Merrimaker

Went the other night and had a lot if fun. The band was jamming and the girls were dancing. Wild crowd. Couldn’t get a game of pool in but will try next time around. Cheers

It’s the kind of bar that you’re glad still exists. Wood interior, some neon, good bartender, and a patio for the win.

A picture of this bar may literally be on the Wikipedia page for dive bar, but this ain’t no dive.
Sure the bartenders don’t give a crap about you, sure this is where the real alcoholics drink, sure this place has loud-​mouthed drunks yelling stupid shit in an attempt to get attention, but this place still ain’t no dive.

Nothing but good times here! Friday night karaōke is a blast! Never have sang, but awesome to watch people get down… My girlfriend loves to play pool and chat with the «locals». If you ever are in the area, it’s a must to stop by the Merrimaker and have a drink or two.

I was pleasantly surprised that there were some good looking girls there when I went, but I felt like I was going to be blindsided with pool stick swung by a husky bearded guy if I tried to talk to them.
A fan, none the less.

Eh. Eh. Ehhhhhhhhh. I mean, I think it’s probably the only bar in Los Osos, so there’s that. I also think a lot of the locals go there often, so that’s probably why it has a lot of good reviews. But I’ve been here three times now when on vacation, and yeah… no.
The first time I went, me and my friend asked the bar tender to make us a drink that had a sexy name (w*t p****) which is a common request where we’re from. He didn’t know how to make it, which is fine. Whatever. But the bartender’s response when we asked for it was «I don’t think I can give you that. My girlfriend might get mad…» Really? Anyway, he made the drink. It was drinkable, but kind of gross. That was two years ago.
We just spent this last weekend there and while there last night, my friend was hit on by a guy there. He was relentless and she made it clear that not only was she not interested, but she was there with her boyfriend. When we left, he made sure to call her names on the way out. Classy. Meanwhile, I was getting hit on by a dude named Ruben. I also made it clear that I was not interested and was there with my boyfriend. Ruben didn’t hesitate to get handsy with me. I removed his hands from my body and told him not to touch me. Of course, this fell on deaf ears. At that point, my boyfriend and my friend’s boyfriend stepped in and the issue was resolved peacefully. I’m glad they were there because I’m not sure how that would have gone down otherwise.
The good side regarding The Merrimaker? My choice of beer is fifty cents cheaper there than it is here at home. Also, the karaōke is entertaining in an otherwise boring small town. The customers, when they aren’t super creeptastic, are entertaining. Far from interesting, but entertaining, for sure. Oh! They have a pretty sweet jukebox that doubles as a photo booth too. But, Ummmm, yeah – that’s about it.

I’m a sucker for great dive bars — the more diverse crowd, the better. Drinks were strong and cheap. There was a band playing covers and we were able to get on the dance floor. If you appreciate a good dive bar, this is a place to visit.

This place was nothing short of hilariously awesome. We walk in and the first thing that catches my eye is that there’s a couple of dogs chilling in the bar. One of them warms up to my wife and she’s not a dog person but she’s nice about it. And so the guy buys us a drink. As we settle in to order our drinks, sure enough right behind the bar is a sign that said no dogs allowed. Clearly the sign is for show or a suggestion not to bring your ugly girlfriend around.
Great drinks and affordable prices. I think three to four different people bought us drinks that night because the place was so damned friendly.
The live music was solid pumpin’ out the classics you love to hear at your favorite dive.
Meanwhile they have a couple of pool tables that are lined with sharks who are playin’ just to have a good time.
I probably had 2 too many drinks and stumbled back to our B&B wishing that there was a place that was serving food this late in the evening.
I had a blast and wished my local dive bar had these kind of people here. Meanwhile the next day I ran into a few of the friends that I had made and they were extremely nice as they had been the night before. This is definitely small town paradise.

