Birds Café-Bar

5925 Franklin Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 465-0175www.birdshollywood.com

Parking: Free neighborhood parking available (if you don’t mind a slight walk), $7 valet available for late happy hour
Daily; 4-6pm, Tues, Wed & Thurs 11pm-midnight, also Ladies’ Night on Friday nights (½ price drinks from 11 pm-close ); $3 well drinks and draft beers (Pyramid Haywire, Stella Artois, Wyder’s Pear Cider, Guiness, Miller Lite, Newcastle, & Sam Adams)

Birds is effortlessly cool – from its homey, yet hip ambiance with a nod to the Hitchcock film title of the same name (fun pictures of the artist on the wall) to the fact that there’s always a crowd of some size to the sweet location next to other Village-type restaurants and the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Even if there was valet parking during the happy hour, there’s no need to park four Bentley’s up front to show how cool Birds is – like some happy hours we’ve been to (XIV, we’re looking at you).

Their happy hour runs 4-6 pm daily and from 11 pm-close on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. It was on a recent early dismissal Friday that I made the scene in time to partake in their $3 well drinks and draft beers special that are happy hour priced at the bar only. And even luckier for me, I made the scene with Booze and her friend, a regular who calls Birds home. I’m sure bartender Holly would have been cool even if we hadn’t had rode in on the wings of a barfly; she graciously included my beverage-du-jour, Sweet Tea Vodka & Lemonade, as part of the $3 well specials.

Too bad that Birds doesn’t offer any food deals as part of their happy hour. Their prices for what is essentially “bar food” seem a little on the higher side (eg Chicken Strips at $6.50 and small Curly Q fries for $3.95), but I was pleased with our Appetizer platter – a selection of onion rings, chicken fingers, jalapeno poppers, and mozzarella sticks with a selection of dipping sauces (barbeque, garlic aioli, and something chipotle-seeming) for $10.50. Birds is also known for their chicken (which this J-Bird was known to enjoy with the garlic aioli sauce pre-Vegetarian days). Funny side note: we followed our fried deliciousness with Crumbs cupcakes I had brought for Booze’s birthday. My older barfly seat neighbor was intrigued as I cut the cupcakes and finally when I thought he was going to ask for one, he instead asked, “Are those potatoes?” I guess with $3 drink specials, your beer goggles could quickly fog up enough that you might see cupcakes as potatoes!

Despite kooky barstool neighbors (or maybe because of them) and lack of food happy hour deals, I still wholeheartedly endorse Birds’ happy hour – it’s a cool place to be! Don’t let the lack of Bentley’s fool you :).

--JB
Rating: 4 Martinis