Avalon Bar

ATTENTION: THIS BAR IS CLOSED!!!
Rest in Peace Avalon :’-(
Avalon was the best dive bar from the beach to the mountains! It had all the atmosphere a dive bar required. Cheap drinks, local hang out, dim lighting, live bands and Vinyl Jockeys, small floor, unique specials, and every night would be something completely different than the last.
Unfortunately, the Avalon is of no more. Prices are quadrupled, drove away the locals, painted everything (inside and out) white to brighten it up, every time i’ve walked by i’ve just heard iPod Jockeys, opened up the bar floor to allow for greater occupancy, and their $ 6.99 pint of Pabst blows my mind. I’ve only been there twice to find my $ 10 pint of IPA filled with my own tears. So, yes, it’s been the same for me everytime I’ve gone… :’(
Instead of trying to make a better bar, they should have blew it up, built an epitaph, or turned it into a brothel to compete with their neighbor Garibaldi’s De Noche.
Go for yourself and get your own opinion of the new bar (if you can figure out how to get in). Don’t take my review for the new bar, but as an reminisce of what it used to be.

Its cute, ages 21 – 25, and doesnt have hard liquor. Hardest they have is soju. I watched my friend perform on their little stage and it was great! The ppl are cool, cute, and collegey. Triple C! All drinks under ten. Art shows in the back. El Toro Bravo a short distance away… so they’re golden.

I was pretty bummed they did not sell booze but the 32-​oz brown bagged Miller High Lifes were pretty fun. They usually have an interesting beer and wine selection to choose from including the tasty house sangria. I’ve never seen a band here but the DJ’s have all been pretty good (according to my elitist taste in music). Avalon is also conveniently located next door to the always excellent Big Belly Deli. Sounds like a wonderful night to me.

Honestly I have nothing against this bar. Its very hipserty which is fine if you see hipsters for what they are (regular non-​threatening young-​ish people in old people clothing) and they don’t bother you then this is a fine place. But thats it. Just fine.
OMG. I almost forgot. The last time we were here, I think last Sat night, the bartender girl was WASTED. She came up to us (my bf n me) and I wanted red wine so I asked what kind they had. She said cab and pino noir and sangria. I was like,” Pino, please. I’d get the Sangria but you only have pineapple and cinnamon, lol.” And then she drunkenly laughed at me. AT me. Like, she literally pointed at me with her drunk finger and LAUGHED AT ME. I was like, «Are you laughing at me?» And she said «no» while still cracking up, and Im just like, «um, ok.» Then my bf orders a PBR and she says, «Of course» as in «Of course you ordered THAT.» And then proceeded to laugh at him for his order. THEN She brings over an empty wine glass and a PBR and proceeds to poor the BPR into the wine glass and slides it over to me. I literally was in awe of this woman. I was surprised she was able to stand in the state she was in. I was more surprised that she hadn’t gotten fired. I just laughed, because I was finding this all very entertaining, and said, «Are you serious?» And my bf was like, «OMG are you OK?» And the girl was just giggling and was just like, «What?» as in, «What? Isn’t this what you wanted?» And we just laughed and I told her, «NO OMG LOL I ordered a Pino Noir and he ordered a PBR but not in a wine glass!» And she literally looked confusedly at the wIne glass of PBR and said, «Isn’t that what I brought you?» More laughing. Really this story goes on for a while, but after more exchanges like this, we ended up with a VERY full glass of Pino and ANOTHER PBR and the wine glass of BRP. So it all turned out rather well if I do say so.
But other than this isolated experience, the place is just whatever. I just come to watch the live bands. I just wish there was more room, is all. And sober bartenders.

Nope. This was a very painful and uncomfortable experience. I definitely will not be returning. I guess I’m just not cool enough any more :(

Best place to drink and dive!
Love the sangria… the weird retro movies playing… how you never know if it’s going to be a good DJ or a bad one… the local bands… it’s all gravy, baby!

