Matt B. and I are living with my parents these days, and one of the benefits of this arrangement is…read morethat we can leave the house quite easily after the kids go to bed. We decided to get a drink to celebrate Father's Day, only to strike out at the first two bars we tried--I guess a lot of places are closed at 9:30 on a Sunday. This is how we ended up at Thunderbolt, a buzzy bar in Echo Park, just far enough away that we'd never made our way over. I loved it immediately. Thunderbolt has the friendly, comfortable atmosphere of a neighborhood bar and the hip aesthetic and high-level cocktails of a millennial boozer destination. (Not that young people can't or shouldn't hang out here, but it seems especially geared toward people like us, who drank at Walker Inn a decade ago.) We ended up sitting next to a guy who regularly drives up from Palos Verdes. I guess the place gets pretty busy, but it was ideal on a Sunday night. Happening but not crowded, with just enough space at the bar for us to grab two seats together. The bartender was great, super helpful and welcoming. He also made excellent drinks. Thunderbolt is one of those bars with an encyclopedic illustrated book for a menu. Not a long menu, just a detailed one, with a lot of information available about each drink. We got a Liquid Picnic and a Barcelonnette--just one round to close out the weekend. Both were delicious. The Liquid Picnic was a smooth, savory gin martini made with London dry gin, tomato, citron, vermouth, rosemary, and black pepper. I learned from the book that it used clarified tomato water. (There was also further reading about the clarification process.) The Barcelonnette was a mezcal sour with Suze, passionfruit, and lime, the foam made without egg white through some geeky mixologist process. Thunderbolt is not our neighborhood bar, but we plan to go back when we can to check out the rest of the menu. It's a wonderful place, well worth a jaunt on the freeway.

Was charged three times, totaling hundreds of dollars, and waiting for the pending transactions to…read moredrop (or stay :/) in 3-5 business days is no fun. We can't all be made of money, but this shouldn't have happened.

Unique and relaxed environment, attentive staff, tasty tacos, unusual drinks. Cool view from the…read morefood area. I need to go again soon.

Such a great spot to stop by for a drink! In my experience it has always been busy and lively,…read morethere's indoor and patio seating. It smells great inside, they have candles lit on every table and incense on. It's a Mexican fusion cocktail inspired menu and all the drinks I've tried have been delicious! Bartenders are busy but once you order, your drinks comes out pretty fast. Bonus points for the cute stairwell

I would come here all the time if I could... or if I still had that kind of life, which I think a…read morelot of us don't anymore. We went on an early Thursday evening, so it was pretty dead, which honestly I liked. But on the weekends it turns into a piano bar, so if you want the full experience that's probably when you should come. My partner wanted to check this place out, and I had absolutely no idea what I was walking into. I used to live in Savannah, Georgia, and walking in immediately reminded me of bars back there. I've missed places like this. I didn't even bother looking at the menu. I asked one question: "Do you have fried pickles?" "And are they spears?" Check. And check. Instantly passed my very low bar test for a place like this, and they tasted exactly how I wanted them to. Both bartenders were great too. Easy to shoot the shit with. Although I will say... I kind of wished there were just a couple old guys sitting in the corner quietly brooding over their drinks. They also have pickled eggs, which I honestly can't remember seeing at another bar in LA. And if pickled pig's feet are your thing... they've got those too. They've never been my thing. The only thing that really pulled me out of the atmosphere was the giant ring light by the bathroom. I guess you have to keep the younger crowd entertained these days if a live piano player isn't enough. There's also the market next door, which is owned by the same people and looks like it's full of good stuff, but it was closed when we visited. I'm assuming it's open on the weekends too, which is another reason I'd recommend coming, if you want the full experience. One last thing... don't be a dick and order a Ramos Gin Fizz when the place is slammed. We only ordered one because it was completely dead.

Now I loooooove me some NOLA every day of the week...it's my favorite place to eat! So when we saw…read morethis place on Yelp, we had to try! I'm not even gonna lie, I saw this place from the outside and thought I was going to have to fight for my life. LOL! I'm a city girl and I can't help that it looked sketch on the outside. Blame my city upbringing, moving forward. LOL Now when we stepped inside, isssssa vibe! We sat the bar and immediately started ordering food. We let the bartender know that we don't drink and she offered to make these ice cold tea drinks and she killed it! Whatever she made, refreshed the hell out of me and I loved it! She was pretty chill and made us feel welcome. There was another gentleman there that took our food orders and I'm not sure if he was another bartender or the owner, but he was pretty chill, too. We didn't want to be in the way at the bar with all of our food while everyone was having a good time, so we moved to a table. People were having cold ones and dancing. It was good to see everyone enjoying themselves! I told yall---vibes! Little did we know at the end of the bar is a whole dining area! This joint was pretty big! So that's where you would pick up your food. When I tell yall we ate it down, we ate it dowwwwwnn! We ordered a half shrimp/half oysters po boy, fried pickles, charbroiled oysters, wings, and I forget what it was called but we had another po boy with everything from shrimp to gator....washed it all down with a cold Dr Pepper..don't hate. lol They already had me on the fried pickles, so I don't know what else to tell you except not to sleep on this place!****sings I'm going going, back back, to Cali Cali***

Have come here twice for Mahjong nights (hosted on Mondays), both times have been such a wonderful…read moreexperience! My friend surprised me and bought me a birthday shot last night, it was really good! He said he ordered us green tea shots! Very flavorful, sweet, and kinda strong too (but maybe that's because we were both running on lowk empty stomachs haha). They also always have water dispensers stationed on both floors :) The security guard (bouncer?) is friendly, always offering greetings as you enter and leave There's plenty of restroom stalls (two private ones downstairs, a larger one with a BEAUTIFUL fountain sink & full body mirror upstairs) Vibes are immaculate! Low lighting, background music, plenty of seating Highly recommend!

