Best bars in Los Angeles

[SepaGroove]

check out the pie hole while you are over there

Wow the Pie Hole looks so good. This thread is going to make my g/f and I super fat

[psychic friend]

looking for cool bars.. from dive to a bit nicer, with good jukebox.. bonus for good bar food, games, pool, NOT torturing patrons with lame band/singers that dont draw but instead make you want to leave the bar.

in NoHo, Studio City, Burbank, Valley Village area-ish. . even Hollywood. Want to compile list.

[SepaGroove]

http://www.thefederalbar.com/

The Federal is great if you're looking for a place to hangout in NoHo. Great cocktails and great food.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

The Federal is great! Also tap list, great bartenders, good food, cool atmosphere (the front bar is great to pop in for a drink and the back dining room is nice for dinner), and the dance floor upstairs that opens up at night is fun too. Also a good happy hour!

More valley bars for Dani (I can constantly update this with more, but here's a start)-

BURBANK
http://tonysda.com/ - amazing craft beer destination. 30+ taps, all california craft and changed daily. No booze, but they also have 2 CA wines on tap at all times. Food is decent - vegan and non-vegan sausages with a huge selection of toppings, yummy homemade potato chips. They usually have good daily food specials. Small place with several tables - shelves have board games and beer books. Pool table and dart board Place gets super crowded at night, but it's awesome and mellow in the afternoon and early evening. great weekend lunch place. It has an internet jukebox and the patrons generally have good taste.

www.danceatjoes.com/ - Average beer list, full bar. Nice big space with a stage. Pool table and 2 dart boards. The burger is FANTASTIC. Big screen for sports. Live music at night - tends toward rockabilly and country. Swing dancing once a week, Tuesday nights I believe. General crowd skews older and they do play a lot of country music.

http://www.barneysbeanery.com/ - Probably my favorite location of theirs. The space is ridiculously huge and split up into many areas. 2 pool tables, some video games. Monstrous food menu (food is decent), monstrous beer menu, full bar. Vibe is loud and fun. Definitely a sports bar, but super lively at night. Music ranges from 80s dance to top 40 pop/rap.

NO HO
http://www.vintagebargroup.com/nobar.html - Loungy, nicely decorated atmosphere split into 3 rooms. Normal everyday beers and full bar. 1 pool table. GREAT jukebox. Crowd gets a bit douchey as it gets super crowded after 11pm on weekend nights, but the vibe is generally pretty good.

http://www.tongahut.com/ - I LOVE this place! Has a very kitchsy 50s tiki feel with huge tiki statues and tacky decoations. Eclectic to the point of being strange jukebox. Amazing, strong tiki drinks and super cheap beer. Generally has a super laid back locals-only working lcass kind of crowd. They do get DJs sometimes at night on the weekend.

SHERMAN OAKS
http://www.thelocalpeasant.com/ - excellent gastro pub! Nice layout inside, great food, good beer list, and great specialty cocktails! 1-2 hour wait to sit after 8pm on the weekends, but mellow and nice during the week.

http://www.bratsbrothers.com/ - German sausage and beer bar to give Wurstkuche a run for its money Insane brat list, great craft beers and on-tap german bees, great happy hour specials, the bexst pretzels i've ever tasted. Decor is cheesy Bavarian kitsch. Super nice owners.

okay, enough for now.

if you see certain places and are curious, let me know. i am very well versed in these neighborhoods.

[psychic friend]

The Federal is great!
PF: been there. good food. kind of pricey. no games/jukebox. walking distance though so that is a plus

BURBANK
http://tonysda.com/ -
PF: been there, love it, wish they had cocktails. love the games. and vegan food and maple fries.

www.danceatjoes.com/ - Average beer list, full bar. Nice big space with a stage. Pool table and 2 dart boards. The burger is FANTASTIC. Big screen for sports. Live music at night - tends toward rockabilly and country. Swing dancing once a week, Tuesday nights I believe. General crowd skews older and they do play a lot of country music.
PF: will have to check this out. thanks

http://www.barneysbeanery.com/ - Probably my favorite location of theirs. The space is ridiculously huge and split up into many areas. 2 pool tables, some video games. Monstrous food menu (food is decent), monstrous beer menu, full bar. Vibe is loud and fun. Definitely a sports bar, but super lively at night. Music ranges from 80s dance to top 40 pop/rap.
PF: I found this online yesterday and am looking forward to checking it out!

