West Second St Bar

Man, this place is still my favorite bar hands down in Reno. West Second Street Bar is where the locals go, and that is what draws me in. In a town where tourism is high and casinos run the nightlife, this place still hangs in there bringing a vibe very different yet familiar and that is what keeps me coming… here is my second and a bit more detailed review.
My first time coming here was by accident actually, and you might ask how does one come to a bar by accident? Well I’ll tell you. I was trying to go to what at time was a hookah bar next door, I ended up walking in here and ended up staying, hookahless… but satisfied and not to mention it was baseball season sooooooooo. my NY Yankees were playing, why would I miss a chance to see the bronx bombers on tv? Like its a no brainer! This bar is a Mom and Pop operation. The owners themselves bartend here, a husband and wife and they are pretty awesome and very nice people. Although I don’t get to go here often, they recognize my face which is pretty awesome considering I’m not a regular unless out here in Reno of course.
This bar feels familiar not in the fact that its a bar and I like bars, but it’s very reminiscent of a bar that I frequent in San Francisco. It’s like a slightly bigger version of it though. West Second Street Bar sits on the Second Street stroll right next to a sushi joint and other little businesses some closed and some still active, this really is a bar that the locals go too, and like the saying goes.“Do as the locals Do!” and that’s my motto when I go to a new place, besides… a few drinks to break the ice isn’t a bad thing right? Unless you’re one of those non drinking people and in that case… you’re missing out.
In my closing, friendly people, karaōke, good drinks, low cost, a very Bay Area friendly bar. It’s a no brainer that this place stays with a crowd aside from the fact that this place is an afterhours establishment which means that this joint is opened past business hours, which in Reno is 3am for regular businesses, this place is open and serving drinks till 4am, insane considering the last calls in the Bay Area. My only fret is that smoking is allowed indoors here… I Don’t smoke and don’t really want to be around smoke, but that doesn’t take away a star in my book, the windows are always open to alleviate the smoke clouds. So I highly recommend this bar still. It’s nice to stray from the beaten path and this place is proof. As always Unilocal your own experience if you happen to drop by!

After the Cal-​Neva karaōke had stopped, we ended up meeting a local who told us about this place and we ended up coming here twice on our weekend trip to Reno. It’s only a 5 minute walk from Cal-​Neva. It’s a pretty big bar with lots of karaōke choices. It wasn’t too crowded and you didn’t have to wait too long to sing. Definitely were some «usuals» there but it made for a good show. It had a good mix crowd and really friendly staff too. They have a root beer whisky that was suggested to mix with coke and it was amazing, tasted just like root beer!

Had a great time there.
It’s a comfy, cosy looking pub (lot of wood and 4 seaters booth), with karaōke.
Price-​wise it’s pretty cheap for this type of pub.
Friendly waiter, fun staff.
A great diversity of (friendly) local patrons as well.
Place is clean.

Had a lot of good times at this bar comfy, fun atmosphere! With great bartenders who love to joke around… And love the singing and dancing aspect! Can’t go wrong with alcohol and karaōke!

I had heard some scary things about West 2^nd st but some friends and I went in and had the best night ever !!! :)
So many nice and fun people everyone sang along with the singers, WE had a great time. I have gone back a few times and it is ALWAYS fun. If you are looking to be the star on stage this is not the place but if you are looking for a fun group singing with fun people this is it

Truly my home away from home
I’ve made so many friends here… Been coming here about twelve years now…
Everyone from the owners (Mark n Molly) to the bartenders/​kjs/​waitress
(Mark, Molly, Amanda, Rachael, Miranda, Daniel, Russell) are all amazing n always make me feel comfortable when I am there.
Thank you west second street bar for always keep a smile on my face while there and being my getaway!

I’ve heard this is a great place to get into a fight. The bouncers look like they’re spoiling for one. Young schmucks. The karaōke is pretty good. One of the owners does nothing but watch freakin’ golf and everybody in the goddam bar has no choice but to stfu and watch with him.

Typical dive bar with karaōke. Song list is good and karaōke DJ was nice. We had a good time!

