Star Wars Pinball. That's All I needed to know.
But they also have a cool jukebox and decidedly different vibe than any of the other places I have checked out in Walnut Creek while I am house sitting for a friend of mine.
The proximity to Taco Bell, Jack In The Box, and Nation's is pretty clutch as last call closes in. I was shocked at the lack of munchies in downtown Walnut Creek at that hour. Hungry drunks must be fed!
This is hands down the best bar in Walnut Creek, assuming you are not looking for an overpriced, cover at the door, crowded, obnoxious bar full of your normal Walnut Creek yuppies. Â
Drinks are inexpensive and strong, which is always a plus. Â There is a loyal group of regulars, who are a pretty eclectic mix of people who all seem to loath downtown and want a friendly, more laid back bar. Â The bouncers are nice, bartenders are great, and the music is always pretty solid, whether that be a DJ with hip hop, a 90's DJ, or the jukebox controlled by your phone. Â Â 5-8 Thursday and Friday is happy hour and Sunday is happy hour all night.
Essentially, if hanging out with rich white people who pay way too much for a drink and look like jackasses is not your ideal night, and you happen to be in the Walnut Creek area, Spoons is your only choice.
*****UPDATE******
I am seeing multiple reviews about the people who think they are "too cool" or the judgmental people at this bar. Â I have to wonder, who are these people, and are you sure this is not a personal insecurity? Â I ask for a couple reasons. Â The majority of regulars are not interested in being cool or uncool, or who is there. Â If you seem interesting, we might chat with you. Â If not, we will probably leave you to your own devices to enjoy drinking with your friends, but I can promise you, there is not attempt at cool. Â
As evidence, I offer conversations regularly had with regulars, by me:
-Why Twilight is the worst book series I have read 3+ times vs. it is good
-If ____________ (probably sports star) offered money, would you lick his dick
-The merits of WebOS vs. other phone systems
-If a locksmith has found anything cool lately
-How much people like/dislike jobs
-The socks of the bartender
-And finally, bar length singalongs with 90's alternative music, from Goo Good Dolls, to Eagle Eye Cherry, to Eve 6. Â (keep in mind, this is not while drunk, soberly, groups of 25-40 year old men sing 90's romantic rock-alternative music loudly, and obnoxiously) Â
I am sorry, but these are not people trying to show how cool they are, even in a hipster, ironic, I am cool because I am not cool way. Â This is a place where a bunch of people regularly go to hang out, not at home, while doing all the same things, simply in a more social setting. Â If people all seem to know each other, and the bartenders, they are regulars. Â If they are regulars, say something, they are nice. Â Promise.
I'm from this area and surprised I haven't written a review about this joint yet. It's tucked away in a nice little alley-type place in Walnut Creek--it's common to miss the street its on when initially driving around looking for this bar. It would be my favorite dive bar in the area but the music is a bit too loud. I don't really consider somewhere a dive bar if the music is too loud for normal volume conversation. The crowd is random and there's lots of smokers outside. I would 100% recommend coming here because it's just Spoontonic Lounge, a more-than-decent drinking establishment in this part of the east bay area. I mean, are you going to go to downtown Walnut Creek with lots of bro folks and cops? Spoontonic is for those non-downtown-WC nights.
Review Source:This place has a very cool vibe. If you're looking to get out of the Walnut Creek down town scene for a night, I highly recommend this place. Â Interesting people, personable bartenders and good music. Â The real challenge is trying to find this place.
Downside?
- Â No food
- Â No beers on tap
After driving round and round and yelling at our GPS, I finally logged into Yelp and read the reviews that this place is behind the Indian restaurant. Ha ha ha! We were looking for quick beer and I didn't want to go into downtown Walnut Creek. I corral ed my husband to going with me so down the dark alley we went.
It's divey and dark inside with a jukebox playing (which I happily went over and chose songs) They don't have beers on tap - all cans or bottles. Â
Mix of young folks and hipsters. People were really friendly, including the bartender. I was probably the oldest one in there. Â ha ha ha!
Take a break from the usual downtown Walnut Creek nightlife and experience something different and borderline divey called Spoontonic Lounge.
