Sidebar Lounge

Happy hour menu includes 25% off menu items and $ 5 wine and beer — not the best happy hour unless you’re a beer or wine person. Cocktails here are expensive. We were staying at the Riviera and decided to stop by since the website stated that happy hour was all night. I was confused that the employees weren’t aware of this and the guy at the bar kept repeating «well if the website says so». I didn’t appreciate how they made a big deal out of it since we were fine just ordering off the regular menu. We got two beers, ordered the lobster mac and cheese (which was meh), and left.

Great bar with $ 5 glasses of wine during happy hour — bonus! Super nice servers and a nice view of the pool too.

Came here last night. There was a cool band playing classics. Small space for dancing. The outdoor patio seating was nice. I liked the look of the marble-​top tables spread around the patio and garden with lighting and fire pits. The only drawbacks are 1. All the dirty glasses that meeded clearing off the tables, and 2. All the douchbags that wouldn’t disappear.

Loved this small bar and lounge! We had a few drinks here on both days we stayed at Riviera hotel. The bartender was extremely friendly, and he made us some real strong and tasty drinks too. They also serve a bar menu with small plates. We didn’t try any but some items looked good to me.
I wanted a spicy drink, but I also wanted my usual Lemon drop martini, so the bartender made me a spicy lemon drop martini, turned out it was very tasty, the spicy mule he made was very good too, great pours!
This lounge is very relaxing and intimate, perfect for sexy and romantic dates, definitely stop by for some spicy drinks, you won’t be disappointed!

It’s a sad little place! This is for the day shifts, Service, waiter and waitress are not helpful at all, the food is awful.
I had the burger and the meat was burned and tasted completely burn.
Mcdonalds sounds amazing compared to this place!

People of color, stay away from here.
Felt utterly disrespected. Sat down with my wife and was ignored by the whole staff. They watched us walk in and sit down. They even came and cleared off a table next to us and pretended not to see us, hoping we would just go away. Ten minutes pass. Had to approach the bar and they acted like they were doing us a favor by serving us. Apparently it was last call. Could’ve fooled us judging by the way they continued to serve everyone else.

This was a nice spot for a drink. My husband and I stopped by around 5:00pm on New Year’s Eve, and enjoyed our cocktails and bar food.
My Sony’s Mule was great, as was my husband’s Tea Garden Cooler. The tuna tacos were amazing (we loved them!), and the truffles fries were tasty too.
Our server was very friendly and pleasant, and the food and drinks came out promptly.
We liked our cozy and romantic booth, though it was much darker than we would have preferred (a little more light would be nice)!

Nice little bar in The Riviera Hotel lobby. Great drinks. Great service. Live music! This little bar was our best experience inside The Riviera.

I’ve been wanting to go to the Riviera for some time. We are Palm Desert locals. Tonight, Sunday, my husband and I went to then Sidebar to hear Will Donato and the Art of Sax. It was so much more than we expected. Great sax, jazzy, Motown, and more. The Happy Hour menu is good, the outdoor seating underneath the shade of tall ficus is perfect. Friendly, welcoming, engaging entertainment. We’ll be back!

Stayed at the Riviera and stumbled into the Sidebar. Had a little bite for lunch and was not disappointed. I was a bit nervous about ordering bar food but i enjoyed every single piece of truffled French fry and truffled mushroom flatbread. The bartender was amazing she made me an antioxidant mojito and it was perfectly refreshing and my babe ordered an old fashion which was also made to perfection.
We came back at night for some drinks and surprise surprise they had live music. Two men — one bassist and one guitarist. They played all sorts of music from different genres. They were very very good and kept me wide awake and entertained. I wanted to shake my buns but didn’t want to embarrass myself.
Well definitely be back when visiting Palm Springs.

cool little live music spot off the edge of the pool-​during the day it’s pretty slow and dark, but picks up over the weekends

Fun hidden down a hallway in the hotel. Tv for sports lounge chairs for chilling. Dark and romantic spot

Amazing mixology! Seriously, delicious drinks. I tried 1 of every cocktail special that had vodka or gin. You can’t go wrong. Great happy hour. A little cold during the winter months, but lovely during the summer, with outdoor seating and big open doors. The service was a bit lacking. Got some attitude from our waitress. Other than that, it’s a swanky place to have drinks and appetizers, especially if you are staying at the hotel.

Great happy hour appetizers! Will definitely return so I can remember what I had!

I loved the vibe and décor. Super sexy environment but very laid back. I must admit our bartender/​server Veronica was wonderful. Her energy was fantastic and she made our experience that much better. She has a beautiful soul and she makes a kickass Antioxidant Mojito and Old Fashion. We also ordered the Warm goat cheese with figs and pistachios and that was fantastic! I will be back the next time i stay in Palm Springs. I recommend the Riviera to everyone the hotel is awesome!

Service was so-​so. We asked for so many things more than once. I think they were distracted by the nice weather and private party going on outside.
We came here for happy hour and was pleasantly surprised at the food prices (half off during HH). The scallops were good. The lobster mac-​n-​cheese was so-​so but it did have nice big pieces of lobster in it! And, the mushroom flat bread was pretty decent. Drinks were pretty good too.
If you’re staying at the hotel, you’re limited in options — you can’t really eat elsewhere. I think the food was decent. I think their main restaurant, however, is pretty amazing!

I stayed at the Riviera over the MLK holiday weekend and frequented this place during my stay. This is my favorite bar at the Riviera because the staff is super friendly, they have a great wine list, and the service is great. We even ordered some late lunch here the day that we arrived because it was the only restaurant that was open at the hotel and I must say that my order of the croque madame was the best I have ever had. Although, I do warn that our food took a bit of time given were were one of they few people at the restaurant. On Saturday night they had a duo/​band? and you could request songs for them to sing which was really fun. Would definately come back if staying at hotel again.

Love this place! Romantic, sexy and intimate enough to be close with a loved one or socialize with strangers. Heather the bartender is by far the best craft cocktail bartender in town, and her assistant brandon has a smile that lights up the room. Do not skip town without paying them a visit, and either take advantage of heather’s talents, or of their amazing wine selection. Love, love, love!

loveeee that its open & you could hang outside/​inside or grab a drink & bring it to the pool. dj/​dancing — dressed up or bathingsuit, your welcome in here… but crowd was more dressed up.
bartenders were a bit slow, waited for 3 beers for 15 min.

This lounge is located between the pool and the lobby. It’s partially poolside and also indoors. I really like the space, but it was dead on a Friday night upon the start of Modernism Week. They also had live music that started at 9:30P.
The bar menu had about a dozen $ 13 to $ 14 specialty cocktails and a dozen bar food items. These are serious cocktails that were sharply executed. I tried the summery and fruity Peach Playboy with peach rum, Chambord, cranberry juice, and orange juice. I followed with a Broken Branch with Maker’s bourbon, Aperol, sweet vermouth, maraschino, and huge lemon peel which was very much like a Manhattan, but more bitter.
The bar food didn’t match the quality of the drinks. The deviled eggs with paddlefish caviar on a bed of frisee were above average with the ample use of vinegar, but otherwise common. The calamari «fries» were completely uncommon. They looked like large messy pile of limp fried mozzarella sticks, but tasted a lot like fried fish from a fish and chips dish. The mismatch of visuals to taste was confusing for my alcohol-​addled brain. The calamari was boosted with heat from the siracha sauce which added contrast. Both dishes were very salty — probably to promote drink sales.