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Goat Hill Tavern
Categories: Restaurants Nightlife Bars Dive Bars Restaurants, Dive Bars [Edit]
1830 Newport BlvdCosta Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 548-8428
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Thu, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Yes
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Dive-y, Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
346 reviews for Goat Hill Tavern
Review Highlights
"A good selection of quality beers on tap."
(in 79 reviews)
"Friendly people who taught us how to play shuffle board."
(in 28 reviews)
"Are there peanut shells and hay on the floor."
(in 67 reviews)
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346 reviews in English
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Review from Kristen B.
San Francisco, CA
1/14/2012
Yeah, it's messy, smells fratty, and has some kind of weirdly bright lighting, but IT IS A BAR.
HUGE shuffleboard in the back, and an impressive selection of beers on tap, including many you usually only find on the other coast.
ALSO, when we went, we stumbled up "founders hour" where literally every drink was half priced-- and they were already pretty reasonable. But don't ask me when founders hour occurs. I fell victim to founders hour, and I subsequently remember very little. This will be a short review.
The staff was very nice. I'm sure they're sick of being asked what beer to order (because there are hundreds), but they were certainly willing to help us choose ours. -
Review from Billyjack J.
Costa Mesa, CA
1/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I really really want to give this place two stars, because I hate crowded bars, and I think a lot of the people that go there are pretentious douchebags. I've been bad mouthing the Goat since I've moved to Costa Mesa, but let's look at the facts. Before 9 everyday, and pretty much all day and night on Sundays through Wednesdays, this is a 4-star place...Thursday through Saturday nights, 1-star. I would only go then if my chick friends (who love douchebags) drag me into the cab as I scream, "Why can't we go to a REAL dive bar?!?!"
WHY I WENT: It was the first bar I found when I moved to Costa Mesa. I went during the day on a Tuesday with my roommate and I thought, "I could see myself wasting away here." I was looking for my neighborhood bar where everyone would start to know my name. The first time I went on a Friday, I started looking for a new watering hole.
DRINKS: First neat thing. Over 140 beers on tap, from the lightest of the light, to the stoutest of the stout. They have a happy hour, called Founder's Hour, where all beers are half-price. Followed by a second happy hour, where all imports are half price. Just for two hours, from 6 to 8 I think, every day. All my favorite's on tap, so props to them for that.
FOOD: Peanuts. You want food, go across the street to Yardhouse.
STAFF: On the weekends, it takes a good long time to get your pitcher, as it's super crowded. They seem a little understaffed during this time. If they can afford 140+ beers on tap, they can afford a pick-up thrid on the weekends, dammit. The bus staff get's pissed if you rattle the pool tables to get the balls unstuck, and if your asshole roommate tries to smoke pot on the "patio", they get pretty pissed about that too. So don't be a full-fledged idiot and your night should be hassle free.
PATRONS: If I'm having a conversation with my chick friend, don't walk up and interrupt me just to hit on her. If I beat you at pool, don't stare me down all night like you are going to do something about it. Don't ask me for three cigarettes because your buddies want a smoke too. The girls there are pretty hot, but we all know they are there for the douchebags to buy them drinks. That's why my chick friends go. Non-douches go there too, just not enough to even it out. This is the number one reason I don't go to this place. The patrons suck.
INTERIOR (SORTA): Everything you could ever need. Foosball, pool tables, shuffleboard, a whole mess of seating, peanut shells, constant flow of music (no jukebox), and more crazy shit on the walls than you can shake a stick at. But, for all the seating there is, it's still hard to find a place to sit after a certain time on the weekends. Get there early and get a booth on the patio for the best viewing of the Ringling Brothers' Greatest Douche Show on Earth. (I admit it, it can be fun to watch.)
EXTERIOR (KINDA): Okay this part is pretty cool. Their smoking patio is so well covered and heated and filled with pool tables and seating and peanuts that you don't even know you are outside. What really throws you off is the door to another patio that really is outside...whoa. So anytime I feel like pretending I'm above the law like John McClane and want to smoke indoors, I can always go here.