You'll probably drive past it four or five times before realizing that it's not visible from Main Street (it's hidden on an alley behind Saroor, an Indian restaurant). It's a random location, which is annoying to get to on foot or public transit, but I guess there is some value in its secrecy.
Spoontonic has somewhat of an identity crisis, intentional or not. It looks like a 70s pizza parlor mixed with a Saturday night cosmic bowling alley event. Pastel walls, plastic tables and chairs, retro tunes, black lights, cheap beer and giant fans. It has an interesting and definitely memorable look and feel to it.
Overall, the clientele and staff are young and friendly. The beer selection is struggling, but they make some interesting cocktails. And the music is loud but tolerable. In short, it's an A-OK spot.
I've now visited Spoontonic a handful of times. I have been a frequent visitor of the  Walnut Creek night life for a few years now, but did not find out about this place until a few months back when I came with a group of friends. It is kind of hidden off North Main Street, located behind some older buildings - right before Chic Fil A if you are heading North.
I really like this place. It is a nice way to get away from the crazy loud antics that many times area present at other places in downtown walnut creek. Drinks are decently cheap, and they pretty much have a full bar. There is a good amount of seating around the bar as well as tables on the floor. They also have a few pinball machines which I think is really cool. I usually come here with my friends if we aren't feeling too crazy and want to have a few drinks and hang out.
Despite the fact I really like this place for what it is, there are some things I don't like. First, the bathrooms aren't very clean and they only have one small mirror.  A couple times one of the toilet seats has been broken in the ladies room too. Also, there is writing all over the walls - but that kind of gives it character and is sometimes entertaining to read. I especially enjoyed the note about Johnny being "a  piece of smelly shit who cheats on his three girlfriends with uggo Serbian prostitutes"... Lol.
Also, the bartender we had one of the times was not very friendly. It wasn't very busy but took him a long time to serve us/ask what we would like. I of course wanted to ask about what they had for beer, and he pointed to the bottles above the bar and walked away. I didn't have my glasses on and the lightening was dim so I could barely make out what they had. Next time I got his attention and asked he seemed somewhat annoyed. Either way, I ended up with bottle of Lagunitas IPA which is okay but I only got it because they didn't  have any else that was good besides Guinness which I was not in the mood for. This brings me to the last thing I didn't like spoontonic - the beer selection. I can't recall if they have any beers on draft, I think maybe one or two, Guiness being one.
Overall all though I like this place, the only time it was crazy was when they hosted some big birthday party for a large group of people. Will likely be back several more times.
I came to Spoontonic Lounge to celebrate a birthday. Â It was a pretty cool lounge, cheap-ish drinks, nice space, and lots of seating (if you get there early), and friendly bartenders that actually pay attention to you when your ordering!! Â The music/DJ was Ok... but got a lot better as the night wore on, and more people came (and more drinks were drunk)! Â The best part? Â The $1 photo booth that let you customize and automatically post to your facebook!
Would definitely come back to Spoontonic since it was such a successful night! Â First timers, be wary of what others comment, that it is a very difficult place to find! Â Its behind an Indian restaurant, down a very steel slope and on the left hand side. Â Also, parking can be kinda difficult if you are thinking of leaving sooner than everyone else... or before the club closes, so I suggest parking on the right hand side, right by the chain link fence instead of pulling all the way up on the left and risk getting blocked in!
I'm not gonna lie, I frequent this place quite a lot its like my cheers and I'm Norm haha!! you got awesome cocktails, a good whiskey selection always in stock, awesome old school rock tunes to bring back those fuzzy memories of your punk rock high school days, eye candy behind the bar AND....their cheese zombies that satisfy the tastes buds waaaaaaayyyy better than the finest steak or caviar but then again your probably drunk or buzzed so anything would taste amazing to you.
In all seriousness coming to this secret not so secret joint makes my heart skip a beat. Coming here on a random week day or weekend I some how always bump into someone I know. its a small local watering hole which is probably why I'm such a huge fan. I love seeing local businesses flourish in front of my eyes, gives me hope in these hard economic times.
So come for the drinks, the intimate atmosphere, good conversations, and the most awesome bartenders I know Justin, Tom, and Ethan! I tip my hat to you gentleman you guys are the heart and soul of this joint.
