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Starting Gate

3.4 (201 reviews)

Starting Gate Photos

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Recommended Reviews - Starting Gate

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Reviews With Photos

Birthday Girl with a great party space
Darlene C.

Reached out to Joey to reserve space for a special birthday, turned engagement party and he was absolutely amazing. Everything was coordinated by text, he was friendly, professional and super accommodating. Other places can be difficult to deal with, but not this place! If you ever need a spot for a special occasion or just for a great time, this is the place you want to be. Thank you Joey, Papa Joe and the staff for a great experience and evening.

Antonina J.

My friend Diana brought us here for my birthday. Live music plus dance floor.. pretty good music all mixed old school , modern music. Mixed ages. From old to young. Pretty chill place. Good drinks and food. Lots of seating Areas,plus right by the bar.

a band playing on stage at a party
Shirley S.

The Starting Gate in Los Alamitos is the best dance club in a 50 mile radius! Always top notch bands and a fantastic DJ keep everyone on the dance floor. Cocktail servers are always making rounds and there's a huge bar if you're not at one of the tables. Roomy dance floor, awesome lights and sound. They even offer food!! We've been coming to Starting Gate for over 15 years driving up from San Diego. We always have an amazing time!

a group of people standing in a bar
Helle P.

Absolute Gem. Came here on Sunday and got lucky seeing a live band called Dawson. Great country vocals and band vibe. Wonderful line dancing and lovely crowd. Bartenders were hospitable and reached out to a first timer. I much appreciate your hospitality. What a wonderful place with plentiful parking. Will tell my friends to come down.

lol, love how they spruced up my water
May..Lene D.

Are you looking for a cougar or sugar daddy? This is your spot! Need to throw a bday party, come here! Want to reserve a counter top, you can here! Bartenders with a heavy hand, check. Cheap drinks, check check. Do you want to see people actually dancing on the dance floor? Then this is your spot! Definitely an eclectic crowd! All different age ranges, all nationalities and everyone is having a damn good time. My only gripe is, they do cater to the regulars. We had two different waitresses say they needed one of our chairs, cuz there is suppose to be only 4 to a countertop. Funny your regulars had like 8 and you had a blind eye towards them. Honestly, if another waitress would've came by asking yet for another chair, I was about to go El Monte on them. This place is no joke, these folks know how to party, we left at 10 tired as hell. As we left our parking spot, some girl came by and reserved the parking spot (via her body) for one of her friends car. Talking on the cell to hurry cuz she is standing so no one can get it. Told you this spot was no joke!

Comfortable sidewalk for your vomiting pleasure   (8/17).

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1 year ago

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

I use to go here all the time but it looks like they have gone out of business sad very sad

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2 years ago

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1 year ago

This review is many years overdue. Great spot for game watching, dancing and cocktails!

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1 year ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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7 years ago

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1 year ago

Went there one Sunday morning to watch a football game. Great atmosphere. Bloody Mary's were right. Recommend!

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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9 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

My first time there and really enjoyed myself . Good people, food, drinks and music.

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

Great place for Steelers fans and die hards fun place to watch a Steelers game, Friendly staff and meeting new Steelers fans here SoCal

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8 years ago

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8 years ago

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7 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

Starting Gate used to be great for Steelers games. But it has gone way down hill. Total ghetto crowd.

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7 years ago

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5 years ago

I love the Starting Gate pre Covid can't wait til they re-open! Miss the live bands and Sat night dancing

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3 years ago

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7 years ago

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9 years ago

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8 years ago

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15 years ago

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Ask the Community - Starting Gate

Are you an 18 and over club?

Hope its still true; gonna go tomorrow night and hopefully land one!

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The Bungalow Long Beach - Pepperoni Pizza

The Bungalow Long Beach

(284 reviews)

This review is only for their salsa/bachata dancing night and the bar…read more The bungalow has weekly salsa/bachata nights that include free dance lessons from 8 to 9:30. The instructors are great and the crowd is fun diverse (in terms of age, background, and experience dancing). The djs are also awesome play a lot of good music. The vibe is fun and high energy. It's nice to see a place that is filled with dancers of all skill levels just having fun and learning to dance. The venue itself is beautiful. They have a large open air dance floor that overlooks the marina as well as a smaller dance area inside near the pool tables. The decore is classy and elegant overall. On salsa nights they have drink specials in addition to the regular drink menu. Lastly I once lost my key fob there and someone returned it to their lost and found. I'm forever grateful to whomever returned it and the staff at the front door / lost and found. Overall it's an awesome place to come out and hang out and dance.

