Haunted Head Saloon — Restaurant in Oceanside

If you're ever in the Downtown Oceanside area and you're hanging out past 9PM at night, there's a good chance that you will find yourself at this local hideaway. Welcome to The Haunted Head Saloon. It's one of Oceanside's most famous Dive Bars.

Actually, The Haunted Head Saloon is one of the only bars in Downtown that can be considered "Divey". Because they do not have any food for sale here, you MUST BE 21 OR OLDER to enter. NO EXCEPTIONS.

What I love the most about The Head is that their security is on-point and it's relatively safe inside (considering that it's a dive bar). The few times I've seen drama, it was quickly addressed and carried outside.

One of the BEST aspects of The Haunted Head is its location. You can find it right off of Mission Ave & Tremont St in the heart of the Downtown Area. It's just north of the Regal Movie Theater.

Because of its location, you can walk to the movies, to the pier or beach (2 blocks away) or to any of the parking garages nearby (within 8 minutes).

In addition, there is Pier Pizza located right next door to them selling pizza by-the-slice, tacos across the way at Sanchos Tacos, Strawberry Shack for cake desserts & Fugu icecream shop just around the corner. So, you can always find something to eat BEFORE you start drinking AND the pizza shop typically stays opened late for the crowds.

The bartenders work quickly (especially considering the crowds) and there is a Full Bar at their disposal. I wouldn't come here for a "foo-foo" pretty cocktail, BUT, simple mixed drinks or shots are best.

They've got some TVs in there (just for decoration because everyone's drinking), a pretty solid pool table (that they maintain monthly) and a jukebox that patrons can customize their songs too (download the AMI MUSIC APP).

PRO-TIP: There are snack bags by the bar to nibble on, ask the bartender for one 😉 There's also a 5 gal water dispenser in the back.

The interior is dark, pirate themed and decorated in $1 bills. The tradition is to get yours from the bartender, sign it and tape it up! There's booth seating in the corners, 2 long wooden tables for seating, bar seating & multiple high-chair tables too.

The only aspect lacking in this bar are the bathrooms. Well, I can only speak for the men's bathroom. It's small. Cramped and no privacy. Pretty much exactly what I would expect from a dive bar! 😆

Anyhow, The Haunted Head Saloon has been around for as long as I can remember and I always recommend passing through late at night when in the Downtown Oceanside area; besides, everything...

Following a quick lunch & drinks at Sancho's Tacos, our group attempted to keep the party going. The 4 of us crossed the street & made our way into The Haunted Head Saloon.

It's a cross between the Pirates Of The Caribbean ride, & your typical dive bar. It was fairly dark inside, with all men seated at the bar, & a large group of 8 young women sitting in the back, around 2 tables.

They have a pool table inside, & 2 young Marines were engaged in a pretty fierce pool battle, near where my group parked, on a U-shaped bench seat.

The bartender, an old lady with long white-hair- not the least bit friendly- barked at me to show her my ID, to get a beer. I told her, "I wouldn't trust myself either- I die my hair white." Had to engage in a little saucy sarcasm, to counter that attitude of hers.

Got my drink, a Modelo on draught, & my friend collected his, a Coor's Light in a bottle, & we headed back to our seats, & our better halves. Our posse commenced to tell funny stories, while watching the 2 Marines trade games winning, at the pool table.

A quirky thing about this place, is there are dollar bills, with whatever the bar patrons decide to scribble on them, dangling from the ceiling & plastered all over the walls. It was laid back in here. Everyone inside the bar appeared to be in a liquid-induced state of zen.

Queen's Fat-Bottomed Girls came blasting from their sound system, & I screamed the first verse of this song, in my best Freddy Mercury voice. Don't know if I'd do that stone cold sober.

Interesting place, I didn't like the bartender, & I don't know if I'd come back here...may...

After seeing the high reviews for this bar, my husband and I were very excited to visit, especially since this bar appeared in our search results for "gay-friendly bar."

We came on a Saturday night which was understandably busy. We found a seat at the bar and waited about 15 minutes before we were approached by the bartender, whom I believe was named Rebecca. When she first spoke to us, she didn't say hi or ask for our order. Instead she told us to have our card and ID ready. We told her we hadn't ordered yet, and she told us "yeah I know." When she eventually came back, I told her that we felt like that was a rude comment, since it was our first time at the bar. She immediately become defensive, and said "do you want to do my job for me?" Before we had a chance to respond, she called for a guy named Gabriel to kick us out of the bar. When we tried to explain what had happened since it was mostly a misunderstanding, he said "I don't care, you guys need to get the f* out of our bar." and refused to listen to the fact that we hadn't even been served yet.

I'm not one to proclaim discrimination, but as soon as I mentioned that we seemed to be the only gay couple in the bar, Gabe rolled his eyes and walked away from us. I would not recommend this place to anyone, especially if you are part of the LGBTQ+ community or any minority that wants to avoid feeling discriminated against (reading a few reviews, this unfortunately seems to be a common...