Red Fox Lounge

We all know when you’re inebriated, everything is better from food,beer and well… you know 😏 So the fact that I don’t drink alcohol makes this review that much more legit. In a safe and gorgeous local location down in San Clemente, the exterior is covered in history, albeit normal looking the inside is worth your eye time. From a red light hue creating that festive, yet romantic and also energetic vibe to the arcade and bar top games for some extra stimulation. If indoor vibe isn’t your thing, no worries, this location has an outside deck patio fixed with a heater for cold nights and fan for the hot ones. Multiple TVs for entertainment, music louder than your drunk uncles fictional stories, and an ATM for convenience. The establishment is pristine and sanitary, well stocked and cleaner than your DMV record. The bouncers drink Creatinine for fun, so ladies you’ll be safer than ever and to you skinny dudes, no worries, they got ya covered. The men bartending have plenty of Dad jokes and are certified wingman experts. The women bartenders are finer than a #2 pencil, not to mention In addition to the local eye candy 🍭 this place has what you’re looking for! Plenty to drink and plenty to do. So bring your friend with no game as he’s guaranteed some action or your friends for some music and drinks and a safe night out in town. Or even just a quick drink during the day and some conversation. Don’t forget to ask for MERCH to represent the good times, from hats, sweaters and more! Tell em Stephen sent ya 😉

My kind of dive bar! Great patrons, very clean place, cool old-school vibe, country music playing, sports on the television. They even make a few craft cocktails (tried one in fact).

A step back in time but in a good way! Donna the bartender is amazing! I was visiting from Ohio and stopped in to play some Golden Tee. Super clean and great atmosphere! Yes it’s a dive bar but just the way they should be!

I'm really disappointed. My freind is visiting in town, from Washington. And they denied her ID? I told them to either let us in or call the cops. He refused to do either. He was working July 5 at 11 PM. He was very disrespectful and I do not appreciate his banter. He also chased us out of the bar and took a picture of me? This gives me a very poor impression of your bar.

Got denied and I am 23 years old. Tried to confiscate real ID. Man was short and had dark facial hair. He started bad mouthing my friends and I to the customers.

Just an easy place to pop in for a drink. Mainly locals but if you're not one don't be intimidated. Always great staff too

Cozy place to hunker down in. You can get breakfast delivered from attached diner.

SC local and do not recommend. Unfriendly staff.

I don't spend too much time in San Clemente-unfortunately so I am glad I found this gem! The employees were all welcoming and kind! The bouncer-Sean kept an eye on everything and was very nice. I got a margarita and was strong and refreshing. There are some cool games to play there too and the patio is a cool place to hang. The vibes are chill there and I am looking forward to my next visit :)

My husband and I were in town from AZ and wanted to grab a drink. We usually hang out closer to our hotel but wanted to venture out. This place was busy and everyone was having a good time. I got a good buzz off the drinks and the bartenders were friendly. Will definitely be back next time :)

I was running a construction project out in San Clemente and on our last day after we passed inspection I took all the employees out. Since most were staying In a hotel nearby we decided why not have some drinks and hang out at a local bar. So glad we found this cool local bar because it was perfect. We ended up chatting with a bunch of the staff and even throwing jokes with the bouncers. It totally had that beach town small local bar feel which I personally love. We don't live too close to frequent there often but will definitely stop by again when we are in the area.

"Best Esspresso Martini" - The Wife Just a great place in Sn Clemente. Bartenders are fun to talk with. Make amazing cocktails and serve ice cold beers. With the show tunes playing in the background you could be at a dive bar in Vegas in the 70's! Go. Just go.

For how slow it was, service should have been way better. Bouncers were very disrespectful and killed the vibe immediately. Would not recommend.

I'm really disappointed. My freind is visiting in town, from Washington. And They denied her ID? I told them to either let us in or call the cops. He refuse to do either. He was working July 5 at 11 PM. He was very disrespectful and I do not appreciate his banter. He also chased us out of the bar and took a picture of me? This gives me a very poor impression of your bar.

