The Bootlegger Bar

Great hidden gem right on the beach! Try their bloody marry. It has so many goodies in it. Thank you to the waiter with the useful suggestions for our bar hopping!

The three stars are for the view and the fast service. Decided to eat here at the bar area due to the Beachcomber restaurant having a 3 hour wait.
THe food was very okay. The salad was very plain with kale and chicken. The short rib spring rolls were also very okay. Expected more flavor. The ahi tacos were a bit better but the focaccia was also just okay. There is a theme here. Great views, no wait and quick service but food not as good as the restaurant.
The drinks were also just okay. Maybe because it was a busy morning but Bloody Mary wasn’t strong and tasted watery. Other drinks in our group were the same.
If you go here just be prepared. As for me next time we will wait the three hours to eat in the restaurant.

I like this bar! Great for waiting the 90+ minutes to sit at the waterfront patio at the Beach Comber without reservations (bad move) but they only allow 30% of their tables to be reserved so it takes weeks in advance. Anyway!
Ordered a margarita here it was typical nothing explosive ³⁄₅.
Beignets that people rave about is just ok, ice cream it comes with is tasty & the Ghirardelli drizzle chocolate sauce on top ³⁄₅.
Bartenders are nice, my bfs dad accidentally dropped some beer and they gave him a free replacement Blue Moon.
I ordered a piña colada next, garnished with a fresh pineapple wedge and beautiful purple flower. They told my BF they would make it extra strong for me and they delivered when I got it. Really tasty drink! ⁵⁄₅ ;)
Anyway, good spot to relax if you can get a seat.

This is your «front of the line» ticket to Beachcomber. No waiting line, just sit down near the bar or stand up near the stairs, as long as you have 4 square inches of counter or stairs mantle you are good! They don’t have the same menu, but it’s good enough to validate your parking (just spend more than $ 15 and ask for validation). The food is good, the chicken skewers are my favorite, and the drinks are pretty strong, Mad Men Manhattan is my favorite. The service is great and fast, the view is nice too, but everything is expensive, you basically need to order 1 drink and that validates your parking, which is exactly what I do!

Great view, not exactly beach front but it has a good view of the beach & you can feel the beach breeze. Awesome drinks, I had a mojito, and coastal cooler. Great service, friendly bartenders! Will return for sure!

This is my first place coming here and I must say this place provides awesome customer service. We came with a big party of 12 and had to wait till everyone arrived but with their hospitality they made sure we were comfortable while we waited and drank at the bar. The view this place has is awesome. It sits just to off the newport beach which provides a beautiful scenery of the ocean. The place has several areas where you can cherish happy moments whether it is for a couples day out, family outing, or a vacation place. So bring your camera and cherish the moments.
As for the food, the food I had was amazing. I had a salmon plate with asparagus and quinoa vegetables. The skin on the salmon had a sweet, savory, crunchy texture which made this place amazing. The salmon was cooked correctly and I enjoyed every bite.
For their alcoholic beverages, they sure know how to make a drink. I had just a regular perfect margarita and I was feeling a buxx after half of it and it was mixed perfectly with the amount of alcohol and margarita mix. The servers were amazing at describing the drinks they had as well.
Overall, if I were to have went when it was sunny this would have been amazing.
To get to the place you need to ride a shuttle which charges $ 1 to and from the place which is a bummer but the experience at this secret place is unforgettable.

In a county overwhelmed with overcrowded and formulaic establishments the Bootlegger bar is a welcome change of pace. Located in Crystal Cove State Park along with the adjoining Beachcomber Café the outdoor patio is a bastion of tranquility and cold drinks.
I was unfortunately unable to indulge in a cocktail since I was driving but the patrons were raving about theirs, and the selection of beers has me ready to come back already. The above average prices are forgiveable considering the quality of the food plus their proximity to the beach.
Being a carnivore, I had to order the short rib spring rolls as a snack, and I was very happy with my decision. Grazers will be very happy with the selection offered. Be sure to remember your parking ticket for validation (up to 3 hours.)

The crab stake is the best shareable appetizer if you just want a drink at the beach and a little food. The mixed drinks are a little too syrupy and sweet for me. But the sparkling Italian Rose was fantastic and more than made up for the cocktail.
Brandon gets extra points for great service!

