Watch Me! Sports Bar — Restaurant in Long Beach

I’m screaming… I was rooting for you. We were alllll rooting for you!!

When I heard about a new women’s sports bar opening in LB, I was over the moon. Having moved back to LB after living in PDX and seeing the success of Sports Bra, I had high hopes.

We visited the bar today and upon being seated, those high hopes quickly melted away.

Here’s the honest feedback I truly hope is received and acted upon.

Seating and table configuration - Indoor seating is uncomfortable. Low back with a small bench that forces you forward. Not great for long games. Outdoor seating slightly better but still not comfortable for sitting over an hour. Table setup was awkward the tv setup. The upstairs loft had arguably the best vantage point of tv’s with the smallest seating area. Outdoor was better for sound.

Food & Drink - We arrived right at opening with a handful of other patrons to find that they only hand a couple items on the limited Olympic menu, no coffee, limited spirits and within an hour, no beer on tap. I ordered a side of eggs and bacon, but as never served. I was told the kitchen would not make special orders, but there had been at least two other patrons eating that exact off menu order. Even still, the items leaving the kitchen looked great and smelled great, looking forward to actually having a meal. I found it odd that there were no drink specials or even pitchers to share amongst friends. Especially given the Olympic Games and the opening of the bar.

Decor & Atmosphere - Generally plain and boring. There were maybe 6-10 photos up of athletes, small b&w prints. If I had just stumbled into the place, I’d have no idea it was a sports bar, let alone a women’s sports bar. No memorabilia or team gear in sight. The atmosphere was flat. The people there were great, but the sound indoors was low and there were a variety of other matches/games. You’d expect other games and matches, but the headline event should be prioritized.

Service - I had an amazing server. He was friendly and helpful. I felt bad that he had to keep apologizing for the food and drink issues. He is a major asset to the bar and was the real bright spot during my visit.

Overall - I feel like the owners rushed to open for the Olympics. The space didn’t feel women centered. It wasn’t warm and inviting. There were no small touches you would expect to see from a women owned establishment like hooks for purses on tables (there are hooks at the bar). I expected to feel women being celebrated and centered. I felt none of those things. To add insult to injury, the price point is bonkers.

Please please please do better. There were no less than a dozen patrons complaining about the same things while I was there. I’d venture to guess you wont get a review like this from them, but they likely won’t be back.

I want to come back to Watch Me and eat my words. I cannot wait for you to prove me wrong. Please take a trip to these other women’s sports bars and take notes. You can absolutely turn this around and give LB the women’s sports bar we deserve.

I look forward to returning and celebrating your...

Understanding that this bar opened quickly to provide access to the women's events at the Olympics (and men's) there are a few pieces of feedback I want to provide to improve this space going forward:

1: Seating: low back large cushion stool/chairs are not great for women, they effectively pushed my partner and I forward (not great if you have a bubble butt!). The outside seating was hard flat wood but high backed chairs, need a meld between the two! Only at the bar was there a place to hang my handbag.

Food: Olympic menu had a few options but the food itself was poor and the descriptions on the menu lacking. I was served bacon on my potato egg and onion bowl that was not mentioned on the menu which made it inedible to me. My partner had a cold and stale tasting cinnamon roll. The couple we were attending with asked for bacon and eggs on the side and we're told they couldn't be accommodated even though a lady across from us had this. They also ran out of food very early in which left most in the bar dissatisfied. The portion sizes are also tiny for the price.

Ambience/decor - strange configuration for the screens, essentially setup for the upstairs seating of 4 or 5 to get a good view of main screens. Screens behind the bar tiny/inadequate. Sight lines for the projector allows for only those at the bar and one of the 3 internal tables to view. Outside probably best place to sit and watch anything. Where is the sports memorabilia celebrating women's sports except for some tiny photos along the bar. No women's jerseys, pennants, trophies or anything that made me feel like I was in a sports bar catering to women, maybe it's coming?

Drinks - no buckets/pitchers, all individual beers, ran out of beer. You go to a sports bar with friends to share drinks, made it feel like a solitary (and expensive) experience.

The one saving grace was the staff, specifically Uly (sp), friendly, smiling through the chaos and generally being a wonderful server. Hold on to him tightly as servers like him are few and far between.

I hope I come back in 6 months and the bar feels like it should, a cohesive, well stocked, queer friendly place that celebrates...

I hate to be writing this review, but it feels like nothing is going to change without customers who want to see this place succeed being honest about their experience, so here goes:

I've been to Watch Me! 3 times now - October 2024, November 2024 and then again this past weekend (May 2025). The last 2 times were for events they held - the NWSL final and the latest ACFC game against Bay FC. Both of these times, the place seems understaffed and the service is terrible because of it. All 3 times, the group I was with wanted to order more drinks and more food but we either never saw a server or were told, "It's about an hour on food, so I recommend not ordering right now." There seems to be miscommunication between the servers/runners and the people behind the bar about where to order, how to pay, etc. It's the same issues all three times - grossly understaffed, wait times are way too long, it's too difficult to order another round, it's time-consuming to try and close a tab (the staff weren't utilising the app), and it seems like there's always someone who's new and has no idea what they're doing. Everyone I've talked to about Watch Me! (women, queer, POC) want to see this place succeed, but have all said they hate it because of the above issues.

Y'all are approaching your 1 year anniversary. I want you to succeed because 1. you're a small business and 2. we need a women's sports bar. We need you and we've been willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but it's getting to the point where the experience, the service and the vibe isn't worth leaving my house for. I can have 1 drink and some wings at home.

I hope you can take the negative reviews under consideration and see the heart behind them. I want you to not only make it to your 1 year anniversary, but have the support of people who genuinely LOVE your bar, LOVE being there, and are excited about bringing their...