The Wilde Thistle

The gourmet beef sausage is more like a giant, super delicious all beef hot dog, think Hebrew National Jumbo Dog. Hits the spot. I’m not a wine and beer person so I was excited to try the agave margaritas.

The food looks so good. Guys were ready to put together what I could only describe as the best smelling restaurant ever. If you ever come by take a look at their cuts of pulled pork, brisket, and tri tip.

A bit quiet and bright for an Irish pub, but this neighborhood haunt does not disappoint.
Eileen L.‘s REFVIEW for The Wilde Thistle:
RELEVANT INFO
* Oscar Wilde-​themed bar with fun wall quotes and Celtic décor
* Large TV hung by the bar
* As expected, an exhaustive selection of Irish beers and spirits
* HH daily 3p-​7p
* Live music on certain weeknights — my running route normally passes The Wilde Thistle, and I have seen on several occasions musicians talking outside the bar to patrons after their performances Tuesday or Thursday nights
* Piano near the hallway to the restrooms
* Uncharacteristic of an Irish bar, closes by 10pm daily and 7pm on Sundays — and though I haven’t been here often enough to know, this place doesn’t seem like it attracts sloppy drunks
EXPECTATIONS GOING IN
* A small lounge popular amongst locals
FOOD
* Bacon Butty ($ 9): highly simple, yet crunchy and flavorful bacon sammich drenched in BBQ sauce
* Grilled Cheese ($ 6.75): amazingly buttery. I was ready to polish off the bf’s entire order
VALUE
* Not expensive, but not cheap either
* $ 2 – 5 pastries, $ 6 – 12 entrees/​sammiches
* $ 6 – 8 beers, $ 5 during HH
IMPRESSION OVERALL
* Tasty comfort food with good service in a nerdy-​gamer setting (I date a heavy gamer and he drags me to his share of LAN parties, so I was in familiar territory)
ENVIRONMENT /​AMBIANCE
* Laidback atmosphere with deliberate uncoordinated table layout, conducive for studying, hanging out and perhaps gaming
* Irish folk music playing in the background if there’s no live musicians
* On nice days, opt for patio seating
WOW FACTOR
* Ladies room supplied with lotion — a nice touch, and a reflection of this spot sparing no details!

Had some work to do before meeting people for dinner around the corner, so I quickly Unilocaled a spot. Stumbled upon this hidden gem and immediately fell in love!
It was an awkward time (around 2 or 3 pm) on a Tuesday, so it was dead. Perfect for getting some work done! The wifi didn’t work, which worked in my favor but just a heads up.
Had an absolutely delicious grilled cheese sandwich with a side of chips. Craving that sandwich now even as I type this.
Super unique Irish café /​bar with really friendly service and the perfect indie bookstore meets speakeasy bar vibe. In fact, they were setting up a poetry reading as I was walking out. Would definitely come back!

I was out with a friend and we really hungry. We found this little gem and parked right out front. The waitress couldn’t have been nicer even offering to charge my friend’s phone. The food was excellent and the beer selection was a surprise! I am never in this part of town but if I find myself by here again I would go in and eat again!

A thoroughly rewarding experience.
I usually come for late lunch, I order a cheese plate or a sandwich, this is exactly the kind of fresh, original food I enjoy to eat.
This Family-​owned yet chic place offers a reprieve from the rude, fast, ordinary places that abound in palms.
The wilde thistle is unique, delicious, friendly and clean!

Maybe we caught them on an off night? We ordered a reuben, fiddler’s green sandwich, and some mushroom pasties. There was hardly any meat on the reuben, the fiddler’s green was flavorless with inexplicably huge hunks of celery, and the mushroom «pasties» were the frozen mushroom appetizers from Trader Joe’s (and they charge $ 9 for them). Oy! I get that the ambiance is «cute» but our meal was a hot mess that I resented spending hard earned money on.

The SO got sandwiches here when he was working from home one day. I got to try the Reuben as well as their blueberry and Brie sandwich, and I thought they were pretty good! Not amazing, but a good solid sandwich. The atmosphere of the place was very hipster-​esque apparently, and very laid back. It’s a nice neighborhood option if we’re ever hungry and in the mood for some lighter fare.

I do like this place, super convenient off the freeway. The beer selection is generally pretty good. I do like that they are far from a sports bar in feel, yet they’ll put on the Dodger game for you & other sports.
I’ve had the corned beef slider which was decent.
The bartender sort of reminds me of jesse eisenberg, not sure what it is exactly, but let me know if you agree.

