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i'll wax a few
Bikini lines
'bout Itsy, bitsy
tiki dive
bar located
fifteenth and grand
avenue
facade, a stand
of bamboo
there since '46
the down and out
the cool and hip
sters hang
in this old bar
best damn dive
cenpho, by far
where there must be
a "tooth for one"
drink special
because everyone
was missing
'least a couple teeth
canines, molars
hit delete
but what the f*ck
they drink their lunch
dinner too
the downtown drunks
mixing it up
with those down there
i call the light rail
millionaires
ain't bankin' on
the rails arrival
BL won't need it
for survival
slingin' drinks
for sixty years
so what, the LR
don't stop here
gotta love
coin-op, pool table
juke box, willin'
always able
to rock the house
idiot proof
feed it dollars
walah, phoof
you're a dj
can't go wrong
even my mom
could pick good songs
'hood, bit shady
bring your daring
meet the tweaked out
midriff baring
hooker-esque
gal, there beside me
how much momma
you to ride me?
no, I didn't
ask her that
but there i was
and there she sat
suckin' down
a glass of beer
i am brave
and I don't fear
much, but when
she turned and smiled
hadn't brushed em
for a while
so cheers, Bikini
keep it real
beers are dirt
drinks, a steal
great place to swizzle
up 'ur noodle
on the cheap
get all bamboozled
even adored
the rude bartender
just wish i had
dentures to lend her
I struggle with the quantity of stars to bestow on this place. Maybe 2.5?
I totally get that this is a dive bar. It is understandable that dive bars are suppose to leave residue on you when you leave. However, they shouldn't leave the lasting impression of scariness that this place does.
I was greeted completely without any admirable candor (not that I should expect it). "What do you want?" doesn't exactly ring in my ears as an invitation of welcome. I guess I also picked this place when apparently no one comes in. There was one other dude there. He looked like Santa Claus' illegitimate child. So, I would hope a hipper crowd parades around when Trunkspace is rocking.
I suppose my biggest complaints are the lack of welcome that the whole place vibed to me; the inability to judge based on clientele (given what was there, I would guess a village of elves); and the lack of any clean surface in the place. Perhaps I am hasty to judge, but I will sit on my 2.5 until a better experience can raise that. I will presumably be drunk for that to happen.
As long as your BO and hair are ironic and you have all your limbs, I am pretty sure you could pick yourself up a hipster here for the price of a PBR.
Friendly, dark, crowded, divey.
The only time I would ever even think of going to Bikini Lounge is on a Tuesday night, when Alex, Tararista, Matty P, or myself are playing music. Cheap beer you can drink right out of the pitcher. Its a place to go get shitty. Who gives a crap that its mostly hipsters hanging out there. The breed of hipster in Phoenix is much less worse than the hipsters you find in Chicago. Also, they are coming and enjoying the awesome real music we are playing them, who cares if they smell. They're more innocently doing the hipster thing, since its somewhat new here. And thats just cute. Hint for dudes: tuck your shoelaces in or cut them off before you enter the bathroom because there is always at least an inch of pisswater on the bathroom floor.
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." ~e.e. cummings, 1955
Bikini is a true dive bar. It is not a bar trying to be your local neighborhood dive, it in genuine; comfortable in it's own skin no matter how gross and disease infested that skin may be; not unlike the loveable PigPen from the Peanuts cartoons. Bikini tries to live up to no one's standards and despite the array of negative things one can say about the place, it is part of its charm and it's charm will win you over.
My friend ordered a tequila the other night.
"Do you want the Well or Jose Cuervo?"
I was shocked so I made the inquiry. "Pardon me; out of curiosity what is your well tequila? What can you possibly have worse than Jose Cuervo?"
"Two Fingers. Some peoplelike it." --matter of factly in between loud bites of her greasy fish and chips from some near by establishment. They don't give a fuck.
Tiki stuff is posted all over of course, but not like Island's or Chuy's this is some real old looking tiki stuff. It somehow avoids the tacky factor and remains dingy. Flawless execution again WITHOUT TRYING.
Even the bathrooms keep it real. Real gross so poo before you go. You do not want to touch anything in here that you can avoid touching.
