Football season is over, my hopes and dreams of winning any money on sports betting or fantasy football leagues are once again tarnished. But guess who still loves to drink? If you said Jimmy Fallon and David Ledwith, you nailed it! And just because the best sport around (that also conclusively contributes to permanent brain damage to a majority of those who play it) is over, doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of other games to watch at sports bars all around the beautiful city of Los Angeles.
As an ex-employee of a popular sports bar chain (it rhymes with Fuffalo Mild Tings), I like to consider myself somewhat of an expert. And so when I set out to review my first sports bar, I wanted something unique, something fun, something that wasn’t your standard run of the mill sports spot with shitty beer, shitty food, and not enough TVs.
And when you want unique in Los Angeles, it never hurts to head to K-Town.
Korea Town is chalk full of amazing restaurants, exciting activities, and stores that you never knew existed. Right off the corner of Beverly and North Western Street sits Biergarten LA, a sports bar about as eclectic as it can possibly get. If I had to describe it in 16 words, I would say, “It’s a Korean, American, and German sports bar with fantastic food and way too expensive beer”. Luckily I can write as many words as I want about these places, because no one regulates me and I am basically just an unleashed drinking tornado with no word limit… So lets start with the décor!
Walking into Biergarten is a small shock to the system. Normally you can tell what a place is trying to be. But here, it’s as if three people with three very different ideas, all decided to decorate simultaneously. Yet, while this place can’t seem to find a common identity or theme, that’s where it finds its charm. It’s fun to look around and marvel at the clash of culture. That is if you can make out the signs across the room, IT WAS TOO DARK FOR ME IN THERE! I LIKE MY LIGHT! There were plenty of TVs playing that night’s NBA games, with quality viewing points at any angle. And while the feed cut out near the end of my night and was replaced with K-Pop music videos, I could tell that this would be a fantastic place to catch a game.
The service was fine. Considering the fact that my good pal Jared and I were two of the eight people in the entire establishment, I couldn’t get a great read on the vibe of our servers. I would love to come back here for the NBA playoffs or Overwatch League Night (because now I have learn to accept video games as a sport), in order to feel the energy that this spot seems to have the potential for.
The drinks were flat out too damn expensive. Jared and I split a pitcher of cheap beer, which ended up costing us $19. The happy hour did nothing to entice me, and the daily special was an $8 Margarita. If it’s Tuesday and you’re offering a margarita special, that baby better be $2 flat or don’t call it a special at all. With other deals like $6 wells and $8 flavored Soju, I felt like I was paying Beverly Hills prices for deals that should be half of that.
While the drinks were expensive, I got a nice buzz but I had already had one at home, so who cares. The saving grace of this place was its food. I enjoyed some of the best fries I have had in ages, tempura fried and complemented with some fantastic Korean hot sauce. However, being the Vegan I am, it’s hard for me to give you fantastic readers a true outlook on a sports bar menu. And so, I employed the help of J-Rock, J- Rizzy, the one and only Jared Kleber (managing editor and CEO of lowupside.com) to review the menu and some of it’s items:
Jared: Sup my dudes. I don’t normally write in the first person so this is more bizarre to me than the burger I ordered. I got the Chosun burger which the menu denoted as having been featured on my second favorite food show, Triple D. Anyone who knows me is aware that I completely worship the Gretzky of Grub, Mr. Guy Fieri. Considering I’d drink the man’s three day old skillet oil, I’ll order any menu item endorsed by the Flavortown Prince. The Chosun Burger, which consisted of a 7 oz angus chuck patty, American cheese, grilled spam, kimchi, pickled daikon, gochujang aioli, and mustard all sitting on top of a thicc brioche bun. The burger was fantastic tasting like a full KBBQ on a bun. I also got a side of fries, which wasn’t the same fries David received. The fries were thin and crispy but nothing special. I would’ve liked to have tried something else on their menu but most of the other bar foods were around $10 per item. I don’t get paid to run this site, so the food reviews are gonna stay cheap. Alright bye.
All in all, Biergarten LA is a fun sports bar. There’s plenty of TVs for games, fantastic food, energetic and kind servers, and of course alcohol. So if you’re looking for a quirky and delicious place to catch a game, and you don’t want your servers wearing jerseys or “flare”, head out to K-Town and douse yourself in this German/Korean/American wonderland.
(All rankings out of 5)
Décor: *****
Bartenders: ***
Bar Flies: N/A
Price: $$$$
Overall score: 79/100