San Jose Music & Nightlife - Downtown Bars


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With a little bit of "local" in every bar, downtown San Jose is awash with watering holes to call home at every hour. Smaller hole-in-the-walls and groovy dives are most often staffed with the kind of bartenders that know your name, and larger hotspots still maintain that cozy local feel by playing host to the most familiar faces. It's almost impossible to hit a local bar in downtown San Jose without seeing someone you know, and it's even harder to leave without goodbyes to just about everyone. One of the best things about the local bar scene of downtown San Jo is each bar's proximity to the next one. Conducive to the requirements for the best of bar crawls, the majority of these local haunts are walking, or stumbling, distance from each other. Truly a town of variety, San Jose offers a little something for everyone from upscale class to rock on tap; everyone can find their niche here.

Smoke Tiki Lounge

152 Post Street, San Jose CA
1.408.292.4266
Smoke Tiki Lounge is the best San Jose nightclub hotspot for that never-ending island beach party. The outdoor patio at San Jose's Smoke Tiki Lounge is the largest in downtown and comes complete with its own bar, semi-private cabanas available to reserve ala tropical VIP style with bottle service, a stage for live music and the hottest San Jose nightlife scene. Combining Tiki gods and some of San Jose's hottest bartenders, Smoke Tiki Lounge is an awesomely hip and retro place to party.

Fahrenheit Ultra Lounge & Restaurant

99 East San Fernando Street, Downtown San Jose
1.408.998.9998
Fire-blowing bartenders, super-chill lounge areas, ideal mingling music and gorgeous patrons make Fahrenheit one of Silicon Valley’s top ultra lounges. For partiers who prefer proper accommodations, VIP reservations are highly recommended and groups of 6 or more should consider a private table for bottle service. It is obvious how Fahrenheit got its name….the bar, lounge, cocktails and people are all HOT!

The Vault Ultra Lounge

81 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose, California
1.408.298.1112
Resurrected from the foundation of an old savings and loan bank, San Jose's Vault Ultra Lounge boasts two separate VIP areas with available bottle service, three bars with stylish drink slingers pouring premium cocktails and this San Jose ultra lounge also sports an impressive slate of top Bay Area DJ talent spinning dance, funk, hip-hop, soul, R&B, old school and virtually anything else that gets heads bopping and booties shaking.

Cuccini

72 N. Almaden Ave., San Jose, California
1.408.287.1737
The thumping sound system pours eclectic mash-up beats, deep house, hip-hop and funky jams over the dance floor while the bartenders pour some heady cocktails for the reveling imbibers at Cuccini nightclub. If the hip and hot dancing gets overwhelming, Cuccini has one of the best chill spaces of any San Jose club. The outdoor garden style patio at Cuccini not only doubles the space of the nightclub, but also is the perfect place to kick it with friends and cocktails on beautiful San Jose nights.

Loft Bar and Bistro

90 S. Second Street, San Jose, California
1.408.291.0677
Loft Bar and Bistro in San Jose is arguably the chicest testament to hip urban dining in downtown San Jose serving outstanding contemporary American and California fusion cuisine in a space that can only be described as stunning. The Loft Bar and Bistro sports two levels, each with its own bar, lounges and dining areas, and the coolest outdoor patio of any downtown San Jose restaurant. The rooftop deck sits high above Second Street, away from the noise and the traffic, offering patrons a super chill place to kick back with friends for A-list drinking and dining in downtown San Jose.

San Jose Bar and Grill

85 South Second Street, San Jose, CA
1.408.286.2397
The official San Jose Bar and Grill in downtown is a great place for business travelers and San Jose locals to gather to socialize. With plenty or beers on draft and tasty bar food available, San Jose Bar and Grill is the ideal location to watch sporting events with friends. Located near the corner of San Fernando Street and Second Street in Downtown San Jose, San Jose Bar and Grill is in the center of it all.

Agenda Restaurant and Lounge

399 S. First St., San Jose, California
1.408.380.3042
Before "ultra lounges" came to downtown San Jose there was the Agenda Lounge in the SoFA district; a three level destination spot for nightlife. The third floor lounge at the Agenda nightclub has been at the forefront of the DJ and live music scene in downtown San Jose for years and still reins in the Bay Area's slickest DJ talent and live music acts. Resident DJs mix it up with national talent spinning deep house, soul, funk and hip-hop in the chic Agenda Lounge and drop serious beats out over the dance floor that's continually packed with clubbers.

