Alter Ego Cocktail Club & Still OG

Alter Ego is a beautiful special occasion or date night spot but as of the past couple of months, has become my regular haunt! The consistency is amazing and drinks are spectacular. The setting is intimate and cushy. If you go, don't forget to get the octopus!

Portions are small and the drinks are pricey but I don't view that as a detractor being that the flavors are huge so the value is there. Wen is amazing btw!

SN always make a reservation as the waitlist can be up to 2.5 hours on weekends

Alter Ego - Might be the most high end bar in San Jose. Decor is very nice. Their menu is a mutlipage binder with illustrations. Space is limited but they take reservations.

Still OG - Feels like a hip Oakland spot. I'm not sure how to describe it. The premade cocktails are mixed bag. I'm glad it is here because SJ needs some variety.

Their smash burger is excellent. The patty is a tad thicker than what I expect a smash patty to be. It has a great crust. You get a good hit of onion. The crinkle cut fries are the best I've had in long time.

The ambiance is great - very Great Gatsby and feels like you would find this spot in NYC or LA. That being said, it also gives very pretentious for not providing enough value. Food and drinks are pretty pricey for what you get. The food is good and focuses on amazing technique to get it JUST right yet the portions are super tiny (takes "small bites" to a whole new level) and the ingredients aren't totally fresh (we had a debate if it was frozen or canned corn). Overall the drinks are good and unique so I definitely recommend trying as many as possible on the menu.

Beware of the servers! They will upsell you at every opportunity ... ask for the "dealer's choice" and they won't make you a custom cocktail or recommend something that matches your taste... just bring you the most expensive one on the menu ($40 ).

Now, who knew San Jose had cool spots like this. Not me until now! I have been a fan of Haberdasher and that's usually the spot I take out-of-towners. Adding Alter Ego to the list now. Even the bar tender at Haberdasher talked highly about it.

Awesome drinks, cool vibe, and good eats. Note that they get super busy so either make a reservation well in advance or be ready for a wait if you are doing a walk-in and note they only wait 10 minutes before freeing up your spot so don't wander off too far.

I brought my mother here for happy hour during a weekday and we both adored this place. From the modern, ambient atmosphere to the wonderful service to the delicious food, this place has got it right. Parking right next to the restaurant presented a challenge--if not an impossible task, but if you're willing to walk a block or two, there is actually plentiful parking opportunity on the main streets, and most parking spaces are free of charge after 6pm regardless.

We traveled to San Jose expressly for the happy hour specials, which start at 5pm. When you first walk in, you encounter the Still OG restaurant with a bar. Fun fact: unbeknownst to me initially, "OG" stands for "Original Gravity." The space is cute, light and airy, and small and cozy. Scanning the QR code at each table leads you to the happy hour menu, which consists of $10 beers, hamburgers, and sausages (served as a hot dog) and $5 fries. Our hostess Stephanie was super gracious and immediately offered us the opportunity to enter the speak easy part of this establishment.

Alter Ego is hidden behind two sets of heavy curtains, and the atmosphere is dimly-lit in a romantic way and reminiscent of the gilded ages. There is another bar here surrounded by cushioned booths. There is a separate food menu with elevated light bites. Seating here is reserved for 2 hours, but between the specialty cocktails and light bites, I would say 2 hours is just about the right amount of time to dwell here. Most people here were on dates and the demographic tended toward a younger audience, but I think this place would be enjoyable for all ages alike.

In terms of the food--my mom and I loved everything. The smashed cheese burger was delicious and melted in your mouth. We also ordered the Cheesy Bavarian sausage, available with a variety of toppings customized to your liking. In addition, we shared the King Salmon Tostada, which was extremely fresh and served beautiful. Lastly, we shared the Spanish Octopus, which was cooked wonderfully and left us wanting more.

The service here is extremely attentive and friendly--from the hostess to the bartender to the chef who came to introduce each dish. Overall, this was a wonderful way to spend happy hour. If you're considering coming here, don't hesitate!

There's so much thought behind everything. The ambiance of Alter Ego is very modern and classy. My friend and I felt like we were transported out of San Jose for a night.

