Rock & Reilly's USC - Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Los Angeles

My husband and I (both Asian Americans) experienced our first racial discrimination treatment at this restaurant for the first time since we moved to the US 29 years ago (20 in LA). Yesterday (2/26), we arrived too early for our concert at the nearby Shrine Auditorium and decided to have a drink. Rock & Reiley’s in the USC Village seemed like a good choice with a proper bar and not too crowded, so we lined up after 4 people. The guy at the outdoor gate checked the phones of the people before us (presumably showing vaccination records) and let them in. Then he immediately turned his back on us. (He definitely saw us when he waved the people in.) I waited about 10 secs, pulled up my vaccination record, walked up, showed him my digital vaccination record, and said “Excuse me, sir. There are two of us.” He looked at me and said there was a wait. I asked how long the wait would be, and he said 10 minutes (without looking around at all) and turned away again. I told my husband that we should go because we didn’t have that much time to wait, but he hesitated because the Chinese Restaurant we just dined at didn’t serve alcohol and he really wanted a drink before the concert. So I called out to the guy again and said that we were going to the concert and didn’t have much time. I asked him whether there really was a 10-min wait because the bar inside didn’t seem that busy and there were a few empty outdoor tables in the patio. He again said yes without a beat and turned away again. By now, I was angry because his attitude was rude and beyond obvious. He could have fed me something like we have space limitation due to Covid, or the wait is hard to predict, or you can get in as soon as 2 people leave, etc. But no, his attitude said “go away” loud and clear! There were a 2-3 others lined up behind us at this time, so my husband and I left. As we waited at the crosswalk (about 50 feet away) for the light, I turned back and was surprised to see no more line there. (They didn’t leave because I’d have seen the guy in a very obvious checker jacket behind us nearby.) Even worse, 2 middle-aged white guys walked up right while I was watching and the guy let them in with a quick peek at the phone. And then he did the same with another white guy shortly after. This all happened within the few minutes we were waiting for the light to change! My husband and I were shocked and in disbelief. I thought of walking back to confront him, but decided not to bother. He clearly doesn’t want our business, then why would I want to give him business? I am glad that we didn’t, because we ended up avoiding a long line to get into Shrine Auditorium and had three nice and relaxing drinks in a beautiful setting before the concert. Nevertheless, I want to write a review to let other Asians or Asian Americans know of our treatment there. USC is one of the most diverse communities in LA, and I’d expect a business serving that community to do better with...

Most recent visit: Last time I came their online system allowed comments on cocktails/drinks. Now, all of a sudden, you can't, and because they don't have waiters you have to go to the bar to ask for them to fix your drink. Last time I ordered irish coffee (all ingredients were there) it was quite good, and I enjoyed their white russian too. But, today they just gave me coffee+Whisky . . . If you check every picture online of irish coffee, you'd see it is topped with cream! When I went to ask a bartender if they could add cream the girl was bit oblivious and asked if I just wanted creamer (Again, go check pics on what an irish coffee should look like - it is not just coffee and Whisky . . .). In the end I asked for some cream like they put on the white russian, but realized too late they don't use half/half (cream liqueur? Idk, it just made my drink change color and basically because a white russian). The Riley's Smash is good if they aren't too cheap on the lemon and sweetener (which again, last time we came it was better than today). I've only had their food a few times; their pizza was good. My low rating mainly comes from their inconsistent quality, otherwise it's good when it's not too busy...

I absolutely love this place. I have been trying to come here every Tuesday for their trivia nights when I have the chance. It's hosted by kingtrivia and the questions are always quite difficult but super fun to do in groups. On a normal weekend the place can be pretty packed but I've never seen a wait more than 30 minutes.

The food here is decent. The fried pickles are good and the fries are good but the prices are a little steep for some of the portion sizes. The fried pickles are super crispy and come battered quite well so they can be a really nice appetizer for a small table group. I am a huge fan of the variety with the cocktails, especially the mule variations they offer, where they have 3 separate flavors.

The service can be slow. I tried to join the waitlist online and a manager said I couldn't even though it was as I was walking to their place. They said you can only join the waitlist in person, and if the whole party is there which seems a little unreasonable. Other than that, you order on your own time and the bar is open seating so there usually somewhere to...