I hope this place keeps going strong like it is for years to come. I'll save you a seat ;)
Cheers!
This place is lack for a better word, interesting.
I went there last night for a friends little birthday get together. The place is a tad hard to find. It took three times driving down the street and turning around before actually thinking "Maybe it's down that long driveway." The place is small but definitely a cool little place to hang out. The music is loud and the place was pretty busy. The decor on the walls was pretty neat. I had two shots and a rum and coke (my favorite drink). The shot's were good, especially the last one. It was vodka but mixed with something that just made it delicious. The bartenders are nice. The patrons are nice. Just a great place for a get together.
I won't come here alone but if someone wanted to meet up for drinks there again, yeah I'd definitely go back.
Sigh.
I miss Punk Rock Wednesdays.
Though this bar has changed immensely, it will always have a special place in my heart, as there are nothing but good memories for years on end.
Plus Jeff -- the owner -- is effing rad.
The last few times I went, the bartenders didn't know particular shots, but whatever...
When you're boozing, who cares if the shot is made incorrectly. Haha.
With all this nostalgia setting in, I should go back soon. ;)
I saw a broseph wanna-be tough guy getting jerked off in the photo-booth!! No joke. Â Usually it's not a bad little dive bar. Â But things have changed here in the past year or so, it kind of lost it's charm...
I used to come here about once a month or so with a couple of friends for cool artwork, cheesy old 90's music, affordable drinks, and a non douche atmosphere. Â
But, one thing that's certain in life is change. Â Last time i came the artwork was really lame and the music wAs just kinda blah. Â The dumb-ass getting jerked off thing was just the cherry on the top!
I'm sure i'll be back here though. Â It's still one of the better places in Walnut Creek to avoid immature/ amateur douche hour. Â It's interesting; Spoon attracts a weird grab-bag variety of different types of people.
Good luck. Â Cheers
I used to live in Walnut Creek, so I understand that the town lacks watering holes that are not full of cheap douchebags (Crogan's) or rich douchebags (1515), but this place barely makes up for that deficit.
The decor is all kinds of dive bar, and the attitude is super "I'm cooler than you, but I still live with my parents" insecure. Â Hey, I realize Walnut Creek isn't a bastion of hipness, but ya'll need to chill out and take a xanax.
The drinks are decently stiff. Â When my guy asked for a double shot of Knob Creek on ice, he poured Maker's instead. Â When the error was point out, he laughed and said he'd drink his mistake and then did (aren't bartenders NOT supposed to drink on the job?). Â
When I asked for my bill the bartender talked to the other bartender looking back at me like they were talking about my bill. Then I was charged $32.00...for three drinks. Â Two of them were the $6.00 special for the night, so unless my math is off, the jerk charged me for BOTH double shots of Maker's and Knob Creek. Â Or they charge $20.00 for a double shot of Knob Creek. Â Either way, that's shady as shit if you charged me for your own mistake, and pathetic if you think people should pay $20.00 for a double shot in Walnut Creek, California.
For the record, I still gave you a decent tip. Â But I will never come back to this lame excuse for a bar.
Plus one star for the neat photo booth. Â
p.s. The music is terrible and WAY too loud.
I've been coming to Spoontonic for the last 5 years now, and I still love it.
Come on down on Tuesday night for the "Spoon Saloon" and listen to awesome bluegrass music. Think Marty Robbins, Chatham County Line, and Trampled By Turtles. Thursday night is more modern and dancy, and still awesome, and Sundays you get to listen to 80's and 90's. Um, Ace Of Base, hell yes! How many bars have that kind of variety? Â Pretty sure there's a dj every Friday and Saturday too, that plays more hip hop and dubstep.
Come down for Monday or Friday happy hour when it's a little less busy, and quiet and meet the bartenders because they're great. Justin is really nice and funny, and also makes excellent drinks.
They don't have beer on tap, but their selection is pretty good, they try to accomadate for most tastes. I'm a Guinness girl myself, but I really like the pear cider they brought in. Also, if you come down on Saturday night, they have Cheese Zombies for sale! That's right, cheese zombies! The have original, spicy(with ghost chilis! Yum!), cheeseburger, and a veggie one.
