Definition of Kitsch: Â Something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality, or a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition. Â Now my Yelp friend Dani S. would typically describe my taste in places I frequent as kitsch, (she says they are all on her DB Central List). Â However, in my mind, Kitsch Bar is a cool place to shut down the evening.
There is no sign on the outside. Â On Fridays, look for the super tall bouncer and you have found the entrance. Â On Sunday nights, just look for the crowd where you normally wouldn't see one. Â I have been here w/ some friends from Mesa and other friends, and I have never had a bad time. Â I even barely missed my Yelp friend Chris C. one time. Â Damn, I was looking forward to having drinks w/ him.
The bartenders are cool and pour stiff drinks, the clientele are chill and the ladies are friendly. Â This place is like a real bar, where you have to belly up to the bar for a drink. Â Sometimes old skool is cool. Â But the best part about Kitsch is, I never FTGD!!! (Fail To Get Digits). Â Now, if I could just get them to respond later :XXX
I can't wait to go back to Kitsch. Â I love it when Dani S. tells me I hang out at her all the places on her DB List. Â Litttle does she know that I am checking them off one by one - LOL!!!
TL;DR Kitsch Bar is a great place to hang out with some buddies to grab a drink. Although it is a bar, the place feels more like a lounge, with plenty of seating in the entire area. Drinks here are fairly priced and the bartender usually makes it pretty strong. This place get's packed on the weekends. They have live music on the weekends and trivia nights on Tuesday, which I highly recommend checking out. Great atmosphere, great people, great drinks. What more could you ask for at a bar?
Kitsch Bar is a neat little bar that is tucked into a corner of a plaza that you would last expect there to be a bar at. With a relatively small sign and located right between a Japanese restaurant and a Dentist's office, Kitsch Bar gives the vibe of a speakeasy, as you have to know where you're looking to find it.
The atmosphere at Kitsch Bar is great. People here are friendly and the bartenders are great. The bartenders make great conservationists and the drinks they make are both strong  and fairly priced. The decor is trendy and the lighting is dark... A perfect place to go and hang out with a couple of friends and grab some scotch or whiskey.
Kitsch Bar can get very crowded on Friday nights, and sometimes it may be impossible to find a place to sit, so you've been warned! They have a DJ that comes in on the weekends as well. On Tuesday they have Trivia nights, which is definitely worth checking out. They have some pretty interesting subjects and the prizes are free bottles of booze... What more reason do you need??
Apparently... I never actually posted this review... This was from January??
Came here last night with the boyfriend. We expected the place to be bigger from the pictures but it was probably the coolest little bar we've been to a long time! The bartenders are super attentive and they have excellent pours. The drinks were tasty and didn't cost an arm and a leg which anyone would love. Ladies we all know it's important to have a clean bathroom... well kitsch bar has an amazingly clean bathroom! We will for sure be coming back for more fun and possibly even use the photo booth!!! Thank you Kitsch for a great night! :) We will be back :)
so i stumbled upon this little place long ago.. and i think its time to review it.
its hidden.. which i think is brilliant! it really keeps with the concept that they are trying to accomplish (speak easy vibe,they have things about prohibition inside). its a little bar. very intimate...very nice selection of liquor tho, in my opinion. there is a little D.J in the corner that plays some nice relaxed music.. similar to what you would hear at an art opening..at least on the days i went thaats what was playing.. might be different other nights.. its a great place to meet up ffor a drink if you dont want to do your average bar with the whole pool table and dart board vibe..
this is more of a lounge, which i love! and their trivia night on tuesdays is a must! lots of good looking people, great for interacting..
and the most important thing! the photo booth.. cant forget the photo booth..what a clever idea.. Cheers!
Updated review:
Went back with friends on Friday night at around 9:00pm. Â Parking was a problem, but the bouncer was nice this time. Â Maybe he read my previous review (HA!). It was pretty empty for the most part, but started filling up around 10:30 when we decided to relocate. Â Drinks are decently priced, but not cheap as some people claim: $8 for Jamison/Coke. Â It's a cool spot if you're bringing a date, but if you're just hanging out and want to talk, the music gets louder when the DJ starts playing.
