Old Tavern Bar and Grill
Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 444-5595
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 6:00 a.m.-2:00 a.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Music: Juke Box
- Best Nights: Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: Outdoor Area/Patio Only
- Coat Check: No
30 Reviews for Old Tavern Bar and Grill
I love this bar! If you want cheap stiff drinks this is the place to go! The bartenders are pretty cool(if you are nice to them)
On the other hand - I highly recommend NOT using the ladies room! Also the whole bar smells of urine. It is a cash bar but they do have an ATM.
I would recommend dressing up for Old Tavern. Black tie attire is in order.
Slow ass service. Cheap drinks. Some good beers on tap for cheap. They don't take credit cards, only ATM.
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Dear Old T
Fuckin' Old T. You are fun. I snuck into you before I was 21, and it was great. I finished off my 21st birthday here... apparently I made out with someone, broke a beer glass, went to the back and got a broom to clean it up, and then did so unsuccessfully.
I like your big back patio. I like your drink prices. I like your no-bullshit staff. I like your pool table and loud music. You are a good bar.
But you aren't the flame club, and you were never my regular place. Your parking lot is tiny and you sometimes cater to dicks when you should throw them out. But, that aside, you rule.
Love,
Brian
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Ah... Good ol' OT. I've been visiting this place as long as the Benny's (10 years). Lately, it's become the place we go to get away from the stampede of the Whiskey Wild crowd that invades my regular bar on the weekends.
Cheap brews is the name of this game. Plus, the juke doesn't overpower the conversations. There's also food to be had on a drunken evening. Try the garlic fries. Bring gum. Lots of it.
During the winter, there's a dry place out back with heaters for us smokers. The joke may be on those who don't smoke since I think it rains more indoors than out. I'm sure there's a roofing project in their future. For now, a couple of pans from the kitchen and a "Piso Mojado" sign do the trick.
A good thing to say about this place? "Come broke, leave drunk!"
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I call this place The Old Toilet mostly because it stinks of toilet. It smells like a combination of stale beer, puke, and homeless sex. The bathrooms are so nasty -- I've even seen girls pee in the sink! When it rains The Old Toilet roof leaks onto the bar (sometimes your cocktail) and amazingly it's been this way for years. Most of the time the glasses are washed in dirty cold water -- no real sanitation going on here! In fact, this place is such a health code violation I'm guessing someone is getting paid off to keep it's nasties on the down low.
If you're a hopeless drunk with little money that needs to calm the shakes down first thing in the morning then the Old Toilet is the place for you. 2 for 1 double shots from 6 AM 'til Noon.
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They lost me when they refused to fix their roof for so long. I wasn't just disappointed in the owners for this, I was bummed at the idiots who would sit around in puddles with tarps strewn everywhere and not think to complain probably thinking how cool this made them since coolness is related to just how crappy of a bar you drink in.
I have had some interesting times here though. I ducked in once on a really hot day, figuring the cave like atmosphere and a cold beer would keep summer off my back for a bit.
I sat at a table watching a couple of older guys play pool and enjoying the strange feeling of being at a bar on a weekday afternoon.
A woman came in with long pig tails and headed straight for the coat rack where she retrieved a pair of suede hot pants. She noticed six or seven pairs of eyes glued to her and so she offered as explanation "Left 'em here last night."
And made here way right back out the door. We all burst into laughing and I made a mental note to check out the OT's week NIGHT scene sometime.
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Can you give a dive more than three stars? I don't know if there exists a five star dive - it would defeat what they're going for. I say, three stars max for dives. The third star is the fifth star, relatively. In that case, this is a solid dive. I came with a local who had worked here for several years. I enjoyed the place, what else really is there to say?
Oh, I loved walking into a dive without DIVING into a wall of smoke like I would with a similar establishment in Portland. One more year and I can reclaim my lungs. woo!
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all i know is that it smelled funny, and that in the women's bathroom, it seems like the stall door isn't even long enough, so if you looked you could probably see the person sitting on the toilet. i really didn't want to know so i just looked away. but the drinks were cheap, and there is pinball, and there is a patio to escape the smell.
EDIT 5/19/08: went here again last week sometime. my date went to go order the drinks while i talked to a friend and i guess you have to be a regular to get service or something because he was not being given the time of day and it wasn't even that busy. so i took it upon myself to stick a $20 in my cleavage and stand in front of him and bam, bartender arrived in no time.
but the bartender was either really drunk, lazy, or stupid, because when i ordered a grey goose and cranberry, he replied, "we don't have grey goose" so i asked him, "what kind of vodka do you have?" and he just shrugged his shoulders like he didn't know! WTF? i gave him this look like "are you completely serious?" which was met with an annoyed silence so i said "just give me what you got then". needless to say i won't be back.
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Cheap booze gets four stars.
UPDATE
Seriously. Cheapest booze ever.
