It was my first time visiting this bar, would definitely come back. Vibes were great, lighting and ambience was good, service was amazing. Janay (lead bartender) took care of us and was inviting and welcoming. You can tell she knows what she's doing in terms of mixology, and offered me a complimentary strawberry shochu (japanese pepper) shot to celebrate my first time in SF! Vibes were great, service was great, and the line wasn't long at all. Will definitely be coming back in the future. read more

Paper Plane - bar area - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Maybe we went on an off day but my experience was kind of mid. We discovered this place from their social media post about $20 prime rib Tuesdays. We quickly learned that it's actually closer to $40 since you need to buy a $14-17 mocktail/cocktail. I'll be honest, I don't drink that much so I can't tell you if that's expensive but it does feel like a bit of a bait and switch. We ordered truffle fries, koji wings, the classic burger and two prime rib dinners. All of the food arrived at different times so some of it was already cold before we started eating. I know we could start eating whatever comes out first but let's be honest. Dining with friends is a very social event and it's somewhat standard for dishes to arrive together. I also ordered subbed truffle fries, was charged the sub, but ended up getting regular fries Food-wise, the koji wings were pretty good. There was a good amount of seasoning and the breading texture was super crispy. The meat itself was a bit bland. Truffle fries were super crunchy and had a balanced truffle flavor. Burger was fine. I've definitely had and made better burgers before. It was a pretty standard burger. Cooked good. A bit overpriced for how mild of a burger it was though. Prime rib was a huge portion. I only had a couple bites from my friends but it seemed well-seasoned. Some parts were nice and tender but the red parts were very chewy. Overall, main dishes were OK in portion but lackluster in experience. Side portions are on the smaller end considering their price but generally delicious. Considering their extensive alcohol collection, I think this place is definitely known for its vibe and drinks rather than its food. Staff seem super friendly though! Especially the bartenders read more

We had cocktails and bites at Paper Plane on a Saturday between 5 - 8. We grabbed a seat at the bar, and the bartender provided the drinks and food menus and let us know about the Happy Hour menu. Water was immediately provided without having to ask, which I love. The food was excellent. We had the mushroom empanadas, Brussels sprout tacos, wings, and truffle fries. The food service was great too. The drink menu is a treasure map with a variety of cleverly named, very tasty, and beautifully assembled cocktails. We tried several and each was excellent. We loved everything we tried and looking forward to next time! read more

Stopped by at 10 pm on a Saturday night and it was busy! Luckily, we were able to find a table pretty quickly and ordered drinks at the bar. The cocktails are good and very overpriced in my opinion. Nice bar, nice location, and good service. It's a great place to stop by if you are hopping at bars in San Jose or even catching a comedy show at Improv. read more

Paper Plane - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

This is the place to be if you want to lose your voice from trying to talk over the noise. Joking aside, the interior gives a sleek, modern vibe to the 2nd street bar scene. The lines are always long as a result and wait times can be 30m-1 hour. Apart from that, the seating is plentiful with standing room to complement it. The drinks here are hit or miss. I am glad they have a non-alcoholic menu since I am staying true to my New Years resolution. All in all, good gossip spot for your friend group. read more

Paper Plane - zero proof mocktail - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

I forgot to take a photo of my drink but I got the milk punch which was on happy hour and it was a little less milky than I expected but was good and strong! This place is pretty roomy with a patio in the back that I didn't get to go see. They have a small food menu and a couple food items on happy hour too. The brussel sprouts tacos were delicious and flavorful!! read more

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well, on the bright side, it's one of the few lounges that are still open downtown, barely. We ordered four drinks and all of them were terrible, lacking flavor, balance, and identifying to the ingredients that were on the menu. We did try to order food, but for the most part, they were out of a lot of of the popular items. The empanadas were dry and tasteless, the french fries were straight out of Orida bag, the hamburger was the only thing that had flavor, but you would've been better off going to Chili's for 1099 and having your french fries included. The burger at Chili's is much better. All and all, this place is a dump. Placed it over $200 here for an experience that didn't match a $200 price tag. In case no one has mentioned it, your lounge means a lot of work, the service, the fixtures with sinking seats in the booths, the dirty windows, dirty floors and dirty bar really make your place a dump. I'm shocked this place is not closed yet by the health department. read more

