One of my favorite bars ! They have awesome music in a jukebox and 50 cent pool tables (2) The…read moreprices are amazing and their happy hours are always worth the walk! All the bartenders are really nice and love to see you again! Food is allowed inside which is my favorite thing about this place since they dont have a kitchen Last night they had a burger pop up, they were so good I didnt even stop to take a pic!!! Definitely check it out they have a parking lot and lots of seating available!

The Hawk is my watering hole, just a 10 minute walk from home. My husband and I love coming here to…read moreshoot some pool. They have 2 bar-sized pool tables for $1 a game. Pool cues and tables aren't in the best conditions, but they work. Their signature cocktails are dangerously good and reasonably priced at $14. 2-3 drinks in and I'm stumbling home. Bartenders are always chill and quick to serve. Love when they have DJs. Their jukebox could use some updating of a wider selection of eclectic tunes. They have a decent amount of seating at the bar as well as a few booths and a couple tables. Cool wall paper decor and an old school photo booth for anyone wanting a memento.

It's a quaint dive bar with the best decor I've ever seen…read more It was previously a wedding chapel. They did some extraordinary renovations . Welcoming vibe , with a friendly bartender.

Went with my mentor a while back, the atmosphere is really cool, got to speak to some cool people,…read moreand got to try some new drinks! Overall a great place.

Your hao peng you (good friend) on Yelp is sending you a sign to check this hidden gem out! ;)…read more As someone of Taiwanese descent, I always get SO excited discovering Taiwanese restaurants and bars, which are admittedly a bit hard to find if you're not in East LA. We stopped by late Saturday night and were able to snag an immediate walk-in at the bar at Hao Peng You, which is the intimate speakeasy portion of Midnight Oil. The decor definitely reminded me of my grandparents' house in Taiwan, with vintage, ornate wooden chairs, dragon/lion statue carvings, and even a historic century old marital bed that had been repurposed into a booth. The drinks were also VERY unique, with my favorite being Hua sheng (literally meaning peanut), which was crafted from a nostalgic childhood peanut milk drink. All our cocktails were crafted very well, to the point where I thought they were a bit on the lighter side since I couldn't really taste the alcohol. This section does get really busy though and only had one bartender who is making/serving drinks and taking orders, so do expect a bit of a wait. Overall, highly recommend checking out this vibey vintage Taiwanese-inspired speakeasy (that my inner history nerd was so excited about), and I'll definitely be back to try their food items as well as their two other bar/restaurant concepts!

The atmosphere is cute and definitely a vibe, but it's pretty pricey…read more The drinks weren't bad, some were good, while others had a stronger alcohol taste than I personally prefer. As for the food, it was pretty mid and took a long time to come out. The popcorn chicken especially disappointed me since it didn't taste like Taiwanese popcorn chicken at all. It was more like chicken nuggets?? Overall, I wouldn't recommend coming here for the food. The bathroom was also a bit dirty. Drinks: * Hua Sheng (3/5): Nutty aftertaste, but the alcohol flavor was pretty strong. * Salty Plums (4/5): My favorite out of everything we ordered, super refreshing. * Jasmine Milk Tea Coma (3/5): My second favorite, but I wish the strawberry flavor came through more.

This is such a cute hotel bar with beautiful decor, we made a quick stop before our stop at their…read moreterrace bar. We arrived and there were a few parties leaving, we walked to the bar area and the two servers were occupied with other guests, so we patiently waited. Finally one of them approached us and shared the menu, another gentleman came to the bar and he was quickly greeted with a hello and our same server immediately shared the menu. The gentleman politely said, these ladies were here first please take their order first, which the server did but was not so happy about. To our surprise the server still prepared his drinks first. The gentleman very surprised apologized since he knew we were there before him. With our drinks in hand we found a table with some empty seats. The table side where we sat had a sprite glass bottle and a glass that hadn't been picked up since the last party left. We moved it a side to set our drinks and finally enjoy our conversation. A different server came to the table and asked the gentleman next to us to get his empty glass and she completely ignored our side. She did another round and I finally asked her to pick up the bottle that was left by another party before us. I asked her for the menu again, she brought it but she did say that I had go back up to the bar to order any additional drinks. We decided to not order a second round and head up to the terrace.

I had this place on my "to go" list and I randomly decided today was the day…read more Decide on a lavazza cup of coffee with almond milk. So good! The service? Incredible. The bartender who is also the barista was so welcoming. I love the historical aspect of this building and they did an incredible job with the maintenance of it. The marble and gold and earthly tones which are deep and rich! Sigh! They're open til 10pm... I'll be back

Didn't have food here that we saw, just a bar as far as I know so I will be rating on that. We…read morestopped in to check it out never been before. Very young crowd, very lively! We had a great time, drinks were good, staff was friendly as well. Very cool looking place. Also had games which was fun!! We stayed for a few drinks then left but honestly a very cool place to check out if you're I. The area!! Highly recommend!!

The Blind Donkey is located below the hotel we were staying at so we couldn't pass up an…read moreopportunity to check it out. We stopped by on a Wednesday evening which is also karaoke night so the energy was high and the place was PACKED. It was fun, but super hard to get a drink because there were only three bartenders working. By the time you made it through the wall of people to the bar, it was so loud that it was almost impossible to communicate your order. People were living for karaoke and it definitely seems to be on a regular rotation for some of the patrons. The Blind Donkey is definitely a place that you need to check out if you are in town and want a fun evening.