A dive bar, truly and deeply. And in a good way too. Bartenders are young and pretty and friendly; the music was 70’s Punk and PowerPop. Very small, very loud. The sangria is actually really good and gets you nice and drunk fast. If you like drunk dancing and being elbow-​to-​elbow with strangers, this is a good place to go. I’ve only been here once but will be back. Seems like people here are friendly and relatively judgement-​free. There are «hipsters» but the pretension seemed relatively low.

I visited this establishment on Halloween and they had me at Evil Dead 2 (it was playing on vhs. Who else gets misty when they see *auto tracking*?). It’s cozy, and boozy, and usually full of good tunes. Definitely worth my duckets when I need a reset from The Detroit.

I really liked their ambiance.
I liked all the wood in their interior.
There was live music or something the day I went.
I kind of liked it, but I could imagine it might be bothersome for others.
Because of the music, it was kind of difficult to have a group conversation…

I’m actually reluctant to review this place as I see it as more our locals’ hangout.
But, here we go… The Avalon is a bar that serves some of the best sangría around and coming in two awesome flavors. Don’t forget 40oz Brown Baggers, the guest DJs can be a bit dodgy but, the lighting, eclectic atmosphere and the fact that its tough to find make this bar pure spades…

After reading the other reviews (many of which are very old) I felt it necessary to review what I like about the place right now in 2011.
–It’s off the beaten path.
–Dimly lit and NO huge televisions playing sports and commercials.
–Weird retro movies on the small TVs and visuals on the projector.
–Laid back environment, good for dancing.
–Korean Vodka & Sangria
-$ 6 Pint Beers in a bottle. They usually have Baltika (Russian) & Svyturys (Lithuanian). They are always changing it up, so whenever you go you are sure to have some great beer to look forward to.
–They have one of my favorite beers on tap, Franziskaner.
–They have wine and small bottles of Champagne too, not my thing but some of the ladies enjoy it.
On any given night the music is hit or miss, but these are the nights I go to hear quality underground dance music.
2^nd Saturdays — ZAP! (house, disco, funk)
3^rd Saturdays — From the Soul (deep/​rare, house, disco, soul)
4^th Fridays — Black Licorice (eclectic dance selections)

Loud. Loud as all hell. Place looks like a Pier One catalog. The restroom is located upstage of where the indie rock band sets up, forcing you to squeeze past ‘guitarists’ and «drummers» just to whizz out your PBR.
$ 5 pint Fat Tire best is the best beer on the menu, and it isn’t served at sub zero temperatures. I’ll tack on another star for that.

Always good to grab a beer before or after a show from detroit bar. Good prices and informal.
I saw the dude from the Growlers, forgot his name but he was a cool cat and his band rocks.
Misconceptions aside, this is not a Hbomb bar, nonetheless an entry level wanna-​be bar. I mostly see people that are more relaxed, I guess you can say older and mature but then again you only got detroit and avalon in the area so you’ll encounter Hbombs and entry level kids.

Get crunk.
Pros: Cheap drinks. Brown bags. Good music. No cover. Get to watch all the hipsters try to dance. It’s really really amusing. Parking’s easy. Detroit bar across the street for when you want to move along. Donut shop and Mexican food and gas station (for cigarettes) less than a block away.
Cons: Not a full bar. Sangria always sucks (watery). Pineapple soju is the only decent enough drink (but never strong enough). Wine is expensive. Bartenders are pretty much shit. You have to watch hipsters try to dance all night.
When a friend of mine was DJing here I came EVERY WEDNESDAY for over a month straight. Never missed a Wednesday it was like clockwork. Pre-​game, drink soju, beer starts tasting alright, down a few brown bags, dance, smoke, drink, smoke, get fucked up. Best nights of my life. Even though I had to watch hipsters try to dance.