There is a front and a back door. I assume this is so that if your date's sheet metal worker husband comesin the front door you can easily bolt out the back. I assume this happens all the time here. Never seen it but it looks the type of place. I like that in a bar.
The drinks are cheap and the drinks are strong.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss
P.S. Other points of note
-internet juke box
-DJ every night at 10pm
-Cash only. ATM charges $2.50 I believe.
I came to Bikini Lounge with an open mind. I don't really visit many truly divey bars. creepy people well, creep me out. and I am a big believer in manners and some sort of bar respect.
the first time I came here, it was crowded, and I was meeting up with an old friend. conversating over a cheap pitcher of PBR amongst wanna-bes and bottom feeders, digging the funky music they were playing, made for a good evening.
the next time I came in, it was a totally different story. totally reeked of piss the second I walked in and over-crowded, "to catch a predator" show look-alike perverts loitering. fat greasy bum beast sitting at the bar, taking up two stools, not allowing me to get in and order. ten minutes of trying to get a brew, and we were out of there.
a mangy wild dog stood under a street light barking at us and my friend wigged out and we sheepishly made our way to the car. not a very good part of town either. be aware of kujo on 15th avenue!!!
After visiting this establishment here are a few of my observations. There's two doors, a bathroom, a pool table (why? I don't know), tables and a bar.
Yes, it is that simple. But as we all know, personality can go a long way. The place is small and yes it is a dive. But the beer is CHEAP. When we go, we each get our own mini pitcher of PBR. CLASSY! The bartenders are not ever in a talkative mood, they will ignore you for a while and they won't ever say thank you. The people are cool, mostly. But I always get the impression like at any moment there could be shouting match between two hipsters accusing each other of being a hipster.
On some nights you get a really cool DJ playing stuff you'll never hear anywhere else. I like that.
I like it. It's a little far for me but I'm game if you are!
Bikini, I love you. Love you love you love you.
This is a REAL place, complete with all the things you would expect from a dive bar. It's what I think of when I think of a bar that has been around forever and has withstood the test the time. Plus you have Shane the Wonder DJ playing Thursday and Friday nights-he is THE MAN and has amazing music and knows how to make it all work. Shane is GOLD to me. Real people drink here, even though I would never come in on a First Friday because I don't do the hipster thing. Yeah, the bathrooms are grungy and it's not antiseptic. Go to Scottsdale if you need a McBar and for everything to be perfect and pretty. The Bikini ROCKS if you are a real, non-plastic person.
Okay. I freakin' love dive bars. LOVE THEM, so when my buddy sarcastically suggested the "best bar in the entire world".. I was so there.. It may not be the best BAR, but it is quite possibly one of the best DIVES I've ever been to. Skeezy as hell, complete with no windows, and no lights.. but rather, strings of Christmas lights illuminating the place instead. Bitchy bartenders who are more interested in playing the video bingo that is situated at the end of the bar rather than serve you, terrible bathroom conditions, a pool table that you cannot hit the cue ball into, because for whatever reason, it eats it, never to be returned until you feed it more quarters, a rockin' juke box that allows for hours and hours of sweet sweet beats, cheap ass pitchers of beer, you can seriously get yourself and 5 of your friends schnockered for under $20 and of course, health code violations galore.. hello exposed insulation! It takes a certain person to appreciate the shittiness of shit.. I certainly do, and for anyone else who isn't a snob about where you quench your thirst, absolutely stop in.
OH, the parking situation is really terrible too and its cash only .. but they conveniently have an ATM for us plastic whores.
Cheers!
My dream is to one day ride the bus to Bikini Lounge, get rip-roaring drunk, throw up all over myself and take the bus back home.
Okay, so maybe this fantasia will never come to fruition, but a boy can dream. Right?
Bikini Lounge epitomizes dive bar in a way that is beyond compare. On the one hand, there's something priceless about a bar where there's an over abundance of tackiness (Christmas lights let on all year long, wobbly bar stools, sticky floors, mini-porn photos in the toilet dispensers). But on the other hand, there's something to be said about its less than finer moments (urine reeking bathrooms--come on guys, hit your mark and not the floor, and some particularly odoriferous customers).
