As far as Big Bear Lake is concerned, Chad's is a pretty happening place.
On Friday night, there was great live music and a group of people dancing on the dance floor. There was a wide variety of people, all ages from 21 to 80. Our group was entertained by several older patrons showing off their moves on the dance floor.
The place is definitely a dive bar but overall it was a good experience.
If you're in Big Bear Lake on the weekend and looking for a place to go, you should check out Chad's.
FYI: This place is cash only!
You gotta be kidding me. Don't go! Â The locals run the place and one wanted to fight soon after I walked in. Filthy and run down. The employees all look like they need baths, haircuts, and shaves...and I'm talking about the females! Â Band was off key and needed to go back to the garage. I wouldn't dare order food from this greasy spoon with a cook that looked like he just came out of prison. All the employees reeked of smoke. Â Won't even think of going back. What a dive.
Review Source:Went here Saturday around 3 pm after a long day of fishing. We got a few buckets of beer and some food. The cheeseburgers are HUGE! $8.50 was a steal. The burger was so good I decided to get the pastrami sandwich. WOW! This place is what it is. I have never been here ond a weekend night, but if you just want to hang out with the Bros, eat some damn good food and have a couple of drinks then Chads will definitely  work. I also chatted with the owner Bob. Totally a nice guy. There moving the location to the main boulevard in a few months. I wish him the best at the new location. I'm coming back in July and I 'll be stopping by again.
Review Source:(03.01.13) Meh.
Its Friday (after dinner time), bestowing ourselves early enough that the bouncer at the door doesn't bother with pleasantries or ask for a cover charge.
Entering Chad's you'll find yourself in a large joint with the stage immediately to your left & a shotgun bar to your right. A large dance floor occupies realty in front of the stage.
The wife sets herself down at the bar. It's empty so she has her pick of stools. I scope out the place on the way into the men's room. There's a whole back "room" area! Seems the foosball tables & all but 2 of the pool tables are occupied. Funny, for about 20+ peeps in this place, it still feels empty because it's so spacious.
Looks like the band is setting up & I join my wife back at the bar. She still has no drink in front of her. It's been at least 5 minutes. I know the bartender saw us as we walked in cuz we both gave each other the chin-wave as I passed by. Well, I sat for another good 60 seconds before he made eye contact with me. I caught a whiff of what could only be described as some drunk's stomach remnants from the night prior. Another chin wave & he finally got out of his gangster lean and walked over. They've got shit for beers on tap so I order my "go-to" light beer & the wife gets the house chardonnay.
This guy sucked balls for quickness & was even worse for attentiveness. Worse yet was the bad tasting beer when I finally got it! When was the last time these lines were cleaned? G-g-g-g-ross! The lingering barf smell & the shitty beer taste in my mouth made me leave half the pint. My wife finished her chard asked for the bill & silently questioned why a light beer would cost more than a glass of wine. As more people started filing in we decided to forego the band & the pricey domestic beer. Don't get me wrong, I love dive-bars, I bartended at dive-bars...this was just sub-par bar...We just Yelped other joints in the vacinity & we're headed to Murray's.
If you've got cash ONLY, enjoy the taste of stale shitty beer & not worried of getting a staph infection, Chad's is for you.
Will I be back? Big Bear, yes! Chad's? A resounding NO.
If I could rate this place zero stars, I would!
Visited this past weekend with my boyfriend... We were put off by the cover charge, and inability to pay for it using a credit card; maybe they have a deal going with the atm owner? Anyway, the rest rooms were filthy and unkempt, and the staff was less than friendly. After waiting (and being passed over) by the bartender several times, I separated from my boyfriend in hopes of getting service from a different area of the bar. The bartender asked a girl standing next to me what she would like to order, and the girl kindly pointed out that she had ignored my boyfriend repeatedly. "Yeah, he looks like a douche, I would rather help you first." was the bartender's response.... WOW, just wow. Little does she know, we have both worked in the service industry and tip very generously. Had I been able to make it over in time, I'd have advised him against tipping, something I never do. Needless to say, we left soon after.
If you want to be served by 40+ year old, meth-head looking trailer trash, Chad's is the place for you!
