Twas after a concert at the Wiltern and my friend and I were still revved up to go out. I honestly couldn’t think of anywhere I wanted to go between the Wiltern and West L.A., but then I remembered the HMS Bounty. I had gone years before when I still worked at a bookstore and hung out with an artsy Silver Lake crowd who liked to smoke, and I had good memories of it. Plus, it was just down the street from the Wiltern. “It’s low-key, with a mix of old barflies and young hipsters from K-town,” I told my friend to sell her on the idea.

Since it was an off night, it wasn’t too hard to find street parking nearby or a booth in the bar. The waitress wasn’t too friendly but I usually expect gruff service in dive bars. It comes with the territory: strong drinks, thick cigarette smoke and gruff, gravelly-voiced waitresses.

As it was a Monday night, there weren’t many people in the bar so it was nice and relaxing. We just snacked on the free pretzels, watched a car chase on the news with the other bar patrons and traded philosophies on life and love.

Open since 1937 and located in the historic Gaylord Apartments building across from the old Ambassador Hotel, the Bounty has always been a great place to just chill with your cheap cocktail, especially if you want to wind down after the Wiltern.

From LA.com:

The cheesy British nautical feel and killer jukebox (Sinatra, The Mills Brothers, Peggy Lee) consistently gets the dark and clubby Bounty ranked among the best bars in the city. Get there a little early and slide into one of the pleather booths for a famous baseball steak and some sauteed sand dabs (trust us). Burgers and Caesar salads are also quite good. The back room can be rented out for parties.

3357 Wilshire Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90010
(213) 385-7275
Cross Street: Vermont Ave.