Splash Bar San Jose

The music is decent and the drink specials are decent. Cover charge of $10-$25 is a bit too high in my opinion. Their website is too inconsistent with its information and misleading. They never answer their phone. It’s the only LGBT+ bar in San Jose

A solid spot to start and continue to return as the evening continues. They do a special two for one thing till 8pm each night if the drinks are identical and that’s great! RJ the bartender is kind and fun and knows where to go! At splash one is a local and this this is the anchor point for your fun time here in San Jose as you enjoy the ultimate ambiance of a video bar that blasts the greatest music back to back to back!

I had good fun here. However, I have an issue with their lost and found department. I left my jacket w/ earbuds inside there by accident on May 10th and they wouldn't let me back in because it was too late. I called the next day and the recorded message said they keep found items for 30 days. I return around 9pm on May 13th and the door staff tell me it's too busy for them to go check. I then return at 4pm on the 24th and was told they only keep found items for 1 week before donating them. So, because of this misinformation on their end, they very much could have donated my jacket...who knows.... If someone from the management could reach out, that would be great.

As of 04/17/21 This bar is Open...It's just picking up, they have still the distance and mask restrictions. If you go around 7 is better you have more chances to get inside and stay there or else the have tables on the street. Good music. I started feeling kinda going back to normal.

Went there on a Monday night. Drag Bingo is the way to go. It was a lot of fun! Very nice staff.

My friend was drugged at this bar during a drag night and when she was vomiting in the bathroom, the bouncer’s main priority was throwing her out onto the street without even checking on her wellbeing. She couldn’t even stand on her own. Fortunately I was there to witness this happening and go help her— so disappointing to see that a supposedly queer space cares nothing for trans queer women. Plus they smelled.

They stole our jackets and never gave it back. They pulled one of my friend's arm and his arm is hurt so bad that and it's purple now. We have video of how their employee assaulted one of our friends. We are pressing charges at the police station today and filed a report. Stay away from this gay bar. Since they sold this place to greedy people. They have never been to same. Stay away. It's not gay friendly. They just want your money. I have never seen a bar charging $6 for water anyway.

Awesome staff, great happy hour deals and fun atmosphere.

I recently had a night out at Splash Video Dance Bar, and it was such a blast! The vibes here are just fantastic--there's a fun, energetic atmosphere that makes you want to get up and dance. The colorful lights and upbeat music create the perfect setting for a lively evening with friends. The staff was super friendly and attentive, which added to the overall positive experience. Whether you're there to enjoy the latest music videos or just to socialize, there's something for everyone. The dance floor really gets going later in the night, and it's hard not to join in on the fun! I also appreciated the layout of the bar; there are plenty of spots to chill out if you need a breather from dancing. Overall, Splash is a great place to let loose and have a good time. I can't wait to go back for another night of dancing and good vibes!

Splash night club I saw them letting under age men and women come in but wouldn't let my Mexican friend in of 28 years old in, so races shame on you splash

Cool spot! Went on K-pop Monday, but shoutout the DJ who at the end of the night hooked us up with a Latin beat!!! We were in San Jose for one night only and stopped but the closest place to listen to music and get a drink. The last bartender of the night on 4/16 was awesome . Chill vibes, good music. Drinks were on point and they have a dance floor. Follow them for the music style of the day.

Everyone that works there has a horrible attitude especially the little "guards". Vibe is not it. Drinks are decent. Better off making the trek to SF.

Drinks are never the same price with the bar tenders, it seems that each bar tender makes up their own price Big security dude just runs up and pushes people. I get your job is to check people and make sure everyone is safe but even when it wasn't that crowded he still bumped into us when there was enough space for him to walk through. I think he enjoys pushing people lol. This place is going to the trash.

I love the crowd this bar brings in but the staff at this bar is so rude, they do not need to be working in customer service roles. Especially the short weird looking man at the exit door. He yelled at my girlfriend because she asked him a question about a phone, it seemed like he was ready to call off and was taking it out on guests. I feel like you shouldn't have people that are hot headed working at a location that also serves alcohol , seems like a recipe for disaster. I also did notice that there was a bartender that had their penis out fairly close to the shot glass as he was pouring the alcohol, that is disgusting and it should be against some health code, regardless of their orientation, that should not be happening

Definitely have had many fun nights at splash. Drinks are cheap, music is fun and the crowd is generally pretty nice. Just a tip-- they only take cash for cover. Bring about 20 per person on busy nights, like halloween.

