Golden Gopher is an old school dive bar in the heart of DTLA. Been coming here for 2 decades! Not the safest of neighborhoods, however, there is always a bouncer at the door and they are always charming! Be sure to have your ID! Once inside, you got pool tables, juke box, a smoking lounge so you do not have to stand on the street. It gets busy sure, yet the bartenders are quick, efficient and more importantly "friendly"! Seats at the bar, otherwise it is standing room only - which is perfect for large group of folks gathering after a long day of work and just want a few cold ones. No food, however, there are usually 2 burrito trucks outside for that late night snack on your way home. Yes, it can have sticky floors from drinks ...yet that is half its charm of being a dive bar! Beers run about $8-9, well drinks $10-14. For 2 people - 2 drinks with tip, expect $35-45. Some reviews say negative things, yet if you want a true taste of how DTLA is and want to meet some really cool and interesting people... do not miss GG as us locals call it! read more

The Best Bar LA has ever created. Went there on their opening day when LA was safer. Diego, Dawn, Jason, Jay, Kevin, Peter, Sonny, Dave, Rodney (Jesse R.I.P Amigo) all on LAs bar Mt. Rushmore. read more

This place has decent drinks, decent music, and a trash crowd. Witnessed a fight go down, where a man was literally beating a woman and no one, (security included) stepped in. In fact, security or bar staff chose to close the door instead of calling the cops or even attempt to intervene. I understand what happens on "the streets" is technically off-site, but these people were exiting this trash bar and yet the staff took no responsibility to the mess that was taking place in front of their door. I did not know any of the people fighting, but it was very evident that no one cared to protect the woman. I couldn't believe that the same men who check your ID and make sure you aren't bringing in "a water bottle" can stand there and watch a fight to that level happen. F this place. read more

Yo, first time Karening out, but every time I give this place a chance I'm wowed by how they manage to make it feel dirty. So I figure this is a great place if you just don't give a flying duck about: 1. SERVICE. Bartenders don't care and it shows. They won't acknowledge you and treat your order like a nuisance regardless of your patience and simplicity. Absolutely forget about asking for anything beyond entry level. Take one of their deals and talk in the shortest sentences you can muster. 2. ETIQUETTE. Better pay with card unless you like wet ones because bartenders will just slap your change onto the counter without batting an eye--same place where they over poured a shot--so now your money and their tips are soaked. Nice. Again, awesome if you like feeling spit on, not so much if you don't. 3. SECURITY. The security guards act like they've got tenure. Tried to warn them about a fight and they were acting like a cop about to retire. Know-it-all type lazy "OG" did NOT care about my friend's safety unless he was already hurt. Told him I'll tell him after it happens next time and he said "that would be better"?! Tf? Not only that, but when the guy I tried to warn him about walked outside, guard was like "THAT HIM? HE AIN'T DOIN NUTHIN" outing me in an instant. Didn't care. Literally said "I don't care about outing you," so hey if you're here and some guy tells you he bought a gun and wants to fight someone after drinking from a flask and taking hits of coke, then gets so messed up he wants to fight someone you befriended, it's all good. Just let it happen at the golden gopher. I could say "don't go," but I'm tempted to say "go see how bad it really is." Great place for people who never developed basic standards or self esteem. If that doesn't describe you, I think you deserve better. Personally, worst bar service I've ever experienced time and time and time again. One bad experience after another, spaced out once a year at this point and I live around the corner. read more

What I Ordered: -Gold Rush Bourbon, Lemon and Honey $10 I had Golden Gopher bookmarked on Yelp as one of LA's dive bars to visit. I happened to come across it on my way back from Sonoratown. I was feeling a bit parched and wanted a drink before heading home. I arrived at 3:01 PM and was their first customer of the day, with others joining shortly after. I checked out their happy hour drink list. I wanted a Whisky Sour, but the bartender kindly explained they don't use sour mix, so it would cost more than $10. I ended up ordering the Gold Rush, which is Bourbon, Lemon, and Honey. It was okay, but I wouldn't order it again. The bartender was friendly, and the bar had a good vibe. I would definitely go back, but I'd try something else. read more