Yeah, I'm a fan of Bikini Lounge. FWIW, the last time we were here there was a sign indicating the bar was up for sale. Hopefully, the new owners won't change a thing and perhaps one day you'll see me step off the 15 bus with a wad of money and a devious grin on my face. If such is the case, don't stand too close and don't offer me a ride home. Just push me back on the bus if I'm passed out and sticking to the floor in the men's john.
The last time I went to Bikini, I went up to the bar to buy an enormous, delicious, and miraculously cheap pitcher of blue moon. Beside me sat an old, drunk, and shady character. I tried not to look at him.
He waited until the bartender turned away to fill up my pitcher, and then he leaned in and whispered, "You're cute. I had to wait for her (the bartender) to leave so I could tell you. You know, the creepy old man rule."
As soon as she came back, he turned away and stared down in to his beer.
That's right, folks. Cheap blue moon and the bartender enforces a "Don't Be a Creepy Old Man" rule. What else could you possibly want in a bar?
Lately, nights at the Bikini seem to end with cops, dogs, fights, or vomit. I swear, it gets more absurd every time. I'm on a self-imposed sabbatical.
Now it gets five stars.
The Bikini during First Friday is a blast, hands down - probably the best place to hang out in… Read more »
Where to start with this "gem" of a dive bar.
Parking: This can be a risky situation depending on the level of love you have for your vehicle of choice, which I have none. There is no parking lot per se. There is a small lot adjacent to the music venue next door. Other than that, you are on your own on either Grand Ave or whatever the closest side street is. On said side street appears to be some sort of mechanic/junkyard/chop shop. So if your car goes missing after being at the Bikini, look there first.
The scene: I don't recall there being any windows in this fine establishment. This always leads me to the conclusion that they don't want people to see the inside until they are already in. The booths feel like they may fall apart at any second while you are sitting on them. The cushioning is nonexistent in them. Probably wore out some time during the Carter administration. They do have a pool table, but I am not sure there were any balls or sticks. So do the math. Oh yeah, just check out the ceiling when you go and ask yourself if it is up to code or not.
The bartenders: On the particular night I was there, the two female bartenders may or may not have had a full set of teeth between them. They both appeared to be in their early to late sixties and one or both may have done some hard time.
With all of that being said. The beer is cheap. I have turned down my nose to Budweiser for a while now, but enjoyed a mini-pitcher of it recently. I mean $3 for a pitcher really can't be beat. If a friend should drag you here, go, if just for the experience and the street cred you will garner for saying you went to the Bikini Lounge one night... And survived!
I love the Bikini Lounge. For those out there that know me, you might find this hard to believe, because I typically require a modicum of ambiance, attentiveness from waitstaff, and clean bathrooms from the places that I frequent.
And Bikini Lounge provides absolutely NONE of this! But for whatever reason it works, and I don't wind up wanting to run out the door and jump in a vat of antibacterial solution...go figure.
Bikini Lounge is the epitome of a dirty dive bar, complete with shady Grand Ave location, bitchy bar staff that looks like they want to cut you if you make the cardinal mistake of trying to pay with a credit card, and on the positive, a kickass jukebox.
I was in there Friday night after a terribly stressful day and proceeded to knock back about 5 small pitchers of Bud Light by myself, and embarrass myself later on in the night, you know, typical Friday.
But what was atypical was the fact that I spent under $20 and I even bought a couple rounds for friends!!! Now this is what I call a recession-friendly drinking establishment,,,
I really ended up digging the fact that no one there, staff or patron, gave a shit about me and how I was doing. Strange, i know. It was surprisingly liberating not having to worry about other people around me because NO ONE there was worried about you.
Call me crazy, but I dug it, and I will totally be back.
Bikini gets a 5 some nights and a 1 some nights.
Over the past 3.5 years of the grandevelt explosion, I've been the sad witness to Bikini becoming a trendy dive bar instead of an actual dive bar.
Some nights, this is still the hangout for downtown weirdos, misfits, artists, and random old grouches. If there isn't a DJ, or if the DJ is the wonderful Matty Balls or DJentrification, you can actually carry a conversation or dance.