One of my favorite places to stop for an after-work drink on weekdays. Small, dark, relaxing atmosphere and you can space out and watch movies or chat with the locals. The clientele isn't as hipster as the atmosphere would suggest. The DJs are always good if you want to stay later, but it's so small it makes it hard to go with a group on weekend nights.
Review Source:Just remember the 2 B's, Bear and Baker, on the corner of. Remember the 2 G's, which are the gripes, the parking and the service. Parking sucks since there's a liquor store and few restaurants in the same plaza. Good luck getting service at the tables when the place is packed. I just make my way to the bar and order there.
Aside from that, the place is dark, somewhat trendy, and really chill. Before I knew about all the other drinking holes in Costa Mesa, Kitsch Bar was and still is my favorite. Happy Hour is from 7PM to 9PM with $2 domestic beer, $3 import beer, and $4 glasses of wine. Fully stocked bar and I'm happy with my bill when I leave.
They don't serve food here and it can get packed after 10:30PM on Fridays and Saturdays. The place is small so you can't dance, but it's not that type of a lounge anyway. There's a dress code so don't wear shorts, caps, or sandals.
Entertainment
1. Old School Hip Hop on Fridays.
2. Indie Rock on Saturdays.
3. Live acoustic music on Wednesdays.
4. New color photo booth, just recently added.
5. Watch the TV behind the bar. They play some good movies.
Happy Birthday to Ann M.!!! Â
if you're looking for a chill bar to go to, Kitsch bar is the place. Â Prices were good for drinks, and they were playing movies behind the bar so it kept me entertained while waiting for my drinks.
Kitsch also has theme nights, including a quiz night. Â The night we went was DJ night, so I think it adds to the vibe.
Only downside is that there bathrooms are single stalls, one for men, one for ladies.
This place is so... dark. And kinda cluttered. I never thought I'd complain about that. Prices are average here. They have a small selection of interesting bottled beers, the staff is pretty cool. The crowd ranges from middle-aged men to newly 21-year-old's. OK place for a low-key night; I probably wouldn't spend the entire night here. Cool atmosphere, decor though. And they have a photobooth tucked into the corner.
Review Source:This bar gets five stars because its right around the corner from my house and the bartender, Tucker, won my heart. Was it because he took a shot of whiskey with me
and my girlfriend? No..it was because he was amazingly nice to everyone and was cool enough to share laughs with us throughout the entire night! Did I mention it's a Wednesday? What bar is fun on a Wednesday night? This bar is! Love it and love the fact that even though the photo booth wasn't working tonight he walked out of the bar zone (I know ill slap myself for this tomorrow) to take a picture of us in a broken photo booth..I know, stupid..and he didnt even complain! Awesome, fun place to be no matter day it is!
We were looking for a late evening place to hang out on a Thursday, during the first week of January and the Kitsch Bar did it.
Their drinks were not outrageously prices but tasted decent and of adaquate strength.
The bar staff was friendly and a pleasure to deal with.
I enjoyed the shadowy dark ambiance.
Seating is decent, I personally think that it would be a nightmare moving about if the place was full with people sitting in all those 4 person chair setups, but there were only about a dozen people around so the atmosphere was excellent.
I would definitely come back here if I was looking for somewhere convenient and within my taste in Costa Mesa.
Stopped by Kitsch for a quick drink before  heading over to The Observatory to see NOFX.
Pretty chillaxed little bar, tucked in a very bizzare strip mall.
Decorated nicely inside, very tight in terms of seating.
Live Dj had a pretty sweet mix going on.
Only hung out for about an hour and a half.
Bar tender was attentive, quiet bunch of people, several other young couples.
Definitely did not have a bunch of rowdy old red necks pounding Milwaukee's Best like the Apocalypse was approaching, so I was thankful for that.
If your in the area I say this place will be a HIT.... with your thirst buds.....not sure about your taste buds.... did not eat anything while I was there.
Haiku:
Tucker: therapy!
Tucker will take care of you!
Tucker is awesome!
Great indie music to chill to in the background.
The cocktails are eclectic and tasty.
The interior's dark and intimate with comfortable chairs some of which even manage to make you feel like like your sinking into the chair.
