Shine’s Bar

What more can I say that hasn’t already been said? Truly an institution and easily the best bar in Long Beach. Incredible bartenders and great drinks. Perfect lighting. No posers, hipsters or other low life forms. Just strong drinks, locals and good company. Shine on, you crazy, crazy bar.

Local casual bar where the locals hang. Never had a bad time there but if your looking for some place clean and shinny move on!

I first went to shines in November of 2011. Elegant, classy, magical is how I would describe it. From the Vietnam war veterans to the many drink choices of Budweiser and Jack Daniels. Their famous brunch of eggs, war stories and bud heavys it what really brings it together. Great spot to bring kids and first dates. I met a gal in the city a couple of weeks ago who I plan on taking soon!

So I did not know it was legal for a bar to be this disgusting.
Lets start off with the incredible stench of urine. I do not know what is going on although my friend kept telling me it was just because we were sitting near the bar which was next to the men’s bathroom but the entire bar smelled of urine. I find her reasoning implausible only because I could still smell the urine outside the bar. I don’t even know what the women’s bathroom looked like… I held my piss till I got home.
Secondly, the bartender Mike is a dick. He was worse than a dick but I am not sure how much cursing I can do on Unilocal.Aside from the fact that he was drunk behind the bar he was one of the most rude people I have ever met.
Third, the bar is actually physically disgusting. I can only assume that in all the years it has been open the staff has never taken a mop, rag or broom to it. It was so sticky and gross.
Oh and by the way, cash only but they don’t tell you that until after you ring up a hefty tab

The bees knees. Proud sponsors of the yearly New York to California bike tour.
Best bloody Mary’s on the barrier island. Great history. Good people.
These guys were basically a soup kitchen for the neighborhood after Sandy. Btw F Sandy.

Best bar in Long Beach! This place is amazing, it’s super old in an awesome swanky way. Not to mention the owners are sweethearts!

This place is legendary. So much character and history. The staff is super friendly as well. Stays open real late so theres no excuse not to pop in for a beer.

What more can I say
It’s an institution, classic
Beer pool table darts
And lots of old friendly folks
Love it !!!

Shines is an excellent local bar. Expect a no-​frills pool table, juke box, darts sort of atmosphere. The locals on the West End drink year most nights. It’s never crowded, and always pleasant. Lots of history.

Great laid back bar, we come every week to meet with friends and have a drink or two. Kudos also for all their help to the community after hurricane Sandy.

Easily one of my favorite places to hang out in the West End. Good people, good prices, and delish hard-​to-​find beers on tap. Shines is a staple in the LB community.

I will never return to Shines because an establishment that looks the other way when racist comments are made might as well be making those racist comments. I am not a fan of a place where I am treated as an outside for being a minority. When racist and derogatory comments are being made towards me I expect the bar to help me, not try and kick me out and yell at me. I was called an immigrant and not a real American because I am of Indian decent by a patron of Shines and called Jose for an extended period of time by another patron and the bartender told me to leave because I was causing a scene. After I leave the bartender comes outside and asks me why I created a scene and now he has to go deal with the woman inside. This is after the Bartender herd the derogatory and racist comments made against me. I will never go back to this bar. If I could I would give them zero stars. I recommend you never visit this bar.

The Shine establishment has taken steps to addressing the complaint. I will definitely return and adjust my review. Sometimes you can’t hold the management accountable for how other patrons act. This must be a challenging aspect of owning a business. Appreciate the dialogue.

Shine’s is the best place in the West End. I almost don’t want to review it so positively, because then more people will come and it might lose its «diamond in the rough» vibe.
Yes, it’s a dive. Yes, it’s an old man bar. Yes, it is awesome.
Hella strong drinks. Free trivia Thursday nights. Populated by lots of salty old dogs, including the bartenders. Shine’s is the perfect place to unwind with friends and drinks in a totally unpretentious place.
Only drawback is cash only. But once you become a regular, buy-​backs are a given.

The place has that «local bar» aura that you can sense just by looking at it, and when you get inside it is no different.
Shines is frequented by regulars and LB residents– or the occasional out of towners who think all LB bars are like The Inn but learn immediately upon entering that this is not the case (thank God, I say).
And it feels welcoming; which cannot be taken for granted at a bar of regulars.
It’s big but for some reason everyone packs into the smallest part of the bar where the taps are– OK, that’s the reason.
This isn’t a 4 star place because it is something extraordinary– it’s a 4 star place because it doesn’t pretend to be something it isn’t.

My favorite bar.
Every Thursday night is trivia. It start’s at 8:30pm and it is a great friendly competitive game. You can play with up to teams of 4 players. If you win the round, you get a free round of drinks. If you win the game, you win a bottle of your choice. It is free to play and always a great time. There is also the dollar question where everyone plays on their own. It cost’s a dollar and if nobody answers the question correctly that week, it rolls over. Answered correctly, you win the current amount in the pot.
The drinks are very reasonably priced. It is a mixed crowd young and old on the weekends. The bartenders are really cool.
You can call it a dive bar if you want but I would rather call it a piece of Long Beach History.

there are a few times I go to shines:
1. I’m doing laundry and want to get drunk between cycles
2. its irish day
3. I am in the mood to chill with my local long beachers
the first time i ever went here, the tallest man in the world wearing a skirt and playing the bag pipes let me rub his beard. I’ve been a fan ever since.
I always forget about the big room you can play pool in, as i’m generally glued to the bar.

Best dive bar in Long Beach… maybe Long Island. Good mix of your typical old men and a younger crowd. A great respite from the chaos in the rest of the Wast End. Owners are young and cool. Old Skool Atari on Monday nights, free pool on Wednesday and trivia on Thursdays. The place is a Long Beach institution and everything you could hope for in a dive bar.

Shines? Well… It’s sort of an enigma, it really has no signs of its hours of operation, there’s always people there, it’s on a residential block but yet no complaints and hardly any music, a total dive, walk by it at 9am and there’s someone having a beer with friends… They do a NY to California bike tour which is 2 blocks btw. A classic LB dive.
If I were a drinker this would be my bar of choice. The end.