The Parlor Hollywood

7250 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323.930.2100twitter.com/TheParlorHW

Parking: Metered street parking
Monday-Friday, 5-7pm, $3 PBRs & $1 sliders. That’s it.

UPDATE: The Parlor Hollywood now offers half-off on all appetizers. The sliders are now $1.50. The lovely ladies of Finer Things LA spoke with the owner and learned because of liquor laws, they cannot have a formal drink special happy hour. Maybe one of those days, but until then this is what you get...

One Sunday afternoon in June, a friend & I attempted to go The Parlor Hollywood, but it was at capacity with a line that could rival an SBE nightclub. Rather than wait it out, we opted for dinner & drinks at Lala’s across the street. However, with a crowd like that, I was intrigued at what the happy hour may bring.
On a Friday evening, not only did the crowd not deliver, neither did the happy hour deals. The place was pretty damn empty and never got fuller. Some people even walked in and walked right back out. Yes, on a Friday.

For happy hour, the only deals that are on special are PBR and a choice of 8 sliders for $1 each. This might be OK if it was a PBR & slider bar, but The Parlor Hollywood has a full bar and a full menu. Even the sister bar, The Parlor Santa Monica offers a variety of drink & food deals for happy hour. If you’re new to The Happy Hour Tour, you must know that JB & I expect bang for our bucks.

Since Carrie & I are not PBR drinkers, we ordered $8 glasses of sauvignon blanc. We’re Midwest ladies with hearty appetites, so we went for the slider special to see what it was all about. We ordered a total of 5.

• Works slider: lettuce, tomato, grilled onion, & American cheese
• Western slider: onion ring, bbq sauce, & American cheese
• Chili Cheddar slider: chili & Tillamook cheddar
• El Picante slider: roasted chili, escabeche, chipolte ranch, & pepper jack
• BMS slider: applewood smoked bacon, mushrooms, & swiss

To be honest, I don’t think the $1 sliders are even worth that. For starters, all 5 were put on one plate so my chili cheddar slider got into Carrie’s order. I feel that it was pretty clear that our orders were separate but maybe The Parlor serves food sushi style. Our sliders also did not look or taste as appetizing as they sound listed on the menu. Carrie would have liked if the bun were warm, toasted, or something. Instead, it tasted like it was straight out the packaging. If the bun were at least warm, it wouldn’t have felt as big & bready. The Western slider did not have an onion ring on it, but rather a grilled onion. I’m not sure I even tasted bbq sauce. The El Picante slider had a chili on it, but barely any other ingredients. In fact, it seemed the only ingredients that were overflowing were grilled onions and tomatoes on each slider. The meat itself was pretty dry, maybe even microwaved. I’ve definitely had better at White Castle, a place most people reserve for a case of the drunks, if at all.

Now that I’ve seen what The Parlor Hollywood has to offer in deals & scene, I can see why there’s such a big difference in the crowd of June when they first opened versus July. I’m not sure if even the smoking hot bartender is enough reason to go back.
-JG
Rating: 2 Martinis