It's difficult to rate Lake Alice because my experience ranges from 1 to 4 stars.
Parking: Â There is limited metered street parking. Â A parking garage is located nearby on Orange Street.
Bar: It's a pretty large space. Â When you enter, there is a long bar to your left and lots of tables to your right. Â At the rear is a small stage, restrooms, arcade games, and stairs to a small second level that has a few quarter-operates pool tables. Â There is a change machine downstairs by the arcade games. Â There are many TVs with a variety of sports playing. Â If you're downtown at lunch during World Cup, it's a good place to catch a game.
Food and Drink: Â The food is good for being a standard bar. Â They have salads, burgers, tacos, etc. Â The servers have always been nice, but consistency is sketchy when they're busy.
1 Star Horrible Experience: Â Later in the evening, they want both your credit card and driver's license for a tab. Â My friend handed his over for our group and when he went to settle the bill at the end of the night, discovered they gave his credit card and ID to someone else and still had the other person's card and ID. Â In the end, it was discovered the other person was a visitor staying in a local hotel. Â Hopefully he didn't need to make a purchase or catch a plane early the next morning. Â My friend had to cancel his card and, luckily, didn't have to catch a plane the next day, either. Â If they request possession of your personal information, you'd think they'd handle it more professionally and not expose you to identity theft. Â If they can't manage that, they should come up with another system.
I can't even count how many times I've walked & driven by Lake Alice, but never gone inside. Â I am happy to say, I finally went in, and I really enjoyed it! Â The service was fantastic, and our server was very friendly. Â Karaoke was a blast, with Shaina & Cole, and the place was jumping by 10 PM...it was a Thursday night, and started off much less crowded.
I will certainly go back, and highly recommend it for an entertaining evening. Â Maybe next time I'll try the food...I hear it's quite good.
Great Place For Quick Drinks & Casual Dining
SITREP
I love hitting Lake Alice when I am conducting training for our new staff in the California Towers there just a block away at 3737 Main Street. Â It's a welcome beacon of comfort and fun when you are from out-of-town and you want to quickly find a place close by so that you can quickly begin that post-work decompression.
Lake Alice is great for that.
THE SETUP
Lake Alice is good at so many things because it services a multiplicity of purposes:
* A fun meeting place for local friends & coworkers
* A nice refreshing drink for after work
* A Go-To place to hang out and wait for the Parking Lot counter to time-out at 7pm so I don't have to pay the $8
* Some most excellent munchies for a casual dinner amongst friends
* Did I already express my love for refreshing drinks? Â I did? Â Well, it can be said TWICE.
LE MENU
I've hit this place mainly for lunch - their half sandwich & salad deal for $5.99 is quick and yummy. Â But the tacos and onion rings in the evening washed down with beer also keep me coming back.
I'm never here on a weekend, but colleagues who stick around tell me that the Omelets, Eggs Benedicts and football fun are a great way to spend the time here too.
LE FUN
They have Karaoke here on Thursday nights with Stacia! Â That always is a fun time! Â
THE LOWDOWN
A great way to spend a lunch hour or an evening, Lake Alice has what it takes to keep you filled up and interested in t he good times here in Riverside.
On weekends they charge a cover fee since they have live entertainment, I noticed an older, much older crowd comes in but hey everyones having fun, dancing & singing along. The one bartender with short spikey blond hair rocks! So awesome, funny, and helpful. Drinks are priced decently and theres a patio in front to smoke. This is more of a get down and boogie bar rather than the hipster, hip hop, or rocker bars downtown. I will say the only downside is  a lot of bums bug you for cigarettes since your out front and the wall barrier isn't very tall but other than that its cool. I've also come down for football and food during the day. Foods decent, I ordered nachos while my friend had a sandwich special, they have lots of tv's for all sports. The place is large too with some pinball machines and arcade games in the back, also an  upstairs available for private partys.
Review Source:Lake Alice is good if you're a part of the 50 plus crowd, particularly if you're a single member of this group. Â Otherwise, if you're looking for a younger scene in RIverside you might want to try another locale downtown. Â I'm particularly against the 10 dollar cover charge for a lacking atmosphere, slow service and bad music. Â Overall I'd say it's not worth going here.
