Old Town Tavern

I’ve been in here twice during the past 2 weeks & its always borderline dead. The one bartender that actually talked to me I guess is only an emergency bartender who only gets to work when someone else cancels. Came in one night as a non-​working employee was leaving. The bartender was in the back room for almost 10 minutes while I was waiting to order. The leaving employee was nice enough to serve me. The Thursday bartender never greeted me afterwards, never asked if I wanted anything else, never said anything to me but played on his phone, watched an infommercial. I guess I’ll be finding another bar for when I’m in town.

The bar tender there Matt Topete makes drinking at old town tavern an experience in its self, he is quick on the draw with a drink and may not be able to tell one but can take a joke. He knows more than most about sports and will have a conversation with any patron and make them feel right at home

My husband and I stayed at a local resort for the weekend but instead of wasting money on over priced drinks at their bar we decided to find a dive bar and thanks to Unilocal we found this place. It was a Sunday evening and the place was pretty empty. just a few regulars which at first made us feel a tad bit uncomfortable but they actually turned out to be great people! We hung out on the patio with them, they bought us shots to celebrate our 1yr anniversary and we all shared a ton of laughs. Next time we’re in town we will Definitely be going back! Oh and to seal the deal the prices are great and the drinks are strong!

I think this is the best Dive Bar in the Santa Barbara area.
The mix drinks are stiff.

This place has decent karaōke and a dance floor. They’ve also got two pool tables.

no complaints but i did not find anything amazing either (usually just catch a beer with coworkers after work). they have a good selection of alcohol. they have college nights on wednesdays i think, karaōke on thursdays (haven’t been to either). nothing that stood out to me, but nothing that would make me go out of the way to get there either.

This is a great, mid-​westerny feeling dive bar in old town. I go here all the time and always end up having fun. Brian, the regular karaōke DJ is AMAZING and is always friendly and happy. He keeps karaōke orderly and fun. It is a great place if you want a place to chill and not feel judged!

The weekend bar tender Matt is one of
The nastiest person I’ve ever met. They really should find a replacement of someone who likes people because he doesn’t. Been to OTT a few times during the week and always had a nice bar tender. Matt was so nasty ill never step foot in there again and neither will my friends. I’ve been a local here for 18+ years and was horrified by my experience. Never ever again!

The bartenders are great, the games are fun to watch but mostly I go for karaōke! It’s fun to dance and play pool there.
Also there cups are a good price, though they need more beers on tap still not enough to get me to complain. I love OTT!

The four years I went to college at UCSB, I never went to OTT. Although I heard good things about it, I just never got the chance to go. Also, I’m just too shy to be singing in front of people.
Fast forward 3 years.
1^st time at OTT on Wednesday. It wasn’t that crowded. Looked through the song list, chose a few songs and gave it to the DJ. We got a few tall beers (Blue Moon $ 9), and waited for our songs. Soon after, the DJ was no longer accepting songs, lucky for us!
Needless to say, after a few drinks, and seeing that «singing» was more of yelling. And if you choose a popular song, everyone will chime in. I felt better about the songs we were about to sing. I had so much fun that night that I understood why everyone had so much fun.
2^nd time OTT on Wednesday. SO crowded! Barely able to walk through the crowd. Bathrooms took forever, even some girl cut EVERYONE in line just to use the bathroom. Besides that, it was still fun!
Go to OTT with a group of friends if you are shy about singing as I am. Go to OTT for an awesome night full of yelling, the good kind of yelling.

Oh Karaōke (Wed., Fri., Sat) is fun here and the tall beers (even of the good stuff) are cheap. Beware the Wednesday college night crowds though. When it’s not a karaōke bar, fear not; there would pretty reliably be one or two grizzled veteran drinkers hanging out as a biked past at 10:30 AM.
PS memo to the G-​Man (Karaōke MC), you’re too old to hit on college age girls!

Where can I go to sing Bön Jovi songs while drinking a tall and crappy domestic beer?
OTT!
Where can I go make a fool of myself and not feel badly about it?
OTT!
Where are we going tonight for beers?!
OTT!!!

