Verdugo Bar

surfer4life

California

4.3/5  rDev -0.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$

So a friend of mine who happens to share his last name with this bar (which means executioner in spanish) decided that because of it, he wanted to go visit it. Boy and I glad we did. The atmosphere seems to have a good mix of people from all walks of life. Some artsy, some average middle class people and thank god, a few beer geeks. These beer geeks include the owners of the Bar, Ryan and Brandon. It didn't take long before I met these guys and boy are they knowledgable about beer. The few regulars that I met were also very knowledgable and immediately made us feel welcome. While they do have other liquor, you can tell they are passionate about beer. The amount of taps they have escapes me, but I would guess it's close to 15 or more. They beers on tap were high quality, no junk. Prices were very reasonable and I don't believe they had any food available. Bottom line is that if I am ever in their neck of the woods again, I must stop by again and I reccomend you do the same.

03-30-2009 04:40:54 | More by surfer4life

davexisxrabid

California

4.08/5  rDev -6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

Came in here to see what all the hub-bub was about. I'd say, over-hyped but definitely worth the trip and a place I'd like to come back soon...

Place had a nice dark vibe to it, it just didn't seem to be too popular. Not a lot of people when I visited it on a weekend night. I expected a bit more. Plus, I found it kinda weird that there were a bunch of hipsters in here. Where are all the homies at? I was worried about leaving my car parked outside when it's avenues terrority outside and they ain't got no respect for an east l.a. boy like me ...

Service was really quick and the bartender was pleasant. She did inform us which beers were tapped (all of you's drank all the Russian River stuff!) so I did have a Rogue Shakespeare Stout that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Selection was actually pretty good, despite the fact that they had run out of stuff, which was kinda irritating, but I can't really blame the staff for that.

Prices of the beer were standard, the beer to go was really out there though. I mean, if it came down to it and the Verdugo was the only place I could get a bottle of something, then maybe I would pay their markup, but I have resources!

02-26-2009 01:11:01 | More by davexisxrabid

MiScusi

California

4.8/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

A- The ambience of this place on a Tuesday night was real nice for my tastes. Very laid back, some music playing the background, people sitting around but nothing crazy going on. Ability to have conversation here was very good.

Qual- beers came served nice and cold (how I like it) and the Pliny I had was by far the freshest I've had outside of the Russian River brewpub.

Serv- The bar wasn't the busiest it's probably ever been but the bartender was really on top of things. She wouldn't let your glass run dry without asking what would be next, and drinks would come fast.

Selection- The taps here are a collection of pretty hard to find on tap beers. Selection rotates often. A lot of good beers can be found in bottles too, even some special release type beers.

They serve beers in what looks like 3 different type of glasses - goblet, tulip, or pint. Glasses

Great place overall, would be back a lot more if I lived closer.

01-29-2009 20:50:51 | More by MiScusi

ballewblake

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +3.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Woow. If its not the beer selection that brings you here its the women behind the bar. Damn. Managed to slip in on Thursday night after a failed attempt on a Wednesday, bring up my only complaint. This place needs to open earlier! Got there with a friend around 8pm and it was dead. Nice, I liked that. Within 30 minutes though the place started hopping. Managed a spot at the end of the bar and got hooked into a mini beer tasting from the spoils of travel. Ryan pulled out some nice hook ups to share and it was on. A good local selection of brews, good folk behind the bar and in the stools. Fun night, defiantly worth seeking out.

11-01-2008 21:26:34 | More by ballewblake

getkrunkhoe

California

4.74/5  rDev +9.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

WOW! Verdugo is a great place for a pint or two of your favorites, or your new favorites. Prices are reasonable for the draft beer.

Great lineup of DRAFT beers unique bottle selection, they offer Beer-to-go which I think is a major plus. A bit pricey for some of the BTG bottles, but everything else makes you not mind too much.

Service there is great, crowd there is kind of mixed, they always have some kind of entertainment. A bit hard to find but when you do well; worth the "search".

10-24-2008 08:54:27 | More by getkrunkhoe

route66pubs

California

4.34/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

The Verdugo has become my local watering hole after 1) finally moving into Northeast Los Angeles and 2) realizing how awesome it is!

Atmosphere is great. Three distinct areas allow for different experiences, with appropriately dim lighting in the front / bar room, but plenty of lighting to read the beer list / menu.

A variety of rotating taps keeps the list fresh and up to date, and provides for a good quality of brews with extreme freshness.

The small staff all seem to know at least a little about the brews on tap, and have good knowledge on how to pour and what to pour it. They are definitely a friendly bunch who are very aware of how to KEEP their customers happy.

As mentioned above, the selection is good due to its rotation. With approxiamately 20 taps and the occasional cask, plus a handy selection of bottles, you will definitely find something you like. The selection may pale in numbers to Lucky Baldwin's, but is impressive for the quantity of quality brews!

My big downsides with the Verdugo are that it does not open until 8pm, and does not have a kitchen. (Although not having a kitchen diminishes its need to open earlier, I guess!)

As mentioned above, this is definitely my local hangout now for a reason!

