When my life is in shambles, I love coming to V Room…read more It's a small, dark place with a jukebox to match. During one drinking session, I think I heard Sonic Reducer three times; that adds an extra star. Before we get off track, let's get back to my opening line; when my life is in shambles, I come to V Room. It's fun, it has great music and things just don't feel as bad here. My last venture to ye olde V, my roommate broke up a fight in the girls room, my friends and I drunkenly sang along to Iggy Pop, and a hipster girl was hoisted out by the straps of her 90s era child's backpack. So, all things considered, my life may be in shambles, but at least I'm not brawling in the girls room. The drinks rule and the bartenders are the BEST.

The little red head behind the bar should not be a bartender. Her attitude is the definition of an…read moreentitled little brat. Acts as if you're the issue for coming to have a drink at "A BAR" . Eye rolls whenever anything was asked for. Went to pay & when the " tip" wasn't up to her par , she made the comment under her breath " why even **** come out cheap f**k?" Why even be a bartender if you're not going to provide a service. You don't get a tip for being terrible at your job. That's not how this works. Management will probably read this & brush it off because she'll have a lame excuse like we were the problem or needy. Nope. She is the problem. Even the regulars mentioned they can't stand when she bartends because her attitude is so terrible. Fix your system please. Get better people.

This has become my home bar. It's a great spot for locals to hang and make friends, but also I've…read moremet lots of people who drove from LA to have a Long Beach day, which is fun. Definitely worth it! The vibes are unmatched. It's a unique blend of "top notch cocktail crafting" and "beer and a hot pretzel after work." You can dress up, you can dress down, it's very 'just be yourself' which I love. I've literally had caviar AND hot dogs there in the same night at an event. They know how to blend high/low. Incredible knowledge and ingredients but not snooty patootie. Super inclusive and fun, with cool popups and events happening all the time. It's a full bar so you can get any cocktail you would normally order if you're keeping it simple, or beer, wine, boilermakers, etc. There's a span of offerings and price points, so something for everyone. (Also really good N/A cocktails!) The menu is super inventive and creative! And the cocktail menu changes out every so often so there are new things to try. This area is vintage vibes and Baby Gee speaks it fluently. Really cool decor, curated by the owners who design everything from the playlist to the cocktails to the invention of never-before-seen flavors and shapes of jello shots. Try the Baby Gee appletini while you're there. Mezcal, tequila, sake appletini you ask?? Yes. Trust. And get a hot dog. Do it.

This is definitely a place with a very Long Beach vibe (so it really depends on what you think…read moreabout Long Beach in general). The seating is a little funky, but the drinks are solid. The food is definitely bar food that's ideal for late night eats while buzzed, and the service is fast! Food: 3.5/5 Drinks: 4.5/5 Service: 4/5 Ambiance: 4/5 Value: 3.5/5 Overall: 4/5

One of my favorite bars ! They have awesome music in a jukebox and 50 cent pool tables (2) The…read moreprices are amazing and their happy hours are always worth the walk! All the bartenders are really nice and love to see you again! Food is allowed inside which is my favorite thing about this place since they dont have a kitchen Last night they had a burger pop up, they were so good I didnt even stop to take a pic!!! Definitely check it out they have a parking lot and lots of seating available!

Once upon a time I lived in Long Beach. On the lower west side off of willow. My wife and I would…read morecome the the hawk a lot before we had children. They had a really good cocktail menu and daily specials (follow them on IG). We would go a lot for the DJs on the weekend and the live jazz during the week. The staff was always very attentive even when it was busy.They have a very five selection of whiskeys and any liquor in general. The bar is in a more industrial part of town but nothing bad ever happened. I hated living in Long Beach to be quite honest, but absolutely loved this bar. I still think about it till this day. They make their own juices and put out seasonal cocktails/slushes. If you're in town, check them out. I dream of the day lll be able to have a hamms and a shot of scotch at this place again. But until then cheers. Oh and they have a very rare analog photo booth here!

It's a quaint dive bar with the best decor I've ever seen…read more It was previously a wedding chapel. They did some extraordinary renovations . Welcoming vibe , with a friendly bartender.

Love me a dive bar! Came in for a single drink, had a great conversation with the bartender…read more(owner?) about this cool historic building. Bar back and front entry and restroom doors with handcrafted metal look very much like a medieval dungeon. Seems they built the medieval dungeon themselves, refurbishing the building over many years before opening. Friendly, chill vibe. Cheap strong drinks ($8 well), and clean toilets. Pool table, juke box. Cash only!