Amazing how one person can seemingly ruin a business. We had been to Chad's some years ago and had a decient experience. So we were in town again on Monday 12/24/12 at around noon and decided to revisit. Jeez, what a difference....for the worst. The place was stil the same except for the no personallity rude old biker bartender lady (the word "lady" is being extremely generous). First she never greeted us even though there was 5 people total in the bar. Then she ignored us for another 3 minutes while she finished up her intimate conversation with the hairy biker at the end of the bar. This is the best part....she walked up and said "you got ID's". No hello, no sorry for the wait, NO NICETIES AT ALL. It's like she just didn't want to do anything but sit on her fat ugly ass. We had one drink and promply left (guess who got no tip). Good ridance Chad's
Just as I was about to lose all faith in female bartenders we found Murray's Saloon which is right next door. These two girls working the bar made us feel welcome and service was amazing. Drinks were cheaper and stronger than Chad's. We ended up spending several hours with food and drinks. Definatly will never be going to Chad's again. We've discovered Murray's Saloon
Cheap drinks - yay
Cash only - boo
Cover charge on Sat night - seriously?
This is just an ok place and given the limited places to go in the Village, just hang out and try to enjoy yourself. This bar is pretty big so there's enough to do - play pool, dance to the DJ or live music, or play video games for all you anti social folks.
If you want to check out Murray's, go out the back door and it's steps away. Fair warning about that place, though, there was vomit under the bar table and it was only 9:30pm. Good times.
Pool tables at a $1 per game is a sweet deal!
Live band plays mostly cover songs to keep the party going. Depending on what mood you find yourself in, you can be on one side of the room or the other: mellow kick-it with friends over pool and a beer: or hardcore party with your girls in heels, take some shots and get hit on by the guys while the band plays. You can have it all at Chad's Place!
They also offer food and karaoke on some nights.
Definitely the tourist destination spot when in Big Bear!
Im up here at least once a month and everytime I love coming by Chads Place and having a drink or four or more and enjoying some live music, I've never had a bad time here and always like the friendly people that work here. Â Drinks are good, beers are cold and the music fits. Â Located right in Big Bear Village walking distance to a lot of great food and shops. Â There's nothing fancy about it just a good place to have some good drinks with some good people. Â See you in a few weeks Chad's Place!
Review Source:I've always had a good time . on our last trip though, they tried to charge our group a cover fee. When he asked how much the bouncer just stood there thinking for a second and then said "$50". We promptly turned around and left to go to Murray's.
1. The bouncer was clearly going to pocket the money. Plus, we just saw a group enter without paying. I guess he thought we were rolling in dough.
2. Cover charge for a dive bar in Big Bear? The reason we love going to bars in Big Bear is because they are so laid back and fun. This isn't a "hot" LA club.
Awesome bar! What a great time we had here for Labor Day Weekend. Saturday night was insane! Great bartenders, rockin band (chick with bass guitar kicked a$$), dance floor was busy as were the 5+ pool tables and there was more than enough seating. They crushed the classic cover songs and mixed in some top 40's.
Next year we will be back!
What we liked:
1. Â Mellow, much more so than Murray's and Avalanche. Â Far less blood stains.
2. Â Friendly, funny, down-to-earth staff. Â We hung with Mike and CJ.
3. Â Roomy, dark, with six pool tables.
We went on a Sunday and Monday night in the summer, so it was DEAD, but we went to Murray's on a Saturday and the guy outside was dead, so...
(just kidding about Murray's- we love Murray's too)
I first went here in the winter and felt I'd found a comfy "bar away from home". Â During a recent summer visit I was surprised to find the place even more lively and crowded. Â And I mean that in a good way.
So, for two nights in a row we closed the place down. Â There is often live music and that can be a mixed bag. Â On the nights we were there more people danced during the band's breaks than while they played. Â Maybe a demographics things? Â I knew all the words to all the songs they "sang".
Chad's is a large bar, as bars go, and multiple service points makes it feel less crowded. Â Nobody I know likes standing 3-4 people deep at a bar trying to get the bartender's attention. Â They have a cash-bar in the back when the main bar is full. Â They even open a second drink and food counter on busy nights.
Go to dance. Â Stay to play pool. Â Bring your friends. Â It's a fun place to hang out after dark in Big Bear.
Local city! Â Beware of drunken foozeball players!
My biggest qualm about this place is as follows: Â $2 Domestic drafts during Dodger games. Â Sounds rad right? Â Wrong. Â First, I asked for it and the lady gave me an attitude and asked if they Dodgers were even playing. Â Uh, yeah, it's a weeknight at 8pm so the chances are pretty good, plus, isn't that your job to know? Â (It was on a TV screen at the bar). Â She decides to believe me and asks what I want. Â I see they have Sierra Nevada and ask if that counts. She says, "No, only bud and coors light. Â Sierra Nevada is $6.50." Â $6.50?! Â Damn son. Â When did SN Pale Ale become a micro import pint of sour? Â I get the Coors Light and she comes back with a god damn dentist swish-and-spit-cup full of coors light. Â It seriously would have taken two and a half of them to equal a pint. Â Is Coors Light really that valuable to you that you need to scam your patrons? Â There isn't a single person that would be happy with getting that "deal." Â
Side note, you can get big ol' pint of Coors/Bud light at Av Nightclub right around the corner for $2 without having to ask about a deal. Â
They did have some rockin' live music at this place which was cool.
