girlfriend ordered the Pineapple Whipped Colada. Both were delicious, but half the fun was watching Drew make them. You could really see the amount of care that went into the craft and presentation of every drink. For food, we ordered the chicken katsu and ahi poke nachos. I was especially excited when the nachos arrived and I realized they were made with wonton chips. I'm a sucker for wonton chips, so those were an immediate win. We obviously couldn't stop at one round of drinks, so next came the Tarobi Colada and Zombie King. Drew told us a little about the history of the Zombie King and gave us a lesson on rum, so I had to try it, plus it came in one of the coolest mugs I've ever seen. The Zombie King was easily my favorite drink of the night. The flavor was fantastic from beginning to end and dangerously smooth. I didn't even realize how much it had hit me until I stood up. Even leaving was part of the experience. We finally checked out the bathroom and the door has what feels like TEN different locks on it. It genuinely felt like I was locking myself inside the bathroom of an old pirate ship. Between the storytelling, incredible atmosphere, Captain's Quarters, food, cocktails, and especially the service from Drew, this was such a memorable night. Strong Water completely commits to its theme without sacrificing the quality of the drinks. Absolutely an experience worth having, and we can't wait to come back.

We have returned to Strong Water several times in recent months, so it's time for an update. We…read morefirst returned in early June since they introduced some new cocktails and food to the menu. The other visits were just because this is by far our number one place. Recently added cocktails: Buzzin' Jungle Bird (Jamaican gold rum, coffee infused campari, dark rum, pineapple, lime, hemp orgeat, cane, Angostura bitters). This is a great spin on a jungle bird, with some complexity and coffee flavor. I'm usually not a big fan of coffee, but it is at a good level. Chi Chi (Whey vodka, pineapple, lime, date, honey, coconut, salt). This has a great creamy texture which I believe comes from the dairy component of the whey vodka. It is well balanced with some sweetness, and I could taste the coconut and date flavors. Lapu Lapu (Asian rum, Jamaican rum, dry curacao, lime, orgeat, demerara). It is juicy, well balanced, and served with a flaming sugar cube on top. This is the cocktail they chose to serve at their booth at Tiki Oasis recently which says a lot, try it! Thai Me Down (Barbados rum, coconut liqueur, papaya, lemon, demerara, Thai basil). It is served old-fashioned style, and was light and perfectly balanced. Those Thai inspired flavors were all noticeable. Demerara Dry Float. They added and took this one off the menu as of now. It was a balanced light citrusy drink which was served with a delicious sidecar of Hamilton 151 rum infused with banana chips. I sipped half of that and mixed the rest into the cocktail. It was served with a beautiful ice shell. I'm guessing it was too labor intensive, and took up a lot of space in their freezers. Recently added food: Ahi Poke Nachos (marinated ahi tuna, masago, avocado, cucumber, spicy mayo, furikake, green onion). This is such a tasty starter with so many textures and flavors. I love that the nachos are wontons too, and not just chips. Crab & Cream cheese wontons. Nice crisp wontons with a good amount of crab and cream cheese inside. The chili sauce and spicy mayo adds another layer of flavor, and there is a slice of jalapeno on top for a little heat. Pan-Seared Scallops. This was an excellent lighter entrée. The four scallops are cooked perfectly, and even have a little dollop of caviar on top. I liked the mix of veggies and really liked the bed of potato puree underneath. Steak & Eggs (8oz hanger steak, crying tiger glaze, Nam Jim Jaew sauce, sunny eggs, rice). I normally wouldn't try steak & eggs for dinner, but I can't resist a good hanger steak. It was cooked a perfect medium rare and I appreciate that it was pre-sliced. The crying tiger glaze and sauce were so flavorful. There's plenty of rice to soak up any left egg yolk or sauce. Recently added desserts: Dubai Chocolate Lava Cake. This was excellent, but it's definitely sweet and rich. Save some room if you plan on ordering this. Ube Flan Cake. I'm usually not a fan of flan, but I have to try anything with ube and this was good. The cake had nice ube flavor, and I liked that the flan was a little firm since the looser custardy/gelatinous texture is not for me. This is definitely a lighter dessert than the lava cake. It's not a new drink, but I also had the Naval Grog for the first time. (Lost Voyage rum, overproof white rum, allspice dram, lime, grapefruit, demerara, honey). It is boozy with nice spice notes. Other repeat cocktails enjoyed were Tales from the Black Lagoon (my favorite), Missionary's Downfall, Agave Parrot, Singapore Sling, and Serpents Grasp all of which are excellent. Their cocktails, food, ambiance, and service are always top notch. Thank you Ying, Erica, Greg, Jordan, Joey, Iris, Karen, Kyle, Joy, and John for your wonderful hospitality during our visits. We will return again soon!

Nice place for a cold beer good music specially kareokee nights service is awesome good vibes.read more

The first time I visit this lounge. It's so fun and ambience is very festive. Patrons seem to be…read moreregulars and socializing is the norm. Everyone enjoyed the Karaoke and the drinks were amazing! I definitely will return soon. It was a great choice for a date to meet and break the ice.

I've been here a couple times and I have enjoyed my food, drinks and service each time…read more I always get their wine flights - it's great when you want to sample a few wines 5/5 Foods -baked brie (5/5) never disappoints!

Came in Saturday evening. No wait time, was greeted warmly immediately and given a walkthrough of…read morethe wine selection. I ordered the baked Brie ($17) while the rest of my party ordered wine & skewers. Food, ambiance, and service was great for the most part. I do want to mention that they do not allow outside water of any sort inside. I was told to put away my hydroflask because it's a, "violation of liquor license". That gives the assumption that ABC prohibits guests from bringing a water bottle, which is false. It would be more appropriate to just say they "don't allow outside water" as a general house rule.

Amazing team!!! love diesel he's the best!!! They also play good food and music!! They bring the…read morevibes!

Had a fantastic tome at Chakos for an event. Fantastic service, great food, and great energy! Staff…read morewere super nice too. Owner is very very kind and we will be back for sure. Thank you!

My husband and I stopped in for dinner. There was a long wait for the dining room so we sat at the…read morebar rail. We were greeted right away by one of the bartenders and got our drinks pretty fast. I had the smash burger with curly fries and my husband had the Reuben with a salad. My smash burger came out juicy and flavorful and my curly fries were hot. The Reuben came out stuff with corned beef and was also very flavorful. The atmosphere here is fun. There are tvs everywhere and had the World Cup games on. There was music playing and the employees we interacted with were all very nice. We will go here again if we are in town. This place is kid friendly.

My husband and I were in town to celebrate our 17th year anniversary. Everyone at this location…read morewas very welcoming. The waitress cheerful and friendly. She informed us of the menu which helped us decide our purchase. When she brought the drinks, she forgot to give straws...no worries. We are close to the bar and the bartender is approaching near. I replied, "excuse me"...NO RESPONSE. No worries, maybe he didn't hear me. I replied again, because he was MUCH CLOSER THIS TIME... STILL no response. So I took this as he didn't want to speak to a certain demographic of people. Why? Well we walked in the door, no welcome, from that guy, but groups of caucasian customers walked in MULTIPLE TIMES. They were GREETED every time. Now I hated to take this stands because our server and some of the other female staff were AMAZING! Food was great and this negative experience won't stop our reason for being here to be tarnished.