I took my sister to Joe Jost's for lunch. I can't believe that she had never been here before!…read moreWe ordered the classic "Joe's Special" and a Schooner. Delicious! As always. (My brother loves the egg salad sandwich) The vibe is so terrific! 102 years old, it's a Long Beach landmark. It was a weekday lunch time and the place was packed. About 75% of the (mostly) male customers, had some version of a Joe Jost's t-shirt on. (I've seen this shirts worn all over the world, in my travels). It's a friendly, fun crowd....you feel happy to be there. If you've never been, you GOTTA go!

Cute classic gem! I am I fan of Cola, particularly Coke but omg their Root Beer on tap is…read morephenomenal! I crave ONLY their Root Beer. Place is super cute, from what I'm told they haven't changed their menu, sandwiches, pickled eggs, and of course beer. I will be back

An awesome dive bar with good food served late (until 1am). I'm always here for their cheap drinks…read moreand chill vibe, but I also love the food from Sideburns that they serve. I got the Backyard BBQ burger with tater tots and the Bacon Bleu burger with fries.  Backyard BBQ burger - the onion rings at Sideburns are some of the best in the game, so this was obviously stellar. An indulgent bite and they don't skimp on the bacon or onion rings either. Bacon Bleu burger - this was loaded with bleu cheese! I thought it was awesome, but my friends definitely thought it was a little too much to handle. Definitely order if you love bleu cheese. It was perfectly balanced by the sweet strawberry jam and peppery arugula. If you're looking to cure your hangover before it even starts, head to the Stache. The vibe is chill, with good bartenders and a good movie playing on the projector every night. Food is awesome and served late, which we all know is a rarity around here.

Food : A+ We L-O-V-E the food here! The poutine burger is my…read morego to (pictured below) and my hubby orders to Double Smash. The fries and poutine fries are as good as regular potato fries come. The cheese curds are the best I've ever had. Service: A Their customer service is good. They've messed up a couple of times on our order and they always correct it. When I ordered " The Poutine " she thought I ordered the poutine fries so she let us keep the fries and ordered The Poutine Burger for me. Next time I'll make sure to say " burger " to respect their food costs and bottom line. But maybe we will just order the Poutine fries too because now we know how delicious they are as well. Ambience: B Is chill. Dark and they will put the game on for you. It's a Greenbay Packer bar hence the B rating instead of A since we're Detroit Lions fans ;D

Firstly, I enjoy how the entry is very speakeasy vibes; where you try to find it and you start to…read morefeel unsure if this is the entry nicely done. The ambiance of the wooden tables and the total feel was cozy and welcoming. Once seated at the bar, we were greeted immediately by a very awesome Mixologist/Bartender! Amazing banter A+++++ Service The drinks : My Whiskey Sour was delicious, it had the perfect balance of sweet to sour notes. We also had the old fashion yes. May I have another, soo good. And, this place has a couple games to play and on some nights entertainment, which is pretty cool but on this night I only partake playing some pool. Overall, the drinks were crafted wonderfully, and I would recommend this lovely joint!

1 Star - Worst Experience I've Ever Had at a Bar…read more I've been to The Blind Donkey in downtown Long Beach before but what happened last night deserves to be shared. I came here with a friend last night and ordered a blonde beer that tasted completely off -- it genuinely tasted like blue cheese. My friend encouraged me to ask for a replacement since something was clearly wrong with it. When she brought it to the bar, the bartender told her he'd replace it and that it was on the house, but then made her pay for the second drink anyway. If I had known she'd still be charged, I would've just not asked for another drink. When I came up to the bar to clarify why she paid for something he said was comped, the bartender backtracked and said he "didn't mean" that. I asked if they could void the second charge, since this was supposed to be a simple replacement. He kept explaining that he is charging us for this second one because it was not a blonde, it was a white ale. I told him that's fine, but why did he say it was "on the house" and now charging us anyway? He ended up bringing over the manager. The manager was a short, Latino man with a hat on. He was incredibly rude from the moment he arrived explaining the beer was a blonde- which I know what I ordered, but tasted whack. He didn't look at us, didn't listen to anything we were saying, and without asking a single question he grabbed both drinks we paid for and dumped them down the drain. We were stunned -- we paid for both of them and now had nothing. When he came back, I calmly told him we paid for both drinks he just threw out. His response? "Don't expect to come here and get free drinks." Which is wild considering we never asked for anything free -- we were just trying to get the mistaken charge fixed. When I told him he needed to void the drink he dumped, he called security on us. We weren't loud, drunk, or confrontational. Security refused to give us the manager's name, and only one finally whispered "Ken," though at that point it felt like they were just saying anything to get us out the door. I've worked in customer-facing roles before. I understand dive bars aren't known for luxury service, but this wasn't about service -- it was about basic respect, integrity, and not charging customers for drinks you throw away yourself. I'm leaving this review as a Long Beach local, it's saddening to see how a popular bar like The Blind Donkey treats their customers. This was the worst experience I've ever had.