Most nights, though, it's got an annoying DJ playing for people who really want to be seen - and it's got more of a club atmosphere than one of a place where you can go and enjoy a nice conversation and beer with old friends.
I used to drop in here just to bump into friends from the neighborhood - now I avoid it unless I'm at the Trunk Space anyway.
Bikini Lounge is interesting, and we all know "interesting" can mean good or bad. I don't know that I've decided yet.
You know your grandma's neighbor that lives in the un-restored historic home with 3 non-running cars out front? Yeah...that's the guy who goes to Bikini Lounge. Oh, and it's probably his wife behind the counter. But it works.
It's small, cash only, and you'll probably get your beer in a glass that looks like it's straight from 70's (don't ask me how a glass can look like it's from the 70's...you'll know it when you see it). But who can argue when I can get a Blue Moon for $3 or a pitcher of PBR for $2? And bonus - they have a pool table.
And it's impossible to write a review for this place without talking about the bathrooms. Make sure you stock up on quarters! Need I say more?
I want to like the Bikini Lounge, I really do. After all, it has the makings of a legend: authentic tiki decor, (really) cheap beer, great juke box, interesting people... BUT, the place is filthy, even by dive bar standards-- if wiping the tables down once a week is too much to ask, at least go back to the dim lights!
I realize that going to a cool-baby dive bar when you're not a weekend regular can be, well, not very fun. I've taken countless friends to Time Out and Palo and Yucca and they all hate it the first time, and I'm sure think "what's the big deal about this dump?"
But Bikini was just downright boring when a friend and I arrived there around 8:30p on a Friday night. The two bartenders were the most un-friendly gals of all time. One younger (maybe early 30s?) and one older (weathered mid-50s, gruff and had def seen some shit in her time) couldn't be bothered with just about anything. As I sat there, I wondered, "am I having a bad time cause I'm not a regular?" and decided that no, my fave dives certainly have friendly bartenders at least... and certainly have music!
When we inquired about the lack of any music, we were answered with a grunt and a nod at the (broken) jukebox behind us. We responded that we had noticed the jukebox .... And got back an empty stare.
Ok fine, what's on the tv. The Barret Jackson auto auction? Boring! We asked if we could get a switch to the Suns game. The two leaned in and whispered before responding that "that's what the rest of the bar wants to watch." We look around, not a person in the place was watching it. So my friend polls the bar "do you care if we change it to the suns game!?" no one objected and the bartenders were annoyed but began the process of tracking down the remote and figuring out how to change the channel. Nice try.
Finally around 9:30 things picked up, a DJ started and the bar began filling with the crowd I expected; young (really young!) hipsters - more specifically those who were coming from Trunk Space next door. Apparently there was a show going on but no booze there, so they trickled in and out between sets. The DJ was pretty good, I have to admit. The drinks were cheap ($4 for a well mixed drink) and there were about 8 beers on tap, including imports. and i will give a shout out to mini pitchers, they make me happy and make me feel 22 again.
I don't know, maybe I'm too old to bother "breaking in" another dive. Maybe I'm too old for sassy bartenders in dumpy spaces. But I found this particular classic to be just a little overrated.
1.) 2$ Small Pitchers of PBR.
2.) REAL artists hang out here.
3.) Pablo Luna, William Fucking Reed, Alex, occasionally spin here.
4.) Tuesday Night after midnight don't think that everyone in the room isn't going to be your most intimate friend because the dance floor is skin deep in groovy peeps -oh wait, they DON"T HAVE a dance floor, thats why there are four people pressed up against you because this joint gets hoppin'!
5.) If you are broke, there is always PBR, or someone elses PBR -everyone here knows you here anyway and we'd be glad to share!
6.) Trunk Space is next door. The first place I ever saw Thee Oh No's was at Trunk Space!
7.) Yuppies never come here.
8.) You can be yourself here.
9.) Get here early and be prepared to make new friends because everybody shares booths and pitchers at the end of the night.
10) The Bikini Lounge employs an actual Hawaiian ;-)
oh yeah, and this place is open in the daytime, but nobody ever comes here in groups until after ten, so you can have the pool table allllll to yourselves!!! No waiting for somebody to get out of your way so that you can make your shot (pool is out on Tuesdays, buddy!)
