The Radio Room

Great place to see punk rock bands. Dark, small, nice booths. Great art on the walls. Well lit enough to read in the booths, had good free mags to peruse before the bands started. Saw in the Red, great band.

Went here last Wednesday to see a couple fun bands play, Sherm and OttlyMercer. Great show; those guys love to play. Can’t wait to see them back in the neighborhood.
You know what I like? Seeing a bunch of kids drive all the way to some dingy dive bar to pay $ 3 to support their friend’s band. It makes me feel good.
You know what else I like? Being surrounded by people whose jeans aren’t so tight they can’t dance. When the bands played that night, everybody danced.
Also, I like that bartender. Think her name is Bethany. She’s quick and she makes stiff vodka tonics. I drew hearts for her on my receipt.
The place is a little dumpy. So what?

Typical punk-​rock venue. Very dark, small, minimal places to sit, felt like I was going to get beat up most of the time. Probably wouldn’t go here if my boyfriends roommates band didn’t play shows here.
Bartender chick was RUDE, unless you knew her. Granted she was pretty so she probably gets alot of sleazy guys hitting on her, but um… I’m not a guy, don’t treat me like I’m picturing you naked in my head, because I’m not. And could someone feed that poor bartender a sandwich please, I was afraid she was going to disappear into thin air before she even got my drink order.
Two dollar, twelve ounce PBR is they’re cheapest beer there, *hipsters everywhere cheer*
Not really my scene, but I go to support my friends. Some guys tried to start a mosh pit and one got thrown on the ground and fell into my leg, I seriously couldn’t walk for about five minutes. It really hurt, but I couldn’t show my weak side around all these hardcore punks. But seriously, who ever said punk is dead was wrong, it’s alive and well at the radio room.

Not very fun. Strange scene. I’m used to being around hipsters but I didn’t feel very comfy here. I was glad when I was approached by a reasonably good looking guy but then quickly disappointed when I asked him what type of music the headline band played. He answered «Its the best music ever, like nothing you’ve ever heard before. Like, there isn’t anything like it. I’m pretty sure you will like them because they are my favorite band in the whole world… I drove all the way from Cardiff to see them… blah blah blah» Like I said, Strange!
The first set was a solo, singer/​song writer, acoustic set. If you ask me,
not the best choice for a Saturday night at 10pm. She must have been screwing the bar manager or something…

Music was cool, asshole bartender was not. This was my first time there and I’ll never go back.
Ordered one beer and gave him my card after he put up four fingers indicating the beer was $ 4. He did not say one word to me but seemed friendly enough. Came back later to close it out and a gal bartender gave me a $ 10 receipt for my card. I told her I only had one beer. She said «sorry it’s a $ 10 minimum for cards». She had already run the card and was nice and offered me a shot to make up for the $ 6 I didn’t spend. I told her it would’ve been ideal for the guy bartender to tell me about the minimum in the first place. She then reprimanded him for not telling me and he immediately got a huge attitude with ME!
He was like «I fucking told you dude!». Small nod to the gal bartender who told him to shut his mouth, yet he continued to talk shit to me, calling me a dickhead and whatnot. I was like «wow, dude really?» Patrons at the bar convinced me he was an idiot and would not remember any of this in the morning.
He kept mumbling shit to me from across the bar. He wanted a fight. Not sure why because he was half my size and has probably opted for crack-​sprinkled meth bowls over food for some time now.

Radio Room used to be The Zombie Lounge and not much has changed since the new ownership.
The drinks are like my men — stiff and cheap
Say hi to Ziggy (I call him Sicky) and you won’t regret it. He has got to be hands down THE friendliest, happy-​go-​luckiest guy you will ever come across in this shady town. There are two other guys, Rob and Carnie, that are pretty awesome, too, so don’t forget to be nice to them as well when you find yourself at this bar.
The acoustics at the Radio Room do a band good. You can stand outside and still hear the group, or you can be inside and still able to talk to/​hear your friends.
That’s all I have to say about that.

The one problem I have with the place is the acoustics. Standing in the front of the house feels like I’m in a garage, and standing in the back by the stage just feels like pain. Unless you’re fond of profuse ear bleeding, BRING EARPLUGS. Otherwise, this place is the tits. I’ve been here several times for a variety of shows, and I’ve gotta say I’m a big fan. Their drinks are super stiff and cheap, the bartenders are friendly, and it’s always a good crowd. it’s a pretty sweet dive bar and venue… I’ll definitely be back.

Cheap PBR and terrible live music.

I miss the zombie lounge.
i like to see live bands with moderate priced drinks.
always a cover, bleh. some nights should be free.

We decided to go somewhere a little different after hitting up BLAH on a Friday night. Radio room was within walking distance, so we ended up there despite the unexpected $ 5 cover. Though at least it was for a live band, which is more than I can say for a place like PB Bar and Grill.
The drinks were priced just fine, and they had tall boys of PBR (not hipster AT ALL) and the place wasn’t particularly crowded for 11p on a Friday night. We were able to jack a booth and watch the band, which though were pretty good, were VERY much into sticking with their rockabilly genre. As was much of the clientele.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, greased up hair, black jeans and red lipstick look good on *anyone*, but you toss a bunch of these into one room and I started to feel like my blonde hair and blue jeans were vastly out of style. Given, at this point of the night I had stacked a couple beers and a blueberry Stoli + sprite on a meager salad dinner, so I didn’t care much for anything other than what was within reach, anyway.