So I know they definitely don’t have a full liquor license because I went to order a shot of tequila and they tell me they only have shots of… Sake? Ok …
Then I come to find that they want to charge me ridiculous amounts of money for all of my drinks. And no I am not excited about your cheap Pabst Blue Ribbon… I’m not 18 anymore and no longer a broke college student. I no longer believe in quantity over quality… but whatever thats my opinion. I know a lof of people who are stoked over cheap Pabst. BUT NOT THIS LADY…
It’s also quite small… and dark… I mean… this place is alright. I just wouldn’t be hanging out here on a regular basis.
A mediocre review for a mediocre spot.

Mike Conley R.I.P.
— — — — — — — — –
Fan of:
— Their Soju dirty martinis, circa forever ago
— Champagne of Beers in a brown bag for cheap
— Their red sangria, although white is killer too
— Scotty Coats & Stephen Rivera aka Fidel Jesus on the decks
— Dark moodlighting to make women’s beards/​mustaches disappear
— Watching Chainfights at the Garibaldi next door from behind protective barrier
— When the bouncer is forced to MACE someone (awesome)
Haven’t been in quite some time, but The Avalon was my favorite place to wet my beak before partying at Detroit with the boys once a month, way back in the day.
To good memories, fellas…

Super dark inside, great music, sangria in big jugs, smoking patio, brown bag special. Now I just need to go here on a Wednesday evening.
A good alternative to when Detroit is charging $ 10 to get in.

Dive… dive, into house music and somewhat cramped corner of a bar they call Avalon in Costa Mesa. Invited by non-​other than a good friend and OC supporter DJ Jazzwell, it was one of those spots I couldn’t help but check out on a random Wednesday night. One of my good friends Knox Box, was bored out of his mind so I suggested this place to get him out of his music producing shell.
Walking inside, was like walking into someone’s living room with a wooden bench, a bar, and a DJ booth. The floors were grunge looking, somewhat dirty but eh what Dive Bar isn’t like that? The drinks were pretty stiff, got myself 2 Red Bull Vodkas and 1 Jack and Coke. All of which costs me $ 20.00 plus tax and tip. The music was strictly housing and maybe a hint of drum and bass. Hipster friendly and the eclectic 50s music videos, maybe feel like I was witness an acid trip from a Woodstock Band all over again.
Dark and crimson red, lighted up the bar and the bartenders were friendly and welcoming with the stiff drinks they served up consistently. The dance floor space was probably good enough to do a buttspin and maybe grind on your girlfriend and boyfriend with two other couples getting the business. After 2 hours, drinks, and attempts at doing Michael Jackson Choreography we decided to call it quits for the night.
For those who have the munchies, Alejandro’s (a Mexican food spot) is in the same plaza as Detroit Bar (which is located across the street as reference).

Before actually DJing here, Avalon was always a great spot to chill with friends, here great DJ’s, and to potentially have a sweaty night on the dancefloor!
Avalon still continues to be that kind of place and the annoyances people have regarding the lack of a full bar can easily be remedied by venturing across to Detroit Bar where more DJ’s and bands are their laying down the heat! The journey back and forth makes both these places a great place to end up!
Tuedays and Wednesday nights should take care of any midweek party urges! Music is always top-​notch.
Saturdays are always great too! Come out on the 2^nd Saturdays of the month for Zap! where myself and a couple other friends play house, nu-​disco, funk, post-​punk on VINYL all night long! The bartender (Christina) is also usually there on Saturdays and her service as a bartender is top notch!

Came for a friend’s birthday after dinner on a Friday. The place wasn’t super crowded, which was nice cuz then you can get your drink on without waiting too long. The décor was very… dark and brooding. It was a nice change in atmosphere :] however, the girl’s bathroom picture was too creepy. And I just read about the owner before coming here… The private room was a cool surprise. But I made sure to not touch anything in there, who knows what went on in there??? gross.
We all got an apple shot (5), which was too weak. I will def stick to the beers here. I wasn’t really feeling the music here. I don’t think my friends were either but we tried to dance any way. I guess it was fun until all my drinks hit me and I became grumpy and silent. :\ oh well. Not sure about a next time. Maybe with more hipster friends. hahaha