Linoleum floors, acoustic tiles on the ceiling, pine on the walls, laid lovingly by a man or woman long gone, covered with pictures of better times. Two pool tables, five taps, a dartboard, the internet jukebox beckons, the crowd, for the moment ignores it. A long back bar, brimming with well liquor under the harsh glare of fluorescents, because really, even the top shelf is bottom shelf here.
Order a pint of DBA, order a shot of whiskey. On a weeknight, sit by the fireplace, grab a book from the book exchange, sit in a booth, watch as men and women from your high school lurch in and stumble out. Laugh at the county sheriff as he tries to get you for drunken driving, only to realize that you’re walking home, and that he’s missed better targets. The fog is in, not the same fog you grew to love in San Francisco, but the same eddies and whorls mass around the door, begging for succor, for a place at the bar (the fog’s driver’s license is expired, it legally can’t be served). Christmas lights twinkle above the bar far into the year, a beacon for those in need of shelter from the cold of the evening.
Friday nights for karaōke, the man who was the M.C. when you had turned 21 long gone (some say he’s taken his talents to the California Men’s Colony, just up the highway). The finest, the worst, everyone in between. Its real life man, don’t judge, after all, you’ll be up next, hope nobody signed you up for «Danger Zone» or «Stairway to Heaven» or «Sympathy for the Devil». They did? Well, in that case: «Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste…».
Saturday, your Elementary School Principal’s band plays. He’s graduated from «Build Me Up Buttercup» at school assemblies to drinking «goddamned beers and whiskey», singing the «Get Down, Get Down» lyric of Jungle Boogie with a stank that could make school board members faint, and crooning a raunchy original to the ladies at the bar, asking them to «…just sit down… and help me release some pressure», the volume at 11. The floor is packed with men and women from their 20s to 70s, doing the bump and grind. A box of glass Christmas ornaments spills onto the floor, shattering. The televisions in back showing basketball and antique roadshow in strange counterpoint to the music. As you walk out at midnight, you offer to buy him (the man who made you call your parents and took your books away because you WOULDN’T STOP READING DURING MATH CLASS [it still hurts]) a beer. He thanks you, declines, but beams like its the only thing he ever wanted from his long, crushingly difficult career in education.
Maybe you’ve changed, life having put you in a better position to realize what was always under your nose: a dive bar, not perfect, but magnificent in its authenticity, glorious for what it is. You never thought that you would give the Merrimaker (known to locals as the Marriage-​Breaker) five stars on the review website where you’ve panned some of San Francisco’s finest establishments, but there you have it; life can be funny sometimes.

Great place to have a drink after work to do karaōke on Fridays to listen to music. The bartenders make you feel welcome and they pour a very nice drink

Surly, downtrodden locals, crummy fixtures, wildly uneven drinks, an ATM next to the bar, insistently bright lighting… surely, one cannot reasonably ask more from their local dive bar. Its quintessence is celebrated even on the internet– wikipedia’s Dive Bar page flies the iconic Merrimaker sign.
One of the finest of its kind, a kind which is becoming increasingly hard to find in the modern world of ever escalating rents & national chain conformity.
I salute you with five bright stars, Merrimaker.
May your karaōke night bray out across the estuary for generations to come.

I’ve been coming here for three years and it’s my home bar… I kinda have a love/​hate relationship. It changed ownership about a year ago and I was hoping for some needed improvements. The bar stools and flooring need to be replaced as does the bar top itself. No one can argue that this old bar needs a little TLC. For me the best part is the live bands on Saturdays. However, there is no stage and the lighting is lame… But they still manage to attract the best bands in the county and never charge a cover.
As other reviewers have said, the bartenders are all experienced and very friendly. Timmy seems to be everyone’s favorite. And Sunday mornings, Jackie makes the best Bloody Mary around — she takes great pride in her mixology.
During the day it’s mostly local regulars who usually sit on their regular stools. These people are always friendly and welcoming to anyone who comes into the bar. After all, it’s the local neighborhood watering hole.
The one thing missing is food. It would be really nice to at least offer a few appetizers or snacks.
I just wish the owner would renovate a little and make it more appealing in general and as a live music venue. He did add new large flat screens and a state-​of-​the-​art juke box. Karaōke is still popular and there is a wide selection of songs. But there is no stage or lighting… how hard would that be to fix? I’m sure it would attract more karaōke enthusiasts. There was talk at one point about having «live music karaōke», which I thought sounded like a great idea but it never happened.
I’m a regular on weekend nights but have lost my enthusiasm for karaōke night. I miss the Sunday night open mike jams and I would come here more often if there were a few improvements in the seating, etc. The back room smoking area is dismal and a disgrace. Ditto the mens bathroom. I’d rather go outside and smoke if they had a heater and cover from the rain…
I’ll keep coming here and wishing and hoping that the owner eventually puts some time, energy and money into some needed improvements… but it’s still the best bar in Los Osos.