Came here for a bachelorette party and literally had the worst experience. We got here early and probably dropped at least $ 500 on drinks. Bartender mike was great and then after his shift ended 2 older people took over and were completely rude. They ignored us when we tried to get drinks then told us they didn’t have certain types of alcohol when we were already served it by the other bartender. And to top it off we were told we sang too many songs when we only sang 5 and they took the rest of our requests off the list. My friend ended up slapping the Dj because she was being so rude and we ended up leaving but in all honesty she deserved it. All in all drinks are good Karaōke would have been fun but most of the people that work there are complete assholes for no reason.

The karaōke lady is a mean lady, I came here for a night of singing for a Bachelorette Party but they lady said that we sang 5 songs so she took our names off the list.

I have been going to this place for karaōke and fun for many years now and it never disappoints. Just recently, while in Reno, I took customers out for karaōke and cocktails. I love the openness of the bar, the casual nature of the karaōke and how well received my group was. From the bartenders to the KJ this place is awesome. The prices for drinks are less than what you expect.
I brought 20 people on a Saturday and a Monday and you would have thought we had our own private party set up. I had heard a bad review just recently on Unilocal and could not believe it based on my past experiences and certainly not by my most recent.
West 2^nd Street bar is the Cheers of karaōke and party. Love this place!!!

It’s not about where you go, but who you’re with. I think that’s how the saying goes, and my experience at West Second St. Bar on a Saturday night couldn’t have epitomized this more!
After catching Avenue Q at the Knit, a friend suggested we go do karaōke, and said she’d seen a bar around the corner that did it all the time. She’s kinda new to Reno and didn’t know where she was taking us, and those of us in the know sorta just went with the flow, laughing and talking under our breath as we approached the bar. If you’ve lived in Reno for a while, you know exactly what we were saying, but truth be told, I’d never been here before, so I didn’t know if it was true or not.
Our group of 6 walked in, took a seat in the corner of the bar with a good view of multiple karaōke screens, and began thinking about what we’d sing and, more importantly, what we were drinking. In true form I checked out the taps and had my pick in mind, so I ordered it up with everyone elses. Well, here’s PRO TIP 1, steer clear of anything interesting on draft here because it’s probably skunky or flat, as was the case with mine. You’re safest with domestic products or booze here. From then on out it was Coors Light bottles and Red Headed Sluts for all!
The crowd was very interesting, and while bad singing, studded with the occasional standout makes up a good karaōke night, this night was special thanks to the singers, song selections, attire, and love ballads that were sung. Everything from Eminem to Dr. Dre hits from the early 2000’s, to Dolly Parton, Jon Bön Jovi and even the Bush classic Glycerine, which was sung as a serenade to a young man’s wife, made appearances.
I never got up to sing, but instead, sang every song from my seat, and danced around like a fool when an old dude decided to sing Alan Jackson’s Little Bitty! The guy didn’t know what to make of himself when I circled round him do-​si-​do. Our crew found a ton of great songs, and were definitely a hit with the regulars, especially Denise R, who was constantly asked for her number by the DJ.
So the moral of the story is that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover, or the news stories written about it. You’ve gotta experience it for yourself. We all had fun and I’d go back again, if I were brought there by someone else!

This place was my place for karaōke but tonight the dj was a d***. Putting your hands in patrons faces is unacceptable. It was my sisters birthday and he took his anger of another patron out on her. We were waiting to sing and got called all types of names. I will never go again and will never recommend this place.

I do like the bartenders and how close it is to the Rejo strip… but the karaōke dj was a joke… awful music unless you are over 55 yrs old. No one in the dance floor., we tried to boost up the energy of the night and the dj had bus kicked out… I have been to this bar about 4 times at various bar crawls this is the time I seen this karaōke dj Andy only bad experience. He is a racist pig if you see him do don’t come in.