I personally like that the bar is harder to find. Spoon is more cozy, private and friendly than most other bars I've been to, especially in Walnut Creek. The lighting is mostly black lights and a few halogens above the nar, but I've never thought it was too dark to see.
If you don't like talking to your friends and need a ton of stuff going on, I think you've come to the wrong bar. Also perhaps if you have severe night blindness.
Honestly, I'm not much of a "bar" person but found myself here with my best friend on a Friday night. We had a few pitchers at Stanford's and walked around downtown Walnut Creek for a few hours after work. We ended up here because one of our friends was here for a co-worker's birthday.
I've got to be honest it was kind of hard to find. After a few pitchers of Hef, it was really hard to find. Luckily my boy remembered where it was and we parked across the way. There's usually parking on "SOS" drive. The bar is actually off of SOS and is behind north main st.
There's a smoking area right after you get your ID checked. Awesome to have some second hand smoke right before you walk inside =X
The bar itself is really chill and it seemed like a decent enough place to hang out and grab a few drinks with some friends. There wasn't too much going on. Bartenders were cool, drinks are a lot cheaper than "the clubs" I'm used to going to. It's pretty small but there is a lot of "bar" area. There's also tables and seats for people who want to sit and drink with their group of friends. The beer selection on tap was just ok. I wish they had Fat Tire on tap, but that's really wishing.
The DJ was playing old school hip hop which was interesting because he had a long scruffy beard and he was caucasian. I'm not judging, just thought it was interesting.
I don't see myself coming back here unless it's for someone's special ocassion. If you like dive bars, definitely come check it out.
This place is awesome. If youre pooer like some of us, drinks are super cheap. The bartenders/ bouncers are pretty amazing and the Sunday DJ is the bees knees. =]
PS I like that bitter guy that left a negative review when his yelp picture is him smiling at spoontonic and the only times i have ever run into him were there. "like omgahhh there was vomit in a bar bathroom..wahhhh" uhm its a bar bro... did you expect to find gold in there?? Get off yr high horse mr "everytime i come here " uhm go somewhere else then? Just a fucking idea. Even haters return here so it must be a pretty okay place.
Love always,
A spoontonic lover named lizleal
This has been and always will be hipster haven. A place where trust fund kids who grew up and decided drinking Pbr and wearing thick framed glasses is the coolest thing going.
Why is there a dog hair in my beer? O that's right the owner is a moron who thought it was a great idea to let his dog wonder all over the place. Nice health code violation.
I've never come here during its peak hours because after my first visit I decided that the clientele isn't my crowd. The drinks, except the crappy beer in a can, are usually a few dollars more than what most places charge. I was charge $7 for a beer. The bar keeps can't mix a good drink to save their life.
One annoyance is the $10 minimum charge for cards. Some times all I need is one simple glass of scotch for an hour and I might leave if a place doesn't pick up.
It's in a bad location as well. Down a hill next to an auto shop and underneath another establishment on outskirts of Walnut Creek. It's good if you are looking for a place not frequented by the walnut creek bar hopper, although they have showing up here a bit. I just don't like the stoody attitude of Bright Eyes fanboys who populated this place and make even me feel out of place.
Land of the misfit toys...
You know, every time I think about Spoon Tonic, it goes something like this...."What's that pretentious 'underground' bar where every wanna-be hipster/bad-ass/dude hangs out? Oh right, it's Spoon Tonic!"
Every time I go there, I want to like it because it dares to be "different" but it just doesn't make the cut. It's, Â "too cool for school, we will judge you before you can judge us attitude" rubs the wrong way every time. Anyone can put up neon lights in their Dad's basement and plug in their iPod, but that doesn't make you a great bar. Â
One star goes out to the photo booth. If you're drunk enough, it can actually make the whole visit seem pleasant.
A little hard to find, but worth the hunt, I promise!!
When you see the Indian restaurant, you're close!! Go down that scary looking driveway and you'll see it on the left :)
I'm pretty sure this is my favorite bar in WC out of 1515, Tiki Tom's, Lift, Stadium Pub, etc. Hence my previous Tiki Tom's review, I do not (I repeat DO NOT) like to hang out at "Tool Central" with everyone else. Not my cup of tea. We went here on a Saturday night, and surprisingly... Not one tool in the building!! Score!! It's probably because they're not smart enough to actually find the friggin' place, hahaha!!
