One fine Saturday I was kinda stood up from a previous engagement  and I was looking to get into trouble (muahahaha) Lucky me Pablito (aka Paul P) was my partner in crime and we decided to "exploring" our hoods in what we called The D-Tour (D as in Dive bar)
I'm going to start with our last stop: Tustin Inn
Why? because it was the best from the 3 bars we went!!
I couldn't believe that when lived in Tustin, Â I drove by this place like a million times and never went there.
My first impression was that Tustin Inn was a  normal dive with regulars and all
<a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/tustin-inn-tustin?select=Krrd_EDVcSib17hxA5SRUg">http://www.yelp.com/biz_…</a>
Even though it was clearly a dive, it was pretty clean, bathrooms and all.
But then Jill, the bartender, started talking to us and seems like it was our stamp of approval because after that people were even more friendly to us.
We had beers (regular stuff nothing too fancy or exotic), watch game and played some music. BTW the jukebox has pretty good stuff.
The only thing I dislike about Tustin Inn is that is a CASH ONLY bar!
That's AWFUL!!!!!!!!!! they have one abusive ATM that charge you for the money (as if the banks were not already making $$ with our $$ but that's a different story) Â
Kudos to Jill! great talker, not intrusive, super nice, attentive and friendly.
Cheap beer, and over all a cool bar to go.
Recommended if thirsty in the area.
I'll be back!
I don't know why, but I kind of dig this place. It's hard to find a dive bar that doesn't feel like a scary place that you're going to contract something from touching the glasses.
The bar has a nice cozy feel to it, you're right there, close to the bartender. They serve goldfish instead of usual peanuts of pretzels, which I find kind of cool. It wasn't full of weirdos or people trying to start fights, which is rare for dive bars.
The beer selection is fairly limited, but I was blown away to see that they have a tap for one of the local microbreweries (Bootleggers I believe). Our bartender reminded me of Karen Allen, also kind of cool. This would be a great place to enjoy a beer with a friend or two in the evening.
By far one of my favorite dive bars in Orange County.
Drinks are cheap, TVs are small, space is few and far between, restrooms are clean. What more can you ask for?
If you happen by on a weekend during the day, there is a large chance that you may be invited to a bar top game of dice. DO IT.
Great prices on drinks and super dope bartender! Pints were $4.25 and I think pitchers are only a little more, so if you're planning to kick it with the homie/homettes I'd go with the pitchers. Even a gigantic well drink cost $4.25 or so!
It's not a big bar, but I came with about 10 friends on Fat Tuesday and played some pool, a little darts, and some XXX photo hunt! What I liked the most was that the jukebox had such an extensive selection of music!! I like music of the black variety and people at the bar and the bartender were singin along to some Maxwell (too sexy for a bar? Ehh, who cares!), Ginuwine (still sexy for a bar), and everything else we put on.
Sort of random, but I guess they have a taco guy come around sometimes and offers 3 tacos for $5. I had a bite of a friend's and damn the carne asada was goooood! They don't serve food here, so the taco dude was awesome enough to come in, take a few orders and bring it in for us! Tustin Inn is in my hood, so I'm sure I'll be back sooner than later!
Cash only
As far as dive bars go, this is my new local favorite!
Bartenders are attentive.
Drinks are cheap.
The crowd is a bunch of regulars with a good vibe.
Some weirdos but significantly less than other dives I've frequented.
The Juke Box is always playing good music.
We haven't had a chance to play pool or darts because we usually end up there with a great group of friends and have great coversation all night.
Bathrooms are clean.
Good spread of TV's.
They have a popcorn machine which I'm always greatful for after a couple drinks.
Overall: My first choice dive bar.
For pictures, visit: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdivebarculture.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F09%2Ftustin-inn-tustin-ca.html&s=2156962a352bff053bb81badc200d3d4a95a945202af3ce4d78254adfda3b084" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://divebarculture.bl…</a>
The Bar: Small. Comfortable. Nice place. Upon entering, Â you have to walk through saloon style doors, and if someone is following , you are sure to smack them with the spring loaded door. Once inside, you will immediately notice the bartender and the multiple dead animal heads on the wall. Bar seats about 20 with one other table tucked in the corner.
