I've gone here a TON of times. I've never had any of the problems some of these people (even friends of mine!) are describing. I'm kinda like "Are you sure we're both talking about the same place?". Either way. I like SOME of the music they play, occasionally its just crappy music, but hey it's supporting local bands so who cares? Just don't go on the days they play the music you don't like. They do have a HUGE variety of music (especially now that the Paddy's pub side is open). Everything from underground rap to dubstep to goth (what do they even listen to??) to country. The drinks are ok. I'm not into beer, and PBR sucks so I usually just get well drinks for $6. Most of the doormen are legit, one is a little scary and unfriendly, but he clearly has a really tough, shitty job. Give the man a break. OH! Video games in front is a great touch! It's great to get to play old early 2000s/90's games while drinking. Just a great spot on your weekend barhopping rotation.
Review Source:When I typed into Yelp for a Dive Bar in downtown San Jose I Â didn't expect to find this kind of place. Â Anytime you have a one legged punk rocker wanna be sitting outside the front and trying to bad mouth you cause you wore a Hollister hoodie probably isn't a good thing. If Pabst Blue Ribbon out of your can is "classy" for your sense of a dive bar come here often. If not... just walk down the street a bit more to the better bars
Review Source:Great place for live music and DJs. Johnny V's has been a staple of the Downtown San Jose music scene for years and has played host to many great bands, DJ's, and DJ nights.
It's a dive bar, so don't expect luxury. The pours a great and the liquor and beer prices are on point.
Beautiful girls are usually doing the pouring behind the bar.
Now that this place has 2 rooms, it's a lot more comfortable space wise. No more Claustrophobia!
The only downside: the homeless that hang out at the bus stop and convenience store 2 doors down. Just ignore them and you'll be fine. ;)
This bar is really more of a 3, but the bartender Renee just totally rocks! She's pretty AND she does a kick ass job pouring!
Wednesday nights they do an open mic night and its a great place to get acquainted with SJ's local music scene.
Kind of a grimy bar, I do not recommend the bathrooms at all... but they make strong drinks and they are reasonably priced. Like Shanna K. wrote "of course its horrible, thats what makes it great." Well said girlfriend!
Of COURSE it's awful. Â It's a dive bar. Â That's what makes it great.
Went recently to see a friends band play some ska. Â Saw a fight on the corner on the way in, had a few laughs with the hard working bartender, drank a bit of Glenlivet and a Blue Moon, and listened to some fine music until a fight broke out inside. Â That's mah cue. Â Exit stage left.
Pretty much went as I expected it to and I had a blast. Â A filthy blast, but a blast nonetheless. Â YMMV. Â Don't sit on the toilet seat and you'll be fine.
If you got swag and you're homeless...you best make this your home.
The lighting or lack there of will hide your facial scars from meth addiction with Hollywood panache! The hes, shes and he-shes won't hit you up for a free drink nor even pay attention to you unless you bring personality to the table, but if all you have is character then get the fuck out.
So if you recently got a pay cut or lost your alimony you'll be right where you NEED to be...at the very least for a few nights :D
I came here on a Saturday and paid five bucks to get in. I wanted to leave as soon as i got there cause it was a sausage fest with like 6 people rappin terrible raps, on and off the stage. So I paid 5 bucks for five minutes in that bar, that shit coulve went to a beer or somethin..lol
Review Source:Anthoer bar on my bar hoppin' rotation!!
Although I'm not much of a rock/rage type music fan, I still enjoy coming here. The best bartender there, Ben, is.. the best!! Super chill even when it gets busy. He treats everyone fairly and doesn't just serve the girls or his friends or whatever. I don't get stare downs with the other patrons and sometimes the DJ even plays r&b and what not.