The bartender made an excellent dirty martini for me. It was filthy in fact, just the way I like it :) Hehe. Great drinks, cool atmosphere, good crowd, decent house music bumping in the background... and my favorite part... The photo booth!!! This one is real too, not the digital ones where you pick your background and see yourself in on the screen.
Great bar, I'm surprised to actually find a place like this in this area. I will be back to this funky little place soon!! I love it!!
This is my favorite local bar in the area, hands down. I consider it my Homebar.
I could call it a dive bar, but I'm hesitant to do so because it's actually a pretty nice joint. I've seen some pretty filthy dive bars in my day and this is not one of them.
Is it the kind of place you go to club, get rubbed on by a hundred sweaty people, lose your hearing, and pay $12 for a poorly-made drink? No. You can go to the city for that.
It IS the kind of place you go to if you want to kick it with friends, listen to some really good DJs, enjoy reasonably priced drinks, dance a little, and have a good time. This place can get bumpin', but it never gets overwhelming.
PROS:
-NO COVER
-$2 PBR
-Drinks are not super expensive
-Bartenders great to chat with on a slow night
-Simpsons pinball!
-Pick music from your iPhone
-The DJs who roll through here are amazing
-Really cool artwork on the walls
-Smoking area out front
-Nice lighting and atmosphere
-Lounge area for bigger groups of people
-Great mix of people in the 21-35 age group
CONS:
-It can get crowded sometimes on big nights and can take a while to flag down a bartender for a drink.
-Very rarely there is a line outside and you may have to wait 15 minutes before you get in.
-A little hard to find if you don't know where to look (it's on SOS Dr. across from the Porsche dealership)
My recommendation? If you are sick of the bars in downtown Walnut Creek (South Main St. area), you should definitely give this place a try. If you are a regular here, it's like being a part of a big family.
Came here for a friend's birthday bash.
First impression as we approached the location on the GPS: Where the HELL is this place? Turns out that it is literally UNDERGROUND and you have to walk down to the bar entrance or park down there.. either/or. We couldn't see the place off the main road! Which isn't bad, but it isn't all that great either, but I guess they want to be one of those low-key bars.
It was CRACKIN.... only later to find out that 95% of the people there were for our friend's birthday haha...
Decor was very.... i don't even know the words except for: Black light, dim lights, interesting paintings on the back wall, photobooth, "RESTROOMS" spray painted in white on the wall which GLOWED because of the black light (which I thought was pretty awesome). It had an arrow at the end pointing towards the bathrooms lol
Drinks: I don't know if we were there on an OFF-BARTENDER night, but my 2 long islands were WEAK... Really not worth the... $11 per drink. One of them told me one total for 2 drinks, I gave him my $20 expecting more change, but he comes back saying that he gave me the wrong total and the real total was a few bucks more. You serious? Fine, whatever.
Music: The bartenders plugged in the ipod, and there were some pretty good tunes coming out of the speakers. A little bit of hip hop, energy... It was nice to bob your head to. Since I'm a fan of energy/high energy, I want a little bizerk  when the energy music came on and started prancing around my boyfriend in my heels.
Security: Bouncer was nice enough to take a few HUGE group photo shots for us. Very cool...
Overall: I'd come back here if I wanted to do something low-key but have a couple (weak) cocktails with a few friends. It's a very low-key place, so if you're into something a bit more chill this is place. If you're looking to throw a party and not worry about a huge population (other than your party) being there, this is the spot.
I'll be drinking before coming in next time though if there is an event going down.
I love sppontonics!
I have been here for different things, just trying to chill and drink
friends bithday with three DJ's and VIP area up top closed off for us Spoons even gave us some free bottles of champagne...clutch!
have cash for the old school photobooth the best thing when your drunk
art on the walls, black light, chill and throwback i love it
Nick the owner is the shit always behind the bar and having fun, no cover, lots of smoking space, WC douche bags stay out
This place is awful. The worst place ever. In the history of time. Not only is the epidomy of everything that is uncool, the bouncer took one look at my ID, which could not look anything more like me. I might as well have been wearing the exact outfit as I am in the picture, and this asshole has the nerve to tell me that I don't look enough like my ID to get in. Doesn't even ask me a damn thing about it. Just says nope, not happening.