The Crowd: All regulars. Hesitant to be photographed. Some were friendly, most were not.
Service: Prompt. The bartender for the evening was Jill. Very attentive and was on the ball when it came to specific drinks with specific ingredients.
Prices: Fair. $8.50 domestic pitcher. $3 bottle domestic. $4.50 shots.
Entertainment: Internet Juke Box, 2 pool tables, a bar top video game, shuffle board and darts. Cigarette machine ($6 a pack). Breathalyzer machine.
Restroom: Clean.
Closing statement: Had a great time. Celebrated a friends birthday too. Planned to hit the bar right next door but after 5 shots of Jameson, the 20 foot walk was too far.
Surprisingly did not have an awful time here. It looks seedy and weird from the outside, but inside it's actually...A little seedy but not overly weird and a little cute. Just your basic bar with pretty much all old men hanging out inside. One of them came over to our table and made some remarks about how pretty we were and asked if we were having a good time, but I guess one expects that when hanging out in a place like the Tustin Inn in the middle of the day.
Come with a group of good friends and take advantage of the beer and cocktail specials if there are any for the day. Brush off the lurkers and laugh about it afterwards. You'll have a good time.
From the very first time we went to the Tustin  Inn we felt very welcomed and like we were at home.  The people that hang out there are always very friendly and we have never seen anyone get out of control or obnoxious.  In fact, the last time we were there one of the guys at the bar "bought a round for the bar", it was amazing!!  That was the first time in my life that has ever happened to me, I thought stuff like that only happened in the movies. Â
The prices are very good and they have a large selection of beer on tap, which is always a plus. Â We have seen the same bartender there every time we've gone and she is a really sweet person. Â The bar is not fancy, but it is very comfortable and a great place to kick back and have a few drinks. Â Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that they usually give out free chips or peanuts while your sitting at the bar. Â That's a nice bonus if you ask me.
I highly recommend giving the Tustin Inn a try, I don't think you will be disappointed.
I had heard about this place for a while but having driven by a few times I never really felt too compelled to go in. Â I mean, from the outside it looks, well, seedy - ok, ok, I won't lie, it looks down right shady. Â Located behind a shopping plaza with yet another seedy looking bar just two stores away, I felt like I would have to be in a particular mindset to go in. Â Not to mention that Pineapple Hill and even the Swinging Door aren't very far from here, I am ordinarily happy to go to one of those fantastic and familiar establishments. Â Well, Saturday night my friend Monica D. and I were looking for something different and having come from Santa Ana, we decided that that night would be the night we would finally give this place a try. Â
We all know that saying, "don't judge a book by it's cover," yet we all are guilty of it at some point. Â I know I definitely was about this fine establishment. Â Any preconceptions I may have had about this awesome bar from the way it looks on the outside were completely proven wrong. Â Yes, this place looks a little worn but not in a bad way. Â It's not run down, dingy, or dirty; it's that kind of worn in look that only adds character to this bar. Â In fact, the bar is actually very clean and well kept. Â
As for the crowd, it's an eclectic mix of types, ages, and backgrounds. Â There are definitely your long time regulars. Â And when I mean long time, I'm guessing they've been coming to this bar for years and years. Â There also seem to be the semi-regulars and then there are people like me, who come by out of curiosity. Â Well, I have a feeling that a lot of us curious types become at least semi-regulars at this bar and here is why. Â 2 VODKA TONICS FOR $6.50. Â Awesome. Â
I'm glad that I finally decided to check this place out and I will definitely be back.
I went here as part of a bar crawl with friends. One thing I noticed was how many TV's they have there, which looks like it'd be great a place to watch sports. Prices for drinks were reasonable I guess. Service can be fast or slow depending how busy the bartenders are or what  your attitude is. One of my friends didn't like one of them cuz she was being sarcastic with him.