BTW, there's always some guts & blood type movie playing on the tv's!! Some people may find it repulsive but I think it's funny! :p
Wow! there are some colorful reviews on here. I'll stay away from groupies and underaged girls, but I had fun at a dubstep show here. Maybe it's not the bar's fault, maybe it's just the local culture the same way there are all these weird women who wear crappy sneakers and watch guys skate instead of skateboarding. it is a structural issue, not the bar's fault. Â Maybe it is structural the same way there are no great figure drawing sessions with nude models who are male or rad female djs or women who dance really awesome and don't wear high heels in san jose because we are too close to the crazy but lovable brocruzia of Norcal.
There's a nice dance floor. when i was there maybe it was just the crowd but it was people who were there for the music and not to do weird meat market moves that make you want to stop being heterosexual forever.
the night i was there there was a weird guy harassing girls dressed like strippers and then women in coke bottle glasses like me so that was weird but i think the dj had the bouncer throw them out. maybe if more cool women went here then all the creepy groupie chicks would move off somewhere else to scare more heteresexual people into never having sex again.
the night i was there it was a great dubstep night, maybe they can have an amateur dj night because i'm rusty after learning a little many years ago and i'd like to practice. we have to be able to do more in bars than just sit and drink beer (geeze why are people spazzing out over no beer? is it so weird to go to bars for music? just kidding). I mean bars are social places too. maybe people can be all social instead of ruining the name of all cool heterosexual people out there.
all i can say is that the night  i was there johnny v's was a place where one could be proud to be heterosexual. the straight people were not catcalling or acting all repulsive, people were looking attractive mostly, and massively creepy guys were thrown out. maybe it was just one shining moment, but may that moment last forever. amen.
The only complaint I have about the place is that the music sucked. Other than that, it was a pretty chill environment and I loved it (considering it was my first time at a bar.) We even got to play Blackjack with the bartender for fun! Even the people attending the bar were pretty fun to interact with. Johnny V's, thanks for making my first bar experience a great one!
Review Source:Worst shit hole in the planet  , if Downtown San Jose is a armpit.. Johnny V's is the filthy anal orfice after a trip to La Vic's. What's else can I say it smells like piss , looks like a homeless encampment under 280 oh and to the Asshole bouncer who looks like Chris Rock in CB4 people don't want to pay for cover because they are broke , they don't want to pay because your bar is a Turd with Speakers. Only reason I would ever go back would be to see a wrecking ball put this place out its misery and yes in a hazmat suit to boot
Review Source:I think that this place is awful! Out of three times I tried to go to this place, I only went inside once.
The first time I tired to come here (on my birthday of all days) it was supposed to be free until 11PM, we arrived at 10:30PM and the doorman tired to charge us cover. We decided to go somewhere else.
The second time we came back we actually went into the bar, it was pretty small, small not very great selection of beer, very rude security staff, and the whole place smelled like a hobo's toilet. The bartenders were nice and so were a few of the other employees, but we still did not stay long.
The third time we came back Johnny V's had been advertising a free all night show for about two months, we got there and the doorman was charging a cover. We politely asked him why he was doing that because the show was advertised as "free all night" (we even showed him a flyer) but this made him angry and he started to cuss at us and call us names and told us to "stop thinking [we were] so fucking special." (his EXACT words btw.) A simple, calm explanation is all we were really expecting from him in the first place. We decided to go somewhere else and as we were leaving the doorman said "fine whatever, I'll let you in two for one" but we didn't want to pay at all after that so we just left. I'm pretty sure he was pocketing the money too.
A friend of mine who comes to this shithole a lot said that the doorman's name is Kong, or something like that. Johnny V's features a lot of musical artists I want to see, but I don't want to go because of who they have at the door. Close friends of mine have also told me that they have witnessed this same guy overcharge certain people for shows that have a cover, and then pocket the difference. I HAVE ALSO SEEN, AND HEARD OF, HIM ALLOWING UNDERAGE GIRLS INTO THE BAR.