Review Source:I actually used to spend many nights at Lake Alice and have been going here for years. Â The reason I have spent so much time here in the past was that it is home to the Riverside Pinball League. Â This past weekend the ante was upped when they hosted the second Annual "It Never Drains in Southern California Pinball Tournament". Â
It's been a couple of years since I was here last and over the  years, the service here has been hit and miss.  During pinball league, we were well taken care of and the servers have always been friendly to us.  The food here is pretty decent - it's your standard pub food: burgers, sandwiches, wings, etc.  They have a full bar and the bartenders do a good job, but the drink prices are steep for a local watering hole.
Yesterday's experience was an ALL DAY one. I noted that the woman's bathroom has been remodeled since the last time I was there, they're better, but still could use some serious cleaning... but, it's Lake Alice - I look the other way. It's not the bright shiny penny of a fancy bar, but it's a casual, local place, not a dive, but nothing fancy. During the day, I went directly to the bar and my bartender Amanda, took care of me, making delicious Jim Beam Lemonades. Â Later, we grabbed a table and were served by Stacy. Â She was an AWESOME waitress who was very attentive and kept our drinks filled and cleared the old plates and drinks quickly.
For dinner I ate the regular sliders with hot chips. Â I think my favorite thing to eat at Lake Alice is the hot chips with ranch dressing, so that's always a given - they're yummy. Â The sliders were good. Â The husband had the buffalo wings and he just said, "mmm... they were yummy". Â I don't know if those two items are indicative of the whole menu, but my experience here has always been that the food is entirely decent.
They usually have live entertainment on the weekends and this weekend they had an 80s cover band called the Pacmen. Â They were fun and the place was PACKED. The only real negatives were the rude people sitting at the table in front of us who felt the need to stand directly in front of us and the outdoor smoking area seems to allow the smoke to drift in and even though I was about 20 feet from the door, I left smelling like smoke.
Overall we had a great time even though my husband didn't qualify for the pinball tournament. Â Speaking of Pinball, if you like it,, this is the place to go. Â They have eight Pinball machines always, and if you really love it, they have a league that is for players of all skill levels since they use a handicapping system. They meet on Tuesday nights. Â You can get info about it at Lake Alice or the pinball league website: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.iepinball.com&s=6532e8ae08f9d2dab46feb3d4edaeaca56f5f9a420ac12538ba7763956bf88dd" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.iepinball.com</a>. Â
I'd recommend it as a fun place to go and I'll be back.
What can they do to get more stars?
Make the menu more exciting, clean the place top to bottom, update the decor... it's not gonna happen, but they're A-OK and seem to be doing well, so if it ain't broke...
I came here with a bunch of friends around midnight or a bit after and it was literally empty...weird for being a sports bar on the main street of downtown Riverside, especially since the bar we went to before that was in the basement of a antique shop was more poppin'.
I didn't like my experience here. Drinks were decent and they have TVs and pool tables, but I just didn't like vibe or the attitude of the bartenders. I know you're probably bored by yourselves behind the bar and you're literally just sitting there so shouldn't you be a little excited that 10 college kids (we were all tipsy and drinking, but not belligerent and obnoxious) coming in giving you some work to do AND some tips?
Either way, it's a whatevers place. I won't be returning here on my own will anytime soon.
After a funeral for a buddy, my wife and I took a couple of friends from out of town out for drinks. Â I haven't been to Lake Alice in about 5 years. Â I used to go to Lake Alice all the time when I was single to drink beer and play darts/pool with friends. That was over 12 years ago. Â It's funny because Lake Alice hasn't changed at all. The place might have been cleaned up, rearranged and redecorated but it's still the crappy bar it always has been.
