Ye Coach & Horses

OMG. OMG. OMG. You guys, Coach & Horses is in danger of CLOSING FOREVER. After 70+ years they are being threatened with an eviction by Samuel French, the bookstore next door. This is the worst news ever. I seriously struggle to find cool bars in LA, and this place is at the top of my list. The juke box is epic and I love hanging out there. SAVE COACH & HORSES! Rally time.

The bar's Facebook page is telling everyone to contact Samuel French, the bookstore next door, who are trying to force the eviction. Email them here and tell them to stop! samuelfrench.com/store/c…

Here is a sample letter:

To Whom It May Concern,

Do NOT force the eviction of a historic landmark. Ye Coach & Horses has been in business at the same location on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood for 73 years. Samuel French, Inc., in its decision to force the eviction of Ye Coach & Horses, is responsible for attempting to obliterate a part of film history and Los Angeles history by doing this. Would-be customers of Samuel French are outraged. L.A. preservationist organizations are outraged. People who like bars with character and a sense of history are outraged. You have nothing to gain by forcing this eviction. I ask that you do not go ahead with it.

Sincerely,
(your name)

You can also:
Call Paul Koretz, LA City Council District 5 @ 213-473-7005
and the Hollywood Hills Neighborhood Council @ 323-969-1314 to tell them you want Coach and Horses to stay!

Dark bar, cool vibe, killer tunes and fun people who often times don't get the concept of moderation...which to that I say...hell, bring it, the more you rub your stomach and yell "dance with my meat bitches," the more we giggle (sadly, THAT is a true story)

Check it out though, it's certainly at least worth going to once. And yes, the jukebox is solid and that is muy importante when another bar might leave you sipping Scotch to Ricky Martin and that is just UNACCEPTABLE.

Um... am I missing something? I am a HUGE proponent of dive bars and am a sucker for places with cutesy names. I have read Yelp reviews on this bar and expected a good time... boy was I wrong...

Coach & Horses has a great location on Sunset... not in the middle of the tourist hub-bub but still in a convenient location. I expected a hip dive bar but instead was immediately greeted by the strongest stench (yes stench-- not even scent or smell) of cheap beer. It smelled like an alcoholic's mouth. The crowd was in their 40s wearing cowboy boots and tight boot cut jeans and listening to classic rock. I suppose I expected a younger generation of bar hoppers. The worst part? They ONLY accept cash but encourage you to use their ATM which has a fee for outside banks of course.

Horrible. We left shortly after we arrived. Cute name, bad bar.

When a $5 PBR tall boy is the only thing you got going for ya it's time to retire the coach and send the horses out to stud but then again they will have to resort to homosexuality because there is nary a mare in sight of this depressing dump.

There is no beer on tap.  The juke box has some good selections but all anyone ever tends to play is Michael Jackson and the Greatful Dead.

The first time I went here, I was groped by 2 Russian women who stole my choices for songs on the jukebox. I believe I also kissed a guy who was gay. So am I gay or lesbian? I don't know. What does this have to do with Coach & Horses? Because you know you're having a good time if you're questioning your sexuality. Confusion is a fun thing, that's why people get drunk.

Cash only bar, which is good so you don't go overboard. They have absinthe that they are always happy to give you a taste of, and the bartenders as well as the clientele are always very friendly. What more could you ask for in a bar?

Also, don't designate a driver, because that's just cruel, but do call a buddy who lives by to pick you up and crash at their place for the night. Live to drink another day.

4.5

Talking to a screenwriter friend of mine the other day, our conversation shifted from our habits that inspire creativity to which bars are best to write in. (Hey, let's just be honest that genius is often heightened by freedom of restraint and expansion through drugs and drink. This was legitimate discussion!) This place was the first on my friend's list. He called it the perfect place to watch a pick-up and from the moment I walked in I could tell I would feel right at home cozying up in a booth with a pen and notebook in hand, harboring myself deep in the high-backed red leather seating and watching the myriad of characters from whom to take inspiration, unseen. Doesn't hurt that your researching of the human condition can be accompanied by a sick-strong glass of whiskey and diet coke.

And let's be clear. By strong, I mean my drink was like diesel fuel and well worth the $8 price tag as such. Doubles come in extra tall glasses too, so while double the price, you can nurse that pain-killer for quite a while. That pick-up watching my friend mentioned didn't happen the night I stopped in-it was a total sausagefest, but it was a great mix of extremely flamboyant gay men, old school rockers with long black beards and hair to match, suits and a guy who hopped outside to smoke some weed out of an apple bong. Love it! I also loved that I was the youngest person there by 10 years. That's a mark of a bar I am going to make friends with. So is a bar that smells like smoke years after the smoking ban has been in place, purely from it's 73 year history and a clientele that is completely unperturbed by the idea of dying young from lung cancer.