Good atmosphere & ambiance. Definitely a place to get a drink and hang out with some good friends…read more Friendly staff and good prices for drinks. I'm not sure if they serve food but if they did it would be hard to leave. Wonderful music and awesome vibes. 10/10

My dog walked me into here, so I had to check it out. The daytime bartender was incredibly nice and…read morewelcoming. I ordered a Pink Starburst, which was only $8--it was super cute and delicious! My dog was also welcomed and loved by the staff and patrons. I even struck up a few fun conversations with others at the bar. Unfortunately, things took a turn during the second bartender's shift. She was inattentive and spent most of her time on her phone. Despite raising my hand a few times, I couldn't get her attention to order another drink. To make matters worse, she actively served others sitting at the bar while continuing to ignore me. While the first bartender made a great impression, the change in service left me disappointed. I did meet a new friend, which was a highlight, but now I know to enjoy my time there early and head out when the second shift starts.

The Wicked Wolf is a kind of place that offers the opportunity for whimsical mischief. For…read moreinstance, they have a rooftop area. And this one time I was there alone with another, no other patrons just staff members walking around from time to time. We stole the moment to dance under the Long Beach sky, just the two of us as a famous Christina Perrio song gently wafted in the night breeze. At another separate time, I was at the Los Angeles County Fair with another. We rode the ferris wheel at such a time where our gondola stopped at the top just as the sun set. The moment was nothing but beautiful and life affirming because the sinking of the sun's light was like a real life video of nature happening in front of us, unburdened by static or data stall. We witnessed nature resting, and I feel, that it was a kin to a beauty falling into a gentle sleep. These two instances have a common factor: momentary bliss arrived to bless an experience because the environment supported discovery of unplanned joy. That is what I associate with the Wicked Wolf, and this time the joy arrived eventually because when my Mom and I arrived to their high tea on Mother's Day the experienced seem like it would land nowhere good. Truth be told, my mom and I arrived 15 minutes early and there was no host in the stand and the place was empty except for a foursome. The energy felt lacked luster. One or two minutes after, the bartender informed us that we were early and the host would come soon. We sat in an available sofa for two, a loveseat persay. This gave us an opportunity to admire the decor that transported us to a storybook forest where good fairies reside, not like swamp creatures and trolls with malevolent fangs and dragon green eyes. I especially loved the large roses in the ceiling. To set the stage, the black ceiling had vines hanging from it, and the few roses were pops of crimson red displayed above.These were wonderful accents to the central mural of the joint that invited the viewer within deeper into the fairy forest where a light shone on an unseen meadow. The place had the decorations and general environment to be a lavender fairy's lounge, but, it did not fully work as a team room. For instance, my mom and I were sat in another lover's couch. Initially, I did not want to sit here because we were given circular tray sets. So imagine being told to sit in a couch, and each of us would get a tv tray. So I was left to wonder if we were going to be served tea in Belle's living room or if were going to watch a flick as we ate pollo loco bowl? But then as I settled into the tranquility of the moment, saw more people come and find their seat or couch, and as the serviced picked-up I realized that this was high tea in a place that had taken disjointed beauty and tackied it together for a patched tea experience that worked well. It was like the experienced was blessed and allowed by the same spirit that brought forth Raggedy Ann. For instance, the pictures show these pretty violet petaled tea cups and matching plates. This pairing was dainty and perfect for a tea party happening under pink veils. But then the sugar cubes came in a hedgehog shaped holder which was just as precious as seeing a piglet in a carriage built for one. Then the cream carrier was in the shape of a milk carton. I wondered where the missing child portrait was? The pastry plate was in the shape of a tropical flower like the ones scattered all over Hawaii. It belonged in a beautiful lei. Each of these elements was cute in its own delicate and whimsical way but together they made an eclectic hodgepodge, not a coherent tea set. And in this asymmetry laid the glitter of their error. The host also brought these clip on dainty hats that were perfect touches for make believe tea party. He carried them around in their original packing, including the box they came in. Not exactly the tailor of the queen, offering hats to the villagers as a gift from her to them, but still the effort magnified the moment. The tea food was the worst stumble that Red took as she was being chased by the Wicked Wolf. To begin with the end analysis, the tea offerings in general were standard, and not bites fit for a princess and her wedding court. For instance, the cream cheese and cucumber sandwich was just that---- a cucumber and cream cheese sandwich. I detected no effort to make it more than that. The blueberry scone was solid, nothing to skip through a meadow about. But once you added the jam of the table to the scone it was much easier to enjoy. I also had a madeline that was fluffy in the center but could have been purchased maybe at Costco. I had a Macaron and same thing, delicious but I have had something similar before and I suspected that it did not come from a place afloat with Parisian affairs. The best part of the tiers was this puff like thing that had like a Concha texture and design at the top. It was a sweet filled bite that was fit for a man made of muffin.

