The Surly Goat

7929 Santa Monica Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90046-5107
(323) 650-4628
www.surlygoat.com
twitter.com/SurlyGoatBar

Parking: Neighborhood metered parking available (check signs), valet available on SaMo Blvd.
Days: Daily
Times: 6-8pm
Drink Deals: $4 selection of beers, $4 well drinks
Food Deals: Zip, Nada, Zilch (no food at Surly Goat, BUT you can order food from Baby Blues BBQ next door - for delivery)

I’m still not convinced that the Surly Goat is not a Satanist establishment. Goat insignia abounds. There’s a beer called “Damnation.” The hot bartender is named Lucifer. Just kidding on that last one (we think!). Whatever the scoop, the Surly Goat is a devil-of-a-good time.

JG & I weren’t quite sure it’d be a ton of fun when we hit Happy Hour at 7pm on a Saturday night in advance of a friend’s birthday party – and the scene was pretty quiet. I should have had a little faith though – since I was very happy to note that the two televisions at the bar were playing FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH and then FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF instead of sports programming that seems to be on at every bar with a TV set.

So as we settled in to watch Ferris, in typical HHT fashion, JG & I started with a round of Happy Hour-priced vodka-soda/vodka-cranberry ($4 each), but then got to talking to our charming bartender gal, who happily provided us with some beer samples in low-ball glasses. Good thing we got to taste-test, there were over 25 beers on tap!

JG & I were quick fans of the Anthem Cider, a delicious cherry cider beer, priced at $7. Our bartender then served up the cherry cider beer mixed with the Shakespeare’s Stout (an oatmeal stout) and the resulting drink was like a delicious dark chocolate cherry bomb! I ain’t gonna lie, I think I had 4, maybe 5? Sometime between Beer 1 and 4/5, the scene picked up and the bar was actually pretty full. The crowd was young, hip, good-looking, and quite friendly. Besides the birthday party crowd and assorted other folks, we were also happy to meet our Twitter-friend, K from Finer Things LA!!

Blurry, but you can tell it's happenin'!

I do wish the Surly Goat had a couple food options (besides bar pretzels) – or worked together with a nearby restaurant like the Woods has started doing. I mean, I kinda dig the booze-only simplicity of the bar, but given that their later Happy Hour (6-8pm) is typically dinner time, it would be nice if they offered a couple bites even if for only that time period. Jeesh that might turn their Happy Hour into as happening a time as their bangin’ post-Happy Hour!

Get on it, Satan!

Self promotional? Not if we love The Happy Hour Tour!

--JB

Rating: 4 Martinis