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The Blue Lagoon is a motley blend of porter college kids, 80's music dance nights, over-crowded-ness, and a nuanced hint of urine. As much as I love porter kids & 80's music, there is something about the Blue Lagoon that prevents me from making it the number one (or two or three) bar to go to on a Saturday night.
I came here on my 21st birthday, and came here on the exact same day a year later. It was Saturday night. It was ridiculously crowded, packed tighter than sardines, and breathing was an issue, as it was difficult to inhale due to the invisible smoke of 1000% humidity present in the air. These factors made this place extremely unpleasant. Although, I have to say that the 80's music did cover some ground on the coolness factor, and the dance floor was pretty bumpin, it was not enough to diffuse my mouth from saying an hour later "Hey, lets go somewhere else..."
However, out of all the dive bars the blue lagoon definitely is on top. (along with the Rush Inn!) It has character, it has style, it has personality, coupled with the possibility of contracting Hep. A.
Despite certain blemishes, the Blue Lagoon does not fall last nor first on the Santa Cruz Bar radar, which makes this place worth to check out, but does not garner enough propensity to return to frequently. The Blue..What more can I say, other than it is one of the few bars in Santa Cruz that I do not miss coming to.
The Blue is tight, but only on certain nights. They do a good 80s night and usually the dancing is funky. It's my kind of bar cuz they have cheap drinks and two dance floors, yet I'd agree not the best hip-hop DJs.
Check it out Tues and Thurs
Completely Bizarre.
A Gay bar, gone straight bar, gone gay bar, gone straight bar with some gays hanging is just utterly confusing.
Dude is cute. Looks gay. Hits on woman.
Woman turns dude down. Woman makes out with girlfriend. Other guy across the room looks bothered. Initial dude looks pleased. Biker guy in corner isn't paying attention. Hip hop dancer cheers them on while dancing to ACDC.
I was just so lost. Dancing for cheap, but lost.
So was the drunk 60 year old woman trying to pull my friend's hair out.
Don't get me wrong, I had a good time. But those important questions of skinny jeans or shorts, cosmos or coronas, eyeliner or dogtag... at the Blue Lagoon its kinda like anything goes.
Imagine Richard Simmons performing for the crowd at a 50 Cent Concert, in Lady Gaga's clothes, replacing the lyrics with "Smells Like Teen Spirit": Welcome to the Blue Lagoon.
5 stars for having house music on tuesday nights along with hip-hop and cheap drinks. What else can I say, I am sold on it. I will be there tomorrow night. see you all there. My only complaint I could have, which would make it 4 stars is that there is not enough people, but I am not counting that entirely as the blue's fault!
This place has tons of local charm and feel. From the time I parked my car around the corner to the time we were greeted by the bouncer, I knew I was going to have a gppd time here. The bouncer was a very cool cat... He was joking w/ us the whole time and made us feel welcome there even though it was my first time @ the place.I was so exicited to see my favorite underground band Arnocorps play here!
We were a little bit early and had a chance to check the place out a little bit before it got too crowded. My first impression was " this place is pretty cool, I have never seen a lounge / bar with a cool fish tank like this"!
The bartender was super friendly and funny! She got us drunk and made sure everybody had a great time. I enjoyed the show and everything about the Blue Lagoon! The only thing I wished this place had was better bathrooms. The line was a little bit too much after drinks being that they only have two co ed bathroom stalls.
Arnocorps rocked that place like nobodies business and I can't wait to go back there again!
Went here for 80s night and it was packed. No cover on a Thursday night, so go figure. Got a free Cuervo Black beanie from the Cuervo girls which was cool because it sure was chilly that night.
The dance floor was crowded with mostly USC students. There were also some trashy whores, both male and female. Wasn't as gay as I thought it was going to be. I had never been, but my friend Deb had wanted to take me there for a while. I would have to agree with some of the other Yelpers that certain areas smelled like urine.
One of the best things about this place is the stiffys. Get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking about the drinks. I watched the bartender, great pours...we were feeling pretty good...."Can you taste any tonic?" This is a fun place, at least on 80s night. Not too sure on the other nights though, but I'd come back.
