SomaR Bar and Lounge

Decided to go to Somar on a Monday night because why not party on a Monday? Got there around 1130 and ordered two drinks nothing special grapefruit vodka and a shot of tequila (which the bartender ended up giving us for free!!) the music was great and they have a really great drink selection. To top it off a Real L Word celeb was there and i died inside a little. Awesome night great surprise. I always have fun at Somar — staff is impeccable! !

ZERO STARS, the first time, they were cool! I liked the music (reggae and hip hop) BUT the second time… The DJ was RUDE AS FCK. Saturday night June 11^th. NEVER been so disrespected in my life. From the dance floor I showed him my phone to ask if he was going to play more reggae later. He push my hand (my phone was in my hand), which was rude… But the part that pissed me off was when he got on the Microphone and said «I don’t want to see no phones» ., DONT ever in your life disrespect anyone like that. He didnt even kno what I was going to say. I could have said something nice like good job play that one song again. Disrespectful ass.

warning: this a public service announcement… this is not a drill.
this place is lit

Alot of sexy people here. And it wasn’t even packed. I think I went on a Tuesday
night, Very chill and laid back. Nothing bad to say about it so far. Great for millennials like me.

Security comes out on the sidewalk and threatens to shoot people??? Seriously is this the way the Oakland night scene is these days?
Right around closing time, a minor scuffle erupted between a bouncer and a group of guys who were dragging their feet to get out. Bouncer had to be restrained by other bouncers!
Then everyone gets out, some in the group have started recording what happened on their smartphones. One of the other bouncers then comes out on the sidewalk, tell us he’s carrying a .22, opens his jacket to show it. He kept saying «now whassup». Races back and forth. WTF??? Seriously? I know the group recorded this incident on their smartphones, I hope they upload it on youtube show how customers are treated. Where’s Oakland police?
Shame on you Somar management, shame on you for letting bouncers loose on your own customers like that!

I absolutely loved this place. Great strong drinks, and such a fun and comfortable environment. I hope to go there more often. :)

This was a cool spot. I went on a Saturday night. Good music. Mostly hip hop. Nice eclectic crowd. People were cool. I’ll definitely come back here next time I visit.

This is a really sweet spot in Oakland. They play a good mix of old school hiphop and new hiphop. The dance floor is awesome and the drinks are good. Come here if you are looking for a place to dance.

Love the ambience. Always have a good time whenever i’m in this bar.
And oh, my signature drink here… Lychee Martini. ;)

This place is SO FUN! I went the night before X-​Mas Eve with my crew. There were dual DJs up top BUMPIN ill hip-​hop. The spot was packed, but still had enough room for you to maneuver up to the bar, back to the bathroom, and outside to smoke (if that’s your bag). The dance floor was popping. There is a great selection of craft beers on draft. Even though the joint was overflowing, the bartenders did a fantastic job with making sure everyone got drinks, and checks, and change, promptly. We randomly met a bunch of other cool peeps from the neighborhood here as well. I will most definitely be sliding SomaR into my regular rotation.

Purchased NYE tickets to this comedy /​DJ’d dance event. Arrived after the comedy apparently, club basically empty. Went to look for the food I paid for; dry hard hockey puck falafel thingys, rice, toquitos and sauce. What? Cold, bland. Sans the food things were okay, two OPD came strolling through at one point like wtf? Then at a few minutes to midnight, all these «girls» came flooding in through the doors and immediately began taking selfies, humping on the male customers like they were in heat. I have seen dancing, I have seen humping, but this was epic. Someone threw a paper cup on our table barely missing me, people were touchy and rude. Staff??? Waste of money for sure.

Love the vibes. I like that it’s got the loungey ambiance, where you can sit and eat and drink and chat. There’s a bar option or a lounge option and it’s great to have both. The bartenders were super cool– they offered us popcorn and they helped us pick out drinks. I bet it can get pretty loud, but I think on the evening that we went, it was just right. We needed a place to drink and chat and that’s exactly what we got. It was cool. I got the lychee martini, which was very very sweet and floral ! My friend got an old fashioned and my other friend got a beer. Cheap prices during happy hour and lots of drinks to choose from their menu on the wall.

