I like the Saloon. Â I do. Â I don't go here on Saturday nights when it's all crazy though. Â I go early on random weekday nights. Â
They have a great beer selection, knowledgeable and friendly bartenders who can actually make martinis to my liking, and sometimes they have live music or comedy. Â
If you're in the mood to chill in a cave with a beer and a friend, then this is the place to do it.
Came here on a Friday night and the DJ played some great dance/hip hop music. Unfortunately, they do not have enough bartenders and we had to wait almost a half hour for service. The bartenders were great though, just wish they weren't under staffed. Lots of bouncers and bar backs kept the place clean. There was a fight that ensued which was a little scary, but they took care of it fairly quickly and it was towards the end of the night. The bar also has a small bar in the back of the room but it's not a full bar so the drinks are limited. I'd come back again to hang out.
Review Source:Small bar with no real dance floor except for the one you create on your own. They do have an area where a DJ can set up and a customer can request songs. There is also a smaller bar towards the very back where, Joe the bar tender, made some delicious cinco d mayo drinks. Staff is friendly and place is casual and relaxed. Great place if you're looking to just have some drinks with friends. I wouldn't recommend it if you're trying to get super dressed and looking for something of a club or lounge. Overall I'm sure I'll be back.
Review Source:Pretty small bar and doesn't really have a dance floor. I went here with a friend during cinco de mayo and the wine festival. It wasn't busy at all but we went towards the back to get a drink and Joe (the bartender) was super nice and friendly and we had a good time talking and hanging out with him. All of the staff including the DJ were all so nice. I would definitely come back again.
Review Source:Good drink specials, but super loud. I don't feel like music ever needs to get blasted at a bar and this was no exception. I couldn't hear myself think and we were only there for like 20 minutes. One drink; that's all we could take. Also, it sucks to get ignored at the bar. We probably waited like 10 minutes to get our order taken, and also, chairs were taken away to make room for dancing. Rude.
Review Source:Awesome beer bar! We stumbled literally into this bar after we left first street ale house and I was looking for a restroom to use. It was right after they first went under new ownership. My husband works for a beer distributer and he was amazed to see such high quality beers on tap. We decided to stay and check it out for a bit and sparked up conversation with the owner Harpreet. He was very genuine and had so much knowledge about his product. We've been wanting to come but havent had the chance until recently. On our second visit it was just as enjoyable. If youre not sure if you will like a beer, he lets you try it first and offers great advice on choices. This time around there were a lot more patrons and also a live band. Reasonable prices and great service, we shall be back soon!
Review Source:This place is chill and while it can be a bit crowded on the weekends, it definitely is an excellent location for all the drinkers of Livermore. They have a nice selection of craft beers and their mixed drinks are legit. Not to mention, the bartenders are all fabulous, especially Diego. He holds down the bar as if it's his own and really cares about the experience of the patrons. I would definitely say this is my favorite bar in the Livermore, Dublin, and Pleasanton area and  I highly suggest it to anyone who is looking for a fun time downtown!
Review Source:I went for the first time with a group of friends. I didn't like the atmosphere, and it was very crowded. We could barely move and it was really hot. I did go on a Friday night but I saw there was a fan that was off.
    There was a fight there that night and they kicked everybody out by 1:30.I had just bought a drink that I had to throw away. I am giving a low rating because they closed before the time specified and the way that the security kicked us out was horrible. They made me feel like I was the one that was in the fight, they treat you like a delinquent when they are trying to get you out..before closing time.
I understand that if they need to get everybody out there are other respectful ways of telling you.
I was unhappy and probably will not return.
Okay so...
This is the BEST spot to get a pint in Livermore. Yeah, yeah... Tap 25 is pretty awesome, but if you are a beer snob/nerd, the Beer Baron is where you need to be.
Hand's down the most friendliest and knowledgeable bartenders. Don't know what you want? Throw out some beers you like and they'll bring you something tasty. Still don't know what you want? Have a flight! Confused about the difference between the types of ales? Lagers? Stouts? Just ask! Not in the mood for beer? Have some wine or one of their many drink specials.
Yeah, sure ... it's a bit divey.
Yeah, sure .... they have no outdoor seating.
Yeah, sure ... the clientel changes from bearded beer snobs to gangster wannabes the later it gets. (Friendly gangsta' wannabes, don't get me wrong!)
Yeah, sure ... the music gets way too loud at times.
Rumor is that they may start doing whiskey tastings soon, provided they get approval. But shh.
This is a great place for fans of craft beer.  It changes up regularly, but today we enjoyed assorted Firestone on tap.  The owners and staff are all knowlegeable about the craft brewery scene in California as the owners own Perry's Liquors (6th best selection in CA).  Food from the neighborhood is  available.
