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- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
16 reviews for The Lube Room Saloon
When you're down and out and there's no place to go, drag yourself to The Lube Room Saloon and pony up bills for a sarsaparilla or really ride the rails to downtown with a PBR (Pabst Blue Ribbon).
Not to mention a hearty juicy burger with all the fixings, fries that will make even McDonald's want to know the secret recipe, and a lady named Bells who knows her way around a grill. Maybe you're feeling extra fancy, so order up a beer sausage, spicy and meaty; or the kid in you wants a simple bowl of macaroni and cheese, but adult of course with a shot of Tabasco and a dash of pepper.
75 cents to play pool, free to talk to all the jack-o-lanterns and yeehaws that pass thru the town.
Don't stop believin'.
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This dive is awesome! Located on Highway 4, you'll miss this place if you blink considering Dorrington is just the hotel and the Lube Room. The fries here are amazing. And the picture touch machine on the bar is super fun if you've had enough drinks. One time, a local told us that if you wait until 11pm, the games turn from G rated to XXX rated, if that's you're thing. They've got a good beer selection here and my cocktail wasn't bad. Their top shelf gin was only Tanqueray though and that was a little bit disappointing.
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An icy highway lined with snow-heavy evergreens winds through the dark forest. It's a chilly December night as we make our way from our friend's cabin in Arnold to The Lube Room up the road...
Inside the woodstove is blazing hot and the only signs of the cold outside are the monster icicles hanging from the eaves. Old signs and other junk hangs from the ceiling and walls, including a Confederate flag. (We're clearly not in the Bay Area anymore.) We proceed to take over the jukebox. The man who takes our order has a Spanish accent and seems to poke fun at us, but in a friendly, genial sort of way.
Now I'm a bad judge of beer, but this Snowshoe Snoweizen is some good stuff. And my tasty lube burger satisfies my months-long burger craving. Anthony gets the spicy lube burger, which comes with a little plastic cup of spicy, habenero-based, murky-green sauce. The sauce also does yummy double duty on the fries. My sister orders macaroni and cheese from the kid's menu; she receives the Kraft version in a little casserole dish. If we were uptight maybe we'd be upset, but it's cute and Lizzy loves it.
All in all, a cozy stop with good eats and good beer for a cold winter's night.
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You know you have lived in San Francisco too long when you see a the name of a bar is the "Lube Room" and you think "oh, that must be a gay bar..." No worries my girlfriend and I are gay friendly so we dropped by for a beer. Turns out that this place is a former garage, hence the name.
Now I grew up in Nevada so the bar with old junk on the walls is a favorite and I like a character or two, makes for good people watching. But really this place is about the Snowshoe ESB and the burgers all served to you by a Frenchman. Yes that was the oddest thing talking to a bartender/ cook from Lyon in a dive bar in Dorrington...
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The old owners were much better; it has gone down quickly. We were in there the other night and they closed up shop and kicked us all out at 9pm. I thought this place was a bar. It's not like there was only a couple of us in there either. There was about 10 people and we were all doing our best to empty the bar. Also if you go in for food don't order more than two or three items at a time... they tens to get a little frazzled.
I'm waiting for the guy next to me to blurt out "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning." I know he did a tour or two over in Nam. You can see it in his eyes, his hair, and the look of his jacket. And I'm sure he left a part of himself over there - part of his mind that is. Now he's up in the mountains, hanging out and living his own life.
The guy further left down the bar looks like he just came out of a Halloween movie - at any minute he might pull out a hockey mask and a hatchet. The two girls down the bar to my right are laughing about the guys that tried to pick them up on the slopes today. The 40+ year old couple at one of the tables is a local couple that I have seen around and met once or twice, can't remember their names though. The group of 6 around the pool table looks like they are here on an escape from a central valley college.
My bet is that Halloween dude is going to follow them back to the cabin. In horror movie scripting, the blond with the skin tight sweater and the tall football player guy are going to get it first, probably right before doing it in the upstairs bedroom of their cabin. One by one they will disappear and only the brunette escapes (she looks like the token virgin, especially next to the before mentioned blond). Halloween dude keeps glancing over at them, especially when the sweater wearing blond keeps bending over to take her next shot.
