Not that this review will matter because theyre closing, but I just had to get it in.
I love this place. Theres always something going on, whatever day of the week it may be. From live music, to movie nights, to the bloody mary bar on Sundays. There really is something for everyone....or I guess I should say was.
Ive seen countless bands perform here and have even sang here myself. The stage is huge. A great jam session stage, if you will. And theres plenty of seating/space for those there to enjoy whatevers going on onstage. Theres even the "back room" that has games and more seating if you feel like just listening to whos playing.
One of the biggest things Ill miss about the Alley is the food. Grandma does it up right. Ive never had a bad meal here. They have one of the best cheesburgers Ive ever had. The service was always slow as molasses at lunch, but that burger was always worth the wait.
Every single employee that I encountered here was so so nice too. Thats rare in a rockbar. No attitudes.
Im sad to see you go Hollywood Alley, I have lots of great memories of you though.
When I first moved to AZ back in 2007 I lived within 5 minutes walking distance of this place, and since I didn't have a car it became my regular hangout. Â The inside is dim, divey, and dumpy (just the way I like it).
They have surprisingly good food which is pretty inexpensive. Â They even serve breakfast. Great selection of beers and mixed drinks, and priced right. Â They also have some of the best local bands playing on the weekends. The staff is always really friendly too.
Overall, this is a great spot to spend a Friday or Saturday night, or just a few hours in the afternoon if you have nothing to do. Â I have a car now and don't live next door anymore, but I still go once in a while and grab a burger and a beer.
Legends have played here.
I saw FEAR here twice, JFA a few times along with members of the Vandals, and other bands. I heard big bands did surprise shows here.
The legendary Angry Samoans play tonight!
Go for the show, melt your face with the scrumptious pizza and wings!!
Or if you saw Melt Banana play there you got your face melted 2 different ways.
I hear you should be there when Grandma makes the wings during the day.
I don't know if she still works there.
Anyway the flavors are INCREDIBLE.
WAY better than your standard bar food by several notches.
Hair of the dog and incredible breakfast service starts at 6AM.
BE WELL, ROSS!!
One dive bar to rule them all.....
Seriously, this place is the definition of a dive but on the flipside it's some of the best grub I have had in a bar, the staff is really nice and they have pretty decent shows. I am a fan.
Tip: There is a hidden bathroom behind the pool hall that doesn't smell of death.
I saw nothing.
I love this place! Â All the guy workers are awesome! Â Julie, Angie, Heather, and Zayne are the best girls ever. Â ;) Â I get treated very well here, and I love the atmosphere. I've never been treated so well at any other restaurant in my life. Â I used to go here almost everyday for breakfast and lunch, because they have such great deals! Â I've been here a few times for karaoke and to watch local bands. Â I have not been disappointed at this bar. Â Grandma still cooks at this place, and her food is fabulous. Â She is the sweetest lady, and she is more than happy to talk to her customers; you can even call her Grandma!! Â Even their doorman is super friendly. Â This place is like a home away from home. Â Thank you, Hollywood Alley. Â :)
Review Source:This place is an East Valley institution! For starters, they have live music regularly, and they always have an annual show with Melt Banana from Japan, which is always a blast! Sound is awesome, and the cover is reasonable. Drink selection is amazing, and they have a signature drink menu as well. They have a full kitchen, and even offer breakfast starting at 6am! Perfect for those working the graveyard shift. Prices are good and drinks are strong. The decor is awesome, a good mix of pulps and movie posters and the like. All in all a solid neighborhood bar, music venue, and all around fun joint.
Review Source:Holly Would in the Alley
By The Rue
I spent a few hours at Hollywood Alley,
I didn't go with a girl named Sally,
Located in Arizona, not in Cali,
$21.64 was my bar tab tally,
Live music here isn't like a pep rally,
It's one of the best dives in the valley,
It's as big as a ships galley,
They don't do a grand finale,
The owner's last name isn't O'mally,
If in Vegas don't stay at Bally's,
I like berries just not Halle,
When you order don't dilly dally!
Van Nuys!!
Not sure what it is, but I love this place! It's not so much the cheesey Hollywood themed dealio, but every time I have gone here I've had a good experience. That counts for something when you are talking about night spots. Mostly original, local bands play here, on a medium sized stage. Nothing special as far as service, bar, etc. Check to see who's playing before arriving- You may not like the genre/type of music. Overall, very cool place!