We went on a Friday night about between 6:30 to 7:00 and didn't have to pay a cover charge. There were quite a few people in the bar but not overly packed. Most of the people were sitting at tables with a few at the long bar. Â We came up to the bar at the corner near the front door and there were two female bartenders. Â The girl working our end didn't even greet us or look our way when we sat down. After literally 3 minutes of us sitting there looking at her she finally came over and asked what we wanted to drink. Â Three minutes doesn't sound like a lot but when new customers come in and sit down at the bar and you aren't busy at all, it's a lifetime. Â When we got our drinks we didn't open a tab and went to sit at a table to play some pool. There was a jukebox with music with everyone socializing in the bar. Â One of my buddies opened a tab with his CC when one of the waitresses came around. Â Her service was good and we were never thirsty. Â We ordered chips and salsa which were screaming. Â Best chips and salsa I've had in a while. Maybe it was the beer but they tasted great.
The night was going great until 8:45. This is when the band started playing. The bar was packed and loud and a great atmosphere and then it was ruined. Â Man did they suck. Â The bad band wasn't the part that made us want to leave; it was how loud they played. Â You could be sitting right next to someone and not hear a word they were saying. Â This is how Lake Alice has always been when a live band is playing whether it's 15 years ago or yesterday. Â Horrible.
Right before the band started to play, our waitress asked my buddy if he could close out his tab. Â Her shift was ending and he could reopen it with the new waitress. What? She didn't say it but she just wanted her tip. Â Talk about unprofessional. Â
The band was so loud we decided to leave. Â Unless it your friends band, don't go when one is playing. We didn't go for a concert. We went to socialize and drink some beer. Â Also the service leaves a lot to be desired. Â If it was my bar I'd fire people and hire some that were a little more experienced and professional.
Night life (entrance fee) and Day life (free). Bands play here all the time. Great spot to drink some beer, grab some grub, listen to music, play some pool and watch sports (college, pro). Great menu selection. *VEGGIE FRIENDLY*. Very spacious, lots of places to sit. Friendly fast service.
Review Source:2 stars until I actually stay and drink/eat something.
Super packed on a Thursday night and did not enjoy the atmosphere. Literally walked in, walked around, and walked out. Bar was super crowded, but there were plenty of seats. Enjoyed the fact that there was not a service charge at the door unlike the $6 that other people have paid on previous days. It's probably because it was during summer and there are less people, but who knows. There were so many cops outside/near the menagerie and I'm not sure why. Parking is nice, close, and free after 5pm depending on the day.
The bar is typically understaffed, you'll be waiting for your drinks. Â The admission is 6 bucks at the door, sometimes its free. Â Live music is not consistently good, but most of the time you wont hate it.
Its not a very social environment despite being a huge bar. The pool tables are upstairs, pinball in the back lower, and the rest is tables and chairs.
Most people come with a couple friends and sit for the food. I am a pretty social guy, and I have only met a few people here even on very busy nights. Best areas are pool tables, outside patio, and the bar stools.
Its right across the street from the Menagerie which is awesome if you aren't a homophobe, when the live music here gets to squeaky just stroll across the street and dance.
Cool if your in the area and want a beer and some entertainment.
Usually don't come out to downtown Riverside, but I was in the area.. Came here with a couple friends on a Saturday night. There was a live band and they played some country and rock. Not usually my kind of taste in music, but it was okay. Went upstairs to play pool and ordered a few pitchers of beer. It was a fun night haha. This is also one of the first bars where they had a pretty clean bathroom and with a lot of stalls! I was happy with that for sure :)
Review Source:Had a fun time listening to some excellent Karaoke singers this Thursday night. It was pretty full and mostly people having a fun time. I got a good vibe drinking and chatting while some very talented singesr performed.
I must admit I had a prety tasty Greek salad with chicken. I will come back again soon.
One reason it was so busy was Ary Walk night, they had tomns of people out in the streets in Riverside, hard to believe.
The people that pay the $6 cover charge for entrance to this place must be really desperate for a good time.
Maybe because u paid the $6 cover charge u force yourself to have a good time amongst the inland empire's finest bro's, cougars, and creepy older dudes.
I don't think I'd have such disdain for this place if they didnt charge a cover fee. It's like paying to go into a Walmart.