NO HO
http://www.vintagebargroup.com/nobar.html -
PF: been there, jukebox broke. still like it. VERY close to my house.

http://www.tongahut.com/ - I LOVE this place! Has a very kitchsy 50s tiki feel with huge tiki statues and tacky decoations. Eclectic to the point of being strange jukebox. Amazing, strong tiki drinks and super cheap beer. Generally has a super laid back locals-only working lcass kind of crowd. They do get DJs sometimes at night on the weekend.
PF: been wanting to check this place out!

SHERMAN OAKS
http://www.thelocalpeasant.com/ - excellent gastro pub! Nice layout inside, great food, good beer list, and great specialty cocktails! 1-2 hour wait to sit after 8pm on the weekends, but mellow and nice during the week.

http://www.bratsbrothers.com/ - German sausage and beer bar to give Wurstkuche a run for its money Insane brat list, great craft beers and on-tap german bees, great happy hour specials, the bexst pretzels i've ever tasted. Decor is cheesy Bavarian kitsch. Super nice owners.

PF: Will have to make my way to those eventually.

Thanks for the tips!!!

[Ardentbiscuit]

I thought the Federal burned down? Did it re open?

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I thought the Federal burned down? Did it re open?

THE BANK burned out from the inside several years ago. The space was refurbished and now owned and operated by the Knitting Factory people and has been open as Federal Bar for 7 or 8 months now.

[CitizenJ]

The Verdugo Bar is awesome over in the south glendale / Eagle rock area, but on some nights they bring in DJ's who spin way too loud house music and it changes the vibe too much to enjoy. But on nights without a DJ they play like Talking heads and radiohead, have good prices, good selection, multiple seating areas, and tvs showing old movies in the background. good vibe.

I also dig the Los Feliz bar strip which contains The Griffin, The Roost, and Big Foot Lodge. But I live in Glendale and have only been out here a year so I'm not an expert.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Good suggestions too!

The Los Feliz bar crawl is great! The griffin has the most amazing tater tots.

Also Verdugo's outdoor patio is a great place to hang out and play board games on a Summer afternoon and eat yummy food truck food.

[SepaGroove]

This is great thanks guys! This is the best thread I've ever found on this forum haha. My weekends are planned out for the next month or so thanks to these suggestions.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Oooh I went to the Golden Road Brewery Pub yesterday for the first time yesterday and it's awesome! The space is really big with nice tall ceilings and has a warehouse kind of feeling to it. There's a lot of outdoor seating as well and I could see it being super nice during the summer. They have their 4 regular beers on tap as well as 16 rotating craft bees from other breweries. The food is very good, with a emphasis on sandwiches and fresh produce. Good jukebox. I'll definitely be returning!

[icedKeg]

looking for cool bars.. from dive to a bit nicer, with good jukebox.. bonus for good bar food, games, pool, NOT torturing patrons with lame band/singers that dont draw but instead make you want to leave the bar.

in NoHo, Studio City, Burbank, Valley Village area-ish. . even Hollywood. Want to compile list.

I lived in Valley Village for about a year and the Firefox Room became my watering hole cause I lived right down the street. It's a local dive that draws a bunch of regulars, but also an eclectic group of of all ages/demographics/etc. They have the new-school computerized jukebox thing which is lame, but they have darts and a decent crowd. They do karaoke there a couple nights a week so you might want to check ahead of time if you are/are not interested in that. http://www.foxfireroom.com/

It's also the bar in this scene from Magnolia:

[icedKeg]

haha, it's actually called Foxfire Room, not Firefox Room. I do that all the time as I confuse it with the internet browser...

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Ah, I have spent many a drunk night at the Foxfire. Sunday night karaoke gets fuckin wild.

[Ardentbiscuit]

THE BANK burned out from the inside several years ago. The space was refurbished and now owned and operated by the Knitting Factory people and has been open as Federal Bar for 7 or 8 months now.

I had no idea! Thanks for the info!

[sonnyboy11]

Oooh I went to the Golden Road Brewery Pub yesterday for the first time yesterday and it's awesome! The space is really big with nice tall ceilings and has a warehouse kind of feeling to it. There's a lot of outdoor seating as well and I could see it being super nice during the summer. They have their 4 regular beers on tap as well as 16 rotating craft bees from other breweries. The food is very good, with a emphasis on sandwiches and fresh produce. Good jukebox. I'll definitely be returning!

