Revising my review. Now that there is new owners(been a few years), I must say it's a great vibe. No creepy bartenders or bouncers. We had Jacob as our bartender and was amazing. The bar was a vibe. Definitely will be back. Weekends have great music too. Will be back for some dancing this weekend read more

The Willow Den - My sister. Playing games - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

This place doesn't serve me because I'm black and military I've served my country for 10 years and because I don't tip they treat me as a last priority that is unfair and because I don't pay your mortgage or bills don't mean i need to tip on top read more

Fantastic experience at The Willow Den! My hubby & I went for drinks and karaoke. We can't hold a tune, but thoroughly enjoyed watching the singers who could! Drinks were excellent & service was even better. We'll be back for sure!!! read more

Drinks are decently strong and reasonable Finger comfort foods are pretty good Service is excellent Neighborhood bar with live music and friendly vibe . You can relax unwind and actually enjoy this place for sure. And who doesn't like Willow Glen! read more

I've been going to the Willow den for a good minute now I just thought it was about time that I leave a review. This is definitely me and my friends go to spot for a girls night. It does get packed on the weekends so Thursday nights are our nights. The vibe is always great. good music, pool tables, spacious .The bartenders are super attentive, and they have a great selection of liquors. Securities is top-notch. Rarely ever drama so that's a plus. Plenty of street parking, but be responsible in Uber. read more

Great place to hang out with friends on a weekday & weekend! Service is great and the drinks are always made perfectly. I enjoy coming here when I have the chance! read more

The Willow Den - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

i come her for the great fundraisers ! It puts the fun in fundraising!!! Staff are wonderful, Vibes are always there! This is not just a bar it's a community read more

This dive bar is down the street from work & we enjoyed the low key vibe on a Thursday afternoon. The bartender was great, service was amazing and I loved the divey feel. Definitely worth making a regular stop for drinks after a hard work day. read more

The Willow Den - Outside - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Be careful coming here!!!!!!!!!!! This place added a 20% tip to my bill without telling me. That's not okay, a tip is supposed to be optional, not something they sneak in. It honestly feels dishonest. Check your receipt and your bank account because they clearly hope people won't notice. I won't be coming back. read more

The Willow Den - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Checked out Willow Den last night while they had a singles mixer event. I thought it was cool that there is a bar that had all the things I enjoy. Pool tables... Giant Jenga... Beer Pong... Dancing music... Awesome bartender... I am not a fan of gin, but the bartender (I wish I knew his name... blond white big ol teddy bear guy) let my friend and I taste a barrel aged gin. Sooooo delicious! Then I had to be that one customer who asks for an espresso martini at a dive bar. I had to wake up enough to drive back from San Jose you know. Same bartender said he didn't have an espresso martini, so I walked away sad... but then he calls out to me and proceeds to make me a wonderful cold brew something that hit the spot! Whipped cream on top as well. Looked like a starbucks drink but so much better tasting. Thanks so much for the extra care! It made my night. The vibe was so cool. The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because the large bathroom didn't have a working soap dispenser to wash my hands. I had to go to the other bathroom just to wash my hands. Love the place though. A true hidden gem. read more

This bar is truly a dive bar. Drinks are reasonably priced. I had a bottle of Coors light for $6.00. The security and bartenders are friendly and attentive. Only cons are parking can be hard to find. Also, they don't turn on the AC. It was pretty hot and stuffy hot inside even though it was in the low 60s outside. The male restroom has seen better days. read more

Great little pub. Actually. Holds quite a few people. We attended a celebration of life there. Good selection of beers. Authentic atmosphere. read more

The Willow Den Public House is a great place to comevto to celebrate a birthday or to come and hang out with your friends. At the back is a stage and speakers and screen for karaoke. The owner is very friendly! If there were 10 stars i would give 10 stars! read more

To start, i just want to say that the drink prices are very affordable. When you can get a domestic beer for $6, especially in San Jose where the drinks average $10 or more for a beer, this is a breath of fresh air. The wait staff/bartenders work hard and on a busy Friday night they don't stop moving. For anyone who complains about how quickly they're being served, you really need to get out more and stop being such a karen. Seriously. Anyway, now that i got that off my chest, know that this is a neighborhood bar that has immense character and attracts real people. If you're looking for a polished, high class establishment with foo foo drinks, brother, this aint it. You come here when you want to drink, have real conversations about real things, with real, awesome people. I'm not what you'd call a "regular" but i do come often enough to have gotten to know some of the staff. People tend to be on the younger side, but i think that's mostly true of most bars nowadays. There is pool and Karaoke on Wednesdays, which is always fun to watch even if you don't participate. Yes, the parking might be challenging but there is parking in the back if you can find the driveway :) Check it out. You won't regret it! read more

I went on a Friday. It was so fun & lively until the dj came on at 10:00 and started playing some super weird, hella loud, shittt ass beats and it ruined it but it's still a cool vibe with lots of chill people and good bartenders !! read more

I'm not happy with the staff Can't even serve people on time Very low quality drinks.