Don't wear anything that you mind getting martini and someone elses perfume on if you come Tuesday night!
Update: I just read another review and WTF! They painted over Mike Little's Murals? Grrrrrrrrrrr!
This is a great place to knock back pitchers. If you can get yourself a table at Bikini, you've got it made, buddy.
I like the diverse crowd of hipsters, grizzled old dudes, tough guys and the occasional homeless guy who comes in with a pillow, asking you where they have blankets. That's a true story. And then he started singing along to a Michael Jackson song, but didn't form any words whatsoever. He sort of looked like N!Xau from "The God's Must be Crazy." I'm gonna miss that guy.
In the restroom, one of those miniature XXX things tumbled out of the vending machine. A gift from God! Or, so I thought. Free half-inch in diameter porn! The instructions told me to rub the chick's binki until it went away, but that didn't work. I tried using a quarter like it was a scratch-off or something, but I just ended up mutilating it. It was macabre. In a weird way, I felt like Lenny from of Mice and Men. I tried to be gentle, but I accidentally killed her.
This place is great. I always have a very, very good time.
Essentially, this place is "Party Foul light" during the week. Sure it's dingy and sure it's cramped, but that's just the spot. Love it or leave it.
I was here the other night for my second time and I dug it. What to say about this place... cheap beer in cheap pitchers, a solid pool table, DJ's with choice taste, and a machine bolted to the restroom wall that dispenses pornographic stickers from the 80's. The interior looks like some sort of post-apocalyptic, bombed out Tiki hut. Sounds like a good time, and it is. The crowd here is pretty diverse, although it's mostly hipsters though (remember: Party Foul light). If you're lucky, you'll see some characters that look like they're out of a Bukowski or Hunter S. Thompson story and that definitely adds to the spice of the place.
I saw a woman there that had to be at least in her late sixties that looked like she dug her way out of a halfway house with a spoon. Once the DJ played a Curtis Mayfield song she started dancing and didn't stop throughout the whole time I was there. Using that image as a metaphor best describes this place: an old soul that's still young at heart.
I always have fun here. Something wierd always happens. I saw the bartenders friend get hit in the eye with a piece of pizza crust. LOL
I have now been to Bikini 4 times, which is enough to get the full experience and discover what Bikini really has to offer. What is it that Bikini has to offer, you ask?
The wonderful stench of urine.
Ear piercingly loud and horrible music.
Miserable bartenders.
The inability to use credit cards which goes against all that is rational.
People desperately trying to be cool.
So, I don't really like it here, but at the same time, I have no problem going here. I guess you would call that indifference and Indifference is the essence of inhumanity.
I live walking distance from this place, but don't go there nearly often enough... Most recently I showed up and they were having a kooky robot party, where people were dressed in robot costumes badly made from cardboard. DJentrification was playing robot-voiced breakdance music. It was quite surreal.
The drinks are cheap and strong. It's kind of ghetto fab. OK, it's a dirty smelly shithole full of drunk homeless bums, hookers, hipsters who drink shitty cheap beer, ugly people who are also soap deficient, and the occasional confused scottsdaleite slumming it. If you like that kinda shit, you will love Bikini.
Uh, this place was really not my scene in any way. It's dingy, cramped, smelly, and pretty much filthy. I love a dive bar but this place and I were just not meant to be.
The only amazing thing? THE PBR's ("Pabst Blue Righteousness").
If not for the PBR's, it'd be down to 1 star, but I'll give you 2 for that one. Take it. You can have it.
This is one of those "dive bars" that are not dive bars at all. Dive bars have local character to them--they're local bars. This place has become just dirty and embarrassing.
I came here regularly 10 years ago as I lived within walking distance. Just recently I went back a few times. If you enjoy drinking with "ironic" hipsters who likely all drive in from Scottsdale to this "hip place", then go ahead. Expect bugs and sewer stench, because whoever owns the place now just doesn't care anymore. The old regulars have long gone and the cool ironic kids have taken over, ironically drinking shitty beer, and ironically becoming drunken assholes.
