(Credit: Nancy Walters)
Pasadena nightlife guide
With enough bars and clubs to kill a Rose Parade–trained Clydesdale, Pasadena proves it’s more than just a city with a thing for roses
By Amir Kenan, Special to Metromix
November 4, 2007The 35er
12 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-356-9315
Located along scenic Colorado Boulevard near Old Town, The 35er is a lively two-story billiard hall with the gaming tables upstairs and a full bar below. Monday night specials on pool and beer attract locals for a round or two while watching a game—many to choose from—on one of the 20-plus flat-screen televisions. The 35er is also an “official viewing bar” for the Dodgers.
Vertical Wine Bistro
70 N. Raymond Ave., 2nd. Floor, Pasadena626-795-3999
With over 400 bottles of wine available for your sipping enjoyment, this tucked-away wine bar and bistro is poised to become your mouth’s best friend. Let the staff select a flight from the extensive by-the-glass menu, and order from the small-plates menu to highlight subtle notes in the wine. Your personal tasting notes will be kept on file for future visits, so we highly recommend practicing the art of drunk-writing before your first visit.
Q's Billiard Club Pasadena
99 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-405-9777
Like its sister Santa Monica location, Q's is part pool hall, part sports bar and part dance club. A winning combo, 'cause the party-hearty crowd can come get their game on in more ways than one (wink, wink). Bonus: Q's is located above Barney's Beanery, which means classic American grub is just a staircase away.
The Colorado Bar
2226 E. Colorado Blvd. , Pasadena626-449-3485
Colorado Bar's a serious dive bar, smack dab in the middle of Old Town. Think red wallpaper, pool, classic jukebox, cheap drinks and plenty of questionable characters. Local Pasadenans love this place. And the kicker? Smokers can light up inside.
Eighteen Eighty One Club
1881 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena626-794-3068
If your idea of the perfect day is a never-ending pack of ice-cold Bud, NASCAR on the telly and a game of darts or pool, this is the bar for you. For all you booze-lovin’ history buffs, it's also the oldest operating bar in all of Pasadena, and has the clientele to prove it.
Brits
1770 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-578-1301
A warm and friendly husband-wife duo run this charming restaurant and pub. With its playfully emblazoned sign that warns "Warm Beer, Lousy Food," Brits relishes the stereotypes associated with British dining, while striving to change them. Be sure to take advantage of their excellent happy-hour special and wide variety of beers on tap.
McMurphy's Tavern
72 North Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena626-666-1445
This not-so-traditional Irish tavern on the edge of Old Town is where to go if you're looking to get ripped, dance around to old favorites from the '80s and '90s and hit on equally sauced post-college types reliving their misspent youth. And if that doesn't pan out, at least you can catch all your favorite games on their ginormous plasma TVs.
Houston's
320 S. Arroyo Pkwy., Pasadena626-577-6001
When the workday ends, the day at Houston's is just beginning. The popular bar and restaurant fills with lawyers, office workers and executives looking to relax with their post-work, pre-home martinis.
Bodega Wine Bar
260 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-793-4300
The unpretentious Bodega Wine Bar exists to serve wine enthusiasts—not wine snobs—in comfort and style, in a sleekly modern but totally comfortable living room–like setting that is actually conducive to conversation. An evening here is like a swank cocktail party with cool music, where nobody has to clean up afterward.
The Ritz-Carlton Huntington Bar
1401 S Oak Knoll Ave., Pasadena626-568-3900
The Huntington Bar not only offers a chic atmosphere in which to enjoy your glass of port, but also has live R&B and jazz on weekends. The bar stops serving between midnight and 2 a.m., but for those who just can't bear to head upstairs (alone... again), the balcony never closes.
DeLacey's Club 41
41 S. de Lacey St., Pasadena626-795-4141
Welcome to low-key heaven. The long, narrow bar in this 1940s-style steakhouse is comfy and cozy, with leather booths and friendly bartenders. Sports fans occasionally drop in to watch games on the TVs and chat with the bartenders, while others prefer to grab a booth for casual dining and a glass of wine.
Old Towne Pub
66 N. Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena626-577-6583
If you're looking to fill your social schedule, check out the Old Towne Pub's perpetually packed calendar. With nightly music—either live or spun by a DJ—this alley-entrance bar behind The Container Store will surprise you with its genuine "old-tyme-iness." Around since 1973, this rustic gem is here to stay.
Crown City Brewery
300 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena626-577-5548
Tired of Stella and Newcastle? Welcome to Crown City! Although beers are no longer brewed in-house, this fave with sports fans and beer fans offers a welcome respite from the crowds of Old Pasadena. A handy Beer Passport guides you through over 100 varieties of brew.
E's Martini Lounge and Restaurant
115 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-793-6544
E's Wine Bar is all grown up—and now serving inventive martinis and cocktails as E's Martini Lounge and Restaurant. The days of bruschetta, Black Angus steaks and a big, California red have mostly given way to DJs (Fridays and Saturday nights) and a tiny dance floor, which give E's more of a nightclub feel.
Yard House
330 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-577-9273
This souped-up, family-friendly sports bar claims to have the 'World's Largest Selection of Draft Beer'; after your first couple dozen, you'll take their word for it. Grab some pepper-jack burgers or 'chillax' on the patio with a 36" glass of brew. Take advantage of Yard House's happy hour (weekdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.), when pints are $3.25 and all appetizers are half price.
Barney's Beanery Pasadena
99 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena646-405-9777
Though this Barney’s Beanery doesn’t have the scuffed-up charm of the original Route 66 roadhouse in West Hollywood or the frat boy vibe of the Santa Monica location, the TVs are always tuned to the major games and, for that, Pasadena sports buffs are thankful. And drunk.
Moose McGillycuddy's Pub & Cafe
119 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-304-9955
With a name like “Moose McGillycuddy’s,” you might assume the menu is a mishmash of lame-o pub fare, but you’d be wrong. One taste of their Kahuna Burger will make you a believer. When you’re done stuffing your face and downing a brew or three, work it off with some rump-shaking to '80s, '90s and current Top-40 tunes.
Lounge at Bar Celona
46 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena626-405-1000
This new Spanish tapas lounge has a chain-restaurant feel to it, but still attracts a lively local crowd of thirtysomethings. At night, DJs spin flamenco and contemporary beats while patrons down the fruity-yet-potent sangria.
Melange
54 E. Colorado St., Pasadena626- 793-0608
Once dubbed the Muse, this remodeled tri-level hot spot for Pasadena booty-shaking has every ingredient for a cheesy night on the town: sweaty dance-floor grope-a-thons, moderately expensive cocktails and a playlist swiped straight off KIIS-FM. The question is whether this excites or frightens you.
Gordon Biersch
41 Hugus Alley, Pasadena626-449-0052
Although it also serves lunch and dinner, the attraction at national chain Gordon Biersch is—drum roll, please—its selection of beers, microbrewed in accordance with "Reinheitsgebot," a 500-year-old German purity law. The menu features martinis, margaritas and wine as well, but not ordering a pint here is like not ordering pizza at Chuck E. Cheese’s.
Lucky Baldwin's
17 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena626-795-0652
Anglophiles, ex-pats and those who appreciate fine ales on tap gather at this Brit pub known for its selection of international beers, homestyle food and across-the-pond feel—including soccer on the telly.
Amir Kenan is a contributing editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