This place was pretty cool and the vibes were great besides the bartender who was serving us. Our night went pretty good till the next day I had noticed the bartender had left himself a tip on my tab after giving him a cash payment...the worker decided to keep my tab open and give himself a extra 5$ which was shady work. If you do ever visit this place make sure to close your tabs out and read ur receipts !!!! read more

Good neighborhood bar. Interior has a lot of character. Service is always friendly and there's no shortage of talent when it comes to the bartenders. Prices are good and so are the pours. read more

The security guards (CJ & John) are amazing & very friendly! I've never felt more safe around them Nice dive bar with a nice atmosphere.

My cousin and I came to willow den tonight. We've been here before and the service was ok, tonight the bar tender didn't even help us we had to get his attention. After he brought us our drinks he told us the total and walked away. We left him cash. When he brought us change he took money from our change. Didn't give us the full amount back. He was rude as all he'll. I hate to make it about race but he helped everyone at the bar (who was not dark skinned) get skipped us for 15 minutes. Finally brought us drinks and our change and KEPT some of the money. He is absolutely horrible do not go here if you want horrible service and to be ripped off read more

The Willow Den - The rude bartender who stole our money - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Good service and great beautiful bartenders. Like the pool tables and beer pong games read more

Cool vibe, not overly pricey (for SJ), fun pool tables and kareokee and serious security

I'm not sure about all the negative reviews as I've never had an issue here. It's the most "wild" dive bar in Willowglen with excellent prices before 5pm when they ring the bell. They also have karaoke on random nights. read more

It's a great dive bar. Live music occasionally but more often than not the people watching takes precedents. The bar-tenders & back-bars are killing it...come up to the bar with what you want vs. someone else getting their drinks first. read more

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Fun casual place to play beer pong, ping pong, pool, jenga, hangout, and drink. Beer pong is free. Pool costs $2. There's only like 2 bartenders when we went on a Thursday night. So getting drinks did take a while. Only 1 stall for girls bathroom. I did se another girls bathroom across but not sure it's in use. I heard they have karaokes on Tues or Weds. Easy to get parking in the private lot if you go early before around 7ish or earlier. Drinks weren't too expensive either. I met Justin who's the boss and he told me it was girls night so we got some discount after I got the bill. I had two bills and that only applied to 1 bill. Not sure how that works. You can bring outside food since there's no food served here. read more

I've spent enough daylight hours and late nights at the Den to have a pretty good grip on exactly how special of a place it can be. It is a cool spot to hang out. I've had many different experiences at the Den. And they're all good. Oversized JENGA!! Anyone? The pool tables cost too much, I'd rather shoot at The Bears. But the tables here play good and are well maintained. This is a huge space. All your friends can fit in The bar is a classic shape and style. The elbow nook. The people watching. I've rubbed elbows with the owner at this very bar. He wouldn't remember. It was years ago. But he was talking with a liquor rep, and I invited myself into their conversation. I was sure to let him know I thought the Den was a special place. Now. I will tell the story of a recent visit. It was dead ass slow in the middle of a gorgeous CA day. I politely asked to park my sick bike inside, and the barkeep politely said, yes. I don't like leaving that bike where I can't see it. But honestly, I doubt anyone would've fucked with it if I left it out front. Then, I proceeded to swagger around like a cocky asshole, like I owned the joint. There were three human customers, one dog, the barkeep and me. I was sure going to say what's up to everyone in there. And I did. And this gorgeous woman took one look at me, and her "cocky asshole radar went off". She started to speak over me. We argued. And I know why. I was behaving like an asshole. In her opinion. She called me "rude". And perhaps I was. Because I'm a place like the Den, you can curse like a sailor during the day. The lovely Rita was just fighting off a hangover. Having a rough morning. And was kinda mad at the world. She has 8 years experience behind the bar, which to me, is plenty enough that I know she will be in charge of any bar she is behind. Rita and I were able to put aside our differences. We properly introduced ourselves with a REAL hand shake, eye contact, and RESPECT. In the end. Rita, her GF, their dog, and their (I'm guessing straight) male friend and I all shared some laughs. They made sure I didn't forget my sunglasses. I "challenged" the bartender to make me A margarita. She's only been at the Den six months, but I'm sure she's been slinging way longer. My cocktail was tasty on a sunny afternoon. It was perfect. It was happy hour. It was cheap. That was surprising. What wasn't surprising to me, is that every single fucking person in that bar was cool yesterday. Including me. And that cute little dog. The little guy kissed me. read more