Review Source:I've been going to this place for twelve years. Â This is the BEST dive bar, and my favorite day drinking weekend spot. Â The bar has all forms of life. Â Since it opens at 6am, you see hospital staff in scrubs just getting off work to the local drunk. Â And yes, I have been there before at 7am. Â The food is awesome and reasonably priced. Â Super dark, comfortable seating. Â The service is sketchy - sometimes it is fast and efficient, other times I think the bartenders and cook is hungover as much as I am on the weekends. Â I love the family that runs the place, but their interaction with customers over the years has dwenldled. Â Hands down the best kept secret in Phoenix.
Review Source:Best 80's music in Phoenix, and no cover! Â Between the ambience and the deejay I ended up spending a lot longer than I had planned. Â i heard LOTS of songs i hadn't heard in more than a decade. Â I the service was okay, but i didn't mind waiting because the music was really good, and the food was very good. Â Try the Fajita wrap!
Review Source:I JUST heard about this place and am sad I've lived in Tempe for four years without checking out Hollywood Alley. Â Its fantastic! Â There is live music almost every night... cool stage... really dark in there....big black 50's style leather round booths/tables, posters and random art all over the walls. Â Perfect! I really prefer dives that 'try' to have an atmosphere... make themselves an 'eclectic hole-in-the-wall' not just a hole in the wall. Â Hollywood Alley totally lives up to my expectations.
The back room is packed with vintage arcade games galore, a book exchange (YES, a free book exchange!!! How great is that?) ... mostly trashy romance novels but a few gems in there.... Â
Drinks were cheap and big... they put well drinks in HUGE glasses... definitely twice the size of the usual lowball glasses at most bars. Â Really fantastic beer selection too! Haven't tried the food but I will.... definitely going back to Hollywood Alley!
This place gets an easy four stars for being a good spot to catch bands, grab some decent (but appropriately greasy) bar food, and enjoy an always decent drink selection. The extra star is for the owners, particularly Ross, who have done so much for local music over the years and have not received nearly enough gratitude for it. My bands played here when I was younger, I saw plenty of amazing shows here, and I still try to stop in when I'm on that side of town for an easygoing time playing pool and drinking beers. Truly an awesome small bar venue.
Review Source:This place is really cool. Â The ambiance is certainly one of "sunlight sucks, that is what the outside is for". Â If you are new to the place then PLEASE use the double doors as if they were an air-lock: let the outside one close before opening the next. Â My retinas will thank you later.
There are three things that makes this place awesome imho:
1- Food. Â The bar food is very tasty and you should get the large order of sliders if you have the appetite of a bear waking up in early spring or if you are chill with reheating.
2- Movie Screens. Â That's right this ain't no sports bar. Â The TV's, and often a projector screen, show movies that you probably haven't seen in at least 10 years unless you are a 2 AM junkie of TCM and the like. Â It makes for a nice laid back atmosphere.
3- A sound guy who knows whats up? Â For live music in the 3-4 tempe bar venues I've been to this is the only place where each band was able to NOT just throw the wall of sound at us. Â Kudos to you sir.
I live just up the street from here and pass the place all the time. Today I finally decided to stop in and check it out.
I was there in the middle of a Monday afternoon, so I cannot speak to what the place might be like when they have bands there. But for an afternoon it was just great.
They have a pretty eclectic selection of draft beer, so I had a 90 Shilling (excellent) and a Hemp Ale (also good). They have a couple of more unusual brews, plus the regular assortment of domestic brews, Fat Tire, Kilt Lifter and an IPA....oh and Guinness, of course.
I had just eaten, so I did not try the food, but some of the others in the bar seemed to be enjoying theirs. I looked over the menu, and pledge to return for food and report back.
The gal tending bar was great, super friendly and willing to give me the scoop on the good stuff they had.
Two premium pints and a $3 tip came out to $10. Needless to say, I will be back! An uber-dive to be sure, with low prices to match.
Coming here reminds me of the hole-in-the wall places I used to see Aqua-Bats etc. in. Â The place holds about 300 people total, and seems pretty cool for a show.
I grew up about a mile from here, and never went in. Â My curiosity finally got to me, so I met a friend here for lunch. Â As I walked in, I knew I was out of my element (I'm an accountant for G-d's sake) but although it looked like the clubhouse from Sons of Anarchy, I wasn't accosted by any bad-ass bikers. Â
We were waited on by Kat (I assume with a K) who was also bartending. Â She paid very good attention to the 4 people that were in the entire place at lunchtime. Â She made a good recommendation for dollar-taco-tuesdays, and a few other specials made by "grandma." Â Yes, they have a 94 year old woman who is the head cook ... and she's pretty damn good.
