By mistake, I was meeting some friends at "The" Branham Lounge and instead I went to this location instead. Â Branham Lounge, without the "The", seems to be closed now. Â The website says that they are reopening soon elsewhere but so far nothing.
I eventually found the place. Â The Branham Lounge that is located on Branham and Almaden was open and very busy on a Friday night. Â I have no idea if that place is the new one but I thought I should let anyone know who is reading this review...don't come to this address as there is nothing here.
I walk in with my Asian crew and every one stops and STARES. Â Unphased we walk up to the bar and order 4 Irish Car Bombs and pound them, instantly winning the favor of the drunk white dudes next to us. Â They watched wide eyed then exclaimed a slurred "Yeahhh...SAKE BOMB!" Â We then pay the nice bartenders, turn around, and walk out.
Review Source:I use to come here back in the day, and loved it, found out they might have switched owners, and have remodeled it. I decided to check it out. Big Mistake! Went on a Friday night, and it was about 9pm, it was already packed elbow to elbow, and was not expecting that from neighborhood joint, especially how it use to be before. Had a beer and quickly left, no big deal, I figured I would give it another shot.
I went in on a slower night, it was around 9pm on a Sunday a month after I went before. Everything started off pretty normally, everyone was pretty hammered already, and then Wham-0, Same really strange young girl came up and took my buddies stool without saying anything and then began talking/slurring to me, however I dont think she was really drunk. After a very brief and awkward conversation my friend and I relocated to a booth. From that vantage point I saw almost 3 fights break out, two of which were started by one drunk/drugged out guy. I guess the point Im trying to make is there was no security, and the drunks pretty much had free range at the place. I wanted to get out of the house and have some fun, and this was more chaotic then being at work. I had a beer and split. No one ever kicked any of these methed out patrons. I will never return. One star because I felt bad for the poor girl that was working behind the bar.
I cannot put my finger on it but this place gives me the creeps.
Maybe it is the constant darkness.
Maybe it is the lounge-y deep seated pleather chairs on ball casters.
Maybe it is that there are never any chicks in there.
Maybe it is its strange location - in a strip mall next to a dry cleaners.
Did I mention the perpetual darkness? Â And I have mostly gone in the afternoon.
Drinks and service are always fine but the place is creepy.
If you're shocked by this place being ghetto, Get a clue. You Yelped a place that doesn't even have a REAL web site, they have a myspace web address! Isn't that the first clue! Half-wit!
I love this place. Its not a classy lounge it's a bar. South side hood folk go there all the time and even some of us East Siders end up there too! Â They have good bar tenders, good drinks, but they don't take CARDS! They have an ATM on site and a Taco Bell next door.
If you're afraid of thugs and gangsters or if you cant just be chill and kick it don't stop by. We party hard, get a little too wasted some times, and even start a bar fight or two, but we always have fun.
Thursday is Kareokee Night!
4stars for an overall good time, 3starts b.c its not THE PLACE for every one= 3.5 stars, since I round down its only 3.
This place is a great retreat from society and the perfect place to just have a good time with your friends. The staff is so nice here and who can't love a place with a jukebox!? The drinks are affordable and strong so you can spend the extra money on music requests. Just remember to bring cash no credit cards accepted!
Review Source:Who knew Almaden Valley was soooo HOOD! This was a dive bar/club?? (complete with DJ who played house, high energy and hip hop) Not chill at all. Fight broke out withing our first 5 mins here. One of the female bartenders (severe black chola eyebrows, muffin top, trying to be coyote ugly but really she was just ugly) was completely rude to my friend and I for no reason at all. I will go here again if I'm feeling thuggish otherwise I PASS. Â Oh and PS...Neck tattoos are not the BIZZZZ but very popular on Saturday!
Review Source:If I could give no stars I would but I'll give one since they did have drinks. Â Heard about this place through a friend. Went there because we wanted a dive bar atmosphere which we got but it was more like we walked into a combination of The Twilight Zone mixed with The Fat Cat on the East Side. Â :-/ Â NO BUENO! Â Bartender chick was rude a hell, typical hater but then again... If I looked like a bull dyke like she did, I'd hate me too.. I'll keep this classy and as short as possible. Â Left with a corona bottle in my purse just to make sure I made it to my car. Â Enuff Said.
Review Source:I'm sitting here right now with my best friend. He's in town for work. I'm just hanging out. We stopped here going by other yelpers comments. Â
I'm gonna be brutally honest here... The girls are all thickies. I repeat, ALL OF THEM. The bartenders are pretty bangin', and our waitress (Marissa) is HOT. But overall, this place is okay. Drink prices are very fair compared to LA, and at about 11 it gets packed, but this is no "LA" bar.