I have been to this bar a few times and never had any issues, but on July 12^th, 2014, I had a horrible experience at this place. The DJ had exchanged some words with someone in my party and I got up to advise him that we were leaving and he put his hands in my face, cursed at me, called me names, and flipped me off.
If I had done something to deserve this out pour of negative attention then I could let it go, but I was just trying to do the right thing and remove myself and my party from the situation. No establishment should ever allow the people it hires to speak to patrons in the manner that I was spoken to that night.
I will never come back to this place nor will I recommend it to anyone else.

Talk about the place where everybody knows your name… I love West 2^nd Street Bar! I have been visiting this bar for years and just realized that it’s my home away from home! It’s got everything I want in a bar… cool folks, affordable drinks and karaōke everyday. I love the owners: Molly & Mark, just because… they are genuinely good people! They make an awesome Ketel Kazee… smoothe n yummmmmy!!! I love me some Daniel, bartender and KJ… super awesome guy! My girl, Amanda, who is the a reason why we kept coming back-​she took care of us and made us feel at home! Recently, met the new KJ, Miranda who is super fun and awesome too! The Security staff: Mea’alii (Mikey) and Mike are always looking out… making sure all is copastetic! This is a great spot to stop in, have a drink or two, join in karaōke, or drink some liquid courage and get up and belt out your favorite song! It’s fun and really feels like home… Thanks to my friends at West 2^nd Street Bar for making my Reno trips worth the 3hr drive!!! Keep up the great work!!!

Great fun, good prices, outstanding décor. I can live without the singing, but still a fun place

My favorite karaōke Place. Been going there for over 10 years off and on. Same karaōke kj too he’s a good guy. Place gets a little rough on certain nights but one of my favorite places

Oh man I can’t believe this place is still up after that shooting in the summer of 2010. Long story short, 4 dudes fired 50 shots at each other at point blank range. One died, surprisingly.
This place on Friday and Saturdays are packed with wannabe gangbangers that want to get their stripes. Full of little midgets that talk tough. Ask around and you’ll find that alot of the patrons moved to Reno from Stockton, CA. Just a bunch of gangster rejects that driven out of their own neighborhoods and feeling butthurt about it. So what else is better, than to pick on a vulnerable town full of white kids claiming they represent MS-​13. They think you Renoites are a bunch of pushovers.
Drink prices are alright, but all the sex offenders and hookers are gonna give you a negative vibe throughout the night. They’ll do anything to deceive and hustle you for a ride and drink. I remembered this creepy midget black dude in a flasher trench coat harass me and my girlfriend every time we walked past to get to the bus station 6 blocks away.
I met some random chick to have a drink with. I put down my money thinking I am just buying MY OWN drink, and then she got hers, drank her shot glass and told the bartender that I AM PAYING FOR IT. Fucking trick-​assed, bitch-​assed, hoe. And all the dudes here are impoverished low-​baller motherfuckers that woof around too fucking much.
However, the bouncers are really nice to me. I’d still go to the Waterfall or Divinity next door though.
The music here makes me want to kill someone. The people that regularly come here makes me want to kill someone. The hoodrats in this place (which congregate here after the 2:10 got shut down) make me want to go kill a bitch.

Okay, fine. This is the second time I didn’t Unilocal before I visited, but I’m actually kind of glad that was the case. I didn’t experience anything negative here. As a matter of fact, this was probably the most enjoyable bar my boyfriend and I attended during our 3 nights in Reno – and we went to a standard 21^st-​birthday handful of them.
We wandered in kind of by accident. I’d seen the place on our first night there, as we were walking to the hookah bar next door. It was a Friday night, and it was PACKED. From the outside, it looked like it might be one of those slightly pricier establishments, though, so we only went Sunday when we discovered the Waterfall was closed and we were tired of walking.
I wish I would have caught the bartender’s name. She was awesome. It was 2 days past my birthday at this point, and both my boyfriend AND I got free drinks still, and she was funny and friendly and just made the experience awesome. Plus, there was karaōke (lots, mostly fantastically bad).
Also, the bathrooms weren’t THAT bad. They weren’t fancy, but I wasn’t nervous about using them or anything. And the drinks were cheap enough that at this point, I can’t remember anything else to review on because I had plenty of them. So yeah, this place is fine in my book.