The Marlin Bar and Grill

I’ve had 2 birthday parties here. 1 for my son in April and 1 for me in May. We always felt welcome and we loved the customer service here. The bartenders always took very good care of us. Even when I was done dancing she had a glass of ice cold water waiting for me and I didn’t even ask for it. But she knew I needed it. Diane even had the tables decorated for me. I didn’t have 1 complaint from any of the guests during either birthday parties. Diane and her staff make you feel very welcome. We will definitely keep going back.

Upside — $ 6 makers and Coke — not bad at all. Plenty of TVs to watch sports. Moderately fast service.
Downside — lots of old, loud, drunk guys. If your bill is less than $ 20 and you try to pay with a card, they’ll add $ 1 to your bill (to cover their transaction fee). Which is illegal. Slightly rude, brusque employees.
Essentially if you are not a regular you are not as welcome. That being said I will never return and neither should you.

I find that this bar and Grill one of the best in Huntington Beach as it has several locals who constantly return for lunches and for dinners. The owner and the ladies behind the bar are outstanding. I find that the food has been really great and lunches take care of the day for me.
It’s a great place to go if you want to watch one of your favorite sports teams as there are plenty of TVs scattered throughout this pub. Ask one of the girls to turn it to your channel and your sport and They’ll be happy to do so.
It’s the Cheers of the west coast and you need to drop in there for the upcoming St Paddies Day to enjoy a cold one with everyone.

This place would be great if they had a new owner, seems like she does not like anyone that has an opinion or has a name like concrete Joe or Surfin Jerry

Sunna is the best !!! She is always friendly and gets us drinks fast

took über there and had a great time, great music and friendly crowd… loved it

Since I am Packers fan, this is my go to bar for Packers games! Love how everyone is so nice, the customer service is not only quick but also very nice and helpful. I have gone 3 times and I have to say each time I love it more.

If u havnt been to the marlin bar you have to go go just to see sunna. She sexy and fun. You can feed off her energy. By the way the nachos r great too.

Great happy hour place the girls and I go here have appetizers and a few cocktails and sometimes stay for the live music. Friendly servers I like this place

Great place. Love the fish tacos and chili fries.
If Suna serves you, she’s super nice so make sure to tip her extra and tell her Ace with the Raiders jersey told you to. {{^_^}}

I’m giving it a 5 because the bartenders are always really nice (pretty women with big boobs… I can say that. Because I’m a woman :-p)…
And number one– the food is ALWAYS good and that is very unusual for bar food for me. I always have food after only having 1 beer– so you know, my judgement isn’t skewed by being drunk. The chili nachos are just okay though. Their chicken tenders, chili cheese fries, chips and salsa, and meatball soup (a special) are good and I love that they have the beers 805 and Sculpin IPA.
The people who go here are an older crowd who are regulars and would love to chat with you.
Lots of large TVs for sports games.
Great live music the last time I went there at 9 or 10 pm.
Favorite bar in HB so far when I am looking just to kick back with a beer and good meal. Not with a bunch of young folks trying to flirt/​be the sexiest one there. Love it.
Odd thing– apparently dogs are allowed during the day? A bulldog was sitting on a barstool inside– not a service dog, and I’ve seen several other dogs here inside… I love dogs and would want to bring my dog but would never because it is unsanitary– want to change this about this bar…
Will be back a many of times.

Been to marlin a couple of times without incident. Thought I might make this a go to place.
Then tonight I walked in and saw a bull dog sitting on a barstool at the bar. This is unsanitary and not acceptable.. if you want to go into a bar and sit on a barstool, leave your dog at home.. this coming from a dog lover, but I don’t give a fuck about YOUR dog and I don’t want it sitting next to me on a barstool licking the damn bar.. Yuck! !!!

Great Bar! A little hard to find, its tucked away but when you do get in the bar its spacious, clean and a happy place. The bartenders are very attentive, friendly and the drinks are pretty cheap. They have great bands on the weekends and always a place to sit. The patrons are nice. Never seen or heard any issues dealing with fights or snobby people. I always have a great time at this bar!

Awesome place to watch the Packer games. Everyone here is so friendly and made me feel so welcome on my first visit. Having been going back to watch the Packer games every Sunday. Great service and fun fun fun!!! Terrie and Christina are amazing and do a great job! Food is good and the drinks are generous!

Fun place with a great full bar!
I’ve never eaten here but have enjoyed the live band GREEN NATIVES here a couple of times. Awesome atmosphere and friendly bar service. Very clean and comfortable. Nice and safe area.
A couple pool tables, nice restrooms, lots of beer on tap and well drinks to choose from. Fun surf motif on the walls give it a bright and light feeling rather than a dingy bar feel.
I will say that if there is going to be live music, it would be nice to have a place to dance… there are several improvisational dance floors rather than a set place to actually dance.
I’ll definitely be back though… as should you!
CHEERS!