One of my favorite whiskey bars. Like all other bars in down town San Jose, this place gets really packed on the weekends. I have gone earlier around 6pm and usually it isn't too bad. Food and drinks are good. I love the Whiskey wall and the fun Whiskey cocktails. I also like that they have a chart that tells you what the flavor profile of each cocktail is. Overall cool place to bring friends or people visiting who likes Whiskey. read more

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It was Friday around 10-11pm and the line to get in was super short. It was busy but it wasn't so packed that we couldn't get around comfortably. Also, it had a New York type vibe with the brick walls and it wasn't too dark so we weren't struggling to look at menus or anything. The bartenders were quick and got to us within minutes. I'm currently not drinking any alcohol, so I ordered a Coco L'Orange, which ended up tasting like a sweeter Orange Julius. I really enjoyed it like a dessert drink since I just had dinner. I also appreciated how it didn't just taste like straight sugar syrup, which is my usual experience with spirit free cocktails. However, it was pretty tart, so I suggest just sipping on it. It helped a lot with feeling like was drinking with everyone the whole time without having to order multiple drinks. Regarding seating, we somehow found a table in the back where our party of 18 guys could hangout, and it wasn't so loud we couldn't hear each other. I barely go out anymore, but in this area I now prefer this establishment since I could sip on a good non-alcoholic drink without worrying about someone accidentally running into me and spilling on me. There were also plenty glass water bottles going around to keep everyone hydrated. read more

Paper Plane - Coco L'Orange - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Always a fun bar, but definitely a must during this time of year. The decorations are just so incredible, the attention to detail is amazing, everything is wrapped tinseled and Santa-fied. The drinks are in festive cups and the food is just soooo good!!! Cheeseburger & truffle fries were delish. My favorite drink was the Yippe Kay Yay MF (in Santa cup) , my second favorite was the Rudolf coffee drink (Dino cup). It gets super busy and there will be a line the later you go, but definitely worth it. Drinks are $17.50 each. read more

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Super festive and lots of decorations for the holidays! This bar is partners with the holiday pop ups. If you bring a bag, security does check your bag when you leave. Saturday around 6:30pm, not too busy, but waited a couple minutes to get a table. Unfortunately No happy hour during the Christmas holiday. The burger with truffle fries ($26) was pretty delicious. Truffle fries is must, literally order a separate order ($12), everyone in the group kept eating it. Going to the drinks, holiday them drinks are $18 each, comes in a cute cup and yes the cups are available for purchase. Tried the Rudolph replacement which was okay, it has vodka, coffee liqueur, chai, almond milk, orange, and a few other things. Fun environment, they even have Mrs. Claus telling jokes, an definitely will check out this place once holiday season is over too. read more

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Cocktail bar with some snacks didn't get to try since only stopped in for 1 drink. Was ok, but could use some logistical improvements. Food: n/a didn't order Atmosphere: 4 Service: 3 Cost to worth it rating: 3 ($17 per cocktail) Opentableable: no Return worthiness: maybe to try the food Highlights: - Very large open space with paper plane art on the walls - Impressive looking long bar with shelves lit up and packed high with liquor bottles - Food menu: things like charcuterie, wings, guacamole, burger etc served til 11pm Midlights: - Creative map of a cocktail menu but bit hard to navigate even with the quadrants trying to give direction on type of drink (adventurous, bold, refreshing, familiar). - Cocktails were just ok. - Thought it was odd to not have a paper plane drink on the menu since that's the name of the place Lowlights: - Even with the open space, there's limited seating so there weren't any open seats after 9pm - Barely any seating at the long bar either seems like prioritizing ordering space instead - One line for ordering food or drinks at bar and no table service. Since menu is online, they would benefit from ordering that way too. And would be nice if you are able to grab a table to have a server come around. read more

$19.99 prime rib dinner every Tuesday?!!! Had to come try and see if it was legit and if it even taste good. But keep in mind you have to order a cocktail to get the 20 bucks prime rib. Total with the cocktail came out to be around 40-45 bucks a person each after taxes and tip. Yall it was good afffff ! I also did not eat a lot during the day while I was at work so I could savor this even more. It was busy on a Tuesday night and after you order you have to find a table. Luckily for us we found one within 5 minutes. Also they don't ask you how you like your prime rib cooked and I also forget to tell them. The prime rib was so good and the meat was tender and a good chewy. There was some fat pieces that I had to spit out. The mash potatoes with that corn cheese thing were both so good. I have no idea what the sauces are but they added a nice touch. I would have gave this 5 stars if there were some greens like asparagus. My cocktail was also good but I forgot the name. I would totally come here again for the prime rib. read more

