Parlor – Hollywood

Originally built as an ‘East of the 405’ satellite, the original Parlor in Santa Monica was shut down by neighborhood noise complaints, leaving the outlet on Melrose as it’s final destination. Couldn’t be happier to catch any kind of day-time sporting event (i.e. almost everything on the east coast) at this venue. With several bars, tons of TVs, great sitting areas if you want a booth and or table and ample standing room for big events like the World Cup or Super Bowl – this place is truly a sports PARTY. By far the best party flow of any of the bars on this list – the combination of two separate indoor bars and an outdoor patio to kick game on when you need to step away from the music – is killer. Prices are great, the bartenders and service can be awful, but the food also makes up for it – mostly by putting avocado on everything…not a bad move.

Easily the most difficult bar in LA to hold a conversation in – this place was dreamed up by the first guy to put a TV in his bathtub. During all hours of operation, this megabar’s boob tubes are pumping sports SPORTS S-P-O-R-T-S! God forbid you’re a Kendrick Perkins fan – don’t come here the night after he plays Blake Griffin, the looping SportsCenter posterizing highlight will haunt your periphery no matter where you are standing, sitting, or pissing. Of all the bars on the list – this might be the best one for meeting LA girls who like fratty guys, but don’t get too excited, this also helps explain why the ratio (5:1) doesn’t bode well for finding your dream gal. But come for a big game and enjoy very reasonably priced booze and a venue that takes on the feeling of an arena with it’s dual tiered viewing areas and literally HUNDREDS of TVs. Not to mention – the pool room provides for some good old fashioned half time entertainment (if not an opportunity to make up for picking the under).

Cleaner, better food, better TVs and better service than it’s original namesake in West Hollywood, the Westwood outlet has become a beacon the defacto home of UCLA basketball fans morning the loss of Pauley Pavillion this season. With two levels and quirky interior – you can feel like you’re in your living room, or at the rowdiest sports bar in the country. It’s the perfect fit for a great college ecosystem in Westwood – now if only they can expand the menu to include something that doesn’t require taking a lap to Diddy Reiss in order to feel like you didn’t just clog another artery.

Nothing reminds you that you’re not in Philly anymore quite like rolling in from a mid afternoon beach volleyball game (2 blocks away) to catch the tale end of a Mike Vick concussion in snowy Lincoln Financial Field. Did I mention it’s still 75 degrees in LA and already pitch black in Philly? Nikki’s is a surrealist sports bar – existing on the precipice of born to surf and die hard fandom. It feels as though it was built for the guy who wakes up to an acai bowl and then spends his whole day catching waves… before crushing a 40 of Natty Light and then cooking up a full rack of ribs while tailgating for a Michigan game. It doesn’t make sense. And yet, here it is, packed with sun bleached babes and sand-in-their-sandals bros voraciously cheering on their teams while getting drunk after another stressful day on the beach.

In case you missed the 19 explicit references it caught on Entourage, don’t be surprised to see the menu’s chocolate-chip-cookie-alamode named after show creator Doug Ellin or run into E and Turtle playing backgammon at one of this 3rd St man cave’s oversized booths. The 13 giant plasma screens lining the walls of this tightly knit bar/lounge relieve the overhead lights of their duties and allow for even the most obscure NBA D-league games to sometimes make the cut. The menu always feels like it’s lacking that thing you were looking for – but the ability to hang with twelve buddies and comfortably watch seven concurrent NCAA tournament games from your reserved booth ($300+ minimum for big events) is a nice plus…no matter how little you were looking forward to washing down that Budweiser with a stale ceviche.