Brian! Brian! Brian! Â He is the star of the Marlin Club. Though when the Catalina All Stars are playing they take over. What a great band! Spencer Davis of the Spencer davis Group fame (heard of Stevie Winwood?) plays here often, though as of Summer 2013 I hear his health is not great. I hope you get better and return to playing, Spencer.
Review Source:I read all these reviews of the Marlin Club and, of course, there's mention of the drinks, the crowd, the atmosphere, etc, but... Doesn't anybody go in Friday night and see the Catalina All Stars (CIA) Band perform? Â Hasen't anybody whose reviews I've read, anyways, noticed the fantastic music played by some of the famous musicians that frequent that place? The music is a major draw for Catalina Island, and the performers are among the world's best, period. Â It's a bit odd or funny to me how many people don't see-or hear- that, wow!
If you love music, The Marlin Club Friday nights and Avalon, namely Casino Dock Cafe, during summer days for great music! Â They play at local restaurants/pubs too!
It seems to almost always be an adventure of some sort at The Marlin Club, where things can go sideways from alcohol-induced patrons. Â There are locals and there are guests, and ye' be warned, never keepeth up with a local drinking at a tavern!
My friend and I didn't plan to go to this place, but we got dragged in by some strangers. Â Well one of them was the guy who worked at the storage by the boats lol. So my friend and I were heading out to eat, until the guy from storage recognized us. Â Then another guy joined in on the conversation. Â My friend and I thought they knew each other, but they didn't! Â Pretty funny if you ask me. Â Then that one random guy was called back into Marlin's by his friends because it was his turn to shoot pool. Â The rest of his guy friends got us to come inside and chill. Â They were all pretty weird. Â One of the guys doesn't know what a personal zone is and the other guy wanted to get our #s to give to his 22 year old soon. Â Anyway, they got us Greygoose drinks and we chilled for a moment, played pool (they only have 1 pool table and it's $1 per game), observed the people in the dive bar, and left. Â The prices are decent if you're looking for a place to drink. Â Also, this seemed like the only place that was open late on a Wednesday night...
Review Source:Marlin Club was a great time. I visit Avalon once a year and always make a point in stopping by this place. Fun for groups since it has pool and foosball. The prices are very reasonable and it has some great music.
Be sure to stop by and say hi to Brian. He sells Sharkoozies for $5 a pop. Really cool designs and well worth the stop.
The Marlin Club seems like the local dive bar of the island. While the atmosphere and all the crazy decorations are cool, it never really stood out to me as having much character in itself. The bartender was nice, and I don't think you'll be disappointed if a dive bar is what you're looking for, but it was just nothing extraordinary either. I'd go back, but there's other places on Avalon I'd rather go to.
Review Source:4 Stars for a Dive Bar,, you bet.
The 2 best Dive bars on the West Coast are here and the Rudder Room in Channel Islands Harbor.
Marlin Club has it own unique energy and character. It's styled like a waterfront dive bar on purpose so don't be intimidated when ya peek or walk in.
Used to be the cheapest bar on the island, and still reasonable by island standards.
The bad economy hasn't hit the cash register yet. Luau Larrys may be slated to be demolished,, but the Marlin Club will live on.
Best dive bar in the USA, best people on the island and boats off shore hang here.
Marlin Clubs Bartenders have been here for years and years and are all fun characters. Randy is a little hard of hearing so don't get sore if it's hard to hear your order over the roar of the jukebox and bar equipment. Brians character is still on fire.
Always good, friendly service, always clean, good drinks, excellent jukebox, and a sense of humor hangs over the place like a flock of drunk angels insuring you have a good time.
You can bring in your pizza or sandwiches, no food served here though.
Walk in,, pass out.
This is the best dive bar in the world. Spencer Davis hangs out at the Marlin. Roger Connelly plays. It is an ultra cool locals hang out, but the locals are friendly and cool to tourists as well. It even serves as a compelling setting for the opening of a novel - ask Brian the bartender for details. It's unforgettable (if you can remember your night...)
