Outside, a pair of signs sit above a large awning of sorts that stretches over the sidewalk leading to Cheaters’ front door. One sign serves as a marquee, making clear that Sacramento’s sports teams can be found inside. The other is an epic, seemingly 80s-style backlit sign with the name of the bar complemented by a martini glass and a very ominous pair of eyes. The look is very much in line with an airbrushed t-shirt on a boardwalk somewhere, the only thing missing the name of a soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.
A series of reflective windows flank the front door, behind which blinds are likely perpetually drawn to keep the California sun at bay. The exterior looks as if it has been redone, but the fact that some question remains around that fact suggests that any work done here kept the spirit of the hole-in-the-wall Sacramento dive bar alive. A red neon sign in the window says all it needs to say, reading simply ‘cocktails.’
The bar setup inside follows a classic pattern, the narrow space filled by a long, L-shaped bar that windows around to a small nook in back and not much else. The bar itself has been updated over the years but the shelving behind it looks to be a bit older, classic illuminated shelving at foot level housing portions of the dive bar’s liquor selection.