Tres Gringos Baja Cantina

83 South Second Street, San Jose CA 95113
1.408.532.5680     Email Tres Gringos Baja Cantina
Tres Gringos has brought the beach to Downtown San Jose for all to enjoy! Whether looking for a cool place to socialize with friends or stop-by during a "Bar-Crawl", Tres Gringos Baja Cantina is a hip bar located at the epicenter of the Downtown San Jose nightlife scene. With great neighboring bars and restaurants, it is easy to become a regular at this San Jose bar. VIP Cabanas available and birthday party reservations are accepted.

Voodoo Lounge

14 South Second Street, San Jose, CA
1.408.286.8636
Newly remodeled Voodoo Lounge has club-goers in awe. With several lounging and dancing areas available, the Voodoo Lounge has reclaimed a position in the downtown dance club scene. The loft-style VIP room is fully equipped with bar, dance floor and a great view of the entire club, and is available for reservation. Groove to your favorite music all night at the Voodoo Lounge located between Santa Clara Street and San Fernando Street on Second Street in Downtown San Jose.

Mission Ale House

97 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA
1.408.292.4058
Mission Ale House is a downtown San Jose bar powerhouse that gets packed nightly with diners, drinkers and dancers reveling in its' original local bar feel. With one of the best outdoor patios in San Jose, pool tables, an awesome selection of draft beers and spirits, Mission Ale House is a phenomenal bar to hang out in from Happy Hour until the last call bell rings.

Bamboo Lounge

1355 N. Fourth St., San Jose, California
1.408.392.2468
The Bamboo Lounge located in the San Jose Clarion Hotel is a tropically themed restaurant and bar where hotel guests and the after work crowd can get a little island fix year round. The Bamboo Lounge offers up cuisine inspired by tropical dishes that range from the Caribbean to the South Pacific hitting nearly every island group in between and this casual San Jose restaurant doesn't skimp on the portions while still being very wallet friendly.

Britannia Arms

5027 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA; Tel. 408.266.0550
173 W. Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA; Tel. 408.278.1400
Britannia Arms epitomizes the local neighborhood bar in the British pub tradition bringing it to San Jose in two locations...

Chacho's

18 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.293.1387
Chacho's is one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Jose and...

Dive Bar

78 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.288.5252
Dive Bar in San Jose is filled with anything but the typical elements of a dive bar...

Gordon Biersch

33 E. San Fernando St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.294.6785
Gordon Biersch brewery and restaurant is a San Jose bar staple known for their excellent German style microbrews and superb restaurant fare...

Original Joe's

301 S. First St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.292.7030
Definitely one of the best restaurants in downtown San Jose and a legend among locals, Original Joe's serves huge portioned classic Italian and American chophouse fare...

Scores Sports Bar and Grill

417 S. First St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.971.6647
Scores Sports Bar and Grill in downtown San Jose isn't your average sports bar, it's more like an all VIP sports...

Teske's German Restaurant and Bar

255 N. First St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.292.0291
Teske's German restaurant is the best place in San Jose for some authentic German cuisine served traditional style in...

Trials Pub

265 N. First St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.947.0497
Trials Pub in downtown San Jose is an authentic British style pub and probably the only bar in San Jose that serves...

Toons

52 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.292.7464
Toons nightclub has been a major player in the downtown San Jose nightlife scene for years catering to San Jose State students, local drinkers, dance club fans...

South First Billiards and Elixir Lounge

420 S. First St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.294.7800
South First Billiards, with the Elixir Lounge, is the undisputed heavyweight of downtown San Jose's nightlife in the SoFA district...

O'Flaherty's Irish Pub

25 N. San Pedro St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.947.8007
O'Flaherty's Irish Pub in downtown San Jose's San Pedro Square gets packed daily with the...

Johnny V's

31 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.947.8470
Johnny V's in downtown San Jose is a cool local bar where San Jose music fans...

The Flying Martini Brothers Bar and Bistro

69 N. San Pedro St., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.287.6969
The reinvention of the San Jose neighborhood bar and restaurant, h the Flying Martini Brothers Bar and Bistro, a hip and casual place to grab some excellent food and a few drinks...

Cinebar

69 E. San Fernando, San Jose, California; Tel. 408.292.9562
Cinebar is a venerable dive bar in downtown San Jose that's usually wall to wall...

Caravan

98 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.995.6220
The Caravan in downtown San Jose is a dive bar institution that...

Blank Club

44 S. Almaden Ave., San Jose, California; Tel. 408.292.5265
The San Jose live music club scene is alive and well at the Blank Club in downtown...