OVERALL: The patron's are the only thing that keep me away. On paper, this place is pretty neat. Maybe if they open a second location on the Balboa Peninsula, everything would be better. Go check it out, it's worth a look see...but go on a Tuesday...it's okay I won't judge you, I'm a drunk too. -
Review from Michele W.
Santa Ana, CA
1/2/2012
Goat Hill is what I call a super dive bar. Not only does it have probably the widest selection of beer in one place next to Yardhouse at the Spectrum.
Shuffleboard in the back, peanuts on the floor everywhere, Its every dive bar goers dream, but a nightmare to some people-- beware, there is fully barrier-free connected "covered patio" which means..the entire establishment basically smells like smoke.
A great place to bring a group of friends, grab some pitchers. I would avoid late Thursday to Saturday nights if all possible-- when patrons transforms from the clam, beer drinker bar goer, to the douche and super douche. This also goes to say how incredibly crowded and chaotic it can get on the super busy nights.
Also, I've had friends bring their own food into the Goat, and they don't mind. -
Review from Gina J.
Eugene, OR
2/6/2012
This is one of the diviest bars I've found in Orange County. It's dirty, cheap, but pretty awesome if that's what you're expecting. I like going here for a change of scene and dig the free peanuts. Oh and shuffleboard is always a plus!
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Review from Walter P.
Carlsbad, CA
2/6/2012
I remember fondly snippets of those nights spent at the Goat with the guys... playing shuffleboard, getting half-priced import pitchers... watching everyone from middle aged guys in suits to barely 21 year old girls, from 909ers to surfers, from attractive twin blondes to a distinctly pre-op tranny. Good times.
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Review from Ian M.
Costa Mesa, CA
2/3/2012
While I'm a fan of the dive-bar experience, the dive factor at this bar feels like it's come from laziness rather than a conscious choice to offer a casual place to get a drink. Loud obnoxious patrons who fit the "high school hero, life zero" description abound, yapping on and on about their trust funds and Obama's socialism. Seating can be just about impossible to find on weekends, which wouldn't be that much of an issue if they had a dance floor, which they don't. It does get an extra star for a "protected from the elements" section of the bar where smoking is permitted, a rare find amongst watering holes in the Newport Mesa area.
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Review from Ashley S.
Yorba Linda, CA
12/22/2011
I went here a few weeks ago based off of another yelper's review.
I love this place! It's so awesome.
Let's start with the smoking area--- since I'm a smoker this was my favorite part.
Once you walk in there is the main bar, which was crowded when I went, and then if you walk back towards the rear of the building there is a separate room.
In this room, you are allowed to smoke...!!! There is a covering which makes it feel like you are smoking inside, but really you aren't... sorry I just think that's really cool.
Also in this smoking room, there is plenty of seating and there are pool and shuffleboard tables. My group played shuffleboard all night and even invited some strangers to play with us. The bar was easily accessible from this room and from the shuffleboard table, so we got plenty drunk and had a great time.
Its definitely a dive-y kind of bar. But that's what makes it cool!
They have peanut shells all over the ground and tons of cool lights.
PLENTY of beers on tap, and any kind of shot you can think of, AND THEN SOME.
The drinks were reasonably priced... maybe a little expensive because this bar is located in Costa Mesa, across from Sutra, which is a trendy upscale club... but all the same.. it was good.
I will definitely come back here! -
Review from Dre D.
Irvine, CA
1/24/2012
Holy Sh*t Batman! I love this place! Nothing, girly, cute, or delicate about it. It's your grungy dive with all the memorabilia that can fit under one roof. I hate the place on crowded nights like Friday and Saturday but if you can come during the day or early afternoon you'll get all you need from it. The beer is cheap, cold, and poured high. You can wet your whistle while playing pool on the patio, smoking a cig., and sometimes even watch a game. It doesn't happen often but if it's a rainy night it's even better. Love the feel and comfort of this bar.
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Review from Dani S.
Rowland Heights, CA
11/5/2011
Lights are way too bright, I dont need to see all the powder flaking off of some women's faces, and tht guy in the corner continuously scratching his members!
I do really like how chill this place is, such a contrast to the pretentiousness of Sutra across the street. Plus, I can actually have a conversation with ppl without breaking my vocal chords. I was very tempted to brush up my foosball skills at the table but the music was so good we had to bust a move on the floor.
