Lucky Baldwin's

unseenbyyou

California

4.28/5  rDev +2.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Recently went here during craft beer week. They had 10-10-10 on tap! The crowd is a good mix of beer afficianados, and guys drinking clueless...if you don't ask for the tap list walking in here, you don't know what you are missing...
One of the better jukeboxes for drinking as well. One thing strange though...this was the first time I did not see someone with his kid there
They had great divide beers on tap. I really enjoyed the hibernation. Twas a good balance to the 10-10-10...worked a different part of my palate.

I highly recommend this place during belgian festival that occurs twice a year..man. That's when selection goes to a 5.

10-24-2010 01:40:39 | More by unseenbyyou

Lesbrad

California

3.83/5  rDev -8.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 5 | food: 2.5 | $$

Lucky Baldwin's seems to have been around forever. So have their tap lines which seem to be less than pristine. I don't know why I am starting with the bad stuff, just went their last night and had a great time. Here are my gripes, the good stuff to follow. The food sucks. Really? C'mon guys put a half decent meal in front of me and I won't complaint. Clean a table - please, I sat on the patio and waited for the table to be cleared. the waitress took the order and never did a thing to clean up from her last patrons. She delivered our beers right in the middle of the mess and never bothered to move a thing. We moved inside to watch the game and sat at a table that has crumbs and liquid on it and another server came and left it too. i had to ask for a rag. Ok, enough ranting.

I love this place. Amazing selection of beer from home and abroad. Nice pours, good pricing, a constantly changing selection. I love Belgians and they have plenty of them in bottles to go with that tap list. In Pasadena this place stands alone. The authentic pub grubbiness is matched by the enthusiasm of the football fans (real football not nfl) who come to cheers and jeer.

09-25-2010 16:18:16 | More by Lesbrad

willbolk

California

4.08/5  rDev -2.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Great atmosphere if you think being in a british pub is great atmosphere. Almost divey, but in a good way.

Pretty extensive tap list, their website is never up to date. Lots of belgians, not as many u.s. crafts. Always have local Craftsman, Stone, Anchor, few others.

Kick ass place to catch a football (soccer) match. Always full of footie fans for champions league matches, I assume the same for weekend premiere leaguue matches. Seems to attract plenty of liverpool (blech) and united (ugh) fans. Gunners show up in force too - up the Arse!

English inspired pub grub, most of what I've had has been average. Go for the beer and the footie, not so much for the food.

09-15-2010 06:17:29 | More by willbolk

PStevens

California

4.65/5  rDev +11.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Whoa there! I have only been here once, but that's about to change partner! I can't miss XMAS IN JULY next weekend! Im so pumped. Just had Lost Coast Double trouble ipa and coronado idiot ipa. Both exceptional! The only thing I can say about this place is GO THERE! I just happened to stop in the area and found it by a recommendation from a gas attendant. You can say I got lucky! beers beers lucky in finding the place that is The food is not to miss very tasty and fairly priced. Too many handles to choose from. Gotta go back!

07-09-2010 04:35:43 | More by PStevens

Gobzilla

California

4.38/5  rDev +5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Been coming here for about 8 years now and is the primary spot that started me out on my beer adventure beginning with the belgian beers then onto the great craft beer of america. Love there belgian beer fests that include rare selections from cantillon, st. fuellion, hanssens, la chouffe etc. The bottle selection is always good and changes up depending on availability. You will always catch them with some new stuff on tap and in bottle. The feel of the joint is like a british pub but that is located in old town psasdena. I really feel like they stay true to their roots. Service is great for me cause I've gotten to know some of the bartenders that really take great care of me. If you are hungry they're known for their fish and chips and bangors and mash.

05-04-2010 04:46:40 | More by Gobzilla

DoubleJ

California

4.11/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$$

I've been around a number of the "new school" beer bars in LA, but Lucky Baldwin's is one from the "old school", and I had not taken the time to visit that type of bar in LA until today. The interior feel like a maze. There isn't much wiggle room, and you better have Vasco da Gama with you, or you may get lost trying to find the bar. Nonetheless, the atmosphere is likeable. Seems like a hybrid of Belgian beer cafe and British pub. Seating is also available outside.