We heard some guys say they were going to Motive, which was a new bar up the street. However, KDON had rented it out for a private party and we couldn't con our way through the door.
Haha seriously, though this place is a dirty dive bar that often smells like a urinal inside...it still holds a little place in my heart as far as memory lane goes.
The dance floor NEVER has anyone you want to dance with on it (other than MaYbE the people you came with) but its the only bar that consistently has a dance floor every night. The DJ quality seriously fluctuates between songs and sometimes you'll be seriously confused (Satisfaction beat mixed with Baby Got Back words? Wtf haha) but its still fun...
And there specials like every day! Dollar drink night is now two dollar drink night though...bummer hahah. I'll remember you even when I move out of SC, Blue Lagoon...
The funnest bar in Santa Cruz. Really diverse crowd, cheap drinks, and quick friendly bartenders. There's a great dance floor, pool tables, and sometimes they have live music too. Sorta divey but eh, leave your snobbyness at the door. Can get pretty crowded on Fri and Sat nights so it helps to be pretty drunk by the time you get there to deal with the crowd. Thursday (80s night) is a good night to meet UCSC students. Don't be afraid of the pack of sometimes rough looking smokers standing outside, they're harmless.
I always have an amazing time at the Blue...but I've only been there when I was moderately to intensely intoxicated. Correlation or causation? Go there and be the judge. Be sure to buy Moose (the bouncer) a chili bomb too.
+1 because they're a dance floor every day, rare on the Santa Cruz strip.
But its dirty, the DJ's song selections are completely random at best, and it always smells like they mop the floors with urine. Cash only, you don't wake up realizing you just maxed out your credit card on apple-tinis the night before.
its not the best in the world, but I suppose its good enough for the random occasions.
Cheeks,
How 'bout there ?
My sis and I are visiting a friend up in SC. We already had dinner and didn't want to head back to the hotel quite yet.
Well, after a few minutes driving up and down Pacific and Front Street at 10:30, -- we spot -- what was pretty much the most appealing option, The Blue Lagoon Lounge. Either here or an impromptu jam on a nearby corner full of guitarist ! That would have been interesting, but the patchouli would have killed me !!
We park and make our way to the Lounge. I pause to take a couple shots of the facade for later use and then catch up to my sis, who is talking to the bouncer already.
Sis: "....really ?"
Bouncer: "Yeah, each."
Cheeks: "Que pasa?"
Sis: "5 dollar cover, yo..."
Ladies and Gentleman, this is a Chico quick WTF check list, please use liberally whenever you feel it necessary.
1. Do a double-take.
2. Takes a moment and look at the situation you are in.
3. Converse with friend/troop about said situation.
4. Look at watch.
5. Look at resources.
6. Try to negotiate.
7. Come to conclusion.
Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what Cheeks did in conjunction with the above list.
1. Didn't do a double take, but I did give a stern look at bouncer to see if he was serious, apparently he was.
2. Took a step back and looked at the facade of building we were at, yep, this is the Blew Lagoon Lounge.
3. Took a step towards the door to see inside of said place, virtually empty.
4. Looked at watch, stated 10:53 Monday Evening 23 Feb. 2009
5. F 'n skipped this, wasn't necessary.
6. Okay pal, it's Eleven P.M. on a Monday night, you're club/Lounge is nearly vacant, the music isn't particularly great and you still want to charge a FIVE DOLLAR COVER ?
7. WTF ? Hells naw son !
Let's split, yo.
Okaaaaaaaaaay.
Came here on a Friday night on a whim. I was told by a friend that this was a pretty fun place to go, so I took her advice. BIG mistake! There are two parts of the place that have a sort of "dance" area if you want to call it that (it's more like two secret rooms in the back where gross men come to congregate and watch young women dance). One side was totally empty with no music. It smelled!!! And I'm not talking about normal club smell where drinks have been spilled. I'm talking "there's some disgustingness that's been goin' down here" kinda smell. Ok, so the other dance area was ok if you like dancing in an enclosed area with nothing but wood floors (I think they were wood) and unattractive men staring at you. The only fun part of this night was watching my friend do two shots of jager. Girls danced in groups, one guy tripped out on who knows what danced alone, and a few other random girls/guys dancing. Music was sucktastic. I left the dance floor and encouraged the guys lined up watching people dance to have fun and grab a girl and start dancing! Mistake? Apparently so cause some drunk arse fool came up in my face, spittle and all, telling me all kindsa shiz and being belligerent. Where the hell is a bouncer when you need one? I'm small so this was not cool. No cover? No wonder. DO NOT GO HERE!!!
