I checked out Fireside Lounge on Saturday afternoon because all the other bars I had bookmarked weren't open yet. Plus, I've been wanting to check out more of Alameda so I figured it would be fun to check out. There weren't many people there, which wasn't so bad for a Saturday afternoon. The bartender was super sweet. Apparently she was covering for someone, but she made a nice first impression. The bar is very spacious with a pool table and a small stage. They had happy hour while I was there and it looks like they have happy hour all day Sundays. Later in the evening, the bartender lit all the candles at the tables and put on the fireplace. Very cozy! After seeing that there will be a Siouxsie and the Banshees tribute band playing next month, you bet your sweet ass I'll be back. read more

Just discovered this spot when I attended a birthday get-together there. We actually drove right by it the first time since the spot has no windows or clear signage. Literally had to park the car and find it by looking at the individual street numbers on the neighboring shops. Once we found the place, we stepped up to the door and thought we were about to step into a total dive bar. Upon swinging open the heavy door, we were shocked by how totally hip and modern it was. I guess it was once a dive, but underwent a major rehaul not too long ago. Spot now has high ceilings, tasteful dark stools & furniture, a nice toasty fireplace, warm lighting, good tunes and a well-maintained pool table in the back. Most importantly, the specialty drink menu is off the hook. We sampled the Blueberry Mojito, Strawberry Banana Caprahina, and Honey Lavender Martini (my personal fave). All the drinks were extremely tasty & were served up with a smile. So if you happen to find yourself in Alameda, Fireside Lounge is definitely a nice spot to grab a drink and just chill out with some good company. read more

Wonderful service, bartender was great, older lady with wonderful service and great drinks, local craft beers.

If you have not been to the new Fireside (1453 Webster St # A Alameda, CA) it is a great place to settle in to have a Cocktail. The old Fireside had a lot to be desired but new owner Patrick has cleaned (that's a first for this place), painted, remodeled and made it a great place to stop after work or any night of the week. My first encounter with the Fireside was 1980, long ago when sailors still roamed Webster Street and Ladies of the evening were hailing distance from the Fireside. I was 15 and it was a place that would serve me a beer. I was so nervous that the only thing that I could order was a Bud. Patrick now serves probably 30 types of beer now and that choice no longer has to be an option. See my complete review: http://cocktailcocktailscocktails.blogspot.com/2007/12/fireside.html read more

Fireside Lounge - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

Cool bar with nice ambiance and good beers and spirits available. 2 major issues [for me]: 1. every so often one bartender in particular short-pours the drinks. Seriously, a martini glass is not very big. So if the drink doesn't make it up to the rim, WHY AM I PAYING YOU $7 PLUS TIP? 2. This place has a nice, classy look and feel to it (i.e. old films playing on the TV instead of sports), WHY IS THERE OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD CLUB MUSIC BEING SPUN BY AN AMATEUR DJ THAT NOBODY IS DANCING TO? If those two issues could be addressed this would be a 5 star joint, easy. read more

Fireside Lounge - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

Delightful. Good music, great service, excellent brews! Much approval! They have big windows in the front that lets in a nice breeze, total chill vibe here read more

Fireside Lounge - Sweet pad! - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

They have Lambic "pomme" ale ! They also have HINANO Tahiti beer ! Olivia is an awesome sweetie cutie pie bartender ! Love this place ! read more

Fireside Lounge - back room - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

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Great place! I went on a Saturday afternoon after getting Dim Sum. It's a very chill environment with friendly staff. There's a pool table and there's tv's that show old western movies. Liquor-wise I'm a big fan of whiskies, scotches and bourbons and they have a very pretty great selection beyond the common names. With some friends, we shared a bunch of different ones and one of the staff made some recommendations.. I particularly enjoyed the Highwest 36th Vote Barreled Manhattan. I would go again! read more