Fun place! -
Review from Nit Nat S.
West Hills, CA
1/19/2012
141 Beers on tap PLUS a full bar .....how can you go wrong! when i walked in everyone was so friendly and having such a good time. everyone is so much fun! the bartenders are amazing AND gorgeous! who doesn't love eating peanuts and throwing your trash on the floor! GO ON YOUR BIRTHDAY! the birthday announcements are so funny!
my only complaint is the bald bouncer needs to loosen up! its Saturday night dude! -
Review from Adam S.
San Diego, CA
10/31/2011
Whenever I am up in Costa Mesa, there has to be a stop at the Goat for some afternoon drinking and smoking.
This place is a dive, in a big way. There are peanut shells on the floor, drunks stumbling around on the inside, and a smoking patio, which is what keeps me returning. I love smoking a cigar while drinking a brew, and usually smokers are treated like 3rd class citizens forced to stand glaring distance of the bar before returning to their brew. Half of this place, the half with the pool tables btw, is open to smoking! Some of the ceiling panels open up, and voila, the loophole is recognized.
There's not really much of a point in talking about the beer selection, since it is too massive to discuss. During their happy hour, pitchers are really cheap. I think High Life was in the $6 range, and my friend's Hef was around $9, but I may be mistaken. Whatever the cost, I get there, drink a ton, smoke a cigar or three, and spend about $20 before stumbling back to whichever friend's house I am staying in for the weekend.
The people there can be really cool, or really douchy, and I really have no formula for knowing which group will be there. After an Army reserve weekend, I have gone there still dirty and in uniform, and had drinks bought for me and my other friends. Another times I have gone there on a Saturday afternoon where there were only two other people. One had a face tattoo and hat with gold letters, claimed to be Mexican but looked like a gringo, and was hammered. The other was his friend trying to keep him from getting into a fight. Either way, when I am in Costa Mesa, there is a good chance I could be found here. -
Review from Peter H.
10/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Cool place, stopped by after hearing good things, but moreso because Sutra was a big bust. Tons of beer on tap to choose from unfortunately somewhat watered down, maybe it was just that night so can't pass complete judgement.
Little dirty, little smelly, little cramped, bathrooms were a mess but expected from a typical dive bar. Pool tables on the inside and shuffle board on the outside patio which is nice if it gets a little too stuffy for you. Cool place to chill if you don't have much else to do in the area wish I could give it a better rating but its just very average and nothing amazingly stood out.
Grab a big thing of peanuts, grab some pitchers of your fav beer, sit back and relax. Profit. -
Review from Adam B.
San Diego, CA
1/28/2012
Cool place but super crowded on Sat night so service a little slow. No food at this place.
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Review from Kristin Leigh M.
Los Angeles, CA
10/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
There is a time when I thought I lived at the Goat. I was here 5 - 6 nights a week and was no longer carded at the door. Gone are those days - welcome to the working world.
I came back to the Goat earlier this week as a blast from the past with a few friends. Sure, the place has expanded and doors now divide the smoking and non-smoking sections... but other than that, nothing has changed - except me!
This place is great for its beers. What is it - 140 or 141 taps? Almost anything you could want, they have. Heck, they even had Magic Hat for a while... and no place on the west coast has Magic Hat (sidenote - do you know some place that does?! tell me!) Number 9. What's particularly great about this place is founders hour and import hour - where things are half off - and then imported beers are half off. What could be better than that?
If you're from the Newport / Costa Mesa area, then you are bound to have been to the Goat at least once before.
In a very strange way, it's like a Cheers - where the patrons all know you, the bartenders all know you - and even the bouncers.
Yes, it might have a peculiar stench every now and then; yes, you may realize that the bushes outside might make a better toilet than the bathroom - but for good music and good drinks, the Goat is A-ok! -
Review from Carey V.
Santa Barbara, CA
11/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Very chill place with a GRIP of beers on tap. Love the seasonal rotations and not-too-common domestic craft brews.
Definitely a pack rat's dream bar, every inch is covered with something...vintage tap handles adorn the ceilings both inside and out.