Two stars for cheap drinks and good music, though. If you can stand the clientele, go for it, I guess. You're better off trying "that one little bar" near your house that you've never managed to go to, the place where there's charm and locals.
Actually, a "No Hipster" policy would make this bar pretty interesting. Full of old alcoholics, hookers, and bums.
OK, so i went to the Bikini tonight and all i get is flashbacks of why i despise this place.
the funny thing is. the place is still exactly how it was the last time i was there. Hipsters out the ass. you can't move around without bumping into a hipster. the only other place where white t's are cool is in the bay area.
I'm serious. you can't swing a hipster around by their ironic opinions without hitting another fucking hipster.
look bitches. if you look like everyone else. it's not exactly hip to look like that anymore. your just another trendy beatnick.
on a more comical side, looks like the Bikini is for sale again. hmm how many times has this place been for sale?
even with a packed house full of hipsters this place will never sell for the couple mill they want for it.
if a buyer does step up. they cant change it. or the clientele will leave. and honestly. the decor isn't worth the money. if you invest that much into it. you kinda want to upgrade a little.
one upside from my last review. looks like they got new pool table. the felt looked taught. kudos. rock on kiddies.
if your looking for class, give this place a pass. the glasses are all etched from the years of… Read more »
I'm a fan of the Bikini, and I knock back a lot of pitchers here while I'm waiting for various bands to set up at the Trunk Space. They really need to make sure their god damn ATM is working all the time, though. There's nowhere to get cash anywhere within walking distance. That is my sole gripe with the Bikini.
Once I went here by myself, which is just really sad, and the dialog happening around me could have been lifted from some trashy novel about the seedy underbelly of big city night life. The bartender brought a shot of tequila to a lady sitting next to me, set it on the bar, and then quickly whisked it away and poured it down the sink.
"Why you dumpin' the shot?" said the grizzled biker lady who had ordered the drink.
"There was suds in it," said the bartender. "I'mma rinse it out and get you a new one. I don't want you getting sick."
"Unh, but the alcohol will kill anything that might make me sick," reasoned the drunk biker lady.
The bartender was incredulous. "But SOAP?"
I've had some crazy nights at the Bikini Lounge. Once I got so wasted I tried to light my cigarette on a lightbulb. What the hell kind of behavior is that? It's the kind of behavior that typifies a night at the Bikini, that's what kind of behavior it is. There are people in this bar in every imaginable state of intoxication, from near-sobriety to falling down drunk. You will get to know many of them very well, better than you might like, because the bathroom door doesn't lock. You'll be barged in on by people who will take a moment or two to notice that you are on the toilet, and you will barge in on people who are sitting two on the toilet, wiping their noses and looking guilty.
As far as dive bars go, this place is great. What's really funny about this place is that they actually make great martinis. Go figure. There's a very extensive liquor selection and the prices are cheap as hell. It's also a handy place to catch a cab, I've never waited more than ten minutes to get a ride home. It's a great dive experience if you live nearby or are catching shows at the Trunk Space. I'm not sure about it as an evening's sole destination, but it could definitely work, if you were in the mood.
I was voted "hottest girl in the room" here last Saturday night. No joke. A whole table of guys, after LENGTHY staring, made it known to my friend while I used the pisser.
I'm not bragging. It was actually true.
This is, perhaps, the worst condemnation you can give the Bikini.
It does have some good sides. It's dirt fucking cheap, the booths are comfy and the music's usually decent. And don't listen to what anyone tells you -- it's not scary, inside or out.
But if you're looking for pretty people, I might head elsewhere. Anywhere.
Otherwise, this is the best you're gonna do.
this used to be my favorite bar.
they also used to use their juke box.
can you please tell me a night when i don't have to let a dj pick my music for me?
also when did someone decide to put a thousand watt bulb on the decrepit celling?
will it ever not smell like sewage in there?
I realize we're in a recession but could you buy some more xmas lights and make it warm and cozy like it used to be?
nice things..
ohhh so inexpensive. such a good place to go when on a budget.
the djs don't suck. thank god.
"It's the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki ROOM.
It's the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki, Tiki ROOM."