The crowd is your typical friendly Livermore group so visitors are welcome.
Feel free to ask the staff for recomenndations because they know what they are talking about.
This place used to be a dive but has really turned around since it has been under new ownership!
Best selection of craft beers around! I used to go to Tap 25 down the street but the saloon has a way more eclectic selection of beers that you cannot find anywhere else. I love barrel aged and sours and they seem to have a few most of the time. If you are a beer snob, you must check out their selection!
Beer beer beer...and I mean real beer. Â These guys own a spectacular liquor store that puts most to shame as well. Â What have they done? Â Seeked out some of the limited release, crazy sexy, palette enticing and just down right yummy beers that you will rarely see on tap anywhere. Â The owners are super knowledgeable, I had one bartender that had the extent of knowledge on a porter that it was real dark...erm, but otherwise so long as you go in early before the cheesy wanna be club thugs and music starts, you're golden.
Review Source:I really enjoyed this place. Â First, the bartender was really friendly and informative. Â It's true, they don't have a zillion beers- but I couldn't taste that many anyway. Â I tried 8- and had a great time tasting them (one was a cider, not a beer.)
I had the Trumer pils- from the Berkeley brewers. I've had the good fortune to visit the Trumer brewery with a Yelp event, and I love their German Pils style beer. This one has a nice 4.5 percent alcohol level, so you don't get faced drinking it.
Next up i tried the La Trappe Belgian ale. Â At 7.5% this one is rather high alcohol. Â It's lightly sweet. Â Wasn't my favorite, but I'm weird, and I like weird beers- as you'll see later in my review. Â There is a soft bitter taste to this beer, a little lemon, and definitely some caramel. Â
The Festina peche was AWESOME and totally to my taste, but I'm not sure "real" beer drinkers would love it as much as I do. Â It's described as a Neo-Berlinner Weisse- but I would tell you it's very lemony, and dry. Â Like lemon water, with a kick, and some grain in there. Â I loved the crisp acidity of it. Â This was one of my favorites. Â I could definitely drink this ever day. Â It's got a nice 4.5 % alcohol level- so I could drink it every day. Â There's not much sugar to this- so don't go thinking it's a lambic. Â I don't know what the residual sugar is, but I suspect it's really low. Â It's kind of like a dry white wine, with a strong peach nose.
Next up- Devotion Belgian Ale. Â Not to my taste at all. Â Took one sip- and no more. Â 6.25% alcohol. Â I'm sure this is excellent for Belgian Ale lovers- but I'm apparently not one of those.
Cherry Kush- brewed for the Livermore Saloon. Â REALLY tasty. Â I tasted a lot of fruit, and thought the beer was pretty sweet. Â The wheat taste was secondary for me- very secondary, and that's fine- since I'm a lambic lover. Â My husband tasted the wheat more than I did, and thought the fruit taste was secondary. Â We'll have to buy a lot more of this and taste test it until we can agree- or we fall off our bar stools and it doesn't matter.
Angry Orchard Cider- the fuji apples make this extra tasty. Â This is a sweet cider, which I like, and it's got a really lovely taste in the front of the mouth, and a good finish. Â I definitely recommend this cider if you can tolerate a sweet cider. If you're strictly a dry cider lover, you'll want to skip this.
This place doesn't have the largest beer menu in the area, but it definitely has the most interesting one. With a decidedly non-mainstream west coast selection, they even outshine some other decent craft beer bars in the area. When it's not too crowded it's probably a great place to do the kind of one-on-one tasting typically reserved for the winery barrel room. Come here if you're pretty sure you've tried most craft beers and want something different, and hopefully they'll continue to nab kegs like the <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRatebeer.com&s=9f0409b3655962539b511f4e813c7920af11f9702a27a4ccc15af9cf65f25f35" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Ratebeer.com</a>:"Requires-more-ratings" gem I had.
---A BeerGuy only reviews the beer---
Thank you LivingSocial for introducing me to Livermore saloon! Without you our paths would never converge and I never would have been able to discover such delicious beers (Cherry Kush the new Fave!!) - the same goes for my partner in crime! Â
This little hole was awesome! Â The bartender was one of the friendliest I've encountered yet and he told us that he and his family had just opened up a new liquor store near us (Bottles in El Sobrante) in addition to Perry's Liquor in Livermore! Â Â Will definitely be back to this establishment with or without a LivingSocial deal!
