Dive Bar Report: White Horse Inn Cocktail Lounge

By Noah Galuten Thu., May 20 2010 at 4:00 PM

Categories: Bars, Dive Bars

N. Galuten

Free snacks at the White Horse Inn Cocktail Lounge

The Place: White Horse Inn Cocktail Lounge: 1532 N. Western Ave., Los Angeles; (323) 462-8088.

The Hours: Every day from 6pm to 2am.

The Digs: It is red inside. Very, very red. The ceiling is checkerboard, the walls are obscured with photographs, there is a pool table and a jukebox. Two corners of the bar are designated for old, cushy couches, and of those corners -- the one with the pillow featuring a cartoon tiger -- is reserved for no one in particular (it stayed empty all night). White Horse is also, amazingly, located inside of a Super 8 Motel.

The Verdict: There is something oddly comforting about this place. Most likely, it's the old Eastern European woman behind the bar, pouring stiff drinks, putting out cookies in a Tupperware container, making fresh, free popcorn in the microwave just for you, then bringing it over to your table along with a bowl of corn chips. All together, it makes you feel like an 8th grader who got lured inside to hang out with those weird neighbors your mother always told you avoid, then found out that they're actually the coolest people in your neighborhood. The only difference is that they charge here, which makes sense because it is a bar, and not actually your neighbor's house. The one real knock on this place is that prices are a tad high for a dive bar, with call drinks clocking in at eight bucks and bottled beers at six. If they were all about two dollars cheaper White Horse would earn a solid A.

Overall Grade: B+

And click here to see 10 of our favorite L.A. dive bars.