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Yep, always an interesting mix of people at the OT, some cool, some creepy and some a combination. The bartenders are always nice, the drinks are pretty cheap. It's a good place to get piss drunk on the cheap or cry in your beer with all the regulars. I always feel like I need a shower when I leave this place. Not my favorite dive, but I've have some good times at the OT.
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I love me some Sac dive bars but have always hated the OT. Every time I go in this bar I end up wishing I had stayed home or worse yet, want to curl up in a fetal ball and die. The crowd is depressing! I love some old drunks and all, but I tend to prefer the crazy and jovial type not the stinky, sad and bitter. It takes forever to get a drink, too. And the seating arrangements are weird to me - its like they just threw a bunch of chairs in the middle of the room and you can sit there.
The most fun I ever had at the OT was in the middle of the day on a weekday when I played hookey from college and went on a 10 hour bender. They had a pretty awesome crowd that day - a mixture of tweekers, state workers getting off work early (or having a 3 martini lunch) and old drunks having their first cold one of the day and not quite as bitter as they usually are at the OT.
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You have to love the Old Tavern for what it is, because it is that and nothing else, and what it is is a real, honest to god dive bar, the kind I thought I'd left behind when I left the east coast.
Now, if you're one of those people that says "dive bar" and thinks dark and filled with hipsters, kitschy in an ironic way, and 6 dollar PBR qualify, then the OT is not for you. You want Benny's down the street.
The OT is good for getting drunk, that's it's job and it does it well. The service is not super, it is functional, and I appreciate that. The prices are way lower than reasonable and it's nice to be able to spot a round and get change from a twenty.
The crowd is eclectic and while there are often bums at the bar there are just as often some chill types of different stripes hanging out out back. The OT has a bit of a dangerous vibe to it, but I've seen more actual violence at the Streets of London than the OT.
Sometimes you wanna get gussied up and go have fru fru drinks in a place to be seen (or scene) and that is totaly dope. But sometimes, sometimes maybe you just wanna do car bombs and talk shit in a place where no one is trying.
And when you do the OT will be there.
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The OT, a regular gathering place after holidays for those of us who successfully fled Sacramento. The OT, a place where you can get hammered for $10. The OT, with a great back patio and shuffleboard. The OT, with all those liquor selections. The OT; it isn't the best bar ever, but when I come to Sacramento I want basic drunken functionality, and you get it here.
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Wow. The Old Tavern. The first bar I really frequented during my formidable early (legal) drinking years. It's one helluva dive.
It's got feral cats, construction oddities (is that a huge hole in the ceiling with rain coming down and pouring onto the TV?), the old carpet from America Live!, people that most likely sleep on the floor there after they close just to wake up at 6AM to start drinking again, random crap in the back patio area, hepatitis-infested beer lines, random fights, patrons that vomit on the floor and each other, and bathrooms that could be their own horror show.
But the beer is cheap, sometimes the jukebox makes good noises, and you run into some classic characters that might not actually exist outside of the place.
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Seriously, the dive of all dives! It is feet from railroad tracks, has a totally disgusting bathroom, and a feral cat. The stall in the women's bathroom barely covers the necessities and the feral cat was terrorizing a mouse the last time I was there. Also, there are definitely some shady characters hanging out, but my friends and I ( you know who you are and I love you! ) were never bothered. The drinks are cheap, but don't expect sunshiny hospitality.
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While I sometimes like to front like I'm into top shelf booze and well-mixed drinks, most of the time I'm content with getting blitzed on the cheap.
Old Tavern satisfies my penny-pincher needs. And apparently if I'm feeling top-shelf they can do that too.
Games and a decent jukebox are added bonuses.
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The O.T., geeze this place sucks. Its a bar that caters to the elite. (i.e. the homeless and the downtown scene kids) I can't take the place for that long, I'd rather go to Benny's which is a block away or the Zebra club also a block away. I hear good things about Old Tavern but more bad than good.
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The O.T. has it's flaws, but it's the place to go if you want to hang out with neighborhood folk instead of the trendy places Downtown. Cheap PBR. So-so jukebox. Cool outdoor patio. The bathrooms ? Uh....not so nice....
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Ah, the O.T. Recently decrowned of the "worst bathroom in Sacramento" by the Streets of London, but not to worry, it's still up there with the worst. I remember when it was $1 PBR and $1 Hamm's Dark. Stay away from Hamm's Dark. It's evil. Even if the prices have gone up to a buck and a half, it's still a good deal if you're watching your wallet. A tried-and-true Sacramento dive.
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I hadn't been to the Old Tavern in at least a year, well last night Ally D. drug me there! Not really, I go willingly anywhere I can get a drink easily that's cheap. I like the Old Tavern because wether you are at the bar or a table or whatever there is a lot of ROOM. That seems to be what I like in bars, a little elbow room and cheap drinks. The only place that there isn't any room is the bathroom stall, which is good because if you start to get drunk & you are leaning the wall is right in front of you to keep you upright on the toilet - now if you lean sideways you are on your own.
There are pool tables, dartboards, a big screen tv but I don't know what makes it a casino.. I don't gamble anyway. The bartenders are nice which is always well nice.
