Weary Livers — Restaurant in Santa Monica

VERY DISAPPOINTING. Highly disorganized, inconsistent, and management is a bit pretentious! 😫 So the deal was that I passed by this place many times and was scouting out local places. I as very excited to have find this cool local community and dive with the Black Plague decor. It’s been there a while, but new owners took over about a year ago. First impression was good aesthetically and seeing that they had various themed nights. First time I tried it was open mic. Talked to the owner and even offered assistance in organizing the events, but he said the didn’t need help. While I respect this and hold no grudge, it’s far from the truth, it’s poorly managed. FIRST TIME: There was nothing set up for open mic, no stage, no lighting, not even a sign up sheet. When I asked where they do open mic, he notified at the dark corner. There was one guy that got a mic from the bartender and did open mic sitting reading poetry at the bar. All the open mics I’ve been to at least have a designated spot for someone to sit with a chair, mic, and sign up sheet. Here you randomly ask the bartender for a mic to perform and sit wherever. It was lane, but we decided to excuse the amateur nature and try karaoke night to give another chance. SECOND TIME: It was a confusing haphazard with patrons trying to figure out amongst themselves how to sign up. You had to ask bartender to find out how to sign up and they said QR code on screen, which wasn’t working for patrons, as we were asking each other how to do it. When it finally started working, there was someone tied to the bar hoarding a mic of their own and randomly cutting in as if their own private performance venue. When it was finally my time to sing, I asked her for the mic and she righteously replied that it belonged to the owner and that I had to find the other mic. How does the owner have a private mic just for her? I had to walk around the bar looking for the mic checking people’s hands and the bar. After finally finding it, I went to perform the song in the dark corner and not only was the mic not creating sound, but there was was no music playing to the karaoke song, just words across the screen behind me that I had to turn around to see. So I had to sing the song without music and without a working mic while the lady hoarded the working mic for herself. Worst and most amateur experience visiting there both times. This place is not professional or organized in the least bit. On top of the smugness, the same cider drink that cost $8 last time somehow cost $16 for their karaoke night. Not sure if this was intentional since there were two of us and we only got one drink. I doubt he accidentally charged double, which would be unprofessional on its own. Better to find a professional place rather than here where they have no clue on how to run things. I started off so excited for this place and wanted to really love, but never again! Best to stay away from this Black Plague...

Was a regular here for several months. I don't like to drink much but I like karaoke and wanted to come to singles nights, so there I was. Would appreciate just one low-carb beer option, and maybe something like Lacroix or liquid death so that people who don't want to drink alcohol/calories can still hang out and spend money to support the establishment.

Because of these limited options, I have been drinking more than I want, and now that I'm consciously cutting back, the menu has been difficult. Karaoke has also been inconsistent recently. It's advertised for 930, but has been starting closer to 1030, when the night is already halfway over.

The crowd has been decent recently, but the past few times I've gone, I've experienced harassment from other patrons. All in all, I think it's time for me to find a different...

I wonder if these business owners realize how bad forcing people to order exclusively through QR codes is hurting their business. Before you could just open a tab at the bar, the bartender would punch a few buttons, and you could/would order as much as you want.

Now, the bartender will (maybe) take your drink order, direct you to a menu (that you can't find) in order to scan a QR code, then pay for way overpriced food, then asked for an 18%+ tip on service that didn't happen.

I went to an event here, and everyone pretty much had the same experience.

Please stop this. The money you're saving by cutting out staff will cost you so much more in...