Rancho Bar

Ruined since the hipsters have invaded and forced the amazing bartenders and owner succumb to trendy drinks and mediocre jukebox. I voted to keep it just the way it was then again I may be alone…

A coworker who lives in the Pasadena area recommended Rancho Bar to me, knowing that I’m a huge fan of dirty bars. I went last weekend and was very impressed!
From the outside, it looks relatively upscale, but upon stepping in, I was pleased to see a dingy bar, packed with an assortment of salty regulars and a beautiful bartender who welcomed us unfamiliar folk with a smile and warm hospitality.
We ordered pretty basic drinks — a vodka cranberry, whiskey neat, a couple Budweisers — so I can’t vouch for the speciality drinks, but the bodacious blonde goddess was slinging some pretty amazing-​looking Bloody Mary’s. I’m excited to come back and try one.

Excellent bloody Mary’s, no matter who’s tending the bar! Great jukebox, cheap pool, friendly locals, drinks stiff and inexpensive. I used to dive in to the Rancho more when I worked in Pasadena, but it’s still a New Year’s Eve tradition to meet up with a buddy for some afternoon cocktails – to sit outside on the patio, have a cigar, chew the fat and watch the sun set on the year.

It’s home! It’s quaint! And expensive, it ain’t! An ice cold PBR will only set you back a pair of dollars, plus! Other than the awkward architecture, it’s Altadena’s finest Mt. Lowe watering hole!

I like to think of this place as my tiny get away. I first went in alone and realized I was the youngest (it was early) but still felt very welcome. The drinks are fast well served and casual, as its a stress free environment I see why they don’t have complex drinks
It’s always been a great mix of people the locals and new faces. It’s unfair to rate based on looks in this case because although small I’ve learned a lot and met amazing people. Oh and no one judges all walks of life is welcome. Just be friendly and don’t expect anything fancy

If your not a regular, then forget having the friendly welcome, if your selection of songs is not to their liking the jukebox will get rebooted.
Bartenders will ignore you for a long time, so that drink you needed after a hard day at work won’t be so satisfying.

Super love this place been visiting this joint over 30 plus years now way to cool to miss out on the place

I have been living in the area for many years now and my wife even longer. We are both in the hospitality business (bartenders) and we have tried going there for a drink numerous times in the past. It is a cozy bar where the locals hang out to feed the juke box and play some pool. However, the level of service and hospitality of the rancho bar is below ridicoulus. The bartenders are way too arrogant for their low level of skil and drink knowledge, painfully slow to provide service or even eye contact sometimes. Needless to say, both me and my wife along with some friends have stopped going there – I doubt that we ever will again. By far the worst bar experience ever!!! Last time I walked in to get a drink, I was literally standing in front of 2 bartenders, smiling patiently waiting to be noticed for TEN minutes! Until finally, in my exasperation, I decided to leave since nobody seemed to care nor to even acknowledge me, even after i started calling them trying to get a drink…
Wow… really disappointing… Sat nov 14 2015 was the night that this happened but it has happened over and over again…
If they bothered to hire some bartenders who actually seem to want to have a fun bar crowd, they may even increase their business… who knows! But by keeping these same sullen bartenders who give awful service again & again, surely we won’t keep trying to have this as our local bar.

Loved this place and all the regulars when i lived in Cali

Love this place. Weekday bartender Kim is amazing and knows your order before you belly up to the bar. Local watering hole with eclectic people of Altadena. Decorated with rich history of the area, motivated me to hike the foothills and see the sites for myself. Full bar, pool table and sports on the screens.

Great local neighborhood bar. It’s the only place in town really. Divey in a good way. It really gets popping on Friday and Saturday nights. Small interior, with outdoor areas in the front and back. A single pool table, a jukebox, 3 tables and a dart board in the side room. El Patron was setting up a taco stand on Saturday nights when I was still visiting this bar. Parking is available up and down lake, as well as across the street near Websters. Come for the good prices, stay for the great atmosphere and people. The bartenders are also friendly and knowledgable.