This is the bar I frequented the most during my time in Santa Cruz.Thursdays is 80's night,and in my opinion the only night to go. It really gets rocking around 11:30 or midnight. Cheap drinks,2$ pbr, lots of space,a large dance floor, and right down on Pacific. The fish tanks are great to stare at when you're a little buttered.
Found myself here last Saturday night. This place is so dirty, a porn couldn't even be filmed here. It's also very narrow, especially for how many people show up... everytime I bought a beer, I had to chug half of it to make it travel-safe so the crowd, aka offensive line, couldn't keep spilling my drink everywhere.
I did like how dark the place was (and the fishtank), but didn't like the dancefloor - which looks like a warehouse with a cheap plywood stage that was obtained from some Rosarito venue.
Other than that, the employees were cool, and I chatted with some chill people. 3 stars cause I had a good time.
Note: I felt like the only white boy there, but maybe that's because it's so dark, nobody appears to be pale. Hmm.
Ew. Gross, hot, stinky, sweaty, dirty, dive of all dives.
This review is only for Tuesday night.
On Tuesday night, this was my favorite bar in Santa Cruz. There was just no way anyone could beat $1 well drinks and hip hop music. I always got drunk, rubbed against some cute boys (who were no doubt cute because of all the cheap drinks), had fun messing around on the stage with my friends, and went home feeling warm and happy.
Any other night but Tuesday, I could take it or leave it.
I used to have this awesome boyfriend. He was Egyptian and I'm Jewish, which made it so taboo and hot. I would run into him here and ask if he wanted to dance and he'd say, "No thanks, but I'll call you at 2 when the bars close." He was so dreamy!
Yay for 80's night!
This place is great if you want a small, friendly place to drink, play some pool, listen to some loud tunes, and do a little dancing. Good stuff.
The bartenders here are really down-to-earth and very fun to chat with. They seem to have lots of experience dealing with a larger crowd, better than other bars in the downtown area of Santa Cruz for sure.
The crowd here is probably one of the most diverse for any nightlife spot I've been...in one section of the room you have your stoners, sorority girls, and queens...the other section, playing 80s music of course, you have what looks like could be your mom's pot dealer and a sleeping older gentleman...cool with me!
Smelly...yes.
Overbearing bouncers...yes.
Waiting 20 minutes to piss so people can do blow in the bathroom...yes.
Wading through a sea of sweaty KDON std riddled tube tops in order to see a great rock show...check.
I know this place has it's downside...a great big downside, but if you want to see good underground metal, punk, killer cover bands or comedy in Santa Cruz, this place rarely dissapoints! % bucks and you're in, cheap strong drinks. Corey the bartender is awsome and quick.
Check out killer local bands like Teraton, Zaticoy, Dusted Angel and the DEVO-lutionaries.
Bring earplugs (and nose-plugs) and you'll be just fine.
I'm only really a 1/2 local, so I don't come here as often as I might. Yes it's:
1) dirty
2) a litte stinky
3) hot
4) filled with slighty creepy / grab happy 20- something guys
but it's also got:
1) 2 pretty big dancefloors
2) strong, cheap drinks
3) little to no covercharge
4) awesome djs
I say get over the bad and embrace the good. I mean, if you got past the front room chances are, you're already drunk and ready to dance, right!?!?! plus, the people watching will be prime, and I guarntee you'll have a story to tell in the morning!
this is one of those place that makes me think "dive bar" isnt necessarily a bad thing. you just gotta embrace it, go with it... in fact, i just wiki'ed the term "dive bar....." :
"it is associated with cheap and dirty accommodation (such as fleabag motels and run-down rooming), as well as with prostitution and other disreputable or illegal activities [citation needed]."
