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Categories: Sports Bars, Restaurants, Dance Clubs
1807 Santa Rita RdMon-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
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Another P-town dive. (Not that it's a bad thing!)
If you're from the area you'll notice that Pleasanton is trying it's darndest to rid the town of nightlife establishments. (Mostly the ones downtown.. which now there are only 1 or 2 left.) This spot has become the "hip" hideout for 21+ers because it's one of just a handful of places open after 9pm.
There's shuffleboard, air hockey, pool, even a dance floor with a cheesy DJ from time to time. I've noticed that the crowd is usually younger and if you're over the "I'm finally 21 phase" you might want to skip out on this spot. It's another awkward high school reunion place where you stumble upon people you haven't seen since graduation.
I like this place. Went last Friday for a friends birthday/reunion/bar night.
It got kinda packed after 11, but all was good. I like this place better than Blue Bar in Livermore. Partially because of the size of the bar and a-little because of the patrons. I like that BB has a dance floor, but it's SO small. This place has 1/2 of the bar designed for a dance floor which is awesome.
I would like to go back and play beer pong. The night I went the right side of the bar for pool and beer pong was kinda empty.
The door guys are nice and don't have giant Ego's which is totally appreciated. Their waitress' are very nice and not snotty little bitches which is a nice change from the usual bars I've been to in the East Bay.
I'll definitely go back!!
On the night of Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, I somehow wound up meeting a friend at Sunshine Saloon for appetizers and pool. I don't remember the ambiance, charm, or food being particularly good, and I don't remember how I played.
I do remember that the Red Sox got bent over by the NYY, and lost 19 to 8. I also remember the cocky douchetool who kept screaming over and over again at the television, "RED SOX SUCK! YANKEES RULE! GONNA GET OUT MY BROOM! YANKEES GOING TO ANOTHER WORLD SERIES! BOSTON BLOWS IT AGAIN!!!"*
I think fondly of him when I remember the next two nights, when the games went into extra innings and the Sox rallied to bitchslap the Yankees back to The Bronx, eventually taking the ALCS in one of the greatest MLB comebacks EVER, and going on to win the World Series.
I'm throwing in an extra star for the Sunshine Saloon parking lot being the only place I've been able to brandish my mace and verbally threaten someone with it. I am not a taxi service for the surly, toothless, and meth-addicted. I am not giving you a ride to Castro Valley. I am not giving you a ride to Dublin. And if you forcefully try to get into my car...I'm going to blind you.
*this is the PG-rated version that omits the terms most frequently used by said heckling NYY fan. Please refer to: http://en.wikipedia.or...
Help! I've died and gone to hell!
At least hell as two beer pong tables. One star for each.
Went here with a group of friends on a Saturday night for some ping pong and a few cold drinks. I was pleasantly surprised when I got to the Saloon. The place is pretty big, has two sides one with air hockey, beer pong, table tennis, and pool tables. The other side has a few tables and a small dance floor. They played some pretty good music, and all the people seemed to be pretty chill. The drinks were not too expensive.
If you are not comfortable around well a lot of white people then this is not the place for you. I don't mind so I had a great time! I can definitely see my self hanging out here. The kitchen closes at 9pm so if your hungry gotta get there early. They have meal specials every day of the week which is cool. Anyway check this spot out, real chill.
Have come here many times, only because my friends chose to come here each time. There's pool tables, air hockey, beer pong, etc. on one side and on the other side a DJ, small dance floor and tables. The bar wraps around both sides.
More of a relaxed, after work type place, bring a group of people and have fun.
Came here the Saturday before last and this past Friday. Bring a group, get your swerve on and then dance!
I write this review because two of my fave writers Michelle (taco truck fiend)S. and Cara (queen jackalope)Y. recently wrote of this place that i used to frequent back in the 90's.Let's put it this way i wore Hammer pants last time i was here. Picture a fat mexican in floppy, billowy,cotton/mutant space material pants with electric green gecko lizards adorning the legs, yes, it's a sexy image, i looked so awesome on the dance floor.Especially hot too when the d.j. turned the black light on and the lizards looked like they were attacking a drunk mexican having a seizure with a beer in his hand................sigh,goodtimes. Anyhoo, i used to have fun here, then again i was very drunk, very douchey, on numerous substances and now firmly believe that thats probably the only way possible to have fun here.......fun trivia fact- pretty sure roofies were invented here.
Still my favorite go to spot for a drink and/or food. Especially breakfast! They open early enough on a weekend to get some food to cure a hangover!! They also give you a drink with your breakfast, can't beat that!!