I feel as if I need to be part of the Raider Nation to be accepted here. Well, that and have my head shaved and a neck tat.
If your cool and don't care , then you'll be good here. We still managed to have a good time catching up on a weekend of sports.
Oh, and the cougar part..... Yeah right. There are 2 here and are dressed semi conservative....and nothing you'd want to take home anyway, hahaha.
One last thing... I hope you all like Latinas and tattoos. Cheers..... Â
This place could easily get 4 stars but the clientele is lacking. But again, the staff is cool and down to Earth.... And it did get packed.
Enjoy the show.
I'm still feeling kinda mixed about my experience here...
The drinks were reasonably priced and nice an strong. Â It was pretty crowded for a Thursday and the crowd seemed to be enjoying themselves. Â It was kinda fun watching all the drunken folks in their mid 30s to 50s act a fool and karaoke. Â Hell, I was about to go up and do "don't stop believing" but that was ended quickly when my friend got sucker punched by some 40somethin year old guy that I guess was trying to impress his two lady friends. Â I've concluded that they were just out lookin for a fight. Â I mean for the lady folk to confront my female friend for no real reason other than being asian and younger than them. Â This is out in the parking lot after both our groups were kicked out mind you... Even the bouncers and karaoke mc came over to get these crazies away and tried to get us back in but the manager or something was having no part of that and we soon departed.
Overall, my experience here sucked and I highly doubt that I'll ever be back but it was kinda fun for those 40 minutes we were there..
Definitely a fun experience!
I went to Branham Lounge with a few friends last Friday night... not our brightest idea (going there after a Sharks game) but we wanted cheap drinks and a chill place to hang, so based on their past experiences, we came to Branham Lounge. Â It definitely lived up to my expectations of a dive bar... kinda crowded, everyone chatting it up with everyone else... my girlfriend and I were asked to pull out our IDs until they realized we were with the guys... hahah apparently they really are regulars :P Â Grabbed a few stellas and shots of henny (i passed. Â yuck henny!) and listened to the jukebox (whoever kept putting mariah carey on the box, kudos to you! Â hahahaha)
Definitely a fun place to hang without any worries of getting hit on by psychos or whatever... and they get an extra star for that funny guy who kept dancing like a rockstar... while wearing a sweater vest :P
I may be a little biased with this location as my wife is a good friend of one of the bar tenders here.
That aside, the Branham Lounge is one of the few paces on the South side that someone can get a drink at without crossing over to the sketchy neighborhoods of Monterey highway.
Tucked along the side of Branham by a Taco Bell, Erik's Deli and Roundtable Pizza, and across the street from a Carl's Jr. and Jack-in-the-Box, you have a lot of options for food directly after a night of heavy drinking, if needed.
The lounge itself, with a small entrance, runs back the length of the building. Like the other two spots in the South side it can get crowded fast because of this. However, there is a changing of the patrols we've noticed as the day progresses. From 10am until about 6pm and from 7pm until closing are two distinct crowds. The busiest time seems to be between 6pm and 7:30pm and then again after 10pm on a weekend.
While the decor is that of a typical dive bar, the black and with photos taken within the bar show that this location has weathered many ups and downs and treated its patrons well for many years.
Arbitrary Illustration:
Annoyingly Clubbish---------I---------------------------True Dive Bar
                     BL
Basically, it's another bar to add to the list of why San Jose needs better bars - but doesn't have them.
Lots of seating is great! You wouldn't expect it to be as large as it is. The drinks are also cheap.
Too bad the bartender tried to short me a large amount of change and it quickly filled up with barely-legals. When the DJ arrived and made it impossible to hear one another without yelling, we made our escape. I'd like it much better if it didn't have an identity crisis.
It's just another fish in the sea of nothing special SJ sort-of-dive bars.
Pros: Dirt-Cheap Drinks and uh.... well did I mention the drinks were cheap? Great place to people watch and feel better about your life. :)
Cons: Cougar central, keep your young boys locked at home. There will be an old man butchering a classic karaoke song while winking at every girl under 30 at the bar. Classic.
The place is the same as it has always been. Â Small, crowded, HOT, and there is no dance floor although they try to make a little room. Â Been there 3 times in the last month when my cousins came to town and it was so HOT we had to eventually leave. Â We kept going outside but it was still hot to go back in. Â
Good thing is there is no cover charge and the bartenders are really nice. Â They get to you quickly and make pretty good drinks. Â
It's just soooo darn HOT.
