The Alibi

We cruised from South Eureka looking for some tasty breakfast options. We decided on the kid friendly Alibi. Wow things have changed at that spot, much different then my college days in 2006… Ordered a screwdriver which arrived with a thick black hair on top, no apologies from staff. Then got our food. biscuits and gravy and apple jack omelette were cold, flavor on point the temperature was not. Cottage cheese and fruit were delicious. Awesome that they substitute tofu or veggie sausage for regular meat and no charge but I won’t be going back

The food wasn’t the best but our waiter was amazing. He suggested so many different types of drinks and sides and was even patient with us when we couldn’t choose

I love this place ! So many varietys of food and burgers it’s the perfect pub food ! Better than 6rvers if you ask me.

Meh. I’m not exactly sure what happened after the expansion but customer service took a quick dive. Went there with a friend for dinner and drinks just after the new restaurant opened and the food was good but the service was slow and the waitress looked overworked and over it. Decided to go there yesterday for lunch with my boyfriend, who hadn’t yet been, figuring it wouldn’t be as hectic.
I was right — however, customer service was still left to be desired. There were only two tables seated, but no server in sight. There was nothing indicating whether we should seat ourselves or wait, the breakfast menu was still out after they’d already stopped serving (in a stack, at the end of the bar, with *one* single lunch/​dinner menu), the bartender had his back to the room and didn’t acknowledge us when we came in. We waited around for a bit then walked right back out.
I’m really disappointed by this «don’t give a sh*t» attitude that seems to affect many of the newer establishments around here, particularly bar/​breweries, and the surprising amount of people that are okay with putting up with it.
I’m giving three stars because I like the bar next door and the food was good the first time I went. Also, 2.5 stars wasn’t an option.

Breakfast has been great for me; don’t recommend the orange juice though; «killer» Bloody Marys!

After they poured our beers they informed us that there was a $ 15 minimum for debit cards. After years of banking and other work in the financial industries I know for a fact that that merchant services do not charge a «per transaction» fee just a percentage of the total. I felt that they were trying to Increase sales and had no concern about my alcohol consumption. When I told them my 18 year old daughter was picking us up and because they were no longer serving food was not aloud in I had to ask her to drive the extra 20 minutes home because they already charged my card.

My poor Alibi. This was a place I use to frequent when I lived in Humboldt County. A time where you would meet at the Alibi with friends for a couple of drinks, play card games, listen to great music, and get a bite to eat of their deviously tasty bar food.
Alibi Fail #1 Not enough staff for weekend breakfast/​brunch:
I was in town visiting for my friend’s 30^th birthday and showing my partner around the area.
The morning on our first day, we decided to go here for brunch. The place was packed and there was only one server on the new side and one server on the old side of the Alibi. There were a group of people waiting to be seated, so we decided to leave and go to Renattas (which wasn’t anything better).
Alibi Fail #2 Not enough staff for Dinner:
So we decided to try doing dinner here with 7 or so of my friends. We sat on the old Alibi side and had a beer. We left after a long period of time waiting for the one server that was working a full house. I felt bad for leaving the place without ordering food, but it was just taking so long. We went to Humbrews.
They need to change the way they manage this place. There is so much potential, and I hope it changes when I come back Spring. I sure do miss the old Alibi, but maybe I’m being nostalgic and nothing will ever change. Maybe its the Humboldt way that I had been so accustomed to and didn’t realize the terrible wait times for anything. Sigh.

Stopped in for drinks and found this to be a lovely place. The bartender was friendly and efficient and most importantly, she made a delicious cosmopolitan!
The breakfasts that were being eaten by other patrons looked good. I will go back again and sample breakfast (probably late night breakfast.)

Wow! So thankful we came into this place for Saturday brunch. The remodel looks great and they opened the back patio for drinks and smokers. We were served by Connie who is the BEST waitress I’ve ever been served by. She’s funny, nice, and extremely attentive. She truly enjoys what she does and it shows. The meal was great, American style comfort food. But the service is definitely what will bring me back.

The new addition is TERRIBLE. Loud, chaotic, generic and bland. Not sure the strategy behind taking a classic and turning it into something that resembles the boring chain restaurant that one can find in every strip mall. I’ve heard that the «dive» side is being restored, so let’s see how that all works out.

New addition is neat. Very modern and good beer selection. Very loud though. Outdoor area is really nice, but it’s for smokers. Unless you like breathing in cigarette smoke by the ton, it’s not for non– smokers. Except for the noise, it’s a nice addition to the Arcata scene.

They just had opened their new location and therefore, were out of a few things. All in all, it’s a cool place, especially for day drinking! Steve (I think that was the bartenders name) was really cool and fun to talk with.