I ordered a mexican burger, which was really great with the green chiles. Â I also felt a need to get a cheap taco, which was quite excellent.
I'll be back for the breakfast, and any time I want to be reminded of a kick-ass club playing loud music while I smoke beaties and getting rejected by hot chicks who are way more ska/punk than me.
I Love dive bars but this one has gotten me questioning the whole concept of it. Firstly it had a cover charge.. Fine it was supposed to have 3 live bands and I understand that we need to pay to see them. THe last band did not show up. WTF!!! they should have told me that at the door. The band that was playing was more interested in fornicating with one groupie that was there. We had to hear a whole monologue from each of the band memebers about how they deserved a dollar stuffed in their whiteys which was fine as long as they actually played a song but nooooo... we will not play until we get a dollar stuffed down our small weenies. "Then I will give a lap dance to the groupie and still not play".
Great!! and I had to be there to waste my time and money to observe this. Then I hear the last group ain't here. So I basically paid a cover charge to see drunk band members hit on groupies.
And lets not talk about the turd they served me as bar food. The grilled chicken burger turned out to be raw and the soup was well... bleech....
Why oh why do I subject myself to this mishandling... oh right I like dive bars, food joints etc.... because I believe mom and pop type establishments try their best to serve people well.....
Paradigm shift with this establishment... service was apathetic.. food well.... grungy... and music..... blase....
Truly a disappointment to my core beliefs
A timeless classic a place with more shows than I can / care to remember.
Seen a lot of up and coming people here as well as some pretty good regular nights as well.
Always an interesting collection of different music styles mixed in with a ton of talents of all sorta both local and elsewhere.
Cheap drinks and plenty of pool tables.
Old school video games and of course darts
Pizza and bar food that is actually decent!
It's the kind of dive bar that you feel safe in....slumming without the risk. Â Last night went back again to check out a friends band. Â The service got slower as the place got busier, I actually sat with no drink for at least 45 minutes. Â Didn't try any food since we had eaten before, but what I saw go buy didn't inspire me to want to order - it all looked like sub-par, deep fried muck. Â But I wasn't there for the food, I was there for the music. Â
It's still a great venue for loud, fun music. Â While you couldn't talk during the sets, the music sounded good, and the room shape and size created a nice fee, and the raised booths along the back wall allowed even those of us in the back to see the stage.
I don't ever see myself adding this to any of my must dos except for the music scene. Â They do have a decent selection of on tap beers, so for a show and a few drinks, it's a good night out.
I have lived here in the Valley forever, and I've been here at least a hundred times to see various punk rock shows over the years. Hollywood Alley is definitely a classic venue.
I went here last night to see a friend's band play. It had been probably a decade since my last visit. Walking in was a very familiar feeling - passing by the cloud of cigarette smoke in front of the door (yack) and past the door security. I recognized the high-back booths and the layout hasn't changed much at all.
Something was different though. It's clean now. It's actually decorated thoughtfully rather than just decorated with random band stickers. It's certainly not as legit as it once was, but it's nice now. It seems like it's more for grown-ups. Most dive bars seem to end up getting shittier and grosser over time, but this place is miles away from the dumpiness of the days of yore.
I probably wouldn't make a point to go here unless there was a band I wanted to see. That's mostly because of the location. As a bar, I think it's nice. Strong drinks, cool layout, comfy booths. I can't picture this place booking a solid band I would want to see, so it's gonna be a rare occasion that I'll come back. I do like it though and I'm glad to see it still around. Brought back some memories.
A safe house for your hang over.
I found this place while on a 12 mile bike ride to ASU and back in 105 degree heat.  It looked like a Dive and  I was thirsty so inside I went.  It was a dive, a real good dive and I ordered a draft of PBR.
My first impression was that this would be a great place to drink off a hangover. Â It was dark, cold, cave like with lots of dive character. Â Where else are you gonna find PBR on tap?
Take two shots of penicillin and a tetnus shot after eating/drinking here. Â And for god's sake stay out of the bathrooms. Â Don't believe me, check out the expert reviews on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FMaricopa.gov&s=0b46d6776bab6a60127f1676e7c80d488432bc94724149e82fcb172fc3620551" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Maricopa.gov</a>, restaurant ratings...pretty yuk!