A bar with plenty of standing space, if you're looking for a place to sit in the bar good luck…read more They serve a wide variety of alcohol, drinks my friends were unable to get at other bars they were able to make here. The only downside of this bar was the dj we had of the night. There was plenty of people on the dance floor, but the music wasn't the greatest, it just sounded like random sounds than actual sounds. The bartenders were friendly and they had several bouncers around the bar and at the front entrance. The bouncer at the front the night we came was welcoming and friendly.

100+ Rude staff, racist actually terrible drinks worst place…read moreto go for an evening out. If I could leave zero stars I would. Terrible experience and I spent over $200. Actually would like my money back. Negative zero stars. Do not come to this establishment so many other bars in the area worth the money and time.

It's a no for me. Cute walk up area and definitely gives a speakeasy vibe as you walk through the…read more"freezer" I came out for a friends birthday party that I believe they rented out the whole place. For a speakeasy, the bar drinks are super underwhelming. One bartender under poured most ppl wouldn't get a second drink, except one guy who told him to top off all his drinks. You would think bartender would have noticed he was under pouring but maybe that's from the bar. The other bartender was supposedly the manager, my friend said the drink was strong but overpowered my lime or lemon, so super sour. Very disappointed and staff was weird. Standing by the bar drinking during a closed event. They didn't have a nice demeanor weren't friendly or anything

Popped in with my husband after a Dodgers game a few weeks ago. From the outside, it looks pretty…read moreunassuming, but the interior is a little spacious with several lounging areas. The drink menu is extensive, and the overall vibe is casual and chill. We were still in our jerseys, which made us feel a bit out of place at first, but there were a few other fans inside. We enjoyed the music, had a great drink, and had a nice time unwinding. Parking sucks in the area (as expected), but if you're nearby, check it out.

Night out in LA…read more Parking: Welcome to LA where finding a parking spot sucks a--. Highly recommend getting dropped off or carpooling. We got lucky with steering parking two streets away. Ambiance/Environment: Looove the vibes here. They have a small space, so it can get hot real quick. They'll check IDs at the entrance. There's in n out privileges until a certain time. Music: If you're into house music, then this is the lounge for you. They have different DJs during each set. Drinks: They offer beer, cocktails, and wine. I don't remember the names of the beer, but it did the job lol. The Mango Sticky Rice cocktail was really strong; I enjoyed it!

As I was across the street at El Moro churrería We noticed…read moreabout the place La Fe bar. We noticed the ambience we heard some music and we decided to go across the street. Check it out and grab a drink. Gotta say it was a busy night but can be enjoyable he was at ambiance!

Love the vibes of this bar. Haven't tried the food so can't comment on it but the drinks are great…read more Will definitely be a spot to try when in Echo Park.

Great vibe at this local spot, the background music was very enjoyable and played a mix of popular…read moreand R&B-like genre. We came for brunch, ordered a variety of plates to share. The decor was a garden type setting with floral designs throughout the venue. There are pub tables with high-top stools. We snagged a corner couch with a coffee table in the center. It was very comfortable, like we were visiting someone's home. It's a perfect place for small or large groups. We ordered: - Prosciutto Panini - on focaccia with mozzarella, spinach, red onion, olive aioli and pickled veggies on the side. - Eggplant Panini - on focaccia, feta and provolone cheeses, tomatoes, arugula and pickled veggies on the side. - French Fries with dipping sauce - Hummus Plate - with sliced pita bread - Mediterranean eggs - on burrata cheese, topped with secret glaze and garnish. The employees were super friendly and helpful (Mason and Rashida), they really made us feel welcomed. Bookmark this place for a date night, birthday celebration, or cocktails with friends. They have a full bar, the mixologist has a specialty drink list and all your favorites (tequila, rum, vodka, whisky, etc). There is a DJ station for night-time live entertainment. They do not have a parking lot, there is street parking in front and at side streets (next to Starbucks). Sincerely. Rosemary

My boyfriend's cousin and his girlfriend came to LA to visit us so we had a full weekend of fun…read moretaking them around the city. To end the night before we headed off to dinner, we stopped by The Semi- Tropic bar for drinks. The parking situation was difficult to say the least-- there is no street parking or parking lot. And the neighborhood behind the bar is filled with park cars. We were lucky and parked at a parking lot that was for the surrounding business (so sorry to the pizza/ weed shop!). We arrived at around 6:30 PM so it wasn't too busy. We were greeted by one of the servers and she gave us options to either sit at a lounge table area or hightop tables. We opted for the hightop tables because we knew we weren't staying there for long. The server was friendly and patient as we looked over the menu for drinks. I've been sober for about a year so I only had water, my boyfriend ordered a Naoshima Dream, his cousin ordered a Mango Cart, and his cousin's girlfriend ordered a Lemon Drop Martini. The bar was super cute and hipster! I honestly would have loved going to this bar back when I used to drink. It's dimly lit, had a vintage 20's speakeasy feel to it and the music was a vibe. I'd recommend coming here for a little date with your partner or even coming with a group of friends. My boyfriend had been here once before and he said the food was really good and affordable. He had a panini and said for bar food it was a 10/10. We waited maybe like 10 minutes for our drinks to come, we were having such a fun time chatting and enjoying the environment that it didn't feel long at all. My boyfriend, his cousin, and his cousin's girlfriend really enjoyed their drinks. They said the drinks tasted "light" insinuating that there was barely any alcohol in it. Don't let the taste fool you, after finishing half of their drink there were full of smiles, giggles, and had a great buzz going. The prices here were all pretty fair for the cost and quality of the drinks. Would defintely recommend coming here for drinks and dinner for a date night or a night out with friends!