The Copper Door — Restaurant in Santa Ana

Located in downtown Santa Ana, this bar isn't easy to spot. I drove slowly up the street in search of guess what? A Copper Door! I found parking nearby (luckily) and decided to navigate on foot. Bless my good fortune, I spotted a few Yelpers and after an ID check, I was shown a set of stairs leading to what felt like nowhere. There is a bar down there, right? You're not leading me to a secret basement?

At the end of my descent and through a curtain, I entered a den. A man cave. A dim space. It felt as though I was burrowing through a hole or digging until I found something. It took my eyes a while to adjust to my surroundings. Where was I? I spotted a few pool tables, an oblong bar area to my right, a long wooden table, and someone finally yelled "Hey Suki!"

The first impression had me a little mystified. I'm not really a bar person but I can dig this. I'm all about the strange and unusual and something about being underground, hard to find, and elusive was appealing. There really is a copper door but good luck finding it. Since it is underground, prepare yourself for a musky cedar odor. Acoustics are bad but there is an ambitious DJ who will try and spin some myriad of musical selections that you might end up liking after a round of beers. Muster up that energy for the dance floor that is supposedly in the works. Rumor has it owners Davin and Marta Gumm brought the property with a grandfathered beer license. I met a new friend from LA and we sampled their Fruli Strawberry Belgium Blond. I'm not a fan of anything overwhelmingly sweet and I expected a sick strawberry syrupy beer but the flavor was refreshing and it resembled more of a sparkling strawberry beer. The strawberry flavor was subtle. I could easily drink another or two or three.

While the selection of beer is vast, the bar unfortunately doesn't sell food. The back counter behind the bar is decorated with colorful mason jars and there you'll find their assortment of beer nuts. We took advantage of the opportunity to sample the roasted peanuts, smoked almonds, wasabi, chili cornuts, and pistachios.

The Copper Door located near Proof Bar (Ah ha! Secret location revealed!) is definitely worth checking out if you're in the area. If you're looking for parking, I turned on 3rd street off of Broadway and parked near the structure but there's also a drugstore nearby. Not sure if they tow though. Good luck. Don't get lost once inside and...

Staff is beautiful. The security is disrespectful. Even if you're friendly with them. The music is loud. So loud that you can barely hear friends/acquaintances. Even if they're yelling in your ear. Normal for I club, I guess. It's packed. To the point you can barely walk around. There use to be a DJ that talked over 100% of 100% of the songs. It was awful. Hadn't been back because of that in quite some time. But I recently went back for a friend, and they've sense gotten rid of him. So... 👍🏻. The pours are... well.. under regulation. Especially with the female staff. They use 0.75oz. shot glasses, and don't fill them up to the top. So you're looking at like 65% of a shot on a good night, but charge on the upper end, as if they poured you a full one. The drinks/beer are over priced. Especially when you consider it's an extremely light pour. And I'm almost certain they use generic alcohol in their brand name bottles. Even as I'm writing this review, I can't believe I'm giving them 2*s! But if you drink before you go, don't mind the noise, and don't buy drinks while you're there, you'll definitely have a good time. There is a...

At first I wasn't a big fan of this place. The decor is dark, atmosphere was blah and wasn't much of a beer drinker. I wasn't aware it was only craft beer available. I have to thank my friends for convincing me to comeback here. I actually enjoy it, just needed to adjust and glad I did.

The Copper Door is located underneath Chapter One. The best parking options is along Broadway or the parking structure adjacent from Chapter One on 3rd & Broadway. It's only a few bucks for the night. Be prepared to show your ID before you enter. The bar is very spacious. There's a the infamous long wooden table in the middle of the bar, with multiple pool tables to right and a stage for music performers towards the back area. Love the extensive craft beer selection, especially the sour ales! If you're a Yelper, check-in to get a freebie. Copper Door is a chill spot to enjoy a brew, play pool, catch a live performance or just hang out with...