Bartender is hella awesome! Thanks again Tucker! Love for Norcal!
It's sad when you discover a place that might become one of your favorites, only to find that the bartender totally ruins your experience.
Came here this past Thursday night around 10 or 11pm. My friend drove us here and at first I was like "why is she driving us to a shady liquor store?" only to discover that Kitsch was across the plaza (the sign is tiny!).
I was enjoying the feel of the place. My friends had come here before and raved about it so I was excited.
Live DJ, movie playing on the flat screen TV behind the bar, pretty nice.
Sadly, the bartender was not very nice to us. Maybe it was because we're a couple of young college students, but she gave us attitude! She might have been a little tipsy too, she had taken a couple shots.
She also overcharged us. We ordered some Corvette Summers, which were supposed to be $8 but she charged us $10 each. My friend originally wanted a Strongman, but the bartender said that they were out of Tuaca- a blatant lie because there was a bottle right behind her on the bar.
At that point we just wanted to enjoy our drinks so we didn't argue.
Later, we went to try out the photobooth, and gave it our money, only to find out that it was broken (maybe they fixed it by now?). My friend went to the bar and was ignored, so I went and told the bartender. She gave me even more attitude about it, I had to tell her a couple times before she returned my $5. After getting our money back we just decided we'd have a better time at home.
Too bad I didn't catch her name, but I'm not coming back here when she's working!
Willing to give it another try, but I'd rather check out a new bar where they actually treat you right the first time!
As hard to find as this place was, its actually well worth it!
You wouldn't guess it from the building's design or the dentist office next door but this place is the chic lounge you've been looking for without the pretentious drink mark-up it should have.
It does seem a little odd to park in a shopping center lot two doors down from a shady 7-11 practically under the 73 fwy bridge but once past the blacked out doors minimalistic lounge furniture paired with a cool bar serving affordable, late happy hour made it all worth the journey.
I checked their website for the calendar before going and they have quite a refreshingly eclectic offering throughout the week - Thursday night seems to be their traditionally "mainstream" night, Friday night is their "old skool" hip hop night and Saturday is their british/indie rock night... interesting right?!
As someone who works until 7pm, I greatly appreciate the happy hour offerings beyond the traditional 4-6PM and wish more businesses would jump on board with this. However, if all remains the same I could definitely see doing a happy hour hop around Costa Mesa starting earlier elsewhere and ending up at Kitsch from 7-9... with a dezzy of course!
Happy Hour menu
$2 domestic beer
$3 well drinks/import beer
$4 glass of wine
They don't sell food here but the place is too small/modern to want to eat in anyway. Â
Definitely a good spot to grab a few drinks with friends on the cheap.
I love the DJ's, comfy seats, and cheap drinks. What I don't like is the horrible service my group of friends received.
The bar was almost completely empty when we came in, so you think that they would treat us a little nicer. A female bartender served us a large drink order. Immediately afterwards they turned on the lights and cut out the music. Mind you, the bar closes at 2am and it was only 1:20am! She had the audacity to tell us they were closing up...why did she serve us drinks if that was the case? My friend quickly finished their drinks and she came by pick up the glasses. Homegirl dropped a glass on my friend and got his shirt wet. Instead of apologizing she says "a little bit of ice never hurt anybody." Unbelievable. My friend was too nice to say anything, but I had to stand up for him. When I complained to her manager, she became defensive and swore she apologized. She offered to give us a drink in the rudest most obnoxious tone.
No, thanks...never again.
Not too busy for Happy Hour on a Tuesday. But the crowd gets a little bigger for trivia that starts around 10. They were giving out bottles of liquor to the winners, so that sounds like a good reason to play! But the questions are pretty difficult, so youve been warned!
I like the ambiance inside. Feels like a lounge. Its dark, intimate, and there are comfy swivel chairs that are easy to move around!
The lady at the bar wasnt as friendly as you would expect a bartender to be. One moment she was nice, then she would give some attitude. Thats fine by me lady, I dont need to give you a tip!
Other than the random attitude at the bar, I really enjoyed my visit here. Hopefully Ill be returning soon!
I like this place. Â Probably one of the laid-back spots to drink in Costa Mesa area. Â
Best way to describe this joint? Â Dive-LOUNGE baby.