I, and others, have tried multiple times to get an answer from and talk to someone at Johnny V's about all the problems we have been experiencing, but nobody is willing to speak with us or offer any kind of explanation! It is obvious that this place doesn't care about customer service and isn't going to take their customer's wishes into consideration. You would be doing yourself a service bringing your business elsewhere...I would recommend The Caravan just a few blocks down on San Fernando Street for a great alternative!!!
If this certain staff member were to be fired or quit I would consider giving this place a second chance, but until then I would STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!
I love how I'm a Duchess here now. I better review one of my favorite bars in downtown San Jose.
Johnny's is the dive bar of all dive bars. Cheap, strong drinks, laid back people, and always a good time. JV's bread and butter is in the great underground music shows it hosts regularly, housing everything from blue grass bands to rap battles. It is home to the famed 'The Cypher', every Wednesday from 8pm to close, where hip hop and dubstep spins meet local hip hop acts and free styling.
A slew of punk, metal, rockabilly, industrial, and [insert rock genre here] bands regularly play in the small, black box of a bar. It's home to the only dubstep monthly, 'South Bay Dub Massive', which brings some of the best local acts to the 1s and 2s.
Stop by any night of the week to enjoy some of the only local live music left in downtown San Jose. There are a lot of regulars here, and are more than willing to welcome you to the dysfunctional family. Bring a good attitude and your inner alcoholic.
Johnny V's is definitely a small bar but it is definitely can have a better crowd than a lot of the other nearby places. Â The local music scene is definitely a part of Johnny V's blood. Â I started going here for "Clandestine" about 5-6 years ago and still make it out here every now and then. Â Their sound system is decent and is never too loud, the drinks are priced right, and with the "yellow curb" right out in front of it, there can be some great parking. Â Last night I parked my bike right in front of the place and there was still an empty spot next to me.
I've never been the type who goes meat hunting at bars/clubs, so the randomness of the crowd has never mattered to me as it has with some of the reviews that are negative. Â I always come here with good friends and have never had a bad experience.
There are plenty of places around that stay open late if you get the urge for some munchies. Â I can't tell you how many times I've eaten standing outside the doorway of the little Chinese food place next door.
What prevents this review from being a 5 star would be that there is frequently a cover charge which seems odd for such a small venue. Â I'm not sure if the upstairs is closed or not and if for any reason, but I wish it was open more often to give a little bit more variety.
This place is very tiny... even for a dive bar. I really didn't like that they had a cover charge for this place. It wasn't really happening in the first place, so I feel there should not be a reason for there to be a cover. I guess I'm just comparing to San Francisco where the bars there usually don't have cover.
Anyways, I didn't get any drinks from the bar because I knew I was going elsewhere downtown. The place was ok. It is good for small bands/performances. Nothing special. Won't go back.
Drunk Bartender: "What...you don't want a PBR?!"
Me: " :/ no..."
Drunk Bartender: "Well, what the F**** do you want?!!!"
Me: "MARGARITA then!"
Drunk Bartender: "...I don't know how...hmm I have tequila, gin? Hmm what's this...hmmm limes...oh, do you want some special cookies? I'll call my friend right now! HEY, who wants SHOTS?! I'll give you free shots if..."
Me: "Oh, no! NO thanks sir 0.o..."
Drunk Bartender: "Here you go. It tastes GOOD! I make the BEST drinks!"
Me: "Uh, sure yeah." *Turns to my sis* "Is it go time? :O"
So, that pretty much sums up my experience :/...a dark dirty and shady empty bar with two drunk bartenders that are kind of weird, rude, obnoxious and creepy :O.
Getting molested and sucking face by drunken trashy bar chicks is awesome!!
My buddies band was playing a show here and I thought sure why not nothing else going on. So me and a x-pal of mine went down there and checked shit out and it was your typical bar / dive club ... good stuff.
