Swell Bar

Love this place! It has the perfect dive bar feel without the scumminess. I don’t like going over to Park Ave on weekends bc it’s too busy and crowded. Swell bar is off the beaten path so it has a more chill vibe. I drink beer so I can’t necessarily comment on the bartender’s ability to mix a drink. He was attentive and friendly though!

A fairly solid, nondescript, nautical tattoo themed bar. They have drinks, they have a small outdoor patio, they have drink specials, potato chips and jerky, and event type things (drunk bingo, trivia nights, etc.), plus darts, and I saw a DJ booth too. I didn’t feel particularly welcome. It was a SUPER quiet Saturday afternoon, with only a few regulars, and later a few more people trickled in, some reading books; so it was really just a quiet, chill kind of place. Not sure what it’s like during peak hours, but if I was looking for a nice quiet place to sit alone and nurse a drink on a rainy afternoon, this might be it.

Rounding up from 3.5 stars. This is a pretty good place to watch football on sundays. All sorts of fans from different teams here, Donna the bartender is good fun, and they usually have some sort of free food and a build your own Bloody Mary station. Good times. At other times, other bartenders can be inexperienced, and the crowd can be a bit cliquish, like a lot of other places on the Island…
The pours are pretty good, shots come in shot glasses, so nothing special. There is some street parking, but the bar is located right where Lincoln curves, so hard to see who’s coming down the street — do yourself a favor and DON’T get in your car after leaving here late at night, walk home or get a cab…

Locals are a bit rude. I sat at different ends of the bar and basically had to attract the bartenders attention each time. If you sat at the end of the bar where his friends sat you were okay.
The problem I have experienced at this bar is that the bartenders don’t know how to work the bar. They pour decent drinks but their knowledge of how to work a bar is very lacking.
I was at 1:20am, and I know that is getting close to closing, but the bartender poured one drink and then told me that it was too late to get my drink???
One of the big issues at this bar is inconsistency. Having run a bar before, my guess is that it is the result of under experienced and/​or poorly trained staff.
Yes, I will continue to go there because it is decorated well and has real darts and provides a getaway.
I WILL JUST PUT UP WITH THE SERVICE!!!

Bill and Matt were serving us (me and my best friend). We felt a bit disrespected. Probably because of our age. They served everyone around us and kept skipping over us. They gave us shit about the drinks we ordered but at least they made it after telling them thus 2 star rating. Never again.

I had such a good time. Its not my usual type of bar, but i had a really good time. Good drink specials. Matt the bartender was pretty cool. There were regulars there, older crowd, but me and my husband ended up taking to a few other patrons who came in. All in all good time at a little dive bar.

Swell used to be a great dive bar. In fact, the best dive bar in Alameda. We used to go there twice a week for 3 years. That all changed last night.
Walked in with a group to watch the Warriors playoff game at halftime. Was just too exciting to stay at home and we all wanted a lively atmosphere.
We opened the door and there game was on all the TVs but no live sound. They had some sort of art exhibit talk radio! No kidding!
We thought, oh well, let’s order a pitcher. Proceed to order and the high horse rude staff says we’re under new management and don’t sell pitchers anymore. I said that you did last time and she says that they haven’t for a year and a half. Yeah, right. Ok, you’re the boss.
Back to the sound or talk radio. We asked her to put the sound on for the game. She said they don’t do that and she couldn’t because other people weren’t watching the game. There were only 6 other people in there all with there eyes fixed on the TVs! It was like some comedy skit on SNL! I was waiting for the cameras to jump out and record our expressions!
After hearing our request for some sound, ALL the other people siting at the bar finally had the nerve to ask the god syndrome of a bartender to put the sound on. She rudely walked over to us and said «We normally to do this but will just tonight. Don’t expect it next time.»
I have never felt so unwelcomed in any establishment in my life. Next time? Are you serious? There will never be a next time.
The only thing swell about swell bar is the memories I had there. Hopefully it will be «under new management» one day and we can give this place a try again. Such a shame.

The boyfriend and I went looking for the tiki bar on Lincoln but when we walked in the bartender told us they were closing in ten minutes and pointed us to Swell which was a few blocks down the street. Glad we took their advice. We had a great time playing darts and having a few drinks with lots of laughs.

LOVE the décor! I’m a big fan of themed bars. Nautical bars are A-​OK in my book. Good drinks, decent prices and laid back dive-​bar environment. If back in Alameda, we will likely return.