Best beer bar this side of Oakland. More than 20 taps rotating, and they know them all. They have a setup with Demetri's next door that you can order off a limited menu, and the owners are just great guys to talk beer with. Half price Tuesdays to 7 PM and the occasional dollar off for happy hours makes it worthwhile.
It's slightly pricey, Â but with the bartenders and owner really knowledgeable about the beers on tap, you can find it there. Plus, it's absolutely worth it.
The only caveat is that after a certain hour (generally 10-ish), and on weekends it caters to an entirely different crowd, and things can get a little ridiculous.
We've been here four times now under the new management. Â 1st time was warm beer. Â 2nd time was *awesome*. Â 3rd time was okay, until they started playing techno music. Â 4th time - it will be my last.
The beer selection and the bartender's knowledge is incredible. The prices are reasonable, and it's a beer geek's heaven. Â But then they keep trying to turn the place into a rave at night, and it's terrible - when I'm drinking a great beer, the last thing I want is crappy autotuned music playing and watching fairly unattractive people grind on each other. Â No thanks.
The last time we were there, I tried to use my groupon, but was told that it wasn't accepted after a certain time of day (this was NOT a condition when I bought the groupon; so disappointed). Â We ordered and put money in the juke box. Â A minute after choosing the last song, the DJ (who'd been watching my friends at the juke box) Â pumped up the jams (LMFAO - seriously???) and the owner told us we had to move to make space for the dance floor. Â
I was there with a big group and we couldn't even hear each other. Â We left a table full of beer and got out of there. It sucks - me and my friends are huge beer geeks, but none of us want to deal with the atmosphere at the Saloon.
I'll keep buying great beer from Perry's, but we won't be back to the Saloon.
"Woohoo! As good as it gets". Seriously folks, this place is great.
The wife and I ventured in here with a Groupon deal. Flight of five for two plus a 12 oz pour each.
First and foremost I have to say, this was pobably among the best customer service ever. PERIOD.....
We were greeted by Chris and this guy knows his stuff.
Finally, a downtown Livermore merchant who really appreciates it's customers.
The craft brew selection is second to none. The prices are very reasonable.
And if you want to be treated like family and not just another customer, this is the place.
Yeh, the First Street Ale House is fine, and Tap 25 does have a nice patio.
Take notice everyone, Livermore Saloon is doing it right.
Oh, BTW. The guy next door at Demitri's Taverna is spectacular as well. He brought over "take out" for us. A real treat on a lazy afternoon....
Highly recommend both....
Ask Brittney to make you a peach margarita! She uses agave nectar as well as many other ingredients to give it the clear look of a margarita but the taste of peach juice you would buy at the supermarket. The atmosphere contains standard dive saloon peripherals: ironic tin posters, alcohol sticker ads, sports banners etc.
The drinks are nice and cheap but finding the right bartender is key. The music gets pretty loud after 10pm so don't expect to converse because you most likely be dancing or trying not to get in a fight with some Ed Hardy T-shirt-wearing gorilla mugging you the whole night.
The last time I visited they'd increased the selection of brew on tap so that was a nice touch.
I agree with everything Matt R. said: this place has a fantastic selection of hard-to-find-on-tap beers and the staff will tell you about each and every one. Â With so many great wine stops in Livermore now it's nice that some quality brews can be had downtown now too.
The owner said he'll be bringing in food from next door at Dimitri's, yum! You can't beat the location, and he is working on upgrading the interior, so I'd suggest if you're serious about your beer come a bit before the usual crowd and sample a bunch, you won't be sorry!
I know this place has changed owners a lot over the years, and the vibe has changed from super divey biker bar to trashy liquor spot, but I kinda like what they are doing now. They have a pretty impressive selection of brews, ranging from local to obscure craft beers with great names.
One of the owners was in when we stopped by, and he was great about facilitating the "Birthday girl does not pay for drinks" rule we were trying to enforce. He let us sample a lot of his newer product, and he took the time to explain what his plans are for the space. I am looking forward to returning and seeing it thrive again.
Your typical dive bar. Full of young'ins. Cash only bar. Lots of alcohol to choose from. The drinks are CHEAP. Loud music thumpin' from the DJ booth. Don't expect to have a conversation with your friends. The music - the kind of music us older crew love to dance to.
A solid 3 stars. If you're in the mood.
Bar, Music, back lounge with black lights. Came in with my friends on a Saturday night. At first there was country music, then rock, then hip hop. I left before the Dancing was about to happen, but it's a very small spot.
My friends enjoyed the Mudslides and the guys liked the Ale. But could this be a place I would frequent?
So I'm following up on this'un. Â I went to Saloon again recently, despite my bad experiences there. Â You never know when or where you may have a good time, y'know??