The best place in LA for live music: traditional folk music, singer-​songwriter, Irish, some blues & jazz, too.
The family that owns & runs this place is super sweet and if you like small businesses doing well in LA, come give it a try.
Their Ruben is really good and I like the fresh cakes, scones, etc. Beer on tap &
wine tasting is all quality, just like the music.

I can only speak for drinks and ambiance since I’ve never eaten here.
I’ve mostly come in on weekday afternoons to get some work done. Their WiFi is reliable and they have happy hour from 3−7p with beer and wine for $ 5.
I stopped by once after dinner for a drink and listen to some live Irish music. It was fun and chill… A good place to go if you live nearby and want to get out of the house.
I’ve never tried their food and I honestly haven’t been that interested just looking at the menu and reviews.

Came here for the first time on NYE 2014 to watch a friend preform.
It’s such a cute little café/​pub and the owners really got into the NYE spirit.
Upon entering we were treated with a smile and a NYE party hat and noise maker.
The tables were decorated for the occasion and the provided champagne and the lyrics to the NYE song
As a collected we celebrated the New York New Years with a few bottle pops and a toast, and then went right back to eating.
It being called the Wild thise I ordered the thistle sandwich.
On rye bread sat an artichoke spread and tomato and to be honest I can’t really recall what else but I can tell you it was good. Their homemade chips and artichoke parm dip was also very enjoyable.
if I find myself in palms again I would consider this restaurant for a midday meal: D

I was quite excited to try this place because I had heard about it but had not yet been. I went the other day with my roommate to study. I hate to give this place such a low rating but here it goes…
Upon entering, we were greeted by an elderly woman who just gave off a really weird vibe that we both picked up on. The café was completely dead except for one guy watching a game on TV. As we started looking at options on the menu, they told us, one by one, that they were out of each item. Apparently they had a crazy weekend with so many customers that they ran out of just about everything. I really wanted to try one of these scones I was reading about but they didn’t have any of those either. So I had to settle on one of the two pastries that were offered. I decided to try the lemon blueberry crumble cake. It was horrible. I couldn’t believe how terrible it tasted. It wasn’t fully cooked through — so the bottom was extremely dry while the top portion was really wet. It was so weird. The flavor was really off too… it tasted like soda bread or something. I would never order their pastries again after that.
My roommate just wanted an espresso or latte. They didn’t offer any of that stuff. My roommate asked for something else that they were out of. So in the end she had to settle for iced coffee which was hot coffee poured over ice. She said the flavor of the coffee was really poor and that it was very watered down, naturally.
I’m not really sure if I would go back to this spot. A part of me wants to try some of their entrees and see where their high Unilocal ratings come from. And another part of me already tasted that disgusting cake and doesn’t ever want to have to step foot in that place again. In the end however, the service was a little bit better. The place is family run and they seem like nice people.

I don’t understand why this place has 4.5 stars. I think I would only come back if I wasn’t hungry and I wanted a beer.
My food was terrible. I ordered a sandwich that was dry and flavorless. While I was eating I was thinking, «I bet I could go to Trader Joes right now, buy all of these ingredients and make it better myself.» Oddly enough, when the guy behind the bar walked into the kitchen, the door swung open and I saw a Trader Joes bag sitting on the counter! I don’t think they make anything themselves because I also ordered «Tater Tots» to start and they tasted like the inside of a freezer. The waiter even asked us if they were «warm enough.» I’m very disappointed. I really wanted to like this place.

Came here a couple months ago with a friend for lunch, there was a group practicing Irish music sitting in the middle of the room, which was very cool, and besides that only a couple other folks eating or having a beer. The Wild Reuben sandwich was delicious, as was the artisinal cheese plate. We tried the chocolate beer they offered at the time (heaven something? I forget) and it was one of the best beers I’ve tried in a while. When we got the bill it was much less than I had thought, I guess I didn’t realize it was happy hour, yay! Will definitely be back as I live close.
I don’t give 5 stars easily, but I couldn’t find anything wrong here.

A small restaurant that you’ll miss if you’re not looking for it (and even if you are, really). The restaurant has seats for maybe 20, but space for quite a few more. It’s quaint and quiet. We arrived on a Thursday around 7:30pm and were one of 3 parties inside.
We came for the Cornish pasties, hoping to find something as good as The Cornish Pastie Company in England. Though the pasties were a bit dry, the food was A-​OK and the staff very friendly. We enjoyed our meal, but more so just hanging out. They have some games in the back corner, and I think the highlight of the evening was probably sitting and playing Cards Against Humanity for what must have been about 3 hours.
We’ll be back to try their Afternoon Tea Service, but all in all I’d say a nice, nondescript restaurant with nothing really wrong with it, but nothing to brag about either.

