Ye Coach & Horses

I used to haunt this place in the 80s and 90s. Miss Bartender Bob, as Bob Grant, the owner was fondly called. If you ordered a drink and it sounded good to him, he often poured one for himself. He got pretty drunk most times I was in there and most of the time, someone would step behind the bar and help him out. I later found out that sometimes he would get ripped off, but I never saw it. I mostly saw locals helping him out. Sorry this historic Hollywood watering hole closed. I moved away years ago, but I miss So Cal and Hollywood. But, you can’t go home again, so much has changed since the 80s and even the 90s.

Local dive bar; great atmosphere, chill, darkly lit (plus for me), stiff drinks, and mix of people. Music is loud but not so loud that it interferes with conversation. Music played so far; Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, Faith No More, David Bowie… No one here seems ‘too cool for school’. We’ll be back.

R.I.P. the only decent bar in walking distance had to close, didn’t it.

OMG. OMG. OMG. You guys, Coach & Horses is in danger of CLOSING FOREVER. After 70+ years they are being threatened with an eviction by Samuel French, the bookstore next door. This is the worst news ever. I seriously struggle to find cool bars in LA, and this place is at the top of my list. The juke box is epic and I love hanging out there. SAVE COACH & HORSES! Rally time.
The bar’s Facebook page is telling everyone to contact Samuel French, the bookstore next door, who are trying to force the eviction. Email them here and tell them to stop!
Here is a sample letter:
To Whom It May Concern,
Do NOT force the eviction of a historic landmark. Ye Coach & Horses has been in business at the same location on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood for 73 years. Samuel French, Inc., in its decision to force the eviction of Ye Coach & Horses, is responsible for attempting to obliterate a part of film history and Los Angeles history by doing this. Would-​be customers of Samuel French are outraged. L.A. preservationist organizations are outraged. People who like bars with character and a sense of history are outraged. You have nothing to gain by forcing this eviction. I ask that you do not go ahead with it.
Sincerely,
(your name)
You can also:
Call Paul Koretz, LA City Council District 5 @ 213−473−7005
and the Hollywood Hills Neighborhood Council @ 323−969−1314 to tell them you want Coach and Horses to stay!

It’s not a dive bar, it’s a great neighborhood bar. It’s dark with red lighting and a tall can of PBR is $ 3 at happy hour and $ 5 at just hour. I was there on a quiet Tuesday night and enjoyed the chillness. If you can walk here, do so, because your drunk ass shouldn’t be driving anyway.

The first time I went here, I was groped by 2 Russian women who stole my choices for songs on the jukebox. I believe I also kissed a guy who was gay. So am I gay or lesbian? I don’t know. What does this have to do with Coach & Horses? Because you know you’re having a good time if you’re questioning your sexuality. Confusion is a fun thing, that’s why people get drunk.
Cash only bar, which is good so you don’t go overboard. They have absinthe that they are always happy to give you a taste of, and the bartenders as well as the clientele are always very friendly. What more could you ask for in a bar?
Also, don’t designate a driver, because that’s just cruel, but do call a buddy who lives by to pick you up and crash at their place for the night. Live to drink another day.

It’s a dive bar. A locals bar for the Hollywood Hipsters that are «fortunate» enough to live around there and get to say «Why yes, I live in Hollywood, I do movies». They have Pabst Blue Ribbon. :D
Good drinks, good prices (weekdays) Kirsten Dunst apparently goes there on Saturdays. Um, if you’re a local, go during the week, some darlings told me that on the weekends THEY AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE! THEY HAVE a juke box! oh yeah! and the bartenders are really nice, and the locals actually seem to welcome noobs, just noobs, don’t be stupid dicks here ok. The people here are actually really nice just dont’ piss them off. :)
I will def. be going back. :)

Ye Coach & Horses feels like the kind of bar that one might find in their hometown. It’s dark bar with very strong tint of red. All the seats, tables, & decorations are all mismatched, but somehow work together. There’s a cigarette machine and the register is so old that it might explain why this bar excepts cash only.
Rather than map out a happy hour and work out a transpo plan, we opted to walk to a bar we often neglect. It didn’t take long to remember why: the jukebox is quite loud! Mind you on our entire visit, there were never any more than 8 people in this rather small bar. Thankfully, while the music not playing, we were able to chat with bartender Matt.
The cash only rule is quite inconvenient for us, as we can imagine most people these days. Before our visit, we went to 7 – 11 across the street to use their cash-​back debit feature, but they only allow a $ 10 withdrawal. The bar does have an ATM, but we’re not down with fees.
As long as this bar can keep the jukebox down, this location can be nice to meet for a quick drink with a friend or lovah.