Staffing needs improvement.. the staffs are actually amazing but they can only do so much. The lines to the bathroom are ridiculous, they act like they don't have restrooms upstairs and they go like oh not enough demand.... You have a full first floor and ladies waiting for a stall ... you're just being cheap .. do better ! You're welcome

WORST BAR EVER!!! DON'T GO HERE!!! My friend was walking me out and one of the employees "Michael" said I smacked his hand away. Like... 1st of all, why are you touching me? Second of all, I did no such thing; my friend is a witness. ALL FUCKING LIES!! Even when I drink, I'm cognizant of the situation. I could tell you in exact detail what happened. Michae, the employee,l made me the problem when there was no problem. He said " this is the only gay bar in the area & we don't want any problems." Duh! Just because I can hold my liquor doesn't make me a problem. Do you work in a bar or a courthouse? Figure your shit out

Extremely let down by the poor communication and disregard for a birthday celebration. I had hoped to host my birthday party at Splash, but the individual managing the emails is incredibly slow to respond -- what a ridiculous situation! I have made arrangements elsewhere and we will have a fabulous time.

Me and my friends came in on a Monday as we were not expecting much. The manager came and talked to us and was very respectful and extremely nice. The drinks were pretty strong which I personally appreciated as I am paying for alcohol, not juice.

Came here for clubbing on a weekend as well as for trivia night on a Tuesday. The staff is very friendly and the security is thorough. The only thing keeping me from going more often as a barhopping stop is the $10 cover fee. My first time was for clubbing on a Saturday night in the winter. Both levels of the club were packed. My friends ordered AMFs and they were crazy strong. You get the bang for your buck here. I think the time to gather for trivia night is 7:30 but they started around 8/8:15 PM. Different hosts have different play styles (as in now they encourage participation, reading scores, etc.). The game had pop-culture references as well as historical and general knowledge. Seeing people go crazy for the beer round was funny--wish we won! It was cool seeing how different the club looked on a weekday too. There seemed to be regular players. As a queer person myself, it was nice to see the SJ LGBTQ+ community come enjoy themselves. I hope to attend a drag show or go to one of their other themed nights sometime soon!

I wanted to have a fun night, I waited in line, I was ready to pay their cover fee but the bouncer denied me entry specifically saying " WE DO NOT accept WORK AUTHORIZATION CARDS...CA ID or GREEN CARD ONLY" I tried explaining that my ID was federal and valid, even showed them my CA ID that had expired a week ago which was why I was showing them my valid work permit while I waited for CA ID. The experience was very off putting, I thought I was coming to splash for a safe queer space, ID checks for age not for DISCRIMINATION. Mind you I visited Splash on two occasions before and had a great time even celebrated my birthday there last year. I will no longer be coming back to this establishment.

Came out tonight to celebrate my bday. They didn't tell us when we went outside to smoke we have to pay to get back in, even with a stamp. Also overheard the security talking sh** about my friend not knowing we are together. 10/10 do not recommend

The drinks are a bit pricey but the environment and performers are amazing! Went once but I am hoping to return back soon! The servers got to me really quick despite it being super busy night.

I liked the place. I felt safe there. the drag show was great, the security was nice. make sure to bring cash for $15 entrance and drinks there's a second floor that's less crowded, too

Love the two floors and patio,and the different music they have . Had a blast with my friends definitely recommend it..