Great little dive bar! I've been here a couple of times now, once during a stop along Alameda's Zombie Crawl and then to see my friend's band play. Both experiences were fantastic! I love the ambience inside. It's got the perfect amount of dive bar and "cool" mixed in. Like, if you're in your 20's-30's you'll feel like you've found "the place" that other millennials haven't found yet. If you're in your 40's+ you'll fit right in with a lot of other 40+ers. They also have pinball machines and live music and board games in the back, so super bonus. The drinks are a great price, and they keep a large selection of craft beer. Bartenders are also super chill and funny and seem happy enough to be there. I like that vibe when I'm going to a bar just to hang out. I haven't tried one of their house cocktails, but will check out the list next time. I've heard good things from other people. This place is definitely a great place to hang out with the locals. If I didn't live on the other side of Alameda, I'd probably come more often. Will definitely come in for the music, though! read more

Sunday evening, about twelve patrons are here. That's great. Especially because I want to spend a little time with my boo and the less the crowd, the better...for this evening. Sadly, they no longer carry food...like no food. I wanted that carnivore plate. Well nope, no mo boo. Whatever. He played the two pinball machines and I sipped on my Zin read more

Great crew working when I went on Thursday night. They were friendly and fun! We went to my first ever drag show! Did I have fun!! The acts were awesome! Their was a nice sized group in the bar.. not too raucous or crowded! The "nun" announcer was a stitch and I could tell was cool and experienced. I would go back in a minute and in fact will! See you soon!! read more

Reason for visit: Trivia and Taco night What I drank: Water, beer Visit date: January 1, 2013 First time? Yes. I was super excited for trivia and taco night, mostly the taco part since I suck at trivia. My friends and I arrived a little early (like the flyer suggested) and no one was there. We had the whole bar/lounge to ourselves. And then, we find out that the place where they get their tacos from (the neighboring business apparently) is closed! So, there goes taco night. We ended up ordering food from the Nations across the street. When people started trickling in, they started trivia night. It was hard as expected; also, it was Christmas themed (extra hard). Fireside needs to update their website's trivia page to let people know about weird themes and taco closures. On the plus side, I found a sweet beer that I actually like - an orange kush. Yes, kush. Highlights: Nice seating area. They have board games and pool. You can bring food in from wherever. Bathrooms are clean for a bar/lounge. Fireplace. read more

Fireside Lounge - Orange kush. - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

UPDATE 3/17/08: Still 5 stars. Celebrated my birthday here on Saturday night and had a blast! Thanks to the bartender, Jeff, for keeping the drinks and smiles flowing. (Sorry I kept calling you Kevin at first, but it was pretty noisy.) The joint was pretty packed at one point and he held down the fort all by himself. Also, they play music off an iPod and Jeff swapped in my iPod which I brought with me. So my friends (and all the other customers) were listening to my personal playlist all night. A birthday to remember. Note to self: tried absinthe for the 1st time and don't need to have it EVER again. Nasty sh*t that tastes like black licorice and will eat your brain. Original review starts here: YES! Alameda needs a joint like this (I think that about a lot of new places). A fresh, not-divey bar for 30-40-somethings. Yes, at 36 (37 in a few months!) I'm showing my age. Call me O.G. The Fireside Lounge has no windows so it's easy to miss. I overheard about the remodel and new ownership while dining at Asena one day. One of their waiters is also a bartender at Fireside, and he was raving about the makeover; been dying to check it out ever since. He said the former old-timer regulars would poke their heads in, see the new digs and leave. That's a good thing in my book. So the decor is Pottery Barn-ish (in a good way): tasteful dark wood furniture with a dash of retro cool. There are a nice mix of regular tables, bar tables, leather sofas, plus the bar seats. It's airy and cozy all at once. The walls are lined with vintage magazine ads for old cars and Tab cola. There is a pool table in the back, right by the fireplace (yes, Fireside has a real fireplace with real fire). The music was on the loud side, but not horrible (no louder than you'd hear at Old Navy in the mid-afternoon). I'm probably more sensitive to the sound level now that I have 2 kids and don't get out much. On a busier night, I probably wouldn't have noticed at all. Lastly, the drink menu was creative and reasonably priced (not cheap). My wife chose the Caramel Martini which she liked, and it came with a little caramel candy on the side. I had a Fireside Hot Coffee with coffee, Bushmills or Jameson (can't recall) and some kind of Baileys-like liqueur. At 10pm on a chilly Saturday night, it hit the spot. Bottom line: I like that Fireside is roughly the same target demo as Forbidden Island, with slightly cheaper drinks and more spacious. Also a good step above Z's for liveliness but that ain't saying much. read more