Paper Plane - Steak dinner - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Overall: B // 4 stars Lively bar with lots of seating and ambience for happy hour or after work discussion, which I could definitely see the appeal, but is not of personal taste. Nevertheless, I like the convenience as it is quite easy to get in whether standing room (spaciously) or finding a table or a booth. This bar offers lots to eat and drink, and I particularly like their axes of flavors from refreshing and comforting to adventurous and spirit-forward to help pick a drink of your liking. Their menu is also well designed, elevating familiar drinks with subtle flavor additions or changes to help nudge a difference without overplaying outside their audience. I had the skytree highball, which nodded to the Japanese flavors of yuzu, whilest keeping it classic. Food: E Presentation: E Price: E Atmosphere: E Service: E Menu: +2 Insta/Yelp/Beli/TikTok: @amei_eats read more

Paper Plane - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Another great bar in the San Jose cocktail scene. They have great drinks on the regular some of which have an Asian influence. The bar menu here is also great and the koji fried chicken is a must try. They are super addicting and go great with the drinks. A must try at Paper Plane is the Ring of Fire, which is like a whiskey sour with extra depth of complexity. It's also awesome to visit during Christmas time when they have the Miracle pop up. They go hard with the Christmas decorations and the drinks are pretty good! Most of pop-up drinks are on the sweeter side though. Love this bar, must try if you're in the area. read more

Paper Plane - koji wings and cocktail - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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This place is mid, and I wouldn't recommend it unless it's during the holidays. During the holidays its beautifully decorated and lively. I recently went for an event and the staff member at the bar was incredibly condescending and arrogant. During the holiday, its definitely a different experience. read more

3% credit card fee. I stopped by for Negroni Week 2025: - 3.5/5: Sunrise Negroni. Light and refreshing. Very floral, delicate and aromatic with the Singani 63. - 3.0: Shogroni: It has a heavy sweet cinnamon note, and not much alcoholic backbone. The flavor is too generic sweet/bitter. On the regular cocktail menu: - 3.0/5: The Summer 93' is an OK boozy ice cream soda: Gin, Madeira, Cantaloupe, Lemon, Saline, Soda, Vanilla Ice Cream. For food: - 4.4: brussels sprouts tacos are good. - 3.0: Shrimp tacos are OK. But the hot sauce is a bit too hot, and masks the flavors of cocktails. read more

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Nice environment, with low light and spacious floor. Large, medium and small tables as well as the bar sitting. Plenty of different options for different group sizes. Staff was courteous and helpful. Big props for their drink chart in the menu! Wonderful help in deciding what to have. Overall, nice spot for some drinks! Make sure to get in before 7pm, so you can partake on some of the special happy hour deals. PS: It's a bar, ID is REQUIRED. read more

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I came here on a Tuesday to try the prime rib dinner. The staff here is friendly and the service is pretty good. You are required to get a cocktail for the prime rib dinner. This place is great for a date or big groups. The 1st time I came here, the prime rib was enjoyable especially for its price. The food didn't take too long to come out. We also ordered the chorizo Mac and cheese which came out hot and delicious. The prime rib came with a side of corn and mashed potatoes. However when I came back with friends recently, they were running out of prime ribs and the remaining ones we got weren't as hot and were inconsistent in how cooked it was. The chicken wings and fries were good though. read more

Paper Plane - Prime Rib Dinner - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

This was already one of my favorite cocktail bars in Downtown San Jose, but this review is specifically for their Tuesday only Prime Rib dinner for $19.99 (with purchase of cocktail), which is an absolute steal! You get a generous slice of juicy tender prime rib, cooked perfectly medium rare, plus two sides (usually creamed corn and mashed potatoes), au jus, and creamy horseradish. You can't get this quality for such a great price anywhere else. Plus their cocktails are always top notch and creative. But if you're not in the mood for cocktails, their awe inspiring backbar has every spirit you can imagine and then some, including one of the most extensive whiskey collections anywhere. read more