Came here on a Sunday evening. The town itself was kinda lonely, so we didnt expect much coming in. Â Came in and were greated right away by the owner. Â Very nice guy. Â This bar is CASH ONLY. Â Otherwise from that, they have foosball, pool tables, video games, and a bunch of tables to sit.
Otherwise, cool little spot to play some pool.. Â Its also pretty big.
For a Sat. 4 pm "let's do something" in the Village, Chads was great fun. We were 4 of 9 patrons. CASH only. Bar & food windows were separate areas. Food 2* onion rings & zucchini sticks frozen then Deep fried... So order "food" after 3rd or 4th round cuz it'll taste great by then.
Mini pool tables 4 quarters. Juke box 50 cents a song. Change machine there.
Marty the bar tender was cool mo dee & made a cutesy pink drink for my girl friend. Me-- Bacardi diet 2 limes (strong pours) kept me giggly through round after round of pool-- I got better as the day turned into night... Placed filled up with interesting groups, couples, locales who expounded on tourists' characteristics, & post slope skiers like us. TV with college fuuzeball no PAC man in any bar in the Village -- conspiracy? Thank goodness for I phone apps to keep u updated till round 12.
Njoyed divey bar atmosphere, eavesdropping on couples' conversations, 9 balling, shaking my ski pant clad bunny tail to juke box tunes, & drinking the kool aid poured by Marty.
Village Window shopping was quaint. Lots of pedestrians roaming. Â Crisp air-- so inhale deeply.
Whenever our group goes to Big Bear we have one night scheduled to go to Chad's Place and have a dance party! There's a few dive spots in Big Bear, but this place seem a bit big to call a dive. Specially with a dance floor and Top 40 jams I would say Chad's Place is as close as you can get to "clubbing" at Big Bear.
The dress code is casual and far from dress to impress, people in sweats and I saw a couple come in what looked like their PJs. So no worries about looking like a hot mess, there will be others more haggard looking than you.
I highly recommend getting Adios, here they are served in a large glass and have a nice kick! You want to make sure that you limber and ready to hit the dance floor, you don't want to pop out a knee cap or something and have to be carried out by the bouncer. =p
In a place like Chad's you make your own fun, the rules are pretty lax just don't try and bring a drink on the dance floor. My most recent experience at Chad's was great, it was a Friday night and there were a little bit more out of townees due to Oktoberfest, so a bigger and more diverse crowd. I spent most of the night chatting and getting in a couple rounds of pool.
Just be friendly and people will be friendly back, it's simple! I didn't appreciate the pervy old man by the bar though, he was a bit too friendly and kept trying to grab me and make kisses! o_O; ACK
This is a good ol' down home dive bar. To be fair it is extremely lived-in, but it is totally charming with a lack of pretense. A place to blow off steam and get away from whatever it is you're running from.
With any luck you'll find raunchy debauchery around every corner. Condom dispensers in the bathroom? Check. Trailer-trashy boys and girls? Check. Harley bikers? Check, and upgrade that to Hells Angels!
To list some of the awesomeness that elsewhere might be difficult or impossible to find, especially in combination:
Pool tables
Darts
Foosball
Arcade games
Big screen TV
Live music, DJ, Juke box
Dance floor
Jello shots
Arrogant Bastard (ale)
There is plenty of free parking out front, or in the lot out back. Also, don't forget: CASH ONLY.
Not too much to review. Â This has got to be one of the largest dive bars I've been to. Â Good dance area, pool tables, sports, stiff drinks, good bands and friendly staff (after a few tips). Â Get there a bit early and there's no cover but, hey, bands got to make a living to ya know.
Head in, enjoy some cocktails and then mosey on over to Murry's around the corner or stay till closeing time. Â But always taxi, too small of a town to get away with driving. Â Drink up!
Things at the cabin were getting pretty feverish so we decided to call a cab and head into town. Â Chads place was first stop on the list. Â The place is very large, complete with a dance floor, full bar, pool table, dart board etc, Â and various munchies.
The band got to jammin at 8pm, and the drinks were flowing (and stiff I think). Â Â I'm glad we got there before 8, because thats when they start charging $5 cover.
