Capt’n Jim’s

This place has so much potential but unfortunately I thought it was only okay. It was just taken over by new owners. It looked pretty clean. It didn’t feel too friendly. We had a Absolute vodka and a Tecate during happy hour and it was $ 10. The bartender was a bit in the clouds. A woman came in with a service dog and because she didn’t have the actual papers for the dog they had to leave so just so you know bring your papers if you bring your dog.

Great friendly bar lady called eva! Beer served in iced ice cold glasses. Though I didn’t have one I believe their pickled eggs are legendary ! Worth a lot more visits!

This is a great spot to stop in for a beer if you are passing through or out at Ocotillo Wells. It’s a charming spot in the Salton City area. I love the nautical themed nick knacks and pictures. It’s Friday night and they have a DJ. They also gave a jukebox. They serve some food. Wings, frozen egg rolls, frozen pizza. Tonight I was there and was their first ever credit card customer on the system. Bud and bud light on draft. The bathroom was very clean.

Love Capt’n Jims! This is a very casual place to stop in and have an ice cold beer or drink. They are friendly, they have outdoor seating, nothing fancy but if you like to feel the breeze when it’s not 110, it’s comfortable enough. It is very popular with the desert crowd and they have a Halloween party during desert season that’s a lot of fun too! Drinks are very reasonable and parking is abundant!

Very friendly local hangout. Full bar with snacks. Pool table darts and jukebox Patio available.

We stopped in at Capt’n Jim’s on Saturday on our way to the Salton Sea State Park for a campout, I had one beer and left — the rest of my gang loves this place — I’m not sure why.
The next day — on the ride home — I discovered Holly May’s Bar & Grill — about a mile and a half north and LOVED it! Adiós Jim, Hello Holly May!

Captain Jim’s is the coolest bar in the area. Been in there during the day on the way to desert offroading trips. The locals are very cool, buy them a beer and sit outside and they will give you the lowdown on what is going on and tips on the best offroading areas. The beer is very cold and the owners friendly like everyone else there.

So, I tell my surfing buddy Chris that I’m road tripping to the Salton Sea. Chris is a pretty hard core surf nut, so much so that he wouldn’t have the slightest idea what to do in an inland sea.
«Go get a drink at Capt’n Jim’s,» he says. «David Eggers is a bartender there. He’s a legendary surfer. But he kind of burned out on drugs and was diagnosed with schizophrenia. So now he lives in the desert.»
An internet search verified the basic facts of his life, and it also told me that the bar is owned by Jim and Barbara Eggers. So, yes, I checked out Capt’n Jim’s.
The defining characteristic of Capt’n Jim’s is not the bar itself, but rather it’s the setting. Salton City is very much the definition of the middle of nowhere. On the northern side of the Salton Sea, you have the spreading fingers of Palm Desert and Indio, golf courses and retirement communities inching further and further from Los Angeles. To the south, you have miles upon miles of agriculture. But in the middle? This desolate landscape of 26,000 plots, named with hope, «Salton City», mostly uninhabited, but dotted with the occasional man or woman who is either out here waiting to die or out here escaping from something. Because if you’re looking for someone, this is the last place to look. Not even a hint of a Starbucks, let alone a Del Taco.
Jim’s has more NASCAR imagery than is generally necessary. $ 2.50 domestics. A very underwhelming but $ 2 bloody mary. And not a shred of evidence of anything to do with surfing.
Our bartender was an older woman. I didn’t bother to ask about David Eggers. If he is there, he certainly doesn’t want to be found. Or at least he doesn’t want to be the legendary surfer.