The Side Door

Wonderful little place in Mahattan Beach - it's tiny but cute There's a exclusive club upstairs. Fantastic drinks, friendly staff, VIP area upstairs. I wonder what that is all about? more

Lots of variety of people. Good to hange with friends and chyll. Very different from the other scenes around manhattan. more

Great little bar, friendly bar tenders and it feels like a secret place sometimes. Pros: Hide away bar, great drinks Cons: Can get crowded and loud, small place more

I live in San Francisco, and have always been a proponent of lunge type bars. San Francisco is home to some of the best lounges in the world, all with their own unique style and sophistication. I found the Side Door to be one of my favorite lounges I have ever been to, which is not an easy thing for me to say. The four times I've been there I enjoyed the music selection. Trance, Downtempo, Trip-Hop and Electronica give this gem of a place a certain ambiance that can't be found just anywhere. The service is great, and the female bartender who seems to be the regular there is very pleasant and knowledgeable of the in-house special Martinis. The Martinis are not cheap, but you will have fun trying them all out. I myself only have a few more to go before I can say I've tried the whole menu. A little steep in price, but the drinks are worthy of the price. If your looking for a cool fun place to hang out in Manhattan Beach, this is the place to go. The crowd is sophisticated and the atmosphere is unique and welcoming. Enjoy! Pros: Atmosphere and Ambiance Cons: A Little Pricey more

This cozy little hole in the wall is located right in the heart of downtown Manhattan Beach. A great little Martini bar - even if you don't drink martinis. The small size really adds to the character. Always great music playing in the background. A great menu and really great service from a friendly staff. My server was Amy and she was super attentive. Got everything right. I'm going back for sure! Pros: Good selection, great ambiance, great service Cons: Pretty small - will not work if you're looking to hold a big party. more

Side Door was great...its small but quaint and has great atmosphere... I hung out at side door for a while so I really got to see the progression of the place... the music moved really well with the crowd... at first it was a after-work, dinner crowd and the music was mellow and jazzy...as the night progressed and the crowd got larger, food was off the tables the music moved to hip, up beat, house music.... It was like the best parts of LA without the pretenciousness and attitude and for me the distance... when you walked out you are still right by the beach... gotta love this area... Besides the music the staff was nice and introduced themselves by name in case i needed anything, and the drinks were so good i didnt want to stop drinking them... so i didn't more

I just had a first date at the Side Door and it was Great! The food was delicious, I had the meatballs and mac n cheese (because Im all about my health ha ha), and on a healthier note the tuna tartar it was delicious and my date loved it too. My date had already been to the Side Door before, I had been sceptical but after having such a good time I am definetely going back... if Im lucky maybe on a second date :) The Staff was very friendly and greeted us when we walked in, they answered all of our questions and were knowledgable and honest about what they recommended. The waitress recommended their Fuzzy Kitty Martini.. I laughed at first, but it was actually REally GOod! Needless to say I had a great time and will definitly go there again Pros: Good food, Good drinks, Nice Staff, Hip music Cons: bathroom lines more

Went in on a Saturday night. The ambiance was nice. It's a bit small, but cozy. The waitress was very slow. Delivered 2 different hor' dourves within about 20 minutes of each other. When paying in the end it took about 30 minutes to get the final receipt. Needless to say, they need to hire a new waitress. The food was not fresh. I believe it tasted like frozen from Samrt & Final and deep fried and poured lots of salt on it. I'm sure the massive salt was to make you order more drinks. I would not go there again for food or service, unless they changed their menu and cooked freshly made food and had a different, attentive waitress. The crowd was small so there was no need for the waitress talking on her cell phone at the bar and running in and out to talk to someone outside in the crowd, instead of getting our receipts back to us. Pros: Ambiance Cons: Parking/Service/Food more

The Side Door is one of the best places in the South Bay- The place is chill during the week with a late night crowd-and on weekends- it's a great place to have a meal/app with someone new-and then come back for the party late night!! On Friday nights the place is ""pumpin""!! Great drinks, Awesome Music and a Great Staff- And on Fridays they do 80's last call-which quite honestly ""ROCKS""!! Check this place out ASAP!! Pros: Best place to have fun in the South Bay!! Cons: NONE!!! more