Great for karaōke on Tuesday nights. Drinks were decent priced and strong. The bartender (whose name I can’t remember) was a sweetheart.
The people who seemed like regulars were pretty nice.
Only 4 stars since it’s so small in the entryway. Kinda hard to get around. But otherwise a great little place.

You can smell the history in the air, this is such a chill neighborhood bar where I will be spending time during the summer.

This bar holds a special place in my heart, as it was the weekly happy hour spot back in the day. Let me just say that it hasn’t changed much over the last decade. It is still the same small mostly local filled bar up the hill. Even though you can no longer smoke inside the interior permeates the stale smell of decades old cigarettes. It’s not a place someone with asthma would or should hang out in.
There is a small bar, a small side room with a pool table, and a decent sized patio out front. This is the bar we have posted at during the afternoon on the weekends before the ale house opens across town. It’s a solid dive bar if you’re in the mood for pool and a good stiff cheap cocktail. Just make sure it’s easy like a jack and coke or a vodka soda, or else be prepared to have the bar staff give you shit for ordering a froo froo drink.

Love this place. Good drinks, great bartenders. They updated their juke box, and you can play songs from you phone. They are also upgrading their back patio. Always a good time when I go.

Bloody Mary. That is all. This baby has like 40 ingredients and is oozing with love and affection.
Fantastic bar cleverly disguised as a dive bar. Don’t got there if you’re a douchebag– you are not welcome.

«Soup Nazi» meets «Cheers»
As I write, the bartender pops a canned pbr, spritzing my cheek with its award winning golden fizz. The rushed staff (singular) keeps fluid cadence, but turns into a patron at the first sight of a doldrum. Be expeditious with your order. Cash is king.

Worth the drive WAAAAY up Lake Ave. Perhaps even worth the walk (especially since the drunken stumble home will at least be DOWNhill).
The clientele reflects the demographic diversity of the San Gabriel Valley in a manner not usually seen in a bar. I can’t imagine that you won’t feel comfortable here, thanks in large measure to the extremely competent and welcoming bartenders. This is definitely an attitude-​free space, so leave your prejudices at the door.
Liberal pours, a fairly good selection of beers on tap, pool and on some nights karaōke.
This place has been here since the 1950s, and has definitely kept up with the times while still maintaining authenticity. While some may call this a «dive bar,» it’s not that at all. What this place is is a BAR. Not a tavern, not a gastropub, not a lounge, but a bar that was a bar likely before you were born, and maybe before your parents were born.
Here’s to sixty more years of being an extraordinary local bar, Rancho!

Gosh, I honestly, couldn’t stick around long enough to give an adequate assessment. Other than the fact that FIRST IMPRESSIONS are key-​even in a dive bar situation. Granted the locals brag it is the only neighborhood bar– I get that! But it could still be LARGER, especially walking around the bar area to the back door!
In all honesty, the smoking area OUTSIDE had way more room, and shows HIGH POTENTIAL if they would revamp it outside and make it a PATIO BAR as well. Smokers can blacken their lungs on the sidewalk! and isn’t the LAW at least 25 feet from an establishment?! So why they can smoke right outside the bar in what could have been and otherwise AWESOME NON SMOKING AREA, is beyond me. The eclectic surge of high end people, mixed with bikers and lesbians, make this for quite an interesting sports bars. I am sure my assumption to hold back from ordering a fancy minted Mojito would be wisest, as it looks like mostly BEER and HARD LIQUOR served over rocks!
But in life there is a FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING, and this was clearly… a FIRST!

Everyone at this bar is SO friendly and nice. It’s a locals bar so you’ll see a mix of young and old people. The older people usually sit at the bar and start early and the younger folks usually are in the patio or pool area and come late.
Pros:
The music here is great if you love country and jukebox stuff.
And the pool table is pretty awesome.
There’s always parking on the street in front of Curves.
Everyone is friendly and will talk with you.
You’ll make a lot of friends for sure!
The beer is so cheap compared to any of the bars I’ve been to.
It’s not smoky and dingy like most bars.
The décor is filled with articles and pictures of historic Altadena. I love it!
Cons:
It gets crowded.
The bathrooms are tiny tiny and feel like airplane bathrooms. haha!
I love it here and will be back!