Seems like a kind of down to earth bar. First impression is it is loud. When they have bands, expect to have little to no ability to have a conversation without use of a megaphone (and having your eardrums raped from severity of the noise).
Fairly cool crowd of people over all. Food's decent and what you'd expect from a bar. Great that they have Guinness on tap (among other beers).
The food here is great. Â Everything tastes like it should be on a gourmet menu. Â I especially loved the ahi sliders, they were the best. Â I know people think this is just a bar, but you are missing out if you do not take advantage of there lunch menu. Â They have a great chief who is always looking at ways to expand his menu. Â Belive me everything is great!!!!
Review Source:Mea culpa. Â I should have reviewed yelp before taking a local's recommendation to for this place. Â Frankly, I feel insulted that the local even recommended this place to me. Â I don't think I come across as a sports bar person, just an obnoxious, slightly socially awkward foodie.
I'll keep it short, I got the pulled pork sliders. Â It came on a store bought mushy potato roll. Â The pork was eatable but not edible, in that I could not properly digest it....I'll leave it at that. Â Poor selection of (yuppy) beers on tap. Â
On the plus side, our waitress was delightfully overly make up-ed co-ed that was sharp as a whip in putting down the pigs at my table. Â I go to a restaurant for food not the women.
Came here for my 21st birthday and a couple of times since then. I don't know about the karaoke or live band nights, but this place is great for drinks after work, watching the game, or just celebrating a birthday.
After a lousy experience at the nearby Spaghetti Factory, I arrived here on the advice of my dinner waiter. Upon finding out it was my birthday, both the bartenders working that night came up and made me a birthday shot, which was a welcome change from the stingier bars I'd been to earlier in the evening.
While the clientele at the bar are a little on the older side, my friends and I have always enjoyed the easygoing atmosphere and the bartenders there always remember my Jameson on the rocks (major brownie points there). Prices on drinks are affordable given the area, and the place is respectable without all the pomp of The Mission Inn.
Yea...this place is for the 45 yr old crowd trying to find themselves.One of the few times I came there was a swinger party going on..another thing is the beer! Seriously Overpriced...$10 for Newcastle? Come on it's Riverside! It ain't some fancy cute place to be over charging! I'd rather go to the hideaway where at least I'll pay $2 for a beer and still have ugly ambiance...all in all this place sucks! Period!
Review Source:The reason I gave this place 4 stars is it could possibly be a 5er, but mehh not quite, hey 4 stars is pretty good.
Personally I love this place. There is ALWAYS an assortment of different people here and I've never had a problem with any of the staff here.
and Stacia does Karaoke on... idk which days, she's pretty amazing!
It's fun!
I was hired to perform at Lake Alice Trading Co. We had made an agreement as to how we would get paid when we booked the show over a month ago. When we arrived last night, they insisted we change our door cover charge to free, yet they would not offer us an alternative to get paid...not a percentage of the bar, not a guarantee, nothing. The management and security were so rude and their business dealings were so shady, we decided to leave and not play a note.
If you agree with screwing musicians out of their hard-earned dollars, then by all means, spend your money here. if you understand the plight of a professional musician and our struggle to make a living, then I suggest you boycott this place and tell your friends the way they do business is unethical.
Shame on you, Lake Alice Trading Co!
Full disclosure: Â I know the owners here through my co-workers. Â And they're nice people. Â So if I didn't like the place I would have refrained from posting a review, but I like it, so moot point.
Lake Alice is a laid back bar with pretty good food. Â I've only been for lunch time, and it's nice to be able to watch some World Cup while eating a filling lunch at a good price. Â The place is cavernous - there's games along the back, a change machine (I should remember this on laundry days!) and tables that seat 3-4 somewhat comfortably. Â The decor is limited to beer signs, but , hey, it's a bar.
The menu is about eight pages long and has your standard pub grub plus forays into italian and mexican food. Â I continuously order the veggie sliders, which are basically bruschetta + feta on hawaiian rolls. Â They come with fries but for fifty cents more you can get their signature hot chips, which are fried-to-order potato chips. Â These are sometimes a tad undercooked but are usually hot and crispy. Â And it's about $7.50 for the whole thing.