Review Source:"Arizona's only Hipster Bar", or so the sign says.
We discovered this place when they started doing a Tuesday night Drum'n'Bass night. Â The bar is great. Â Dark, nice round booths, good decore, tons of beers on tap, even more in bottles, great sound system with a stage. Â They've got a few pool tables in a separate little area so you can still hear the music but still hear your friends. Â Staff is friendly, courteous, and all in all pretty cool.
I've eaten here once for breakfast where they screen movies on a bigscreen using a projector. Â Omelet, Bloody Mary, Erin Brockovitch (ok, that part sucked) FTW.
That being said, I will prob. never eat here again. Â Last night we were chillin' wih friends enjoying music and they were enjoying some burgers when out of the corner of my eye I see a roach just waking along the top of the booth. Â Cruising around from one side to the other, checking things out. Â
Now I'm not an idiot, I realize there are prob. roaches everywhere, but something psychological happens when you're two feet from a roach in a dining establishment. Â Unfortunately, I'll never be able to eat there again, however I will return for beats and beers. Â If you read this far you will prob. not eat there either but I encourage you to drink there (bottles).
As a fan of dive bars I have to give this place a big thumbs up. I may be a bit jaded though by have alot of friends play here. Cheap drinks, dark, low stage all pluses in my book. Also gotta love they serve white castle burgers. If youre into dive bars you definitely gotta hit this place.
Oh yea, and the pool tables are shit.
Decent dive bar for Mesa (Mesa/Tempe border off the 101).
This is another place that depends on the quality of the band. The music is why most people are here, and you won't have much luck chatting after 8pm as the place gets LOUD.
So, if the band is good - the place rocks, if not - it's just another average dive bar.
A friend wanted to see Neil Hamburger play this weekend, so we appeared at Hollywood Alley around 8:00, the time we were given. Â The show didn't actually start until 11:00, leaving us with plenty of quality time to chat and enjoy the scenery. Â The decor is garish, but there's something to look at in every nook and cranny.
Hanging over the bar is a sign reading "WELCOME TO ARIZONA'S ONLY ULTRA CHIC HIP DIVE BAR!" and at that ridiculous sight, I was terribly sad that I had left my camera at home.
When the friendly bartender finally caught my eye, I did my usual "So.... Uhm. Â Do you guys have any cider?". Â Rather than providing the usual "grow up and order a beer, loser" facial expression, he said "We have Ace on tap and Strongbow in cans". Â In that moment, I rejoiced and had to face this unusual choice.
During our long wait, I gave in despite having dinner at Cornish Pasty and ordered a cheese crisp. Â It far exceeded my (quite low) expectations, though it was far from fantastic and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless stuck at the bar and hungry. Â Even the salsa was good.
If I got out more and lived closer, I could imagine myself showing up occasionally. Â I feel significantly more at home in a dark little dive like this than any other nightspot.
I was in Arizona this past weekend, and my buddy was playing acoustic here. Â How convenient! Â He put me on the list, and when I showed up, the conversation with the door guy went something like this:
Me: "Hi, I'm on Mike Jarmuz's guest list." (handing him my ID)
Door Guy: (rudely) "Who the hell is Mike Jarmuz?"
Me: "Umm, he's playing tonight."
Door Guy: (rudely still) "Yeah, I don't know what band he's in."
Me: "Well he's his own act, it's just him."
Door Guy: (now even ruder) "He's not on my list."
Me: "Are you sure? Let me take a look... ok, he's Muzz."
Fair enough, so I didn't know he went by his nickname but come on, you don't gotta be a dick about it. Â Anyway, once inside we had a very good waitress. Â Drinks were cheap, and she recommended a great independent vodka as an alternative to the Ketel the girl I was with was going to order.
There's something deliciously seventeen about drinking in "The Alley." Â Of course, real seventeen year olds can't get in. Â This place is legit, but the vibe is very Lloyd Dobler in a gas station parking lot asking a bunch of punk kids why he just can't win with women. Â (Don't worry Lloyd none of us really have that figured out and most of us who seem to be doing it successfully are really just faking it.)
The crowd here varies but I have always felt welcome.  Drinks are ok.  Sometimes they're great but it depends on who's tending bar.  The good thing is they're fairly cheap.  As a music venue I give it  high five.  It's dirty and dark with a one foot high stage that's obviously meant for performance but not so far removed as to make you feel like you're not connected to what's going on.  The sound is ok.  It depends on the show really but I've always had a good time and that counts for a lot.