Long live The Goat!!! -
Review from Shannon S.
New Orleans, LA
12/15/2011
I was in the area for a week long training and I went to this place almost every night. This was a great dive bar with a very nice selection of beers. This is a very laid back bar and there seems to always be a crowd of interesting people in here. They even had my Abita Amber on tap and I drank the keg dry. I also almost got into a random brawl with some random people because one of their women spoke to me so that always makes for an interesting dive bar experience.
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Review from Steve M.
Costa Mesa, CA
12/20/2011
THE GOAT!!!!! I have been going to this bar for years! What can I say its the Goat. nice big smoking patio great drinks cool staff. this is a really chill bar where you can bring lots of friends and if your lucky the taco man shows up out back at last call. The goat is my first choice for a cool casual fun night out in Costa Mesa!
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Review from Danny B.
Brea, CA
10/24/2011
The main complaint most people have when I suggest we hit up the Goat Hill is that it smells like someone puked all over the floor. Legitimate argument, who wants to hang around a place that has a nauseating smell like that. I actually also used to dislike coming here for the same reason. However, the smell has since improved and where else would you be able to find such a wide selection of awesome beer in a cool dive bar type environment.
I also love all the temporary beers they have. It allows you to try some great new micro-brews on tap you might never have had the chance to otherwise. The prices are pretty good (except for the Chimay) and if you're here from 7-8pm everything is half off! I'm not sure if it's like that on the weekends, but during the week yes so grab yourself a good beer in there frozen plastic mugs and enjoy. -
Review from Hazel Q.
7/5/2011
Oh The Goat. I think I have tourettes when it comes to Goat Hill. I hear someone mention it and the first words that come out of my mouth are "It smells like vomit." It's like I have word vomit talking about their smell of vomit.
On paper, Goat Hill sounds like it'd totally be my bag: tons and tons of beer, divey, cheap, no frills. In real life... well, I guess I'm a bit prissier than that. The nighttime crowd definitely ain't my bag, but for some day drinking I can make The Goat work.
A survival guide to Goat Hill Tavern:
-Have your ID ready (they're strict about that in this part of town)
-Take a deep breath and beeline for the covered patio. Sure, when you inhale it'll be a big whiff of smoke from all the smokers out there, but it's better than the smell of whatever is in that sawdust on the floor in the bar area.
-Order up some fine brews.
-Imbibe.
-People watch.
Don't try to order any local OC brews though, they don't carry 'em. The barkeep said it was because the brewers couldn't keep up with the bar's demand, but whatever the reason, I'm kinda bummed that with all these beers on tap there's no local love.
I only visit Goat Hill once every three years or so, so mark the date of 7/5/14 because I'll be headed to The Goat once again... perhaps with a gasmask in tow.Listed in: Orange County Bars, Dive Bars Orange County
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Review from Sandy M.
Newport Beach, CA
10/20/2011
This is both a dive bar, sports bar, and tap room. They have over 100 beers on tap with a nice selection domestic, imported, and craft beers. Great selection of India Pale Ales which I am partial to. The food consists of peanuts and pickled eggs. Pool and shuffleboard in the covered outside area next to the pub where smoking is allowed. You will encounter all kinds of people here from businessmen, college students, MMA fighters and regular people in search of a cold beer. The prices are very fair with pints in the $4-$5 range and a half price menu for one hour at least once an evening. The pub also has hard liquor and wine. Check it out and don't be intimidated by some of the clientel.
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Review from nicole f.
Hidden Hills, CA
10/6/2011
I have yet to find another Goat since my days in Orange County--pity, really. Although it gets a little on the out-of-control side during late Friday/Saturday nights, if you can beat the crowd, (or join them), or come in on an off-day, this place is great.
Shuffleboard, pool, foosball, plenty of places to sit, and you get PEANUTS! and not to mention the zillion beers on tap. -
Review from Alison K.
8/28/2011
You want to be a hipster rockabilly, but I can't call you that if you are playing Usher.
In theory, this is the perfect college hang out, and there in lies the problem. A total dive with an offbeat atmosphere, complete with sawdust on the floor, Goat Hill is the ideal place to hang out with your friends, be they hipsters, punks, rockabilly, frat boys, sorority chicks, enginerds, artists, writers, whoever.