So I play sober guy so my friend can drink and am just sitting around shooting the breeze. When some chick I don't know comes up and starts rubbing me! Now normally this would be a good thing however a early 40's trashy chick with a tight shirt and drunk old man at the end of the bar was no bueno. So sat there forever for drunkee wouldn't let me leave and when I made my break for it she shoved her tongue in my mouth. Yeah Marlboro and cheap whiskey taste fucking awesome!!
Anyways evaded her for the rest of the time watched my buddy jam and then split.
Shittiest bar in San Jose, nay, shittiest bar in the valley.
"We ran out of beer."
Really? Â You _actually_ ran out of beer? Â Oh my, you did! Â Well, having nothing on draft, two or three beer options, and about the most pathetic hard liquor selection I've ever seen in a bar, yes even a "dive bar" as the bloated bartender was so happy to proclaim -- the same bartender who continued serving that dumb slut who kept falling down, despite the fact that she was in no condition to remain in the bar -- I can totally understand your running out of beer. Â Mismanaged, filthy, sad, sad, sad... Â I can totally understand that YOU RAN OUT OF BEER. Â
Never going back, this place is nothing short of pathetic.
Went here last night specifically to see Mack Misstress and The Electric Affair since they played here last night as special guests on The Cypher open mic evening.
There is a small stage area setup in the far back of the bar that where open mic guests performed. I think it is very cool when bars, clubs, etc. host up and coming talent for open mic events.
This place is very small.
No tables or chairs for sitting.
Bar stools lined the bar counter.
High padded wall length bench for sitting.
Directly across from the bar there is a wide wall wide mirror that helps give the illusion that the  establishment is bigger then it is.
Johnny V's is your basic bar
No cover charge.
No drink minimum.
People drinking and having a good time
Nothin wrong with Johnny V's!! I have so many memories of this place from when I lived in San Jose and Clandestine used to do drum n bass nights here every Wednesday (which I attended religously). Everyone inside the place was always cool and down to throw down on the dancefloor when I played. The drinks were always stiff and cheap (kamikaze specials were the bomb). My favorite though was going next door to master egg roll at 2am in need of something to soak up all that booze, dude always came through, even giving me food on a front if I tapped myself out at the bar!!
Definitely need to swing by this place and rehash some old memories next time I'm in the south bay.
My first dive bar and probably my last one.
This was definitely out of my realm... I am more of a club girl who enjoys DJ's than live bands or rappers and likes to dress to impress.
First I had to understand what a dive bar was... wikipedia definition:
"A dive bar, or simply a dive, is a downmarket drinking establishment serving a working class (or poorer) clientele."
This made no sense to me until I found the definition on Urban Dictionary:
"A well-worn, unglamorous bar, often serving a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele. The term can describe anything from a comfortable-but-basic neighborhood pub to the nastiest swill-slinging hole."
Urban Dictionary was right on.
This place was a well-worn down and unglamorous location that served cheap (more like crappy) brands and small selection of alcohol.
Vodkas available... skyy and some different types of smirnoff. This place wanted me to have a shitty hangover in the morning. And although they have a great 2 for 1 deal on kamikazees, look forward to taking a shot of  lime juice which is difficult to swallow down in one gulp.
I only went to this place because my cousin was promoting a friend who would DJ house electro type music for one hour (this music I do enjoy) and it was my cousin's birthday. I enjoyed the hour of house electro music but OH GAWD. When these two rappers came up to yell in their mics about not leaving you're trash in their house and talking about space cowgirls and such, I couldn't take it anymore. This place was just too small to handle all the garbage they considered "music". I left and never went back in... even though all of my cousins were still inside. I'd rather be harassed by a bum outside than let my ears and brain be tainted by the crap that these rappers were yelling about.
Worst. Experience. EVER.
PS. CASH ONLY....
We knew this would be a fun show, because the place didn't take itself very seriously.
The the band scheduled to play before us didn't show up. Â Whatever, gave us plenty of time to setup on stage.