Review Source:Went to Catalina this past weekend and I really enjoyed this bar. Â I am giving it 4 stars mainly because it has a foosball table and other games you can play if you are the only sober one trying to entertain yourself. Â I didn't have any beverages here aside from water but the people I was with kept buying drinks so it must not have been too bad. Â Great place to check out while you are here, especially since it is open late.
Review Source:Went there during the afternoon. We enjoy the dive bars yet this one is one we won't go back. On a positive note our bloody Mary's were good. Bartender was rude and ignored us when we tried to do small talk and asked any sort of questions. At first I thought he didnt hear us but the second time around we realized he was deliberately ignoring us. His name was Randy on the shirt for your reference. Â Also the crowd and people were rude and obnoxious. There's other places who would appreciate your business more so skip it and move on.
Review Source:Awesome Dive Bar!!!
Nothing special and nothing fancy. Â The bar is shaped like a boat with the patrons sitting on the outside and the bartender and everything he needs to make a drink on the inside. Â
They have restroom doors painted with a mermaid and a merman (?) on it and a porthole you can stick your head through to take those drunken embarrassing photos of your friends or yourself. Â
There's a pool table and few other bar type games to play here, but this place is a blast from the past. Â
The drinks are inexpensive and made stiff. Â Just the way I like them. Â
I recommend this place to be a good starting point on your way to island drunkeness. Â Ohh and then the next day when you're nursing your hangover they'll have a stiff Bloody Mary waiting for you to get you back upright.
Marlin Club is a must visit. Â It's kind of a dive bar where the locals hang out. Â Having said that, my bf and I felt completely welcomed here.
The bartender, Brian/Bryan, was awesome. Â He was funny and highly entertaining. Â My bf and I ordered two Jager shots. Â We were expecting to pay over $20. Â The total was $11!
The atmosphere is casual and comfortable. Â I really enjoyed this place.
They should rename this place Louganis because it is a great dive.
Marlin is all about the people. Â The "boat" area sits maybe two dozen at most, so it's a place for friendly people who are all "in the same boat", perfect for tourists brave enough to enter a dark dive full of locals and respectful enough to earn the respect back. Â Everyone there was geniune. Â Sure, some were a genuine asshole, but geniune nonetheless and we instantly felt like regulars. Â Or irregulars.
Brian was our instantly likeable Drew Carey-looking wisecracking guy who lent me one of the SharKoozies he makes to cure me of my label peeling. Â Randy was the somewhat grumpy but chill storyteller. Â He was 3 days from being retarded (his word for retired) so you're likely to find him on what he calls the "fun side" of the bar. Â
They don't have the internet style jukebox, but Brian likes it that way... it's mostly old rock and roll with only a few options like No Doubt that make the locals cringe. Â Pool table, foosball, flat screen (playing Young & the Restless?!), wacky mermaid photo op, all in a dark bar that feels like you're hanging out in the shade.
The regulars included a lot of guys who looked like the Muppet Show judges with sunburns, but it was a fun crowd. Â If we lived on the island (and had perhaps a missing tooth) we would be regulars at the bar as well. Â They have great douchebag radar, so if you're wearing a Tapout shirt and an Ed Hardy cap and are prone to say "What are you looking at?" you probably belong elsewhere.
I dont think I've EVER had as much fun day drinking at a dive bar on a Sunday as i did here!
Stiff CHEAP drinks (my hubby totally got hooked up with *birthday discounts*)
A hilarious bartender (Brian seriously kept me laughing the entire time to the point where my cheeks were staring to hurt)
And quite the eclectic mix of bar patrons (lots of locals and tourists..it was a blast!)
...reminded me of our local watering hole back home
I LOVED IT and would highly recommend stopping by if you're on the island
Was introduced to this little dive bar on the first night of our weekend trip here by a kind woman we met on the boat on the way over.
Had a great time, listened to a pretty good bad play. This appears to be the hangout of the locals, and everyone was super friendly.
Drank a lot, and don't remember much other than that, sadly. :)
This is a 5 star dive bar. Â Friendly bartenders will help you get to loopyville with minimum fuss. Â Entertainment is good, as is the people watching. Â
The labyrinth men's room will let you know when you've had too much to drink. Â Stay here late and you are sure to see a "Bro-Down" on the weekends.
Be sure to say hi to Brian during the day and Freddie (the devil himself) at night.