Came here late on a Saturday night with a group of friends, and was unpleasantly surprised to discover that this place was over crowded with bad music blaring brain-bursting loud. (No joke. You couldn't even hear the person next to you screaming in your ear.)
This place might be fun to visit during the week or off season (i.e., when college is not in session). -
Review from Kenny G.
Dana Point, CA
9/22/2011 5 Check-ins Here
This place has a ton of things going for it... to name a few:
- 140+ beers on tap (a wide variety of delicious beers at that)
- A hand for a pool tables and two shuffle board tables
- Various deal hours, like Sundays 8pm-9pm all tap beers (pints and pitchers) are HALF OFF.
To top it off, peanut shells go straight to the ground, and the people watching is of the highest quality (quite an eclectic bunch). -
Review from BJ L.
5/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is probably one of my favorite bars. Ever.
Yes, as my compadre Carly B. (and countless others I assume) already mentioned, some say it smells. Maybe my olfactory system isn't what it used to be, but I have never noticed it.
The Goat, and their beer selection, are stupid. STUPID AWESOME like a ninja punching a pirate.
When it's available - and that is not as often as I'd like - they have local favorite Bootlegger's Brewery Knuckle Sandwich on tap. Green Flash is also available...but I won't try to name every beer because that would be stupid futile like a pirate punching a ninja.
PEANUTS! I love a bar that serves peanuts. Especially when it's peanuts by the truckload.
Order of operations: Get there early. Grab a pitcher, a large tub of peanuts, a seat, and enjoy.Listed in: Bars on Mars eatin' cars.
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Review from Brown G.
Irvine, CA
6/22/2011
Two stars, one for each of the Goat Hill's two personalities.
For day drinking, it's decent. Get there in the late afternoon and the bartenders are amiable, the only customers in the place are some old-timers and maybe a group of office coworkers out for a birthday drink. The jukebox is usually playing something like Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. Outdoors in the patio area (don't sit indoors--we'll get to that) there are always open tables, ample sunlight coupled with shade and often a cool breeze, a TV screen, a shuffleboard table, and a floor littered with slightly stinky hay and a ton of peanut shells.
The beer selection is excellent, and for relatively cheap you can get a bowl of peanuts in the shell to go along with that frosty ale.
The inside is musty at all times. It just smells bad, and everyone on here acting like that's a good thing because it lends divey authenticity to the place is a clown. Stink is stink is stink, and although some is tolerable, Goat Hill needs to be deodorized. The odor may come from the nasty restroom but, as noted, during the day it's more of an oppressive faint musty cloud than a rancid stench. Besides, you should be hanging out in the patio. All is well out in the patio area.
But then, of course, there are the Goat's glaring failures which, werewolf like, come out at night.
Get the hell out before about 7 pm. At night apparently all the douche factories in OC and Riverside dump their wares into the Goat Hill Tavern. Button-up T's, Affliction, Tapout, Metal Mulisha, black baseball caps, tribal or Chinese tattoos (there's no Chinese character for "Jeff," bro) and unfortunate goatees abound. The many free parking spots get taken up by a fleet of overcompensatory big trucks acquired to make big men of little boys. Those boys pack the place, ten or fifteen to a lady, and they WILL grunt at your girlfriend.
Gone are the old-timers. Suddenly there's no room to move. You can't hear yourself over the jukebox now blaring Creed, Papa Roach and Staind. Those nice bartenders have metamorphosed into complete jerks backed by some of the dumbest bouncers in the business. To cap it all off, the place stinks of--and is eventually slippery with--vomit. Inside, the stench of vomit and dirty toilet mingled with douchebaggery is suffocating. Outside, you can get air but management seems to believe that a hay-covered floor qualifies as a litter box for humans so watch your step and don't wear sandals.
Although I'm no fighter, every time I've been here at night I've had a confrontation with some black-hatted hoser over one of three things: (1) walking through a crowd I bumped into an idiot, (2) an idiot spoke extremely disrespectfully to a female friend of mine, or (3) an idiot provided unsolicited commentary about mine or a friend's non-fight-or-dirt-bike-related attire. Two such fashion reviews were punctuated by homophobic and/or racist slurs. Classy place, this.