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Lots of cool happenings at Fireside Lounge, they show local art every month and participate in 2nd Fridays. I've actually sold some work here too. It's a great place to show art. Also they have a wide selection of vodka and they use real fresh oranges in their drinks. Love the staff and all the efforts they put towards building a community. Very supportive of the LGBTQ and the place is owned and operated by women! read more

Good beer section. Best management ever. Love how the windows open up. Perfect place to go on an afternoon to chill with a beer and good company. read more

As I was waiting for a sushi order, and I realized that in 6 years I have never set foot inside this place. If you like free pool and an above average selection of beers (mostly bottled), you'll like this place. I had a Toña, which is from Nicaragua. It went down very smooth. And for $4, I felt that was about right. I would think this might be a good place to catch the Sharks and have some decent beers For some reason, I had avoided this place (maybe because they showed up in the police blotter or something), but it was actually very, very tame on a Friday night (at 9 pm). I don't know if they have changed ownership in the last 6 years, but I was expecting a crazy crowd. And, yes, they have a fire place. Don't know if it is a working one. read more

Fireside Lounge - Bar Mirror - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

Good place to stop for a pint. Friendly staff and decent selection of beers and hard-A. Good atmosphere, but the seating is a bit strange. I wish there were some bars with more reasonable prices. I know the economy is rough, but charging more than $4 for a beer is not that cool. Bars that charge $5.50 or some other amount over $5 should be ashamed. I don't walk around with change in my pocket and I don't want change in my pocket either! Whole dollar amounts people, stop adding cents and tax to booze. Include your tax costs in the total price and make the customer happy. read more

Fireside Lounge - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

My brother, a tiki bar aficionado, was visiting and we had a less-than-stellar experience at Forbidden Island. On our way home, we decided to stop here. What a treat! The lovely bartender/part-owner was amazing. Super-friendly and beyond knowledgable. We tried many unusual spirits that Forbidden Island should've known all about. (In their defense, it was the Sunday of a holiday weekend and it seemed to be the B-Team bartenders. It was much better the next day.) I'd been to the Fireside once for trivia night, but that was ages ago and this was a much-improved experience. Great ambience, too. Now that I live on the west side of town, I plan to make this a regular stop. read more

Came here after work last night on a whim to celebrate my brother's belated birthday and we were quite surprised to see how nice the place actually is. Crowds are energetic, drinks are good (or at least my siblings who drink said so) and reasonably priced. I just stuck to my usual, a Sprite. Bartenders are very friendly. Music might not be to everyone's liking, but there's no cover charge so you can't really complain about the live band. If we ever decide to hang out again, we'll definitely keep this place in mind. read more

Fireside Lounge - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

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Saturday night, great music, dead place... what's wrong with the picture? All the girls got a free round of Red-Headed Slut doubleshot from the DJ's friend! Wowzers! At least it's not crowded and nasty! read more

This place holds many awesome memories for me, staff has always been super nice. On some nights they also have live bands which is always a win! read more

Fireside Lounge - Awesome place in Alameda! - Lounges Near Me - Alameda, California

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Love this place. Friendly patrons, excellent bartenders, reasonable prices (with exceptional specials) and owner is super friendly. Not to mention, the beer selection is immense. Solid and dependable draft selection, as well as an insane No. of bottles. I used to be so-so about this place, but since then the owner has really kicked it up a notch and made sure his guests feel right at home. They've even started giving out twitter-based-specials (@FiresideAlameda)! Good music, great people, solid drinks. Step in and give it a shot. read more

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The best neighborhood bar. Everyone is welcome and accepted. And their jalapeño beer cheese is amazing!! Please keep it.

