You know,I'm not a huge movie guy. But every now and then,I think we all find ourselves saying,"wow,I feel like I am in a movie". But if you try to feel like you are in a movie,it isn't right. It has to just happen naturally,where the feeling comes over you slowly,and you finally notice it.
 So my friend is in from out of town on a Sunday night,and he is having problems with his lady,and wants to talk. "Can we go to a real bar?",he says. "Got just the place",I reply. That night at  10 p.m. the place is empty...perfect. His story is sad and funny,and I listen closely. Then on the juke comes Richard Cheese's version of Nirvana's "Rape Me". Odd and apropos,I decide.
 And I glance around the Raven Bar and see the movie we are in,the one Edward Hopper would have directed,had that been his medium.
Since our friends moved to East Sac, the closest neighborhood bar is Club Raven. Â It's a Wednesday, we just helped them move, and we were waiting for our dinner at Thai Palace and decided to check the joint out. Â
There were only 2 other people when we walked in. Â Locals from the look of it... I mean it's Wednesday. Â The bros and the hipsters don't come to this side of town on a random Wednesday..right? Â Phil was the bartender. Â Friendly guy that had our first drinks with us to celebrate the move and finding a neighborhood bar. Â He even gave us some history about the bar, the old and new owners, and how the place has changed. Â Good to know type of interesting information.
Drinks were good and since we were the 2nd group of people that walked in on a dead night we received really good customer service.
The fancy futuristic juke box has a bunch of songs to set the mood. Â Kind of narrow type of bar. Â Not sure what it looks like on a Friday/Saturday night, but I can't wait to find out!
A small dive bar you don't want to miss out on! As we walked in, we were welcomed by two AMAZINGLY BUBBLY Â bartenders. They both constantly chatted and checked up on us, and there is no DULL conversations with them! hhaha.
Real quick service!
Clean.
Seating area with table, sofas, a TV (which wasn't on when I came in) and an arcade system.
Did i mention there is a JUKEBOX!!
I'll definitely be back!!
Dive bars are so much fun!
That being said, I don't really have an opinion either way on Club Raven. If you want to people watch, this would definitely be THE place. Â There's a nice mix of every age, gender, ethnicity and attitude in this establishment. Â The bar area and "dance floor" get quite crowded- but that's to be expected on a December Saturday Night when people are home from school. Â
Drinks are DIRT cheap.
I'll be back, I'm sure.
Fun place to have drinks w/ friends.
The help is outstanding. Â Nina is great and lots of fun. Â The owner, Shannon, is also a lot of fun. Â I forget the door guys name, but he's cool too. Â
The patrons are great as well. Â You will literally find all types at the "Dirty Bird."
Drinks are inexpensive, yet strong.
Juke box is full of your favorite tunes. Â It would be even better if the volume were turned up just a tad. Â
The place is clean, fun, and people seem to do a great job of checking their attitudes at the door. Â
Good job, Raven.
I have driven by this place hundreds of times and always wondered about it. Â Well, I finally checked it out with some friends and had a great time. Â Awesome little bar with friendly folks and inexpensive drinks. Â Love their homemade infused vodkas -- add some club soda to the cucumber infused vodka for a super refreshing beverage.
Review Source:Cheap drinks
(Mostly) Friendly bartenders
(sometimes) cute patrons
I like to come here before or after going to another one of my staple bars if they happen to be dead inside. Or if I had somehow grown tired of such things and/or I just have a random insatiable lust for the muddled squab. I mean err dirty bird, err um, oh yeah, THE RAVEN
If you want a good dive bar full of locals and semi creepy older men who will buy you drinks....go to Raven. (or as my friends like to call it, the dirty bird)
To top it off, drinks are relatively inexpensive and its not full of whores who feel the need to wear a mini skirt when it's 60 degrees outside.
I generally enjoy this spot for its "dive-like" atmosphere. There always seems to be an interesting mix of east sac and midtown drinkers bellied up to the bar. Not the best beer selection, but they had a couple unique house-made infused liquors including jalapeno tequila, and a ginger cucumber vodka.
