The Bungalow Santa Monica — Restaurant in Santa Monica

I decided to take my newly received Venture Capital One card for a quick test drive to make sure the magnetic strip worked properly. I have been working on re-building my credit from the mid 200’s the past few years. So I figured The Bungalow was a good treat to myself for tasty beverages, ambiance and seeing what the current single lifestyle had to offer. I had heard this place was classy so I decided to iron my best pair of Docker khaki pants and a light pink polo shirt. I was feeling extra dapper so I chose my go to G.H. Bass Tan Penny Loafers with a brand new pair of white tube socks. Wow was I looking fresh. When I arrived at the valet I was greeted with a hefty valet request to park my precious 1995 Buick LeSabre,I kindly declined because they didn’t take my Venture Capital One card. I think they might have been a bit turned off because I had still not removed the fresh activation sticker. I opted for a public parking spot a few blocks. After finally navigating the difficult valet situation I was finally at the bar and ready to get it. I started off with an Appletini to build the courage up to start working the crowds of all the stunning women who were definitely eye balling me from the moment I walked in through the front entrance. Appletini went down like a Gatorade in a mid July afternoon of basketball playing in Crenshaw. Next beverage had me feeling like it was time to start making my introductions. With a lemon-drop in hand I approached my first assignment. Her name was Prudence and she was an aspiring actress from Iowa. We chatted briefly but I couldn’t get past her towering physique. I find myself to be fairly tall at 5’3 but maintaining a conversation really began to hurt my sternocleidomastoid muscles. So I opted to cut my losses and find a woman more my size. As I was walking back to the bar for a lemon-drop refresher I locked eyes with my Cinderella. This woman was in a group with a bunch of other stunning women. She was a modern Amy Farrah Fowler. Our eyes locked and I just knew that I had to walk over and say hi after my refreshment has been replenished. As I made my way towards her I started to feel my palms sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy and could hear Eminem in my head. After what seemed the longest five minute walk to her I was finally confronted with my Cinderella. I introduced myself and we shared some sweet whatnots in what seemed like nobody else existed. I definitely felt her tractor beams sucking me in. Closing time came far too quickly and before I knew it curfew lights came on and it was time to settle my generous bar tab. I offered my prestigious Venture Capital one card to the bartender to settle up the $240.00 bar tab that I had accumulated with my modern Cinderella. “I’m sorry Sir, your credit card has been declined, do you happen to have a different card?” Are the last words you want to hear when your only chance at love has just presented itself a few hours prior and happens to be standing next to you in a fully lit Bungalow. It turns out that I had exceeded my credit line of $200.00 so I had to kindly ask my future wife to spot me $60.00 to reduce my allowable expenses and still leave a substantial tip to the bartender for her service and discretion. Fast forward to today. I have not had the opportunity to go back to the Bungalow but I am thankful that I was able to meet my wife Peggy that night pre-COVID era. We are currently stacking our savings to relive that wonderful night and avoid the embarrassment that was provided to us by our Venture Capital One card. Def worth attending to find that one gem among a lot of below average looking women with repulsive personalities. Ambience: 10 Cleanliness: 8 Beverage Prices:...

Update: As expected the newly uploaded pictures from reviewers of the place show a stark difference between how it is here now after the reservation fee requirement. That is nothing like how it was before the fee which is the era they are STILL using photos and videos from on social media to promote and make it look like fun whereas now it's a much more thinned out and joyless crowd, way older patrons than who they would have you believe is turning up here, and an outright sausage-fest.

Mandatory $50 reservation fee now in place will destroy all that was once great here - the spontaneity, the youthful vigor, the diversity. Now it's just another bar in the area with nothing to make it stand out beyond being outrageously overpriced with a delusional sense of exclusivity and will have a particularly dull and depressing vibe considering they are turning their back on so many previous regulars who made this place so vibrant and unique. Also imagine what's going to happen to the bartender and waiters' tips with the drop-off in patronage. Safe to say they should at least take down all the punk posters hanging inside, nothing less anti-establishment than a move like this. EDIT: I also want to note that they are using rather old footage on social media to advertise the "fun" environment at the place such as posting a video of girls in line within rope barriers yesterday (7/5/25) when the line has not been set up like that since the beginning of this year and when I pointed this out on Instagram they deleted my comment and blocked me obviously since they know it will no longer be like that with a reservation...

Visited on 06/26/2022 and found it to be a fairly run-of-the-mill experience. It was a pretty nice setting, though the outside could use more shaded seating along the wall with the birdhouse speakers.

The service, however, left much to be desired. My table was assigned an extremely lackadaisical server named Tasha who just inexplicably vanished for AT LEAST 45 min. At the prompting of a couple of busboys (who I regrettably did not get their names in order to thank them here), someone who I assume was a manager finally came over to provide some sort of attention, saying our server was "on a break". Now I could be wrong but typically when a server goes on break, should not that individual ask someone to watch their tables for a little bit? When she finally did return, it was with an aloof "meh...so sue me" attitude. After finally having had enough I went to go get my own card from the bar. When the bartender told me I needed to close it out with my server and saw me shake my head, he gave me a slight, knowing "Yeah....I know" type smile. With the least amount of enthusiasm possible, she brought the ticket and hurriedly ran away. I suppose with the automatic 20% "SERVICE" FEE that is included on everyone's ticket, I suppose there is no real incentive for anyone to do their jobs with decent comportment.

In any event, the manager comped my party some drinks, and even one of the previously mentioned busboys comped us some beers. I do appreciate their efforts.

With the price points being charged, one would expect better behavior...