Pros:
+No cover
+Drinks are EXTREMELY stiff but they are very generous on pours
+Prices are cheap. Â About $7 for a Jack/coke, etc.
+Bartenders are cool
Cons:
-Dress code enforced (sandals, shorts, caps)
-Place is small. Â Probably the size of garage or something, so there isn't that much room (no dance floor)
-Parking sucks here
I probably wouldn't have a huge b-day party here, it's just a place to grab a drink on the fly.
As previous reviews say, it's a small bar, with the central area covered in cushy chairs and tables. It can get a little hectic when crowded in attempting to navigate for a table, and when it's too full, it feels like you're surrounded by giants, as people hover around your table, hoping to pounce on an open spot when they get the chance.
The bar has some interesting-sounding house specialty drinks, and pours them fairly strong. It averages around $8-11 per drink? I believe I paid $9 for a lemon drop.
I think on a less-hectic night, it would've been a nicer place to lounge; I'd definitely return to check it out again!
"A Dive Into the Kitsch Bar (Wait, how do you say it? Kit Shhh? Kat sch?)"
Y- Yelp Review
E- Everything Food & Drinks
L- Likeability
P- Parking & Location
Y- Yelp Review - 4 out of 5
4 out of 5 stars. One of the better dive bars i have been to. Â
E- Everything Food & Drinks
Only drinks here. Â I will give an extra star just because of the happy hour prices and how heavy the bartender pours. I believe we were there for about 3 hours and had A LOT of drinks and it came to $48.64. I believe we were in the 15 drink range. So overall, pretty good pricing. $3 beers and wells. .
L- Likeability
First impression was wait where the $%#$ is this place? Google maps cant be wrong it says it is here. Then I pull in and see the State Farm sign and see this tiny black and white sign that says Kitsch. I am not kidding you the sign must be a foot tall and two and half feet wide. Enough for it you are standing outside it but not from the street which is the main reason for having a sign! It is a really good logo too which is sad that it isn't bigger. The place inside is small but nice for a dive bar. one of the more nice ones I have been to.
P- Parking & Location
Not in love with the location but it isn't bad at the same time. Fix the sign issue and it takes away really the only reason I didn't give it a 5 out of 5 stars.
If you haven't tried the Tuesday Trivia night you HAVE to go! It is fun!
I've now experienced Tuesday night trivia at Kitsch, so it's time for an update!
First of all, as others have said - don't look for a sign here. It's tiny. Look for Costa Mesa Dentistry and State Farm Insurance, and then trust that you're there (you might see the sign with the fancy K, but don't go looking for that alone).
Second of all, LATE(ish) NIGHT HAPPY HOUR. Their website says 8-10, but it actually ends at 9 now. $3 beers, $3 well drinks, $5 wine. And drinks are strong here. You've been warned.
And finally, Tuesday night trivia. This is some serious fun. A moderator takes teams of 2-4 (although there were a few teams with significantly more than that) through five rounds of random-topic questions, with one name-that-tune round. The only thing that could be improved logistically is how DARK the place is. It's really hard to see what you're writing or reading and several people were using cell phones as flashlights...no big deal, but hard to enforce the "no cell phone" rule when additional light is kind of needed.
This dive bar is pretty chill after a couple drinks with no cover :)
Beware it's a small place. There's a bouncer at the door and once you're inside, it's a dark bar. There are couches to sit and listen to music. There's a few seats at the bar to sit.
The drinks here are STIFFFFFF. Â My favorite Jameson and ginger ale was 3/4 Jameson and 1/4 ginger ale, just the way I like it. Â
This place gets pretty crowded around 9ish-10ish, usually for people who comes here for drinks before going clubbing at Sharks.
I grew up in The OC. I haven't been to Kitsch Bar since my friend was one of the opening bartenders when it first opened. Nice place, great music, friendly bartenders.... However....
After my friends and I pumped 20 bux into their super cool photo booth, we returned to see one of our seats occupied by a very pretty blonde girl. We had set our drinks with napkins on top in front of each seat (universal code for "be right back!") along with our photos we had taken previously, purses etc. The blonde girl had moved our drinks etc and taken a stool. I asked politely if we could have our seat back and she said, "No. I'm here with the owner. I can sit wherever I want."