I. LOVE. THIS. PLACE.
My boyfriend and I came to Avalon on our R&R and we had no idea where anything was and were *GASP* shocked at the prices of everything on the island. Leave it to yelp to SAVE OUR BUTTS the entire trip!
Sadly, both of us got completely shmammered here for less than it cost for us to have a cheap meal in this town. :P
More of a locals/dive bar, great atmosphere. The locals here are FANTASTIC, so friendly and helpful, which is amazing cause I assume theyd be annoyed at all the tourists. Love their music, and they have top shelf for great prices!
Thanks for a great weekend guys!
One of the bars that we frequented while on Catalina. This place is pretty much just your basic bar. They have a pol table which is good, and they are running this sea theme. They have a small cooler that they keep nice beer in which was nice for me since I like good beer. Best way I can say it is that the locals hang out here and if that's the case you know it's pretty good.
Review Source:Big props to this gem of a dive. Â
This nautical themed bar has a bunch of a charm gooing for it. Â From the bar shaped like a boat including mast and covering. Â To the fish and waves painted on the walls. Â To the straight out of the fifties restroom door where you can stick your head through the porthole and take those silly tourist pictures from way back.
Went on a Sunday afternoon and it was kind of dead. Â Which was okay, because I didn't want to fight crowds. Â The bartender was nice and made a strong bloody mary for $6.00. Â He even offered the ultimate bar food, a pickled egg to me which I don't believe I have ever tried. Â What the hell. Â It's an boiled egg and pickled.
Again the charm is the kitz. Â If you are looking for trendy or upscale, this isn't your place.
Went here with my man almost everyday during our vacation. This place is great. Everyone is extremely nice and welcoming. The bartenders make some really strong drinks for a cheap price. They remembered us every time we came back. One of the bartenders made me a really delicious margarita and told my boyfriend to thank him later. Needless to say, my boyfriend did thank him the next morning when we came in for mimosas. It was a really cool place to be in the morning. Mimosas were great and they had The Price Is Right on the entire time. Made me feel less of an alcoholic for being there so early in the morning.
Cool game area and the jukebox surprisingly has a good selection. Except the Offspring stuff (really??).
I also found great pleasure in making my boyfriend stand behind one of the bathroom doors that had a painted picture of a naked mermaid and stick his head in. Picture time!
Can't wait to visit Catalina again so I can hit up this place!
The Marlin Club is the dive bar of Avalon. Both times we went in there it was pretty dead, more of a locals bar. Drinks were actually more expensive here than most of the other bars we went to which was surprising.
Bartender was great and did some tacky tricks. Other than that I am not sure what else to tell about it.
This bar was no BS. Â Went with my girlfriend after dinner and hung out with some locals hanging out on their saturday night. Â They serve up some stiff drinks for cheap. Â I ordered a heineken and courvosier and coke and my girlfriend had a vodka cranberry and a screwdriver. Â Played some pool and darts. Â After those two drinks my girlfriend was very buzzed if not drunk and we left without me spending a lot of money. Â
Don't fall for the locals who ask you to play darts for drinks, they are very good at it lol  The jukebox made it feel like I was in a movie.  It was great
A dive bar in the end is a dive bar, but the people you drink with will always be different. Â Im coming back here the next time i'm on the island.
Jordan
Wow, stiff drinks indeed! This place was so much fun I don't even know how to sum it up.
We basically hung out for hours getting good drinks and talking to locals, (we played some old video games on their game table before that). We eventually started talking to one of the bartenders (Freddy) and he proceeded to buy us shots of "pancake breakfasts" with OJ chasers. They were really good and the night just got crazier from there.
My gf got so wasted that she got paranoid after we first left at 1am, thinking that we paid for all the free drinks (she gets possessed sometimes when she has too much:) . So I went back to talk to them and make sure it was all good. Cynthia (the other tender) was kind enough to make a photocopy of our receipt with all charges explained and I was happy to see that we were not overcharged for anything, in fact they were very good to us as I suspected.
I ended up wandering the streets of Avalon after they closed until the Sheriff  finally told me to go home.
Thank you so much Freddy, Cynthia and all the locals that make such a cool place possible!