Ive been here once before and had a decent time but when I went on Monday, Feb 2 with a friend of mine, the bartender (white girl with long brown hair) was a rude biatch! Someone needs to show her how to check ID’s properly. It took her a second to check out my friends but when it came to mine, she examined my new California ID it as if it were fake. She had it in her hand looking at every speck, reading all my information, flipping it back and forth, holding it up to the light and holding it up to make sure it was me. She asked me if it was me and told me to take my glasses off. BITCH was blind and rude. I have never had an issue with my ID until this person carded me. Her approach was rude and disrespectful. Bitch just didn’t want to serve me and my friend drinks so I took mine and my friends card, walked out and made our way to lucky 13. I will never step foot in this place again! This place doesn’t even deserve a star!

This place is legit.
A good place to come with a group of friends. You can keep yourselves entertained with cheap drinks, darts and the patio (for my smoker friends).
Solid place.

Second favorite spot in Alameda for drinking.
I find myself here mostly for the Happy Hour and Dart Boards.
They take cash and credit so there is no need to worry about withdrawing money and paying an ATM fee.
Service is great and the Tenders are super friendly.
I’ve seen people order food to the bar and there never being an issue or anything.
They also have a DJ Booth and have some music playing on the weekends.
There is a Karaōke night too. The questions aren’t as good as most I’ve been too but it’s a good time none the less.
Hope you enjoy!

Hip place… good tap. darts,…
Go in.chill. be a barfly or just be yerself. Nobody is gonna mess with you and drinks are great. Nautical theme… back area is pretty neat. bit small, but neat.

My first time here was recently. Although it took a bit longer than I hoped, it was relatively not a 15 minute ordeal to signal the bartender over to place an order. Patrons were really nice and I was digging the atmosphere. There are some games such as darts available. Overall it was a nice, small bar experience and I would come back on an off-​night.

This is my type of chill place where I can drink and be a part of things if I choose. Nothing fancy but it’s cool inside and out back. They got BBQ sometimes.
I’ve had good interactions with the staff and with the other patrons here. .. very good (wink, wink, nudge nudge) I don’t know if people should come from far and wide to check this bar out but if you’re in the hood than this is the place

A great little bar! A good place to go after work, early evening or late night. weekends can be fun with some old movies on TV or football on Sundays complete with a food spread of some kind usually cooked by one of the patrons who volunteer.
The back patio is simply awesome, Period.
Drinko Bingo on Monday nights is a lot of fun as are the Friday and Saturday night DJ’s. The special events are way cool. Nice vibe from this place, the regulars are warm and welcoming. All the bars in Alameda should be this… well… swell

I really do want to like this place, but my experiences there have been pretty sub-​par. I’ve been there three times. The first two were unremarkable, and my most recent visit was pretty aggravating.
I like the bar décor, and the BBQ guy, Greg is awesome. I wish he were the bartender. Unfortunately, we were served by a blonde woman that seemed either drunk, or just really, really bad at bar-​tending. The bar has never been full of people, and my visit today was no different, but it took FOREVER to get a drink. The bartender seemed more interested in chatting with her friends than welcoming new patrons, as pretty much everything she did favored those she knew already. She served an entire group of people that walked in after I had been waiting for over 5 minutes while she chatted, before getting to me. On top of being last on her list of priorities, she was kind of rude. She told my friend that is 30 that he looked 17. If she meant it as a compliment, it failed, because she certainly didn’t make him feel very good.
I was willing to give it a shot (thus my three visits), but it is just like any other Alameda dive. As soon as the interior ages a bit, it will be indistinguishable from The Lemon Tree, John Patrick’s, or the Shamrock — a neighborhood watering hole full of aging alcoholics and completely repulsive bartenders. Service is something too many Alameda bars have no interest in; Welcome Swell to the club. I’ll continue heading to Forbidden Island (across the street from Swell), and Lost Weekend to get my kicks.

This little bar is awesome. It has a surfer theme and is tucked away from Alameda’s main drag. The bartender is attentive and the drinks aren’t too expensive. My friend was DJing here so I came out to support her. I was surprised at the chill vibe here.
They have cider too so that makes me happy. It’s one of the few drinks I actually enjoy. They also have different theme nights so depending on when you stop in, music can be hit or miss. I will definitely be back, especially if I’m in the area.

The outside rear patio is reason to go here.
Inside bar is ok, and the staff is pretty cool, but hanging out on the patio is the best spot here.

swell is a Swell Bar.
flatscreen: old movies & sports or ?
venue: various themed nights… rock on weekends.
on draught:
–literally sat next to a dog (yorkshire terrier) who gave me a smell test and went back to sleep (guess i passed).
–happy hours are rare (11 a.m.-1 on what day?)
–guinness (4), almost perfect, gin & tonic (3) in a sierra nevada glass. my guess normal pricing.
–place revamped, doesn’t look like a construction zone anymores
–patio opened in back where smoking is ok.
–attentive bartender (who likes tips) and friendly patrons.
–parking not that difficult.
–a few microbrews and very reasonable (cheap) pricing for alameda.