The Red Lion Tavern — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Rude staff. My husband and I went with our pup to The Red Lion this afternoon. It was our first time there, so we didn’t know how it worked. I went to the host stand on the entryway and since nobody was there I went to the bar to ask how to get a table. I went there, and two waitress where getting beer in front of me on the other side of the counter and pretended I wasn’t there. So after I waved saying “hello” they rudely answered “hey what do you need”, and I asked how to get a table and she turned her back to me and answered to go outside and wait in line for a table, have a seat then and someone would come to the table then. So we went to the line, and I after a while I went looking for a bathroom inside and saw a sign upstairs hanging on a closed door saying “yes, we’re open”, so I thought that that was another ambience to check that was separated from the beer garden where the line was for, since we didn’t have any preference. I went to call my husband and we went upstairs. When we opened the door a really rude kinda blonde woman with shaved head yelled at us saying that we needed to get in line to get a table and went straight to a table full of people and said to them “yeah, there are always people trying to cut the line...” and kept making fun of us cause they were laughing about something right after two more words. After that we left immediately. If you are the manager of this place I want you to be aware of how unprofessional we were treated this Saturday afternoon. We got there and no one helped us, and when they did, it was really without any effort to be welcoming. And when we went to check the other part of the restaurant thinking it was separated from the beer garden (because they seem separate places looking from the street) we were treated like people who were trespassing a properly, and made fun of. Really bad experience. I hope you take some action...

Good luck finding parking along the street, your better off parking at the bank of America down the street and walking the distance since you'll need to burn off the hefty and massive meal you're about to consume. I'm not German nor an alcoholic but when I walked into the establishment I felt a sense of pride and uniqueness, hanging beer cups on the ceiling I knew I was drinking tonight. German posts, a cigarette machine upstairs, craft beer barrels, and our lovely der Kellner waiter told us to sit where we like, as we accommodated ourselves I could sense a cozy, intimate and individual view of the place, a truly unique experience. As we browsed the menu what caught my attention was the selection of beers, my goodness, they have a menu just for beer and alcohol and I just couldn't decide, let alone from the large variety of sausages they carry. As we try to scramble and mumble the German words of the menu, we didn't have to wait much for our hefe to arrive at our table, and as we eye contact made cheers and I chugged my first gulp of the most delicious, crispy and fruity hints of pineapple and apple in a beer I've ever tried. I couldn't believe it was beer. I chugged and chugged like a thirsty child after a long day playing outside, I sighted just to catch my breath and I continued to chugged like no tomorrow because I knew the moment I walked into this establishment I was gonna drink, and drink I did. One after another the beers started coming to the table, my body feeling light and everything seemed funny of some kind, our conversation turning more into continuous laughter, then our plates arrived and my goodness my eyes weren't prepared to the sight of the sausages we were about to consume, and the pretzel was exquisite, everything had flavor at every bite, hints of cheese, meat, garlic, and beer fused into my mouth. Truly a unique experience, glad...

Food=meh. Beer= toll (great)! I came here last night for the first time in many years to meet a friend for dinner. We had last seen each other when traveling together in Germany over the summer so figured, why not a German restaurant?

We stood out on the patio around a table, which we shared with a couple. Beer was the first order of the evening. For us, it was two Kostritzer Schwarzbiers-since we had visited the Kostritzer Brauhaus in Weimar on our Eurotrip. Though costly (at 8$ per beer), the beers were of hefty proportions-each filling a full hefeweizen glass. We took such a long time sipping our Kostritzers, that neither of us ordered another beer. However, the beer list looked respectable, with offerings from Weihenstephan, Paulaner and Franziskaner, to name a few.

The food was a different story. The Chicken Schnitzel I ordered had the flavor and consistency of freezer chicken nuggets. Having lived and traveled in Germany..., I do not recall Mashed Potatos with Gravy being a German dish! I appreciate the authenticity of the menu (which is written in both German and English and features a wide array of dishes from Germany and Austria) but the preparation seemed shoddy and fake.

Finally, the vibe. As others have mentioned, the decor and atmosphere are old-school retro, comparable to the rainbow on Sunset (though also vaguely reminiscent of some of a couple older, American-style bars I frequented in Germany). The crowd leans hipster millenial, however. Especially on the patio, the shared seating and close quarters make this a great place to meet people-romantically or...