San Clemente Locals, Stand Together - Avoid Red Fox Lounge! Last night, my friends and I experienced a horrifying and violent incident at Red Fox Lounge that no one should ever go through. The bouncers here--Brandon Palmer --attacked us without reason. One of my female friends was hit in the face, knocked to the ground, and another was grabbed by the neck for no reason other than protecting her friends. The aggression didn't stop there: one of the bouncers punched another friend who was just trying to step in to help. San Clemente is a close-knit community, and we always stand by one another. This place clearly has no regard for the safety of its customers--especially women. Despite over 10 witnesses, the owners have yet to release the security footage that would confirm the truth. We are pressing charges, but in the meantime, we ask that our fellow locals stand by us and show support by NOT visiting this place until action is taken. If you care about the safety of your community, don't go to Red Fox Lounge. Let's send a message that violence and mistreatment will not be tolerated in San Clemente. We should all feel safe when we go out, and Red Fox Lounge has proven that they don't respect that basic right.

BEWARE WOMEN: Me and my friends were assaulted by a bouncer, possibly named Sean. We were at Red Fox last night after a wedding. I'm not sure how the altercation started, but our group was not involved. The bouncers ended up hitting one of our female friends in the face and knocking her to the ground, elbowing me in the neck, throwing my other female friend to the ground, and punching one of our friends - leading to a facial injury. We were very relaxed and having a nice time. We have no idea how this unfolded, but it is unacceptable. Be wary visiting this place if you're a woman

I have been here twice in the last month. This is just what you want in a neighborhood bar. Friendly faces, nice staff and a full bar. They offer a few games to play and they have a back patio. Food can be delivered from next door through some sort of pass through.

You gotta love the Fox. Local Bar with no frills. Meet some San Clemente locals and feel the small town vibe.

Red Fox Lounge is a hidden gem off El Camino Real in San Clemente. For a hot day, AC was blasted nice and cool. There were plenty of seats for my friends and I to hang out. Service was friendly. The highlight is definitely generous pours and affordable pricing. I bought a round of drink for the six of us and I was surprised about the total. Especially considering how strong the drinks were. My vodka redbull was more like vodka with a splash of redbull. I mean this in a good way. Such an awesome spot to hang out or bar hop. I hope I didn't give away our secret spot but at the same time I really want the business to do well and thrive.

Long time local - Red Fox is unique in San Clemente with dive bar vibes with an upscale cocktail list. Inside feels like the hull of a ship, and there is an excellent patio for smoking and watching whatever sports is on. Bartenders are excellent and pour a strong drink - ask for a light one if you want to take it easy!

Love this lil gem just across the street from the Dorothy Visser Senior center. It's a must pre-office chair races or just anytime.

My husband and I ABSOLUTELY loved this place! We came here to kick of his birthday pre festivities and literally you can't beat the atmosphere, the drinks, the prices or the location. I didn't get our bartenders name but she had long blonde hair with bangs and was amazing! She poured the best vodka soda with limes. We will definitely be back!

We were here Saturday evening with a group from the wedding party. Unprovoked physical altercations ensued close to midnight where one of the bounces struck multiple women and one man. This type of behavior from staff members can not and should not be tolerated at any establishment, regardless if it is a dirty dive bar. To my knowledge, there is an ongoing investigation with the police. Furthermore, there have been a multitude of similar experiences at the lounge in years past. Refer to comments in 2016 and 2022.

Definitely a locals bar!!!! Low key environment with smoking in the back room. Bartenders have heavy wrist . You get your moneys worth every time. Tad chilly when AC is turn on.