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Came here for an early night cap on Saturday evening around 6pm, and a sweet surprise as it was happy hour. Was able to enjoy a Gold Rush at the bar with great company. Bartender, I think his name was John or Joseph, was incredible! Attentive and great interactions among patrons. Place itself is very casual, dim dive bar lighting. They had a moment of spanish music playing, a pool table area, plenty of bar seating as well as seating in patio. A great stop for a drink for anyone wanting to explore LA. read more

Golden Gopher - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

A fun bar to stop at with an alleyway hang out. It was giving very city brick vibes and high ceilings. It wasn't over crowded either which was nice for our group to have room to hang out. read more

Golden Gopher - Inside - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Went here for the first time last week. I was with a friend and while he placed our orders easily, I on the other hand had a hard time putting an order in with the same bartender. This was weird for me. Other than that. The vibe is very chill and relaxed. read more

What a great find and recommended by our rooftop server across the street. He called it a dive bar but it is not a dive. Very cool vibe but also extremely dark. Video games, photo booths and a great happy hour. $5 beers from 3-8pm is a great happy hour. read more

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Cool, low light cocktail bar, amaretto sour is my go-to here, great place to hang out and with friends or to have a drink and ponder. Bartenders here are also very attentive and helpful. read more

Everything you need to know about this place is this pic. A Golden Gopher and a cold one. Very chill crowd and place to socialize. Service is always busy so if you're not one to approach folks, this place may not be your vibe. read more

Golden Gopher - Golden Gopher near billiards table - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

What a gem! I do love a neighborhood joint like this. The bar had a great cozy feel, while being huge with a very high ceiling. Cool side outdoor patio. Pool tables and areas well suited for game playing out of the main hall area. Drinks were on point and the bartender very friendly. read more

My absolutely favorite DTLA dive bar!! Pool tables, patio, juke box, boiler maker...and they make a decent margarita. No ever doesn't love this place...if dives are your thing run, don't walk to the gopher. read more

Checking my map and because I'm apparently 5.9 miles further "into LA" than where I normally get it, Guinness is $3 more on tap here. Fine, whatever -- I ball. What I don't do, is have the time for the bartender to whine about the $0.98 in sales tax across the entire bar, as if I am not a working man or have money on me, if you announce my business to everyone I will never come back, hence the reason I didn't care about leaving 3/4 of the beer on the bar when immediately leaving after this. The reason all this happened? Because your sign says its $10 for beer, not $10.98. put the effing total cost of the purchase up to prevent more opportunities to whine about the tax you have an onus to. It's 2026 and it's time to be an adult, you don't even run an authentic dive. Bonus points for YOU. ARE. NOT. "LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION." K? It's less expensive and safer to buy beer on the West Side of LA, like you actually think you deserve more money because there's a higher lik I see someone OD'd or actively using meth in front of your building. I stayed at the Freehand over the summer, you are definitely not the "happening," place over there in DTLA. Act your zip code, please and thanks. read more

I'm assuming the Golden Gopher is a historic piece of downtown LA. The ambiance was very pleasant, the interior was dark and complimented the dark wood bar and walls. The outside patio looks rustic and you can only imagine the stories it could tell from over the years. My party arrived right when it opened, there were maybe 6 other patrons so the service was quick and exceptional. A good place for an afternoon drink to kill time before dinner read more

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Absolutely horrible. We had our holiday party nearby tonight and went here for our after party. They denied one of our managers bc he didn't have his ID and I can respect that they have a strict policy. However, they denied one of our suervisors bc "she tripped on the walk in" (there were cracks in the pavement and she was in high heels) and "she was speaking weird" (keep in mind she had a Lithuanian accent). Horrible service and very rude people. Will never come back! read more

Old school since 1905. We love coming here for the relaxing atmosphere and the classic rock music that they play. This time around they only had one bartender present so it took awhile to order our drinks. My order consist of the PBR with a tequila shot for 11 bucks. Even the security at the door is very friendly. read more

