LOCALS SPORTS BAR & GRILL:
A COOL MID-CITY HANGOUT SPOT

Just what the Mid-City along the La Brea / Pico corridor needed, a cool place to hangout, have a tasty bite and a nice, cold drink while watching the big game. Actually, any game will do. And Locals Sports Bar & Grill fits that description perfectly.

With its ten plasma TV's, 16-ft ceiling, elegant exposed-brick walls and beautiful 40-foot bar, residents of Mid-City and elsewhere now have their very own sports bar to call home.

Opened by former Villa Lounge manager Stephane Bombet, the skill of making customers feel at ease is something he excels at. An international nightclub partner in Bash Paris, La Villa Saint Tropez, VIP Room Paris and Saint Tropez, a commercial broker and restaurateur, music publisher/manager (Enrique Iglesias, Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes, etc.), Bombet has painstakingly made sure Locals surpasses his high standards.

You might assume sports bar food is all the same but Bombet assures he only buys fresh ingredients every day and is proud to forego frozen and non-organic products while reducing the use of processed food whenever possible.

I stopped by one Thursday night to see what the scene at Locals was like. With the Lakers game on the place was packed and filled with an exuberant vibe. Tables sit close together so there is definitely a communal feel and you will be talking to those around you, either cheering alongside fellow fans or talking trash if they’re rooting for the other team.

To get the evening started we opted for the wings with the Red Hot, Teriyaki, and Honey BBQ sauces. The Red Hots were smokin’, the Teriyaki was what you’d expect and the Honey BBQ proved to be incredibly savory.

A cup of the Chicken Tortilla Soup, made with fresh ingredients, was delicious.

At Bombet’s suggestion, we tried the Cheesy Burger, a house specialty, which is 8oz of freshly grounded organic beef stuffed with fresh mozzarella and topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms. Very tasty!

But we found our favorite entrée with the Pulled Pork Sandwich. Slowly braised pork shoulder tossed in a homemade BBQ sauce with fresh cole slaw, this reminded me of something I would eat in Memphis (and that’s about the best compliment I can give to anything BBQ related). Not as spicy as some may want, and hot sauce wasn’t anywhere to be found, but that didn’t matter, as you couldn’t ask for anything tastier. Sport bar & grill food just doesn’t get better than this. And the sweet potato fries on the side are genius.

The Fried Shrimp, an order of 8 fresh (non frozen) large shrimp battered in their secret recipe batter, are a must. They come with a bland homemade ranch dressing that didn’t really hit the spot as well as a homemade marinara sauce that didn’t impress either, but the shrimp were so good on their own it didn’t matter was dipping sauces they came with.

Last but not least came dessert. You’d think we wouldn’t have any room left to keep eating but we took the third quarter off and were ready for sweets as the Lakers game came down to crunch time.

The Chocolate Croissant Bread Pudding a la Mode sounded like a winner. Made fresh every morning, it is fluffy and sweet but I was expecting more croissant and way less raisins (which never appeared anywhere in the menu’s description). Personally, I don’t care for raisins in my dessert so this one missed the mark for me.

But that isn’t the only dessert offered, oh no my friend, there’s the Fried Twinkies Tower. Decadence personified, this dish should simply not even be legal. And I’m not even going to consider what the calorie content must be. Prepared a la mode to boot, one bite and you’re done for. Delicious, decadent, to-die for. As good as what you’ll find at any fair, prepare for food coma. Maybe one Twinkie would be evil enough but this is a tower so you get a plate of four, count ‘em, four fried Twinkies. Hmm, Fried Twinkies Tower. Homer Simpson would be in Heaven.

For now, Locals won’t be charging a cover for PPV events like UFC monthly fight nights or championship boxing bouts so make plans to always watch here. You can’t ask for a better deal.

Partnered with Herb Hudson, founder of Roscoe’s House of Chicken ‘n Waffles, there’s actually a Roscoe’s just down the street and during the month of March whenever you present your Roscoe’s receipt at Locals Sports Bar & Grill you’ll get a free draft of beer.

FYI, Happy Hour at Locals is 6-7:30pm every day and all drinks are half off. Karaoke takes place on Tuesday and Wings and Onion Rings are half off all night. And DJ Pete Yang spins from 9:30pm to 2am every Friday and Saturday night with half off on well drinks and shots between 9:30pm to 10:30pm.

Locals Sports Bar & Grill is located at 5047 West Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90019 — Call 323-930-1400

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