Archway Lounge

We rented out the big area of Archway for a 80’s/90’s Birthday party ths past weekend it was a hit! It totally fit into the dive bar theme that we were going for and everyone had a great time. The price to rent was very resonable. The manager and employees were very accomodating and easy to work with. TWO things that may have been an issue that we were able to look passed: DJ we were planning to have a DJ, and the manager said as long as we got the permit we would be fine. So after contacting the City of Chula Vista and CVPD, there was no permit needed, the issue was that the bar itself doesn’t have some sort of copyright license to have a DJ? (I dunno, we just hijacked the jukebox with the TouchTunes app and played 80’s songs all night.) No problem, I wish they would’ve told us up front that we couldn’t have a DJ. Second, we ordered a Keg of «better» beer, but they didn’t have enough of it for the keg. That ended up being a non issue, we just didn’t want to get a keg of bud because nobody would’ve drank it. We were able to set up a photo booth in the corner with an 80’s laser portrait background that was a hit! Even some of the patrons came by and asked to take pictures!
All in all it was a great exeperience for everyone that came. The parking was enough for our party, the ladies tending bar did a good job considering there was quite a bit more people they usually get. The regular patrons at the bar were very cordial and welcoming, many of them greeted the birthday celebrants and even bought them drinks. Everyone who attended had either been to or knew of the Archway Lounge in the past, everyone was very nostalgic coming back to a bar they had been to in their early 20’s etc. It was a great place to hold a decent sized party, good vibes, good people and at good time. Thank you.

I’d get five stars but the beer was a little flat. But cold and plus there’s plenty of room to move around and play pool not like the canyon Club down the street. Good selection on the jukebox lol you can pick tunes from your phone which is awesome!

I was dragging my feet coming here due to a prior experience several years ago. Have to say this place has changed! Drinks were nicely priced and at 10 or 11pm they have a taco guy right outside. With some really really good carne asada tacos! Wouldn’t mind coming back :)

It’s that dive where you can listen to some good music on the juke box and play a game of darts while downing some cold beverages. They also have a few pool tables if you’re good at it… even if you’re not, no one cares.
It’s close to home and a cheap über or lyft ride for me so I love my little neighborhood dive bar. The beer selection is… ok but the mixed drinks are not bad. A good place to go with friends for a night of laughs, games and drinks.
The bartenders are friendly and have always made strong drinks since I remember. Also on Fridays there is a taco truck to soak up the booze, otherwise plan on eating somewhere else. The no food part is the only reason I’m not fully in love with it. Otherwise, come have a drink with me and lets have a fun time.

One of the best dive bars in Chula Vista. Bartenders are awesome and cute!!! Good prices and good vibe!

Thought it was really cool of them to keep my brothers phone there after a long rough drinking night at archway and not steal his iphone. They actually returned it when we went back and looked for it :) awesome !!!

I’ve driven past this place probably thousands of times in my life and am always surprised people go here. A friend of a friend invited us out tonight and I must say, it was awesome. Yes, it was pretty dead. Yes, it is dive. It was cheap, had a diverse group of people, and was comfy. Maybe I had so much fun considering I now live in Utah and there isn’t shit to do there. Either way, if you want to hang out with friends and have a chill time, stop by. If you’re a bar snob or trying to hookup, go downtown. Oh, and the bartender, Sarah, was extremely nice and very attentive.

This place was old and hidden first of all, easy place to get into a fight and the bartender is a old hag that is pushing 50. Honestly these business owners should learn how to either network better because I will never recommend anyone to come to this place if they ever ask! I will even do my own networking for people not to go to this bar. And you know what the bartender needs to find a real job if she is pushing 60!

This is the worst bar I have ever been to. The bartender was extremely rude and she was intoxicated herself. The place was disgusting. It smelled like urine. The drink selection was garbage and the service was horrible. The health department should shut this place down completely.

This place is fun. A little dive, but better than paying 7 $ per beer elsewhere. Good service

I’m a fan of dive bars and being down in Chula Vista the pickings are slim. I was heading back home late one Saturday evening when I drove by this place for the umpteenth time. I decided to stop in for a beer to satisfy my curiosity.
Theres plenty of parking and a taco guy outside if you get hungry. I never tried the tacos, but I several folks munching down happily.
Archway is your standard dive bar. Pool, darts and cheap drinks. No frills and a slight musty odor. Some other reviews complained about this, but I’m more of the opinion that if there the place smells pleasing, how the hell do you know you’re in a dive bar?
The drinks are cheap. They do have a happy hour that knocks 50 cents off the the 3.50 beer… but whats the point of going to a dive bar early? The music selection is driven by the crowd via jukebox. The crowd is a real mix of young and old of all races but mostly white and latino like the area.
The bartender was friendly and quite attractive which never hurts. Several of the locals struck up random conversations with this loner and it was an easy place to relax in.
Overall, a good dive bar. I’d come back. You’re always taking a chance with a dive bar so if you feel like rolling the dice, a good time can be had.
Stay sexy fellow Unilocalers!

Went there last night (Thursday), there was a handful of people in the bar. Ordered 2 beers (Shock Top and Newcastle) the Newcastle tasted old and skunky. Went to play darts the machine is broken and does not register your throws. Shortly after giving up on darts a mouse ran from one side of the bar to the other.
Only thing I can really say that was good about the place was the bartender, she was very welcoming and tried her best to help with our problems with the dart machine.