My friend got in however, realized i wasn't there after like 2 minutes, and then said that the place totally sucked and was full of old people and wanted to go somewhere else.
1 star for you! you suck!
The name of this place is so cool. Spoon is a great word, as is tonic. Why not put them really close to each other?
I feel the same way about their cucumber cranberry cocktail. I don't remember what it's called, but it has cuke infused vodka and cranberry juice and it's so refreshing that you just want to have three more and run home and accomplish all your dreams.
After reading some of the reviews I thought....well I gotta try.
I must have caught it on not such a good night, the place was almost empty, it was about 10, so I thought well it's probably early.
My honey and I sat down ordered a couple of drinks and judging by the name I expected to get a decent mixed drink. I didn't... it was so watered down, you know when your drink has been sitting there for a while and all the ice has melted and your drink becomes oh so boring, well that's what my cocktail tasted like. yuk!
I'm not too sure I'll go back for a second try.
When I lived in Walnut Creek, this place was my favorite bar to have a drink at. Â But now, I don't think I'll ever go back again. Â I just went to SF for vacation and decided to take my friend Jocelyn [see review below] there for a drink after a long day. Â I don't know if the bartender was new or something, but all 4 of us [3 being Spoontonic lovers] did not enjoy our drinks. Â All the drinks were watery and were lacking something. Â I really wanted my friend to love this place as much as I did, but I guess things have changed.
I'm really weary about giving Spoontonics a second change the next time I visit the Bay Area... Â But maybe... Just maybe I will...
Hidden away behind SOS Dr., Spoontonic Lounge is definitively a pleasant escape from usual douchbaggurty of Walnut Creek night life. (Note: If you disagree with that last statement then stop reading now; This isn't the place for you.) Still here? Awesome. Let me tell you why you might like this place as much as I do.
The bouncer is a super chill guy. No dirty looks or trying to snap your ID in half while holding a UV ray.
The atmosphere is almost counterculture with its blacklight lighting, unpretentious decor, and awesome selection of punk, reggae, and class rock on the Jukebox!
The specially drinks are creative and tasty. They are just sweet enough that ladies you bring will have fun trying them all.
With that said, I can't give this awesome bar a perfect because when it does get too crowded.. It not that fun to hang out at. The service gets a bit slow and what makes the place cozy can quickly becomes cramped.
But for the most part this is the chillest lounge in WC. If you're from the area, you'd be foolish not to check this place out.
I'm reversing myself on my previous review for several reasons that become apparent when the bar gets full.
This was my first time seeing more than 50 people at the bar. Â 65% male crowd, good for you ladies out there. Â More than half of the few females were taken, so this would be a social visit for the male population.
The problem when the bar becomes full (optimal):
1) They turn the music down so low you can't even pick the band out the cacophony of conversations which are also difficult to hear, all do to low ceilings. Â
2) The bartenders are just scattered: slow on drinks, lots of wasted steps. Bartenders wasting time doing shots with customers. Â At one time 3 groups of people waited more than 10 minutes for a drink. Â It's unforgivable in my book for a bartender to make customers wait that long while they screw around.
3) They seem to ignore shorter (I'm taller) people and women on drink orders. Â It's a very odd choice.
While the bar is semi-empty, the low ceilings seem quaint and fun. Â When the bar fills up, the low ceilings acoustics along with the bartending shortcomings relegate this bar to little more than an overflow beer lounge to Walnut Creek, and not a place as a real alternative to mainstream bar hopping. Â The new Frat-boy patronage I'm sure will help the bar out. Â Is a big screen TV comming? Â Stay tunned, same bat-time, same bat-channel.....
What to say about Spoontonic? I drank there during what could be called a "messy" part of my life which will definitely taint my review in some ways.
It's a very spacious place to drink with room to move on even the most crowded nights. The decor is pretty sparse except for the bad art that hangs on some nights. There's no real concept which is rare for WC.
The old arcade games and Photobooth are rad, but the jukebox is chronically abused by Journey and 90's hip hop enthusiasts. Drinks are strong but the beer selections is weeeeak. Bartenders are hit and miss depending on the night of the week. Rockabilly chick Lauren was/is? the indisputed star of this place.