The bartenders have always been friendly to me and I'm comfortable. Every once in awhile there may be a drunk customer that is annoying me, but it's a bar for Christ's sake, what do you expect? I may sometimes be the drunk customer annoying someone..LOL
All in all it's a bar, friendly people, good drinks, decent food, what more could you want?
I do like to go there for breakfast or lunch --- during the day!! The bartenders then are usually… Read more »
I've been to a lot of dive bars in my time. Sunshine Saloon makes even the Dive of All Dive bars on the Lower East Side look like the Mandarin Oriental. But not in a good or fun way. Not only was I sketched out by the people (drunks and creepy old guys following me out and telling me to go home with them?) and the location (a strip mall?), but my feet were literally sticking to the floor and the smell of old beer was making me sick. The beer pong tables probably don't help the situation any. I don't care how cheap the drinks are, but there's no amount of alcohol that would allow me to have fun here.
There are only three reasons I go to this bar when I'm in town visiting family:
1) They have an air hockey machine. Without this I may never go.
2) To laugh at the people who hang out there (the white trash men, the Eminem wannabes, the young skanks in their short skirts and Uggs - I will never understand why it's ok for your twat to be cold as long as your feet are warm - and the redneck cougar alcoholics who fail to realize they are over 40, and sometimes, over 60) because they really think it's "the cool place to be".
3) It reminds me why I don't live in Pleasanton anymore and prevents me from ever moving back.
Thank you Sunshine Saloon for continuing to bring the LULZ!
Looks like a place where the locals like to hang out, which makes me glad I don't live in Pleasanton. What can I say that others haven't already said? The only thing I liked was the many games offered like ping pong, air hockey, beer pong (where can you find a bar that has beer pong), shuffle board, and of course pool.
This place sure does cater to the newly 21 year olds, cougars, and Eminem wanna-be wiggers. I was shocked at some of the things you had to go through to get a drink. They went through an extensive ID screening process as if they were homeland security. They must have gotten busted in the past and are now required to go through this BS screening process. Like everyone has said, the bartenders ARE assholes and they don't accept credit cards? What kind of bar doesn't accept credit cards? You have to go to the corner and take out money from a guy with a debit card machine. Not cool at all.
FAVORITE GREASY SANDWICH PLACE
Best Chicken Philly Cheese steak and California Bacon burger EVER! i give the sandwiches a 4 (atmosphere a 3). There is so much cheese on the Philly it will cure any ailment from the night before. It's a great Saturday afternoon sandwich stop.
I'm not crazy about the bar or the booze choices, I mean what bar only caries Smirnoff flavored vodkas. At the very least one usually carries Absolute Citron.
Went here for the first time. They do have beer pong, pool tables and a air hockey table that I was told only worked half the time. Drinks where fairly priced, the food was well bar food and a bit on the pricey side for what it was. The bartender was hot and nice always a great combo.. The server was some younger guy how obviously hated the fact that he was a server. All in all though I would come back if for anything the drink prices and the bartender..
Karaoke night is awesome, also the fact that half of the place is dedicated to drinking games, HOWEVER, the bouncer is a total jerk!! He's a smaller guy that gives everyone who enters a dirty look and reviews ID's for five minutes each. I know it's his job, but he asked my 32 year old friend if she had another form of ID. I then watched him hassle three other women the same way and just made everyone who entered the bar really nervous. All this place needs is a few new bouncers who aren't making you feel like you did something wrong! Bars are supposed to be fun!
LOL at the cha-cha slide playing in the background, the obsessive security/I.D. check at the door (hello? we're in Pleasanton), and the campy feel, right down to the little snack shack in the corner...Sunshine is one of those places that remind me of being stuck in the 80s/YMCA camp during one of the Friday night dances...And talk about random people, I distinctly remember someone rocking their plaid PJ pants, but I guess you can say it's a little refreshing to not feel obligated to dress up off the hook? Damn, I'm being judgemental that is a little WTF, no? Anyway, fun people have fun, so if I ever go back I guess that will be the mantra...let's just say I'm a little over the pool hall/first-time-at-a-bar crowd
The staff seemed nice and the atmosphere (decorations, games, etc.) was pretty good, but the crowd........well let's just say they weren't the friendliest bunch. Definitely a lot of younger people (I'm 24 and I felt old!) and ritzy Pleasanton kids. I guess it is smack dab in the middle of Pleasanton, so that makes sense. Prices were a little high but nothing too ridiculous and it looked like they have good weeknight dinner specials. Perhaps we'll return for that one of these days.