But I probably would have paid anyway, because this place was a warm haven of booze, boys, bunnies and a wild rock n roll band. Â The Rum Soaked Raisins I believe, were bustin out a lot of hits, and the place soon filled to the brim with 600+ partiers lookin for good times. Â After the band finished a DJ played the jams and the kids were cutting loose on dance floor. Â
Things got pretty fuzzy at that point and then I realized that I couldn't find my purse! Â I was pretty pissed off but not suprised considering my track record, and the staff promised me they would do their best to locate it.
....Fast forward to Sunday and the hung over crew heads to Chads to watch football and "cure" the hangover by drinking more. Â The bartender was very accomodating considering that I had no purse, and luckily my friends were in pleasant moods and kept the drinks flowing.
The pitchers are reasonably priced at 11.50 and the mozz sticks were gooey good. Â Things start getting hazy again and I was doing a lot of complaining about my purse when lo and behold! The DJ from last nite shows up and asks me if I was the girl who lost her purse. Â Yes! Thats me! Well turns out he had it and it was locked in his DJ booth. If I wasn't partially sane I would have jumped on top of him right there.
Needless to say, the next joyous rounds were on me and the day couldn't have turned out better.
Many thanks to all the staff here and the people and good times. Â Next time I'm in bear, I will come back (but leave the purse at home)
Just like the tag line on their website, Chad's is a saloon pure and simple.
Pros:
-Large place with 3 bars
-Dance floor with good live band and later a DJ
-Couple of dart boards, foosball tables, and pool tables.
plenty of tables and chairs
-decent bar food
-and last but not least, generally a one or two fights on a weekend night
Cons:
-super crowded as in: not enough bartenders nor competent ones to serve the patrons in a decent amount of time. had to wait 15 minutes in a line for a round of beer and shots
-over priced for a saloon. $12 for a Washington red apple shot???
-CASH ONLY BAR
-COVER CHARGE
Overall had a lot of fun with friends, witnessed two fights, and played some foosball. However there was nothing that differentiated this place from most of the other bars in the area or saloons in general.
Thus a two star rating for being mediocre, being cash only, charging a cover, and taking forever to get an overpriced drink.
Raunchy, smelly and stuffy hot!!
This bar/dance club attracts out of towners and locals alike. Â The townies look like bums and the tourists are super dressed up. Â Age varies drastically. Â $5 cover. Â Live band and DJ with 80's, rock, hip hop, and house. Â Interesting mix, no?
This was probably the most poppin' spot at the Village. Â Raging hormones everywhere! Â Warning: Â Reminiscent of a college frat party.
This is you typical dive bar/ locals run this bar... kind of place.....and i LOVE it.
I have only been there one time and had the time of my life. We went there for my boyfriends birthday and you could definitely tell we were not locals (cause we're not) but we do frequent a cabin up there so decided to check out the local bars.
They have a great dance floor, a mixed crowd, great dance music (it was a Sat night), pool...good drinks, lots of shots...
Don't know when we'll be back to the bar as the point of going up there is to get away from this scene =) but at least we know there is a place to run off to if we ever get the urge to go dancing one night!!!
I'd give this place 10 stars if I could.
This past weekend I attended in my company's annual Big Bear weekend retreat. They'd organized a bunch of cabins for approximately 80 employees to basically 'party' in for two days straight. Night one consisted of dinner and open bar at Paoli's Italian Country chicken (free to the employees). SO already very very drunk the crowd headed over to Chad's, where one of our CEOs handed the managers wads of cash and instructed them to pay for whatever we wanted.
I don't know if the poor bartenders were warned ahead of time, but I'm quite sure they made a boat load, and I mean, a boat load of cash that night. The fact that they could keep up with crazy people shouting and screaming orders, while a random band played music, earns them the 10 stars. Plus my gin and tonic was excellent.
The place is quite large, with pool tables, a small dance floor, TVs and a lot of places to stand and sit. I never felt crowded, and I hope the Big Bear locals didn't either. Thanks for putting up with us guys!
The only problem I had was when I tried to take a plastic cup of water outside, they wouldn't let me. I mean I suppose, it makes sense, but not really haha.
I am a saloon and dive bar kinda girl, so of course I'm biased in really liking this place more than other people on here.
My ideal bar is one with a decent jukebox where I can drink whiskey on the rocks and kick someone's ass (or look like I am) at pool, darts, or shuffleboard. This is Chad's except they don't have shuffleboard anymore. Bummer.
We didn't pay a cover because we went in the late afternoon/early evening but I get that they do it because they have a live band, as do most places. Just because this is in a small town, folks, doesn't mean the band doesn't need to eat, too. Maybe the cover charge also keeps out a lot of riffraff. If you can't afford a $5 cover, then you shouldn't be out drinking! Go buy a 30-pack of cans and go back to your dingy hotel room and reassess why you still have to party like you did in high school even though you're an adult now.