Stopped in for a drink with my sister. Then the DJ started his set and we ended up dancing the night away. Great mix of music and great drinks. The bartenders are skilled cocktail artists. I truly enjoyed each drink they made. The DJ played an awesome mix of hip hop, reggae, salsa and pop. I have not danced all night like that in a long time. We had a blast! We’ll be back.

One of the few filipino type bars in bay, in Oakland to be exact. After filling up at Make Westing we ventured here for some cold beverages, the owner was still there and saw we were new to his place looking around his drink menu we didn’t see any filipino type drinks. The hard stuff like tandauy, marco demonyo, lambanog, the owner saw we were looking and brought out some lambanog (gasoline type alcohol) took a shot, he then offered a double shot to be shared with me and my friends, since no one was biting I took the double shot for the team, lets just say thats my kind of drink,
For most part when I do drink with friends my go to would be Hennessy Privilege if not some type of congac. But when I see other options that you do not see here in the states and are usually only offered in PI imma try it! The Lambanog was harsh, burned going down, this is not your bubble gum, strawberry flavored Lambanog this is the pure clear version… I LIKE IT!!!
after taking 3 full shots of the Lambanog I didn’t really sample anything else I was more cheesing the whole night after those, I was good and inebriated, the music was good, folks friendly, I will be back for more of that Lamboanog
drinks **** just cause they have some items you can’t really find at other bars
price $
service ****
ambiance **** wide, not squished, room to breath, different from any bars that they have on the bay side, more chill, everyone looks happy

I was here for an event one evening in the middle of the week and I wasn’t feeling like having beers like everyone else in my group was doing, so I asked the bartender if she knew how to make an old fashioned and she was like «ptfff… of course!» and I was like «yaaaaaaas» so she made me one and it was so fantastic I had to order another one soon after.
I mean, i kid you not. It. was. so. freaking. good.

Perfectly decent lounge that’s more of a relaxed place early in the night, with people standing at the bar or seated on the sides of the room. Gets progressively packed as it gets late, with things heating up as dancing breaks out to decent music.
There’s a nice, friendly, diverse crowd here, the bartenders are on point, and all-​in prices aren’t bad if you get in before they start charging cover later on. Overall, a fun, unpretentious Oakland atmosphere.

Love this place. Great drinks awesome bartenders, the music is always on point. Reggae, hip hop old school you name it. The crowed is very diverse. Some days they have entrance fees that can be upward of like $ 10.

So first of all Mike is awesome! He’s like really the best. I’m from Sac and he knows his stuff about beer and told me where to go to try beer as well as let me try some bomb ass rum.
Great day atmosphere and great bartenders. Really should check it out.

I like how Open this spot is! Not stuffy or congested
Great vibe, good security at the door! And good security is a plus in Oakland ;)

This Uptown bar is pretty fun to go to on a Friday night or on the weekend. Avoid the $ 5 charge by coming in earlier than 10pm. There might still be a cover charge before 10pm if it’s First Friday. Expect a line after 10pm, though.
It’s kind of smallish (not as big as the dance floor in Luka’s Taproom). Drinks are standard but it’s a fun place to be for the dancing and music!

