La Poubelle

5907 Franklin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
323.465.0807
www.lapoubellebistro.com

Parking: $6 Valet; limited street parking for those who like hiking in the hills
Daily, 5-8pm, $3 Poubelle Lager, $5 well drinks, draught beer, & wine, $6 specialty drinks and $6-8 select apps

I went to La Poubelle prepared not to like it. It’s not that I like to catch bars & restaurants doing bad, but I had already been warned that there was a regular server that wasn’t too great. I’m guessing that its reputation of bad service must precede this place because there weren’t many people present on a Sunday afternoon. I know not everyone can be fun and spontaneous on a school night, but given my experience with Sunday night, all night happy hours and the large crowds at the other places on the Franklin Ave. strip, there must be a good reason for the lack of crowd. Luckily, said server wasn’t there during my happy hour visit.

Despite the lack of crowd inside, the small patio was full so my friend & I ended up inside. The friendly woman who would end up being our server told us that we could seat ourselves. We were the only ones sitting at a table. There were 2 other groups at the bar – a date with a third wheel and a couple of loud guys super-excited to see each other. This was a nice place for playing weekend roundup with a friend, but if I was to ever to sit in a place so empty again, I would prefer the bar.

An hour into happy hour, we found out that the $3 Poubelle Lager was already sold out. Either it’s wildly popular or this is another case of another bar not being properly stocked for happy hour. My friend chose another beer and I ordered my old signature drink, the lemon drop martini for $6. The lemon drop martini was a bit too strong for my liking. It tasted like all the ingredients had just been poured in, not shaken or stirred.

The happy hour food choices were not worth ordering or very memorable. The only thing that sounded appetizing was the promme frites for $7, but for $5 more I was able to get a sirloin burger and fries. My friend also decided to order off the full priced menu and decided on a soup. All the food was delicious, which is nice for a place that is known more for its restaurant than its bar.

La Poubelle was great for gossiping, but next time, I would be more likely to settle on one of the other happening spots nearby.

-JG
Rating: 3 Martinis