I like the pictures on the ceiling. They're fun to try to decipher when you're setting yourself on spin cycle. Â The pool tables are usually full so I can't really vouch for them other than to say that they're popular. Â All in all, it's a decent place to pummel yourself in the face with your beverage of choice.
This was a nice little place that my sister introduced me to. I played here and had a good time the crowd was very responsive. The bartender was very cool but it helped that my sister was a regular there. We only had few drinks, I had all mix drinks and stuck with the good ol' Vodka Red Bull. It was a good size drink (meaning I got a whole can of red bull not just half) hard to mess that one up.
All in all I had a good time just chillin with my sister after I played my set. She and her boyfriend showed me a good time while I was in town.
One think I really liked about this place was the fact we had such good service, and a nice place to sit down and talk at. I can't wait to go back and visit Hollywood sometime.
Hollywood Alley gets packed. Â And if you come on a busy night, you will surely be circling the parking lot for quite some time before you find a spot. Or you'll have to park five miles away and hike in.
But if you do finally reach the doors, Hollywood Alley can be pretty fun. Â It's a great spot to catch a local, or a not-so-local band doing their thing and if you ask, there's usually some kind of drink or food special going on.
This is also the place that a man actually said to me, "Your legs would make a great scarf." Â Quite possibly the worst pickup line ever.
This is also the place that I saw a man puking into his half filled pitcher of beer. Â It was so very, very sick.
Other than that, I've had great times here, drinking my double vodka/soda's and dancing with random men.
i first started hitting up the Alley at age 15, when I was finally allowed to go to shows... ha, it was the height of ska (i mean the height of ska before it hit uber mainstream and 90210 rocked Reel Big Fish in their opening music montage), and came here alot that year.
it's definitely a rock n' roll bar, that does an amazing hip hop night. yeah, sounds all over the place, right? but this joint pulls it off. it's been a year since i came to Blunt Club, but it was hap-e-nin! it was so crowded and it was a cool crowd with a nice mix of styles and great music.
i came here recently for a friday night happy hour, and it was dark and empty, which was fine by me. it's basically made up of two big rooms, with a large stage looked on with six or eight large booths, LA club style. There are plenty of other tables, bar stools, too.
Ok, for such a rock n roll heavy decor i was MAJORLY disappointed in the juke box selection. it was one of those electronic ones, so i thought if they don't have what i want, i'll just download it...nope. either it was not capable, or i was not capable of figuring out how to do it. i wasn't drunk and i do it all the time at other bars, so i'm pretty sure it was the latter, not the former.
other than that, it was a nice break from the usual HH scene, we had cheap drinks (they have nice stuff on tap and cold microbrew bottles, sweet!) and cheap food. rock on... i mean, without the rockin' music part.
oh, and yeah, this is BARELY mesa... it's JUST over the 101, on the other side of south tempe, so i guess that counts, but not really.
Um...wtf?
So I heard on the DL that this was a great place to go for some hip-hop on Thursday nights for The Blunt Club. I was like "Really? Off Price and Baseline? In MESA?"
Yup.
Rolled up round midnight to find a FULL parking lot-we had to park way the f down! The cover was eight bucks (which was steep in my opinion) but we barely nudged our way into a full house. It was actually overwhelming-the hip hop was blaring, there were booths filled with averages, tattooed neck honiez, and head nodders. B-Girls and Pop Lockers were shakin their ish on the floor. The bar was like 3 people deep-I just went for a cold PBR in the bottle (classy!) and hung around the dance floor. All KINDS of people-probably the MOST diverse crowd I have encountered here in the AZ. It had a definitive west coast hip hop scene feel.
There were three guys in highly rigged dj sets ups (VINYL-REAL CUTTERS) and an MC that kept the hype up. 80s jamz, new trax, michael jackson, it was all here-sometimes a little too mixed for my tastes. And a b-boy battle ROYAL happened organically on the dance floor-WHA? In MESA?
Yeah, man, in Mesa. Roll on up to the Blunt Club people-the (south) west is gonna show you how to party!
This unlikely little club is considered to be one of the best places in the Valley to catch local bands. It's hard to believe this place is in sleepy Mesa!
The food is good and the selection is HUGE: Pizza, Calzones, sandwiches, Gyros, subs, burgers, steaks, and Mexican food. Watch out though-- cheap drinks and live music can make this place a madhouse!
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