Ohh and they don't take anything but CASH. Â ATM machine by the bathroom in case you run dry, but it will cost you $2 and $2 from your bank.
This was probably the first bar I ever went to legally. It's near my high school and thus, near many of my old classmates. With that said, I try to avoid this place as much as possible since I do not want not want to run into my old classmates who for the most part, for lack of better term, suck.
This place used to be pretty solid. And then all of a sudden, they remodeled the joint and it became a go to spot for people in the area. It started to get packed and it lost that "dive bar" appeal.
They added karaoke, which is for the most part awful. Just a bunch of drunken girls singing Spice Girl songs and thinking it is cool or cute or something. Plus, you get the backward baseball hat wearing dudes singing lame songs and looking like tools.
And since when did this place become cash only? This place just keeps getting worse. And to top it off, their official website is a MySpace page. Please, Branham Lounge, find a way to get out of the neon-ghetto that is MySpace. Lame.
The only reason I did not give them a 1-star rating is because they are open 365 days a year. Yes, that includes Christmas too for all you drunks that are interested in coming by since your family hates you so much.
But beware: the line is out the door with guys in backwards baseball caps, floozy girls, and local trash.
Eek! Methinks not. - EXACTLY.
I will never come here again. Â Its full of trash that cant get to or get into other bars in town. Â
I don't care if you pay for my night of drinking food, and breakfast the next night - I would rather spend my time talking to people who have an brain, don't want to fight all the time, and know how to pee in a toilet!
Another San Jose minimall bar. Much like 5th Quarter on Kooser, and the now defunct Almaden Lounge about a mile south. A place to get a drink, a phone number from a cougar that needs to put her claws away, and a threat of a butt-kicking from a drunken biker.
Hell, this place has character.
Aaaaah the Branham Lounge. My favorite local bar (now that the Almaden Lounge is gone). The bartenders are great. Reasonably priced drinks. The crowd is a pretty good mix of people, ages, etc. Â KJ's are super cool and the crowd gets into it when a good singer is belting out a tune.
All in all, a great dive bar. Fun, Fast and cheap, the BL is all that.
Have you seen the movie, "Sean Of The Dead" yet?
If I used my fingers to make a big "W' sign would you grasp the significance?
The Winchester?
The Winchester Arms?
The pub where Man fought Zombie for the future of the human race?
Well, shame on you for not watching one of the funniest comedy movies of 2007.
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fi187.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fx302%2FBobbyP83%2Fshaun.jpg&s=b309eb3121a0ba07800c615c0a9853bc2fddb0e4ac09089a951cc1055ddd91f3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://i187.photobucket.…</a>
The Branham Lounge IS the Winchester Arms. Right down to the lovely wood panelled walls and poor choice in beer. The only thing missing from the Branham Lounge is a gaggle of zombies jostling around outside trying to get in and suck you dry. Oh wait a minute, thats the trashed girls staggering over from the Brittania Arms... I stand correctly. Its EXACTLY like The Winchester Arms.
One of the locals told me they remodelled this place a couple of years ago. I cant even begin to imagine how shitty it must have been before that. I sat on a chair straight out of my fathers 1967 bachelor pad. I paid cash for my beer. Cash. Apparently, the Branham Lounge does not take credit cards. I'm sure I saw one of those old fashion silver cash registers were the numbers 'pop up" and it shrills "chi-ching". I would come back to the Branham Lounge though. It was kinda fun. Only next time I would come prepared to fight zombies with my rare collection of 1980s Duran Duran vinyl discs, a cricket bat and an old rusty pair of pliers.
Zombies... They're not big and they're certainly not clever.
So I'm sitting on a cushiony bench getting a lap dance from a white girl with a slight fro when her boyfriend cuts in to show off his lap dancing abilities. Why was I receiving a lap dance from the girl in the first place? Well, her man had been cornered by two large drunken men who wanted to show of THEIR lap dancing abilities.
It was a boring Sunday night, made exciting by the Branham Lounge. This great dive bar is located in an unassuming parking lot and stepping into it is to still time. It's open from morning till morning, so you can go in and lose complete track of time.
A wooden bar takes up one end of the bar and rest is filled with comfy seats and a mixed crowd of - vets, 20 somethings and cougars. There is a juke box which took up way too much of our money. Our bar tender was this cute french chick that my friends couldn't stop ogling. She made a pretty decent drink and even bought my drunk friend a shot of Jameson. How's that for friendly service?
Branham Lounge is real close to me. Â I love the decor, especially before they added all the flat panel TVs. Â My biggest gripe is the volume of the music. Â It is nearly impossible to hold a conversation with someone in that place. Â I always find myself anxiously awaiting the silence between songs to power through a mini conversation.