CHEERS TO THE FOX! As the only bar in San Clemente that has dependable and extended hours, it's the best go-to bar after work, for a pregame, or mellow hangover breakfast after a great night prior. Christina, Cookie, Jason and Gabe have always made me feel 'part of the family' every time I've seen them at work or outside in sc. phenomenal vibes, pours, and music all the time. I've never regretted being sober, but if I did it would be because I miss the nights that only fox can provide. 1000/10 Ponytail bouncer is a prick though

The Red Fox is a version of Cheers. Locals know each other and always friendly and supportive. The drinks are hefty, and I enjoy the place every time I go there. The restaurant attached to the bar has a direct door for ordering food and voted best restaurant for brunch. Great Place.

All I can say is Christina made our entire stay in San Clemente. She is super attentive and eager to make her customers enjoy themselves. We are in town from Ventura for memorial weekend staying at the Volare. This little gem of a place had all the right vibes. We enjoyed the locals and definitely will be back on our next stay. Christina thank you again for a great night out. Highlight of the night was belting out TURN AROUND EVERY NOW AND THEN I FALL APART! Here's to wishing the Red Fox plenty of more years of success

Always a fun place. Bunny is a really great bartender and is always very cheerful. I've heard the food here is really good too.

Came in town from AZ and the bartender lady turned my friends and I away, she claimed our AZ state issued ID was not authentic and threatened to take them away if we wouldn't leave peacefully. This place must not accept out-of-state IDs or is straight Age discriminating because we look young. Just go next door to Goody's way better atmosphere and doesn't discriminate against age and just looks a lot more fun in general

Corinne's literally the best! Thanks corn! She's super nice and serves fast and the best drinks hands down

Sundays are really fun here. Kaili and Tina rock it as bartenders. Mellow reggae and good company. Great customer service

The bartender on a Tuesday night 6/22/19 at 9:40 pm was rude. From the moment we walked in it was a very hostile environment she's an older lady with blondish light hair. Don't come here your better off going some where else.

Shout to everyone working at the bar especially to Erin for picking up on the creepy dude. As single women this is definitely the safest place I have been to were the employees take care of you. Will definitely be back... You guys are awesome

Yesterday I was at a Christmas party and a group of us were talking about how downhill this place has gone. Last month I went to a wedding and afterwards we decided to go bar hopping. I hadn't been to a bar in at least 8 years so I figured I'd go somewhere familiar. Red fox was the 3rd bar we hit and the bouncer try's to say that my ID was fake. I'm 34. I grab my ID from him and show him the signature which he claims wasn't there and he he tells me to get out. We exchanged some words and it was apparent that he's not exactly the tough guy he tried to be when he got in my face in the first place. I decided not to beat him up (you're welcome) since I didn't want to ruin everyone else's night and instead headed to another bar where we all closed out the night. Needless to say I won't be going back there. I'm over dealing with morons like that and it was a reminder of why I got over the whole bar scene to begin with. It's just funny how many people feel the same way about this place. Trash.

the bartenders are great but the bouncers were so rude when they denied us because they weren't "feeling good enough about us". we are in our mid 20s....

We took the train down to bar hop for St Patty's Day. Bunny was one of our bartenders and she was so much fun. The boys were having so much fun with another bartender they had trouble leaving to actually bar hop.

Lovvvvve this place! Took my friend visiting from the UK down to San Clemente for the day last month. I've been to the Red Fox with other girlfriends before and loved it so made sure to include the spot in our day plans. The service was great and felt so welcoming and relaxing in there. The bartender was awesome, wish I could remember his name ugh, but he was super friendly and chatty. He made us nice strong drinks that were still delicious. The regulars that were there were also super friendly, offering to pay for songs on the jukebox for us. We enjoyed it so much that after going to lunch, walking around to other restaurants and checking out other spots like Goodies, we went back to finish our San Clemente day back at Red Fox! Can't wait to take my boyfriend!!

Great locals bar. Cigar friendly patio with big screen TV. Was from out of town and the wife and I were welcomed by everyone. Bartender "Cookie" was great. Next time we're down there we'll stop in again. Ordered pizza from across the street and it was on point. Cheers!

