This has been my go to bar in San Carlos for a long time. Good drinks for a fair price pool and shuffle board. I wish I had bought this place years ago as it's a good reminder of what San Carlos was back in the day. Locals who like to talk about anything related to the town, real estate or technology. Friday and Saturday night becomes rookie night with people who don't know how to order drinks and pay, bar etiquette is a lost art as some of these reviews show. Dive bars are like someone's home, learn to peacefully co exist and follow the rules, do that simple task and you should have a good time. I was there last week, ordered a bunch of drinks from the bar, told the ignorant patron to bear with me and keep the space open so I could remove my drinks, but clueless Tecchie guy moved right in where my drinks were, I had to physically move the rookie, so I could get my drinks to my friends then he could chat with his co worker as much as possible. Painful. Bartender's and drinks were great!!! If I could get a job here I would jump at it. read more

Used to be a somewhat regular and then learned the bartenders are just fake af. They pretend to like you and then talk shit behind your back - specifically Chris and Erica. Glad to never go back again. Suggest going to Town, way better service and wayyyy better drinks. Or really anywhere. Avoid at all costs. read more

Best racist bar!! Very rude bartender and terrible service. The staff was disrespectful and made us feel extremely uncomfortable. The atmosphere was unpleasant, and I would not recommend this bar to anyone. read more

I'm reading over these reviews and it seems like it's always this main bartender is the problem. She is just rude and unpleasant. Also this is definitely not a bar for younger people, and if you're not a regular just don't go. read more

Great little bar. Fantastic selection of liquor. Draft beers. Pool table and shuffle board. Great place to relax and have a cocktail.

Decent bar, some great people. Hate that the designated smoking spot is right outside their front door.

looking for a dive bar great! looking for a dive bar where all the employees and customers have been the same losers for the last 30 years? this is your spot! rude service, bathroom smells like vomit! same drunks from 20 years ago..check! I'm surprised the city of San carlos allows this sort of trash In a otherwise really nice city! shame.. read more

This past Saturday, my friends and I went to the Orchid Room and as soon as we walked in, the bartender/manager (Erica) immediately staired at us with a bad look like we were not welcome. It really looked like she didn't want more costumers to walk in to the bar. My friend who is a female wanted to buy the first round and Erica walked by her at least three times without stopping or asking if she needed drinks. I stepped in as a male, and Erica immediately walked towards me and asked if we wanted drinks. Obviously, Erica had some sort of issue with my female friend..  As we were hanging out by the bar, we noticed Erica's attitude towards most of the customers, so it wasn't even just our group. Erica really killed the vibe and the good time we were having prior to going to the Orchid Room. We left our almost full drinks and left the bar. We regret even leaving her a tip. Honestly, this person has no common decency and should not be working at a customer service place. In particular a bar where people go to have good time. read more

If you're under the age of 35 or even dare to look young, happy, and thriving, avoid this place at all costs. There's a particular bartender large build, long brown hair (always in a ponytail) whose negative energy is impossible to miss. Her attitude towards anyone who isn't one of her REGULARS is downright hostile and disgusting. My girlfriend and I were even warned by others about her behavior, which says a lot. From the moment we walked in, it was clear she was READY to check some IDS even though we have been there maybe a week before, not that big of a deal but the way she asked for them... she was like ready or excited to deny us lol. Instead, we were spoken to as if we were children being lectured by our babysitter (ew go treat your kids like that). Shortly after, we watched another group of young, energetic and thriving people (in their 20s) leave immediately after she checked their IDs. Honestly, I can't blame them her attitude would ruin anyone's night. She also tried to preach to us about how NEXT TIME DONT CLOSE OUT..... I WILL CLOSE OUT WHEN I WANT, AND I NEEDED TO USE A DIFFERENT CARD. don't try to preach to me like I'm your child, she preached to my girlfriend and the only reason why i did not step in was because my friends and my girlfriend wouldn't have liked that for me, was not trying to ruin the night because of her miserable attitude. Morale of the story this place is for regulars and people over 40... But if you're looking for a fun night out as a young person thriving in this world.. this bartender will absolutely ruin it for you, go somewhere else. By the way this was our 3rd time going cause i dont base people off first time experiences cause i get it but she has never dropped that attitude all those three times, and the other time we were helped by a red head curly haired woman (beautiful hair btw) that was stern but very nice which i loved! read more