Paper Plane - $19.99 Prime Rib Tuesday (with purchase of cocktail), jus, horseradish cream, mashed potatoes, creamed corn - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Paper Plane!! the fairly popular bar in DTSJ! I went during christmas week and my gosh was the interior beautiful! It was so beautifully decorated, a lot of thought had been put in. The drinks were all beautifully crafted too! It was super super busy. The demographic was mostly older folks (not young adults). Also a bit noisy inside. Drinks were served extremelyyyy slow and our bartender also messed up our order; also they were a bit rude. I won't criticize the too harshly though, the holiday mayhem gets to everyone. Would def come back! read more

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Had a great time at the bar with Ana! Super quick service, great recommendations & fun to talk to. Drinks are delicious too.

I came here for their prime rib dinner on tuesdays, and it did not disappoint. I thought this was just a bar, but honestly such a good place to eat as well. the service was amazing and everyone was friendly. it gets pretty packed but over the vibe is nice. the food was great, nothing bad to say cause I had such a great experience. will be back for more! read more

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I used to frequent this spot when I was in college but avoided it as I got older because it was such a crowded place and I've become introverted. It was a nice surprise to be taken here for date night and it reminded me how good this place was. Love the friendly staff and their knowledge in unique liquors so my partner had a good time conversing with them. I on the other hand am not as savvy with alcohol but their mixed drinks here are house made and delicious. There's something for everyone. Miss The vibes here but definitely would come back when it's a little bit more low-key and not too busy from the college crowd. read more

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Drinks are soooo good! Each cocktail that my partner and I ordered had such a complimenting and unique flavor. - Passionate Fool: I love anything with egg white. Citrusy and smooth. - A Tribe Called Zest: Even with all the bitters, it had a chocolatey after taste and the herbal taste reminds me of cardamom. Definitely my favorite. 100% will come back to try the rest since their menu rotates. read more

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I love coming to paper plane when needing a quick night out with my lady or swinging by for a night cap! Their staff is amazing starting from their great security like RJ who works the front on weekends leading to Arthurs great attitude welcoming guests all while their star pupal Janay knocks out drinks, hyping up the food and what's new. Overall the atmosphere is a great second home almost like cheers where everyone knows your name but upper scale, better drinks and food haha. The only thing I would recommend would be more sit down tables but that's because I arrived too late on Tuesday and sat at the bar for my prime rib dinner (haha first world problems). Keep up the great work Paper Plane Crew read more

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Always a good time especially during the holidays! We came on a Saturday night and it was pretty packed. We got the Koala la la la, the NA mouse, and truffle fries. Good drinks and the fries were amazing. It gets pretty busy and there's not a lot of tables. We did notice that the holiday drink menu is the exact same as Miniboss, so that's definitely something to keep in mind. I will definitely be back next year! read more

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Still the best cocktails in San Jose. this place never misses. bartenders are attentive, even on packed Christmas nights read more

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Sister bar to Miniboss. This one is more just a cool place to hang out. They serve a small variety of food. The truffle fries were amazing. It was also part of the Miracle take over. Christmas decorations & music throughout. read more

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I like the aesthetic of Paper Plane and appreciate the ample seating and standing areas for larger parties! I recently tried a vodka cocktail there that had slightly too much vodka for my taste, but I enjoyed the drink regardless. Their weekday prime rib deal is worth it in terms of quality and quality. Love this spot for bar hoping in downtown San Jose! read more

Paper Plane - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

The food options are very sparse. This is a good bar, though with a small beer tap selection. Clearly not for dinner.

Checked out Paper Plane in downtown San Jose, grabbed a table as soon as someone left and ordered a few drinks. Drinks were pretty solid! They have a huge menu with tons of options, including non-alcoholic ones. read more

Paper Plane - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Pretty good vibes on a Saturday night. They offered a few drinks pitcher style but it was a little too strong/ spicy of a mix. Nice place and nice people! read more

Paper Plane - Bar area - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Always loved coming here to get one of their special cocktails and their truffle fries but its always so crowded at night so it's lucky if we find a table. It was still early in the evening and we got to take the corner table for our big group and it was happy hour! We got Pimm's Punch and it was really good. We also ordered their Koji wings, truffle fries, and Brussel Sprout Tacos. I was really surprised with the Brussel Sprout Tacos because I never heard of those two being put together but it worked really well and the flavor was amazing. read more