Very cool hidden tiki bar! The decor is great, really sets the vibe. Not too busy on Thursday…read morenight, but not dead either. Sat at the bar for drinks and appetizers. Not super attentive service considering there were only a few parties at the bar, but our bartender (woman with long wavy hair) was kind and made delish drinks. The coconut shrimp was great too. Karaoke started a little after 8:00pm. Not sure if that's a regular thing, but it was fun to watch! Happy Hour is only one hour a day on weekdays (5-6pm) which was a bit of a bummer because we arrived at 6:30 and thought it went until 7 or 8, but now we know. Would be awesome if it was still 5-8pm like it seems it used to be. Overall a fun time and we'll likely be back!

We recently visited Secret Island Tiki which has been on our list for a while. It is located on the…read morecorner of Broadway and Pine under Shannon's. We parked in the multi-story parking garage behind Hamburger Mary's. Secret Island is a little over a block away. You can make reservations on OpenTable. It has a bit of a speakeasy entrance, as it is not plainly marked. Look for the staircase going down with greenery around it and the Secret Island sign downstairs. Go right at the bottom of the stairs and there is a little walkway where you see a very cool tiki display. It you stay there long enough, the lights will flash and you will hear thunder. Walk a little further and go through the door to enter. I was blown away by the atmosphere and build. Kudos to Bamboo Ben! It is dimly lit with a ton of cave wall, bamboo, thatch, netting, tiki lights, floats, skulls, tikis, and other décor. The bar is loaded with bottles and looks great with dark blue and green backlighting. The bar top is wood with deep cutouts that are filled with clear epoxy. The booths in the main dining area are little tiki huts and even have clouds overhead. There was great tiki music playing the whole time. A few times an hour a thunderstorm hits. The lights dim, lightning flashes with thunder sound effects, and red lights illuminate cracks in the floor that looks like lava veins. There is also a photo-op "Pele's Throne" which is a big lava rock surrounded chair. We sat at the bar and had the coconut shrimp appetizer ($12). The shrimp were breaded and cooked well, and had a coconut sprinkle on top. The spicy dipping sauce complemented the shrimp well. I started out with the Drunken Monkey (Makers Mark 46, Jamaican rum, banana liqueur, cinnamon, allspice, Angostura bitters, normally $19, $17 during happy hour). It was somewhat bourbon forward with a little funk from the Jamaican rum. I definitely got the cinnamon notes with a little banana and allspice in the background. She started out with the El Capitan Hook (Del Maguey mezcal, pineapple, banana liqueur, Luxardo cherry liqueur, lime, $17, $15 during happy hour). This was smoke forward with light pineapple and banana flavor. I had the Hula burger ($18) which was very good with a lot of different flavors from the various toppings. It came with a decent amount of fries, and was a filling plate. She had the pineapple bowl fried rice and added with BBQ pork ($17 + $5 for pork add-on). It is served in half of a scooped out pineapple and had a good amount of rice with pork and green onions on top. It had a good mix of teriyaki sauce on the rice and BBQ sauce on the pork. Next, I had the Rum Runner (coconut and blended dark rums, banana liqueur, raspberry, grenadine, pineapple, orange, lime, $18, $15 during happy hour). It was very pineapple and coconut forward which overpowered all of the other ingredients. She also had the Let That ManGo (white rhum agricole, coconut, mango, lemon, $18, $16 during happy hour). The primary flavors here were mango with some grassiness from the agricole. We were here from about 6pm to 8pm on a Wednesday night and it was pretty dead with only a few other people in the place the whole time. They do have a stage in the back with live music acts, so it is probably busier when there is entertainment and on weekends. Our first bartender was Alex who was nice but we barely talked with him. Manager Pedro took over the bartender duties later on and we had a great time chatting with him. Service was great from both of them. The drinks are a few dollars above average, but if you come during happy hour, the drinks are several dollars off. Happy hour is currently all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, and Thursday through Saturday from 5pm to 8pm. The food was good, the drinks were ok to good, and the atmosphere was great. Normally, this would probably be a one and done, but I really liked the build and would like to come back when it is busier, maybe on a weekend.

When my life is in shambles, I love coming to V Room…read more It's a small, dark place with a jukebox to match. During one drinking session, I think I heard Sonic Reducer three times; that adds an extra star. Before we get off track, let's get back to my opening line; when my life is in shambles, I come to V Room. It's fun, it has great music and things just don't feel as bad here. My last venture to ye olde V, my roommate broke up a fight in the girls room, my friends and I drunkenly sang along to Iggy Pop, and a hipster girl was hoisted out by the straps of her 90s era child's backpack. So, all things considered, my life may be in shambles, but at least I'm not brawling in the girls room. The drinks rule and the bartenders are the BEST.

I love this bar, it's still a diveish place not as much as when Bulowski might have roamed the…read morestreets here but still a nice dive vibe. Pool tables in the back and a jukebox cranked up front. Nice place to end the night with some pineapple infused vodka on the rocks. Refreshing and sweet but not too sweet and natural sugars. Bartenders are quick with your drink even when it's crowded. Order up a cocktail or some beer and have a good time.

Solidly okay mexican food, I've had better, and I've had worse. The steak in the fajitas was really…read moresoft, but I don't remember anything else being remarkable. The building didn't say "Next Door" anywhere on it, so I was unsure if we were at the right place.

Friday evening review:…read more Sat outside since we had my puppy with me, the waiter was kind immediately and even told us which table was a little rocky. Service overall was good-not spectacular but good. Things seemed to take a while to come out and it took a while to get the bill but really no big deal. Food was spectacular though. Super high quality. I loved my seafood chile rellano, they did not go cheap whatsoever on the filling and it was enough to eat the next day as well. My husband got the birria tacos (not pictured) and they were also really good but a little steep for not coming with rice and beans. Ceviche was fresh as well as guac but guac did not come with the chicharron like mentioned in the description. Enchiladas were good too, loved the heat of the sauce. We will be returning if back in the area soon!