I love the Marlin Club and the Marlin Club loves me. Â Its a local dive bar that serves stiff drinks and lots of local flavor.
Its small, the bathrooms smaller but has a huge bar and a pool table where you can beat or be beaten. Â I don't usually play the game, but do charge those playing a "butt tax" where their butts can and more often than not, get pinched as they bend over in front of my face to shoot. Â It can be used as a diversionary tactic as well. Â
Oh Marlon club, you have given me my favorite hangovers.
The Marlin Club is the best. Â Go there to relax, shoot pool, whatever. Â I was there this past weekend for my bachelor party.
We walk in and I turn to Pops-"when's the last time you were in here?" Â Pops: "I've never been in here. Â Looks like a guy could get into a lot of trouble in here."
Then a drunk guy with long stringy hair and a couple of teeth missing careens by on the way to the bathroom, points at Pops and says "It's all THAT guy's fault" Â I don't think Pops had had an encounter like that for a while
Later that night, standing outside having a cigar. Â Place is packed. Â Different drunk guy comes weaving out with a beer in his hand; bouncer says nothing, grabs the beer out of the guy's hand as the guy walks by and sets the beer down inside. Â Drunk guy never breaks stride, never says anything, just goes on by with an empty hand held out at belly level where the beer used to be. Â Seamless.
Almost 5 stars for the matches that say "where the hell did I get these" on one side, and "while you were drunk at the Marlin Club" on the other. Â Do they still have those? Â Forgot to look this weekend. Â Guess I'll have to go back some time.
Minus 1 star because the Goin' Fishin' pinball machine is gone, and the other machine in the back is broken.
There used to be 2 huge pinball places in Avalon-50 or 60 machines total back in the day. Â Now very few. Â What gives? Â But I digress...
When in Catalina, go to the Marlin Club. Â Then you'll have your own stories.
Love this dive bar. They have pyramid on tap, which on this island means a lot. They also have a pretty good selection of beers by the bottle. Love the classic atari style games, darts, pinball, etc. Great place to hang out. Prepare to be hit on by the local townies. Friendly and totally harmless.
-1 for all the crazy cougars who are trying to sink their claws into any guy within pouncing range.
If I lived on the island this would be my dive bar. A pool table, video golf from '99, cheap beers, and double doors that lead to the restrooms with painted merfolk on each respective side.
What more can you want? Oh, drunk tourists that walk in randomly to take shots and get rowdy? Drunk girls looking to prove they may be 'tourists' but they still get down? Random cougars that get lost but look for prey before they find an exit? Locals with stories that would make your mother blush?
I like this place. I like it a lot.
This place mostly varies with the old salt dogs of the island and then kinda changes in the evening as the tourist wander in after dinner and the local youngers gather to ogle the "fresh meat".
Everyone is friendly and all get chummy after a few rounds, it's kind of like your dad's bar that you aspire too once you make age. lol
A full bar, pool table and jukebox, a decent bathroom, and a video table game all make for a good place to get your drink on!
The Marlin Club...
It's one of a few dive bars in Avalon that I frequent whenever I get suckered into going to Catalina. Â We were recently there on a group excursion and I remember ditching our group to get our drink on. Â We did a series of jagger bombs and slammed beers like frat boys on payday. Â We then started talking like Doctor Phil...which is fun when you've been drinking. Â "There are thirteen characteristics to a serial killer and your son is exhibiting 26. Â He is in fact, two serial killers in one body"...you get the point.
Catalina is a very depressing island. Â It's so close to the mainland, but oh so far in so many ways. Â If I had to live/work in Catalina, you'd better believe this would be my home away from home away from home.
The incredibly hot guy on the beach that I was ogling earlier that day while my husband went scuba diving ran out of the Marlin Club later that evening and accosted us as we walked by. It turns out that he had met my husband and had noticed how romantic we looked kissing each other goodbye. Darn! And the cute kid that was with the hot guy on the beach? It was his grandkid...Double Darn!
That's the kind of town Avalon is, you can't get away with nothin'. And, the Marlin Club is where it all that nothin' goes down on a Friday night. The aforementioned hot guy dragged us in for a few minutes and I checked out the scene and the jukebox...very cool.
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