I did like this place. Reminds me of some white trash bars in the South where I grew up (Georgia/North Carolina), but good music and lots of fun as I love to dance. Drinks were good, but not sure of cost as I wasn't buying them. ;-)
There are pool tables too, which makes it just a fun place to hang out with friends.
Awesome place to come with some friends. Good selection on the juke box, friendly people, and best of all our bartender who was Chris whos a bad ass. The music is mostly outdated, but in a retro kind of way, still nothing I would sing with my boys around hahaha. Thats why it wont get 5 stars. But other than that they have a good selection of beers and and alcohol. They serve wine (whatever the hell that is) so it aint no dive, but good none the less.
Decent chill spot, but considering I was pretty sober while being here my ability to deal with stankness was quite low.
The extra star is for the people watching, which was amusing. Be prepared to try to play the hooker or no hooker game here, and also a ton of girls not dressed up wearing flip flops on the dance floor. You can probably get away with playing the crackhead or no-crackhead game here as well!
Ick. This place left a bad taste in my mouth.
Two reasons why you should go:
1) Many screens, many channels for football.
2) Pool table, shuffleboard, ping pong...lots of entertainment
Other than that - the food was overpriced & mediocre (my no frills burger was good...but not $7 good). We had the rudest bartender...like, I get it, if you're rude in a sarcastic/funny kind of way...but this guy was a total asshole. Not cool.
Sure, maybe in Pleasanton you don't have a ton of options BUT...i'm sure there is someplace better than this joint.
If you're a fetus, who JUST turned 20, and got your first fake id and had never seen a bar before this MIGHT be the place for you.
If you are a little low on self esteem, and just need to be stared at and be told you're pretty regardless of the sweats and uggs you put on, then, again, this MIGHT be the place for you.
If you know yourself and have any type of standard what-so-ever, then this it NOT the place for you, and you'd be better off staying home to watch infomercials into the wee hours of the night.
The drinks are weak. The people suck. The bar smells like bar rot and a men's urinal. I've been to "THE SHINE", as a tragic regular called it this past weekend, a handful of times and 1) am always amazed at what a trainwreck of a bar it is and 2) regret not staying home to learn about Bullet Blenders and Proactiv.
I imagine that the people that have given this place 5 stars do so because they show up so completely inebriated that they could just as easily be at The Goodwill Store and wouldn't know.
I'm a huge fan of dive bars but calling this place a dive bar would imply the fact that it has enough character to be slightly charming or a crowd that's friendly or eclectic. Um. No.
This place is filthy (people actually EAT here????), I can only imagine what meat they use for their $4.49 steak special, the bartenders do short pours (2 and 3 counts??), and when it gets late and they have the dancing, some people even go so far as to throw on their flip-flops. You know, for the ladies. The rest of your experience will go downhill from there.
This is the place that people go because they just have nowhere else that they can think of going, but you'd be better off hanging out at TGI Fridays or Denny's.
Most of the time I'm totally fine with disliking a place and letting people find their own way. However, if you never listen to anything I ever say, listen to these two things:
1) Never get involved in a land war in Asia
2) Never, ever, ever go to Sunshine Saloon. Ever.
You have to go. Its a good place to eat drink and dance. Nothing spectacular but worth the trip.
Love to visit this place on Thursday nights for tacos. Best tacos you can get for $1.25! Choose your meat and then you get to pile on your toppings at a self serve bar which has the works- guacamole, cheese, cilantro, salsa, onions, lettuce, lime, sour cream plus unlimited chips. Sometimes we get the gang together to watch a big game or do karaoke at 9pm. There are lots of tvs so you can pretty much find any game you want.
They have pool, table tennis, and shuffle board too. Just a really fun place to kick back after work with friends.
SO Lame! I can't say anything else about this place. It's that horrible. The bartender was a jerk, too. I'm used to sf bars so I ask, do you have scrimshaw pilsner?
bartender jerk: What?? No.
my friend: can you recommend a good light beer?
bartender jerk: bud light.
Us: Um, no!
i really wish there were cool places to go out here.
Fun place
A dive -divey
Local crowd
Becomes a packed bar with a dance floor around 10
Fun daily specials
Good food
On taco Tuesdays - tacos are 1.25 - not taco truck tacos - more like del taco soft tacos get the ground beef ones - spiced perfectly. Then you get to add topping from the taco bar - toppings include guac, sour cream, onion, cheese, green onion, cilantro, tomato. Like all the good stuff! My friend and I agreed the chicken and pork tacos were dry, but in a really good sauce. The pork and chicken had the texture of tuna. Like it was boiled too log in unseasoned water, shredded and then introduced to the sauce. Wrong. A total waste of a good sauce. I've also had the tri-tip sandwich and onion rings. good - good. Nice service. We are going to make this a first stop on a night out.