If they ever decide to play music at a reasonable level, this place would easily be three stars.... maybe even 4.
I have been to this location several times, and all the times I've been here I had fun. Â The staff is really nice, and the cocktail waitress are really nice as well. Â They are always friendly and nice. Â Drinks are pretty reasonable and sometimes they have specials that run which makes it pretty cheap. Â Sometimes they will have Pinnacle Vodka shots for $5 which is not that bad. Â Hector is also super nice. Â Nice place to come and chill and have a drink and relax. Â People are pretty casual and nice as well. Â Never not had fun when I was there. Â Worth checking out just to see what it is like. Â The usually have a fair amount of guys and girls that come in as well.
Review Source:This place was fun but the drinks sucked. I don't know if the bartender was someone's girlfriend but she didn't know how to make a royal flush. Hmm..that's like textbook bartending school stuff!
Then I asked for a Soco lime and she put Jack Daniels with 7-Up. Umm no girlfriend.
Well, the goos thing is that they played some awesome music. Oh wait, I did. Yeah, the jukebox is cool but it's kinda annoying how you have to wait to hear your song you paid for. In my opinon you shouldn't have to pay for music in a bar.
"Something about the WEST COAST... Shhhhh! Â Don't tell nobody!" Â
Me: Â Whaaaattt??? Â Homie, THAT'S MY JAM!!! Â
"Something about the WEST COAST... It makes me wanna ride..."
Me: *proceeds to throw up a "W"*
I looked around, and quickly found my friends situated in a booth. Â I liked the place - they played good ol' gangsta' tunes from the early 90's... and next thing I KNEW, I was throwin' up them "W's" spittin' along with my homies TOO SHORT and RICHIE RICH.
There was a WAIT at the door to get in this place. Â SERIOUSLY. Â I already had to pee, and was thoroughly irritated by the fact that I had to wait to relieve myself, but it was soon remedied with granted entrance and savvy navigating. Â "AaaahhHhhhh...!"
Once I finished bitching about the wait and mellowed down enough to receive some drinks and investigate - I realized I liked the atmosphere. Â The picture supplied by Yelp makes it look classy, but when it's filled to the brim with people, you can barely appreciate the elements put into the space... like the wallpaper. Â I loved it. Â [Wallpaper is back with a VENGEANCE, you know... haha...] - The damask pattern looked like a flocked velvet that faded where the booths met the wall, and I couldn't help but be a geeky interior designer by laughing at how "vintage" it was, knowing well enough it was probably the ORIGINAL wall paper that came with the building. Â Granted, I was the only one that got the joke. Â "ZING!" - *golf clap*
Drinks were decent, but pitchers were tiny. Â The waitress was super nice enough to keep supplying the pretzel mix to soak up the alcohol, and people there were friendly... but DEFINITELY locals. Â Feeling slightly out of place, it made me wish there was a low-key joint like this in downtown.
Bathrooms were decent, and surprisingly, there was a line for the MEN's room and NOT the ladies... Â Amazing.
Bottom line: not too shabby, but a bit of a drive to make it my static dive.
Nice place to sit and people watch. There are some interesting characters that come through here. Sometimes it's a bit too trashy dive bar-esque, but as long as I'm with my boyfriend I'm not too worried about it. The drinks are decent; I ordered a shot of Jager and received a big shot glass full to the brim. This place is most fun when you're shitfaced. If you're sober, the music is waaaay too loud (digital jukebox) and the people are frightening.
Review Source:first of all, i would have given this place 5 stars but i have to knock off half a star  because people smoking or smoke itself was somehow making it into the bar...it was kind of annoying and the other half i have to take off  because i put 5 bucks in and my songs never came on the jukebox and fireplace wasn't on :(
ok...moving right along-i have to agree with some of the reviews here, they were definitely heavy handed with the drinks...deceiving little martinis they are not! everyone in my party got sloshed and are now paying for it a day later! so that was cool...i HEART the decor, the furniture, just the overall look of this lounge...it's definitely loungy and dark! it's the dives of dives! nice crowd and an amazing staff...shout out to hector and ginger! you guys rock!!! thank you for making our nite awesome!
i'm a city girl and coming down to the southbay is something i'm not too keen on doing (with gas prices and all) but this place was worth the drive and parking galore! think of it this way, with the amount of time looking for parking and driving around the city you could easily headed down to san jose! i will definitely be back...
you know what they say..."don't judge the book by it's cover..."
