Bars in Los Angeles

Los Angeles pubs are renowned for their drinks and hospitality, serving up some of the best brews and Irish inspired feasts outside of Dublin. Some of their sumptuous offerings include Shepard’s Pie, pot pies, and a multitude of heapingly huge sandwiches. The regular beers on tap and Irish whiskeys are the perfect way to guzzle down those large helpings with friends and family. These pubs are, of course, where everyone in town flocks to on St. Patrick’s Day!

In a tradition as true as apple pie, nothing seems to go better with sports than an ice cold beer and a rowdy crowd. From blue-collar folk with sports on the mind to UCLA frat boys looking for a place to prowl for women without missing the Bruins action, Los Angeles's sports bars are as popular as Disneyland. Locals and tourists alike love packing into these often-tiny dives to watch their favorite sport, and the ubiquitous cocktails often make for an exciting experience. While most sports bars also feature a tasty menu of traditional pub fare, many of the sports bars in LA keep up with the glam of their surroundings by serving gourmet dishes as well. It seems that everyone in LA is a sports fan, since flat-screened televisions bright with games can be found in every setting, from Mexican cantinas to swanky hotel lounges.

From wannabe divas belting out "I Will Survive" to drunken duos singing "Summer Nights," karaoke is one of the most popular ways to spice up a night of drinking in almost any town. In Los Angeles, though, karaoke also serves as the practice stage for aspiring singers. Alongside goofy friends laughing at each other's drunken performances are people who take to the stage with hopes of an agent sitting quietly in the audience. As per usual, much of the Los Angeles karaoke scene erupts from mild-mannered-by-day Japanese restaurants that haul out the microphone when the sun goes down. But, due to it's popularity, karaoke also has come to be an institution in a variety of venues, ranging from dedicated nights at dive bars to constantly swarmed stages at live music clubs.

If you're a beer lover, heaven really is a place on earth and it's found in the form of a brewery. Nowhere else can one arrive to find a fresh selection of handcrafted brews cascading from taps like holy water accompanied, in most cases, by an outstanding selection of food. Popular amongst everyone from business execs to USC and UCLA students, Los Angeles breweries are the best place for anyone to fill their nightlife needs. Show up at happy hour and enjoy lower prices and tasty appetizers, or drop by for an amazing dinner and watch the sun set over LA with an ice-cold beer in hand. Since it's also a widely known fact that beer and sports go together like peanut butter and jelly, breweries are great places to enjoy your favorite game and an often-welcome alternative to the kitschy neon décor and wildly enthusiastic crowds found in sports bars.

The mention of Tinseltown may not exactly conjure images of little gritty bars serving up cold, cheap beer to non-celebrity folks, but let it never be said that Los Angeles is a land without plenty of beloved dive bars. Typically defined by a ramshackle appearance, a dated sign with letters missing and a lack of windows, dive bars are among of the most cherished places to find laid-back vibes and a crowd that asks little to nothing of their fellow patrons. The greatest myth about dive bars is that they are patronized only by members of the working class; really, every dive bar contains a thriving mix of people, from college students seeking cheap beer to artists seeking inspiration, from blue-collars seeking happy-hour respite to white-collars seeking a Cheers-like atmosphere. In the glamorous chaos of Los Angeles, these little hideouts are the perfect places to find everything from stiff drinks to good friends to dart boards.