Come for the vibe which is original, refreshing and unique. Big emphasis on the arts here. I’ve been for a mid-​Sunday afternoon Irish music session, an all-​female open mic comedy night, a folk and cover band session performed by a young couple and on nights when nothing in particular is going on. The food here is pretty much an afterthought. Just okay, pricey, and always takes a long time to come out though nothing on the menu is fancy.
Pretty standard garden salad with walnuts and craisins that taste like orange peels. Like the kind you accidentally buy at trader joe’s when you’re not paying attention. Had the Harvest Salad once which is $ 10, vegetarian and REALLY expensive for a tiny portion. The plate is the size you would expect for a side salad. The Erin Go Bragh is the best thing I’ve ever ordered here. They have a $ 5 happy hour every day from 4−7pm for wines and beer. I’ve never been impressed with the soup of the day and the soda bread is horrendous. The Irish do a lot of things well. Bread is not one of them.
No decaf, no espressos, no soy milk. A little odd for a café. As a matter of fact, the stocking of regular coffee seems to be hit and miss. The wifi is always great because there are limited tables (translation: few people competing for bandwidth) but the internet does conk out from time to time.
Spotty service. On two occasions I have asked for menus and received them but they never came back to get the order. Even worse, I have ordered soup and never received it.
I suppose the pros keep me coming back:
1) Small business run by a hard-​working family
2) Supportive of the arts and a great platform for artists to exhibit their talents
3) The events/​performances are free and usually entertaining
4) It’s OSCAR WILDE themed!

Looking like drowned rats, we stopped in when we got caught in a downpour/​hail storm while out running errands a couple weeks ago. Yes! We need all the rain we can get! And Yes! Some people in LA actually walk to get places!
Cute café with a nice atmosphere, though the lack of soft surfaces made the (bubbly-​drinking, Cards Against Humanity-​playing, hilarity-​ensuing) bridal shower party across the room very loud.
Sunday afternoon Happy Hour $ 5 pints are always a plus. I had the Twisted Thistle and my husband had Guinness. Delicious when paired with the 3 nice cheeses (a pesto, a port soaked and something else), apples and honey on their Artisinal Cheese Platter.
Bonus points for board games.

I think this place gets 3.5 stars for ambiance and cuteness. The food was OK and nothing special. It reminded me of something I would make for myself for dinner.
We came in around 730pm on a weekday and there was live music. It was a guy with a guitar and it was great! It was a bit hard bc the place is so small and my friend and I wanted to chat and we were kind of competing with the music. I felt bad that we weren’t giving him his undivided attention bc it was that intimate but we came to have dinner together and catch up.
I got the sandwich I think it’s called thick thistle which was a grilled cheese with artichoke. It was good but not amazing. My friend got another sandwich. They were both about 9.50 and you add two bucks for a green salad or chips.
We got a basket of chips and it came with a great dip but the chips honestly tasted like they grabbed a bag of ruffles and stuck it in a nice basket.
The overall ambiance is good but I wasn’t impressed with the food.
The service was nice enough. I am not sure if I will come back to try their HH or their afternoon tea. I wonder what tea they offer bc during dinner they had three options.

**BEST AFTERNOON TEA IN WEST LA**
I wanted to duplicate my afternoon tea experiences from Hong Kong.
Caity, the owner, made that happen for my 20 guests.
PARKING
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Street.
AMBIANCE
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Country, cozy, and cute.
There’s a small bar with a television in the corner.
There’s even a piano.
Our tables were set-​up with very nice tea sets.
FOOD
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TEA: Grey Earl, Peppermint, etc.
Beautifully flavored and the refills kept coming.
RATING: ⁵⁄₅
FINGER SANDWICHES: Cucumber, Blue Cheese, etc.
Fresh and not dainty. We ate so much and it seemed endless.
RATING: ⁵⁄₅
SCONES and COOKIES
Perfect with the provided fresh jams.
RATING: ⁵⁄₅
SERVICE
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Caity and her team were wonderful and efficient.
RATING: ⁵⁄₅
PRO TIP
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Check-​In on Unilocal for 10% off bill!
OVERALL
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With tax and tip, it was $ 20 per person, which made everyone super happy.
Good food, good people, and good prices? YOU WIN, WILDE THISTLE.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND.