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Avalon Bar

4 star rating
based on 35 reviews

Category: Nightlife  [Edit]

820 W 19th St
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 515-4650
  • Hours:
    Mon-Sat 2:00 p.m.-1:00 a.m.
    Sun 2:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
  • Price Range: $
  • Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
  • Parking: Private Lot, Street
  • Good for Groups: Yes
  • Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
  • Outdoor Seating: No
  • Music: DJ
  • Best Nights: Fri, Thu, Wed
  • Happy Hour: No
  • Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
  • Smoking: Outdoor Area/Patio Only
  • Coat Check: No

35 Reviews for Avalon Bar

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Photo of Britney W.

 

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Britney W.

Costa Mesa, CA

5 star rating
05/15/2008

please avalon, do not turn into farsi wednesdays..

i like it here. i like it here so much, if you ask me where i want to go at night (any day other than monday cause they aren't open on mondays) i'll say avalon. i back it. it's small, it's cheap, good music, i see a lot of ppl know, and there are two randoms who take up the entire dance floor on wednesday's with their new-wave icecapade inspired moves, which you cant help but watch like a ten-car highway wreck.

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8

8

L D.

Huntington Beach, CA

5 star rating
05/07/2008

"Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name"

Avalon Bar:

Cozy. Dim lighting. Great decor. Excellent drinks. Try the sangria. The bartender makes great soju drinks and shots. Cheap drink prices. Chimay, Spaten and Blue Moon on tap. VIP room. No locks on restroom doors. 41DUB (dubstep) every other Sunday. Dirty Money (electro) every Wednesday. Good sound system. Friendly people. Comfy seating. Room to dance. Nice, lit smoking patio. Across the street from Alejandro's...which leads me to my next Yelp...

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Taylor S.

Newport Beach, CA

5 star rating
05/12/2008

home away from home.

maybe the 5 stars is for the sangria. maybe it's for the great bartenders. maybe it's for 41DUB. maybe it's for the awesome music. it's probably not for the electro or the people that normally go there..

there's not much to be said that hasn't already been said so i will keep it minimal.

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Miss C.

Newport Beach, CA

4 star rating
04/21/2008

I love this place! Its one of the rare nightspots thats not full of bro's, ho's and pretentious a-holes!
Friday nights have been the best nights for me....but sometimes Weds have been known to go off too. Thats when they had the brown bag special...not sure if they do that anymore. Its pretty tiny, but that just means that even with a small crowd there is still a good vibe. People actually dance here, and the music is usually electronica and the sort. The crowd is quite a mix and I always tend to meet funny friendly people on the patio.

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6

14

Brian P.

San Diego, CA

4 star rating
04/21/2008

Thanks Avalon for turning a boring Friday night into a fun one. Inside the Avalon it's cramp, cool, and dark. It seriously is small though. Be warned that if you have a group larger than six, it gets hard to sit around each other. We ended up splitting up, half at the bar and half on the sofas.

We got there early around 9:30pm and it was almost empty, but that didn't stop a few people from dancing. It starts to fill up around 10:30/11pm and gets a little tight. Beers are $5 and i swear as time passed the bartender started using smaller plastic cups instead of the regular glasses.

Hipsters, average folk, the occasional slutty aunt and her niece... they're all there. It's good times to be had at Avalon.

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6

38

Denise A.

Irvine, CA

3 star rating
04/13/2008

Where do I start...first off I must admit that I do like the dark ambiance of this place with the red lights and candles I also enjoyed the decor from the padded benches lining the walls, to the dark sparkly ceilings, to the art on the wall explaining how to do the worm and a head roll.  $5 beers with a selection of about 5 can't be beat, EXCEPT when I get there at 10:45PM and they are already out of Newcastle.  The music track selection by the DJ was alright and I was happy that is wasn't any top 40, R&B commercial hip hop or rap crap, however this comment may seem a bit bold in saying that the DJ's sucked!  I have quite a few DJ friends and know how to DJ myself somewhat and if you are not playing in your bedroom you need to at least know how to beat match and pick records that should be mixed together.  I am sorry that this sounds harsh, but I am a huge music person and cannot understand how so many people give the DJ such great praise.  There are so many good DJ's in Southern California and EVERY time I have gone to the Avalon they have never been able to mix.  Anyway overall if you go before 11PM and don't have to pay the $5 cover that they charge after it is worth it, but this is probably somewhere I would start my night, not end it.

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79

Khuyen P.

Long Beach, CA

4 star rating
01/23/2008

Hipsterville but I can dig it.
I like dark, small and cozy.
Music rules; dancing is tight [literally].
I wish they had a full liquor license though.

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Richard C.

North Hollywood, CA

5 star rating
12/18/2007

Bourgeois.

So, Sunday night I took a drive down to Orange County.  Costa Mesa to be exact.  I went there to meet with some fellow cyclists.  It was for the Bourgeois Boat Parade Ride.  We met a triangle square and rode down to Balboa Island to watch the rich people hang christmas lights from their yachts/ boats and travel up and down Balboa Island...it was underwhelming to say the least.

But in the end it was a good night of riding, eating and drinking.  When we finished the ride while most people went home, myself and a few of the other riders went down to the Avalon Bar...well, they invited and I came along.

To be completely honest, when we rode up to the bar I was a little apprehensive.  I mean, we WERE in Orange County.  No offense OC'ers, but it's just not my scene.  Anyways, we walked in and the place looked a little bourgie for my taste but I'm always willing to give a place a chance.  It was a cool enough bar.  Dark, low lighting, decent decor, one bartender and very interesting mixture of people...black, white, latino, Persian, Asian.  Felt like home.  I ordered a beer.  One of the guys I showed up with, walked in and ordered his beer.  Next thing I know the bartender is putting a 32oz of Miller High Life into a paper bag for him.  Hmmmm, maybe I had this place all wrong.

The first ten or fifteen minutes was just me taking in the place, the people and the ambiance.  And then I focused on the music the DJ was playing.  Sick.  The rest of the night was music appreciation.  Whoever that DJ was he rocked it all night with some really good fucking music.  Hip-hop, big beat, beat/instrumental, electronic.  The DJ and the two unassuming white kids who walked in and got on the mic blew me away.  Fucking A.  Good company, good music and good conversation.  

The Avalon Bar learned me.

I don't care if they don't serve hard alcohol...the music alone made me give this place 5 stars.

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christina s.

Orange, CA

4 star rating
12/17/2007

I like coming here. I especially enjoy the dim lighting through out the bar. The music that they play in here is also good. None of that R&B, Top 40 bullshit. The feel is very loungey. I just wish that they had a full liquor license. It is only a wine and beer bar. They do have Sojo but that shit makes me sick...... I like the fact that you can dance..... I like that I have never seen any bro's or bro-ho's here...

bathroom is a bit nasty

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101

Kate B.

San Francisco, CA

4 star rating
12/26/2007

Any place that is full of cute surfer/scenesters on Christmas night is a place that needs at least four stars.

This bar is basic, but it's cozy and young and lovely.  The red lights make you feel extra-sexy despite the fact that you're pounding the house-made Sangria out of a plastic cup.  There's a nice spiciness to the brew as well, which is perfect for chilly holiday weather.

Amazing service, good tunes, and fun people dancing on the tiny floor near the DJ space.  

Minus one star for only carrying three kinds of spirits.

Also-- Kevin is an awesome bartender.

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Photo of Parker W.

 

2

4

Parker W.

Costa Mesa, CA

5 star rating
12/26/2007

Having such a fun high energy "dive" bar within walking distance of my house is cause enough for 5 stars, but couple that with great music and cool bar tenders and the deal is sealed. There is a decent mix of hipsters, scenesters, and the errant bro wandering in from Sutra or Goat Hill, as well as just normal people looking to get their drink on.

I have to highly recommend the delicious and potent concoction that is the house Sangria, followed by cheap and trashy PBR. The service is great, and Kevin is one of the coolest bartenders there, he does a good strong pour and knows customer service.

Some of my friends complain that the dim lighting can lead to mistakes, I figure enough of the sangria and you wont remember enough to have regrets.

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Elite '08

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Dave G.

Yorba Linda, CA

3 star rating
11/17/2007

This dive bar is in a weird place.  The outside looks like the back portion to a liquor store.  Since there was no bouncer up front when I arrived, I stuck out my chest like a gorilla and walked in like I owned the place.  No carding.  No cover.  No problem.

Queue the tumbleweed to roll by.  Stop the song playing with an unpleasant needle scratch on the record.

What's this?  Am I the only asian brotha in this joint?  I am.  Another time machine moment.  It was like I was barhopping back in the '90s.

Cool music though.   The women outnumbered the men here (unlike the sausage festival at Detroit Bar from what I heard).

I also now know what this "brown paper bag special" is.  At first I was thinking it was BYOB, then movies taking place in South Central clouded my mind.  After Dave S whispered to me the secret, I nodded in affirmation.  It's a neat quirky thing to serve at a bar.  What's hotter than blonde beach babes taller than me toting around that brown bag?  Sweet.

After noticing this place doesn't serve the stiff stuff, I stuck to a Newcastle and then tried Stella beer.  Although blonde beers and hefeweizens aren't my top choice in beers, Stella is not bad at all.

Unfortunately, my liver doesn't like beer as much as other libations so I had to visit the bathroom a handful of times.  The bathroom is small, flooded and nasty.  You have to hold your breath each time as you pee faster than a fire hydrant working overtime.

As I'm passing through the small dancefloor, I accidentally bump into this girl for the third time.  She decides to end the awkwardness with a big hug and repositions the hat I'm wearing in a much hipper stance.  Unfortunately, she squeezed too hard and my bladder signaled another trip to the bathroom.  Ugh, time to hold my breath again.

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429

Ankur K.

Irvine, CA

2 star rating
11/17/2007

Bangin' electro and house music.   That's what saves this place from itself.  It's got the size and appeal of a 1973 1-bedroom in Carson.

$5 cover.  For what?  It's a dive bar.

$5 for a non-alcoholic beer.  Even the bartender said "I can't believe they charge $5, it doesn't even have alcohol!"

Yeah, $10 in, my conversation with one of the most dashing girls I've ever seen in person, ends prematurely, as she's with 2 girlfriends.  That's cool.

1 hour in, and I say "Hi what's your name?" to a seemingly approachable and nice person.  She touches her hair, and pretends like she's deaf.   I politely inquire again, "What's your name?" and she stupifiedly turns around, and walks.  

Do I look like I aim to finesse that @ss this instant?  I could wait until tomorrow, you know.

Buzzkill.  

Come here if you love house/electro music.  And people who suddenly go deaf.

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Photo of Karen C.

 

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62

Karen C.

Los Angeles, CA

3 star rating
11/21/2007

This is a pretty cool dive bar.  On the plus side, they have Soju which is very hard to find and cool bands like the Growlers play there occasionally. On the bad side it's super small and they do not have a great alcohol selection.  The people that hang out there are a step above the usual bimbos I run into in Orange County.  So if you are not really picky about the dive bars you hang out at and you don't want to run into the usual OC croud go to this bar.

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Elite '08

115

117

Dave S.

Brea, CA

4 star rating
09/30/2007

My brain hurts this morning after hanging out at the Avalon last night. Oh, congrats to me first of all, this is my first review on yelp. I popped my yelp cherry. word.

so yeah, The Avalon. It's right across the street from the Detroit. We got in there kind of early, it was my first time there, and I was immediately aware of how small it is. But what it lacked in size it made up for in fun. The DJ was great, playing some 80's hip-hop standards once things got going and some non-irritating house when the night was young. we got pretty damn tipsy on Stella, and when I questioned the bartendress about the vodka substitute, she gave us free samples. By about 11 there was a pretty decent amount of people on the dance floor, some very shameless in their gyrations..  awesome.

To the tall black guy grinding on the short asian girl: thank you for hours of laughter.. i truly love you two.

All and all a very fun night. I'll definitely go back.

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Elite '08

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62

Andrew E.

Phoenix, AZ

3 star rating
12/12/2007

This is a great dive bar across the way from Detroit. Nice eclectic crowd, and mellow tunes. Negative stars for no jukebox, and no beers or hard liquor. Sorry, a must have where I'm from.

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vidal ..

Rosemead, CA

4 star rating
01/15/2008

the place looks kind of dumpy from outside but has clean tiki feel once you get inside. setup wise its tiny room with some plush cusions and leather booth type couches across the joint. theres also a small wanna be VIP area in the back but every night ive gone it wasnt busy enough to really be in use. musically they play a variety of things but none of it was commercial rap. usually it was some pretentious OC sceneters playing electro and whatever other ironic downloads they could find. other nights it was deep house and tech house with OC some of the OC house crew.  its been awhile since ive been but i remember them needing a better sound system. OC gets a bad rap but this place is not bad. id come here again. plus there's always some good looking people in there.

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Elite '08

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andrya h.

Long Beach, CA

3 star rating
07/31/2007

He paid for my "brown paper bag special".

I was charmed of course..

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Photo of Chris R.

 

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Chris R.

Costa Mesa, CA

3 star rating
07/30/2007

3.5 Stars

-1 star = Beer, Wine, and Soju only.  (No real booze)
So right off the bat we are dealing with a 4, seating was limited.  And while the Dj was playing some amazing stuff, am I the only one who noticed the decibel level was so high I couldn't hear the nice young woman sitting beside me.  I've been told it's because the owner is a old punk rocker, who's ears have died slowly over the years.  

Dear lady bartender when someone comes in for the first time and asks for a Jack n Coke don't look down your nose at them.  It's totally OK to just say sorry we're only beer and wine.  

At any rate, the location is tricky due to the amount of police activity.  Any time you go past the DMV you are really rolling the dice.

Odds of getting pulled over, 7 of 10.

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Johnny S.

Huntington Beach, CA

4 star rating
07/06/2007

Chimay on draught,  excellent.  Music/DJs, great. Creative cocktails with just beer and wine (and soju), ingenious.

Sometimes noisy, sometimes overcrowded, sometimes dead--this is the roller coaster of nightspots, but that is no dissuasion as I always have a super time getting my groove on and enjoying a cold Chimay. And if one of the best beers available on the market is not enough of a reason to go to this bar, I don't know what is.

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David H.

Santa Ana, CA

4 star rating
06/29/2007

The only problem I have with Avalon is that most of the times I've been there, I'm the only one old enough to actually have seen the bands in the pictures on the walls live back in the day.  But I'm an old fart so I shouldn't hold that against the bar.  This place will get a fifth star when they get hard alcohol.  I don't drink soju.  A pretty good selection of beers--I usually go for the Chimay.  It's dark, it's cool, the music is usually pretty good, and the crowd is young and hip.  I don't go out on weekends so I can't vouch for Friday or Saturday, but the odd Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays i've gone have been fun.

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173

Tina D.

Santa Monica, CA

4 star rating
03/30/2007

The decor of this bar is really awesome.  Kinda late-sixties mod, very clean, small, low lighting, very hip.  The bartenders are really nice and the last time i was in there the bartender put on a 1974 movie called Mechagodzilla.  so badass!

They don't have a full liquor license but can make most drinks you would ask for.  Beer, wine and the vodka-substitute "SoJu."  I like it.  Try their mojitos.  Yummmm.

I like this bar better than Detroit bar, which is literally just across the street.  There are DJs just about every night that play really great music and there's rarely a cover, if at all.
I'd give it 5 stars if it had a full liquor license and if they opened before 10.

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Elizabeth D.

Long Beach, CA

4 star rating
04/27/2007

Hands down- my #2 favorite bar in Orange County. Maybe I've got a thing for low lighted places, but this one is the best!
Sure, there are nights when it's "scensterland", but on the nights it's not, it's fabulous. Great bartenders, great drinks, and great Djs. I've never been let down. It's a little small and there is only one restroom, but it's not enough to deter me from all of the other great qualities Avalon possesses.
The decor is lovely. Dim lit, clean, low sitting cushioned benches, and T.V.'s showing some of the most interesting movies I've ever seen. P.S. Whoever finds those movies, you and I need to update my queue on Netflix.
They have a limited liquor license so they use Soju, which honestly makes a lemon drop martini, key lime martini, or mojito at par with a normal vodka or rum drink, if not better.

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Ryder P.

Los Angeles, CA

4 star rating
06/08/2007

Rolling into Avalon on a Sunday night is pretty much hit or miss. The low-key, nondescript exterior with a red light glowing above the entrance is about as inviting as I need for a bar. And though the place could jam just under a hundred people in there, a lonely pair of DJs spun old funk to an empty dancefloor while "Quadrophenia" played silently on a tiny TV above the bar. Ordering up a soju-mojito for six bucks was even more reason to stick around. Not wanting to interrupt the couple chatting at the bar, I asked the bartender Jason why there wasn't more people here. DJs spinning great music; no cover charge; relatively cheap drinks; dark, stylish interior design. He shrugged. "Tomorrow's Monday."

So some people (myself included) have to work Monday morning. In the idiom of Tyra Banks: so WHAT?!

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Tim S.