UMMM yea, sounds about right. i will vouch for the citation needed and give a confirmatory YES, this applies to the blue. i would recommend haggling with the bouncer and NOT paying cover, getting a cheap yager shot, and hopefully by this time you are far enough into your night that you wont mind the inevitable stares, possible gropes, and unsolicited invitations from the men who frequent here.
***would be 2 stars, but i gave one extra generous star because of particularly memorable 80's nights ive had here. dancing they have. if you're in the mood to deal with all of the above, by all means, come get down to some old school grooves. and dont be shy to come in full on 80's attire. you might be the only one, but people will understand.
Meh, this place is kinda a dive. I've heard about this place before, so I wasn't really expecting much going in. Drinks are really good, and the bartenders put up with my drunk ass the whole night so that's a plus. The bathroom is confusing to find when you've been drinking a little too much. The dance floor is super fun, and the room they do concerts in is pretty kick ass. The people are creepy though.
Freaky naughty!
So...I was drunk when I went here last, but I was only tipsy the time before. I like it here...because I can dance...and dance like I'm a rockstar. It is a little dirty...both in the good and bad senses of the word. It is Santa Cruz, after all, so there aren't many places to go out and dance, so I'll take it!
Word of advice...don't take your shoes off! I kept taking my shoes off and they repeatedly threatened to throw me out. (I know what you're thinking...a staph infection waiting to happen, right?) Understand that I was in a wedding that afternoon, a full reception that evening...and had let people talk me into going downtown to drink and dance IN MY MAID OF HONOR DRESS! HA HA HA Oh yeah, went and had tacos, margaritas and then dancing in a full gown, heels and up do. It was a good night. Started out fun when I asked the groom if I smelled like a fruit salad and ended great when I asked my bf if I smelled like a homeless person. Good times!
This is Santa Cruz's best dance club. Very good DJ's.. the saturday night DJ rocks and can mix a lot of popular genre's of music together... he also really gets the dance floor pop'n. I'm not as into some of the other shows they put on here, but they also have a popular hip hop night and many good bands play through here.
Cons: Some lame people
Pros: Those lame people can be asked to leave by a bouncer and they arent many fights, good music and sound and a fun place to dance.
There are a couple other options I can think of.. women complain about the grabby guys at this club, and it sucks they are there, but ive gone to other places and one in particular.. is filled with worse.. people looking to fight someone.
pros:
1. no cover charge and no line. unheard of!
2. bouncer was nice enough.
3. some guy in a white leather jacket with tassles kept asking me to dance
4. wait, i think the above point is a con
5. cheap drinks and nice bartenders
6. 3 different rooms playing different music
7. on one occasion, i heard chumbawamba. weird. THEN guess what group followed that? naughty by nature. YESSS, girl, yesss. yes, they DID.
8. the bartender overpoured a lot of our drinks so we definitely got our money's worth
cons:
- see numbers 3 and 7
- cash only
- the frequent stolen item disclaimers posted everywhere freaked me out
- someone accidentally melbourne shuffled his hard house ass right into the SO and i wanted to punch his meth mouth in. luckily for him, he said sorry. i slowly and begrudgingly put my ufc temper into my back pocket
- i saw a dude get slapped by his drunk gf and started publicly begging. ew. talk about killjoy!
definitely a weird mix of people. i'd go again just to see what would unfold in front of me.
Way back when, when I was in college, all of my friends always wanted to go downtown on Tuesdays to the Blue because of their excellently priced $1 drinks. Sounds great right? YEAH! One dollar drinks! I can get pissed on 5 bucks and still have enough for taco bell! Oh yeah!
OH NO. Naughty naughty Blue lagoon. This place is SHADY AS FUCK. Creepster McGee is the name of the game here. First off, the dance floor is outrageously hot, filthy and crowded. Good luck trying to dance at this place. First off, try not to spend a ton of time out there or you're likely to succumb to heat exhaustion. I swear their ventilation shit is not up to code (is there a ventilation code? there should be). Second, you have to fight your way past a wall of ugly old and creepy guys staring out at the dance floor like ugly lions stalking prey. I mean, I'm a pretty big guy and even I felt like taking a shower after being around them.