At the end of the evening there was also a "band" in the parking lot, it was a cool way to end the evening. "Pregnant Again" was probably my favorite song. Just a fun place to visit all the way around.
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I love the OT and I don't know why...might be the supreme diveyness. Might be the fact they serve Blackbush Whiskey which is only otherwise available at Morton's...it's surprisingly less spendy at the OT. It might be The Cars on the juke. But I can no longer love the hole in the ceiling because the hole is no longer there. I can love the cat though. Just don't get too close. Though I have heard from a trusted source that cat is good with the listening and the therapy so someday when I've had a really hard one I think I'll test that out.
OT is OT. I've loved it since I was legal. Even in Los Angeles I couldn't find an OT. It's got character and a vibe completely unique to itself. Truly an "only in midtown" sort of thing.
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The OT. This place blows more than Clarence Clemons. (It's an e-street band reference.) The bartenders suck too. The last time we went to Old Tavern some 80's reject ( a regular) got all bent out of shape because I called him Kip Winger. He was singing 80's music very loudly in our ears so I applauded and said, "Give it up for Kip Winger!"
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So the naked chick match and find game is really cool. I believe I was so messed up once I thought the ceiling had a slight artistic greatness. I was reminded quickly of the mold and decaying materials I was admiring at the time, but whatever, I was in my own mind. It's not like I wanted to touch it.
In any case, blah, blah, blah, it's cool. They fixed the ceiling the last time I checked and the cat is rather friendly.
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I have a love/hate relationship with the Old Tavern. I love the place, but I hate the service and many of the patrons. I'm hard-pressed to remember a time when one of the customers, assuming because I'm a biker, I would be willing to fight anyone and everyone drunk and dumb enough to try to instigate a fight (which I never did- spending a weekend in jail just isn't worth it), or the bartenders suddenly slowing their service because of this.
I'd love to give this place a lot higher rating. But frankly stiff drinks and cheap prices just don't make up for drunks with misplaced anger, and servers who think you'll go away if they ignore you.
I do give an extra star to the bar's official mascot and guardian TC the Tom Cat, who always made me feel right at home.
Great midtown location and PBR on tap is only $1.25 a glass (although prices may have gone up to a whopping $1.50 now)! Also, they have a pretty happenin' patio. Need I say more?
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A bit of the gritty underbelly of the grid, one might say.
The bartenders are ok, but aren't great at making drinks. They ARE great at putting splashes of something into glasses of vodka, though.
This place is typically less packed than Bennys, around yon corner, so it gets a plus for having seating, most of the time.
Ladies, watch it goin pee.........you have VERY little coverage in that bathroom. Just sayin.
But, Old Tavern has PBR. On tap. For a buck fiddy a pint. So, that gets it two stars and return visits right there.
Casino? Huh? I've visit this bar on & off for the last 10 years and have never heard it refered to as a casino. Go figure.
If you like dive bars, here you go. It's loud, it's crowded, it carries Guinness- that's about all I need to know to visit. :)
I've had a few interesting drunken "onces" there.
Once I pulled down my jeans (just a little) to show a bunch of tattoo artists at the next table my tattoo, while in a drunken stupor. Yeah, the good old days.
Once during my single days, I had to meet a blind date there for a drink (a mutual friend had set us up) and the guy turned out to be extremely hot and extremely gay. Just my luck!
Once while having a horrible night, I spilled an entire Guinness down the front of a 6'4 guy that looked like he could be a linebacker for the Raiders there. The guy felt so bad FOR ME that he ordered me an another beer.
And in more recent times, having to drag a friend away from the place when he refered to the bouncer's girlfriend's dog as a "nice b*tch" and the bouncer mistakely thought my friend was directing the comment to his woman. Oof!
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Great place to find out if you are allergic to black mold and catch a cheap buzz at the same time.
This place is no longer a casino unless you count playing pool for a beer gambling.
UPDATE: The black mold crusty ceiling is no longer falling down into your drink. They fixed the ceiling, but spotches of mold are still looking down your shirt.
Do you want to get drunk? Because that is what Tavern is all about. There really is no middle ground. They have by far the best selection of hard alcohol I have seen in the grid. Look at the top shelf stuff - whether it be the Scotch or Tequila, it wont be over $5 for a shot. You can buy a Belvedere (vodka) and tonic for $3.50. The Tavern is a refuge. I don't have to talk to anyone at times...I can sit in the corner with my hood on and get lost in the menagrie of bottles. Other times conversations with the cronies (over 55) about their metal detectors and midtown ground scores have me laughing so hard I am in tears. I love this bar. It depends on what you are looking for I guess. It stinks, the roof leaks (hopefully not anymore) and it is somewhat of a mental vaccuum. But it's all about the booze and the sense of comrodorie between people who have seen better times. And I prefer that over anything else.
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i've been going to this joint for years. it is in fact a shithole. and there are almost NEVER any hot girls in there but if your business is drinking this is the place to do it.
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