Did not happen here. Â I went in, planning on slowing down with some water (I had been bar-hopping all night) then getting another drink. Â I see one of the owners behind the bar and here's how it went:
Owner: texting, texting.... looks up at me, says nothing
Me: Can I get some water, please?
Owner: Â Nods yes, still texting, walks away, pours a mixed drink for someone, more texting, pours another mixed drink for someone, texting, leans back on bar, still texting, where the frick is my damn water?
Mind you, he never said a word or even cracked a smile. Â I didn't wait anymore, I just walked out.
This place sucks, plain and simple. Â There's a bunch of other awesome bars in Livermore, like R-Place and Good Times that not only acknowledge their patrons, but serve them with a smile on their faces and even have a pleasant conversation with you, if they're not too busy, of course.
Oh, and while Mr. Popular was busy texting, his staff was whirling all around the bar, trying to get drinks to thirsty drunkies. Â He may have money to buy a bar, but has got no business actually running it (if you can even call it that).
If you are looking for a varied selection of quality beers from around the world, there are few places which have the selection of the "New" Livermore Saloon. Â And if you enjoy the PBRs off the old days, theses are still available.
The new owners have made subtle improvements to the building infrastructure (bathroom floor isn't soft any more), and are working on some other fun improvements for the younger crowd which gathers in the evenings. For a beer lover like myself, the addition of 20+ taps of great beer is the best improvement of all (HDTV would be great also).
I know that some have complained about the beer pricing, but since many of these beers were made either on the other side of the world, or were small lot batches and are quite rare, an added dollar or two is minor.
Rachael is the best bartender in livermore! They have new owners so we'll see how that goes.
One word to describe this place during the weekends... "sausagefest"
Like seriously, where are all the fine livermore chicks I keep hearing about?! Because they are definitely not at the goodtimes bar that's for sure.
So new owners came in and have decided to class up the place by bringing in a better quality of micro brewery style ales. Â Great idea!
OMG!!!! Â You want how much for a pint of that? Â $5, $6, $7???
Really? Â REALLY???
Ale House down the street has many of the same beers for $4 to $5 (for super premium stouts and double IPA's). Â Many of the other local places sell pints for as cheap as $3. Â
I understand what these guys were going for, but putting it in the old dilapidated saloon was the wrong place. Â Perhaps they should have leased the vacant space near the movie theater and made something more special. Â Instead, it's just the crappy space that reminds me of the previous owners. Â I know this is the owners first forte into the bar business. Â Perhaps they should have hired someone with more experience to assist them in their endeavor. Â Unfortunately, I see this place failing and hopefully closing for good. Â Perhaps then something more "1st St." friendly will move in...
I have to agree with mr. "hello?? bartender?"... in my previous visits to this bar, i've had a decent time. tho recently... (5.28.10) it was otherwise.
I decided to head out on the town later (midnight-ish) to avoid *some* of the crowds....not the case at the 'loon. Walk in to a crowded bar area. standing room only. drunk guests & bartenders both holding their drinks awkwardly, and at times...spilling them on the person nearest.
negatives:
10+ minutes to get a damn drink
too crowded
unfriendly staff that wait on their "regulars" first
too noisy
drunk bartenders
positives++
bouncer out front...really sweet!
familiar faces
DJ, on certain nights...
affordable drinks
and. . .
Rachel! only the hottest, sweetest, bartender that remembers her drunkies
Went here on Saturday night with my social club and noticed that when the gals went up to the bar their order was a tad bit delayed. ( minus one star). Â The bouncer was nice, the people were friendly. It was a little on the dirty side. (Minus one star). Â But, maybe because of the stumbling drunkies that kept dropping drinks and dragging toilet paper on to the dance floor? LOL. Â
I give it three stars because despite the dirty dance floor, spilled drinks, getting smacked on the behind with someones shoe (as he drunkly smashed it into the wall to clean it), the weird guy that creeped up on my ear and whispered "so what brings you here" the bathroom was clean. I'm not a fan of public restrooms and I'd much rather hold it then have to go into them but, I had to go reeeeeeeally badly and to my surprise it was clean, fully stoked with soap and it suprised the heck outta me.
Popped in with a friend during the Wine Country Festival to catch the Kentucky Derby.
Service was so S L Â O Â W. Â
One bartender (bartendress) apologized for taking so long to come over....she had a hang over. Â alrighty then. Have some hair of the dog and bring us our drinks!
Since the place was packed and there were only 2 bartenders moving in slow motion, it became a bonding experience for the customers and we left with lots of new friends.... all heading over to the V and E as soon as the Derby was over.
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