All the things people complain about on here are the very reasons I like Chad's. It's not sterile, the staff doesn't kiss your ass just because you're a customer, it's cash only, they have wine in a box, and there are sexually charged cougars everywhere. If you don't like it, then go back to Rock Bottom or whatever other yuppie contemporary chain place that offers an illusion of cleanliness you go to!
This was THE happening town in place. Â After we paid a cover we walked in and people were dancing and there was a band... we just felt out of place. Â I mean people on the dance floor were just going through the motions. Â They weren't blacked out wasted. Â Sad, but that is the only way you will see me getting down on the dance floor. Â Everyone was so composed a bit surreal for me.
This would be a solid place to go with a group of people WASTED. Â I guess my point is you'd have a blast anywhere if you were wasted. Â Not sure where else to go if you are in Big Bear.
We went bar hopping (driving, I was the DD what?!? nwhat?!? not really if you get my gist) and then we headed back to our cabin because we'd knew we'd have a better time.
So I was in town for the weekend and asked a local from Snow Summit what bar to check out... he told me "Chad's, man". Â So we loaded up the Subaru and were off to Chad's, man. Â
First off, the $5 cover was pretty ridiculous... oh well, we paid and went in. Â Then, we find out it is cash only (great... I never have enough cash). Â The live band was pretty funny and entertaining to watch, then some dance/rap tunes started to play during their breaks. Â This is when we just decided to act like fools and dance the night away .... pretty fun! Â We also played some pool, foosball and had some interesting people watching here (haha).
It was fun, nothing GREAT.. but it was nice for a night.
Chad's happens to represent about 70% of the reason I left Big Bear (the other 30% being Murray's).... It only accepts cash, the place ain't no friend of queers (umm, yeah, some gay dude got beaten the shit outta behind the back), and the crowd is... Well, it's Big Bear All-Stars -- you know, the kids that "graduated" (did they?) and never managed to take a step off the mountain. Â
Okay, so Negative Nelly has gotta go -- let's get to some good points. Â If you're wasted already, Chad's rocks 'cause you won't remember it. Â They have plenty of pool, sometimes a decent band. Â DO NOT GET A GLASS CUP... I can assure you that shit hasn't been properly cleaned in ages. Â Stick with the plastic -- it adds to the white-trashey ambiance of it all.
THE PLACE:
Dive bar
YIIIPPPPEEEE:
I love dive bar's
pool tables, darts, and booze what more do ya need
BOOO:
Cash only. What the hell. No credit cards. What year is it. We are still in the United States right.
Bands are LOUD - i like me some music but i like to be able to talk to the
                 people i came with too
There's never a dull moment at Chad's.
There are plenty of things I dislike about this place. Cover, expensive drinks, bad sound system, etc...however whenever I'm in Big Bear, I make damn sure to stop in for a few brews.
Last time I went, some band full of fat dudes named "Slingshot" were seriously melting faces with their fiery guitar solos. They were playing nothing but Van Halen songs...and I swear, they were better than the real thing. The fattest of the fat dudes even put his beat-up axe behind his head and played "Eruption" seamlessly! R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
I was back at Chad's last night before some Sunday snowboarding...and it must have been skank-a-palooza in that joint. You'd never believe it was 32 degrees outside, because these pumas were wearing close to nothing. In fact, one woman was freaking out on the dance floor, dry humping anything within a 4 foot radius of her...and her top fell off, exposing her left breast. Instead of fixing the wardrobe malfunction, she let some dude place his mouth on her naughty bits for well over 1 minute. I couldn't believe my eyes! Neither could the group of cowboys next to me who screamed "what do you think this is, Orange County?!?!?!? Classic.
On my way out, 5 biker guys were playing pool and some punky snowboard kid spilled a shot of Jaeger on the table...they took care of him promptly.
This kind of behavior seems to go down every time I'm there...how awesome is that? Talk about people watching! Where else can you see skanks, pumas, bikers, cowboys, locals, fat dudes and trust-fund kids all partying in the same space? That answer is clear. Chad's place.
Well, I can go either way on Chads. Â Cool roadhouse bar. Â Different crowds depending on the timer of year. Â In the summer, there are often Harleys out front, including mine. Â Winter, mostly locals in for a cold one. Â They let you bring food in, since they only have chips. Â Cash only! Â At night, things are different. Â Sometimes a band, sometimes DJ. Â And if I could not get in free, I would not go. Â It is not worth paying the cover. Â
In conclusion, drop by in the afternoon. Â Avoid it in the nights.
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