B is for Backdoor Lounge
The Backdoor Lounge
1112 Firehouse Alley
Old Sacramento
The Backdoor Lounge is an Old Sacramento landmark.
Conveniently hidden behind a restaurant with much pricier drinks, the Backdoor is a popular post-dinner spot which often turns into an all night spot without you even realizing it. Tourists lucky enough to find it mingle with the regulars as they all enjoy a little step back in time.
If you love hip, modern and contemporary don’t even bother with Old Sacramento let alone the Backdoor. This lounge is 100% vintage from the fuzzy wallpaper to the well-loved barstools to most of the folks who drink there.
I was fortunate enough to visit on karaoke night and if you’ve never seen an 80 year-old sing Secret Agent Man then you’ve never lived. Much to his pleasure, he was quickly surrounded with women half his age go-go dancing around him. We should all be so lucky.
While I love a dimly lit bar, it’s not the best situation for taking pictures…especially with my not-so great camera phone so I apologize for the lack of photos.
However, if I had taken photos what you would have seen was a lot of dark red, some shiny stuff and some real 1960s charm. Also, if I had taken a bunch of rapid fire photos of myself while I was talking and you assembled a flipbook out of them you would have seen me mouth the words “This place is awesome.”
Highlights
* The aforementioned 80 year old singing Secret Agent Man
* One of the last real jukeboxes in town…not one of them Internet numbers.
* Lots of old-timers
Price
* Very reasonable for Old Sacramento, but it’s easy to find cheaper drinks outside the historic district. Of course, I made a friend buy my drinks and, if you do that, it’s totally free.
Clientele
Experts who have been drinking there for years and a nice assortment of other folks who found themselves in Old Sacramento after 8pm.
Nick is the best bartender in Sacramento! Midweek you may even meet the owner who’s tried to sell my friends and me the BDL.
How much was he selling it for? Why didn’t you buy it?
Also, who are you?
i understand that they have some sweet “old timey” burlesque art work on the walls that i bet a guy like you would appreciate…
Pure retro funk! Great place…..