Laguna Hills, CA

5 star rating
07/04/2007

Anyway, I've been going to this place from day one. It started out a little slow but is now packed most nights. And by packed I mean packed with super cute chicks, amazing DJs and tons of fun. It's not Detroit Jr. It's totally different. Detroit is move of a venue for great bands and although Avalon has bands lets face it, it's just to small for that. They are both great places to go and you can walk back and forth and enjoy the fun of both.

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Jon R.

Costa Mesa, CA

4 star rating
07/04/2007

Avalon is an intimate neighborhood bar across the street from Detroit Bar. These guys have been doing some interesting things to showcase emerging bands and DJs.  I'd recommend checking them out on Wednesdays after 10pm.  One drawback of Avalon is the lack of hard liquor, but that is easily remedied by walking across the street to Detroit for a cocktail.

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Michael A.

Santa Ana, CA

4 star rating
06/29/2007

I rounded up--this should be 3.5, for now.

Rarely a cover, free PBR on Wednesdays at 10 (get there right then or they run out), and the "Brown Bag Special"--a 32oz Miller High Life in a brown paper bag, for $5.

The music and the crowd vary a lot. Sometimes there's cheesy house, sometimes you get underground rock, sometimes you get some hipster combination in between. Similarly, sometimes it's packed and sometimes it's empty and it's just you, your friends and the bartender, trying to ignore whatever thing might be happening at Detroit Bar that night across the street for more money.

I still haven't quite figured this place out in terms of when's good to go or not, but it's fun with friends and I'm still looking for the right night. Still, I've never had a particularly bad time here, and i've had some good ones when the right people came with me on the right days, which is saying something.

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Laura V.

CA

4 star rating
11/21/2007

alright, i threw out my old review because i wrote it at a time when i was filled with bitterness...  i haven't been here in a while.  my friends used to DJ on wednesday nights, and it was a great way to break up with week.  on nights when there were only about 10 people in the bar you could get wasted on the free pabst they served from 10-11.  bryan's band played here and they never wanted them to play again.  the smoking area in the back is TINY.  of course now they have that new patio in the front that is quite nice.  it's small, it's dim, and if you're lucky there's old fashioned porn on the TV.

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Justin W.

Costa Mesa, CA

3 star rating
11/09/2006

This place has so much going for it yet I can't bring myself to give it more than three stars.  The exterior is only recognizable by the blue light you can see from the Detroit Bar parking lot across the street.  I had no idea it was even a bar until a friend brought me there.  The interior though is very modern and seemingly Detroit Bar's little brother.  I actually do like it better than Detroit in that it isn't quite as over the top.  

They have a very nice selection of beer but everything is a dollar more expensive than it should be.  They no longer have $2 Pabst, it is now $3.  The rest of their beer averages $5 and goes as high as $9 for Chimay which seems to be taking off as the upscale hipster beer of choice as of late.  (keep in mind it is white label so it is not as bitter/strong aka good as the red or blue label.)  The best deal in the entire bar though is the "brown bag special" which is a 32oz High Life for $5. Sadly, I've only had it come in a brown bag one time.  

Mixed drinks are very good for not having a full liquor license.  Soju is a very good substitute for some mixed drinks and a very bad substitute for other.  The bloody mary's were amazing on Thursday night but when we asked for one on Friday night at 10:30pm they said they were out.  (Keep in mind the place was still dead so it wasn't as if they had just run out.)  Also on Friday night the bar tender didn't know how to make over half the drinks on the menu. "Sorry, I've never had someone order that before."  Their drink menu is not that extensive and there is a limit to the things they can make so I didn't think that reflected very well on the skill of some of the bartenders.  

The last reason I give the place only three stars is possibly a reason why others would add a star to it.  There is rarely a large crowd.  I've been 5-7 times by now over a 3 month span of time on Thur-Saturday nights.  The place has only been really full one time.  The DJ's are very good every time I've been there as they were not spinning House or any other stuff that is the typical scene at other places.  They mix in good amounts of indie rock/dance and some old school hip hop to liven it up.  When people do get on the dance floor it is fun but so far that has only been the case one time.  

Give it time; this place should shape up to be something pretty awesome.  Oh yeah, and I've never seen a cover here unlike at Detroit where it is $10 on a Friday/Saturday night.

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Tina R.