To start, I want to say that I met the sweetest group of early 30's dudes (one of which was having a bit of a life crisis and had his buddies visiting) and I wish I had gotten their info!! We talked about exchanging and then totally spaced! If any of you sees this, shoot ya gal and email @ missgreanna@gmail.com so we can go to a float and a drink next time I'm in town! BUT ABOUT THE VENUE! Had such a fabulous time at this precious little pub! Saw a really rockin' Bluegrass band (which apparently happens the last Friday of every month) and danced the night away! Delicious cocktails and fabulous crowd! The environment was really mellow and personal and I was able to interact with the willing band directly! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a blissful, safe and comfortable night out! read more

I love this place. They're so involved in the community. They're always holding events and support local artists. Everyone who works here and stops for a drink is really friendly. I feel like everyone is really welcomed. I've never felt out of place any time I've been there. I keep thinking about how I need to go back! I think that the drink prices are pretty average. And they have a decent selection of local beers, too! read more

Trivia nights on Tuesdays 8pm, free admission. I came on 3/7/2017, some trivia topics were tv series theme songs and March themes. They offer prizes for the winning team, such as choosing from a variety of stationary goodies that they had purchased prior at Michael's. I heard that they offer different prizes each time. Outside food doesn't seem to be strictly enforced. read more

True story- I thought someone died at the table next to me. So I'm drinking my drinkie, talking to some asshat about something, and the dude at the next table over is slumped in his chair, left arm lethargic on table, and drool pouring down his tie. First thought- uh oh, some dude died because of absinthe. Second thought- tell someone. So I told the lovely bartender, who told what apparently was the owner (and also an EMT or something), who called the paramedics, who whisked the poor man away. Then the bartender gave me a free drink for bringing it to her attention. That's great customer service. Drinks are so-so, but it may have been the distraction keeping me from remembering anything stellar. I want to go back. DYL, anyone? read more

I was really expecting a dive when I approached this bar. The neon sign was only half lit and the solid wood door seemed to say "watch your back" as you approached. What a sham. This place was nice. Nice and full of 30somethings with button down shirts and expense accounts, oh, and that one guy at the end of the bar who probably doesn't even own a button down shirt, umm, and the older guy who probably was a regular back when it was a dive, this hot edgy guy I picked up at happy hour a few weeks prior and myself, who transcends any sort of 30something categorizing since I often act like an adolescent. In short, the Fireside is clearly geared towards a crowd that likely decorates their place to resemble a model home (in fact, the decor of the bar sort of looks like the the living room of a model home, except that there is a bar taking up one wall). It seems that you do not need to fit that mold to drink here and still feel like you are welcome. The selection of libations is good and my companion found a new favorite beer that we promptly ran out and stocked up on for home use. Still, I would have preferred that this place was on the inside what it appeared to be on the outside. read more

I had a few cherry mojitos and a couple of the amazing coconut margaritas. The bartender chick was ON her game...and she claimed not to be a regular bartender. I sure as hell hope she's working it again when I return. I don't remember too much more about that night... I just know it was fun and the drinks kicked some serious ass. -------------------------- Update: If I could bump this place up a star or 2, I totally would. They made my birthday a very special day and every time I come in here, I have a great time drinking and chatting with friends and other regulars. I have noticed that there are a few peeps that the bartender and owner are just not cool with & I've seen them ask folks to leave for various reasons. But, not me.. no no, see, they like me and I am treated like Alamedan royalty when I come in here. Others.. meh, not so much. Sucks to be them. :) read more

Vino, vino, vino!! I spend way too much time with friends at bars which cannot supply a decent version of my beverage of choice - fermented grape juice. Thank god the Fireside is close now. Leave it to Alameda to provide me with a semi-dive bar with a halfway decent wine list. Add to that good service, a comfortable atmosphere and a scary-close proximity to Nation's (wait...), and this becomes a 4 star place. Add this to the things I love about Alameda. read more