Why did you tear the heart out of Arcata? Couldn’t we have the old bar space as well as the new bar space? You are destroying a piece of history, a landmark of this eclectic destination. Building your customer base includes keeping your old customers, so make new friends but keep the old, you know? So now that that is out of the way…
We visited the bar tonight and were really disappointed by what we saw. 70s kitchen table and chairs? Wha? Didn’t get the atmosphere there. We stood at the bar for a few minutes and were not waited on. The back patio was nice and cool and I will maybe visit that again for table service, but was hoping for a more convivial atmosphere. I had heard real nice things about this place, but was sorely disappointed in this themeless storefront. No character — from staff as well as the bar itself… Would have loved to see the classic doggie art and the old curved bar. Suggest revisiting this remodel plan folks.

The new Alibi looks so much nicer, unfortunately the kitchen delivered a sub par breakfast this morning. I couldn’t even eat it. Coffee cup was filthy, eggs ordered over easy, but they came with the whites not cooked through all the way, and lukewarm. Potatoes were also undercooked. I ate half of my english muffin and left the rest. Buyer beware.

Looking for a road trip breakfast stop with Bloody Marys on our way through the area and stumbled upon this place via Unilocal suggestions. I have to admit that rolling up at 10:30 in the morning I took one look outside at the joint and wanted to turn around. We instead went inside and I am glad we did. It is a little dark and cavelike (true to legit dive bar style), but the service was very friendly, the food was good, and they had an entire menu of Bloody Mary selections… yes!!! Would recommend checking out if you’re a fan of the aforementioned drink and local dives.

Great Bloody Mary!

The Alibi is exactly what a «dive» is supposed to be! We spent a few days in Arcata and found The Alibi on Unilocal.We arrived, walked in, and walked out because it wasn’t what we expected… The reviews on Unilocal were good enough to convince us to give it a try so we walked back in and we were very happy we did! Appearances really can be deceiving; don’t let the appearance of this place scare you away! We reluctantly ate here our first night in town and then ended up here three nights in a row and we were never disappointed.
The service was good… Friendly, welcoming staff doing their job well.
The food was good… Surprisingly good, and fresh.
It’s not what I would consider a family friendly place but our last night in town, we walked in and there was a large family group (adults and children) having dinner; they looked like they we were having a great time.
Congratulations to the staff at The Alibi on a job well done! Wishing you continued success! Cheers!

This place is rad & transports me to a time when I’m in my early 20s, loving the dive bar scene… I appreciate how grimey & unpretentious this place is.
I came in after 10pm on a Sunday & was able to get a decent meal at a reasonable cost.
The bar staff was really nice (even though I’m pregnant & didn’t order anything from them other than water but my server was kind of weird.
***What I mean by weird: My server didn’t understand that there is a difference between a brown, whole wheat tortilla and «regular» white flour tortilla. The Alibi apparently only has BROWN, WHOLE WHEAT tortillas, but when I asked if it would be possible to get a regular tortilla for my wrap, instead of a brown, whole wheat one, she copped a weird attitude. She proceeded to tell me that she’s gluten-​free & then told me that all tortillas are wheat tortillas & all tortillas contain gluten. She then went to ask the cook if they had any white tortillas and then told me that the cook said yes… when my wrap arrived, it was placed in a brown, whole wheat tortilla. How many times can I say brown, whole wheat tortilla in this review? Either way, I think that brown, whole wheat tortillas are absolutely disgusting. ***
I ordered «the monty» wrap with fresh fruit & the wrap was filled with scrambled eggs, onions, American cheese, bacon, sausage and ham… This time around I asked for no sausage, next time around I’d probably get it with no sausage, no ham, and maybe no bacon. Hahah so basically I just want to eat scrambled eggs with cheese and onions in a tortilla… (being pregnant does weird things to your appetite and taste buds). Hahaha regardless of whatever the hell I just said, it was good and I’d order it again. Also, the fresh fruit was amazing… it was a mixture of red grapes, pineapple & suuuuuper ripe honeydew (I normally hate honeydew but omg this was GOOD). Yum!
My husband ordered the «vesuvius» sandwich with potato salad and it looked SO GOOD. It was an all veggie, ooey, gooey, mozzarella cheesy delight & before I could manage to ask for another bite of it, it was all gone.
Stop reading this review and go indulge in some fine alcoholic beverages at the Alibi and stay there long enough to get hungry, because they have got your back. Haha

I like this bar a lot. I come here pretty often. Sometimes I feel like I can’t escape, like I’m swimming against the pull of a massive whirlpool sucking me in again and again. They have two TVs and I hear they’re expanding the restaurant in 2015.
Also the guy next to me liked his waffles more than his chicken in his chicken and waffles order.

Awese bar food. Breakfast All Day!
Alibi Haiku
Great Salads and drinks
This is important to me
Goat cheese with my eggs
Mexican coffee
You make it just how I like
Been here forever