When I moved up to Oceanside from University Heights in San Diego, I was in withdrawals. Couldn't find any divey joints to chill at, no live music, no cheap drinks. Then I stumbled upon this gem.
Punk rock? Check. Â
Weird patrons? Check.
Tiny? You bet.
Live music on the regular? Yes.
Cheap beer? Its there, along with pricier ones.
I recommend this bar to my fellow miscreants. Its in the middle of nowhere too, which is ok with me. Not usually any macho man marines trying to start a fight way out in the boondocks.
Hi, local dive, Royal Dive. Â I'm not sure you deserve the royalty status, but you are definitely a dive.
The beer selection is good, American Dad seems to be perpetually on the TV, the seating area is small, as is the stage, but if you want to see local talent and open mic nights, this is probably the place to do it. Â There are some larger events that require tickets and actual money, I'm not sure that I'd pay to be here unless I was a huge fan of the artist, but for that average night, it's not a bad place to hang.
The bathrooms are generally filthy, like heavily line the seat and hover anyway just in case, but the place is okay overall. Â It doesn't stick out (positively or negatively), but it's a place to be and it's close to home. Â Who could complain?
Not bad. Super small on the outside and not much bigger in but you're super close to those playing if you want to come watch and support a band and I have to say, I enjoyed their bar/beer selection. Plenty of choices on tap including some IPA's and a super friendly bartender. I like it. For a dive, it was nice. They had a few tables to sit towards the back, some huge curtains in front- different.chill.ok.
Review Source:How does one get tickets to a show? When I asked the guy who answered the phone how I get tickets, he grunted, "At the door." I asked how much they cost. He said, "No idea. Check the website. Or call in a day or two." There is no website. Help? Anyone? Bueller? Excited about the customer service, already!
Review Source:Very small from the outside, no parking spaces really dedicated to this dive. Walking in the walls are painted black but as soon as you get pass through the small dark hallway you finally enter the heart of the dive.
Ive been here a few too many times to support the events of the production company i work for. The staff is really chill, they dont give off any creepy vibe which is surprising since the whole atmosphere in there feels like anybody could be staring at you lol.
Its really cool how they have a stage setup with a very good sound system to rock the whole place! Beers are cheap, normall from 9-10 its $1 beers! cant beat that.
For a local dive very close to my house, i would come here to get away from everyone i know in this city:)
So much more than an average dive! Â This place kicks ass! Â Super tiny but has a great beer selection. Â We came here to see a concert and was wondering how the hell that could happen at such a small spot but it did and the concert was awesome. They service was great, and we had such a fun time.
Review Source:I have a special place in my heart for The Royal Dive. It's close to my house and it reminds me of back home favorites (Washington state garage band bars). Let me first say that I am a big fan of beer. Beer, beer, beer. I love a bar that has a large variety of beer and The Royal Dive doesn't come up short. Â Secondly, rock music? Metal? Reggae? Hell yes! Live music rules, period. The Royal Dive gets 5 stars for being badass!
Review Source:Went last Saturday saw the Whores of Tijuana(rock) and the Passengers (reggae). Both bands were good. The bar is an absolute dive. It reminds me of my basement growing up in Minneapolis. The vibe is total garage band and it works. The bar has wine and beer. It has a good beer selection for as many beers as they offer, I don't know about the wine. Outside the bathroom is a meet and greet area while you wait. I met several people I otherwise wouldn't have, just because I had to pee. Their upcoming shows are on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Ffacebook.com%2Froyaldive&s=d0b6abca8b72736a92c9473a4ce73f45d406195fa30b2c67fd1ff1876f2f85a3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://facebook.com/roya…</a>.
Review Source:My favorite bar is OMTI's because it's a dive, not the diviest around, but close. Years ago Royal Dive didn't have much going for it, interior sucked, layout stunk, drinks were cheap, bar tenders were drunk, no music, pool area felt like a rec room in a drug lab and the outdoor area felt like a ghetto chicken coup. With new ownership some things have changed like bands, local bands, a newish interior with some decoration. The bar tenders are acceptable and it feels divey now like it's name suggests, not turd-holey like it used to me. The owner is a cool guy and even the under 24 crowd isn't afraid to show face around here. This is how I liken the 3 valley bars. Royal Dive is a little nicer/newer, but doesn't have the local/regular following that OMTI's has, OMTI's is the biker bar where people leave you be and those big ol fire pits and River Bottom is the pile.
Review Source:Oceanside does not appear to have a gay scene, at all! I tried to find something through yelp and a few places appeared; this one being the one we chose to visit. However, this is not a gay bar! Not to say that it didn't fit the description of a "dive" or that it wasn't welcoming enough to order a beer.
FYI: Oceanside must have some kind of local ordinance against hard liquor because I couldn't find a single place that served it.
Confirmed: owner is a kook!
the name says it all. Â If you're looking for a tounge-in-cheek joint then get your hoity-toity ass to the Gaslamp or North Park. Â Beer's are cheap and food consists of nachos (with jalepenos as an option). Â Live music is pretty regular and I'm looking forward to partaking in Metal Monday one of these days.