Other reasons not to go:
-the bouncers are mean
-I have been told there is a cover charge now. REALLY Blue Lagoon? Don't try to think you're classy enough for a cover
- their drinks taste like fermented gym sweat
and before I post this piece of criticism, let me tell you a story about the last time I went to the Blue Lagoon. I was having a marginally good time there when this 'couple' though they had just met that night and were beyond hammered made their way out on to the dance floor. They were bumping into people they were so drunk which drew attention to the fact that this guy was FINGERING HER ON THE DANCE FLOOR! His hand was straight down her blue jeans for everyone who they bumped into to see. Who the fuck does that? WHO DOES THAT?? It was right then and there that i decided never to return. Fuck that place man
Ok is anybody else disturbed at the fact that your feet actually stick to the floor in this place???
Let me start off by saying that I LOVE LOVE LOVE dive bars! I really do....If it weren't for dive bars I don't think I would ever go out. Now I know Im getting old and all but this place was funky!
In all fairness I have only been to this seedy lil place once. It was semi-crowded with a strange mix of 20-somethings and factoring in that it is Santa Cruz there wasn't that many weirdos.The music was not that good but then again most places play crap music these days. It was fun to watch people dance....at least I think thats what they were doing...hmmm maybe they were having seizures.
This is not somewhere I would choose to go again.
Hahaha. Ya...the Blue. Packed some nights, dead others. Definitely an "interesting" crowd of people. Bartenders are decently nice- big guy out in front is kind of a perv. Drinks are ok, music is fine. 80's night on Thursday is fun.
This place gets packed with waaaaaaaaay too many bitties and skeezoids.... why are there lines of people all fitted for a club in the "yay"? People this is Santa Cruz for chrissake! Anyways when I was younger this place was cool... if you have just turned 21 and are "looking for a good time" or "someone to randomly grind on" grind away and look at the mascara running down your face in the mirror since the small dance floor and poor ventilation will make it feel like a sauna. Then get another $1 well drink and see if the person you are "dancing" with looks that much better. BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper)--things can get super grimy.
If you are in your late twenties and/or are over the giggity giggity goo scene.. come in for the happy hour and shoot some pool before the kiddies arrive. If you are one of the fore mentioned dirt bags or skeezoids who like to stare at and attempt to dance/grind with younger people..then this is your garden of Eden.
I will say the things that I do appreciate about this place is that the owner is really nice and makes some damn good drinks. They have some good happy hour specials and they have different themed nights from goth to 80s to top 40.
One of the more decent things to do as nightlife in SC(wait santa cruz has a nightlife?)
I, after an emotionally hellish breakup, got dragged to goth night by a housemate and even as a very nongoth found myself enjoying it and going back weekly
I would stop by the door before 9, get my wristband, then go back later when they would be charging cover
Then the doormen got to know me and stopped charging me cover anyways
I kinda hate 80's night, it's a total meat market
If you go on dollar drink night, order as many drinks as you can hold at one time cos goodluck getting back up to the bar and getting a bartenders attention
The guys here are all supper gross and grabby. They don't even dance good. Plus they come up behind you so you can't even see their face. I'm all good to dance with you, but approach me in the face and then slowly move closer. If you dance good sure I'll dirty dance for a bit, but don't just come at me like that straight up. Especially if you cant really dance. Cause I am sorry I don't want to feel your cock pressed up against me unless your sexy as fuck. Seriously I would walk away from one guy and another would be on my ass. And I wasn't even looking sexy or anything. I was just wearing a t-shirt and cut off jeans with flip flops, so I can't even make excuses like well I was dressed like a slut with my ass in the air all night.
This place is just pure trash threw and threw. A scuffle started out and the bouncers didn't even do anything. It of course eventually broke out into a full on chick bar brawl. The bouncers broke it up but didn't even kick the people out. Sorry I am just not down for getting punched and thrown in jail. I just wanted to dance.
Probably the best thing going on in Down Town Santa Cruz. But then again there isn't much to choose from. They have 2 small dance floors, a couple of pool tables, a fish tank and a long urinal which they stock with ice for you to melt when you are doing your business...