They have 3 pool tables and 2 dart machines for play time. They have an internet jukebox too. Anyway, standard bar, nothing really special.
Ahh, T.I. is what the locals call this dive bar. Â Been coming here for 6 years and nothing has changed. Â I only go there when Frank is working because he's a chill bartender that's very charismatic and funny. Â He makes awesome drinks and we also buy him rounds with us (shh, don't tell anyone he's drinking on the job). Â
When you're there, you typically see the usual suspects sitting at the bar. Â At times, some young adults from the bar next door may swing by, but for the most part, you'll find people aged from mid 30s - late 50s. Â There's 2 pool tables, 1 shuffleboard, 1 dart board, 2 pinball machines, I think 2 of those bar video games, and a jukebox (not the internet one), all of which you pay with coins and/or dollars.
If you're looking to chill with your buddies and not aren't looking to score then it's not a bad place to grab some drinks and shoot pool. Â The wait isn't long to get a drink too. Â See you all there :)
oh the Tustin Inn, how I love thee...
Whispers from the east (namely tustin) had been russling through the winds of Corona Del Mar of the existence of a bar, like none before it, which provide all things that are holy to those who seek its tempting allure.
It was a lovely sunny late afternoon day in April when the quest to find "americas next top dive bar" began. Â The Tustin Inn, situated in a strip mall in the shanty region of old Tustin, takes dive bar to a whole new level. Â Generally, "dive bars" have been associated with cougars, dirty, janky bars that only serve MGD, Wild Turkey, and Thunderbird in a "halitosis breadth" wiped-down glass place. Â Granted, Tustin Inn has its fair share of tumble-weeds forming in those hard to dust-off areas; Needless to say, this little slice of heaven is quite inviting, clean, and provides a cornicopia of beverages. Â Where the Tustin Inn's divelyness excels are in the mutents it caters to. Â On that special day that I was privy to its allure, I made some new friends - "the mutents". Â Let's see... at the bar there was the child molester, the adulterer, the afternoon drunk, the old guy, big Earl, the hyena (def. see: cougar passed its prime), and the Elvira look alike. Â Each in their own right were the pillars to this being a great place.
The Tustin Inn also is holder to one of the most amazing shuffle board tables on earth. Â I swear this table was widdled (by hand) from the trunk of a single giant sequia in 1838. The table is so long that you literally had to squint just to see the edge of the opposite side. Â I'm convinced by the mere magnitude of this bahemeth that the entire bar was built around this table. Â And the smell was like nothing witnessed before. Â A combination of sweet, musty, sweaty, and nutty as if a pack of pre-historic squirells ate hazlenuts and fornicated numerous times in its trunk. Â I played a few rounds with my friends as Big Earl watched and blurted obsenities in our direction due to the fact we couldn't muster the strength to push that "shuffle puck" the distance required. Â We found out later from Elvira (the bartender) that Big Earl, in his day, was no shuffle board playing slouch and that he holds a few championship belts.
After a few rounds of Stella (the beer was good) we decided to part from our new found bar. Â We will be back....
Make sure you go in through the inconspicuous plain door on the far left of the strip, because otherwise you might find yourself in bro-central. Not that I don't like bros or their bras, but I usually prefer less get-in-my-pants kind of bars where the pool table is maybe missing a ball or is too close to the wall and you have to learn about something great called a bank shot, and we share drinks of hefeweizen and rum and cokes, not lemon drops and bud light. The Tustin Inn does dive bar in mostly the usual way, but it is close to Pineapple Hill Grill, too, so if you get a yen for singing you can get in some karaoke, too.
The bar also provides a shuffleboard, two pool tables, some touch screen arcade games, and "GASP" clean bathrooms!
A very casual spot for Tustin. I'm finding that this town has a lot of hidden quirks that I rarely knew about growing up.
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