Sadly, the whole of Walnut Creek has found out about this place and it's been overrun by the same douches and beezees who used to stick to downtown WC. Hopefully, Betty's draws some of these people back away and Spoontonic can regain some of it's quasi-divey vibe.
I'm going to verify a lot of the other reviews on this place.
It's chill.
It's not too loud.
It's very blue.
It's an adventure to find.
I did not do a bewbie shot in the photobooth.
Tons of comfy, plush seating.
I felt very little eye f'ing in my direction, as I walked around.
Busy but not so crowded you feel clausterphobic.
I felt a little old but well, I'm getting a little old.
I love that the "Restrooms" sign is only visible under black light and the artwork is funky & fun.
I added an extra star for the hot assed woman who left right before me. Â I got to follow her all the way out. Â Let's just say: she was wearing a white spandex dress that was clinging to her in all the right places. Â Rawrrr.
I love this place. I can't bring myself to call it a bar, because frankly, it is so much more than that.
Bars are what reside in the downtown Dub-C area. Disgusting, overpriced, meat market type places. Bars are where the HA's hang out...eeek! I don't want to get stabbed! Bars are also what you look at when you're in jail...or prison. Definitely not Spoon.
The owner and staff are super friendly, super nice people. They are not pompous jerks who pretend to know how to make a drink, but actually do! And if they don't, they will tell you! It's awesome, it's Cheers! When I walk in I expect everybody to say "Heeeyyyy" and I hear the Cheers theme music in my head! Besides, most of the staff does say hi, and it's genuine! Yippeeee! I don't go to bars or "lounges" or anything else on a regular basis, I never have. But this place, I would go here to drink water.
The Pear drop is good...the Flying Dutchman, oh yeah, it's good, but avoid it if you don't like coffee. And Felix makes a mean Kamikazi...I was never a fan, notice I said was...he changed that. :o)
A friend and I go there about once a week after work, and it is layed back and chill. The music on the weekends is a little loud, but it is a drink shack so I don't fault them for that. Tom and Felix are excellent bartenders, they keep their eyes open and the conversation moving. They are entertaining to watch and would do terrible downtown because they actually have personality!
The regulars,yes, I'm starting to recognize who is a regular, are quiet people who drink their drinks and have their conversations. I never feel like I'm being scanned for F!@$-ability! It's awesome.
If you are looking for a place to pick somebody up and take them home, don't bother coming here. It's not like that and hopefully it never will be. If you are super annoying and think you're super important when you have a couple drinks, don't bother coming here, you will ruin it! If you like to chill, enjoy your drinks and people watch (there is one guy that is super weird! but hilarious to watch/talk to) then this is the place to go.
And stop whining about actually having to look nice when you go out for drinks! Wear a collared shirt dude, it's not that hard!
I got into a tremendous amount of trouble the last time I was at Spoontonic, but had a great deal of fun. The owner is super cool and makes a rather crazy cocktail using a type of vodka from Japan, with a cucumber garnish. I couldn't eat cucumbers for a long time after that...
Probably the hippest spot in Walnut Creek. I like that it's a bit hidden and hard to find....once inside it's nice and dark. Good place to go to with an old guy/girl friend.
I've only been inside once, I was turned away on a Saturday ("collar night" - collared shirts) after spending the day in the city. My first experience inside Spoontonic was amazing mainly because it's a lovely hole-in-the-wall, chill bar where there's no girls without bras taking body shots and trying desperately to find love. No, instead there was a cute Asian bartender (I kept pointing her out to my single friend) who made some killer drinks for my boyfriend, one of my girlfriends, and me. The bill didn't even end up being too much and we had a couple drinks each. We were there on an i-pod night; you bring your i-pod and they'll play the mix. The mix that night has some Belle and Sebastian and other indie goodies.
All-in-all: good music, good service, good drinks, no bar-scenesters = best bar I've been to so far!
For those city folk who aren't familiar with the Walnut Creek bar scene, here's a quick little description: Â imagine the Marina on a particularly drunken Friday night, condense that neighborhood down to one square block and then fill it with all of those from your high school that you'd prefer to never see again. Â Yeah. Â It's absolutely like that, but worse.