This place is honestly a joke…read more We waited in line for almost 2 hours while security kept people outside for no reason -- and when we finally got in, there was so much open space inside. It wasn't even close to full. They're clearly holding people outside on purpose to create fake hype, which is honestly pretty messed up. You're telling me dozens of people are stuck waiting forever while there's plenty of room inside? It's giving manufactured crowd and poor management. To make it worse, they stopped serving drinks and turned the lights on at 1:15 AM, way earlier than literally any normal bar. So after wasting hours in line, you barely even get time inside. And it somehow gets worse -- at 1:35 AM they were literally kicking people out of the restroom. We weren't even allowed to finish or wash our hands before being rushed out. That's not just rude, it's straight up unhygienic and disrespectful. Overall, completely overhyped, disorganized, and not worth the wait at all. Don't fall for the line -- it's fake.

The 908 - Raspberry Chocolate Cake

The 908

(1.3k reviews)

$$

Super picky when I go out to eat but came with 6 others and we were all pleasantly surprised. I…read moreenjoyed eveything I tasted and so did the others, I did think the calamari was not my favorite starter but that's because I have been spoiled with super juicy and tender calamari. The spicy tuna crispy rice dish was my favorite, I came in for the steak salad but then got more tuna with the poke bowl. It was all great and I got a side of spicy mayo and eel sauce. Our server Sergio was amazing very kind, personable and great service! Definitely recommend :) Ambiance was nice too and food came out quickly.

I made a reservation for 10 people and was thoroughly impressed with how they handled our party. We…read morewere able to get separate checks. In the morning they called to confirm whether or not we wanted to sit outside. They also asked if it was a special occasion. It was. It was a reunion three years in the making and the celebration of a birthday. Jessie was our server and he was amazing. He handled all the details and kept track of our progress without being intrusive and was helpful in taking pictures for us. You could tell he wanted to celebration to go well. He even brought out a slice of cake for our birthday girl. Everyone enjoyed their meal. The biggest compliment came from one of our parties husbands as he said he thoroughly enjoyed what he ordered. Apparently that doesn't happen often. The person sitting next to me mentioned how much she enjoyed her omelette. One of the best she's had. I the poke wrap appetizer, which was perfect for me. We were able to hear each other talk, which for 10 people as miraculous. There was energy in the air and beautiful paintings on the wall. So the atmosphere was good. And as an added bonus afterwards, you could walk around and enjoy the shops as well as a local art fair. I drove up from San Diego and have to say it was worth the drive.

The Lounge

The Lounge

(1 review)

Grand Opening Free…read moreadmission & complimentary appetizers Even though I live locally to Los Alamitos Race Course, I've never actually visited. I've been meaning to check out the annual wiener dog races, but have not done so for various reasons. Recently in the mail, I received an advertisement for the opening night of The Lounge. Touting free admission & complimentary appetizers, the stars aligned and I made sure to be the first one in line at the entrance. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=58pU8yJa5YqMbJEsCOfgCw&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA Boasting more than 60 large flat screen TVs (w/ NFL Sunday Ticket), a Touchtunes jukebox & 3 pool tables, The Lounge offers entertainment of all sorts. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=Z1u9Tp3W1fjO2tjdq9NNxA&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=3ckNCkAN-7O5Lrc_dcMDdQ&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=VjGwBcuKK8tauH7zAeMJ6w&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA The complimentary appetizers were served buffet-style. The options were sliders w/ French-fried onions, buffalo wings, nachos & platters of cheese, fruit & vegetables. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=1Pp1cdk_Z09UC3Jt0jWC4g&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=CXEW1NzEHQKryAzKG-WrwA&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA Promo girls informed guests about the various drink specials going on, handing out schwag as they went. https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=xrPr8-s8vaYIbWAd67XZLA&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=UVWHTNHSDrekBjo98NcOPA&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA Service was okay. None of the waitstaff came by & asked if I wanted to order a drink, as I was stuffing myself with my fourth plate of sliders & wings, watching the Laker game on TV. Hey, I was in a sport coat, so I looked decent, at least. The Lounge seems to be a viable Happy Hour option for those that may frequent the Los Alamitos Race Course. $5 general admission sounds ridiculous to me, if planning to visit only for The Lounge. However, those addicted to betting on the ponies have a new & updated place to watch sports and knock back a few, fantasizing about a trifecta. https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/the-lounge-los-alamitos?select=v6pV9AEVHlff4G0oyKYWxQ&userid=xsT4KZTu_KnOVavtuXn4RA

Starting Gate - lounges - Updated May 2026

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