They close at 2am but start turning on the lights and kicking people out at 1:10am it would be better to kick people out at 1:45am

I went to splash last night 6/22 and had the worst experience I've had in a long time. I get there at 9pm the bar was kinda busy but not overly crowded. I ask the skinny white blonde twink bartender downstairs to make a whiskey sour. He makes it with pineapple juice. I take a sip of my drink and immediately know it's made wrong and go tell him it's made wrong. He has an attitude saying he can't remake it which is wild because he now wasn't busy AND it was his mistake. He takes his time messing around with his phone and the POS system and "remakes" my drink. My new drink tasted like water. So I spent $15 for a watered down whiskey sour. Then we were going outside to smoke. I've always gotten a stamp when I go smoke and come back. The door person said we had to pay cover to get back in. I know times are hard but doing this to loyal customers is just low. Service at Splash has gone wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy down hill. I remember Nick (RIP) used to be the manager and he would never have his employees do this. I do not recommend!

They stole our jackets and never gave it back. They pulled one of my friend's arm and his arm is hurt so bad that and it's purple now. We have video of how their employee assaulted one of our friends. We are pressing charges at the police station today and filed a report. Stay away from this gay bar. Since they sold this place to greedy people. They have never been to same. Stay away. It's not gay friendly. They just want your money. I have never seen a bar charging $6 for water anyway.

Very food bar with super friendly staff at cheap prices. Will go out of their way to help everyone at the bar feel safe and welcome.

Good music good vibes second floor charges water first floor don't ...so remember that. Just that one bartender

Unfortunately just had to witness staff throw a drunk women into trash cans (also rats crawling everywhere) spoke to the manager who basically told me to kick rocks when I had to help one of their patrons get home safely and had to have police help her. Their response? Bullshit. They will throw you out for being too drunk and let you sit in filth by garbage cans and then complain about people trying to help you. Absolutely fucking foul. Leave a young woman on the streets in between two trash cans is what splash will do to you.

My friend went to splash and was charged $21 for a drink and then a few days later was charged $24 and she remembers not leaving a tip. A few weeks later we both went to splash and we got $5 drinks at the end of the happy hour. Someone bumped into me and spilled some of my drink down my jacket sleeve so I went to the bar and grab a single napkin to put inside my sleeve. The bartender with the big nose and glasses tell me that "I shouldn't be taking so many napkins because they're for customers" like did I not just spend $10 to get in? Was I not just at your bar ordering a drink? After that I ignored the bar and just danced so it didn't ruin my whole night.

On the very first Saturday of Pride Month this year, a friend and I got ready for some gaytivities and headed to Splash. As expected the line was quite long, it reached past the stinky dumpsters, but nothing would stop us from having a great night... My friend pointed out that someone (1M & 1F) had cut us, I hadn't even noticed. My friend confronted them saying they weren't in front of us all this time. The male rudely cut my friend off by pretending not to understand what she was saying, I intervened and translated. He was caught off guard, but finally said they had come with the girls in front of them. It was apparent that wasn't true. My friend and I wanted to let it go since it was just them two and we were almost to the front, but the male was obviously annoyed by the interaction. His attitude annoyed me, so I simply asked the girls they had supposedly come with if this was true. The girls let us know that it wasn't true, and were so kind they invited us to join them in line. At this point, my friend and I were ready to put them and the situation behind us and continue having a great night. Immediately, he started to make threats in Spanish so only I could understand what he was saying, "Just wait and see when we get in there. I'm gona get this b**** whenever I get the chance. I'm gonna get this b**** in the bathroom." ... At this point my heart was racing. I was somewhere between angry and scared, so when we finally made it, I told the security the situation. I explained I didn't care they cut but rather the attitude and threats. The security ensured me that was unacceptable and pulled them out of the line. We went inside and tried to forget it. Later on that night while happily dancing with my friend, the two that had cut us managed to make it inside. I was stunned and confused. The man got in my face and yelled, "You stupid little b****. That wasn't cool but I got in anyway HaHa. You stupid little c*** with your ugly fat a** friend". I responded only by telling him to leave us alone! My friend wanted me to let it go not hearing or understanding anything he was saying to me... The last comment was enough for me. I walked away. I am 6'+. I knew i could have gotten physical and been ok, but I am not an aggressive person. When passing by security I yelled at them with tears running down my face, "How could you let them in, he made threats straight to my face instigating a fight!" I stormed off, my friend stayed behind and told the security that had pulled them out of line what had happened. The security explained it wasn't up to them and shared the male that enticed the situation knew the owner of Splash and convinced the owner we were just two drunk dumb girls... I can't put into words exactly how I felt and feel even now. All the times I showed up to represent and support Splash despite the club being dead, filled with couples, and straight men preying on gay women. To think that even at a LGBTQIA+ Club, a place that's supposed to be a safe space for all, a man can get away by saying, "Don't listen to that female, she's emotional, she was drunk!" (FYI the night had just started, I was NOT drunk). I feel deeply betrayed, disappointed, distraught, you name it. In San Jose, Splash is all there is. So now, now there is nothing. The owner will try to reach out and make it right, but I know that's only because I am coming out publicly with the situation. Do not contact me, I will leave this up. Women deserve better.

