Dexter Filming Locations: Matt Chambers' Bar

 

             

The location: Matt Chambers' Bar.
Q. What is it supposed to be on the show?

    A. A bar.

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

    A. Somewhere in Miami.

Q. When did we see it on the show?

    A. In Episode Two: "Crocodile".

    Dexter is stalking Matt Chambers, a killer who runs people down when driving drunk, and then moves to another town to do it again.

    In this scene, Chambers is sitting at a bar, watching a football game, when Dexter comes in and sits down next to him.

    Dexter pretends to be drunk, and strikes up a conversation, during which Chambers mentions being new to Miami and that he's moving again, confirming Dexter's suspicions.

    As he leaves, stumbling drunkenly to his car, Chambers says "There's nothing a new city can't cure."

    After he's gone, Dexter pockets the shot glass Matt was drinking from, and later runs his fingerprints through police databases.

    He learns that Chambers has been arrested in several different cities, each time using a different name and claiming a different address.
     

Q. What is it actually in real life?

    A. The interior of a sports bar.

Q. Where can I find it in real life?

The address is 239 N. Harbor Drive, in Redondo Beach, CA.
The name is a pun, since can find it next to the rocky breakwater at the Redondo Beach harbor, just north of the Redondo Beach Pier.

It is the very same place where they filmed the scene of "Loco's Crab Shack", only they shot that on the bar's outdoor patio, while they shot this scene inside, at the bar.

For those unfamiliar with Southern California, Redondo is a west-facing beach in the South Bay area, located between Hermosa Beach and the hills of Palos Verdes.

The sports bar is one of several restaurants and cafes located in this King Harbor area, and sharing the same large parking lot.  On The Rocks is just south of Ruby's Diner, and just west of a short pier.
 
Before it became "On the Rocks", it was previously known as "Chillers".

Also, despite the address, don't expect to find "On the Rocks" right on Harbor Drive.  It's set back about 200 feet from (west of) that street, behind a parking lot, and almost literally "on the rocks" that line this marina.
I shot these photos of "On The Rocks" in 2011:




Here is an aerial photo of the location.  And here is a map link.
Q. How the heck did you figure out where it was?

    A. This is the sort of location I usually can't find: strictly an interior, with no shot of the building's exterior.  Plus, since it was very the first season, I had no way of knowing if it was in Miami, L.A. or just a studio set.

    But in 2011, after I found the location of "Loco's Crab Shack", I Googled for images of "On the Rocks", and came across a photo of the interior that seemed to match this bar scene.

    I know that the "Dexter" crew loves to "cluster shoot" - that is, shoot more than one scene in the same area.  So it made sense that they would shot two scenes here, since there's no way to tell that it's the same place.

    So I headed down to Redondo to shoot photos of the patio, and while I was there (before the place opened), I shot this photo of the darkened interior through the glass door:


    There are enough details there to confirm that it's the same place: the look of the wooden bar countertop, the positions of the TVs, the style of the chairs, the wood paneling on the walls, and the unique, large bar taps.

    Speaking of those bar taps, here's a screencap of them from the show:


    And here's a matching shot of the "On the Rocks" taps, that I found online:




 
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