The stage is nice for the bands but they should move the pool table when the bands play so there is more room for the dancers. The drinks are reasonable but they’d probably sell more if they had at least one cocktail server, although the lady bartender was friendly and pleasant. The lights could be a bit dimmer too, when the bands play, especially with two walls of wide screen TVs.
I heard a good band last weekend there, but unfortunately my evening was spoiled by the anal, uptight security guard/​doorman. When we came up, he was sitting on a ledge and mumbled to us that he had so see our IDs (we’re obviously over 21!) and he barely glanced at them so it was more of a power play than the real need to check them. He told my friend, who didn’t bring her purse in with her to make sure she brought hers the next time (she’s 63!).
When the band played they asked a friend to come up and play tambourine with them. She barely got on stage when that same security guard stomped up to the stage and wanted to know what she was doing! She certainly was not a crazed groupie. She was complying to the band’s request! It spoiled the fun for her and she didn’t enjoy being up there. They asked someone else to help them later but the security guard wouldn’t let her on the stage so she had to stand off to the side on the floor. Maybe they are afraid they will be sued if a patron falls off the high stage, but the security guard has a bad attitude, even if he is just doing his job.

We love this bar for a lot of reasons!
1: Owner is very nice and hands on. Will get you set up with a pertytoo if that’s what you’re interested in.
2: Bartenders are attentive, nice, and have the perfect pour.
3. Live music is always a good thing.
4. Great «people watching»!! I’ve seen many intriguing situations there!
5. I can walk there. Its the perfect neighborhood watering hole!
6. The food is ok… But their Cabo Fish Tacos are amazeballs! People usually seem really pleased with their specials too!
So all in all… I totally recommend coming here for a great time!

So, here’s the plan — We start in Sunset Beach/​Huntington Harbor (Irish Mist, Pelican Isle & Don The Beachcomber) and roll back to check out Marlin Bar when the entertainment starts.
On the night we stepped into the Marlin, the band was Tricia Freeman’s, which was solidly reinforced by Brad Fox (former Vibe Tribe lead vocals of old Harpoon Harry’s fame) and a retro long haired Jim Croce look-​a-​like jumping in on lead guitar.
We found seats at the counter bar and took in the scene for the first time. Here’s my list of what you can expect at Marlin Bar on the first night of summer: a sassy female bartender with a T-​shirt slogan «Drink more vodka,» two patrons who fell off their stools (been there), semi-​crazy chick head-​banging at the jukebox, a drunk sumo wrestler sized guy who was futilely trying to pat women on the backside (one of the guys who fell, Ba-​Bam!), free live music, jumbo schooners or 22 ounce cans of beer and … wait … wait …
… Oh, only four guys on a pub crawl boldly rocking Hawaiian grass skirts and polished coconut shell bras.
Marlin Bar, in a nutshell, or more appropriately a coconut shell, is good times.

Relocated (Goodbye Martini Blues)
Bad News: NO MORE OPEN-​MICS! :(
Good news: The food is great… the staff is great… the bartenders are great… everything’s just… GREAT! :D

Ugh, why do I punish myself?
Because I’m a Packer fan.
I’ve been here a few times now, specifically for the GB games, because they are the only Packer friendly watering hole in the immediate area, but I’m rapidly concluding I am going there for fellow fan support rather than the place itself.
While the servers/​bartenders are friendly… they are way UNDERSTAFFED… and there is no excuse for this, especially during playoffs. This past Saturday, when the place was packed for two division playoff games and practically standing room only, there was maybe two waitresses for the entire floor and a very hectic and slammed bartender. What does this mean? It means that my party never saw a waitress again prior to halftime. Yes, we went 45+ minutes without anyone checking on our table, or the two immediate tables around us. I don’t blame the waitresses… there just isn’t enough of them, so they lost quite a bit of $$ from not attending any of the tables in my area. Just wrong for anytime, but especially during playoffs.
Food: Ick. All appetizers are reconstituted deep fried frozen bulk items. It was so bad, my mozzarella sticks weren’t even melted on the inside, they were still semi-​solid tasteless ‘cheese’ product. While our chicken nachos were a nice size for $ 8.50, the tasteless, processed sour cream and generic guacamole screamed ‘bulk tub’. Afterwards I noted that my T-​shirt actually smelled like stagnant fry oil hours later. Gross.
Finally, after waiting 10 minutes after the game, I had to hunt down my tab from the bartender since my waitress disappeared into the abyss somewhere. After playing the name game for five minutes, I was finally awarded with an erroneous bill. It just wasn’t worth it to me to wait an additional 10 – 15 minutes to straighten it out for a few drinks I didn’t order, and not charge me for the ones that I did. Yeah, I may have lost a couple of bucks that day, but me leaving no tip did little to make me feel better after being being ignored. If they don’t care about their paying customers, why should I care to help them out?
Oh, and what’s up with the projectors? Why are some in focus, other not, and each one has a different dull color. Um, calibration anyone? Time to change a bulb, or two, or three?
If it wasn’t for the Packers… I wouldn’t be going back anytime soon.