Cute space with decent selection of drinks and eclectic crowd. Music wasn't bad either and folks were very welcoming.

The start of my night was absolutely shit, I had been walking around all of down town looking for a spot to get a cheap drink and have a good time. SPLASH was a recommended to me through a friend saying " the gays never miss". That's all I needed to hear to get my butt down to this bar. Walked in to no one there, sat down and met the most amazing bartender Trent. He instantly made my entire night by his personality and his bomb ass drinks. Unfortunately after only two hours there Trent had to clock out and go home. The next bartender after him was so miserable, boring, bland, and completely un engaged. He looked like he didn't want to be there at all. My conclusion is Trent is the only good bartender there, so don't go here if you see anyone else but him. Will only be coming here when he's scheduled.

Splash Video Dance Bar and Silicon Valley Pride know how to provide LGBTQ entertainment in San Jose. Splash has been on my radar for quite some time. Because it's located perpendicular to First Street light rail tracks, I always thought it was a tiny bar. But I was wrong. This is the best, biggest and loudest gay bar in San Jose that I've ever seen. Back in my time living in Silicon Valley, I thought Club Saint John's (later became Hamburger Mary) at San Pedro Square was big before the turn of century. Splash has a dance floor on each story of this 2-story building. There's a patio upstairs, I assume it is for smokers. (I heard it has patio. I'll check it out next time.) The building is built weird. The patio is on top of another dance club and there's a rainbow flag hanging from the patio railing of this gay bar. I thought the entrance below the flag was Splash. So I led a group of friends and waited in line for 40 minutes to find out we were waiting to get into a straight bar. (I'm sure we were not the only ones mistaken) Video dance bars are popular in the big cities. But I have not even been to one until Splash. It's so much fun dance to the beat of music synchronized with the specially edited videos on those monitors. The night we went, there were 3 go-go dancers on 3 separate stages surrounding the dance floor. Upstairs dance floor was so packed. The music was more upbeat and clientele was also different. We had to turn around and go back to downstairs because I felt claustrophobic. Cover charge is $10 cash only. Oh. I repeat CASH ONLY the entire gay bar. I think it's fair for the bar owner not to deal with credit cards. Cash is the king (or queen, in this matter). The line went very fast because they queue people up to take a photo for security reasons. Mmm... I wonder if any gay people at next door dance club.

Oooooohhhhh! Yes. This place is the spot if you want bomb music to boo your head to and/or get your dance on. Perfect for singles, groups, duos, and all genders. I came here on a Sunday night to support my girl Aurora as she hosted her Wet and Wild Drag show on Sunday. The crowd was diverse, friendly, and everyone was there just to have a good time which always makes for good vibes. I highly suggest to stop by on a Sunday. It's not too crowded where it is uncomfortable but enough people to vibe on each other's energy. Don't forget to come with cash. There was no cover for Sunday but it is a cash bar however there's an ATM machine if you get short on paper currency. The parking garage is right across the street so there aren't parking issues. I can't wait to come back with my friends!

Happy Hour 5-8pm Monday thru Sat! BOGO means two drinks and second is only $1. optionally get a double well drink for $1 extra. Ladies night is upstairs from 5-10pm on 3rd saturday each month. DJs, bar staff and pretty much anyone identifying female are yours to mingle amongst. Happy Hour $3 domestic beers! $4 for select micros!