I got drug here last night by a few girlfriends and although I suggested going to SF to take some out of town friends of friends from Texas out, the Pleasanton native insisted on going here instead. WTF!!?? I knew I wouldn't like it so I went into the situation buzzed...LOL...and not expecting much. We get to the door and the dirty looking doorman (seriously looked like he hadn't showered in a week) held my ID and stared mysteriously at me pondering if it were really me. Then he asked my address and continued to looks suspicious. Are you f'in kidding me you little white trash idiot?? There's NO way I can be mistaken for one of the trashy little 21 year old that frequent this place. After throwing a few smart remarks his way "he let me in"....oh thank you...thanks for nothin...you should be paying me to enter this low class establishment and gracing your patrons with my presence! Anyway, the place sucks and it's filthy nasty dirty. There are pool tables, an air hockey table, ping pong tables, etc but who cares? The bartender couldn't get a vodka and tonic straight so after three times of messing up I ACCEPTED a vodka and 7-up...gross...soda and vodka...I really am 21 again here. The music sucked and it was the most random selection of played out shit that I just forced myself to drink and dance and drink and dance and drink and dance and smoke and dance and smoke and finally oh yes...finally the magic words..."Are you ready to go?" AHHHH...yea I was ready the second we arrived honey. LMAO! Never again. Oh no...Never again.
1 star for 1 tattooed hottie there that was so angry he couldn't even dance it off...hahahaha.
Last week was my second time to this place. I like it! Both times I've been we've gotten there at 6:00 or so. It was jammed packed both times. Typical after work groups enjoying a quick happy hour before heading home.
The first time I went we had the cheap tacos and I seem to remember them being quite good. We didn't eat last time but by the looks of everyone around us the tacos were equally as good.
We go to play pool, or ping pong. We've usually had to wait for a ping pong table but have been able to easily play pool while we're waiting. This time we played one game of pool and then got a ping pong table which we hogged for a couple of hours (well, 5 or 6 games anyway). Both times it's been pretty much cleared out by the time we've left, 8:30 ish. I've never been on a Friday or Saturday night but am quite sure it's a crazy scene on either of those nights.
Oh yeah, only three stars cuz there was this nasty looking gunk on the walls near where we were playing pool. Actually, that really grossed me out. Looked like dried salsa (at least that's what I hope it was).
We'll be back there again I'm sure. If gunk is still there then my stars will very quickly be deleted.
This bar is strictly for the underaged, the newly 21, and the over 40s crowd. Y'know, the people who either can't get in anywhere else, don't know any better, or can't get any better.
My co-workers and I came here a few times, and it's never been all that great. Drinks are ehh, other patrons are uck, ambience is eek, and this just is not a choice place in general. Definitely not where all the cool kids are getting their drink on.
Though I will say that one of my friends did meet the love of her life here (God I hope they don't go around telling people that!), so maybe that speaks for something. But they were hedging towards the late-30s age group when they met.
Not coming back here if I can help it!
I don't understand the appeal of this place. It's loud, there's always someone giving you a mean look, and there's always some sloppy drunk annoying the crap out of you. Besides all that the service sucks, it takes forever to get in because they have to scan everyone's license, and the prices aren't as good as some other local bars. Worth skipping... forever.
"Whaddya want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you wanna do?"
"I dunno, let's do something."
If you are like me and have friends like this, Sunshine is the best place to hang in Pleasanton. The drinks are strong, and the people are friendly. There's craploads of stuff to keep your group entertained - pool tables, ping-pong tables, air hockey, a hand-shuffleboard game (dunno what the official name is), wireless Internet, darts, decent food, TVs, live DJs, a few arcade games and a dancefloor.
The music they play is super eclectic; in one night I heard Metallica, Gnarls Barkley, Vanilla Ice and Lil' Kim. The crowd is a mix of the old (there were a few 70 year-olds one time I went!) and young (teens with fake IDs), but everybody's super friendly and I have a great time whenever I go.
There's no cover charge, but they strictly enforce the occupancy rules so beware if you arrive late on a busy Saturday night.
In search of a good local sports bar, I thought I'd try this place out. Overall, it was a decent experience. I had a hard time locating the place in the plaza, since the parking lot was extremely dark. Once I got inside, I definitely felt like I was inside a sports bar. There were more than a handful of good-sized TVs hanging on two of the walls. It wasn't crowded at all, and as expected, most of the people there were just in small groups with coworkers or friends, relaxing with a beer and watching football. The pictures from the website suggest that the place is more densely populated on the weekend, so I may come back to check that out.
