Newport Beach Bars and Party Guide!
The Top Beach and Boat Bars and Nighttlife Clubs

The girls in Newport Beach do go to the bars in thier bikinis, like here at Woddy's.

Newport Beach is the dreamy California coastal lifestyle, a land of waterways and yachts, big bars and dive bars, beautiful beaches with a raging surf spot known as The Wedge, fast Ferraris and models in Mercedes, people with high fashion and high style. And enough money to enjoy it.

It is one of elegant Orange County's most prized possessions. And while rolling down PCH requires driving past yacht yards and dealerships selling Rolls Royces and Bentles, it's also inviting to those looking for some fun pubclubbing, be it upscale, downscale or both.

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PubClubbing (Balboa Peninsula Beach Crowd)

Always crowded with casual locals, Sharkeez starts as a pub then becomes a club.

Crazy and casual – you can find this fun on the Balboa Peninsula.

A casual beach atmosphere can be found in kicked-back Balboa Peninsula (not to be confused with adjacent Balboa Island). There are several establishments a short walk from one another and on Fridays and Saturdays people cruise from bar to bar. Many live close enough to stagger home, so they have no qualms about holding back on their beverage consumption.

PubClub.com is on the scene in Newport Beach with PubClubette Kelly.

The king of this beach is Sharkeez. It's a down-to-earth cantina with sawdust on the floor and potent drinks served in giant 64-ounce buckets. It's a hot spot in both Hermosa and Manhattan beaches to the north and has also found success in OC. It's a place to hang, a place to party and a place to watch sporting events. It's also the place to be on Newport Sunday nites.

Along the water are a series of dive bars. The Beach Ball seems to attract the most uninhibited crowd, although there's also Blackie's By The Sea, Mutt Lynch's with it's schooner-sized beers and dozens of TV screens showing sporting events and, around the corner, the Blue Beet featuring live jazz.

For those with a boat, the party by the dock is a lock; cocktails are delivered.

On the other side of the peninsula but still within walking distance is Woody's Wharf. This was, at one time, THE pick-up place in Orange County. And it's good to know some things never change, for it's still a popular daytime and nightime hangout.

Woody's is right on the water and has a large patio for drinking and dancing under the stars. In the afternoons, boats tie up to Woody's dock and waitresses deliver food and drinks right to the deck – a partier's paradise!

It's really best as a starter bar, but Woody's has become so popular a line forms by 9:30 on weekends and the spillover lines up here, as well. There's also a line at Sharkeez by this time, so Balboa barhoppers are best to belly up to a bar and toss out the anchor.

The girls of PubClub hang out in a Newport Beach bar.

The Commonwealth Lounge is becoming American Junkie.

More refined drinking can usually be found next door. But that's about to change, and it's great nightlife news for Newport.

The multi-level restaurant/bar Commonwealth Lounge is being replaced by American Junkie and that means Newport Beach is getting a day-in and day-out regular hangout bar. It's fun, lively and casual, and it has –  get this – a weekend Happy Hour with $3 drinks on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

This location changed names faster than some girls change their hair color (it was, among others, Ten Waterfront, Kantina and Hooter's) but American Junkie is a place that can – and will  – last. Read PubClub's blogger's opinion of this great bar addition to Newport Beach.

Another choice is is popular a sports bar, Rudy's. It's an indoor-outdoor hangout and is quite lively during college and pro football season, as well as sunny summer daze and nights.

The flight of beers from the Newport Beach Brewing Company served with a smile.

Just down from Rudy's is a craft brewery in a very nice and cozy setting that's ideal for drinking pints. Or flights. It's the Newport Beach Brewing Company

Locals like to hang at the other end of the Peninsula by a second pier, closer to the Balboa Island bridge. Balboa Inn is a cool hangout bar and a side open-air garden patio. Balboa Inn has a rocking band on Sundays, well worth checking out for you rockers. Baja Cantina is a Sharkeez look-alike cantina.

After the bars close, Charlie's Chili, at the end of the pier, is full of those on late-night food runs. And a Manhattan Beach favorite, El Tarasco, sits poised on the corner just waiting for the late-night burrito runs. While on the subject of food, the Crab Cooker's fresh seafood is a favorite stop of former President Clinton and other top dawgs (or former top dawgs) whenever they are in the town.

Newport Beach is also highly recognized for its Taco Tuesdays at various locations. You can't go wrong witih Sharkeez (taco and margarita specials, and there's also a 2-for-1 Happy Hour M-F 4-7) or for a little less frenzied scene there's Avila's El Ranchit (28th & Newport Blvd).

Over on Balboa Island – a ferry travels until 11 in the evenings and it's often a far better place to find parking when going to the Peninsula – is The Village Inn. This is where seasoned sailors go looking for seasoned crewmates over burgers and beers. Oh, and watch out for the "beer can" sailboat races on Thursdays.

The Clubs

When Newport Beach goes dark, there are the dance clubs.

The true code for those who want to dance is Code, a swanky dinner and dance club. It has rotating top name deejays, drink and food specials, extended Happy Hour, free champagne for the ladies, and other regular deals.

Those looking for more dancing and club life head to Buzz or the Sultra. The latter is Hollywood club in Orange County with not one but two velvet ropes to pass. While this can be a challenge, once inside it's evident the place sweats with sexiness. The large deck outside is a popular gathering/meeting/mingling spot, the best in the club, in fact.

And while it's not a dance club, the elegant, 3-Thirty-3 is an upscale waterfront lounge and restaurant on Bayside Drive in Newport. Sit at the bar or in the bar for dinner at sunset and prepare to mingle with the eclectic gathering that casually and consistently strolls in for the same.