My friend and I went to celebrate her 75th birthday with a unique surprise. We both live in San Carlos and neither of us had been to the orchid room in the 40 years we lived here. Once we walked in, we were greeted with a "regular" Who insisted on buying us drinks because it was my friend's birthday. The female bartender was excellent. All the patrons were extremely friendly and celebratory. This is the birthday celebration place for all future girlfriend get together's. What a gem of a bar. read more

Monica is a delight! Recommended the guava cider and also the black velvet (guava cider and Guinness). I would definitely try this place again for friendly and personable service read more

Orchid Room - Black velvet! Guava cider & Guinness. Also try it with raspberry cider :) - Dive Bars Near Me - San Carlos, California

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It's a dive bar and as dive bars go this is one of the good ones. There's a welcoming crowd here and the location is great. The people seem like good people to like I've known people that have left things here and it wasn't stolen. Not saying not to be cautious because you should anywhere you go but it seems like less of the shady vibe in this place that you'd get from other places . This has usually been my go to new yrs even spot because it's close by. I can just walk there so no getting pulled over. They have a jukebox and even a pool table here. There's also a front and back exit. The bartender was pretty cool here. The drinks are nice and strong so you get your moneys worth. This is a great spot for Holiday drinks , ha who woulda thought right? They definitely have some great hotty toddies.oh they have a shuffleboard too. I've noticed there's always been someone willing to play with you if you're looking for a partner. Yknow this place ain't bad I've seen a couple people here that usually don't like me outside of here but in here they've been cool with me so I guess even tho it's a dive bar you get that peaceful tranquil vibe. read more

Great neighborhood dive. I haven't been here at night so I can speak to what it's like then but the Sunday morning crowd seems pretty cool. I've stopped in a couple of times over the last couple of months. The bartender is super fun and the patrons all seem very welcoming and friendly. On my last visit, the bartender made a spicy Bloody Mary with Kettle One, and it was delicious. read more

Orchid Room - Spicy Bloody Mary with Kettle One - Dive Bars Near Me - San Carlos, California

The bouncer (Dave) and the manager (Erica) need to work on their customer service skills.

A random Google search led me here and it was a treat! Sweet ladies working the bar and made me feel welcomed. read more

Orchid Room - Dive Bars Near Me - San Carlos, California

Standard bar, nothing super special about this place. The drinks and service are okay. It can get a bit crowded inside, but it's nice for a quick drink. read more

I stopped in here on a mellow Monday night because they said it was a place you could play shuffleboard. The first female bartender Darlene was really sweet, had cooked everyone Beef Stew if they wanted some dinner, and people seemed to really like her. I tipped her a 100% tip. I made friends quickly and played shuffleboard with new acquaintances. Then.. the "main" female bartender shifted in. They have small low cocktail tables and I had pulled one over for us to place our drinks on next to the shuffleboard table. This second female bartender was absolutely horrible about it. I was warned by some regulars that she had a kink about making scenes and unceremoniously kicking women (in particular) out of her bar. She apparently did it often. I didn't care so I moved the table back again after she came out from behind the bar, moved our drinks away, and placed the table back to where it started 3' away. No one was using it, and we needed it for our drinks... It's a dive bar. That should be fine. When I went to order another drink from her she said I was a bitch, threw my credit card at me, spilled my wine over, and told me to get the F out, causing a huge scene. My friend went back while he was in town two nights later. She apologized to him for the "other night", obviously knowing she was being a D. He didn't recognize her at first because she was just getting wasted in the corner instead of bartending that night. Needless to say he let her know all about herself. NOT the way you treat women or anyone ANYWHERE. I would recommend avoiding this bar completely. read more

The last person to give this place a 1 star for Friday nights was correct. Very crowded and an aggressive crowd at that. Someone even held an empty bottle upside down when confronted about sharing a table to set our drinks down after they overtook 'our table'. There is only one pool table that a couple of older gentlemen kept all night by winning (fair) but there were so many people that it didn't keep the line moving much. My first time there and my last night, the type of people attending this place is toxic but the place itself was nice. read more

I had a great time here playing shuffleboard! It's a great bar and has a nice vibe. We were here on a Christmas ugly sweater pub crawl. This was the third place we went. I will definitely be back here, probably hogging the shuffleboard table. read more

Really good atmosphere here. The bartender last night was great. We ordered a few vodka cocktails and some beers. Definitely a good night. I love that they have one of the jukeboxes that you can add songs to using your phone. read more

Strong drinks. Variety of different people depending on the day/hour. Classic dive bar. Shots. Beers. Please! No more than 3 ingredients cocktails. read more

If you like attitudes and fighting on a Friday night, this place is for you! Both are all but guaranteed after 10pm!