New York, NY

5 star rating
07/09/2007

oh, Avalon, how I miss thee...I'm coming back to California and damn straight I'm spending one (or two, or three) nights inside your brown-wooded walls, drinking your soju appletinis and mojitos, and dancing to your DFA/disco tracklist...the best memories of my last two years are inside your hallowed (close together) walls...I only hope the crappy Newport Beach crowd doesn't continue to discover you: girls in stilettos, back off!

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138

Amanda P.

Long Beach, CA

3 star rating
10/17/2006

I gave it 3 stars because you cant give 1/2 stars, so I rounded up. There was a time when this was my "Cheers" bar; the place where everyone knows your name. Now its mainly the bartender that knows my name, and thats because he's one of my best friends! (Go see Sean Mulvihill on Sunday and Tues. nights) The skeevy punk kids gradually were pushed aside to make way for the ... hair. Lots of hair. Hundreds of dollars worth of hair product in one bar. I hardly know anyones name, though thats probably for the best becuase Im trying to air out my reputation. I need some bigger windows, I think.
There is no hard alcohol. Sozu (sp?) is substituted for vodka. There is Sangria. And beer. Good beer. Everything is expensive. Thank god people value pills around here- I trade em. Sean will play his obscure rock n' roll records if hes there- otherwise you get to listen to crappy pulsating house music the rest of the week. Ugh. Oh but there is $2 Pabst. God thats so hip isnt it?

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Bryan R.

Irvine, CA

2 star rating
02/28/2007

This place is alright.  I come here with Bryan M. (who reviewed this place as well) every once in a while.  

A lot of the nights advertise FREE PABST from 10-11, but they always seem to be out of Pabst on those nights.  Last week a bunch of us got Budweiser's instead and no joke they all tasted exactly like BLOOD, which led to the inevitable, "What's a vampire's favorite beer?  A BLOODWEISER" but anyways.

Bloody beer isn't cool.  I witnessed several other people attempt to return their beers due to the bloody taste and the bartender didn't care in the slightest.  Who knows what was actually in these beers, but it kind of scares me away from frequenting this place.

It's not that bad though.  It's pretty small.  Good atmosphere I guess.  Definitely a Detroit Jr, but I like that.  Not into the fancy pants Detroit crap.

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UPDATE WEDNESDAY 10/24/07 -
You know, I almost want to give this place 3 stars.  Almost.  I felt like I've watched it grow up, from being a dimly lit enclave with not more than 5-10 people to a full on (tiny) dance club, packed to the brim with all of 30 young thousandaires.  But no, unfortunately the bartenders are LIARS.  When I order a whiskey on the rocks or a whiskey and coke or WHATEVER I order, please don't start pouring me a 24% abv sweet rice wine and soda.  While others may not notice in their drunken oblivion, I definitely do.  It's cool if you don't have your liquor license, just take the 5 seconds out of your (not so) busy night and explain that.  And please, whatever you do - don't charge more for drinks than the famously expensive Detroit Bar across the street does!!  They have plush seating!  And bands!!  I ended up going to the Detroit tonight halfway through the Avalon to use the bathroom (the bathrooms at Avalon were overflown with shit and toilet paper - disgusting).  Not only were the drinks at Detroit cheaper, but the Melvins were playing!!  And when the Melvins weren't playing, they were playing songs that were actually FUN to dance to, such as Gloria Estefan, and that "LOOK OUT WEEKEND, HERE I COME, SATURDAYS WERE, MADE FOR FUN" freestyle song from the 80's.  What do you have going for you, Avalon?  Some DJ playing Justice over and over again??  Jimi Hendrix mashups???  Fuck you, Avalon, I read you were a "punk bar".

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Bryan M.

Oakland, CA

3 star rating
02/14/2007

i almost want to give it four stars for having free pabst from ten to eleven every wednesday. but i know there's more to life than free beer. the avalon is such a hipster bar that they have a photograph of minor threat on the wall. oh, the irony. i'm probably too drunk to write a good review, but the intoxication is not from that dark, small room in costa mesa, so there's no bias. they have a fair selection of beer and some nice specials. for five dollars, you can get a brown bag special (32 oz of high life), but you can also get that down the street for $1.35. go to this bar if you feel like straight chillin, and listening to some good tunes, especially if its a wednesday.

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june l.

Costa Mesa, CA

3 star rating
07/12/2007

teeny tiny, and no hard liquor.  no hard liquor!  that deserves a star deduction.

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Hoshi B.

Aliso Viejo, CA

3 star rating
12/27/2006

Good, small bar... better than Detroit which is across the street.

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