The decor of the place is also appealing. The bar looks original with its warped and weathered wood, there's a filled in fireplace with a large mantel that you can totally picture having roared with flame back in the day, and there are pictures on the wall that look like English countryside oils. Somehow, this works with the rocker vibe-though don't ask me why.

Jukebox is also rad, its cash only and there is plentiful parking on Sunset during the week. I'm fishing out my notes for a return visit as we speak.

Go here if you're cool enough to not want to try to be cool.  Ah, what a great pub!  Solid beer selection, awesome bartenders who actually *GASP* want to be there and regulars who are colorful and fun.  The people are consistently great and fun to talk to.  If you feel peckish, there's a delightful Indian restaurant that will bring over your order to you.  The only drawback is that the plastic-inclined will find out it's cash only.  Don't grumble -- hit the ATM in the back and get drinking!

And while I don't blab about what celebs are where, you should pay a little attention when you're here -- you will see a band member or two, and I'm not talking about the guy who opened for the guy at that club you saw.  No, you will see people here that have been on covers of magazines and billboards and been written about in tabloids.  Mostly rockers, however, they come here to enjoy the atmosphere and great music selection (any jukebox that has the Descendents gets my business.)  

If you're cool enough to hang and wind up talking to one of them, don't starfck and treat them like they'd want to be treated and who knows, you may wind up in a long engaged conversation that you can share with your starstruck little buddies via text message.

Dive bar list.

Dark? Check

Red? Check

Little stand on back bar holding 5 bags of dusty chips? Check

Possibility of sticking to something? Check

Touching the underneath of the bar is risking hepatitis? Check

Female bartenders are hot? Check

Great juke box? check

Next to a curry restaurant? Check.....Wait....... What?

Decent beer selection and stiff drinks? Check

Someone sitting next to me at bar is actually scared to be there? Check, seriously he was scared!

New job is only two blocks from there? Check

Pretty good on the Dive Bar checklist. The only thing that keeps me from giving it a 5 star rating is that is reserved for bars like the Double Down in Vegas. Close but no cigar. Actually I would like to give C & H four and a half.

Can We get a half star on this site please?

This was my first Hollywood dive that wasn't pretentious so I fell in love with it. It was right by my apartment so I could walk home too. Love the jukebox. It has THE best selection of music. The drinks are alright.

Now, this is why it lost stars.
-It's way too dark in there. Once you're drunk, you can't really see if the person who you're talking to is hot or not. Eventually, you find yourself making out with this guy, rolling against the wall to make your way out to the car without breaking up the makeout session, out onto the street, and as he opens the car door for you and you break away from the kiss to get in and realize, OMG what the hell was I thinking?????? He is HIDIOUS!!!!!

-The bartenders are getting drunk too which is totally fine with me except when I tell them that the guy next to me is drunk and needs to be cutoff because he's creepin me out, please do something. I told them that he was following me EVERYWHERE (even to the bathroom) and that maybe a glass of water would do him good but they didn't care.

What you got to understand about Moonshine Joey is that he loves dive bars. He loves bars where the carpet's old, the cash register has a crank, someones always telling someone else they're a liar but pronouncing it "leer," and where the light is dim so that regardless of looks the species of man will continue to perpetuate.

The fact is dive bars are good for the economy too! Dive bars are what you call countercyclical revenue centers. In other words, when the economy takes a dive, dive bars start making more money. For example, when you got the ax at work because of the economic woes of the good ol' U.S. of A, what did you do? That right, got a drink. And did you get a drink at Koi? No, you got it at "the local dive." No one wants to get their pity beer or cocktail sitting by bankers and gold diggers...

So do a service to you and your country. Get a couple of beers at your local dive.

Now, this would be a good place to test your metal. I know many of you are familiar with the "Irish Car Bomb:"

1. third of a pint of Guinness
2. half a shot of Baileys
3. other half Irish whiskey

Here would be a pretty good, safe place to try the "Irish Truck Bomb!!!!:"

1. third of a pitcher of Guinness
2. half a pint of Baileys
3. other half Irish whiskey

I've seen it done...and the dude hung out the rest of the night. He was wasted...but he did do a college foreign exchange program in Ireland for a semester...I was so proud.

Anyway, for what it is, this place is cool. Local hangout...and seriously, they've got Tallboys!