I was having some drinks with some friends. Having a pleasant time in the back room until the bouncer lost it and put his hands around the neck of a 5'2 young girl. Her friend tried to stop him and he slammed another small framed girl against the wall. The Bartender had to stop him. He lost it. I can't believe I witnessed that!

if I could give less than one star, I would. The staff and bouncers are extremely rude for no reason, and honestly I'd be unhappy if I worked here too. Me and my friends heard the bouncers making sexist and racist remarks about the women in the bar, which is a huge no-no if you care at all about your women clientele feeling safe. The bouncers are rude and don't care if you're being assaulted/harassed by creepy men. While Antoines breakfast used to appear as a perk, the poor service, rude staff, and inconsistent drink-making is enough to guarantee that I will not be continuing to support this business. The drinks are either way too strong or have barely anything in them, not to mention the bar is disgusting and horribly kept. For the prices they're charging, I'm imploring you to go to literally any other bar except for this one. It's a bummer because it used to be pretty cool but the atmosphere and environment there is pretty hostile towards women and people of color. Not even trying to get on a political soap box or anything here, just stating facts. The place is literally so disgusting, I'm sure they only have enough business to stay open because of clueless tourists that have no idea what they're getting into. If you're a local, you probably already know these things about Red Fox Lounge. :/

Bloody Mary was delicious. Shhhhh. If you get hungry there is a Secret ordering window behind a door that says office. After opening the door you flip a switch and order food from the café next-door without leaving the red fox this is super cool!! How many of you have been there and have never known that?

The Fox is an excellent place. It's Cheers for a beach town, true...which isn't a bad thing at all. The owners, the bouncers, the tenders, keep things running beautifully tight to prevent it from becoming some free for all gentrified place, which it is not. The charm of this place is the way the owner properly runs a business, that has staying power and makes for a wonderful experience each and every time. We love these guys, they keep it real. No riff raff, no b.s., it's straight up on point service and drinks. To the yelper's who feel to leave any less than stellar reviews, a heads up: this is a local bar, not some primadonna hipster bar in Silverlake. It's real, it's rough around the edges and soulful. The way a real lounge should be. It's how they always did it, and how it always should be....

Best dive bar in San Clemente. Had a great time here. The bartender was really cool and it's a great set up. You can sit at the bar, watch the world go by outside, they played good music. You get a little bit of the "jarhead" scene here from Pendleton so take that into account. Still a very good place though overall.

First of all I Love This Bar casually in the castle a man so I could have all the crowd is like family none of those bullshit kid drama. The staff is awesome here refer to this bar to anyone that comes into town and anyone that lives here in town quite frankly this has to be the best bars in Orange County. Also what makes it even more better is in the morning you can order food from Antoine's Cafe hookah bar awesome!!BOOM!!

Looking for a good bar that's a bar with great people, old school and still super relevant? Then check the Red Fox out. We visited this place as recommended by family and were stoked to see how great the service was and how friendly the atmosphere was. Good drinks, great people...we'll definitely be back!

0/5 Avoid at all cost, aggressive employees and far from chil dive bar atmosphere as advertised.

Went there maybe on a Monday afternoon didn't even get to sit down and order before the owner came up to us and told us our documented service animal couldn't be there and we had to leave. When my husband tried to explain the law to him he got very aggressive walked up to my husband got in his face and said he can do whatever he wants I had to get in front of him before he touched my husband and I said it was fine and we would leave and go somewhere else.... I'm mostly upset my husband serves our country has a service animal and the owner refused to even look at it... all in all I will never go there again with or without our service animal (Update I had the documentation stating our animal was a service animal he refused to look at it and I went ahead and submitted a report with the police station and they had me fill out a report to the BBB.)

Cheap drinks. Good service. You cannot ask for much more from a beach town cocktail lounge. We'll be back next time we are in the area.

Perfect dive bar! I took my mother here who is visiting Cali, and we feel right at home. Good atmosphere, a nice cozy back patio for the smokers, and a juke box to play good music on. The reasonably priced drinks are the cherry on top.