This is the most chill/​quaint «I’m on a little island» slash barstool people watching type of seat/​view. The staff is super attentive when you’re ordering. I like how this section of the restaurant is just the bar and that it’s super small because it makes it seem more vacationey and more of a special secluded spot. The Luscious Lemonade is the perfect combo of sugary and tart goodness.

We have been staying at the Marriott Newport Coast Villas for 10 years and we decided to try the Beachcomber restaurant. Thanks to the 30 minute wait that we decided to wait at The Bootlegger Bar where we have truly the best Bloody Mary ever had. When it was delivered to the bar table, someone in the next table asked if the bloody mary was on the appetizer menu. Crab claw, shrimp, pickled carrots and green beans and a celery stalk. You must stop here to try for yourself with a view of the surf.

A very nice bar just next to the beach. The selections of drinks can be widened. Consistency of the bartender is not good. We ordered the same type of cocktail within an hour and we got to 2 different looking and taste of the same cocktail we ordered for the first round. They ran out of the appetizer I wanted to order from the menu, to think we were there during mid day. No happy hour discounts on appetizers or drinks. Too pricey for bad bartended cocktails.

This place is absolutely amazing. We have been here several times on the weekend, during the «slow» season. It is a bit of a bummer that you have to pay $ 15 to park at the state beach parking, either across the street or a quarter mile before, but it is definitely worth the experience. The walk down is a little tough, so if you have elderly folks with you, make sure you take the free shuttle. Once you get down to the bar, you’ll most likely see a whole bunch of people waiting in for their table at the Bungalow, but just gently push your way to the outside bar and order yourself whatever you’d like to drink. I ALWAYS get a Pimm’s Cup. It comes in a huge mason jar (as do all of their specialty cocktails) and a Corona Light, cause I’m on the beach. The only bummer is you can’t take your drinks off the porch, which with enough finesse and patience, you can almost always figure out somewhere to sit and enjoy yourself. You can order pretty much anything off the menu as well, without the 3+ hour wait for an actual «table». Love this place!

The Bootlegger Bar is one of my favorite destinations after hiking in Moro Canyon. Burn the calories and put them right back — works for me!
At this casual patio spot alongside the Beachcomber you will see guests ranging from the post-​hike or beach messy (yep, that would be me) to the perfect examples of OC fashion. It doesn’t matter what you wear — the drinks are good and the servers are fast and friendly.
While a full menu is not available, there is a nice selection of appetizers to choose from and a full bar of cocktails. If you arrive before the appetizers are available (starting at 11am), you can always enjoy the sweet and pillowy beignets. What else do you need?
In addition to the all-​important mimosas (hey, orange juice is healthy), my absolute favorite item is the Tiny Ahi Tacos. I love these — four small (two or three bites small) fried shells stuffed FULL of succulent Ahi and graced with Asian slaw. The Sirarcha aioli is a perfect accent of creamy and spicy. You will probably want your own full order of these, because you know, sharing is hard.
Still hungry? Try the lemon grass chicken skewers. A really pretty presentation of Thai marinated chicken served with a coconut peanut sauce (I don’t like coconut, but this stuff is good!), shishito peppers and edamame salad. Four skewers make this easy to share.
A patio, a sunny day and mimosas. It really doesn’t take much to make me happy.

Not all that great!
Went on a hike at Crystal Cove Park and afterwords we were thirsty so decided to come here for a quick drink. First off, this bar does not have a view it’s Tucktaway behind the beachcomber restaurant and the only thing you get to see is a dirt road. in addition the prices are still extremely high a beer is $ 8 to $ 9. If you parked across the Pacific Coast Highway at the parking lot there and took the tunnel across it is $ 5 an hour. This bar does validate however you have to spend a minimum of $ 15 in order for them to validate, so basically a wash.
The service was pretty terrible, and the bartenders were busy and basically ignored us for some time.

We went here to NOT pay $ 15 parking at Crystal Cove’s lot on Los Trancos. :) Thank you friendly Unilocalers for the tip!
[[ Parking & Location ]]– parked across the ocean, on the other side of PCH in the Los Trancos lot and walked over here for the beach trail. You can walk across via street lights and over PCH. Or you can take the tunnel which winds down a path to get you under and over to the beach side. This bar is the backside of Beachcombers. Sit where you see a spot. Order from the bar.
[[ Food ]]– they don’t seem to serve a full menu. For breakfast it’s only fruits and beignets. Lunch is only appetizers. You can always get drinks! :)
++ Fruits plate: paid $ 10+ for a bowl of fruits was what it was. BUT! You do get refreshing grapes, pineapples, cantaloupes, etc.
++ Beignets: again, $ 10 for 12 tiny bread squares. It wasn’t doughy like a donut. It was airy and tastes like a thin waffle square. MEH, it was ok…
[[ Validation ]]– You have to spend at least $ 15 and the validation will print at the bottom of your receipt. We had 2 cars so split the purchases to get 2 receipts! Hand your receipt to the attendant when exiting the parking lot.