Golden Gopher - Old school since 1905 - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Service and ambience is great. It is a damn shame that they allow dogs here. How dare an establishment allow dogs to the abuse that is loud music and such an over stimulating environment. It's not only inhumane - it's diabolical. I'm deeply disturbed by the amount of dogs being subjected to terrible conditions on the premise of their owners having fun. Shame on everyone allowing this. read more

BEWARE Stopped in before show. Brunette bartender completely ripped us off. During happy hour - 2ea Well gin and tonics (6$ ea) plus gold rush (9$), and a Sazerac (assume full price - fine)... 44$. F that beach. AVOID read more

Really enjoyed our stop in on a recent visit to LA - with it being Sunday afternoon the vibe was chill with what seemed to be mostly regular patrons. The bartender was super friendly with everyone and mixed an excellent martini - would love to go back! read more

Golden Gopher is super laid back, comfortable, and unpretentious...an absolute gem of a bar in DTLA. The bartenders and the bouncers are super chill and the Golden Gopher is nothing fancy, but that's what it makes it so great! I first started coming here over a decade ago when I moved to DTLA, and when I recently went back for the first time in years I remembered why I love this place so much. It's probably one of my favorite bars in DTLA. read more

Golden Gopher - Sign inside - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

My friends and I stumbled on this dive bar on a Friday night. We heard the music from a parking lot and were like, where's that?! Once we found it, we were so happy we did. We had a great time! The bartenders were friendly, drinks were strong, and the music was really good. Everyone was vibing! read more

Golden Gopher - Date night! - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Great neighborhood dive bar. The staff are always friendly. The drinks are nicely priced. Great late night vibes. Perfect spot for one last drink before heading home. read more

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It's been at least 7 years since I've stepped foot in the Golden Gopher. Really diggin the remodel. Dark, modern pub vibes. New outdoor/indoor patio area adds a more open feel to the former dive bar scene. We were bar hopping for a friend's birthday before a concert at BMO. Same great bartending style and drinks. Golden Gopher will be my first bar choice for future DTLA shenanigans. *only con: the photo booth is way too small to fit all 5 of us drunkards who wanted to smash together for silly photos haha read more

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Some lady decided I was harassing her by sitting near her when it was the only place available- and the security told me I needed to behave but had no evidence of misbehavior. No support from management. Not a nice experience. I just had beer so no idea how the cocktails are. Other than this I enjoyed the vibes, so, too bad they had no idea how to support me "John Carter" security said he "heard I was harassing her and the fact I was talking about it was suspicious"- when I just wanted to relax and have a drink. You'll see I don't post reviews often and posted another bad review tonight. You could attribute this to my behavior...or what I think...the worlds gone kinda crazy and it's luck of the draw to have a nice time out. You might be branded an asshole if you just be- Gen Xer. God damn. We almost had this shit figured out in the 90's read more

We didn't even make it in! I tried going in with my friend and she had a soda cup with her and the bouncer said "no drinks allowed in" so we were like ok its fine we will throw them away and then he said "are you looking for the 8th st. bar?" Perhaps because we had just came from a concert and had our 'vaquera' boots on and my friend had her cowgirl hat but we told him no. Then he said to show him our ID's and my friend pulled hers out and she was about to go throw the drinks out but before she did he said "based on this interaction i'm not letting you guys in" at first I thought he was joking because there was a bystander that I believe was the bouncers friend that made some jokes like when I asked what time they closed and he said "noon" and Iaughed. The bouncer did appear a bit high but I don't want to make speculations. I'm just a bit upset because it was a very weird interaction and we were not drunk or anything to hint to be let in. What makes it worse is we are across the way and can see that there are legitimately "drunk" people being let in. I also tried calling to see if there was a dress code or certain policies to see why we were turned away but they didn't answer... All this to say be a bit weary trying to go there, and also im sad I didn't get to try their mead that I saw on their website that drew me to the place in the first place. read more

Golden Gopher - We can see it across the way trying to figure out why we were turned away - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