Overall... good service, decent prices, and a digital jukebox have made the Raven a reliably good time on several outings.
I was from out of town looking to meet the local Sac Town folks (read single gals) at the local town watering hole. Guess what this place wasn't it for the Friday I was there. You walk in and the place seems one step above pure dive bar, in other words its trying not to.
The Bartender was cool, and the drinks reasonably priced which makes me say that if you just want a place to sit by yourself or watch the tv screen. this is it. Â This just seemed like not a place to meet people.
The place isn't bad, just not a place I wanna spend an entire Friday night, Out of the three bars I went to that night this was the Second least interesting.
I went again to Club Raven and I was the only yuppie in the bar. Â Even better, there weren't any tight panted hipsters nor any bros. Â Instead it was a collection of people who may be living in the area or at least have spent enough time in the Raven to qualify as living in the Raven. Â Not so bad. Â The bar felt more like a bar and less like a self-conscious dive bar. Â All they need to do is take out the jukebox and the bar would be in the sweet spot.
Review Source:I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place one of my Favorite places to decompress. Dave and Shannon are fabulous and all the bartenders are Fabulous! I always have a great time here. An awesome mixed crowd of all ages makes me feel comfortable and welcome. I recommend this place to anyone that needs to relax and decompress.
K
The Dirty Bird is a small, awkward, unimpressive bar.
I love a good dive bar, but this is just not a good one. Â Yes, you can get cheap drinks ($2-3 for a Coors Light or well drink). Â Beyond that, nothing impressive. Â There's limited seating, and it's not like there is a whole lot of room to stand around. Â
Granted, I am neither a regular nor in my 40s or 50s, so I suppose this may put me outside their normal clientele. Â
Nonetheless, there are much better dive bars that I'd rather spend my time and money.
I used to work at the law school on the same block as the Raven. Â I fondly remember NOT going in this place when I turned 21. Â For some reason I was always drawn to the Limelight. Â Probably explains my addiction to playing cards now, but that is not the point.
I brought my friend into the Raven the other day because we were doing some day drinking and I figured fk it, I am sure we can get saucy for pretty cheap.
We go in and it looks surprisingly different than what I remember. Â No more booths and doesn't smell like pee pee and poo poo.
We have some drinks, act obnoxious and I get on my trusty iPhone and start playing some music on the iTouchTunes (love those things).
Not shockingly the owner (who was also the bartender- COUGHS) tells me she blocks a wide variety of music. Â Just to test it out I put on some Rodney Carrington and she giggles. Â I guess "show them to me" isn't on her blocked list. Â Don't try to play anything from a hip-hop artist. Â Won't happen. Â Doesn't matter to me because Adele is my business right now.
First dive bar I've been to where I really dig the women's restroom! Yeah, these things are important. It's purple and covered in framed mirrors if I recall.
Came for a happy hour on a weekday. Having not been here in about 18 years or so, I forgot what it was like.
Narrow but comfy, I just remember it being kinda dark and laid back. Good jukebox and friendly bartender.
The crowd was friendly, I made some new friends and you never know who you'll run into. I opened the door and lo and behold, there sits my BOSS. I watched my potty mouth and made sure not to have too much to drink.
Drinks are cheap. Probably cheaper at happy hour. It got to the point that people were arguing over who would pay the tab. In the end, I didn't have to pay for my two vodka tonics. I don't know who paid for them, but they hit the spot.
Thinking this is yet another dated, dingy dive? Quoth the Raven, nevermore...
Reasons to rave about the Raven:
1. It's cozy. The small space is inviting with its handsome bar, cush chairs in the back end and warm ambiance. Â
2. Great for sports viewing. I watched the Giants game the other night. The crowd was positive and really into it. I loved how I could belly up and choose my angle from about five different screens.
3. An awesome jukebox. They have one of those state of the art wall jukeboxes with an endless selection of music. It really sounds great and adds a little modernity to the classic setting.
4. Good beer on tap. Guinness. Jameson. Blue Moon. Yes please!
I moved a block away a little over a year ago and this has become my neighborhood bar. And that's pretty much exactly what it is....a nice little neighborhood bar. I wouldn't exactly say it's a dive bar....under the new ownership it's cleaned up and a little more comfortable than it was a few years ago.