Try to get in before 8 to get a wrist band, that way once they start charging a cover, you can still get in for FREE!!!
never had I been clubbing at santa cruz before.. never knew that there was so many clubs at santa cruz as well. wut I like is the in the downtown santa cruz there was a lot of light.. so it makes the street look bright and hence feeling of safety. wut I dun like about is that there is a lot hippie like and assortment of guys on the street trying to holla at u. -annoyed-
ok.. anyway... the club... it's very alight... 5 dollars cover charges fri nite.. not too bad.. pretty big too... cheap drink specials.. awesome... except that they place look very old hence.. looks like a dirty especially since it was kinda of dark. didn't use the bathroom.. but according to my friend.. the dirtiest bathroom she ever been into! gross... I can imagine.. it doesn't even look appealing from outside.
music wise... I like.. lot of hip pop that nite... since the incident of Micheal passing away.. they were playing a lot of his music.. so that was always fun. so not a bad experience... but it's still alright.
Tons of fun, all the time. The staff are really friendly (even flirty) and this is one bar where the girls aren't likely to get the drink deals: the boys are ;)
Monday nights are fun for the goth crowd. Lots of spooky kids in black and the music is great.
Thursdays are 80s night. Expect it to be PACKED when school is in session. ;)
Great drink specials that change all the time.
I've had really fun nights at the Blue by:
A) getting totally smashed
B) not touching ANYTHING
C) dancing with my girlfriends and ignoring the creepers lining the walls.
The blue can definitely give you a good night, but you have to try a bit to make that happen.
YUK. More like the "Green Latrine".
Have you ever just sort of sauntered into a place and had the alarms go off "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!?"
Yeah, this is that kind of place. More sleazy guys than you can shake a fist at, and who won't hesitate to drunkenly (or soberly) sleaze on up to you, male or female, while you're attempting to have a good time, and proceed to dry hump your leg like a dog.
This DRAMATICALLY OVERSHADOWS any promise the bar might have, such as an amazing selection of specials and cheap drinks, pool tables, and great themes like 80s night.
STAY AWAY. Unless of course, you dig sleazy people grinding up on you.
I actually had a totally different experience than the other people. I was going to meet a friend who was having a birthday and I got there before him. The bouncer was totally friendly and nice. The bartender came over to me and talked to me immediately which is very rare in Santa Cruz. The other bartender treated me the same way even after it got busy. So they already had four stars. Then when I told them I was buying a beer for the birthday boy, they comped it. Slam dunk. I found the crowd perfectly fine and it wasn't filthy at all. Also, although I think gay people would be perfectly welcome, it isn't really a gay bar anymore.
Definitely not my favorite place to come when going out downtown, because the music isn't that great and all the students/burnout old guys. However I do appreciate the cheap drink nights. One of the bartenders also works at Trader Joe's on Front...which I guess isn't so remarkable but really tripped me out the night I realized this.
It's too bad that there are so few places in Santa Cruz to dance! I think we deserve better than the Blue and the few other dancing spots around.
Eighties night dancin'
Local bands which are smashin'
Cheap drinks in fashion
i have had so many bad experiences at this place, but somehow I always end up there! My housemates always drag me in, but everytime there are so many creepy dudes there. The place itself is good, drinks are cheap, music is fun and i always see people i know. However, there are so many "wallflowers" who stand in the dancing section just watching the girls and yes i know there are creepy and disgusting guys everywhere, but the concentration in the blue is much larger. Fun place to go with friends, anyway.
Unless you wanna step on needles and condoms....don't go! I have been there a few times just for my brother in laws shows, but other then that I don't feel the need to be in a place that gloomy and nasty. Coat check is a good concept, when they don't give your friend's coat away!
Bartender's are okay, too much sleaziness for me I suppose. Don't get me wrong I enjoy dive bars who have a dirty edge to them, just not when your too afraid of what you might touch or step on. I think overall you have to really force yourself to have a good time. Maybe get a few drinks before hitting this spot.
BTW, if you don't want some creep coming up behind you on the dance floor, then don't dance there. Music is good, when it's not all KDON mixes.
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Venues & Event Spaces
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Music Venues
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Bars
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Lounges
Santa Cruz, CA
Category: Bars
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