I had a tremendously good time in the Orchid Room. I didn't even know this bar existed until some good friends took me for the shuffleboard. Good service, good prices, and lots of fun. read more

I didn't know it was still legal to smoke indoors in California. The drink prices were a little higher than I would've expected for a dive bar, but they weren't shocking and my friends who got mixed drinks said they were strong. I found it a weird experience to be around so many people who were smoking, and it got hard to breathe pretty quickly. Stepping outside made it better, but we got yelled at and had to come back in, oops. +1 star because the bartender was polite and dealt with all of the drunk people very professionally. read more

Was refused entry to orchid room Saturday night because a different patron told the security not to let me in. I have been to the orchid room many times and spend significant amounts of money in the location and I am extremely disappointed with how I was treated when I have never acted in any way that would prevent me from entering the bar. Likely won't ever go back and will tell all my friends to never go there again as well. read more

Cool dive bar ! Busy waiter was awesome ! Service was a little slow but not bad. Worth a stop if your in the area! read more

Great dive bar. Sets the standard. Shuffleboard, juke box, and a crappy bar-pool table compliment the place. It's a fun place to grab a drink especially with a group. If you're looking for a fancy upscale bar with great service, you're barking up the wrong tree. The regulars and staff are rough around the edges with a lot of wear and tear. If you don't have a thick skin or get intimidated easily, steer clear of this place. read more

Orchid Room - Dive Bars Near Me - San Carlos, California

Best bar around San Carlos! Chilled locals mixed with down to earth young crowd. They've got pool and shuffleboard table called "Silicon Valley". read more

Orchid Room - Local artist Anthony Biancony sipping from the winner's glass. Greggy can't believe his game. - Dive Bars Near Me - San Carlos, California

I have been in SO many bar fights here!! Been kicked out 3 times. (or more!) Had my first one-night-stand here! (he was cute) Accused of doing drugs in the bathroom (wrongly!) Gotten Puked on. (Joe, he was banished too..) The bartenders HATE me. (erica: ice-queen..this means YOU) BUT DAMN! STRONG drinks and AWESOME jukebox!! I once was a regular, but they all resent the punk-rockers now. We still love you O.R.!!!!!! read more

Shuffle board and cheap drinks. Who could ask for more? Highly recommend this place. It seems intimidating to enter at first, but it's super chill inside! read more

Five star dive bar!! Imagine if you will - Howard sterns whack pack congregated into a very single bar. THIS IS THE PLACE - full of REAL life strange characters. My prior and only visit to orchid room was moons ago and u could smoke in the bar far past California allowing such things - fast forward to 2019 No smoking allowed, ditsy blonde about 60 with nose in jute box every 8 minutes as the conductor and gate keeper - she makes patrons wait while she pushes buttons on jute with an arrogant air of a 26 yo ... painful very very very painful - I had to wait nearly 10 minutes for my 2nd vodka tonic. I wanted to leave but the people watching was too damn good! Had my vape pen in hand and asked where I could smoke ... I was pointed in the direction to the back = a to benign dark back alley with "no smoking" heavily scrawled in chalk on ground and overflowing trash cans down the alley = score for total dive bar ... points to the obnoxious adjacent business owner just tossing boxes into mid alley at bar patrons - kind of mind blown at the love shown between neighbors. The characters outside were quite interesting; Pirate nose hole guy with surfer long hair and an arrogant air like he thought he was Johnny Depp. The nose hole, in a word disturbing (like fix it weirdo) - was the size of a dime ---- (don't know whether to admire or be offended by his not caring on gape of nose hole size of Nebraska - it was disturbing) approaches me as I suck from vape pen - Joined by another guy in some type of service industry uniform with gross SUPER black pirate chicklet teeth about ready to drop out of mouth aka forget about floss he has not bushed since 2008 ... . Toss in Portly pontificating black dude saying he works at Stanford with mustard on his shirt smoking a cigar = whack pack = it is brilliant - impressed!!! But wait it gets better ... Gal with nose ring joins in chain smoking, dandruff all over her shirt Chinese servants aka bus boys from the adjacent restaurant, running back and forth with 40 lb sacks of rice up and down the refuse strewn dark alley. One stops to puff on a cigarette behind the chain link fence, he is careful not to mingle with the whack pack! Return inside to escape from the strange folks outside, and the characters continue Retired cop with 81 yo gal hanging on bellowing on loudly trying to talk over blaring 1980's music (Culture Club) Little Dwarf guy with buggy eyes who is either painter or drywall guy who knows, he was shouting on about his day for all to hear - he is 5'5 and acting like he owns place with reasonably attractive girl which has me perplexed?? - perplexed, perhaps he is coke dealer? Nothing makes sense here? And that is what makes the place brilliant --- Bonus points for shuffle board and pool table! Lesbians, did I mention the cute lesbian couple playing games on the bar top video game! Score the place 5 stars/5 hearts on dive bar scale!!!! read more