It is an upholstered sewer of the first order. «Friends in low places» is an apt song. Besides, it is on the bay at two feet above high tide. (During the Fukushima tsunami everyone in Baywood/​Los Osos asked after the state of the Merrimaker). Watched the receding waters strand a couple of six foot sharks, also the spirits of the place. Do not come here for anything but a relaxed time where nobody gives a s**t about your Porsche or your divorce, unless you’re hot.
There are good people inside, standing outside, or headed there. Ambience is the barbecue pit and the proximity of some of the most incredibly beautiful coastline in the world. Highway One heads towards San Simeon, Carmel and the City, just a half mile away. Oh, no crowds, no class, no problem.

Yeah it’s a dive, but my kind of dive. Best bloody Mary’s around and the prices are great.

It doesn’t get any better, especially if you’re looking for a Bloody Mary or a little hair of the dog! Very friendly bartender and friendly patrons. They even welcomed my two dogs! And btw one of the best bloody Mary’s ever at a great price!

Love this place! Stiff drinks at great prices. Who can complain about that?
Karaōke on Fridays and live band (no cover) on Saturdays.
Bartenders are friendly and attentative. If you fall off your bar stool the patrons will help you up and order another one for you! Great place to spend you weekend!
Have not tried the karaōke since it got upgraded but I’m sure it’s just as fun as ever. We used to go every weekend but now, since moving out of Los Osos, it happens way too seldom. Bummer. I miss it!

Very friendly and cozy locals place. It’s referred to as a dive bar but I’ve never seen a dive bar with a book exchange.

If you lookup dive bar in the book you will find a picture of the Merrimaker. Seriously, lookup dive bar on Wikipedia.
To me its not a dive bar. Dives imply a certain element of danger, the occasional parole sweep by the cops, and maybe a couple washed up street walkers. You’re not going to find that here. To step into The Merrimaker is to step into a time machine whose knobs are stuck on Ohio 1987. Seriously lousy décor, and people who spent a little too much time on Def Leopard Tour, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d rather hang out here than at some frat bar in SLO. They are definitely keeping it real down at the
Go to the Merrimaker for what it is, the closest place to drink. Don’t go there to get laid, (if you do end up getting some there don’t tell anyone it happened) Don’t go there to watch the game. Just go there to drink I promise no one will get in your way and you’ll have a good enough time.

It is what it is, the epitome of a dive bar. There’s not another quite like the Merrimaker. Poorly mixed drinks, glasses you don’t quite trust, and customers that look like they might have started a fight 30 years ago but are just too worn out to try it now. It’s always fun.
PS. Karaōke night is a must. Your ears will bleed, but in a good way.

Before reading any further, check out Wikipedia’s definition of «Dive Bar» and see what comes up. The Merrimaker Tavern is this «millions-of-a-kin“d located in just about every mid level sized town but in this case it should be on a picture postcard ‘ah-​hem’ corner of sleepy, often foggy banks of Baywood, California. Going inside you greeted with a few rough looking bikers, plus a few of those chain smokers that haven’t a clue how far it is allowed smoke 20 feet from a door entrance. On the clearest of days, inside the bar, a gloom of dark lacquer woods and the petrie dished bar tables with sticky floors hints brawls, flung panties, gambling debts and numerous Ménage à trois patrons who will contribute to the mystique, most seasoned of liver destroyers, marriage challenged and tight jeaned buxom Californian bar babes and bums that you would find anywhere.
There was one thing clear about the place, is that it has one rule, and if you want to be accepted, don’t follow it. In my book, I just had the best smiles, and not for one second was I bored. Instead, I was guzzling down the most delicious of beers, while enjoying the scenery. So how does this Dive bar to outdoes all other of million of bars? Ill provide a checklist of the top eight!!!
1… well. go in and order three drinks on your first round, and notice that nobody flinches an eye when they find out that are all for you.
2. Play a pinball game, tilt, shout, curse, bang, slam and even one flip salute your lost ball all you want and again — nobody seems to flinch.
3. While at the bar, play Five Finger Fillet and maybe get someone to notice you.
4. Go up to total stranger and say — what is a nice [fill in blank] like you doing in ranchy place like this — and they won’t see that as a corny line.
5. Order milk and then notice that you’ll end up with a brand new drain hole (someone might knife)
6. Bottles of fine Cognac and Brandy have never been opened, probably since the first day of business.
7. They’ve decided why bother clean, alcohol kills germs anyways.
8. The coat check is the floor.