I love how people complain about it being tacky, dirty and whatnot. For fuck's sake, it's the epitome of a DIVE. Dives are supposed to be that way! Remember: they are dark so that you can't see the 'roaches.
I love this place! It's up there on the Top 3 Dives. I mean: kitsch decoration, missing toof women bartenders, great music, cheap strong drinks and PBR served in a pitcher -yes, you must drink it out of the pitcher- for $3. I MEAN, what more can you ask for?
Not sure if it's still the case, but Tuesdays are great. It's pants off, dance off time!
The Bikini Lounge is a terrific dive bar, attracting mostly hipsters, bar-o-sauruses, sometimes bums and/or your occasional tweaker, and some slumin-it douches. Honestly I liked it a little more before the smoking ban (seemed to have more ambiance) but it still is a good place for some cheap drinking. What are you gonna do? Times change. Apparently some folks reviewing here didn't see the part about Bikini being a DIVE bar. Yep, so don't expect this to be some neat clean place with where all of the beautiful people go and security guards watch your car in the parking lot. It is what it is as others have said.
Edit: I have now realized that it has lost something - its dimness. There is a huge light near the ceiling that, um, just makes it too well lighted. Bring back my dark tiki bar!
I have been here - numerous times.
I don't like it.
I have quite a few friends who dig this place and are always trying to get me to meet them there... fuck. I don't wanna... ever.
It's not that it's scary or anything - I feel pretty comfortable here usually. It's just that there's always something horribly stinky here - either inside or outside... It's either some person inside who hasn't washed - like ever, or it's like a broken sewage fermentation tank valve or something near the dirt lot you can sometimes park in.
That's another thing - I'm pretty paranoid and OCD anyway, so leaving my car behind to go inside here means I'll just be thinking about people smashing the windows and stealing the radio or something all night instead of enjoying myself.
I kinda feel about this place like I feel about the Rogue, except I don't hate it quite as much. Unless you're a regular here, you'll probably feel like you don't belong. It's somewhat of an "in-crowd" kind of place where being "out" is "in"... I don't know. I guess it's easy for me not to go here since it's kinda far. I hope when I do go there sometimes, they don't read this and decide to spit in my drink or put it in a glass they used to trap roaches until they died.
this place used to be way better, when we were single. now that it's considered the hipster mecca of downtown phoenix, it's just kind of boring.
the drinks are still cheap, the bartenders are still nice, and the place is still a shithole inside, but it's just not as fun as it used to be. still some good dj's like boris and alex and shane, but we're just sick of always seeing the exact same crowd, especially if you're not trying to get laid, like me and my lady.
if someone gets murdered in or near this place, we'll probably start coming back. until then, we'd rather go to real dive bars, not hipster havens.
during the day is cool, so just go there on a sunday afternoon for $1 pbr with all the local bums and crack addicts getting faced.
also it pisses us off that they keep painting over the art in the bathrooms. mike little's murals were awesome.
Do you like trendy shit-music and half dressed plastic surgery queens gyrating all around you, while you pay twelve dollars for your appletini? If your answer is yes, don't bother coming here.
Dive bars are plentiful in Phoenix, but the Bikini is in my 'hood. It's a dirty, unassuming place, with a couple of no-nonsense bartenders and a good jukebox.
There are a couple of rules to follow when visiting the Bikini:
1. Bring cash. Cards aren't accepted, the atm machine is there for decoration only, as it hasn't worked in at least two years.
2. Don't make fun of the guy in the overalls and farmer hat. He's my neighbor.
3. Don't piss off the bartenders. Tip them well, treat them nicely, and don't order more than three dirty martinis. If you are nice to them, they will be nice to you. This includes, but is not limited to: the strength of your drinks, the price of your drinks, and whether or not you get a drink at all. They take no shit.
If you can't handle it, stay away. The place gets crowded enough as it is.
Let's be frank and brief - my favorite bar in Phoenix. Hands down.
The Bikini is one of the last (if not THE last) true "tiki bars" left in the Phoenix area. Originally built in the 1940s, the Bikini Lounge continues to draw a devout following - a following I'm happy to be apart of today. I sincerely hope nothing ever happens to it.