Take it or leave it…
I didn’t have a bad time at the Radio Room but it wasn’t amazing either… Used to be the Zombie Lounge and was too rockabilly for me. Now it’s the Radio Room and it’s too scenester for me.
Perhaps I went on a bad night but I just didn’t understand the cover charge. No one was there but the band was ok…
Take it or leave it…

Never a huge fan of the Zombie lounge, but I’m liking the Radio Room just fine.
It feels a LOT bigger now and the space for bands is good. Good sound, plenty of room to stand and get a good view.
I don’t go to a bar for the décor. You want décor, go to the Hard Rock. I’m happy if it seems reasonably clean.
The women’s restroom is much bigger and better lit. Also, accommodates more than one at a time so one chica can fluff her ‘do while the other does her business. No more standing outside the door doing the pee pee dance while a rockabilly gal reapplies winged eyeliner.

I really wanted to love this place but I rarely venture out of my comfort zone in Hillcrest, North Park, Univ Heights, Downtown, Mission Hillsand sometimes Kensington. Will qualify that I know one of the owners.
If I was looking for a great bar, I would set my standards higher but this is a small bar in a not so gentrified neighborhood. I think it’s passable as a neighborhood bar with local bands playing almost every night of the week, check the website for schedule.
They now have happy hour from 5 – 8 every night to help those drinking their sorrows away $ 2 well and domestic beers. They have my fav MGD and at these prices, its a nice place to hang around for a weeknight or even Friday night before the bands play.
For the happy hour with work friends, it was a change. Otherwise, unless you like to go to a bar by yourself in an unfamiliar territory, its not necessarily a place to pick up men or women unless its along El Cajon Blvd. I think I did see at least 3 working women along the blvd.

I want to give it 5 stars damn it but it just doesn’t give me enough reasons!
It’s a nice joint but I miss the Zombie Lounge. It had a distinct atmosphere and charm about it. I can’t say I was ever a regular but it was definitely a good time, every time. Anyways!
The Radio Room has been somewhat remodeled and is now more suited to live music, fact. It has an upgraded sound system and the overall acoustics of the place are great. Fact. All this aside I can’t help but feel it was dumbed down a little. It lost something. I’m not sure about the name, Radio Room, I don’t really see it tied in to the design of the place, maybe that’s over analyzing it but… that’s me. The drinks on my most recent outing ranged from weak to regular strength, so not too many points there and that’s really my main complaint, even though they’re cheap. I think the stage could be a foot higher too.
The staff are good folks with a good attitude. The restroom is nice, it’s not a mess but it’s a single so sometimes it backs up a bit for the guys. The girls get their own, needless to say I can’t give a detailed run down on that one.
So it gets a 3 star rating. 3 stars is A-​OK, and that’s what this place is for now. Not bad at all. Just didn’t knock my pants down you know?

I’ve been to my share of dark dives, but there is one major thing about the Radio Room that pisses me off… the volume. I went to go meet a friend for a drink and catch up a bit. We, literally, could not hear each other because the music was so loud (and I mean screaming into the other person’s ear)…but it wasn’t live music. It was just what happened to be playing. WTF? Do people go there to sit in silence and drink to whatever crap music is playing?!? No Thanks, I spend enough time staring at dirty walls and disgusting people.

It depends on the night I guess and there is a certain grunge crowd that goes there.
Iv’e gone when it has been emptier but the bartender is pretty chill so it doesn’t really take anything away.

Zombie Lounge is gone. Deal with it. Its still a cool bar and its not too pricey.
Just be happy that this place didnt turn out like The Office on 30^th.

I don’t understand the other reviews complaining about how they miss the old Zombie Lounge, it’s the same crowd, the same drink prices (though they don’t have the nightly specials now, they’re just $ 1 off certain premiums) it’s even the same booker– Another Zeke Productions that books most of the shows there.
The dudes from Kadan bought the place, and you can tell. It’s got the same pseudo-​Medieval atmosphere, or maybe it’s just the huge mirror behind the bar. They expanded the back room so there’s more room and a bigger stage and completely re-​vamped the sound system. I think it’s an improvement across the board, save for the Medieval stuff.
I am sad to report they re-​painted the bathrooms, one of my favorite things about the Zombie was all the old band stickers and random tags, things like that should be treated like a museum.
And they do have photos up on the wall taken by Chris Woo, mostly of local bands and it’s cool to look at.

I miss the zombie hipsters.
The Radio Room seems to cater to a new kind of crowd. I like the bartender, she was pretty awesome. I can’t give up more than 3 stars just yet because they did that thing where they bump bands later than they were supposed to play last night. I hated that as a musician, but I understand since Chasers closed down… but in any case, It’s still a cool spot, but the only people that were there were bands pretty much.
I’ll try it again another night.

So the tetanus factor and grime might be gone from the place but the former Zombie Lounge is now a much better place to see music.
Given more than just a corner/​afterthought to play their tunes, bands can rock out on a bigger stage and there is a nice little patch of floor if you think you can dance.
Don’t let the 80’s pleather/​chrome vibe scare you off, this is a fresh new update on an old fave.