Stopped in the Side Door for dinner and drinks with friends after work and the atmosphere was cozy and inviting. We came back on a Saturday night and really enjoyed the vibe of a weekend hot spot. The music, food and staff are great. During the week for a bite and few drinks after work, or on the weekend for a night of fun the Side Door is a great place to enjoy a night out with friends. Pros: Staff, Music, Food more

I happened to be in Manhattan Beach on business and dropped in at The Side Door. I like a martini and these were the best I've ever had. A beautiful young woman named Alexandra waited on me and did a super job. She was intelligent and very professional. The only thing that could be better at The Side Door is if Alexandra worked every day. Pros: Best martinis! Best service! Cons: No cons if Alexandra worked more days! more

Not only are the Martinis delicious, but the service is great! Stopped by on a Wednesday night with friends and had dinner (didn?t even know they had food!). The Tuna tartar and meatballs are excellent. Some of the only GOOD house music in the south bay. I returned on the following Friday with another friend to a busier, crazier vibe. It?s cozy enough to be comfortable, hip enough to be considered upscale, and fun enough to make my regular hang! Pros: Nice local bar, great service, and yummy martinis! Cons: During the weekend it's packed- be prepared! more

My favorite martini at Side Door is the Champagne Martini! Side Door is very small, but never seems to be overly crowded. The vibe is like any other martini bar, upscale and usually a sexier crowd than the neighboring bars. Overall, I recommend Side Door. more

I used to come here all the time. They just got remodeled and have a nice decor plus there is the private club upstairs. It is a nice, mellow place and not too much of a scene. Overall, though, I think that service is key and the main bartender is named Ron. He seems like the type of person that has been working there for too long and has just gotten too comfortable and does not seem to care about his patrons. I think that if you are a regular and he arbitrarily determines that he likes you or are a very good looking lady that he may provide good service. Unfortunately, as much as I used to like this place, I think that service is key to the success of any place and I would not recommend it on the premise that the service there seems to lack the ""how can I help you"" attitude. In the future, if you are looking for a place, I would highly recommend Towne over this place. Everybody there is nice, the music is good and the service is excellent. more

I've always liked the Side Door, but last night while trying to have a nice quiet drink with my girl, there was this idiot DJ blasting some sort of INDUSTRIAL DANCE thumping b*llsh*t music. This is no longer a romantic place. Two martinis costs $28.00!!! We could have bought an entire bottle of Belvedere vodka for only $25.99 and slugged it back next to the dumpster in the alley! What could have been in those martinis to make them twice the price of the same drink at any other bar??? So, avoid this place if you want to have a nice time, save lots of $$$ and be able to have a conversation without yelling over this idiotic loud music. What are these people thinking??? Pros: Nice blue candle-holders on the tables Cons: SUPER-LOUD STUPID ""MUSIC"", SKY-HIGH DRINK PRICES more

If you're into intimate down tempo house music then this is the place. It's really casual and friendly...reminds me a lot of the DJ bars in London. It's def not the place to be ALL night. My fiance and I usually have dinner at Penny Lane, a small Sushi restaurant across the street (make sure to bring a bottle of wine, corkage fee is only $5) and then head over to The Side Door for drinks and good music. Any night is a good night. And you don't have to get dressed up :) Pros: Music, crowd, service Cons: No Pinot by the glass :( Just the bottle more

Some friends and I stopped in on a weekday night after dinner at Mangiamo's. The design and lack of any identifiable sign led us to step in. Luckily, they had our favorite rum - Sailor Jerry's - and we stayed for a drink. The ambience is low key, with small groups talking quietly in the corners and at the bar. The prices were a bit high but the bar was unique and worth the trip. Not much in the way of a romantic ambience, but a good after work place to relax and have a couple drinks. Pros: atmosphere Cons: drink prices more

Very small indeed. We went here as a ""starter"" place before we went out, but it is small, very few seats, crowded and loud. We ended up only having one drink there because it's so loud (since it was so crowded) that it was hard to hold a conversation. Pros: Very nice ambiance and great drinks Cons: Small and noisy more

Nice little place in Mahattan Beach - and I mean little. This place is very cozy - and definitely gets a little too crowded on weekends. There's a exclusive club upstairs. We asked one of the bartenders, the yearly membership is something insane - so i'm curious what really goes on upstairs. All i know is that most of the good looking people, stroll through the bar and go up the stairs. Martini's a excellent. more