In recent decades, the Bikini's divey atmosphere, no-nonsense bartenders, and stiff, inexpensive cocktails have been exceptionally major draws. Myself and many of my friends have been going for years now.
If you haven't been, well, you better go.
I LOVE this place. I think it's because it's the first bar I visited in Downtown Phoenix. I lived in Tempe/Scottsdale for 7 years and never set foot in a Phoenix based watering hole. I went to places like Axis Radius and Dos Gringos. I didn't even know places like Bikini existed in Arizona.
The first time I visited Bikini Lounge it was hot and crowded. I think it was on a First Friday but it was back in the day when like. nobody went to art walk. (Circa 2003/2004). Anyway, within my first few minutes in the bar the bartender yelled at me for ordering a drink that wasn't on the menu, I was accosted by a crazy psychic and a tranny hooker stole my cigarettes. I think someone also tried to light my coat on fire.
So basically it was awesome. By the end of the night I was drinking cheap beer straight out of the pitcher and dancing in a conga line behind the bar. A year later I moved to Phoenix and Bikini was the first place I went to celebrate.
Quintessential dive with pitchers of PBR and Photo Hunt. This is the kind of place that should just be exempt from the smoking ban, the abundance of quality breathable air almost detracts from the aura. And though I loved the fact we were able to queue up a bunch of early 90's dance hits on the jukebox, that in and of itself is kind of weird for a dive.
I'm sitting at 3.5 stars for now and rounding up. I don't think this is the best dive bar ever (I've been to better in other cities), its good for sure and definitely better than Shady's, but until I'm able to confirm if they serve pitchers of Kamikazes I can't give it "best ever" status.
I can't add anything to the other reviews, but I had to throw in my 5 stars.
Took a temporarily-liberated suburban father of two and a visiting bachelor friend from San Francisco out here this past weekend. They were both extremely skeptical (and scared) as we drove up and parked. They both loved it. The crowd was fantastic. The drinks are nothing special but they do have a decent selection of bottled beers. The music was PERFECT for our midly inebriated state: a live DJ was spinning ridiculous 80s songs from our high school days. A bunch of cute girls were dancing up a storm on one side. Just past them, by the pool table, we spotted an extremely old, wrinkled Mexican dude with a cowboy hat.
This place rocks.
I peeked in here during a First Friday excursion when the Derby ladies were having a bake sale. Having prior plans prevented me from going into this obscenely bannered brick building (how many beer ads does one need hanging on their storefront-is this like flair in Office Space?).
After attending a great music show at the Trunk Space next door, us east coasters stumbled over to the BL to cool off. I felt I was in a secret Goonies hut. There was just so much STUFF all over the place-tiki style of course, but the different lights, decorations, bottles, and high ceiling was just too overwhelming to take in at once. There was a long bar to the right when you enter frequented by the diverse crowd other yelpers have described. We ended up sitting at the high round table in the middle of the seating area, though I was jealous of the luxurious rounded seating booths to left of us frequented by the art crowd. This bar is REALLY smoky, and I smoke, so while I was pleased at first after a while a couple friends had to leave it was just too thick with cigarettes and no real ventilation (unless a slightly ajar front door counts).
There was a great DJ spinning some moody alt-stuff and was really psyched to hear him play Julie Cruise! The pitcher of PBR was 3 bucks so we ended up getting quite a few of them since they arent that big. There was a huge pool table to the back of the bar and where the restrooms were. The Womens bathroom reminded me of something out of a John Walter's movie and I liked the ashtray on a small stool near the toilet-an odd little touch that tickled me. My friend got a condom that promised hot p*ssy but it was a disappointment.
We ended up there till closing time and when I asked for some water before I left (being a responsible driver and all) the bartender just sighed and said "Take this water bottle and get out of here" in the nicest way possible, I found her rather endearing.
Of course I will be here again-although I don't know how many times alone....
Phoenix, AZ
Category: Dive Bars
Phoenix, AZ
Category: Bakeries
Phoenix, AZ
Category: Dive Bars
Phoenix, AZ
Category: Lounges
Phoenix, AZ
Category: Art Galleries
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