In sum, there's nothing redeeming here but good beer, peanuts, and--before the crowd gets in--shuffleboard. Those are all notable and would be good enough if not trumped by the sheer stupidity of the nighttime goats. Yardhouse across the street, Hi-Times down the street, and a ton of places all over Orange County have an equally good beer selection. The Helm next door is limited in its selection but kicks the life out of Goat Hill for dive bar ambiance and "authenticity."
During the day, Goat Hill is a decent place to grab a beer--at night it's supremely detestable. Yelp isn't equipped to carry the weight of how much I loathe this place's nighttime crowd.
But hey, do you like pretending that you know something about mixed martial arts? Then you'll love it, bro. Get thee to the Goat Hill Tavern. -
Review from Brandon S.
Fullerton, CA
7/28/2011
Okay. And just ok.
Like many others I immediately noticed that this is a smelly bar. It kind of smells like pee inside....and that's because there is pee all over the floors. The men understand this phenomenon I'm sure. Every time I have been there the toilets in the bathroom are overflowing, which means that all of the male clientele are walking in pee water, and then treading it all over the bar. Gross right. It soaks up well into the peanut shells on the floor.
BUT, I am not giving this place a bad review in spite of their sanitary issues. The crowd is always there and in good spirits. The drinks are cheap (enough) and the option for pitchers is there. It's nothing more than just a fun place to hang out with friends. Think of it as an option. -
Review from Alex A.
San Diego, CA
6/24/2011
I've pretty much enjoyed every time I went to the goat.
Just a warning: you will almost never get a seat here if you come here late. Also it get's crowded. But you know what? This place more than delivers on atmosphere. The peanut shells on floor may make you go WTF, but if you consider your surroundings....you'll come to realize it's a beautiful part of the ambiance. This place actually has personality, and when you step in here, you definitely are going to have a different experience from any other bar.
The amount of beer on tap they have is ridiculous. It is pricey, but what I really appreciate is that they actually outline the price for all their varieties for you. Lines can get crowded, so watch out. They have pool tables and shuffleboard. If you learn how to play shuffleboard, it's a very fun game to play with the strangers there and a nice ice breaker.
The place is not for everyone, but if you can appreciate it, you will love it. -
Review from Vanessa H.
Aliso Viejo, CA
6/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
It's a dive. With a lot of beer.
And the indoor area smells like vomit (thanks Hazel for the warning!).
A-OK! :-) -
Review from Marilu G.
Los Angeles, CA
7/19/2011
I am a dive bar kind of girl, but i went to this bar with high expectations- obviously! It's just not my type of environment. Came here on a Saturday night with a couple of friends. I was taken a back at first by the really bright light in the place, since i am used to the dark'ish lighting at bars. However, i won't hold that against this bar, they are trying to be different. We ordered our pitcher of Guinness and were lucky to find a table. This is pretty much up to the point where things were pleasant.
After finding seats we realized that this place was not for us. Most of the people around us were "douche bags" or obnoxious drunks who kept bothering us or being rude. We drank our pitcher and left the place. I think it's the crowd that hurts this place and not really the place itself. I have been to similar establishments, like Barney's Beanery in Los Angeles, and had a good time.
Some of my friends like this place and the fact that its packed tells me that people like this place. It's just not for me and i don't see myself coming back. -
Review from Chris L.
Newport Beach, CA
7/8/2011
Okay. I like Goat Hill Tavern. They have ample parking, lots of beers on tap, and the atmosphere is okay if you can get over the Orange County "way too cool for you, bro" crowd (which really, you're in Costa Mesa, you should be expecting if you walk into a dive bar). Had many a good night here.
What this place gets one star for is the rude bartender who had the nerve to comment on my gratuity. I had tipped cash in the jar earlier in the night, so when I ordered a round of shots for myself and my friends at last call on my credit card I did not add a tip.
Tall, bald bartender picks up the receipt, looks at it, rolls his eyes and says "Wow. Thanks a lot. Thanks a lot dude. I really appreciate it."
