Tom Bergin's Tavern

Parking: Street Parking Difficult, Valet
People Watching, Late Night, Area Classic, Happy Hour High Energy, Bustling, Area Classic, Bar Scene Bustling 21+ Private Parties Banquets

Tom Bergin's has been around since 1936, when it opened on Wilshire Boulevard as the Horseshoe Tavern and Kennel Club, and it's been at its current location on Fairfax Avenue for 50 years. Like a traditional Irish pub, it's a sort of community living room. It was recently remodeled, but it's hard to see what's new except for the handsome tiles in the bathrooms. The place seems to look as it always has: worn brick floor, walls the color of crude oil, cardboard shamrocks with the names of regular customers on the walls (but no longer on all the ceilings). If you want to tell who's been a regular longer, look for the shamrocks that have a brownish patina -- they date from when smoking was legal in restaurants.

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