Patrons Bask in Warmth From the Sunset Lounge

Nestled among a strip of neighborhood shops in Fullerton, its home for the past 30 years, is the Sunset Lounge--still offering live music, stiff drinks and good cheer without a cover charge.

The regulars welcome you with a smile as you take a seat at the bar or settle into one of the brown vinyl booths. Read the bar’s monthly newsletter, the Sunset Ingredi, under the red glow from the table lamps--that’s sure to affirm the amicable ambience of the place. How many bars do you know that put out newsletters listing special events and patrons’ birthdays?

Dominoes and darts are the house games, and these lead to monthly “super bowl” tournaments. The dart game here is modern, with plastic-tipped missiles and a board that automatically keeps score (“Cuts down on the cheating,” co-owner Lea Yett says).

The games contribute to the Alpine-English pub theme, other elements of which are the shingled roof over the bar and the bronze-colored paneling embossed with horses and knight helmets.

This lounge boasts of a piano bar shaped around a baby grand. The ivories are tickled every Friday and Saturday by resident pianist John Kilpatrick, who plays standards from the 1920s, ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s--including show-tune favorites from those decades.

Every Wednesday, Bill Jackson’s Chicago Jazz Band takes over the small corner around the piano, cranking out classics that get the crowd jumping onto the makeshift dance floor (actually the space between two rows of booths). And when there’s no live entertainment, the juke box can spin anything from Big Joe Turner to George Strait to David Lee Roth.

Breakfast is served on Sundays only; lunch on weekdays, and dinner Tuesday through Saturday. Mealtime specials range from the $2.50 spaghetti dinner plate to the steak-and-egg breakfast for $9. Bar fare includes such tasty snacks as beef jerky, peanut butter crackers and corn nuts.

Sunset Lounge, 1043 W. Orangethorpe Ave., Fullerton. Open daily, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. (714) 738-9283.