Sorry, but that doesn't fly. You never, ever comment to a customer's face on the tip you left or didn't leave them. It makes me never want to tip you again. And believe me, rude bartender, if I order a drink and it's you that hands it to me, you will not be getting a tip. -
Review from Lan N.
5/28/2011
So many beers to choose from especially from a bar that is considered a dive. So many beers on tap. A pitcher of Wailua Wheat was $16.25, omgZ did I really pay that much? How embarrassing. The music selection was pretty good if you like top 40 type of deal. Wide variety of people come and flock here. Ample parking in the back. Thank goodness you don't have to worry about parking.
Somehow a miracle had happened and no one from my group got kicked out this time. phew!Listed in: Party shenanigans
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Review from Sean V.
Huntington Beach, CA
Updated - 6/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
Okay, upon sober review... It appears I had a lot of fun the other night. I really do like this place and here's why:
1) A dive bar with eclectic decorations and peanuts on the ground... ya know a REAL bar feel
2) 115 beers on tap, or so I hear, but for sure it's over 65, so many varieties of beer for everyone, in addition to an open bar (although I highly recommend the beer route)
3) Tons of space to roam, its a big place with both an outside patio area that's more like the perfect place to hang out
4) Lots of games to play... ya'know the awesome bar games including; pool tables, foosball and even shuffle board!
5) Finally the most important for any SoCal event goer... Tons of free parking!!
All in all, the perfect place to bring the guys for a game, celebrate those moments in your life or go on a first date.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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6/15/2011
I'm officially drunk, here & thxnk god for spell check! I just met Nick Swardson & Nick Cage, who… Read more »
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Review from Ryan M.
3/23/2011
I celebrated St. Patrick's Day here last year.
Let's just say there was cheap beer (domestic ones, certain IPAs and of course Guinness abundance), cute Irish girls and loads of shuffleboard enough for everyone to go around on this festive Irish holiday. We were buzzed, singing Irish Rock happily and re-living a G rated version of the Boondock Saints opening scene.
I am only as Irish as my name and tolerance of distilled adult beverages. Sadly, I haven't gone back since then...Maybe I should go back for a visit?
Four stars. -
Review from KC O.
Sunset Beach, CA
9/2/2011
Is there anything more enjoyable than watching poseur losers act like they rule? This 909er bar in the heart of Costa Mesa is hilarious. The only good thing about this shithole is that the CMPD cast their lines and easily reel in the deuces. Keep driving drunk Goat Hill dorks. At least jail is cooler than this dump.
Listed in: Coal in Stocking List
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Review from Jeena E.
6/3/2011
This is the best dive in Costa Mesa which as a city is basically a dive (it is Irvine and Newport Beach's ugly older sister). So you are at the best dive in a dive!
It's rather dirty (natch..) but if that is an issue walk next door and grab a drink at The Helm, then come back and you will feel like you are drinking in a sterile laboratory. It always smells a little "off" but after 3 beers you get used to it. They have peanut shells all over the place so if you are originally from a square state this will feel like home.
The beer selection is the best part about The Goat, we are talking 100+ beers available. This was the largest selection of tap beers available in OC until The Yard House came to the area. The prices go from reasonable to ridiculous, but at least they post the prices.
They offer shuffleboard in the back which is pretty fun until a couple of Brodie's decide that their masculinity was disrespected over a shuffleboard game and decide to go out back and fistfight (this can also double for entertainment as it is always meathead on meathead out of towner action. You will see Metal Mulisha, Skin and SoCal shirt tatters flying all around you until Costa Mesa PD steps in and gives the fight participants what they like to call "flashlight therapy" to their skulls). I have been here like 4 times and 2 fights occurred out back, so you have a legitimate shot at seeing fisticuffs.
This area is cop central and CMPD is notoriously vile as they deal with Mid and South Counties scumbags daily. Be leery after closing. The entrance to the 55 North has been a DUI checkpoint since the dawn of time and they start at 8pm. You have been warned.
I know this review may sound condescending but if it does you are sitting in Costa Mesa or worse as you read it, and I am okay with you thinking I am being condescending. Instead of drinking tonight maybe you should consider moving.