From the first time I went in, the bartenders have been nothing but totally sweet and nice. Like everyone else says, they pour a good drink and they have great prices. Which is nice because you can pretty much just park your butt all night and not go broke.
The digital jukebox actually has some great music on it.
I think the best part is that there is always a really diverse mix of people there and the regulars are all actually friendly and nice.
I *heart* you, Raven.
This place used to be in my repertoire when I attended Sac State many years ago. Â It has always been a hole in the wall dive and I don't think that will ever change. Â It's long, narrow, dark and dingy. Â The regulars are on average, the over 50 crowd.
This place recently made it back into the fold for me because I started school at Lincoln Law a couple buildings over.
This bar is a great retreat for after class banter and post midterm and finals debate and bitch session.
Nice, friendly bartenders and the regulars like to chat it up, makes for a relaxing, unpretentious atmosphere sans the douchey wanna-bes and hoebags looking for free drinks.
Ok....so it was friggin' hot in this mother!
However, the little dive bar was a nice treat to the end of Humpy Hour. I quite enjoyed the people in there.....not to mention the folks I was with!
Then, to top off the night, a decrepit old man made the bartender ring her bell....(not in a sexual way...although that would have been funny to watch) she then said "WHO WANTS A DRINK, IT'S ON THE HOUSE BECAUSE OF THIS GUY" (she really said his actually name, but I can't -for the life of me- remember. How shameful. Oh well.
Took one sip of a whiskey and almost gagged, but at lease the atmosphere was great! I also had a great bartender night, she was a hoot!
Oh Raven, you're an enjoyable son of a bitch!
This place has everything you could want in a dive bar: decently strong drinks served by a pretty and friendly bartender, a jukebox, and a wacky but pretty harmless clientele.
It's pretty crowded at the bar when every stool is filled, but there are a few tables in a more open area at the end of the bar. If it's really too crowded, there's a little patio out back that's good for some fresh air or a cigarette if you're into that sort of thing.
Having spent a little while in the midtown bar scene, I'm used to frequently having to huff it a few blocks from my car, and since this place is getting over there toward the East side of town, I was pleasantly surprised to find off-street parking in the back.
This place is definitely shooting way up in my shortlist of nightlife.
Meeting Anastacia for the first time here, awesome!
Getting free drinks from a really drunken guy here, awesome!
Watching him hit on my friend with pick up lines such as "I want to crack you open, fry you up and brown you like hashbrowns", amazing!
Getting my ass slapped from a stranger while he tells me I should be "illegal", Â Â i n t e r e s t i n g......
I'm still a little scarred from that night. Like a puppy that got yelled at by their owner for the first time.
It's going to take a little while before I can go back there.
Just saying.
The story you are about to hear is true. But before I get into that, know that Raven is rising like quicksilver to the top of my go-to spots. For a number of reasons. Like ...
The bartenders and owners -- all freaking awesome, attentive, cool, nice. Shannon and Nina, I kind of love you a little bit. They remember your drink.
The price of a drink: Well is $2.50. Yeah, I know.
They take credit cards, which is awesome since I don't know what cash is.
And last, the jukebox and the patrons (who run the gambit of elderly to nerdy to cute to hawt) are also part of why I like coming here.
Now, it was one patron in particular that makes the color in this story. And holy geezus. We are talking about a rainbow here.
I will only give you the highlights:
He offers to buy us drinks (that's nice), delivers them to us (so nice) and spills a little on the table. Then he starts to wipe it off and into his other hand. Huh? And then ... he drinks it out of his hand. We knew at this point, things were only going to get better. And they did.
Patron:
"I want to crack you open over some hash browns and eat you for breakfast"
"We should have a relationship right after I stop f*cking my ex girlfriend."
And ... he was the first out of two errr men for lack of a better word that night that suggested coffee AND after-coffee sex. What is going on people?
Hey, hot stuff. (And he was a looker) you had me at "hello." You had me at "hello."
Tentatively 4 stars due to the  no Jimmy factor.  However, so many other lovely good things!
