Huntington Beach Dining
Offers an Eclectic Mix with Lots of
Outdoor (Al Fresco) Opportunities
back to events
Huntington Beach is not lacking for
dining. There are several ocean view
restaurants, and lots of outdoor
restaurant tables where you can
enjoy the beautiful fresh air while
you eat. From the early days of the
Golden Bear and other bars and clubs, Huntington Beach has been home to and
hosted some fantastic musicians in lounges, restaurants, bars and clubs
where great bands have enjoyed a usually receptive audience. It took a while
for the bar scene to re-group when the Golden Bear left in 1986. To this
day, there isn't one place to fill the gap for hosting known musical acts
regularly. The closest to the Golden Bear is Martini Blues. A lot of
entertainers from Hollywood drive down to Huntington Beach to play at this
venue, featuring music daily, often in two of its three rooms. For
straight on music, Martini Blues offers jazz, blues, rock, scant country and
comedy regularly. For indie music, try Blue Cafe, formerly known as Kozmos,
then The Brigg, the club changed hands and with its
re-design, the old staff left. One spin-off from that management team is
Marlin Bar. They've taken on the Cubensis tradition of offering weekly
Grateful Dead entertainment. Marlin Bar also books a variety of rock bands.
Note: Cubensis now has moved to
Octane Alley, which used to be
Martini Blues (can't keep up!)
For new rock and alternative check out Fitzgeralds.
For traditional rock and new bands, Hurricane's, Tumbleweeds, Marlin Bar,
Perqs and even Gallaghers offer good liquor drinks and rock solid rockin'.
For post-punk, funk and rock, check out Surf City Saloon. For upscale
adult live music--usually acoustic or jazz, check out Arbors Steak House,
The Hyatt's Red Chair Lounge and Pete Mallory's Sunset Grille restaurant.
A variety of acoustic tunes is offered throughout the coastal belt north.
Robbie Armstrong is a house favorite in Huntington Beach, Sunset Beach and
Seal Beach. He plays solo at the smaller restaurants and clubs many nights
and brings a band on larger gigs on weekends primarily.
A couple of the places specialize in DJ and hip hop. Local
regulations control whether live bands can play, if a restaurant can offer
happy hour and if they can offer a DJ. In summary, the night time
entertainment is available. It's 21+, ID a must. The age range stretches
from 21 to old timers. Dancing can be found, though not salsa, ballroom or
traditional dance, except in very small areas such as Arbors Steakhouse.
One annual event that runs for a month and a half is the
Oktoberfest. It's a huge beer hall with a party crowd on Friday and Saturday
nights. The dancing from German bands is the hokey-pokey Chicken Dance mixed
with rock. The band goes back and forth between the sounds to satisfy a
large blend of all ages. The result is something to a Mardi Gras,
German style.
This calendar does not guarantee accuracy of information as events are
subject to change.
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