It is a decent dive bar that does what a dive bar should. I would give it 3 and a half stars if possible but have to round down for the likelihood that I will see police if I go on a weekend.Listed in: Lovely Libations, Closta Misery
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Review from Evelyn T.
North Hollywood, CA
7/25/2011
haven't been in years, but i remember the smell of puke/stale beer/hay and peanuts mixture. and from what i've heard, not much has changed.
The smell motivates you to drink in order to numb your sense of smell.
I guess any bar that makes you want to drink is a good bar. -
Review from remie m.
Newport Beach, CA
10/26/2011 1 photo
came here on a TUESDAY (i knw, rt?!. . .TUESDAY!!!) night. . .
the bar was poppin'!!!
my friends n I found a place 2 sit in the back corner. . .
there r a mixture of ppl that come here. . .young n old. . .luckily my friends and I were in between! tho we look young!
they have an amazing arrangement of beers on tap.
FULL BAR!
everyone is pretty much chill here. . .
I felt over dressed here, i wore jeans, heels and a cute lacey top! there were girls in here wearing tanks, sweat shorts n flip flops!
this place is cool if u just want 2 chill. . .
the music was hella loud, i felt i was screaming @ my friends just 2 have a converstation! -
Review from Kathleen F.
Newport Beach, CA
9/19/2011
I just moved to OC from Seattle and had yet to find a place that I actually liked...until Goat Hill. I went with a girlfriend at 7:30pm on a Thursday night and we had a great time! As we were drinking our Dark and Stormy Imperial Stouts, we realized we were with people who just didn't seem like they were from Orange County...there were old and young people from all walks of life, which made me say, Wahoo!! We easily found a small table in the main part of the bar. From 8-9pm, imports were 1/2 off. Another Wahooo!! Around 9pm, some douchy/bro type dudes showed up, along with drunk, hooched out bachelorettes, but that can be overlooked. This place DOES smell like pee and stale beer...but what dive doesn't? Can't wait to come here again.
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Review from Ryan K.
Laguna Niguel, CA
3/18/2011
I've heard waaayyy to much about this place, drove past it waayyy too many times and wanted to go here for waayyy to long. Working in Newport Beach I have the option of taking a little side trip north about 10 minutes from Fashion Island. My gut told me to get just drive by again and comeback another time with a friend....but I was conveniently here and soooo......
I dove in! LOTS of QUALITY beers on tap (prices are above the bar), a great selection of Scotch (one of the best I've ever seen in OC) I'm a HUGE Scotch fan by the way, peanut shells on the floor and stuff all over the walls. Cruised in about 7:30ish on a Tuesday and ordered a Old Rasputin Imperial Stout (9% ABV) and a Ardbeg Scotch. A little later I got the announcement that half price hour was about to start....and then the crowds filtered in...apparently this is not secret. About a hour later I ordered another round, another Old Rasputin and this time Lagavulin (the best Scotch whiskey for the price in the world!) ...do you have any idea how hard it is to find Lagavulin at a bar? Yeah, damn near impossible!!!! Add the fact that I got it half off and it was a done deal. Huge props to the owner.
Started mingling and stumbled out prolly around 11-11:30....not too sure. I think that day I was dehydrated and hungry cuz' I remember stumbling around the parking lot in back and eventually puking in a bush next to my car. I got in my car opened up a bottle of water, turned my car on (so I could turn the heater on) and passed out...until 5 in the effing' morning! Yeah, my car was idle-ling for 5+ hours and my tank was on empty!
Anyone who like dives has GOT to check this place out. Just practice a little more responsibility than me that night. Granted my intention was not to get eff'ed up only to have a couple drinks and grab a bite on the way home. Two nine percent pints and two 86 percent whiskey's can really eff' a brotha up.
And why is it that bad decisions always make the best stories? Huh? -
Review from Randoll C.
Orange County, CA
4/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
BEER!
Lots of beer on tap.
Peanuts and or popcorn.
Darts and shuffleboard
TV's and music
Good times and inexpensive beer when Happy Hour prices kick in.
Lots of parking in the back if there aren't any spaces on the street.
The crowd was a wide mix of people ranging from those who looked like they live in bars to professionals.
Did I mention there are a lot of beers on tap?