Great light fixtures to make my 36 years look closer to 31.
Great mirrors for checking my now close to 31 year old face.
Lock on the women's restroom (Hell to the YEAH!) so the idiot non-regulars don't open the door on me.
New paint job, so pretty!
Finally accepting credit and debit behind the bar instead of having customers suck up the stupid ATM fee. Â Hurray!
And last, but certainly not least, AN INTERNET JUKEBOX! Â Sweet baby Jesus and hallelujah!
Mostly great improvements to my favorite home-bar hangout, except for the no Jimmy thing. Â That sucks.
Full Disclosure: Â I went to high school with the new owner but I haven't seen or spoken to her since she took over the Raven. Â Well, except a couple times on Facebook. Â But that doesn't really count right? Â I mean, it isn't like I talked to her on Yelp.
I heart you Dirty Bird!
Went here last night for the first time since the new owners offically took over and I have to say I was less than impressed.
The dirty bird is no longer..
-a new internet jukebox was put in (huge disappointment)
-everything was taken off the walls
-super clean (not that this is a bad thing)
-2 women were drinking cosmo's at the bar
-some bro was wearing an Affliction shirt at the bar
I loved Raven since it was one of the best dive bars in town but now it seems like they are trying to appeal to a different crowd.
I am going to have to find a new dive bar again..and that is no fun!
Still an awesome place - and detailed perfectly in other reviews. The Raven was sold a couple of months ago, and not much has changed - which is great. Also, the new owner is Shannon (don't know her last name) the awesome bartender from the Hilltop! I can't imagine she'll do anything stupid to the place. Another bonus: Becca (Beckstar!), the other awesome bartender from the Hilltop, is her sister and is working at The Raven now.
I am only sad for the Hilltop.
The best bartenders in Sac! Â
Many of my favorite bars have changed for the worse over the years in an attempt to appeal to a younger, douchebag crowd (god knows why!), but the Dirty Bird is still the same great little dive, with cheap drinks, fun bartenders, and the best jukebox in Sac. Â No touchtunes here so your ears won't suddenly get assaulted by some sorority girl playing Jessica Simpson! Â Bartender Brad does a great job at keeping a stellar music collection in the old box!
Dirty Bird is a place you can drink alone if you need to drown your sorrows, or come with a group and enjoy the interesting crowd. Â They definitely attract quite a few regulars here. Â Many East Sac residents like myself can't resist stopping in at least for one drink at some point during a night out on the town. Â Just don't forget to bring some cash! Â Fortunately, just a little is all you need here!
Recommended drinks: Domestic bottled beer (always cheap), Washington Apples (Jimmy makes the best in town!), and Hard Times (a yummy pineapple concoction!)
I love the Club Raven, aka the Dirty Bird. Â It's easy, mellow & friendly. Â I have a thing about bars that are too brightly lit. Â The Club Raven is nice and cozy and dark. Â The drinks are stiff and affordable. Â The jukebox is decent, although I do think they need to remove the pop music...
All in all I find the patrons and staff to be funny and friendly. Â There's a back patio for smoking that usually sparks some pretty interesting conversations. Â I wish they'd take cards, but they do have an ATM machine.
I like Club Raven. There is always someone interesting here, the location is outstanding (you can run to Safeway and get a bottle 10 minutes before 2,) and there's always a cab available. And Jimmy the bartender is my little love bunny. I love this guy. He does all the fancy bartender tricks totally mindlessly like he came out of the womb doing them (Ouch!) You know I can't get enough of that shit.
Drawback: horny hornets and worse (they're just like horny hornets only they won't be getting degrees in this lifetime.) That sh-t is annoying. Every time I go here, someone asks me to go home with them. I think that's because every time I end up here I'm already wasted or well on my way toward being wasted. It's times like these when a girl really needs a taser (sp?)
But Club Raven is definitely worth a try.
could not suck more.
Unfriendly, cliquish, rude, and snobby.
We walked in as a group of 5- it was like the music scratched on the record- we were obviously new. I asked what they had on tap, and was told water- then blown off standing at the bar for 5 minutes.