While waiting to play, a drunk guy came up to us and asked if he could sing a song with us during our set, and then proceeded to give us a round of fist-bumps. Drunks at a bar? Surprising!
As our time slot neared, we noticed the guy at the door was pretty lax about charging the cover... which was was cool with us, because we don't want people to pay to hear us play!
Then a guy sat down next to my wife and said she was cute, then continued doing that with every girl in the place. Creepy guys at a dive bar? No way!
Basically what I'm saying is that this was an awesome place to play our show! Â We played our set, the sound guy was good, we had a great time, and felt like rock stars for an hour. Â All we needed was a few broken bottles and a drunken brawl, and the night would have been complete!
Good lord this place has gone downhill, or has it?
So, I used to love this place years ago when they had 2 floors, the giant fish tanks and 2-for-1 Kamakazie & cosmo shots. This place always had this strange dichotomy of weird music and a clientele that you wouldn't guess listened to that sort of music. Okay, let me qualify that statement, I was once upstairs and there were a bunch of skater boys (literally, they had their skateboards leaned up against the wall) kind of moshing to this techno-trance type music.
I drop in here last weekend to find that it is not the place it once was. I mean, you know you're in a dive bar when: 1) the bartender says, "oh, the city shut down the upstairs a couple of weeks ago" like it's nothing new, 2) the bar shares a bathroom with the little mexican food place next door, 3) when asked, the bartender says, "we don't have anything on tap tonight" (what does that mean?) and of course 4) when the only beverage on special is Pabst.
We grab our $3 cans of Pabst and head to the dance floor where we are joined by some girls (I'm pretty sure they were girls, but they were dressed more like drag queens in gold pants and leopard jackets) and a couple of emo boys, all rocking out to the truly horrible music that didn't seem to have any kind of theme. I mean, to call it indie rock wouldn't be fair to hip hop and to call it hip hop wouldn't be fair to rap. The few words that were discernible were pretty offensive. But, we laughed, drank our Pabst and tried to keep time. The DJ looked like he fell off a bus headed to Santa Cruz 30 years ago. And, I envied some of the drunk people who couldn't hear the music. But, it was still a sight to see and an experience to be had.
I can't say that I would recommend Johnny V's. You definitely have to be in the mood to be there. It seems like a locals kind of spot that advertises by word-of-mouth to the eclectic few. If you are passing by, pop your head in if there is no cover and grab a Pabst. But, I don't think you're missing out if you never do.
By far, my favorite spot in SJ. I really like this downtown dive bar. The drinks are cheap, there is rarely ever cover (never when I have been there.) And there it is anything but pretentious. I regularly attend the Monday night DNB, and Clandestine shows that happen.
Dont go here expecting anything other than a good dive bar experience. Because you will be extremely disappointed. The bathrooms are dirty at best, the ATM doesn't work, there is the most bizarre assortment of people inside and everybody seems to be having a good time.
This place is super small so you are pretty much forced to mingle with other patrons. This is not a bad thing as everyone it is a pretty good mix of scenesters, punk kids, alternative hip-hop heads, and of course, alcoholics.
Unfortunately, as diverse as the crowd gets, there are never any women here. But that is pretty much everywhere in Santa Clara County.
Oh well, at least the drinks are cheap.
Total dive bar in downtown San Jose. Really small. My band played here, so I gotta give them some big props for supporting metal shows, but that's about it. It's a bare bones watering hole, all the taps were empty, it looks like they were about to run out of booze and the bathrooms were one notch above Port-O-Let.
Not quite enough character to make it a good dive, but I'm glad they're supporting music.
I used to mash it here on Wednesday and Thursday nights four years ago. This was the place to hang out and meet some interesting, down to earth kids. This was the only place, well it seemed like it, that played indie hiphop/drum 'n bass/breaks/broken beat/dub/funk music. None of that crappy ass music we call "hiphop" today..you're not going to see cookie cutter shorts wearing hoochies in this place who wants to lean back and start grinding. Or dudes trying so damn hard to get some coochie's digits wearing throwback jerseys and whack ass chains thinking they're hard and loyal to the game.