I I have to be stuck for 1 to 2 hours waiting for a table at The Beachcomber, I have NO PROBLEM, waiting here. As long as you can find a seat. They have a really great Bloody Mary, and some nice cocktails and appetizers.
The only bad thing about this place, is that you may be too drunk or too full, by the time you get seated at The Beachcomber :)

It is connected to the Beachcomber Restaurant and a great place to wait out the long wait times there. It is a long walk from the inland parking lot. Don’t drink too much to make a long way back. Not even your best buddy wont carry you up that hill!

Friendly bartenders.
Scenic view.
Alcohol.
What’s not to love?
Oh, paying the price for beachfront booze and finding parking.

Do you like a scenic walk from your car?
Do you like the sound of the waves and the smell of beach?
Do you like pricy drinks on a patio?
If you answered yes, The Bootlegger Bar is for you! (and me too!)
Spent one Sunday Funday here celebrating a friend’s birthday ~ not a great amount of space but we lined up along the 10 – 15 seater bar facing the creek & cottages so it worked for our mingling purposes.
Drinks and apps range from $ 10-​$ 20, are heavily poured and easy to share. The creative cocktail & martini list is longer than the food offerings but that’s what I prefer anyway so I consider that I plus! The service was sparce and hectic but it was a Sunday in August so that was to be expected — I’m not sure if the servers of this bar and the Beachcomber restaurant are shared but it looked like they were really working hard running around so we made sure to be thorough when ordering.
I am an avid lover of pesto so every time I come to this location I MUST get the ciabatta stack which is about 5 – 6 slices of toasted ciabatta with sides of butter and parmesan pesto spread… I always ask for EXTRA of this garlicy-​amazingness-​pesto spread because I just cannot get enough. They used to have a better version of this same pesto dish but for some reason they changed it… I cannot remember what it was called but all I remember is, it was MUCH better and I WANT IT BACK… please.
Among the drinks ordered were raspberry mojitos & mango mojitos (both big hits with FRESH fruit!) as well as many of the creative signature cocktails such as «The Beach Comber» (citrus vodka, lemon juice, lime juice & blue pucker) and «Paradiso» (pear vodka, orange liqueur, elderflower and citrus juices) — all so unique and tasty! They also have a list of 4 – 6 «skinny» drinks that are lighter calorically but not alcoholically — WIN!
The lunch menu/​cocktail list that we enjoyed that day can be found here:
With the alcohol flowing, old time music playing (Dean Martin, Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, etc!) along with the waves crashing and fabulous friends surrounding, I couldn’t have asked for a better Sunday!
The walk back to your car can be a little daunting if its after dark — usually a 10 min hike through a tunnel that brings you safely from the Los Trancos parking lot under PCH and into the Crystal Cove area but I find it fun with friends! I think the restaurant will validate your parking or something when you leave so you are not charged… there is also a designated shuttle (cost: $ 1) that will take you back if you would prefer.
Definitely GO if you’re looking for a unique/​classic bar on the beach!
Its one of my favorites!

+ lovely 50’s atmosphere,
+ awesome location at the beach,
— service could be more attentive
If you like to add some retro to your stay along Southern California’s coast you have to stop at Crystal Cove. The State Park re-​vitalized old cottages from the 1930’s and allowed a restaurant and bar to serve the area.
While the restaurant is quite pricey and needs a reservation the Bootleger Bar is more affordable. It faces the center of the cottages and underlines the retro atmosphere with matching beach songs and 50’s look-​alike waiters.
If those guys wouldn’t have been so self-​absorbed our experience probably would have been outstanding but still it was awesome. In particular for design minded people the bar and area is a great recommendations. Besides ice cold drinks you can enjoy appetizers from the restaurant.
I personally hope to be able to return asap and combine my visit with a stay in one of the cottages!