And so that's why Spoontonic is the only place you'll ever find me getting my drink on in The WC. Â The bar's location is delightfully hidden behind and underneath the most random of Indian restaurants, ten minutes in distance from Locust St, but miles apart in atmosphere and likability. Â
The crowd here is diverse, laid back, and friendly. Â The type of people for whom their teen years wasn't the apex of their lives, if you know what I mean. Â Plenty of seating, surprisingly good drinks, and a great bartender too.
I have mixed feelings about this place. True, this is the best bar in Walnut Creek. But choosing a favorite bar in Walnut Creek is like choosing a favorite Baldwin brother. They're all mediocre at best and who the fuck cares anyway?
We set out for Spoontic one night and with a large group of about 5 guys and 5 girls. When we got there I was the only one who didn't have a collar shirt on. The bouncer said "You all can get in, except for him" and he pointed to me. Now, I wasn't dressed like a hobo or wearing a fucking clown suit, I was just wearing a nice shirt that had no collar. In fact, I was even wearing a nice jacket that had a collar and I asked him "Hey man, what if I keep the jacket on?" He shook his expressionless head ever so slowly.
I then pointed out that If I cant get in he's going to turn away potentially a couple hundred dollars in sales. His head continued to shake like he didn't care. So we left.
I don't get why the collar shirt thing at this place is such a big deal? Its not like Spoontonic is some ultra classy lounge. Its just some fucking dive bar with black lights in the basement of an Indian Food restaurant.
But the couple of times I did bring my shiny new collar shirt and get it, I had a good time. The crowd there is different than that of Crogans or Dan's (which is a big plus) and the vibe is overall pleasant. They even feature some pretty rad art shows there.
They should just get over the whole collar shirt thing.
It's my boyfriend's birthday, and a group of our friends get together and hop into the car to scope the Walnut Creek bar scene for some birthday libations. Downtown Walnut Creek is a total bust, as our normal destinations (Crogan's, Mr. Lucky's, Dan's) all have longer-than-life lines due to fire code restrictions...Basically, no one's getting in because no one's leaving, so getting in line is a total waste of time.
A few in our group had heard of Spoontonic, so we called the place to gauge the scene. No line? Not crowded? We were sold! Excited to finally get the birthday boy to a satisfactory celebratory location, we head on over to see how this Spoontonic place really is. After calling back one more time to get directions (this place it kind of out-of-the-way, behind an Indian restaurant off of North Main), we park and head toward the entrance of the club, only to have the bouncers greet my birthday boy with the following: "Sorry, you have to have a collared shirt to get in; dress code strictly enforced."
Now mind you, we have called not once, but TWICE to get directions, exerting quite a bit of effort to get here. We were a well-dressed, clean cut group of people, and although the guys weren't wearing collared shirts, they looked sharp, and the girls were wearing heels and going out tops. We had plenty of cash in hand, ready to plunk down on drinks, and we definitely did not look like stragglers. So what's the problem here?
Apparently, Spoontonic would rather enforce their ridiculously begotten rules (this was NOT a classy enough place to warrant a dress code, trust me) and turn away hundreds of dollars of profits in the process. Whoever owns this place lacks some serious business sense.
As you can tell by the tone of my review, I'm livid at the treatment we received at Spoontonic before even walking in the door. We went out of our way to go here, and to be turned away because of a dress code...extremely disappointing, especially because my boyfriend's birthday celebration was slightly dampened as a result. Our group consequently headed out to Lafayette where the bar scene was significantly less crowded and a helluva lot more fun than overrated WC.
Spoontonic really had a chance to convert a large group of people disillusioned with the typical bar scene in Walnut Creek into regular patrons. Sorry, Spoontonic, but due to your overzealous bouncers and ridiculous dress code, you missed your chance. I vow here and now never to patronize this establishment ever again, as do all of my friends, and I suggest all Walnut Creek bar goers do the same!
Spoontonic is the bar that's sorta the antithesis of the typical Walnut Creek bar, although it, too is trying to be cool in it's own word-of-mouth type of way. Â You have to know someone who's already been there in order to get there because otherwise you'll never get to their obscure location.
I dig it.
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