10-21-2008 23:15:45 | More by route66pubs

Mauerhan

California

4.66/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

i was lucky enough to make a trip up to verdugo with about 29 or so of my fellow BAs. a nice little trek up past dodger stadium led me to this little gem, sure i drove past it a few times trying to figure out where the hell it was but the trips around the block were worth it. i was a little weary about leaving my car around the corner but got over it quickly. i walk into the building simply marked "cocktails" atmosphere was great. awesome lay out. greeted with a warm hello from ryan the owner. (who is a fuckin saint) tons of beer on tap. and a very impressive bottle list. i was able to walk with a bottle of fred from the wood. FROM THE WOOD!!! :) all in all i had a great time at verdugo and will be making at least a monthly trip up there if not more. well played ryan keep up the good work

10-07-2008 18:27:57 | More by Mauerhan

Floydster

California

4.34/5  rDev 0%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

Finally made it out here, helped there was a BA Gathering, I am a Los Angeles native but it still is a thirty mile drive to this place, we pulled up at the address and I saw nothing but a plain building with a "Cocktails" sign hanging down, and I could not believe this was the place, the inside of the bar and the atmosphere definitely made up for anything it lacked from the street, I was only ten minutes late to our tasting and there was already a good twenty people swarming the bar with a ton of Hair of the Dog Adam and Fred bottles sitting in front of them, this place had a pretty cool bottle selection inlcuding Ne Goeien Saison, about twenty taps including Barrel Aged Messiah Bold on Rye, Stone/Mikkeller/Alesmith Tripel collaboration, Stone Cali-Belgique IPA, Ommegang Rouge, Rogue Double Dead Guy, Kasteel, and others, will be going back once they tap Rubicon Rosebud because that beer sounds very interesting and LA only got two kegs of it according to Ryan, inside there was a real cool vibe, fairly dark rooms with a cool lounge in the middle, and a nice outdoor patio, bathroom sucked but whatever, did not eat there since my girlfriend and I ate at the Oinkster and hung out at the music festival right before this event, we stayed about two hours at the bar and it was enjoyable, nice people behind the bar and glad to share some brews with them, had the Dodger game on in the background too, so I cannot complain there, hopefully I will make it back here soon

10-07-2008 16:16:41 | More by Floydster

DoubleJ

California

4.7/5  rDev +8.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

You wouldn't suspect it from the street or neighborhood, but this is one kick-ass bar! There's no signage outside the building besides a "cocktails" one, so keep track of what block you're on and you'll get there. So what would encourage me to travel 45 miles to get to this place? Well, last night there was a BA Gathering I was a part of, where two dozen of us drank exotic beer we brought to share with everyone. I got to chat with BA's vacax, route66pubs, HopHeadLouie, IPAfiend, whiteknucklegirl, chefscott79, Mauerhan, and OlieIPA, as well as Jeremy Raub, the owner of the Eagle Rock Brewery, and of course Ryan (verdugobar), the owner of this fine establishment. Sorry if I'm missing anyone from that night. But after the gathering, I stuck around for a few hours at the bar.

Verdugo offers an exceptional atmosphere...the lights are dim, the black leather seating around the establishment is comfortable and inviting, everyone is up for a chat, and the bathrooms are spotless...just beware the bathroom only occupies one person and has no lock!

About two dozen taps are scattered at the bar, with a fridge of 80 bottles on the far right. Several types of glassware are used to match an appropriate style, and the few beers I sampled from here were tasting fresh. On-tap they had Ommegang Rouge, Double Dead Guy, Delirium, Aventinus, Saison Dupont, Islander IPA, Stone Belgian IPA, Barrel Aged Messiah Bold, Moylan's Dragoons Irish Stout, Belhaven, Hacker Pschorr Weiss, Allagash, and more. In the bottle they had Three Philospher's, Ne Goeien, Serpeants Stout, Stone Smoked Porter, and others. I settled on a Barrel Aged Messiah Bold from draft, and sampled Ne Goeien and Foret from other customers' bottles.

The staff is easy to talk to and will serve you well. In particular, I have to shout out to Ryan (the owner) for his willingness to hold a great BA Gathering, and for offering his hosptality to all of us.

Having a great crowd (including non-BA locals I spoke with during my stay), great surroundings, a great beer selection, and a great staff screams a revisit. This is certainly worthy of multiple visits from any beer lover, including me. I could have stayed all night and be merry, but I had work the next morning. Fortunately, it appears Ryan will be holding more BA Gatherings here in the future, so keep an eye on the calendar. Awesome!

10-06-2008 03:24:34 | More by DoubleJ

jsmurphy

California

4.8/5  rDev +10.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Finally made it to Verdugo last night. I'd heard about the nondescript exterior, so was not surprised when I pulled up about 8:10pm to the funky looking building. I was surprised to get a parking space right in front of the place, though.
Walked in and there were 2-3 guys at the bar, distributors from Green Flash I was later told.
Started out with the Craftsman Brown mild on cask. Service was excellent, and "Predator" was playing on the flat screens behind the bar. I always get a kick out of the Governator screaming, "hurry,,, get to da choppa" !
Met Ryan, one of the owners. He was a gracious host and very knowledgeable about beer. Also met HopHeadLouie. Had a great time talking beer, and drinking beer with them. Had the Port 2nd Anniv.(tap), a Unibroue Blonde (bottle-can't recall the name), Ne Goien,(bottle) and finished off with the excellent Ommegang Rouge (tap).
This is a comfortable, friendly bar with a great selection, great service and an owner who loves quality beer as much as I do. You can't beat that combination.

08-22-2008 18:36:02 | More by jsmurphy