Came here to help celebrate a girlfriends birthday. It was a fine place-the company was great but the music was crappy. We finally noticed a juke box and that made the tunes better. The bartender made decent drinks but seriously, if you have peanuts or pretzels or something, hook a big paying table up. This being said, the goldfish crackers I saw and asked for went really well with my Cosmo, but not as good as the Mexican food from next door! Plusses for nice clean bathroom (one seater) and for having pool tables for those who care to play! read more

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda... Should of been a good night. Could of been a great night. Would of went somewhere else had I known. Came here for a birthday party over the weekend... and things started off promising. Good music. Good selection of drinks (although they had a sign for Hoegaarden beer yet none on tap). Nice sized place (so I thought). Well, at about 11:00pm, turns out the party went over capacity for the place... which I guess is 50 people according to the guy in charge. The music was stopped and people who did not have drinks in hand were told to leave. I guess if we were all packed in there like sardines, this would of made sense except for the fact that it wasn't even crowded. I've been in bars and clubs where you have a hard time just moving around and this place was far from that point. After some people left (it seems they stopped serving alcohol at that point), the party limped along for another hour before house lights were up and music was cut. In the end, night was over just as it was getting going. Disappointing. Well, this place has potential... for the anti-social people who fear large crowds. read more

They managed to fix it up and then mess it up with obnoxious volume, disco lights and a butthead for an owner. My dance partner and I decided to check out the Fireside one night when bluesman Freddy Hughes was playing. $5 each got us into what looked like a comfortable space until we got into the back music room where over-amped volume was being driven through a bad PA and Freddy's mic had been hooked up to drive a way-annoying, cheese-o-matic, jittery disco-light thingy. After 10 minutes, we realized that the room was better suited to a bad acid trip than listening and dancing, so we left. We politely explained to the doorman that the place wasn't working for us at which point he made it clear that he was not about to refund our money. Then, apparently upset that we should expect a refund, he called us, who have seen live bands in every gin mill, juke joint and dive bar from Santa Rosa to San Jose "amatures." Then he blurbbled out that we were there "over an hour" and how we don't know anything about bars in Alameda. Whoa, Nellie, we pros don't take no disrespect from no steenkin' doorman. Who's the owner here, because he's gotta know how his butthead doorman is treating the customers. You guessed it. Butthead doorman, owner, same-same. read more

One star for free pool, one star for EXTENSIVE bottled beer selection. That's about all this bar has going for it. When you first walk in Fireside Lounge looks really upscale, think lounge room in a mansion(that's right they have crown moulding in a bar...) until you look a little closer and see that the place has big unpainted sections in the middle of walls and missing sections of crown moulding. No big deal though right? I mean maybe they're just in the middle of remodeling and want to remain open throughout... Then you see the three large cold cases in the back stocked with just about any beer you can find at BevMo and then some. BEER HEAVEN! All is forgiven! However, when you order shots for your friend for her birthday you will find that the bartender is a huge tool, and doesn't know how to make most shots you order. A red headed slut is that hard to figure out?! Well yes, but not when we're talking alcohol. ZING! Bottom Line: If you're lucky(or early) enough to get the single pool table locked down, you could have a good time here... Just as long as you don't have the beertender do anything more complicated than shake your appletini or pop your beer top. For me? I'd rather make a run to BevMo and buy the whole sixer for the price Fireside charges for one bottle... read more

Our favorite neighborhood "dive!" We stumbled on the Fireside the week we moved around the corner, and instantly felt so welcome. The staff are terrific (we love Christopher and Kirkland!) and Tuesday trivia nights are the best around. We love you, Fireside! read more

this is probably love at first sight. so many bottles of beer(imported) on the wall, at least 99! and an interesting draft beer selection, some at $2 a pint at happy hours. the bartender who gave me some samples of draft beer.was cool. they have many wines including coppola and rosemblum's zinfindel. patron is also in the house as is boutique vodka brands. not to mention this is a full bar. they also have a pool table and 2 flat screen tv's this place is great for small networking parties. i don't get people who go into bars and complain about the decor. these people should go to art museums... i go to bars to get semi legally almost drunk, period. that's the truth, officer, i had only 2 small ones at fireside. read more

