Choose your location

usa

Europe

Venice

Sun / Sep 15

New York
Florence
Rome
London
Paris
More Cities
Close

Dive Bars in Los Angeles

Smog Cutter

20s / Anything goes / Artists

Party Earth Review Characterized by cranky bartenders and a hipster clientele, the offbeat Smog Cutter is a potent mix of one part karaoke, two parts dive, and eight parts attitude. The place is all but dead on weeknights when just a smattering of locals shows up to watch sports, but on weekends, this one-room watering hole is a drunken singing ... more

864 North Virgil Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90029

Liked By:

The Darkroom

20s / 30s / Alternative / Bar / Casual

Party Earth Review A favorite with the locals, The Darkroom is a one-room dive brimming with youthful energy and a fun-loving crowd. As dark as the name suggests, the venue sports a no-frills décor featuring a statue of a smiling vagabond, which greets the chatty young professionals that set up camp at the bar, not just for ... more

7302 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Liked By:

Jay's Bar

Bar Food / Beer on Tap / Casual

Reviewed by Gor G.

"I was initially a little taken aback by the mini-mall location and the darkened windows - would I find a girlie bar, a real dive, or wall-to-wall bike ..." more

4321 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90029

Liked By:

Ham & Eggs Tavern

Beer / Beer Lovers / Casual / Wine

Reviewed by Brett C.

"My Take: I stumbled upon Ham & Eggs Tavern leaving The Golden Gopher on Friday, and, as the sounds of a Led Zeppelin cover poured out of the unmarked ..." more

433 West 8th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Liked By:

The Gold Room

20s / 30s / Artists / Average Joes

Reviewed by Steve S.

"If someone were to ask my which bar in all of Los Angeles were my favorite, I can assure you that The Gold Room would be very far from my lips. Howeve ..." more

1558 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Liked By:

Power House

20s / 30s / 80s Music / 90s Music

Party Earth Review Located a few steps from both the Hollywood Bowl and the Hollywood and Highland complex, Power House is a classic dive bar that keeps the taps flowing and the rock pounding late into the night. Popular with blue-collar locals and hipsters alike, the shoe box space thrives on its authentic hard-edge vibe, helped along by ... more

1714 North Highland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Liked By:

Frolic Room

20s / 30s / 40s / All Types / Dive / TVs

Reviewed by Sarah H.

"The Frolic Room may in fact be the diviest of dive bars left in Los Angeles. It’s a small, hole-in-the-wall bar next to the Pantages Theater on Hollyw ..." more

6245 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Liked By:

Footsie's

After Work / Alternative / DJ

Reviewed by Matt T.

"Footsies is the type of place you go to get away from the 21 year old douche bags in hollywood. It's in a bad neighborhood, yet it's surprisingly nice ..." more

2640 North Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90065

Liked By:

St. Nick's Pub

20s / 30s / Bar Food / Board Games

Party Earth Review A hassle-free, down-and-dirty pub that wears its dinginess with pride, St. Nick’s is the quintessential neighborhood dive where loyal regulars go for cheap booze and a rowdy time. A dim and cavernous space, the venue sports a typical pub décor of stained-glass lamps, dark wood walls, and the usual collection of beer signs ... more

8450 West Third Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Liked By:

Burgundy Room

20s / 30s / 40s / Alternative / Artsy

Reviewed by Ellie D.

"My Take: If you’re looking for a true punk rock dive bar experience (think CBGB-esque), then Burgundy Room is for you. Located on Cahuenga, between H ..." more

1621 North Cahuenga Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Liked By:

Silverlake Lounge

20s and up / Artists / Cash Only

Party Earth Review Drag queens and drums are what patrons can expect at Silverlake Lounge, though not necessarily on the same day. A longtime partnership with LA promotion company The Fold helped bring quite a few notable indie bands to the Lounge’s stage in years past – including Cold War Kids, The Head and The Heart, and local heroes Silversun ... more

2906 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Liked By:

White Horse Inn Cocktail Lounge

20s / 30s / 40s / 90s Music / ATM / Artsy

Party Earth Review Nothing says dive quite like free cheese puffs and a location on the first floor of a Super 8 Motel, and White Horse Inn Cocktail Lounge embraces its status wholeheartedly. Looking like a 1970s party den, the space features red lighting, photos – elegantly stapled to the wall of course – of wasted hipster patrons, a jukebox ... more

1532 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027

Liked By:

All dive bars in Los Angeles →

LA Dive Bars Overview

Smog Cutter - Dive Bar | Karaoke Bar in LA

The city may be known best for celebrity glitz and glamour, but that shouldn’t imply there is any shortage of Los Angeles dive bars. In fact, this expansive city is quite literally covered in them. Okay, maybe not LITERALLY (that would be really weird) but holy-stinky-watering-hole-Batman there are a lot of LA dive bars to choose from.

On one end of the city, Tiki-Ti is a Los Feliz institution that serves up more than ninety tropical drinks in a space the size of a shoebox, while way over by the beach in Venice, Roosterfish is the only gay bar on the Westside and the only venue on Abbot Kinney Boulevard open for daytime drinking.

In-between, practically every neighborhood has a great LA dive bar worth checking out. From kitschy Cha Cha Lounge and the karaoke pit Smog Cutter in Silver Lake to The Roost over in Atwater Village and Echo Park’s edgy The Short Stop, dive bars in LA are as friendly to the wallet as they are occasionally downright unfriendly.

But hey, you go to a dive for character and zero pretension, right? And nothing says dive quite like free cheese puffs and a location on the first floor of a Super 8 Motel, both of which you can find at White Horse Inn Cocktail Lounge.

Need a sports-focused dive bar in LA? St. Nick's Pub in Beverly Grove is here for you. Want to double-fist Tecates on an open patio? Look no further than The Darkroom on Melrose. These are just a few of the great Los Angeles dive bars out there. Won’t it be fun to explore them all?