It is a dive bar with shuffleboard. All bars are not meant to be classy places. This one is fun and you can play games. Both pluses for me. read more

Your typical,local dive bar...with a twist! The twist is you can smoke in the entire bar with all the other smokers and slowly kill yourselves together!! OK, it wasn't that bad...but I'm a non smoker so its only natural I hate the place. Orchid room gets 1 star because its close to my house and has cheap drinks. And the other star is because if you are a smoker and you live in the smoker hating area that is Belmont/San Carlos then this is a sanctuary for your kind. I often find myself meeting old friends here wasting money on the lotto machines. It nothing worth going to unless you REALLY want to smoke at a bar like the good old days. Otherwise stay home with a 40 and watch tv. read more

Best bar I've been to anywhere close to San Jose. You can smoke inside, the shots are right, well whiskey is tasty, and you don't have to dress up. Fantastic. Worth a CalTrain out here... like I said, the shots are right. Oh? Did I mention shuffleboard. Rad. read more

As far as dive bars go, this place isn't bad. Cheap booze, colorful characters, lively banter and grab ass. Doorman is funny and friendly. The 1 star is for the biggest bitch of a bartender I've ever encountered. She has a look on her face like someone waved a pile of shit under her nose. Constant scowl. Resting bitch face, active bitch face, and probably sleeping bitch face on this broad. Very rude. I'm sure you can go back to bartending school and take the customer service class.... read more

Something about this dive being smack dab in the middle of pretentious downtown San Carlos cheers me up! I don't know, maybe it evens out all the goofy over priced bistros and boutiques and the endless choices of bagels (side note: has anyone ever counted the amount of places that sell bagels on this street? I know it's a lot...). But anyways... This place caters to a mixed crowd of locals, predominately older (35+), who are there to get they're drink on and have some fun along the way. You can smoke inside this place (which is a lovely feature for a young lady like me) and if the fireplace is going--well, if that doesn't scream kick back and have a cold one, I don't know what does. Yep yep yep. There are plenty of distractions in this place if you are inclined to do more than sit on your bar stool and stare at the gargoyles over the mantle with human skulls. Pool, Golden Tee, a decent jukebox and a huge shuffleboard can take up some time and money and oh look, there's an ATM right there too. read more

There are thousands of bars in the bay area that whiney, sensitive people can visit without having the hellish odor of burning tobacco assault their tender nostrils. Yet sometimes they come here, to the one bar left in which smoking is legal. Why in the world would they do that? If you want to know what a real bar was like before the People's Republic of California decided adults aren't capable of choosing for themselves whether they want to have a cigarette or a cigar while enjoying a cocktail or a cold beer, this is your place. If you remember those days fondly you'll think you've stepped through a time tunnel. The crowd is mostly locals, all ages on weekend nights and tending towards 30-40 on weekdays. The bartenders are friendly, but there's only one on duty at a time. Yelling louder will not get you served faster. If you're a whiner or a busybody, or if you're just allergic to smoke, you should go somewhere else. If you're an adult who likes (or at least does not mind) tobacco smoke in the air, not to mention cheap drinks, pool, shuffleboard, Golden Tee and an Internet jukebox, this might be your place. read more

As Dive bars go this one sets the standard. The thing that makes this place special are the hardcore smokers. I quit 20 years ago. So If I grace them with my presence I try to locate near the door, which hopefully is open in order to supply my blood stream with it's required oxygen levels. This place has not changed much in 16 years. My first time. I recommend the PBR on tap for 3 big ones. Be advised. A critical lack of hot babes. But once you slam down a few, the ugly fat chicks will start looking really good. Plus the smoke haze helps too. They have 1 pool table & a shuffle board table. Restroom is fairly clean. Now go get your drink on! read more

A good dive bar... but gets full of yuppie kids quick. It was great until about 11pm on a Friday when all the townies started showing up... Smoking allowed inside. Shuffle board and pool table. Golden tee. Full bar. Beer on tap. Grab a stool and a pint and drink. Solid 4 stars. read more

An old school smokey dive in ritzy San Carlos. I'm not sure where the orchids are, but the drinks are deceiving and strong. Also, they have Zombie Cats. read more