Rooster Fish

Bartender allows his friends to tamper with your drink

by Just Bill

I visited tonight with a few of my fellow law enforcement people (fed). No show, just regular guys out to shoot pool and have a few drinks.

First the bartender shortchanged me - no not fifty cents, but $3.50. When questioned he said he had poured to top shelf drinks - one of which was not ordered.

Later in the evening he watched some street person whom he acknowledged as his friend, drink from my drink and play with the contents. Of course one of my buddies saw this and immediately told me. Without further consideration I asked the bartender to replace the drink. He rudely pushed the compromised drink back to me and said "It is yours". When I identified myself and said I was very unhappy that he would think his friend drinking from and playing with the contents of my drink was a serious matter, he asked the bouncer to eject me and the only other person whom he knew was with me.

I left without incident but I was traveling in an unmarked vehicle and recorded the license number of every car in the neighborhood. Only needed mind you, If it becomes necessary to depose the patrons in the bar.

Don't go there, crooks and the staff lets unsavory people in to play and drink on your dime. Want a disease or feel dirty -- go there, otherwise stay away.

BTW, the one star is the minimum. I would use a 1% if I could.

• Pros: Nearby MDR and Venice
• Cons: Total disregard for customer, short changing bartenders

Rude bartenders - never going back

by aeo6790

This is a typical quiet dive bar - a bit dark and dirty with cheap drinks. Nothing particularly special about it, but it serves its purpose.

I went to Rooster Fish on a Friday night. The place was not crowded at all, which is fine with me. The problem was that the bartenders were obnoxiously rude. I made eye contact with one of the bartenders on duty, signaling that i wanted to order a few drinks. He nodded his head, and then proceeded to talk to his friend for the next five minutes before taking my order - completely ignoring me in the meantime. He rolled his eyes when i asked for a beer. I don't get it, what part about ordering a beer necessitates eye rolling? You'd think that at such a slow bar, the bartenders would be able to focus a little bit more on customer service. Anyway, my friends and I didn't bother staying for a second round. I'm not planning to return anytime soon.

• Pros: laid-back atmosphere
• Cons: rude bartenders

The Bartender is a scoundrel

by smartnut007

We went to order our 3rd round of drinks . I ordered 2 drinks which came up to 16$ .

I thought i had 20$ bill , but it ended up being a 10$ bill .

I told the bartender what happened . He just took the money from my hand and said go get the money from the ATM ( which is like a 5 min walk ) and you can take the drinks .

Then , i said i will come back and pay for the drinks as a whole . He refused to give my money back and started signalling the bouncer .

The next day i called the the bar to complain ,

Basically , he stole money from me . He took 10$ from me and didnt give me anything for that .

I cannot imagine worse customer service .

The bartender was colder than the beer!

by bluebirdie

The drinks were terrible, come on guys! The bartender was colder than the beer. There is nothing worse than that, so unfriendly, if you are reading this guys please lighten up! The parking lot? Please maybe 6 spaces, there is no parking and there is no valet. This is a male gay establishment with pictures of fully n**e* men on the wall. This is not a place for women straight or gay. Straight girls who take umbridge to this, go have yourself a lukewarm beer by a rude bartender and get back to me. The nice things? There is a patio out back where you can smoke and drink. The guy checking IDs was a doll! Would I come back? I might BUT only during daylight to have a margarita on Wednesdays when they are half price. Might being the operative word. They ONLY take cash and there is no ATM there, BTW... Cheers!

• Pros: the doorman, decent smoking patio
• Cons: crappy pool table, indifferent bartender, yucky drinks

Roosterfish, is OK

by lioninthesun

I went there a few nights ago for the first time. I was very suprised to find a gay bar in Venice. I have lived in LA for 10 years and never knew this place existed. I visited on a Saturday with a group of friends. I found the doorman to be sooooooo nice. And good looking. He told me all about the history of the place. I went there with straight freinds and we all had a good time, nothing riotous, but a good time. The bar and clientele were tame. Nothing over the top. No WEHO type of mentality was to be found. I would go back again if I were in the neighborhood. Continued success.

• Pros: Only Game in Venice
• Cons: Parking