Speaking for the gays, if you are into disrespectful crowds this is the place to go. Our group of 17 waited 45 minutes to get in. Only to be greeted by pushy people. We waited an additional 25 minutes at the bar and a pair of inconsiderate, arrogant, rude individuals that got off on cutting pushed us aside. They apologized after we called them out. But the bartender upstairs said he would not serve us. Even the couple that said we did you wrong asked the bartender to understand the situation turned his cheek. No explanation, but clearly because we called out the blatant disrespect and disregard for order. We went downstairs and spent a good couple of hundred amongst our group. We are students. We have not been out since 2019. Some first time at a gay club. Drinks were decent downstairs was a 5/5. They paid attention to everyone in queue. I'd literally give 5/5 to the bar downstairs rather than the upstairs. I had to apologize for my group who came from southern CA and other parts of SF for the experience tonight. It's not like how it used to be. Won't be returning or recommending Splash.

Initially we had gone into Splash to have a good time and my friend was told that she couldn't get in without an American ID since she only had her Mexican one, but we were able to talk security into letting her in. While just dancing my cousin(girl) is randomly shoved by a white-man who is obviously sloppy drunk. Our friend then tries to protect us as we don't know him and feared he would get more aggressive. We were then kicked out and told we were the ones being too aggressive when they were clearly not listening to us and made us feel discriminated against. They allowed the guy to stay but kicked us out and walked away from us, weird

I just moved to the San Jose area and have been going to Splash every weekend. The bar-backs are very attentive to picking up empty glasses, the prices are affordable and it's always a good time. Great music is always playing and my favorite perk is the outdoor balcony so that you can also socialize and smoke with your friends (if that's what you're into). As are all clubs, the restrooms start off clean, but drunk patrons will tear it apart by the end of the night. They recently lifted the mask mandate in the bar and it has been pretty packed on the inside since. Getting here early is highly recommended if you don't cRe to wait in the line outside (I'd say get there about 9pm).

I have to give this place 5 mainly for safety. Devin on of the bouncers got this guy to leave after he made me feel unsafe. He kept checking outside to see if the guy was still there (he was) after closing Devin and another wonder staff member of splash walked me 2-3 block to my car to make sure I got home safe. Thank you guys so so so much for keeping me safe and I still owe you those cookies.

Had such a great night on a Wednesday! Such good music and vibes but be weary of the bartenders charging you extra in certain drinks. The lady with blonde hair upstairs charged me incorrectly.

This is likely the only standing LGBTQI dance bar/club in the South Bay ... I'm giving it 5 stars coz they took good care of my friend's bday celebration. We had bottle service for a very reasonable price that included our own awesome bar back/gate keeper/runner, and exclusive use of the "VIP" section. There were no shortage of mixers and was well presented. Sure the drag show might lack the fireworks and big production, but this ain't Vegas. Every performer put their heart into it that got the crowd going. Was a fun night!

I find myself a lot of the time I am there to feel uncomfortable. I do go because a lot of the rupaul drag race girls go there so it's super fun, packed and a good time. But I have to be 100% drunk. Otherwise when you're sober you realize how immature the audience here really is. They are pretty much a youthful of young gays screaming and twerking and pushing and shoving each other around. Aside from that I actually do love the place a lot. The bartenders are great and their drinks are super strong. Cash only so be aware. In addition, their music is top 40, typical gay place; Britney, Gaga, Whitney, and all the women I love. Definitely go when drag race season is around.

The experience here is really fun! This is my first club ever o_O The drink I got was yummy. DJ was okay, some good music sometimes a miss and a little millenial like But honestly it was worth it to meet recent Drag Race winner Sasha Colby! Picture came out so cute and she was reallyyy sweet. 1 real complaint about their event planning here, the people who arranged this event did not do any crowd control and I felt really scared at some points that this would be another one of those disasterous events where people suffocate and get trampled. Thankfully but also unfortunately, I left before she performed :/ and so did my friend shortly after me. It was really hard to get out as I didn't know the front exit wasn't an exit anymore and I had to push through the crowd AGAIN for the back door. There was a scary scuffle in the back w another guy trying to leave (he was rude and pushed me in the crowd to get in front tbh) but i was right there with him when the security was shoveling with him. It was brief but I wish I was considered in a small space esp as a very short person...

