11/04/09

Not much of a Tavern Lately

by victorprock

This place used to be great! Now it's terrible. The food is fine/satisfactory and I have no complaints about the beer.

However, it seems this place has made the attempt to create a "club" type business. A waiting line outside, when there is room inside is ridiculous.

I am(was) a regular until last Sat night. About 30 ofus walked over from CBS at 10pm and were made to wait outside. There was plenty of room, but the doorman(wannabe actor) didn't like the casting person from our show. What a jack-hole.

I'm pretty sure, after everyone at the studio heard about this on Monday morning, the attendance there will suffer.

The term "Studio City Crowd" is used with disgust in many other locations. I, myself, don't care for that term. With places like this, I agree.....This is definitely a "Studio City Crowd" place.

• Pros: Proximity
• Cons: A line outside for a so-called tavern

09/02/09

Sage Beer & Crab Cakes

by RPardess

This place is very pleasant. Nice lighting, fantastic food and a huge selection of beer and wine. They have a sage microbrew, which is delicious, and a wonderful and original spin on the classic grilled cheese sandwich.

The crowd is a little more mature than the I-just-turned-21-and-I-can't candle-it or the I-heart-Cahuenga Corridor folks. The best way to describe this place is "chill". Probably a great place for singles.

A great valley bar, which is rare. The only issue is that the seating could be much more comfortable. But you can't have everything.

• Pros: Food, Drinks, Crowd

07/11/09

Best Grilled Artichoke in Town and Great Mussels!

by yardsusa

the place feels like a trendy NY pub but upscale, light wood, industrial steel throughout -- not fancy but warm and trendy looking. the windows that face ventura blvd open all the way so you kind of feel like you're in an indoor/outdoor space which is nice. lots of choices for unique microbrews -- my fave was "Hollywood Blonde" but they try new ones a lot so they're not offering that one right now but lots of good ones to try. the real standout here is the pub food which is usually atrocious in bars but here the food is really outstanding. they have the best grilled artichoke, wonderful mussels with garlic bread, and the french fries are so delicious. I don't eat meat myself but my friends say the hamburgers are really good too. I usually go in the afternoons on the weekend where it's not crowded and it's a mixed clientele of young people/ older people/singles/couples. The only thing I don't love about the place is that they don't have table service - even if you're ordering food, you have to go to the bar to do so. But despite that, it's a really nice place and worth a visit.

• Pros: Really good food, Warm decor, excellent bartenders/service
• Cons: no service at table, parking can be a challenge if crowded

04/30/09

Get the STEAK FRIES IN PORK FAT!

by nkh

This place is almost perfect - nary a Bud or Miller to be found on the beer list, and the steak fries with pork fat are beyond amazing. A friend of mine said they served the best grilled artichoke she'd EVER had. Sadly, I've ordered burgers there twice and was somewhat disappointed both times. The last go around I ordered the bacon blue cheese burger and was hard-pressed to find any blue cheese on it; medium rare turned out to be more like super-rare, and it was really greasy - and I do mean REALLY greasy. I'm not going to let that stop me from going back though; I'll just stick with the fries, and maybe an artichoke.

• Pros: Beer Selection, Appetizers
• Cons: Parking, Crowded

04/17/09

Always a Good Time

by 123itstrue

I was looking forward to trying this place due to its large beer selection and promises of burgers. When I walked up and saw the doorman reading Jules Verne I knew this place would become a regular haunt for me as we had an actual intelligent conversation about "Around the World in Eighty Days." The doormen are in high contrast to the bouncers at Clear just a few doors down who seem to enjoy generally yelling "Get the F*#@ Out!" to the crowd when closing . The bartenders at Laurel Tavern are quick and friendly, at least as quick as they can be as this place gets packed every night of the week. Still if a line ever does form, it moves quicker than one would expect. This place has a laidback, community type atmosphere that is extremely rare in LA. The food is excellent, especially the burgers and fries. As for beer, the 1903 Lager is my favorite. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a relaxed evening with good people.

• Pros: Beer, Friendly Staff, Burgers, Fries
• Cons: Can get very crowded on weekends

12/30/08

We are all here to make the bouncers job easier!!!!

by ShermanOak

Went there last Saturday night...waited outside in the freezing cold for no apparent reason other then to create a line outside the place...once we got to the bouncer he decide to tell us the following "Hey guys, just so you know we have had a lot of complaints from the woman here that the guys are hitting on them too much, so if you could kinda tone it down you will make my job a lot easier." Then he opened the door...

Yes... that's right...I go out to bars to make the bouncers life easier. Not to have a beer and hit-on girls.

The best part about all of this... when we walked in it was a sausage festival...turned around and walked right out.

• Pros: Can't think of any after that experience...
• Cons: Bouncer, parking, bouncer.

11/16/08

Nice place but what is up with the line

by bacixo

Checked out this place last nite. Overall I liked it. Nice ambience and crowd. They had doormen who made people wait tho, which I thought was really unnecessary. It was not THAT crowded. Nice addition to the Valley and alternative to the usual places like Firely, which is getting LAME.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere
• Cons: Doormen

11/08/08

And the 3rd place ribbon goes to.....

by surfz247

For those of you that know Father's Office or York in Eagle Rock, this place would be considered the little brother. It's a direct copy. They have 16 Micro Brews on tap, but the selection they have obviously was chosen by someone with little experience in Micro Brewed Beers. They need to research more.

Next, the "Hamburger". Not even close to Father's Office, Village Idiot, or York. Very thin and commercially made. No style. No Flavor.

Other notes:

Friendly staff. They were great.

Ordering and Seating are similar to Father's Office and York. Which is an experience all in itself.

Appetizers were great.

Before you write a review, I suggest you try Father's Office first. Then, you will experience what Laurel Tavern was trying to achieve.

This place has a lot of potential, just not there yet.

This open-air, rustic pub from the people behind Library Bar and Silver Lake's 4100 Bar offers 16 beers on tap and a smorgasboard of eats ranging from burgers to fondue.

by Matthew Allard

In Short
A gastropub for the drinking foodie in us all, this classic tavern feels a helluva lot like "Cheers" might have if it'd been set two decades later. Exposed brick walls, wood plank ceilings, warm lighting and chopping block tables, combined with the pub's open-window facade, create a neighborhood vibe Studio City denizens are happy to salute. And they'll surely do it with a pint (or two) in hand. The 16-tap beer selection stays decidedly local with all offerings born in the US of A, and each, from the Craftsman 1903 (a Pasadena lager) to Bayhawke Honey Blonde Ale (out of Irvine), cost no more than 6 bucks a piece. As for grub, the chalkboard menu items lean more tastefully upscale, with croque-monsieur and roast marrowbones. And what pub is complete without a selection of sloppy burgers? Laurel Tavern happily goes to battle against Los Angeles heavyweights like Father's Office or The Village Idiot and comes out swinging, serving a perfectly proportioned signature burger loaded with gruyere, fresh arugula and caramelized onions.