Thanks! My boss' fave pub in DT, Casey's, was carrying Racer 5 IPA on tap and swapped it out for Golden Road. Boss was not too happy initially but we had a few together and changed our tune. I mentioned your review today and we took a look at the website. Looks like a visit's coming up in the near future!

http://goldenroad.la/

[tmac]

25 douchiest bars in la http://m.complex.com/city-guide/2012...n-la?nocache=1

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Thanks! My boss' fave pub in DT, Casey's, was carrying Racer 5 IPA on tap and swapped it out for Golden Road. Boss was not too happy initially but we had a few together and changed our tune. I mentioned your review today and we took a look at the website. Looks like a visit's coming up in the near future!

http://goldenroad.la/

I don't LOVE their own brewed beers, but they're good. The IPA is one of the mellowest I've ever tasted. The taplist in general is good though, and the space is just awesome. I could honestly see it possibly being my favorite of Tony's bars after a few visits (all three are very different of course).

[sonnyboy11]

I don't LOVE their own brewed beers, but they're good. The IPA is one of the mellowest I've ever tasted. The taplist in general is good though, and the space is just awesome. I could honestly see it possibly being my favorite of Tony's bars after a few visits (all three are very different of course).

I should qualify and say the Golden Road IPA does not stack up to the Stone or Racer 5. No way. But it's good. And I like the look of the venue. Atmosphere counts for a lot.

[Chillzzz]

Mom's Bar, Santa Monica and Bundy, decent live music Sundays and always cheap drinks.

[Cameron Frye]

Mom's Bar, Santa Monica and Bundy, decent live music Sundays and always cheap drinks.

best dive bar in west LA / Santa Monica. renee's is a step behind Mom's

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

I'm going to OB BEAR in K-town for a birthday party on Saturday...it looks AWESOME
http://gastronomyblog.com/2011/01/30...les-koreatown/

And ColLAboration is Sunday! Yay!

[Cameron Frye]

usually those places have great specials on beer

haven't had a solid korean meal in a while

[CitizenJ]

Oooh I went to the Golden Road Brewery Pub yesterday for the first time yesterday and it's awesome! The space is really big with nice tall ceilings and has a warehouse kind of feeling to it. There's a lot of outdoor seating as well and I could see it being super nice during the summer. They have their 4 regular beers on tap as well as 16 rotating craft bees from other breweries. The food is very good, with a emphasis on sandwiches and fresh produce. Good jukebox. I'll definitely be returning!

Yea, I have been to the Golden Road before, but its more of just a restaurant. I think they close at about 11pm each night, not really for the night life. Menu is small, but heavy in Vegan cuisine, if that is your thing.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Yeah, the 11pm cutoff is a little lame, but I could see them expanding. I honestly tend to visit bars more during the daytime on weekends or at happy hour time than i do at night though.

[I'mOleGreg]

The Cana Room is a great low key bar in Downtown. It's really hidden and kinda pricey, but they make the best rum drinks I have ever had. This place is in a parking structure on Flower Street, you walk to the back of the structure and there will be a curtain with a security guard. Only sketch thing about this bar is the $20 annual fee to be a member, but if you can swallow the $20 the drinks and vibe are excellent. If you go on the right night there is a guy rolling cigars in the back..
Perch is also a great pace to grab a drink. It is just like the standard rooftop bar except it is not as smug and no cover charge.
I also like.. Broadway Bar, Seven Grand, Varnish, Bonaventure is the rotating bar in downtown at the Westin Hotel with sick views, Dublins and Bottega Louie.. There is more I'm just over writing now.. Check them out!

[tmac]

^which night is there someone rolling cigars?

[SlowMotionApocalypse]

Tony's Darts Away sounds way different than the last time I was there when I lived in the neighborhood several years ago. God doesn't want me to drink anymore so I only go to bars when bands are playing. During a brief period when I was without divine guidance I spent a lot of time at the Redwood downtown. Still do but now only for the music.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

Yeah, Tony's Dart was a local hole-in-the-wall shit dive bar that went out of business and was bought by another guy also named Tony.

Also, OB Bear was fucking awesome! We had 13 people totally stuff full of food and 6 big pitchers of Hite and the total bill was $205 before tip. The hot wings are literally some of the best I've ever had (but holy shit they are hot and will give you gas pains the next day), the spicy squid was noodles was great, and the sacllion potato pancakes we amazing! We also had 3 orders of fried chicken, but that was pretty dry and I'd probably skip it and go for the pig feets next time.

[Chillzzz]

Backstage in Culver City. Ranked #9 for bars to get laid in LA. I work there and I honestly don't know why it's ranked that high but it's fun if you like cheap ass drinks and karaoke. Owned by the same guy who owns Moms Bar on Santa Monica so its typically a mix of both staffs.