Um… am I missing something? I am a HUGE proponent of dive bars and am a sucker for places with cutesy names. I have read Unilocal reviews on this bar and expected a good time… boy was I wrong…
Coach & Horses has a great location on Sunset… not in the middle of the tourist hub-​bub but still in a convenient location. I expected a hip dive bar but instead was immediately greeted by the strongest stench (yes stench– not even scent or smell) of cheap beer. It smelled like an alcoholic’s mouth. The crowd was in their 40s wearing cowboy boots and tight boot cut jeans and listening to classic rock. I suppose I expected a younger generation of bar hoppers. The worst part? They ONLY accept cash but encourage you to use their ATM which has a fee for outside banks of course.
Horrible. We left shortly after we arrived. Cute name, bad bar.

Great little rough-​around-​the-​edges pub on an unexpected stretch of Sunset. It is rare these days to find a smallish bar that seems to balance a theme with a hard dive feel. Bartenders are fun and helpful and the high, pleather booths are a real treat. The crowd is pretty diverse and laidback and the place doesn’t get too packed on the weekends. The jukebox is an obvious draw but there isn’t much in the way of dancing space or real standing space for that matter. I am glad my friend who lives in the area brought me here because I might have never bothered otherwise.
Refreshing, theme-​y pub that can border on boring.

I love an old school, dimly lit bar more than anyone… I so wanted to love it here. but I didn’t. It is not cool… not in a hipster way or even a non-​hipster way. It smells like an old man’s bar… like one that opens at 6AM and is filled with gross old drunks. The bartender couldn’t make a Manhattan because he couldn’t find the red vermouth and he asked «do you mind if I serve it over ice, we don’t really like to use martini glasses here». What? For a Manhattan? That is the burliest, man’s drink there is! Just because it is served «up» he was embarrassed to make it. This place seriously bummed me out. If you are in the mood for just the most basic cocktails and nothing really to look at, I guess it’s not that bad. Just not what turns me on.

It took me a few months of living in West Hollywood before I found this diamond in the rough of a «dive» bar. Granted, it’s usually over-​crowded but the fact that they offer silos of not only PBR but Strongbow Cider as well is what really won me over.
This place has one of those weird «long & skinny» layouts that seem so popular for a dive bar in Hollywood. Good for small groupings of people, but it’s very easy to feel crowded and partially stomped on when you’re competing for sitting/​standing space in here. Bartenders that I’ve come across took their jobs in stride and did not go easy with the pours on my Johnny Walker shots. (Bad call? You bet your ass it was.)
As for Joshua G’s hipster comment… you are in WeHo. Don’t tell me you were surprised.

Oh Coach Bar, let me extoll your virtues.
Strong drinks
Great music
Dark cozy atmosphere
Amusing regular clientelle
Sexy bartenders
Great location next to an indian food place and across from a convenience store.
Frequented by a man dressed as Jesus.
True, you may have a misleading name, as there is very little British about you. I forgive you for that, merely on the basis that I got to listen to a grown man number the reasons why vegetables are horrible for you and should be avoided. That instance alone made my night.

Good music, cheap drinks.
Yuck. Hipsters everywhere. Yuck.
Going back? Doubt it.

This place is great. Sekret back door where you can order samosa’s from the Indian restaurant next door. Great selection on the jukebox. Dark booths. Good happy hour specials.
I highly suggest you do not order well drinks, unless you want to forget the rest of your evening and have an unforgettable hangover. I don’t know what it is with those well drinks, but I’ve seen it happen on more than one occasion.