The Willow Den - Hood bye Willow Glen. - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Unfriendly. Bunch of weirdos hangout here. Not safe for women. Even the bartenders are super unfriendly. It really depends on who you know and it shouldn't be like that when you're bringing a place business. read more

We walked in, asked a question about the drinks and the bartender was very rude and made smart remarks that made us feel racially profiled. Also, we met a friend at the bar who wanted to buy shots and the bartender told him he had enough shots, when he was drinking beer and he was buying my girls and I shots #ThanksForBeingAHater read more

Horrible Customer Service! So many better bars in the area. Void this place at all cost. I would give it a zero stars if I could. Extremely Bad Vibes with the staff here! read more

I've been coming to the Willow Den here and there for years and have recently become more of a regular. The bar is full of questionable characters who make horrible life choices, and I like to make friends with them because like a bull, I like to charge head first into red flags. One of the bartenders, Macy, is the best. She always gives me really fucked up drinks, calls me a whore, and makes sure to slap me on my ass before I pass out in the corner. I live close by and think it's nice to be able to get obnoxiously hammered, run my mouth to unwilling participants, and then crawl home without my dignity. And then Macy meets me there after work because she is my wife and we play a game called "Slap and Tickle". read more

I get it bars are usually hit or miss. With all the bad reviews on here, you'd think I've been extremely lucky every time coming not running into issues they say. I would say the racisms comment is common theme and biggest allegation. I honestly don't get that. I've came here many times with group of friends of all different colors. I or them have never commented having issue. I even gotten to know various regulars who are people of color. Been here with pretty much every staff member, I honestly don't get where this is coming from. Staff are usually pretty chill. All I can think of is that these reviews are fake because this place was caught making a stance against government mandates during Covid, and we know how most people in this area feel about that here. Nonetheless, great bar for the vibe and and atmosphere. They have most basic drinks one could expect and let you bring outside food in. Also, jukebox is a game changer. My only complaint it can get a bit loud. read more

Debbie is even cooler than the decor! Great place to hang, even daytime with pool tables and ping-pong arena. read more

The Willow Den - Willow Den is in the strum! - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

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Dive bar. A really great dive bar. Live music on Friday and Saturday. I'm not sure why more locals don't go for the music. There is an eclectic crowd. The bartenders are fantastic!! A safe place to hangout. My band just played there. We had a great time! read more

I went to this bar about two weekends ago, and was waiting to get a drink and one of the bartenders was totally ignoring me and kept serving other customers. I thought for a second that I was tripping but this specific bartender served two other folks while I was just waiting there. I eventually went to another bartender who served me right away. Now after reading these other comments I'm assuming it's because I was a POC. Will never come back to this place. Service was terrible. read more

Service: their service was really good! We were there for a birthday party, so there was a huge crowd and the bartenders were all very friendly and attentive to us. It was a very safe environment with the amount of securities they have. What we enjoyed most was the live band - they played more of the older generation music, but i knew some of the songs. Drinks: a shot of Hennessy was only $12, which isn't too bad. Probably average price. Their beer was pretty cheap too, I don't remember how much it cost though. There is a cover fee, however, we got in for free because of the birthday party. The bathrooms were pretty clean. There are three pool tables ($2 a game), 3 darts, jumbo jenga, and lots of seating! There's also a jukebox but it wasn't needed because there was a live band. Parking can be tough because you'll have to find street parking but if you plan on drinking... Uber! Lol read more

The last time I was here the bouncers were wack and wouldn't let me come back in to look for my friends because they "didn't remember me" coming in (which was coincidentally was about an hour before they started charging a cover charge). This experience made me hesitant to come back but I did because my friends wanted to go. This time around, Mimi wad the sole employee/bartender and she honestly turned around my opinion of the place and is the reason I'd want to come back. She's very friendly and knows how to divide her attention between a full house. Thanks for being awesome Mimi!!! read more