Never coming back because the guy working Thursday nights is a douche. We went on a Thursday night after a softball game victory to celebrate. There were only 2 other patrons there. The 8 of us spent quite a bit that night on pitchers of beer. At least one pitcher for each of us. At around 1:30am we were ready to leave and I asked the bartender for a pitcher of water to help sober everyone up. He flat out denied us water because he wanted to close up early and didn't want to wait for us. read more

1st time here was for a Birthday party. The night started out pretty cool, maybe 15-20 people showed up between 9-9:30 and were just chilling. Bartender was very friendly and nice, but seemed to get a little overwhelmed as the place started to get busier. The guy who I didn't realize was the owner was bar backing and didn't really lift a finger to help with drink orders. (Two bartenders hustling could have handled the group, but one bartender was never going to get keep everyone served) It seriously was taking 15min+ to get drinks (some people weren't even getting acknowledged) Then about 10:45, the owner stopped everything and asked people to leave because he was "Over Capacity" (There were maybe 60-70 people in this place) and sounded like he was complaining that he had run through a case of vodka in an hour and a half. (Last time I checked, that was the point of a bar to sell alcohol) He more or less ordered anyone that didn't have a drink in hand to leave to help reduce the risk of them getting a fine that he was not going to pay (within his right as the owner to reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, but I just didn't get the whole rationale of things) People complied and then 15 minutes later the bar stopped serving all together and they started putting up the chairs. Needless to say, the evening was cut short, it was fun while it lasted and I've never heard of a bar not being allowed to have more than 80 people in at one time. It was bizarre... I felt bad for the two regulars that stopped in but couldn't pull up to the bar because our group had it locked down, but heck, it was one night and they could have stayed... This place maybe cool on regular nights, but this experience turned me off to it... it was just bizarre to me. Atmosphere was cool, but it didn't seem like they wanted the business. Even if the group was around 50 people like the owner said he "was told would be in attendance" he still wasn't even trying to keep that many people in drinks. read more

I have come here a few times to see my bf's band play. The first time was on St. Patrick's day and it was surprisingly slow, the next time was on a Saturday and it was packed and awesome. There is some amazing talent that comes through here. To have a venue in Alameda that consistently brings in live music is truly awesome. The bar itself has a front room with a pool table and in the back room there is the stage and seating. The bar is a good size and there is seating there as well. Drinks are pretty solid and reasonably priced. The only thing that is missing from here is some bar snacks. They do at least have a fire place, but it's never on, at least when I have been there. All in all I am a fan of the Fireside and this is probably the best bar on Webster so check it out! read more

Nice place with a really chill vibe. Christy--besides being very friendly and engaging--really knows how to mix 'em. Thanks to Fireside Lounge, I'm now hooked on absinthe drinks. I asked for a recommendation and she made one with whiskey and bitters that was quite tasty (one of their two signature absinthe drinks). Being among the first to serve absinthe again in the area, others around me at the bar were interested in my drink. It was a kind of glowing bluish green color. After Christy told them what it was they wanted to smell it...kinda bizarre, I know! But I indulged them. Despite their interest, I don't recall them ordering one. I guess they were scared off by rumors that absinthe can make people hallucinate or go mad. Pfffttttt! Down the hatch! A friendly couple next to me (with whom I chatted away for most of the night) kept asking me to tell them when I started hallucinating or if I was about to levitate. I told them unless they were both figments of my imagination, I think I was fine. They also later pointed out that one of those sniffing my drink was the mayor of Alameda. Nice! I must say, the crowd at this place is quite diverse, both culturally and age-wise. You never know who you'll run into. And the interior really is Pottery Barn-ish. A little dark, a little flickering flame, and then BAM! a pool table! But it all comes together quite well. I gotta hand it to the owners for turning this place around and giving it a comfortable yet upscale feel that you usually have to cross the bridge to find. Will have to make another visit soon and see if I can't raise my review to 5 stars. read more