During my visit, the barleywine festval, a period of time which LB hosts many barleywine's on-tap, was happening. I don't remember the bottle count, but there were a lot of good bottles (leaning towards Belgian beers). The tap count is at 64, and nearly every one was a good one. Barleywines from Stone, Avery, Victory, Craftsman, Sierra Nevada (including vintages from 2002, 2003, and 2004!), Anchor, and many more. Among non-BW types, there were Hoegaarden, Bavik, Mardesous, Tetley's, Paradox Isle of Arran, Speedway Stout, Maharaja. Drafts were on the pricey side, usually going around $8. There's even a cask, but nothing was pouring from it. There's lots of different glassware being used, my beer was in good condition, and I even saw the bartender "cutting the head" of a beer. However, there was one case of a customer sending back a glass because of lipstick residue.

Lucky Baldwin's still has it going. My first visit yielded good results, and the tap selection will certainly attract me back for another go.

04-19-2010 06:32:57 | More by DoubleJ

womencantsail

California

4.14/5  rDev -0.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | $$$

The place is an English/Irish themed pub, using the Cantillon logo. Doesn't make sense, but oh well...

There are several seating areas: the bar, a downstairs seating area with tables and stools, and upstairs area, and a patio with plenty of seating.

The bar is dimly lit with lots of signage all over the place, perhaps too decorated. It definitely has "character".

The beer list is fairly eclectic and ranges from the typical English/Irish imports that are on every "pub" tap-list to some local beers such as Craftsman, to more obscure Belgian beers. The bottle list is also quite nice too, but like most bars, is a bit pricey.

The service was friendly and helpful, and fairly quick--though it was a somewhat slow night. The prices were a touch high for my taste, but not outrageous, I suppose.

Certainly one of those quintessential beer spots in Southern California, but I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to stop here.

04-01-2010 18:44:38 | More by womencantsail

snpub540

California

3.85/5  rDev -7.7%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3 | $$

Stopped in here for my first time even though I've been in the area many times before.

Great selection of beers and I was surprised at how many taps they had. I happened to stop in during their Belgian fest and tried some beers I don't think I normally would have tried. I like that they do their themed festivals and have different brewers visiting.

Atmosphere was alright. Kind of smelled like a gym locker room and it was getting pretty crowded during lunch with a bunch of guys with accents watchin soccer but I didn't mind too much.

Food is basic bar grub and I don't think I will come here to eat again, but I will be back to try some more beers.

All in all its a great local place to grab some beers.

03-10-2010 22:43:21 | More by snpub540

SolsticeDreamer

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $$$

I'm a Pasadena local, and when going out for beer this is probably the best place in town to head over to. They have an amazing selection, great Belgians and local micro-brews (Craftsman! Can't get any more local then that here). There is always a great selection rotating centered around beer styles and breweries, meet the brewer or Belgian, Barleywine week!
The food is your standard pub food fare, not the best nor the worst; but with a side of fish and chips you can face most beer there. At times food is warm at best, and the beer is too; but that's probably because there always busy and there never seems to be enough staff on hand.
It's a fun place to go and try a lot of beers one usually wouldn't find under one roof. I love support local business and you can't get any more local around these parts. Be warned it can get pricy, with everything in the world going up; so has beer and food.

02-17-2010 05:11:57 | More by SolsticeDreamer

ArrogantHopHead

California

4.13/5  rDev -1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5 | $$

LB is a great local joint for the beer enthusiast like myself. I highly recommend this place if you want to experience some worldly beers for a good price and great ambience. There are signs of almost all the major craft breweries you can thinking of posted on their walls, with tvs to watch every known sport in the world, and beers from all over as well.

They keep a darn pretty good selection in their lineup and although they don't have enough for every one, they try to serve each beer in the appropriate glass it is meant to serve it in (often the brewery itself).

The food is pretty darn good too. It's not going to win tons of awards, but I sure don't want fancy, small portioned junk when I am enjoying craft beers. Give me some wings and their combo pizza anyday.

Last, they do a good job of supporting local craftsman beer to and keep that readily on tap. Overall good place. Other places have some more specialty beers, which I hope they can procure more of in the future.

12-09-2009 11:54:06 | More by ArrogantHopHead