4.5
Talking to a screenwriter friend of mine the other day, our conversation shifted from our habits that inspire creativity to which bars are best to write in. (Hey, let’s just be honest that genius is often heightened by freedom of restraint and expansion through drugs and drink. This was legitimate discussion!) This place was the first on my friend’s list. He called it the perfect place to watch a pick-​up and from the moment I walked in I could tell I would feel right at home cozying up in a booth with a pen and notebook in hand, harboring myself deep in the high-​backed red leather seating and watching the myriad of characters from whom to take inspiration, unseen. Doesn’t hurt that your researching of the human condition can be accompanied by a sick-​strong glass of whiskey and diet coke.
And let’s be clear. By strong, I mean my drink was like diesel fuel and well worth the $ 8 price tag as such. Doubles come in extra tall glasses too, so while double the price, you can nurse that pain-​killer for quite a while. That pick-​up watching my friend mentioned didn’t happen the night I stopped in-​it was a total sausagefest, but it was a great mix of extremely flamboyant gay men, old school rockers with long black beards and hair to match, suits and a guy who hopped outside to smoke some weed out of an apple bong. Love it! I also loved that I was the youngest person there by 10 years. That’s a mark of a bar I am going to make friends with. So is a bar that smells like smoke years after the smoking ban has been in place, purely from it’s 73 year history and a clientele that is completely unperturbed by the idea of dying young from lung cancer.
The décor of the place is also appealing. The bar looks original with its warped and weathered wood, there’s a filled in fireplace with a large mantel that you can totally picture having roared with flame back in the day, and there are pictures on the wall that look like English countryside oils. Somehow, this works with the rocker vibe-​though don’t ask me why.
Jukebox is also rad, its cash only and there is plentiful parking on Sunset during the week. I’m fishing out my notes for a return visit as we speak.

What you got to understand about Moonshine Joey is that he loves dive bars. He loves bars where the carpet’s old, the cash register has a crank, someones always telling someone else they’re a liar but pronouncing it «leer,» and where the light is dim so that regardless of looks the species of man will continue to perpetuate.
The fact is dive bars are good for the economy too! Dive bars are what you call countercyclical revenue centers. In other words, when the economy takes a dive, dive bars start making more money. For example, when you got the ax at work because of the economic woes of the good ol’ U.S. of A, what did you do? That right, got a drink. And did you get a drink at Koi? No, you got it at «the local dive.» No one wants to get their pity beer or cocktail sitting by bankers and gold diggers…
So do a service to you and your country. Get a couple of beers at your local dive.
Now, this would be a good place to test your metal. I know many of you are familiar with the «Irish Car Bomb:»
1. third of a pint of Guinness
2. half a shot of Baileys
3. other half Irish whiskey
Here would be a pretty good, safe place to try the «Irish Truck Bomb!!!:»
1. third of a pitcher of Guinness
2. half a pint of Baileys
3. other half Irish whiskey
I’ve seen it done… and the dude hung out the rest of the night. He was wasted… but he did do a college foreign exchange program in Ireland for a semester… I was so proud.
Anyway, for what it is, this place is cool. Local hangout… and seriously, they’ve got Tallboys!

This was my first Hollywood dive that wasn’t pretentious so I fell in love with it. It was right by my apartment so I could walk home too. Love the jukebox. It has THE best selection of music. The drinks are alright.
Now, this is why it lost stars.
–It’s way too dark in there. Once you’re drunk, you can’t really see if the person who you’re talking to is hot or not. Eventually, you find yourself making out with this guy, rolling against the wall to make your way out to the car without breaking up the makeout session, out onto the street, and as he opens the car door for you and you break away from the kiss to get in and realize, OMG what the hell was I thinking??? He is HIDIOUS!!!
–The bartenders are getting drunk too which is totally fine with me except when I tell them that the guy next to me is drunk and needs to be cutoff because he’s creepin me out, please do something. I told them that he was following me EVERYWHERE (even to the bathroom) and that maybe a glass of water would do him good but they didn’t care.

When a $ 5 PBR tall boy is the only thing you got going for ya it’s time to retire the coach and send the horses out to stud but then again they will have to resort to homosexuality because there is nary a mare in sight of this depressing dump.
There is no beer on tap. The juke box has some good selections but all anyone ever tends to play is Michael Jackson and the Greatful Dead.

Dark bar, cool vibe, killer tunes and fun people who often times don’t get the concept of moderation… which to that I say… hell, bring it, the more you rub your stomach and yell «dance with my meat bitches,» the more we giggle (sadly, THAT is a true story)
Check it out though, it’s certainly at least worth going to once. And yes, the jukebox is solid and that is muy importante when another bar might leave you sipping Scotch to Ricky Martin and that is just UNACCEPTABLE.