Review Source:The Bands who played the Friday night I went to the bar all sounded awesome, which was due to the good sound guy. Â The room filled up fast but the crowd was nice and mixed. The have good beers for reasonable prices, and if the bands playing that night pull in a large enough draw the place can get pretty hopping. Â A nice place for a funny date.
Review Source:My favorite dive in Oceanside. I love it because it is not Carlsbad and there aren't a lot of "out of state visitors". It is well hidden, another plus for the locals. I've had LOTS of good times here. Sorry to burst your bubbles ladies, but the restrooms are not always clean especially toward the end of a Friday night. Definitely serving up some good brew here. One of the few bars that has Shock Top, yum. The jukebox could use some updating, I mean seriously, there is not 1 Misfits CD in there! Really? ALWAYS remember to wink at Elvis when you're cheers-ing at the Dive, clink and wink! Lots of decent live music and free pool. There isn't really and outdoor area to smoke, if you smoke, so everyone just stands around out front which is still alright. One of the things that makes the Dive a dive :) Beer bar only.
Review Source:I'm reluctant to post about this place because the maximum capacity is only 53 and I love how intimate it is. Â We went once for the open mic and once to see Irieside. Â Really fun both times...Nate the owner/bartender is constantly running around cleaning up the place,and they have live music all the time. Â Its beer/wine only at the moment. Â The sound quality is maybe not the best, but it kinda just adds to the dive atmosphere. I wish my schedule allowed for me to go here more often.
Review Source:This little hole in the wall is a real dive, but there's some vibe inside that's hard to describe, but it's present. Â The beer is good (great quality of SD Craft Ales - though they have the usual watered down beers) prices are good and the Bush Economy Special (I'm unsure if they still have it) is very decent.
Only thing is sometimes I believe the music choices could be better..learn a few other songs!
I came here a handful of times when my BF was playing here with his old band and I have to say that aside from the location, its a great place to drink. Cheap drinks and the bathrooms were clean. I repeat....CLEAN. I cannot get over that. Plus, there is free popcorn, I don't feel like I'm going to get shanked by some bitch who think she is Bettie Paige and the owner  supports live local music.
Review Source:Amongst dives this one is royalty!
Driving to this place you feel like you are venturing down a dark forgotten industrial slum of LA. Â But instead it is a dark forgotten industrial slum of Oceanside.
Good beer selection. Â Decent prices. Â I was here to see a friends band play. Â It's good that there are places like this where bands can get their feet wet performing. Â Especially in NC. Â Acoustics of the place aren't so good but heh, just have another beer.
I went here last night initially just to see my friends band play, but as i walked through the several curtains to get inside and emerged in the bar I thought "oh ya, I'm gonna like this place".
The bar has a very good selection of beers and there's free popcorn! The bartenders were pretty nice, and there's always somebody roaming around cleaning up empty glasses and bottles which I love. It's always good when a dive bar can have that mystery and good vibe without having to be dirty. The bathrooms are clean which as a girl is very important to me. Overall very happy with my experience here and look forward to coming back.
I probably shouldn't review this place in hopes that it doesn't get ruined by O'side people that live on Tremont and Pierview way that are trying to out grit each other. Â But what the hell.
Great hidden gem, great band venue I saw Roxy Monoxide the nite I went I can't remember who played after them anyway they were great kind of reminded me of talking heads in a way, great Owners, great drink prices. Â
In fact I think I will go there right now.
Tata!
My husband and I have been going to the Royal Dive since it first opened. The people are great and the bands keep rolling in.
Great variety of music, all the time ! I mean Stevie Salas played there what else can I say ! The place is a great "hometown" bar with the music of the city right at your back door.....I recommend it to everyone!
(760) 722-1911
A little diamond in the ruffffffffff. The bleeding Irish play on thursday nights and on off nights there is a kick ass juke box that i wish was my Ipod.
The Bleeding Irish are pretty sweet, theyre a lil punk band with a violinist, and a guy who plays the stand up bass. Also- they have a nice beer list and yummy popcorn. I like to kick back at this place and relax, play pool, and listen to the band.
Also its right around the corner from another fantastic dive called OMTI- (one more thats it) and so it makes for a fun night to hit both bars up! This place is hidden like a MF though, I get lost sometimes in the Valley trying to find it even though i have been there a few times before. If you try this place out and dont like it then you are gay.
This place is worth the drive for the extremely affordable beer and the "vodka" that tastes better than the real thing and for some great reason, does not result in an unbearable hangover. Â The buzz was mellow but long-lasting.
The Bleeding Irish (punk/rock) were there right before they left for the Warped Tour. Â Talk about a diamond-in-the-rough, this place is going to need to expand fast it's getting so popular.
It reminds me of the stories I heard of that club in Asbury Park that Springsteen hung out at.
The place rocks, the owner is friendly and makes time to talk to you if you want. Â The people are genuinely fun, and the whole place exudes a friendly, neighborhood feeling.
I'll be going there a lot now that I found it.