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The Metro Bars & Clubs 2004 Guide [ Intro | Coffee | Tea | Famous South Bay Drunks | San Jose | Campbell | Cupertino | Los Altos | Los Gatos | Menlo Park | Mountain View | Palo Alto | Redwood City | Santa Clara | Saratoga | Sunnyvale ] Santa Clara By-Th-Bucket 4565 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara 408.248.6244 Calling By-Th-Bucket a sports bar doesn't do it justice. It's more of a tasteful, old-school bar and restaurant where you can take in a game at the bar while you enjoyed great seafood and one of their powerful signature specialty drinks like the 18-ounce Margarita or the Three Mile Island. (GY) The Claran 1251 Franklin Mall, Santa Clara 408.296.9558 Unlike some of the other bars popular with Santa Clara University students, the more mature regulars who populate the Claran by day don't keep their distance when the freaks come out at night. That makes for a wonderful melange of old and young after dark, all united by their love of this murky, bunkerlike bar and, of course, alcohol. Where else can you watch a senior citizen ask a girl young enough to be his granddaughter, "And what's your major, sweetheart?" (GY) Club Savoy 3546 Flora Vista Ave, Santa Clara 408.244.6909; www.clubsavoy.com Women rock at Club Savoy, which justifiably calls itself "the hottest women's night club in Silicon Valley." With a Wednesday open mic called "Dykes on Mykes," sponsorship of the eponymous Savoy Women's Softball League and social activities organized by the Bay Area Community of Women, the Savoy functions as the South Bay's own lesbian clubhouse. Beer is the beverage of choice, with the Thirsty Thursday "super-size it" special and the "all you can drink" for $5 a person draft beer night every third Friday (the Club also has a full bar—sometimes two full bars). There's karaoke on Wednesdays and free pool every Sunday night, and the dance floor heats up with DJs spinning at least four days a week. If home is where the heart is, Club Savoy's as homey as it can get. (TV) The Hut 3200 The Alameda, Santa Clara 408.296.6024 Fashions come and go at nearby Santa Clara University, but the Hut never seems to go out of style with students who love a casual bar that's within stumbling distance of their overpriced apartments and dorms. During the school year, the Hut heats up at night with delinquent scholars on the prowl. By day and during the summer, it's a quiet hangout for locals—locals who make sure to vacate the premises by 8pm if they are over 25. (GY) Martin's Lounge 1828 Main St, Santa Clara 408.243.7976 A bar that opens at 6 in the morning commands respect, especially in a town where there aren't even any third-shift factory employees getting out of work at such an obscene hour. The formula seems to work; Martin's has been serving loyal customers who like to drink before rush hour starts for about 60 years. (GY) Tinker's Dam 46 N. Saratoga Ave, Santa Clara 408.243.4595 T.D.'s, as the regulars call it, offers up all you could ask for in a gay bar: lots of guys, strong drinks and take-off-your-shirt dancing. The crowd is youngish, of course, but there's a minimum of attitude. There's a popular free barbecue on Sundays, but everything else is cash only. (GY) Woodham Lounge 4475 Stevens Creek Blvd, Santa Clara 408.296.9810 This place has everything you expect from a local hangout. There's karaoke, a Top 40 jukebox, pool, darts and foosball. Oh yeah, there's booze, too. But the main attraction seems to be the bartenders, who just happen to be babe magnets, especially every Monday, which is Ladies Night. (GY) Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]