Little Bear Gastropub

Downtown, Los Angeles –

On the outskirts of Downtown, smack dab in the middle of the Arts District, there’s a little slice of Belgium called the Little Bear gastropub.

There’s not much down this stretch of the aptly-named Industrial Street, although the venue’s towering red doors would make it easy to spot even if there were. Inside, a simple design of bare concrete walls and loft-like ceilings creates a modern ambiance where claustrophobic patrons will feel at ease.

The regular midweek crowd is usually a hybrid of Downtown coworkers trying not to get smoked salmon on their ties and local artists trying not to get paint on the cozy wooden tables, while sports fans duck in to catch a few minutes of the game on the TVs above the bar, trying (and failing) to resist the large assortment of rotating drafts.

Evenings pick up as the central dining area fills with laughing ladies celebrating a girls’ night out over Duvels and moules frites, still-suited businessmen drinking away their stresses with bottles of Chimay Blue, and hipster foodies giving in to the hazelnut shortbreads and chocolate waffles.

That’s how it usually unfolds at Little Bear. Even for patrons who only intend to go for a quick bite, this is the kind of place where dinner turns into drinks, one drink turns into five, and any big plans for tomorrow suddenly don’t seem so important after all.