Chill little bar to go grab a drink. Nice area right there in Willow Glen. Mimi the Sunday bartender is super sweet and makes this awesome cherry lemon lime soda water make sure to ask her for one! read more

The Willow Den - a glass of water with a straw and a slice of lemon - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Nice dive bar :), dj's on friday nights and saturday... don't miss out ;) nice area to practice your pool shots

I feel foolish yelping a bar, but felt it was necessary. I did bar/club security for roughly 20 years in Downtown SJ, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Oakland, etc. I know how people are, I know the basic rules of most places and I try to not be that guy that "tests" security, harasses women, acts tough, wears questionable items, etc. Usually, when I go to bars it is very very seldom since I worked in the industry for so long and I try to stay away. This was my 2nd time coming in, and we were celebrating my late birthday..We weren't dressed up and did not make a big night of it, we just wanted to grab a couple of man sodas n chill then go home. Initially, when we pulled up, I parked my Stang in front of the liquor store, skinny security walks up, and asks if we were having drinks, we say yes, and he kindly states it was liquor store parking only, so we parked across the street. Mind you we were out of the car and standing in front of him. No problem we follow rules, no attitudes nothing.. We finally go into the bar, they greet us, and take our IDs and video photograph, no problem. We have a seat at the bar, I order a delicious vanilla bean porter, my buddy an IPA, we chill, we vibin, and eventually we make our way to the band area. They had a band playing and we just sat there, slowly drinking our beers, I order 2 more IPA's and then the skinny security comes over to my buddy and started telling him that he was wearing "double red" and his manager wasn't there earlier so they didn't say anything, but now he's asked to take it off. Keep in mind, this seems to be a friendly neighborhood bar patronized by a lot of caucasian folks, and of course, my buddy and I are Latinos, not LatinX and of course, we stick out like sore thumbs. My buddy is a County worker, married, kids, has no tattoos, and definitely has never been in a gang but was wearing a red checkered flannel and a white Niners hat with a red logo. I'm wearing black pants, a black hoodie n shirt, and a red Niners hat and I am an Accountant for a construction company, definitely not in a gang, not to mention I'm in my late 40s lol.. We were literally just sitting there, nobody around us, enjoying the band and barely on our 2nd drink. We definitely were not trying to bring any attention to ourselves, just wanted a couple of beers and call it a night. We were both bothered by this request, I get it, there are gangs in the area, and in order to prevent them from coming in they have to make sure they previously enforced the rules on people already inside. Security tells us, "they just barely caught this." Again, we want no trouble, and we aren't gonna make a big deal, but after 20 years of doing security, I can see where this young man lacks experience in. You had us on the sidewalk by the car, you had us again at the door checking ID's and it was not busy, 2 hours later you barely catch it? That sounds a lil sus bro.. I hate bringing race into it, but ya, unfortunately, I got the racey vibes out of it.. "double red" smh.. If the double red was an issue, you could've brought it up by the sidewalk and at the ID booth. The proper way to address this would've been to explain the rules and nip it in the bud at the door, and or let us know the rules, and that your manager was not there and later we would have to remove it. Anyhow you "did not catch it." which also tells me you're not very good at observing people and behaviors... hate to be there when sh^t hit's the fan because you let something slide and not too good at your job. We closed off our tab, and the bartender with the dirty blonde ponytail was explaining the situation after we brought it up, we didn't argue with him because it's their bar, their rules.....he apologized, and was being real cool about it, gave us a drink chip, we "understood" and left home. I'm sure this place will not miss my business since I rarely go out, but it's the principal. When you work security, you have to make your initial assessments during the first encounter... "does this person pose a threat? how is their behavior? are they being aggressive, do they look like they are in a gang, can they be a threat to us later." those are the checks and balances you make at the door, not 2 hours after the fact. But eventually, he will get it... anyhow.. I guess we will have to go to a gang-infested non caucasian bar just to fit in and have a beer.. thanks Willow Den lol read more

The Willow Den - Picture of my buddy's "Double Red" attire at Henry's Hi-Life earlier that evening for Bday dinner... - Bars Near Me - San Jose, California

Place was fine on a Friday night, bought 2 beers and realized on Monday that they changed my tip and charged me more than I agreed - check your bank statements or stick with cash read more