Archway Lounge is all but .8 miles from my house, making it well within stumbling distance to make it inebriated back to my house. And yet, I still don’t go there. Its not the drinks, which are kinda pricey for wells with a measly tap list to boot. But rather, its the kind of crazy that bar attracts.
Now, don’t get me wrong, crazy is not necessarily a bad thing at a bar. I have had my hair smelled by many a random drunk woman and I’ve been likened to a «Jonas Brother who let himself go» by a few intoxicated blokes to be scared off by amusing crazy. But this is crazy is the kind that’ll pick fights with you for no reason. The handful of times I have gone here with a few friends we have always been hassled by some guys or stared down by some lone dude. In the Canyon Club down the street, I, of ambiguous racial descent and long hair, tend to get ignored or ogled by some cougs on the prowl.
So overall, no thank you.

Cons: A bit pricey for a dive bar. Cocktails are not strong enough.
Pros: not pretentious, only dive bar worth going too in the Eastlake area.

This is a South Bay staple and has been for years. No frills whatsoever but it is always a good time. Great place to meet up and just drink. You can shoot some pool and listen to tunes on the jukebox and some nights they have live music. They don’t have the best beers on tap but they usually have at least 1 or 2 that I end up drinking all night long.
Don’t expect to find your true love here, this is just a great local watering hole. If you want a night out on the town where you get dressed up and dance the night away, then head Downtown. This is a drinking, chillin’ kind of bar. Mixed crowd most days/​nights. Oh and the glory of the taco stand that pops up on those weekend nights to feed the crowd is an excellent plus.
Overall, it is a great drinking dive bar where one can hang out with some friends and have some laughs.

Cool dive to go with friends for some good priced drinks, the only downside is when paying with a card you have to tell them how much you will tip before they run the card.

This place is a dive. I don’t come here to get laid, I come here to drink while thinking of a good way to get through the next soul crushing day where I have to grin at people I hate, pretending to be interested in their shit, for enough money to pay my bills and then get some in to the all important savings. I don’t need to impress other people I won’t remember the next day to boost my self esteem, I just don’t give a fuck. See hipsters, this IS what a dive bar is. It reeks of depression, bitterness, and stale beer. There’s pool tables, and the folks you can meet there are probably not ones you’d want to. If you want to go someplace where trendy people are connecting to some obscure soundtrack while sporting ironic mustaches (NP), or 14K a year «millionaires» wearing their best dress clothing with the sole goal of getting ass (DT), or roided out bro’s with MMA shirts that are 2 sizes too small (PB), then don’t go here. It’s not fucking rocket science. Take your manorexia/​Ed Hardy crap somewhere else. This place is great if you want no bullshit straight up alcohol.
And in the case for San Diego’s dive bars: RIP Hong Kong Nite Club. I visited your shell last night. Just not the same.

There were a lot of fat people here (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and there was free shitty pizza and wings.
Also worth noting: this is one of those places which have deemed it proper and fit to remove the doors from the toilet stalls in the men’s bathroom.
This practice has always intrigued and infuriated me; I can only assume fat people enjoy shitting in front of each other.

I came here twice before during my alcohol drinking years.
The first time, several years ago. I came with some friends, those friends met some new friends who lived in the Canyon Apts down the street (mostly were in the Navy) who met some friends who lived in the true Chula Vista (West of 805). It was a fun night to my recollection.
The second time, I came with friends to splurge on cheap drinks and play pool. We walked in, saw a Mariachi Band, and women and men of Hispanic origin, dancing. We walked right out.
That was my last time at Archway.
So after drinks and dinner at Ono’s, we all decided we weren’t ready to call it a night. We didn’t want to drive to downtown, PB or North Park, so what better place to keep it local then Archway!
Walked in only to see maybe a handful of patrons and a 3 $ you call it special (It was Tuesday). $ 3 for cheap drinks, who wouldn’t agree? After a few juice and cheap vodka drinks, the night became a blur and I could have sworn I was at Star Bar or something minus the Filipino Auntie behind the bar. Music wise, they had their share of the dive bar jams with Journey, Bön Jovi of that liking. The Bartender was awesome as well, very friendly.
Oh one weird thing is that the ladies bathroom is configured oddly. You walk in to a vanity room and then walk into another room complete with a sink, and a toilet. And adjacent to the toilet is another stall. I guess you have to see the previous chick in a compromising position before you can use the other stall. But in a place with cheap liquor, it won’t matter after a couple drinks… yah’ll will be bff before the night is over.
So in conclusion, if you wanna keep it local, this is the best place to be east of the 805 and south of the 54 (and north of the 905).

I have a friend who is a bartender when she got her license this was her first job. When she was bored she would call me to hang out at her work.
This bar has a strange stench. Trashy socially awkward ghetto people, and its just a rats nest. Great place to meet overweight snobby women with 3 kids a piece. Every once in a while there will an attractive guy or girl but they are just hanging out for a self esteem boost.
Has a multicultural crowd which is nice, the drawback they all the filth of chula vista. Its a place to visit on a whim but far as a hangout spot its usually very low on the places to visit in southbay list.
I don’t recommend this bar at all unless your just an alcoholic looking to stay close to home.