Basement Tavern — Restaurant in Santa Monica

Last and best (imo) stop on our Santa Monica Barcycle Crawl. The other bars we'd been to had been fine, but I didn't think there was anything really special about them. The Basement Tavern was definitely different. Located literally in the basement of the Victorian house where they do special events, it was the coolest-looking bar of the bunch. First of all, you're going underground, ooooooh! This bar definitely had more of a hip current ambiance, with fresh herbs at the bar for special cocktails (a dead giveaway) and a coo old gentleman's library-ish atmosphere. They had a variety of seating areas, ranging from some pretty comfy leather armchairs to standard tall bar tables and stools. I was feeling pretty full by the time we got to this place so I just ended up having a Coconut Porter (forget the brewery, but it was in a can, not on tap, alas). Something else to note about its undergroundedness: your phone reception will probably suck. Our group had a dandy time here, and this is a place I definitely wouldn't mind coming back to...

This was my first official going out in LA experience, and I have to say, I loved this place. Walking in, I felt like the coolest kid on the block since this place feels like a well kept secret of Santa Monica. It literally is in the basement, so it makes it kind of a mystery to find, and once you walk in you are transported to such a cool setting.

There's chalk walls that you can write on, a little side room that you can sit and talk in, live music, cheap beer, chandeliers... you name it, they probably have it.

The only downside (that I didn't experience) is the line to get in. We arrived early and missed the late night rush, but there will be a line if you decide to...

The place looks charming, but the service was horrible. The bartender completely ignored my party despite us being the only ones in the bar. When we were finally ordering a drink, she seemed inconvenienced by us speaking to her. She was very dismissive about questions on the menu, and offered no input on the drinks. She clearly believed our IDs to be fake, and demanded passports from us (not a second form of ID- a passport, specifically). When none of us had a passport with us (as we are traveling within the continental United States) we were refused service. We went down the street to manchego, which has much better drinks, much friendlier staff, and required no...