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Rae's Lounge - CLOSED
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Fri
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
14 reviews for Rae's Lounge
Review Highlights
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"...Lounge is a cool relaxed little dive bar that I used to go..." In 4 reviews -
"They've got pool tables, a dart board, and a juke box." In 3 reviews -
"wood paneling, pool tables, dart boards." In 4 reviews
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14 reviews in English
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Review from Lindsay A.
Santa Monica, CA
9/14/2009
RIP Rae's.
I kept hoping you'd reopen one day. Then, I rode my bike by one day and saw you were replaced with another bar....WHAT!?
Haven't been to the new bar, but I doubt they can match the cheap well drinks and friendly atmosphere of Rae's. -
Review from steve w.
Venice, CA
6/8/2009
The real deal; one of the last of the great Westside divebars! I see (below) it's already closed...that sucks! I wanted to go one last time. Here's the scoop I heard:
Rae's has been bought by the Theme-bar cartel who brought you such pre-fab fakery as The Bigfoot Lodge, Saints and Sinners....you get the picture. Apparently it's going to be ANOTHER Bigfoot Lodge...?! wtf?
Stay tuned for overpriced drinks, cheesy flashy bartenders, doormen, velvet ropes etc etc!
Apparently us divebar lovers weren't loving this enough...it always seemed pretty dead in there when I checked. Patronize your local dive, or it will become another McTheme Bar!
My prediction: When folks finally tire of this Theme-bar thing (e.g. SUVs etc), there will be a movement to restore these places back to their original decor. "Rae's Lounge" will be the theme! I wish folks would just realize this now and skip this ugly middle step. -
Review from eszter k.
San Francisco, CA
8/29/2008
if you're looking for a dive bar in culver city, then hit rae's lounge, especially on thursday nights.
With all the trophies, it kind of makes you feel like you've entered an old sportsbar in the midwest. They've got pool tables, a dart board, and a juke box. It's a friendly crowd with cheap drinks.
I just went for the second time last night, and have to say nothing beats thursday's karaoke night. you can get pretty much anyone to sing up there, that's how laid back it is.
if you're looking just to kick it with a drink and hang with your friends without having to worry about waiting in some stupid line or some ridiculous dress code for a bar, drop by this place. If you don't like dive bars, don't come, or just stuff your LA superficiality up your ass for once and come to enjoy a cheap drink and develop a personality. -
Review from Allison L.
Los Angeles, CA
2/15/2007
This place is a dive. Plain and simple. And they know it. So for that, I give them credit.
My roommate and I can literally walk here from our apartment and did so one night after a helacious work week when all we wanted to do was get drunk and stumble back home. Rae's seemed like the safe choice. Strong drinks, minimal crowd, no pretension and everyone caring more about their pool game or watching the TVs than bothering us.
But apparently Friday nights are performance night and when we rolled in, we noticed a band setting up camp on the small stage in the corner of the room. Listening to loud music, any kind of music, was not in the cards for us that night. We wanted to sit, drink and sulk.
Yes, the drinks were strong, they were cheap and no one cast us a second glance while we were there, but the band drove us out just as quickly as we had rolled in.
Rae's, you're not a music venue. People do not come here to listen to music. We come to drink. Stick to what you're good at. -
Review from Dylan D.
West Los Angeles, CA
7/8/2008
Everything about this place is divey, which is the way I like it. I've never really been a fan of trendy, modern bars. Give me a quiet place that I can drink my drink. If friends are with me, I want to be able to hear what they are saying and relax. I don't need 200 people packed into a 100 person capacity room to enjoy myself.
Rae's Lounge is a cool relaxed little dive bar that I used to go to every so often. The drinks aren't overpriced and it usually isn't crowded. The woman bartender is old and friendly and will talk if you want and be quiet if you don't. There's a pool table in the back that is $1 a game, which was the main reason that I would frequent this place. It almost never had anyone on it when I would go around 5 or 6.
If you like trendy, stay away. If you are into flashy and slick, stay away. If you want an honest drink and a game of pool, this might just be your place. -
Review from Adam B.
7/15/2007
Please, no drinks outside. This is the first thing I noticed entering this bar and there are signs like it all over the place inside. Ah, I miss New Orleans and Go-Cups on times like this.