Unreal.
We exchanged nasty words. The owner tried to give me a shot, but I thanked him and declined (I needed to go home 20 minutes ago anyway). She kept trying to make fun of my gay poncho and calling me "poor", but she was clearly a hammered mess, so I decided to ignore her. She kept pecking. I kept shutting her down. Then, the owner threaten to kick me out. I told him that I was done talking to her and that she needs to stop touching me on my back and saying dumb blonde crap. We shook hands and I stop responding to her, even though she kept running her mouth. Finally, he told her to stop with her bullshit. She didn't, but I finished my drink and went home with my friends.
Nice work, Kitsch Bar. Is this a bar or a clubhouse for the owner? Completely asinine.
See ya never!!
There aren't too many cool dive bars around Orange county, but this place happens to do a good job. I really like how they play decent music and none of that pop autotune garbage that you hear a lot in other OC bars. Its nice and chill with cool dim lighting and neat atmosphere. I even like how its not too big either.
Overall, its a great place to bring friends and just hang out. Come during happy hour!
This isnt the place for loud drunken friends but more of a bar to come and relax with a few cocktails in  hand and good company!
definitely hard to find and definitely pretty hidden it's in the same plaza as a liquor store yea..that doesnt help at all good luck!
pretty good happy hour! so try to come during happy hour!
Do you like to people watch with good music in the background and a stiff drink in your hands? If your answer is YES, you gotta check this place out! It's a bit small but get here early and you'll be fine. Â
My friends and I were impressed with the decor, lighting and service. Â The people weren't bad to look at either and everyone was really nice. Â I had a 50% coupon off my drink for checking in on YELP which was awesome. Â The bartender (can't remember his name but he was a hottie), was super nice and made our drinks super yummy and strong.
Happy Hours are different hours depending on the day so check out their website prior to going if you're a first timer. Â Drinks are super cheap and don't forget to check in if its your first time for a 50% discount!
This was on a Saturday night and was our first time. We will surly return with smiles on our faces! This is truly a jewel in Costa Mesa!
"Where is this place? Â GPS says it's right here. Â Oh there it is. Â It's the one with the really tiny sign." Â
I came a stumbling in on a late Sunday night with my buddy Nick O. Â We were waiting for the after Yelp after party to come full steam and like a hurricane we were a rocking! Â Important decisions happen here: to drink or to drive. Â Drink! Â
I got my friend started with a beer.
I started to hit it hard with a surfer on acid. Â This was new to the barkeep, but he made it spot on. Â
Next up was the classic White Russian. Â Silky smooth and delicious. Â
I then got my favorite, the side car. Â There was no sugar on the rim this time, but those classic flavors were all there.
Shout out to Azya and Vanessa for good times with the juke.
I REALLY like Kitsch Bar.
I know it's not fancy, there's no room for dancing and the music isn't so loud that your ears bleed, but I just like the vibe. I would definitely try to get here on the early side if you want to get comfortable seats, otherwise it's the bar or standing room only. I wouldn't come here with more then 4-5 people max, especially if it's later in the night because you'll probably find it difficult to maneuver... but for small groups, it's definitely worth a visit.
It's not pretentious and full of assholes like Mesa, and it's not like Commissary or Memphis either. Maybe because it's a real lounge and not just another bar? I'm not sure, but I dig it. To sum it up, chill people, mixed crowd, reasonably priced drinks, and terrible parking. Go here and enjoy it, and you can thank me later.
Where can you find another bar with a photo booth to capture your precious moments of drunkiness?
Had friends visiting from out of town and after driving around to find a bar that's open on a week night, I brought them here, to this obscure strip mall location. It's super chill, soft music so no need to shout at each other to have a conversation. Drinks are reasonably prices. All good except the night we were here, I felt like I was back in United States of Taipei (Rowland Heights), my friend was the only blonde in the whole bar. So we decided to get in touch with our inner fob - yes, I can say it b/c I'm asian; we posed for photos in the photo booth with our V hand signal. Could someone educate me, what does that even mean?
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