We dropped by on a bustling Saturday evening and had great service from beginning to end. We sat at the bar, and one bartender told us how they use unique ingredients for their craft cocktail menu. The bartenders would check in on us to see how we were doing throughout our time there.

I chose the Astronaut Blues and I adored the space presentation so much! The drink was a blend of salty, sweet, and sour. We also got the King Salmon Tostada for a taste test. It was an Asian fusion of flavors and very fresh.

Highly recommend a reservation, especially on the weekends. Walk-ins will definitely experience a wait. Excited for future visits!

This is the go to spot to have some creative and delicious cocktails. The food menu are small bites but very tasty as well. I made a reservation for 4 but my party increased to 1 so they were able to accommodate a party of 5. The staff was really nice and helpful. The decor is beautiful and dim. A nice place for date night. Their dinner special was a Dry Aged 14oz Pork Chop and it was flavorful and tender. Their version of the Papas Bravas was interesting. It came with a foam cream. Loved the hamachi, tomato salad and the R&B and hip hop playlist. It's a place worth checking out in downtown San Jose.

The main venue is a small bar in front with decently loud music, small standing tables, and a pretty large crowd on a Saturday night. The main spot though is the bar in the back that has reservations but also a on site waitlist. We got a table after an hour wait but that wasn't bad as we hung out in the front bar area. The back room is a whole different vibe with high class interior, intimate ambiance, and a more quiet setting for conversations. There were multiple tables good for small and large groups and also bar sitting. Server and staff were also just amazing given the service in the back was more personal than most places (providing recs and detailed answers on drinks). Drinks were all made in 5-10min.

9/10 Kyushu Coffee $19 - was a delightful dessert cocktail that was sweet, creamy, and good amount of liquor. Coffee flavor was strong too
8/10 Beatbox Bandit $19 - A fancy hard lemon drink which was pretty good but not amazing.
10/10 La Cosa Nostra $22 - Margarita Pizza cocktail came as high rec and I would definitely agree. Must try as it does taste like it sounds and works very well as a drink.
10/10 Canyon Lullaby $20 - The passion fruit + calpico combo was amazing! Also a must get!

Overall really cool bar with stellar drinks but expensive and the wait puts the rating down

I LOVED this place and am already planning to come back! I recommend making a reservation a few days in advance which shouldn't be too difficult but may become more difficult given their growing popularity. Unfortunately, we can't quite remember exactly what each of the drinks tasted like, but I guess that's the fun in trying the cocktails yourself.

The drinks we ordered include the following: Asteroid Blues, Canyon Lullaby, Kyushu Coffee, Dogfight, and one of their shareable cocktails for 3!

The menu comes with pictures and the ingredients included in each cocktail, but honestly you can't go wrong with any of them! The Asteroid Blues drink is actually what caught my attention on social media. The foam on top tastes like salty foam which was quite interesting but paired well with the drink.

Overall, I loved the classy vibes of the place and it really does feel like a speakeasy! We were definitely underdressed(haha).

The service was amazing. We got our drinks within 10-15 minutes and they checked in on our regularly. They took the time to have conversations with us which is always a nice touch. This place is perfect for a date night or nice night out with some friends. I'll be making our next reservation quite soon.

Fun!

Alter Ego is located in DTSJ, right by Paper Planes, inside of Still OG.

It gets pretty busy so reservations are a must.

After getting through security, you'll make your way all the way to the back of the establishment. Still OG is more of the older crowd vibes in comparison to most of the surrounding bars (hence the name), but regardless of age, still very lively.

Once you get past the curtains, you'll find an Alter Ego logo and be seated in one of their many booths or small tables.

Their drinks are fun especially the Asteroid Blues which features an astronaut cup holder holding a glass of liquor.

We ordered their bread and butter and it did not disappoint. Our entire table enjoyed how well flavored it was.

Service was friendly but did take some time to wave someone down since it's so busy.

Everything was great. The other thing our entire group kept mentioning was how hot it was in there.

4 stars instead of 5 because it was painfully hot in there. The combination of lack of air and so much body heat didn't allow us to be comfortable at our reservation which was a bummer. We probably only stayed 45 min to 1 hour of our 2 hour reservation because of this.

Overall, fun spot and we'd be back. Hopefully we're not dripping sweat the next time we're here!