My sister and I took my mom to Sunday tea for her birthday…read more Cute place and the food and tea were delicious. But sadly my mom could not hear us, due to the music being so loud, we did ask twice if they would turn it down a little to no avail. That is too much money to spend, to not be able to hear each other. We had to hurry out because she was getting frustrated.

Quite a unique dive, western inspired gay bar. It been here for ages and I passed by it for…read morecountless since college yrs. Parking is horrible but if you can find one, you're a very lucky, but careful since neighborhood is not quite on the nice part. The bar is divy so fun decor throughout with 2 pool tables, great drinks, great vibe and cash only so bring cash if you decided to come here. Bartenders are nice, friendly and cute too. We had good time but just couple drinks since we didn't know the cash only part. But definitely come back whenever fo more great time.

This is classified as a gay bar and as a dive bar, and as a Western inspired bar. I say the last…read moreitem because it is a makeshift saloon adorned with swinging doors like cowboys of yesteryears passed through, both while coming and going. There is no way to identify the true identity of this bar, and I rather not try to define it. I recognize that people are no longer one chief identity, they are intersectional beings whose personhood is a sum of varied identities and thus there is no one size fits all label that any one person can adopt. I would like to think that this bar's value is that it is a sum of its many identities and when I tally these in sum I recognize this bar is mostly a great hangout place. In short, it is an awesome place! When i was in college, I used to go to the campus library. And there were these fellow students who piled on empty coffee cups on top of each other. This is to communicate to others how much time they have spent in the library. Strange to flex study time, but, people flex different things--- I can imagine a person flexing a perfect scarf, just red enough to complete their Snowman (or Snowperson?). And in this place, I saw shot glasses piled four tall. What were they flexing? Their right to party hard and correctly? Probably, or probably not. Again, I only celebrate the different peacock tail wings that others proudly fan. Parking was scarce. My friend Conrad and I had to turn on several streets to get lucky. This might indicate that this bar is for locals, but also Long Beach is known for its lack of parking. I am glad we looked for parking and found it. But also the turns we took to get lucky were not many, the whole experience lasted less than 15 minutes that is average parking space finding time. Conrad and I went to SweetWater Saloon to play pool. They have two tables and both were free. I met the first bartender who explain these facts. Yet still he asked me to buy a drink. I got a pineapple and vodka, it was on special, or more precisely, the well drinks were. What kind of irked me a little, was that Conrad also needed to buy drinks and he does not enjoy alcohol, so we needed to get him a soda. Bars by design are free to enter. Not everyone who enters has the capacity to pay for a drink (as we all know times can be hard) or wants to drink that night or may be abstaining, etc. So the policy to buy a drink in order to play pool for free is problematic, but I can see their side, but I do not think it holds water. I did meet a couple-- a guy and a girl. We started to take shots together. The shots were White Gummy Bear shots, and they were delicious. I highly recommend. The three of us started to play pool while we enjoyed shots (we did not stack the empties). And eventually, fun and engaging conversation ensued. Conrad waited on the side, I and the other two chatted. We forgot about the game. We were not taking pool shots. We just gabbed. Finally a patron came, and asked if we were still playing. Of course we are, I explained. It was not my turn, but I took a pool shot. I immediately sank the eight ball. The universe helped me with the joke. I am a bad shot, but the eight ball was aligned to a pocket, I made the shot easily. Good laughs were hard. I tell this story to highlight that this bar has people to chat and play with, and has pool, and it has regulars. If you are looking to meet friends for the night or for a lifetime this bar offers the opportunity, as long as you try, not all people do. The bar further has games to enjoy like Yahtzee and Uno. It also has tvs and jukeboxes. Meaning it has ample goods for all those looking for merry. It also accepts cash, which can be a drag. The bar also has strings of pride flags but not much else decoration. A second bartender and I got into a spirited debate. I wondered if this was a gay bar? And he pointed to the flags hanging on the walls. And I thought, I recently went to a bar with Halloween decorations, this does not make it a spooky bar it only makes it Halloween friendly. The fact that the bar has flags hanging, and almost nothing else, does not make it a gay bar. The bartender explained that it was in an area of Long Beach with great Pride, and next to an intersection with a paved walkway colored rainbow. I did not want to get annoyed. Just because a tailor is in Chinatown does not mean that he celebrates Lunar New Year. Meaning, that a space can certainly define a spot within its territory be but not always. I did not say this to the bartender. I share this to clear up any believe that this is a queered space. It is queer welcoming, but it is not a rainbow laced environment where queer people dominate. I really believe it is bar for all that are looking for a good time. I will go here again, looking for the same and there is enough here to help me find it.