This was not a busy night, most of the stools in this dive were taken, all by trust fund kids with full sleeves of tats-so cool!, but still some seating open.
The rest just gets worse...
I like a dive bar. I really do- but skip the Raven and go to the Limelight.
Absolutely no reason to go to this bar.
This is such a great, welcoming, friendly place, I almost hate to see it called a Dive. Well, almost.
Jimmy and Brad and Greg (and Danimal!) are professional bartenders, folks. They know how to pour, they are enormously friendly and great fun to be around. Other area bartenders should come in and take notes. I'm not even joking.
The Raven was the first place I went drinking when I moved to Sac, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Even now when I go months without stopping in, I will see people who miss me and want to know what's up and where I've been.
I would definitely recommend coming in at any time of day or night, unless you have a low threshold for crowds and craziness, in which case, don't go after about 11pm on Friday or Saturday night -- it's a little too nuts then even for me.
My totally original review (later "borrowed" by Guy D.) is: nevermore.
Is this bar a dive? Yeah. Like jumping off a cliff. But like other reviews mentioned, it's on the clean side, with the exception of some of the weird patronage (one guy in there was drinking with his mother and she was wreecckkeedd). Other than that, there was some nice people in there, just a little on the clique-ish side.
Prices? For what I was drinking, they weren't too bad. That really adds to the ambiance of a dump for me.
On a jukebox note, because anyone who wouldn't consider the music in a bar review might as well be Helen Keller: the jukebox wasn't too bad. There was some decent music dripping out of it when I was there and the bartender looked like he could've been a roadie for Interpol.
Massive plus side: It's near several other bars (Limelight, Round Corner, Monkey Bar, and possibly some place called R15?). Find decent parking and just go on a drunken walkabout of sexy fun!
I came in about two weeks ago to find a rather corpulent girl falling out of a "sexy santa" suit that was about 2 sizes too small. Every time she tried to climb up on the bar, her tit fell out and everyone cheered.
The drinks here are the most modestly priced in Sacramento. A glass of Jameson's goes for 4 bucks, while its less esteemed cousin Early Times goes for 2.
The bartenders are a class act and the Raven is the only place outside the Back Door Lounge you'll hear Dean Martin played randomly throughout the night.
One of my favorites. Â I'm still trying to figure out what my friend's signature is doing on the bathroom wall. Â It's her handwriting, most definitely, and I've never known her to vandalize anything so it's a bit mysterious. Â She lives in NY now so it's nice to have a little part of her around town...
Because I've blown some serious cash in here I don't think the drinks are necessarily cheap, but the're not expensive. Â Average I surmise. Â The bartenders also don't "buy you a round" even if you tip well and have had many. Â Not to say they aren't cool cats, cuz they totally are. Â Come to think of it, very few bartenders "buy a round" these days. Â With exception of the Monte, God I love the Monte. Â
Aside from being one more reason why my liver hates me The Raven has some of the best Bar Decor around town. Â From the neon dirty bird out front to the pleather stools to the booths to the glass behind the bar and winding bar top. Â It's lit like a bar too, dark and broody. Â Patrons are appropriately eclectic ranging from professional drunks to just plain professionals to college kids.
I like going to a place where Bon Jovi gets booed when he starts to croak and croon through the juke box. Â The music is way too loud but when it's Bon Jovi screaching my ears start to bleed and I get the crazy eyes. It's not the best place to chat because of the noise. Â
There are a few small seating areas but most people stood around or tried to sit on the bar stools. Â Their "leather" seats made me look more intoxicated than I was when I repeatedly slipped off of them. Â Maybe I'll wear pleather pants next time to blend in with the decor and keep my butt in place on my chair too.
Whisky and coke was about 2.50$ and so was the beer.
Club Raven is very NARROW and when it's packed you have a feeling that you are standing in a line for something or perhaps a hallway to use the bathroom. The drinks are easy to get despite the crowd, they are cheap and good.
I just wasn't overwhelmed with this place. People were nice, bartender was cool, I think it was just a combination of the narrow layout and super loud jukebox that keeps me from giving more stars.
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