Red Fox Lounge is a perfect example of a quintessential dive bar with local style, great service, and killer drinks! Look at you, you magnificent S.O.B...I love you. We were in town [from Carlsbad] for a wedding and after waking up the next day [hung over] we were in dire need for revitalization. THIS MEANS: *Stiff bloody marys *Sunday football on a million TV's *Breakfast....BREAKFAST "Why is everyone staring at me?" "Because you don't live here." Pretty much. Haha - don't expect to fit right in, but DO expect to be treated awesome :) Food was just what we needed - the door marked "Office" is where you place your order and pay, then keep an eye out for the red light when your food is ready. Highly recommend, wish they were closer to home so we could come more often!

Thank you Sue for your kind hospitality this morning, enjoyed watching the women's soccer game with you.

Service was ok not great bartender was nice I tip good if your service is good it's that simple I would recommend the drinks not the food

Great bartender. Hard core bloody Mary's and excellent food! We will definitely be back for more.

In my mere twenty five and three quarter years I have been to my share of dives and while I am no expert I do know this-I adore the fox. It is located in a strip of bars off El Camino sometimes referred to as "The Triangle"-by locals. It's one of the few bars that are not overrun with the marines from near by Camp Pendleton who are looking to "get wasted and bang chicks" with the ferocity of a typhoon. Maybe it's because the majority of people who frequent this spot are all AARP members, or perhaps it's the lack of Kanye West and Britney playing on the juke box whatever it is, its ok-more room for me. This is the kinda place where a girl can throw on a pair of jeans and flip flops and not have to worry about impressing anyone. Oh-Don't let the stone-faced bartendress fool you, she is a cool broad who pours stiff drinks. Antoine's next door I believe serves food until 9pm on the weekends and will gladly walk an order over to you. Covered smoking patio-who could ask for more?

I have been to San Clemente 15+ times and try avoid this place like the plague! I am a lover of dive bars, but this is a whole different level. It is dank and many of the patrons are not very warming. As for the cocktails, I like to call them the "devil's drinks". I go from love and understanding life to waking up on my brother's floor. I am convinced there may have been some hanky-panky with my cocktails, as did others I was with. The scary thing?!? I have been there a couple times and have had similar experiences. There are so many awesome bars in this seaside town; I would not miss Red Fox the next time I swing through or ever again.

It's divey, and if that's your thing, you're half way home then. Located on PCH and near Del Mar, the Red Fox Lounge is located smack on the corner towards the southisde of town. Bartenders are nice, however, unless you're a regular or local, the other bar flys who are tend to be a bit stand-offish to new blood. I know that sounds weird fro a review, but you just get this 'high-school' like vibe that there are frequenter Red Fox 'cliques' that may take a whole to warm up to casual patrons. I also think this place excels in "well"-style drinks. Lot of plain-jane labels in here and maybe it's just my obervation, but seems like the regulars like their drinks...regular...as well. A little dark, yet clean in the main room, with plenty fo flat screens around. Bathrooms are a little small, and cramped, and decor is 80's snobbery (lots of brass, mahogany, and maroon colors akin to the old Broadway or Bullock's department stores). There's an ATM in the corner because they don't accept CC's. Large 'smoking' patio out in the back. It has seaside themed murals painted about, open-air "non" windows, but definetly geared for the smokers...'cause there's a cloud. If you're in the mood for a retro-feel like swank and divey bar with drinks on the cheap, it can be a lot of fun, but bring your own friends as the locals tend to keep to themselves.

Decent little dive bar. Its dark inside with a low ceiling with red Christmas style lights. The drinks were pretty strong, they have an ok amount of beer and the prices were low. I don't expect amazing service at a place like this and even though they bartenders were nice, they were super slow. Its cash only so be prepared. I guess if you forgot to bring cash or run out you can use the ATM the have but then you have to pay service fees and that sucks. I liked the mixed group of customers, all types of different people having fun together. Same for the great mix of music people were putting on. Country to Metal. Good place to stop when bar hopping.