The Regal Beagle!! This place has everything you look for in a good dive bar. Not necessarily Charles Bukowski grade, but close. The ambiance includes 1970's furnishings- comfy brown leather swivel chairs, a fireplace, darts, and you gotta love the red pseudo velvet wallpaper! The juke box  is also decent, featuring some of my favorite movie soundtracks-Valley Girl, and Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels.The bartender was friendly and taught my friends and I a valuable trick for devouring tequila shots; chase away the inevitable tequila shudder with pineapple juice!Tah dah! It works wonders on my rigid hatchet.So not only did I have a fabulous time here but now I'm a bona-fide alcoholic, thank you Branham lounge..wink wink
Review Source:What other bar can you go to where when the pizza from Round Table next door will knock on the wall, when ready? Yeah. That's what I thought.
It's a complete dive bar - that seems to be on an upswing. Â Which is sorta annoying. Aren't there any watering holes that a million people DONT go to?
Ha ha I give this four stars because this is where I usually end up when I haven't managed to get pissed up somewhere else ( that means drunk) . Its a classic dive bar with plenty of perverts to make fun of. The last time I went there I met allot of men coming out of the bathroom for some reason they congregate there like girls. Â
The women in there seems to like to shoot nasty glares at each other, I'm not sure why. I'm an outgoing person and even more outgoing when I'm wasted. I tend to strike up conversations with anyone close by.... hmmmmm
All in all this place can get a little dicey - but play it safe and be friendly and you'll be fine.
I will drive past a lot of crappy pubs to stake out a spot at the bar or slide into a vinyl booth to meet some of my pals. It's the place to see-and-not-be scene. Though it's mostly a working neighborhood bar, the regulars are approachable and gracious to unfamiliar faces.
When I heard it sold and there were plans afoot to update it, I fully expected that I would have to add the Branham to the list of places I used to like. Â Thankfully, the present owners had the wisdom to just do some painting, add a few flat-screens and call it good. Â The only thing I miss is Dennis the Bartender.
Dennis was old-school. Dennis had a story for everything. He knew his stuff, hated "girl drinks," would scold anyone who mistakenly called any drink that did not contain Gin and Vermouth a Martini, and was the only man  in San Jose I'd trust to make me a Sidecar.
I guess Dennis was  a little too set in his ways, and a little too opinionated and a little too hard to manage to make the transition.  No faulting the new-guard for that.
I have this recurring fantasy of taking my 12 year-old son there for his first legal drink if by some accident of fate that it's allowed to remain unchanged. I'd tell him, "Now THIS is how a bar SHOULD be!" I'm sorry I won't be introducing him to Dennis, though.
Love this dive bar. It used to be a place for the "golden girls" to hang out but now theres a variety of ages, plus its funny to watch the older drunk women who should be home doin crosswords. Its decorated pretty cute for Christmas time also. The fireplace sets a nice atmosphere too.
Review Source:The fact that there's a post office directly across the street, and it is sandwiched between an Orchard Supply and Taco Bell... yeah, there's nothing about this place that screams DIVE! Reading the other reviews, I can only surmise that many of the people rating it did some serious boozing here before they turned 21, so the rose-tinted glasses came on prior to the review.
Sure, it is a lounge - cheap red vinyl couches, tired jukebox that testifies to the "louder isn't better" adage, and some seriously down-and-out drunks and locals who've decided the drive to a better place just isn't worth it. The whole place reminds me of bar scenes in B movies prior to the protagonist going home and putting a gun in his mouth.
The parking is good, and the clientele is pretty easy (unfortunately, not on the eyes), so I'll be generous and give it two stars. If you plan on killing yourself soon, stop here first. It'll be worth it when they do a "True Hollywood Stories" style re-enactment of your life.
There's really nothing not to like about the Branham Lounge! It's a fixed up, old-school dive bar with a juke box, booth tables, stong drinks and a fire place.
The crowd is all ages and theres a Taco Bell right next door that's open pretty late (easy access to food is always a plus!). Always a good time.
***It's especially crazy on Christmas night, last year was a BLAST! Get there early, the line gets looooong.
Hmm, 2 or 4 stars; this is hard... Â I have good memories of this place. But then again, I like the the stale popcorn, the angry chattiness of the Brooklyn bartender, and the near pitch blackness of that shag carpet infused, vinyl dungeon. Â
The Branham Lounge is at its best in the middle of the week, before the weekend (dare I say) "scene." Â When you want to get drunk, and you want to do it in darkness, with a limited selection of booze to complicate things, and the complete works of Neil Diamond to choose from on the Juke Box, there is no other home.
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