The soft drinks here have unlimited refills, so we tend to get them served in these enormous styrofoam cups. Â Probably 44 ounces. Â I guess it keeps the servers from having to refill a lot or people asking for a to-go cup.
Service is fine and pretty friendly. Â Considering that there aren't too many lunch spots in downtown Riverside, this is a great place to go for good eats on the cheap. Â Especially during the world cup.
i'm going to build on andrea s' review and do you all the service of letting you know what's up. Â i do so because there are only like 4.5 bars in all of downtown riverside and i would hate for you to end up at this one.
i'll cut to the chase...why pay to hang out in this herpes nest, when you can go to the herpes nest across the street for free?
so...i agree. Â lake alice, if you think i'm paying ANYTHING to get in, you must be out your GD mind. Â you should pay ME to hang out in your bar.
I've been here a couple of times. Â The place is pretty okay... there is pool and shuffle board. Â And that's one long ass shuffle board. Â
I always forget the name though. Â The food was pretty good and I have no complaints about it. Â
The floor boards are uneven and I trip over them! Â No, I wasn't drunk. Â But I do wonder about how many drunks have probably fallen in here. Â
There are multiple tvs set up and a couple of pool tables. Â People seem friendly. Â Nice place to hang out.
Where do I start...
I went to UCR for a bit and there is not much to do in Riverside.
I literally stumbled into Lake Alice and sat down for a few.
Decent staff, prices are high but people pay them (go figure)
A decent place to take a date if she's not really into the bar scene because chances are, she'll enjoy herself.
Clean restrooms and fast service (even during peak) will ensure you a decent experience here at Lake Alice.
Definite bro and bra spot. Â Like Nick T., I too am Asian and got stares in here. Â Although I like to think those stares were because of my ridiculous swagger. Â Haha.
So why did I come here? Â Because some friends who live in the area actually like this place. Â At least they serve Crown here. Â We ordered wings for the table and they were just like Costco used to make them. Â During happy hour the wings and beers are specially-priced. Â I didn't notice any bikers while I was there but I can see this place as being a destination.
Would I ever go here again? Â No, but if you're looking into hanging out in places that I won't--well then, you may like this place.
It ain't hard to tell...
As far as Riverside goes, it's not the worst place. It's a total bro, biker and <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmatch.com&s=5a7ad17eb3943c81dac85ae79b9c0c050694769f0de09ef7d94e7ed56fd99c4f" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://match.com</a>- over 40 and on a first date since the divorce- kind of place. The doorman is really nice and the bartenders are on top of it. The food is OK- nothing to write home about. The waitresses are really nice too.
If you want to pay a $6 cover to hang out in a tavern, fancy yourself a "cage fighter" and bleed jager-bombs, it's probably your scene.
Biker bar. I didnt mind it too much except for that fact that I'm Asian and I always got funny looks when I walked in. WTF man, I just want a drink.
Probably the one place where I felt like a bar brawl was about to happen at any moment.
Nestled in downtown Riverside, good luck finding parking.
Dumpy, divey, and huge with really high ceilings. Â I like it because it's so big that you can always find a place to grab a table, belly up to the bar, and even grab a pool table on the upstairs deck. Â
The crowd can be sketchy at Lake Alice, as I have seen it range the gamut like Andrew said. Â I have usually seen bad cover bands play here, but they're alright because they've taken my requests.
Hearing the name, the last thing you'd think would be that this is a very cool sports bar in downtown Riverside. Â How did they get that name, you ask? Â How in the hell am I supposed to know?! Â Great place to go if you want to hear live music and just hang out with your friends. Â It's nice, because it's not filled with a bunch of hipsters, just regular folks there for a good time.
Check their webpage for a schedule of bands playing there.
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lakealicetradingco.com%2F&s=b8339a6eefc8ac634110310ca7fb99e7a619e2b1ca03e5495d8faa71c857b935" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.lakealicetrad…</a>
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