Some days up here, I just want some grub and a beer, or maybe a Jack Black Neat, away from the crowd at the cabin. When I am in that mood, the Lube Room fits the bill. It's a place in which to hide out, no one will tell the wife that you are there when she calls. Unfortunately the only parking is in front, so whoever is looking for you may see your car as they drive by.
The beer is served at the right temperature and they have a good selection of standards and locally brewed. The drinks are strong and the pours are generous. And as important are the burgers - just greasy enough, messy, and oh so tasty, some of the best around. Even the veggie burger is good.
The peanut shells can go on the ground and the bay area attitude better stay at the door. And on Friday night the people come out to play. I've seen a few notables in here on occasion - a couple of faded actors, a few skiing celebrities, and some women that were simply notable.
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All of the charm of a bar in the Blue Grass Mountains without the fear that some of the locals might go all Deliverance on your non-whitey friends. Probably the only place in the United States with a confederate flag on the wall and a veggie burger on the menu. The irony was not lost on this city girl. Actually, it totally was, that flag creeped me the fuck out so scratch what I said about the folks NOT wanting to lynch your racially diverse BFFs.
I'm also fairly confident that the bartendress is the same one as at The Hotsy Totsy in Albany who has a shirt that says, "For a Free Breathalyzer Exam, Blow Here" with an arrow pointing to her crotch. If it's not indeed the same woman, it's her motherfucking twin. Her more terrifying twin.
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Alone on hwy 4,
Never sure what you might find,
Slam the brakes, dive in.
People thought this was:
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having grown up half San Franciscan/half Dorringtonian, i can say, there's nothing can beat a Dorrington Martini. Marina Girls: Eff off, Mission Girls: you WISH you were this baddasss! stay away, nobody wants you here, or me for that matter. the Lube Room is a Room Unto Itself. daaaamn. chainsaws were Never Meant to be your Friend
Our forefathers who toiled to create what would become Highway 4 might have done so for precious metals, but the real goldmine is to be found in Dorrington, CA: The Lube Room Saloon.
Legendary throughout Calaveras County, the Lube Room has been in business for more than 150 years. The saloon is certainly no stranger to Hollywood's semi-elite. In fact, Gary Busey and Robert Conrad are said to have bellied-up here on more than one occasion to try their signature burgers.
What's more, the Lube Room was voted "Best Singles Spot" for 2007 by a local newspaper, which can be either scary or promising, depending on your circumstances.
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Going back in a couple weeks. I expect an icy lube room!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/17/2008
This place is really great. It has a feeling of authenticity that you'd be hard pressed to find at… Read more »
Yee haw and a tee hee- three cheers for the lube room! Again admittedly, my Puerto Rican ass would have NEVER ventured into this place had it not been for the fact that my beautiful lovely gal pal China started bartending at this place (bartender extraordinaire from Conolleys' and the Ave) when she and her rockin man moved to Arnold but . . . as a dive bar aficionado I was glad to venture in this place. Like another yelper expressed, I too was intrigued by the fact the Lube room may indeed be the only boozery in Cali to serve veggie burgers in conjunction with Confederate flags draped along the walls, but that's what makes it great! Plus, they serve there booze in jelly jars and it don't get any more Americana than that do it? And don't stereotype too quick kids- while the jukebox kicks out really bad new country, the regulars are some of the friendliest folks you will ever meet. And the owner rocked too, making conversation with a smile.
So if your ever in Arnold and find yourself thirsty, don't pre judge or hate on the redneckery, ok? This is the kinda place where everyone is there for the same reason and casual conversation is totally welcome. Check out this watering hole because it rocks!
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Simply a treasure!
been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
good idea: drinking lots of beer, playing pool, and eating burgers.
bad idea: peacoats, designer jeans, and striped shirts.
the Mission wishes it could be this badass.
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I grew up watching my mom and her posse head over to the Lube Room on summer evenings, wishing that one day I would follow in their footsteps. Once I was legal, well I supplied illegal documentation stating I was legal, I realized what the fuss was all about. Fun, casual atmosphere and plenty of mountain men with interesting lifestories to talk your ear off. Perfect way to end a day of skiing up at Bear.
People thought this was:
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a great place for a cocktail after a day of snowshoeing, backcountry, or riding at bear valley.
some good tunes and neat stuff to look at.
leave the bay area attitude at the door and throw the peanut shells on the floor.