A different vibe than Make Westing a few feet away. We were only there for about two hours on a Tuesday night (yesterday) for my brother’s birthday.
The DJ was pretty good. Lots of classic jams to groove to. My husband is 12 years older than me and the DJ played some old school songs that he liked, like some Special Ed song.
My moscow mule was good. Very gingery. The bartender was fun. As soon as we sat down, he expressed excitement over my husband’s School House Rock shirt.
It did become a little cramped at the front of the bar where our crew was seated/​standing. I guess we could’ve moved to the back, but the cool breeze was coming through.
All in all, I enjoyed our brief time there and would’ve stayed longer if I hadn’t had work so early in the morning. I’m not a big bar/​crowd person. For example, Make Westing was way too loud and I immediately wantes to go home as soon as we sat down. I’m glad I texted my brother and found out we were going here instead.
I can’t wait to go back and hit the dance floor with hubby!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE somaR Bar!
I can’t believe it has taken me so long to finally know what real fun is ALL about! This bar is located in the Uptown part of Oakland and I have to say it’s NOT a bad area! Its walking distance from a Bart with tons of parking located on Broadway… what more could you ask for?
I came with a couple friends as this was our first time and we arrived around 9PM. usually when I come to bars like this the security guards seem to be rude but in this case the security guy was NICE AS HELL!!! There is a cover charge, If you arrive early entry fee is usually $ 5…well in our case that’s what it was for that night but as time gets later its about $ 10 to get in. UGH!
It’s not a big bar but it’s a nice size area. You walk in and see the bar on the right and the bartenders make amazing drinks! Signature cocktails are $ 10 and on the wall they have the list of their drinks as well as what they put in it! Fancy huh?! OKKK!
I ordered the Walk of Shame and let me say that turned by my energy full notch! In about 20 minutes I was on the dance floor shaking my tail feather!
The DJ is off the chain! He played nothing but good music ALL night! LITERALLY! The music was a mix of R& B and Hip Hop and everyone in the bar was having a GREAT time!
It does get super crowded around 10P.M. so it’s best to get here early and grab your drinks. I had seen the bartenders a couple of times dancing as well which let me know that they totally enjoy working and doing their job!
Bathrooms in a bar is totally important to me especially because I see myself going to the bathroom everyone 15 minutes once I start drinking. Any who, I was very happy to see their bathrooms and notice that they were clean! WAY TO GO somaR! Lines do start getting long throughout the night and there is only 2 stalls.
It’s the little things that count sometimes right? Well one thing that I had seen that I totally liked and noticed was that the staff would go around and pick up glasses that were either finished or just laying around and no one was claiming them! That was a big plus to me because with all the people in the bar and them dancing I was nerves that glasses were going to start dropping and getting knocked down!
Everyone in the bar was super nice and very friendly and I have to admit after a couple drinks I’m a friendly person as well! HA!
I have YET to come to Happy Hour which I also here is amazing but im hoping to change that REALLY soon.
I would definitely come back to somaR! Catch me here on a Friday or Saturday night! TURN UPPPP!!!

I LOVE THIS PLACE! $ 5 cover charge after 10pm and on weekends this place gets elbow to elbow crowded. No dress code, but you will see some fancier than others.
I’ve been here a couple of times, but my review will be based on my most recent visit. Friday night, raining and got here around 10:30ish. Busy, but not elbow to elbow crowded. Bartender attending to the right side of the bar (if you’re facing the bar, right) was a little bit rude and was serving others that ordered after us. We switched sides and the bartenders on the other side were more efficient and not rude at all. That’s honestly my only complaint.
There’s nothing but good vibes and good people when I come here. The DJ is always on point with a mix of old school and top 40 hip hop hits. I don’t know how people do not dance. I would definitely recommend this place for any person who wants a chill night out with some good music.

This review is about the bar. I bought a drink and asked for glass of water and bartender told me to it’s in a pitcher in the middle of the bar and to go get it myself. To get to it I would have to fight through a big crowd of people already blocking that area while I was already sitting at the bar. Asked the bartender can he just give me a glass, and sure enough he had a look of irritation on his face because had to pour me a glass or water. Your job is to serve drinks. It’s not going to kill you to pour a glass of water. If it bothers you that much then maybe you should look into another profession.
Besides the not so great customer service. The place is very small. Small dance floor. Gets very crowded. They charged a cover fee on a week night. I never had to pay a cover free when I’m visiting other bar/​lounges surrounding that area. Not a fan of that. Won’t be going back.

Bar Crawling…
Good place to stop on a crawl. Get there before 10 pm for a seat on the bar. After that it’s standing room or dancing room only. DJ’s starting to get the place in the mood along with the friendly bartenders who serve drinks with a smile.
(note– Hot Dog vendor outside…)