Yes, this is a dive bar. But a dive bar with cool blues and funk you'd likely find in Chicago or New Orleans! That's when to come to this place. No cover, three buck brews and cheap top shelf drinks. Which is good because the beer selection....well for three bucks you're not going to find Stella. At least there's no PBR. I think. Or much food beyond Frito's and Slim Jim's. Which is odd since they have booth seating. So I suggest heading to the Fatburger down the road.There's a couple of pool tables in the back and a dart board as well. No plastic (and that includes the women!) so make sure you got cash on hand. So if you're looking for a cheap night out, this is the place to do it. -
Review from Daniel H.
Los Angeles, CA
3/24/2008 2 photos
so, i had to kill some time whilst having a smog check done on my car, and saints and sinners doesn't open til' 5pm. it was around 2pm.
saw this little place a couple blocks down and figured we'd check it out. it was empty, the owner was sitting there, as was an older bartender lady. both were watching a movie on a big screen TV. they were very friendly and poured us some strong drinks. we watched the movie with them for awhile chatting.
then, i was happily surprised to find it was only 50 cents to play a game of pool on one of their 2 pool tables!!!! i loves me some pool. that alone was awesome. i saw they also had two dart boards, a jukebox, and some video game i didn't have a chance to get the name of.
the place is fairly big, there's front seating for the bar, and also a row of tables behind it and a small stage. they told us local bands play at night, and that they also did karaoke.
unfortunately, they don't serve food, but said you could order in from a list of places nearby. that was cool i thought, that they'd allow that.
so, overall we had a really nice time, and ended up stumbling outta there laughing and smiling. i like places that are attitude-free. kinda rare in LA nowadays.
will go there again for the 50 cent games of pool, strong cheap drinks(averaging around $4.50), and the nice people. -
Review from Mark C.
Los Angeles, CA
5/26/2007
When the evening ends at Rae's, you know you're going to be wrecked-- and asking yourself the next morning, "why the hell did you go to Rae's?" But then you remember-- the line at Saints & Sinners was too long, you only had $10 in your pocket, their pulls of top-shelf bourbon are only $4.50. You vow never to go back (ambiance is nonexistent). But next thing you know, you're talking to Lothar the German bartender, putting $2 into the jukebox even though you know you've passed last call and know you'll never hear your selections, and talking to some crazy guy who's just casually mentioned to you and your friend that he's been both in the military and to prison. It's that kind of place. You know you'll be back.
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Review from Dana-Maria D.
Los Angeles, CA
10/31/2006
This place is kind of weird, but I am all about weird & divey. I still can't get a grasp of what is going on in this place. I saw a lot of aging drunk ladies and nondescript guys watching sports. Based on the stage, I think there are live bands that play there on the weekends, but I couldn't find a calendar anywhere. What I can attest to is the fact that the drinks are stiff and cheap! I don't care if there are bar room brawls going on around me if the drinks are stiff and cheap.
Listed in: To Get Drunk on the Cheap
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Review from Tom M.
Santa Monica, CA
8/15/2008
Dive pretty much sums it up.....
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Review from Ben D.
Los Angeles, CA
2/11/2008
had a fun time at this dive bar on venice. feels a little like a mix between a chicago and ny bar. The bar seemed a little overwhelmed with all the people, but it was very laid back. Definitely gonna go back.
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Review from dae m.
Los Angeles, CA
1/7/2009
just imagine a bar you'd expect to see in a movie like Fargo or Swingers. Yeah that awesome!
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Review from jen d.
6/10/2008
divey, cheap drinks. jukebox seemed ok. wood paneling, pool tables, dart boards. a local drinking hangout!! while we were there the bartender gave my friend a framed picture of the sf 49-ers, score!! he said he needed to get rid of the glass things on the wall because they kept getting broken. nice!
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Review from Michelle C.
Culver City, CA
2/8/2008
I am very fond of Rae's and not only because it's a mere block and a half from my home. The dart board always seems to be available when I want it, the staff is nice and the drinks are poured with a heavy hand for the bargain price of $4. I also enjoy the old salts and crusty regulars who complete the dive atmosphere. Check out the 80's striptease matching game if you can. It's a hoot.