My favorite bar to go to in San Jose. Ever since I turned 21, I've been going to this place almost every weekend and every time feels just as fun as the first time. Everybody there is very chill and welcoming and it's really easy to make friends with people you've never even met before. Music is always good and you rarely catch me off the dance floor. I would highly recommend Splash if you are looking for a place to have a fun time.

Despite all of the negative reviews we said let's just try it out. Not sure if Saturdays are just a good day to go in general or we were lucky but it wasn't a bad experience. Although the bathrooms could use some love . Drinks were good and service was good! If you're feeling like vibin' the patio is perfect to kick it with your friends.

Got removed out of the club because one of the "security" thought we were too drunk after two drinks. We were just waking downstairs from the upstairs section and he had never seen us before. We "talked" to the manager and he couldn't do anything because he hadn't seen anything, what power does manager have if they if they can't look into a simple case like this. The so called manager should able to look into the cameras and not just take the world of a person but he said he couldn't do anything about it. This is not the first time I've been here either, I've been a customer for 5 years.

Went here for Halloween and was fortunate enough to get in without a cover charge. This place is cool and has a good music selection when it comes to dancing. Not much of a wait to get my drinks (cash only). The reason why I'm giving this place 2 stars is simply because when I asked for water from the bar, they were going to charge me $3. I've never heard of a bar that would charge you at all for water. What a joke, really. Glad I didn't have to pay to get inside this establishment and definitely won't be coming back.

Splash is like a straight guy wearing a rainbow shirt and holding an enema. You would think it's a super gay bar but doesn't seem like it. The music they play is trash. It's literally just straight music. I went there many times, and I feel like the DJ always does the same thing. Is the DJ blind? The audience was bored af that they had go to a different floor like it was any better tbh. My local SEARS play better music in the changing room. Shoutout to the security people tho checking proof of vaccinations. Bless them

LGBTQIAPD (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, Demisexual ) ‍ bar fun to go to with danceable music.

I came here on Monday with friends to have a good time with drinks and the drinks were tasteful! 1 hour in into our fun, I got suddenly sick and I fainted and laid on the ground but I was picked up immediately by the friendly bartender with the red SnapBack‍he escorted me out down stairs with his guidance what a angel! thank you so much for your help and kindness. I wish I got his name but I wasn't in the right state of mind to collect any info that was my first time there and I'm definitely coming back.

I'm glad this institution is open again and ramping up with later hours and a little lesser restrictions. I went a few weeks ago, and we were given two options: buy food next door (ie. chips) and chill indoors, or grab a drink and chill in the front tarped area in the street (which had zero people and was windy af) OR the patio area upstairs. Not seeing the patio area at the time, we opted for buying chips at the Mexican spot next door at the advice of the front desk person; we thought we'd be buying a bag of BBQ Lays for $1... but to our surprise, the only chips they had were tortilla and salsa for $5+tax to go. Whoa, damn? I'm not in financial ruin... but I guess we weren't hungry enough and just wanted a cheap happy hour drink so this was just a sorta expensive formality. Any way, the drinks are just how I remember them (strong) and service is the same (friendly but short, even when its dead) so it was just good to be back after a pandemic year of not seeing anywhere but my place. I hope they drop all the silly formalities soon once we enter Yellow Tier... and things slowly return to normal.

my friend and I read the google reviews which were all recently pretty negative but we wanted to try the place cause we hadn't been to any gay bars in the bay yet! It wasn't that bad except the bathrooms were in bad repair and the place wasn't very clean. But the upstairs and patio are cool but you can't smoke on it. It was good, everyone was dancing and not too long of a wait for drinks even though it was busy! We enjoyed ourself and you should atleast try it! Shoutout to bartender Nate!

i went to this bar & upon meeting a man that claimed to be an owner, he offered to buy a drink & roofied me. it was a deeply traumatizing & if i didn't have trustworthy friends with me, it seemed like no one at the bar would be willing to help me. this place is deeply dangerous for young, trans, POC patrons. don't go.

Terrible experience. It's sad the experience is very indicative to who you know. You're somehow obligated to date a someone based on how you respond to a a dating profile.