The food was okay. I ordered the Cheese Steak Sandwich with chicken instead of beef. The chicken was a bit dry, but the bread and veggies weren't bad. The daily specials appealed to me, since they offer something different each day of the week from 4-9pm. And since it was a Monday when I went, I ordered a $3 Mai Tai. It was tasty but not too strong. The service was quick, as my server was very attentive and friendly.
All the rays of the sun can't make this place brighter than it already is. This bar is the SHIT!
The bartenders are heavy handed and really good looking. They know how to make a drink taste good and get you all warm and fuzzy inside.
This place has all the entertainment too. WIth 4 pool tables, 2 ping-pong tables, 1 air hockey table, and a shuffle board stroll, you're good to go! They also have karaoke on Thursday nights and if that isn't enough to get you going - they got a dance floor where suprisingly, everyone actually goes to dance.
It's by far, the most awesome place I've been to here in Pleasanton, so far. And teh fact that it's just across the street from the pad, makes it even cooler!
Let's DANCE!
So I came here for a couple drinks and dancing for my bf's graduation on Saturday. The drinks were ok...good price and quick service but I felt like everyone there had some sort of attitude. I'm a friendly drunk and I don't like it when people are grouchy especially when you are having a good time! On a side note, my friend and I were playing ping pong and some guys started throwing money on the floor. I was like...WTF? And one of them just shook his head...I took the money and bought another drink hahaha.
Positives:
Free ping pong (I dont know about the other games....I didn't get a chance to play)
Fun music
Quick bar
Music videos!!
Negatives:
Only one toilet in the ladies room was working
Attitudes
Kinda creepy bouncer guys
Only accept cash
I'm so glad they have ping pong, pool tables and shuffleboard here. I don't think I'd go here otherwise. If you want to see the token mullet neighborhood local, go to Sunshine. The music they play is often random and incredibly loud, but it's one of the few places where you can sit and have drinks with friends in this area. I like the theme food nights though...
Oh yeah, if you have to pee, you have to squeeze your way past the often crowded dance floor don't say I didn't warn you.
Who in P Town doesn't like the Shine? I mean it's like an icon for Pleasantonians. Not the cheapest in town or the classiest either. You'll see alot of AT&T and Oracle people in the bar after 5 taking their agressions out on the pool tables. After 8 there's a pretty rock'n DJ. Good food until 10, but there's always Jack in the Box within easy stumbling distance.
Drinks are a little over priced. I ordered 3 Jaeger bombs and the bartender said "Ohh just give me $20", Like that was hookin me up. That's $6.66 for a shot of Jaeger and a inch of red bull. At my last bar I worked at we charged $5 for a Jaeger bomb.
Don't get me wrong the bartenders are nice and the atmosphere is great. I haven't seen a bar with ping pong..... ever!! Having food available is always nice, but why don't they let you run a tab after 9? Seriously, people would spend way more if you let them use their credit card!?!?!? I never understood that.
OK OK OK.... We went there last night and a pitcher of BUD LIGHT cost a WOPPING $14....... DEAR GOD!!! 4 people and our tab was $106. That is including dinner but holly crap! FOr a local bar they are way overpriced!
Can't say I will never go back... I live around the corner!
The Sunshine Saloon is a solid bar. As other reviewers have mentioned, there are plenty of things to do such as play pool, dart or hang on the dance floor. The place is a little bit drab, but hey, it's a bar to hang out with some friends.
I have to agree with Tracy, the drinks are poured properly... nice and strong.
Like any other bar high or low class you'll always have the drunken douche bags and the skanky girls along with the people who go to just sit and complain. The age ranges from "Hey I just turned 21 this afternoon" to the much older crowd. I've gone to meet up with my friend on occasion and regardless if I had a drink or not and I can still have a pleasant time. I enjoy the bartenders since I can't blame any bartender having to deal with drunk people all night long. So I give them credit and respect for what they have to put up with. Slurring drunks who probably can't correctly order drinks. Like any other bar and being intoxicated what you wear does not matter since drunken people will hit on you no matter what. Dress up or dress down it won't make a difference. Honestly, it's not a high class bar so don't have high expectation but if you just want to have a fun time with a friend or group of friends it's just a nice place for a change of scene. And just as a warning to anyone who goes to bars on the regular anywhere. No matter what bar you're at, no matter how good looking you are or think you are. People are drunk and a compliment from anyone drunk at a bar is a joke. So don't take it seriously. You're at a bar... what do you expect? True love?
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