Now this here is my kind of bar. Visiting LA for the first time of course I had to do the touristy things to check them off my list. But having a friend who lives here gave me a front row look at real life in this sprawling city and a true dive bar filled with locals at Golden Gopher. Dark and always crowded with reasonably priced drinks, this is the place to chill and make new friends. There is a partially covered patio off to the side with couches, stools and tables. Here is where we posted up to socialize, drink, listen to good music ( playlist was on point!) and smoke. I've never seen ashtrays so epically filled with cigarette butts. There is a pool table, a Photo Booth and if you're feeling like snacking two food trucks are regularly parked out front and you can bring food in. All you need for a serous vibe. Conveniently located across the street from Freehand Hotel. read more

Golden Gopher - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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Overall: 3.5/5 I feel pretty neutral about this place. It has a cool vibe and average-priced drinks but nothing to write home about. Ambiance: 4/5 They have a few games and a pool table so that's nice. Its only has one pool table though. The music was super loud so I wouldn't bring a date here unless you don't want to hear them. Outdoor patio for dogs. Smoking is allowed so know that's a thing Service: 4/5 Service was fine but my friend had a rude experience with the same lady who helped us in the past Drinks: 3/5 I'd say they're pretty average as far as pricing goes. We got lucky because she did have a heavy pour for ours so that was nice. I'm dying to go back but if I were to have a pit stop in here I wouldn't be upset about it. read more

Golden Gopher - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

I went in with my best friend and her brother to celebrate my best friends birthday. All was well until we decided to play pool. We were almost done with our game when some man child decided to start yelling at us saying we were done playing and that we needed to let them play. Mind you prior to us playing the pool was empty for hours. Suddenly this manchild and his friend started getting aggressive with us and the "security" guard came and instead of letting us finish our game he decides to take the ball. Prior to this we had ordered drinks and the bartender did not serve us. Again we ordered drinks when we were playing pool and nothing. This bar is definitely hostile and play the favorites game. I was not expecting this type of childish behavior from a bartender/security but alas I digress. Definitely do not recommend this bar. read more

This place is solid. If you're ever in DTLA fun place to hang out at, especially if you're looking for an after party for after a concert or game, or bar crawling in downtown. DJ here plays great hip hop and R&B tracks, and they have a cool patio out back too. Not to mention drinks here are solid too. read more

This is an awesome dive bar in downtown L.A. with great drinks, specials, and an awesome vibe.

Friendly, very good service from this place and ambience was cool .. thank you Will come back again read more

Golden Gopher - Beer on tap very yummy - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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We had a fun Friday night hanging out on the patio with drinks. Hubby really loved his Old Fashioned. The bartenders were speedy and pleasant. I particularly liked the dog friendly policy. I'd definitely visit again next time I'm in the area. read more

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Walked up and the bouncer said something in Japanese. I said "that's weird cuz we're all Korean" and the bouncer said something along the lines of "who cares?" Racist piece of shit. I won't be back, because he won't let us. Asshole. read more

Fun spot! The cocktail are solid and the prices are okay. Bartenders are nice. Definitely check them out if you're in the area

Dirty and lack of service. Idk if he was the bouncer or what but they told us not to touch the bike thats inside by the entrance. SIR WE WEREN'T EVEN NEXT TO THE MOTORCYCLE!! Not even looking that way, the hell. read more

Golden Gopher - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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This place is awesome and has all the local vibes! Great place to catch up with friends or bring a date. Street parking only so plan accordingly! read more

Very cool place - vibe id awesome and the drinks are affordable (especially for LA!). Bartenders are friendly and cool. Love it here!

Great drinks great atmosphere, good bartending attitudes, what else you want? It is in the heart of downtown LA, with parking about two blocks away, so you'll appreciate the city life after you leave the Golden Gopher. read more

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Love this bar, but today's experience was the worst. There was a golden shepherd both behind the bar and jumping up in chairs. The bartending staff pet the dog multiple times and didn't wash hands after. Dog continued to bark and was just overall an unsanitary situation. Dogs don't belong in places where people eat and drink. read more

Golden Gopher - Lounges Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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