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Prime rib night on Tuesdays for $20 but only with purchase of a cocktail. Prime rib with corn gravy and mashed potatoes + extra dirty martini with titos. Total for 2 people was around $80 including tips with cost of cocktails around $20 each. Once inside the establishment, you order with bartender and pay, then service yourself by bringing your drinks and Ultensils along with a table number to desired seating area. Server will bring food to your table in exchange for the table number. Food was OK but drinks were good, definitely an interesting experience but most likely only return for strictly drinking. read more

Paper Plane - Prime rib night on Tuesdays for $20 but only with purchase of a cocktail. Prime rib with corn gravy and mashed potatoes+ martini - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

I'm really sad to update my review of Paper Plane because I honestly really thought it was a great bar and liked the drinks. Here's the story. On a Saturday night out with my friends we actively chose Paper Plane over all the other bars and places we have been because we all individually had great experiences. All of us except our DD bought drinks and we sad in one of the cozy booths having a great conversation and night. Our DD wanted to rest her eyes for a couple of minutes since we were planning on heading out relatively soon but were still in the middle of a conversation. She's sitting on the way inside of the booth not disturbing anyone and a Security Guard (who we have later found out has multiple negative yelp reviews) came up to us and said "Is she okay" and I said "yeah she's just sleeping" immediately the security guard got aggressive and said "she has to leave" but not the whole party just our DD. We explained our situation and didn't cause a scene but the security guard kept getting more verbally aggressive as we were trying to have a productive conversation. The manager later got involved and did explain to us that sleeping isn't allowed, which we understand now but weren't made aware of. The manager said that typically there's a warning then they kick you out. But in our instance the security guard just told our DD to leave and we never got a warning. There's no signage of things that will get you immediately kicked out. If we had known we obviously would have not let our DD rest her eyes and left. The problem we had was we as a party were not disturbing business and were minding ourselves. We were also paying customer who should be treated as humans with respect in these situations of policy communication. It does seem to be a pattern with this specific security guard immediately kicking out people for relatively minor things in based on other reviews. I hope the manager takes action to retrain this person to ensure that situations like this don't happen again and customers won't have their night aggressively come to an end like ours did. Realistically none of us will ever be coming back because of this experience. It just left a bad taste in all of our mouths. Which is a shame because the food, bartenders, ambience, and drinks are amazing. read more

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Wanted to stop by and have a drink after giving my service dog an outside break (I'm a service connected disabled veteran). Upon entry, after asking qualifying questions about my service animal the "Want to Be, overweight, Steven Seagal / Richard Marchinko" cosplay, dressed in black, door security informed me of his right to request I leave if my animal was uncontrollable. She is a trained Malinois - well positioned at my 9 o'clockI paused and decided to not patronize the spot. I asked Steven / Richard his name - which he wouldn't give. So I took my money over to 55 South. I should have gone to Santana Row. Glad 55 South welcomed me with open arms. read more

Paper Plane - This is the unruly Service Animal positioned under my feet at 55 South. - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Loved visiting Paper Plane during their holiday pop-up. It was so magical and did not disappoint. We actually waited in line half an hour early on a Sunday to be able to pick our table before opening and order our drinks and food right away. This was definitely a good strategy because a big line followed us in after. I will be a regular from here on out because the Brussel tacos were out of this world good. My husband also enjoyed his food quite a bit. So glad more and more restaurants are going all out with their holiday decorations these days. read more

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Always a good chill vibe at Paper Plane. We came here after a show at the SJ improv and enjoyed a cocktail and some apps. I wasn't sure what to order as nothing on the menu spoke to me. The Bartender was asked what I liked and whipped up a cocktail for me and was exactly what I was looking for. My friend got a non alcoholic beverage and found it refreshing. The oysters were delicious the empanadas were good but a bit rich for me. Always a good experience at Paper Plane! read more

Paper Plane - Oysters, Mushroom Empanadas, and drinks - Cocktail Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Came again for food and drinks vs just for the Christmas drinks. We got here early enough for a booth. This place can get packed and good luck getting a place to lean let alone sit. It's great for groups and date night. Food is on point but can be pricey. They do rotate their menu so if you really want to try something new, go for it. read more

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