Drawing Room

Los Feliz / Atwater Village, Los Angeles –

Inconspicuously tucked into a tiny strip mall, Drawing Room is sure to please any lover of that holy sanctuary known simply as the American dive.

Considering the lack of windows, a welcome sense of intimacy – and stumble-inducing darkness – starts at the door. Red string lights glow over the bar that runs down one side, while a short chain of booths backed by an Oriental-themed dragon mural lines the opposing wall.

Although Los Feliz has grown into a sceney hotspot, the clientele here comes in all shapes and sizes, from armchair quarterbacks clapping to the game on TV, to young couples pinching their pennies after buying a house in the neighborhood, to a smattering of fedora-wearing cool kids and old drunks who have been planted on the same stool for who knows how long.

The jukebox in back features lots of reggae, Motown, and indie – and, it’s safe to say, a complete lack of clubby chart toppers – while a dartboard gets solid use by after-work pals blowing off steam amid sips of cheap beer and rails, all for $5.

Throwing sharp objects might prove difficult come Fridays, however, when the joint’s laid-back vibe washes away amid a flood of hipsters, alkies, and boisterous locals who “loved Los Feliz before it was cool.”

Kind of like Drawing Room: zero pretense, zero mixology, and zero attempts to be anything that it’s not.