It’s way too crowded, drinks take 20 minutes, and if you arrive on Bills Bus, expect to wait in line for 30 – 40 minutes to get in.
While a lot of my friends at UCSB love going here, this place isn’t exactly my cup of tea (or Whisky)

What night did we come out?
Thursday
How was the line?
No line
What did we have?
2 32oz. Drafts
How was the crowd?
Average Looking
How was the scene?
Very Social
What’s the demographic?
Equal numbers of men and women
What’s the ambience?
College Folks
What kind of music was playing at Old Town Tavern?
Rock and Soft Rock
What’s the noise level?
Very Loud
Will we hang out at Old Town Tavern?
Yes

Patience. Patience in waiting to look through those thick ass karoake books to find the ULTIMATE song. Patience to grab the mini pencil and struggle to clearly (with all your leftover soberly might) to jot down that song title and number. Patience to not break the seal before you get on the stage.
And then boom, you hit the crowd with a Spice Girls number, and you’re flying high.

The bar tenders aren’t friendly and this guy who was just cleaning the bar refused to help me by adding a little juice to my drink which adds me to my next point which is a pro I guess but the drinks are about 90 percent alcohol 10 percent juice. Made it worth the price but was difficult to get down. The place itself is kind of just a rundown little hole in the wall but I must admit I liked it. Karaōke night so close to home is a good thing to have. And the seedy feel to it is kind of welcoming and seems to say. «come in. get wasted.»
haha I’ll go back soon, hopefully with the guts to get on stage next time!

Late afternoon, this place rocks. Great bartenders, trivia/​poker playing machine thing, chill. I like.
At night, there’s the karaōke scene. I personally wasn’t into it. The scene was very local and not especially friendly, in my opinion (obviously).
At one point, it seemed like one girl was singing and her 20 friends were dancing along with her on the dance floor. Like bar aerobics or something. Weird?
So, for afternoon drinking, all good. Then go to Pepe’s across the street, have dinner, go home! No night scene here for me!

NTN/​Buzztime trivia is the draw for me since Old Town is the only bar in the area with it. They have a a huge vodka selection, digital jukebox to keep the party alive but a below average choice of draft beer. This is a bar for cocktails and a locals hangout with nice front deck overlooking a light industrial area street.
No points for looks but not a bad place to spend an afternoon with friends. Matt the bartender will take good care of you.

G-​man is da bomb. Not sure if he still does it, but I used to frequent this place on Weds for Karaōke.
From what I understand, the college kids have taken over the OTT)-:
Boo your stupid rendition of Britney Spears.
22oz beers rock, good to get you f’ed up with only 2 – 3.

I love this place! Hole in the wall, dive bar with karaōke!
Wednesdays nights it is college night! So be forewarned it gets very crowded here when 11 rolls around! Get here early if you want to karaōke because the list to get on is VERY long! They have a few books here and you fill out the paper and give it to the dj guy. There are always the favorites such as anything by journey, rock songs are very popular! Everyone likes to sing along. They have several tvs so you can see the words, they have a stage for people to stand on when singing.
They have pool tables but you can’t use them when 9 rolls around on this night. They have one big bar on the right and then the left they started having a small window where people who have cash go. I would suggest bringing cash b/​c if you don’t then you have to spend a minimum on your credit card. The drinks are STRONG and cheap, so whatever you get do not worry, you’re in good hands. The beers are cheap and MASSIVE! The bar gets super busy so if you’re not there by at least 10 then not only you’ll be waiting in line outside but in the bar as well. They try to go one by one and are very good about going in order of who came first. Theres a red head, she’s kinda mean, so be nice and don’t bug her! LOL They get sooooo busy that night that they are very stressed out. :D
Bouncers are kewl if you are. They kicked out a friend of mine for being too drunk! She broke a window! hahahaha.
They will not take passports or anything like downtown SB does, so bring your actual license!
They have two outside areas. They are both very small. The first is in the front where mostly ppl smoke, and to get fresh air b/​c this place is SMALL and those who are short can’t breath down below! hahaha like me! The second is in the back thats about 5×5 haha.
Bathrooms: only two stalls, and super small! the doors don’t lock, just swing open.
So come and enjoy a great night with your college buddies and you’re bound to meet some new ones as well.
O be careful there are some regulars, OLD guys that come here, creepers! No JOKE!