A. A dark bar.

Q. Where is it supposed to be on the show?

A. An establishing shot shows Ocean Avenue in Miami Beach, around 8th Street.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

A. In Episode 6 (of Season 2), "Dex, Lies and Videotape".

This is a short scene, designed mainly to give Debra Morgan a chance to talk about Lundy & Dexter.

She and her boyfriend of the moment, Gabriel (the one who writes children's books), are seen sharing beers at a small table inside what appears to be a dark bar or café. (We don't see much of the room.)

She tells Gabriel about her estranged relationship with her father, then segues into a discussion about Lundy (the FBI guy who has come in to investigate the Bay Harbor Butcher case). She says that just when she was starting to feel that she was "his go-to girl", Lundy "realized that Dexter was the superior Morgan". She says she should be used to it by now, but had hoped it would be different with Lundy.

When she starts talking about how she respects Lundy, Gabriel picks up on something else, and half-jokingly says "You LOVE him." She denies it, but seems somewhat pleased by the idea.

( Later in the same episode, she learns that Lundy has only been turning to Dexter because he hates working with Masuka. )

Q. What is it actually in real life?

A. A bar at a restaurant, but far from Miami Beach.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

A. The scene was shot inside the bar at Tequila Jack's, a Mexican restaurant at 407 Shoreline Village Drive, in Long Beach, CA.

You'll find it overlooking the marina, at the east end of Shoreline Village, a seaside shopping & dining center, between the carousel and the Yard House restaurant. The bar is on the north side of the restaurant, near the patio.

( That's the same Village where they filmed the Comic Book store scenes. They also used the nearby parking lot for the stakeout scene with Doakes and LaGuerta. )

They also used Tequila Jack's for the bar scene where Lila is telling dirty jokes in Episode 9.


Here is an aerial photo of the lot.  And here is a map link.




(I shot the photos below in 2008)


(The photo above is looking west, across the parking lot, at the east side of the restaurant.)



(The photo above, looking east/southeast, shows the patio area at Tequila Jack's, with the bar behind it.)



(The flash photo above was shot looking from the patio into the bar area of Tequila Jacks.)



Numerous other scenes from "Dexter" have been shot in this general area, including multiple scenes at Shoreline Village, the area around the Queensway Bridge, in Shoreline Park, and at the Coast Long Beach Hotel.

Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

A. It's a brief, dark scene, and they disguised the place a bit. But I knew they had filmed a lot at Shoreline Village, so while I was there, I shot a photo of the interior of Tequila Jacks for future reference.  Comparing it with what's seen in this brief bar scene, I was able to match up the round windows in the twin swinging doors (leading to the kitchen), and a brief glimpse of the beach mural on the camera pans to its left. The actual filming area was just around that corner.