I naturally broke out of that habit of hanging out with my friends at Temple Bar because I just didn't want to be "that" face in the crowd. You hardly stood out because it seemed like everyone else looked like each other.
I dared to be different.
Cast aside the negative attitudes and coppin' out bullshit stares you get at asian parties, Johnny V's provided the dope diversed crowd I've longed for. They also hosted live art work in the attic. No dress code.
Drinks are fairly moderate here and sometimes they'll have specials. Otherwise, I'd be seen giggin' it.
The third in a triad of bars I frequent including the Cinebar and the Caravan. This is another great venue to see some live bands at. It is crowded now days that they have decreased in size, but the shows are still raging and the beer is still cheap.
I used to go to Kleiden's which was where Smoke Tiki lounge is now before they moved to this current location and it was cool then. I played a few shows there and went to the industrial dance nights.
 When they first moved to the current location the had the area where Ben's Chinese is now as the Gothic area and the main bar was more techno and house stuff. They also had the upstairs open for a while too. They soon lost the side room to the Chinese food place and eventually lost the upstairs as well. I played the last show up there with my old band Bilharzia. The shows now are a bit of a squeeze, but I have still seen a decent amount of people there.
All of the bartenders are pretty cool too. Make sure you tip them well. They have $2 Hamms at happy hour and $3 regularly, which still doesn't beat out Cinebars $2 Hamms all the time, but the Cinebar doesn't have live music.
Me, my  Japanese friend, and the rest of the entourage came here not dressed like the crowd in this tiny dive bar and was surprised at the liveliness. I passed by this place countless times when I go to downtown SJ and didn't really notice this place until my friend Mike dragged us here one drunken night.
Came here on a Thursday for some dope drum/bass and jungle music (which they delivered), old school hip hop, and to watch people dancing. Come to think of it, I've never been here on a day aside from Thursday.
Anyway, they have this little area on the side walk in front of the place where you can hang out and smoke or cool off from all the body heat. The bartenders here are really nice and attentive, but overall the people here are just awesome.
Come here for something different and meet a big mix of new people. I have yet to run into some asshole.
My friends played a show here last week. We stood outside waiting for a long time, cos my friend forgot her ID and the doorman wouldn't let her in. This got really boring really fast, and instead of going inside to hear shitty music and stand cheek-by-jowl with some smelly dudes I knew in high school, I left and walked to Trials.
I sat down, had a Boddingtons, read a chapter in the book I was reading, then walked back. Totally improved my evening. Good for Trials, bad for Johnny V's.
This place is f--king RAW. Â
We played a gig here last night, and it rocked.  I don't know why, maybe it's because the place is so small that you get real up-close with the audience -- our bassist and singer stood in front of the stage because we all couldn't fit on it.  (you can see our singer Jeff standing in front of me in this picture: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fsano1997%2F847991400%2F&s=3e4c507b3acf591f2fe0b47cd244936f0ecb0cd6a028d425ac35fb1011b7cb99" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.flickr.com/ph…</a>).
The staff was really chill and let us play as loud as we wanted. Â The crowd just kicked ass, they gave us great energy.
We'll definitely play here again.
Dark, dank, dirty and divey. Â Early one evening, I counted 15 peeps in the bar, including the 3 in my party. Â The place was half full. Â That's how tiny this place is. Â I can't imagine this place if it were packed. Â Shit, now I know why there is a line at the door in the later hours. Â Cuz they can only fit a handful of heads in at a time. Â And I always thought that there were something cool behind those doors. Â
Maybe there is a cooler vibe later in the evening, but around 7:30 pm on a Thursday, not so much. Â May try another time, but then again, my cramming like a sweaty sardine days seem to be behind me, maybe for the better.
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