Loved this dive bar! In fact, I think it's my favorite dive bar yet. Â What's great is its central location next to the Pantages and right across the W Hotel/Drais ...AND the subway station! i was really surprised that its drinks were so cheap for its location in Hollywood. Â Plus, now I know I can totally get a drink in to relax before seeing a show at the Pantages or going into Avalon which is just about 2 blocks away, saving tons of money instead of buying my drinks in there~!
I usually feel like dive bars can be a bit creepy but I felt so comfortable and even made some friends at the counter! The Zombie drink we had was stiff and our bartender was awesome! There's also a jukebox that charges a buck per song but there is something for everyone's taste...including EDM! Though I didn't choose any tracks, the music playing all night were classic, ranging from Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, to Stevie Wonder. Â I was totally sold. Â I'm definitely coming back again.
Frolic's Day of Shame
                       6-13-13 @ 3PM
                       by The Mad Serb
The King is gone
The wise men too
What is left you may ask
The place with no mind control
Publicly, they shame the others
And look foolish doing it
In a bar out of control
In a desert without witnesses and light
The cries for help never answered
The place without human justice
The old man stood outside waiting for a friend, got assaulted twice in an hour on June 13th, the day of shame, caught by Pantages' cameras for anyone to see. With broken glasses and the phone on the ground, he stood there astonished, nose bleeding. The old barmaid stood outside, watching, smoking, smiling. When asked to call the cops and the owner she said, "We don't care what happens outside the bar." Her barback used the famous Frolic line, "I don't want to be involved." On June 13, nobody cared.
This is a Hollywood institution. Adjacent to the famous Pantages Theater on Hollywood and Vine, this little bar has some great charm. The batenders here quite attentive and while sitting there you realize how many locals frequent this bar. Drinks are super cheap, -- especially beer on tap -- highly recommend this place!
Review Source:I came here on a Sunday and it was pretty calm but still had people in it. Friendly staff and clean bathrooms. It seems like a less pretentious joint on Sunset. This place is small, and I can see it getting pretty packed durning peak hours. The interior had a very old american bar look. I would even equte it to Gold Room down in Silverlake.
Review Source:This place is a gem. Â Good stiff drinks at very competitive prices. Â When you walk in, you don't feel uncomfortable or like everyone is eye balling you. Â The bartenders great you with a smile and make you feel at home. Â
If you are looking for a place to relax and have a good drink without the drama that is Hollywood Blvd., then I highly recommend this place. Â Definitely my favorite dive bar.
Great Hollywood dive bar. Always an assortment of random folks and the drinks are cheap. I never stay too long though. It's not the spot to spend your whole night at. Best for bar hopping nights.
Great for people watching and they have a good jukebox. A must if you're in the Hollywood area, even if it's for one drink, just for the novelty of it.
So we wanted to go to Dillions Irish Pub but it's now closed for good. So kept walking and found this spot. Friday night random people 4 dollar beers not bad. Very cool spot to go to if you just wanna have a drink and chill with some people. Very small thought. Not to crowded and you could actually hear people without yelling lol.
Review Source:Such a great dive bar! I just stayed here for a drink, but it was very cool. I'm a big fan of dive bars so this was a treat. I was a little disappointed they didn't serve an IPA but I suppose maybe that's because it's a dive bar, just the usual stuff. Right before I left the jukebox started playing BLONDIE. Couldn't have been happier!
Review Source:Love. This. Bar.
The first time I walked into the Frolic Room was 1986 and I was 15. At that time I was just grateful they didn't ask for ID. Â Things have changed since then (I'm "of age" and they check ID) but I still love it. Great jukebox, great atmosphere, great location, cheap drinks. We don't get down this side much anymore since we live in the far West Valley but when we do, this is always our first and often only stop.
"Frolic Room" Â By Mad Serb
The room full of laughter
Senseless slander
Undeserved insults
Deep man's tragedy
Hellish horror
Impotence, the near end
Maybe, it's still yesterday
Or after midnight
Or a new day
Like in some crazy
One thousand and one night
Or the room
Just died, from sadness.
Such a divey delight! I wasn't sure what to expect before I stepped foot into the Frolic Room... but I'm so glad I did! It IS divey but not in the disgusting cockroach kind of way. The bartender was friendly, drinks were reasonably priced and the music was on point! I will make this one of my Hollywood hangouts for sure. Tip your bartenders well! They know what they're doing and they are happy to do it!
Review Source:So the first time I visited the Frolic Room was back in 2006 on my first ever visit to Los Angeles. (About the time I caught the California fever and decided I am going to do everything in my power to move here.) What brought us to the Frolic Room of all places. Well the 311 song by the same name of course. I am a HUGE un apologetic 311 super fan and my favorite album is Don't Tread on Me.
We all went out to Holywood a group of friends who are also huge fans of the group 311. Like a tourist and the fan boy that I am I did the 'tourist' move of playing the song 'Frolic room' at the 'Frolic room' big no - no apparently. Â Well maybe not, maybe it was playing the song MULTIPLE times.
The bartended pulled the plug in the juke box and then reset it. Frankly I don't blame him. I would do the same thing if idiot fans kept playing the Frolic Room at the Frolic room. We had a lot of fun that night.
Now that I live here I do frequent the Frolic room. The place is awesome. It's a bare bones dive bar in Holywood with cheap drinks if I'm going out to see an Improv show at the Improv Olympic or something. Nick Hexum said it best in the song.
"I like to mix with walks of life who live life on the other side."
Lol He wasn't kidding you will see and probably meet, since the bar is in such close quarters people from all walks of life. Bikers, Porn Stars, Reality Show Producers, Grifters. If a sub-culture exists, you will find them there. I mean a casting director could find their 'type' here very easily. Â There are a lot of strange people who frequent a lot of strange sub-cultures.
Now there is one bartender there who will continue to perpetuate the myth that 311 still hangs out there. This used to be S.A. Martinez's old stomp. But I guess they wrote a song to give this place a send off and send legions of fans to the Frolic Room. That okay I don't blame the dude. In reality its like the town in Scotland that keeps the 'Lockness' monster myth alive. If it brings the business I totally understand. Â
I would not want to be swarmed by a number of 21 year old fan boys when I decide to get drunk either.
Despite the fact that you wont see 311 there. You will see a lot of CRAZY characters and the drinks are cheap.
In conclusion the Frolic room is one of my favorite 311 songs and one my favorite bars in Holywood
(Drank 03/12/13 TU @ 6pm): There's no room to frolic in here so grab a bar stool or you're standing with your drink!
I found myself at the Frolic Room today because I was attending the opening night of the musical "Catch Me If You Can" next door at the Pantages Theatre. I surprisingly got here from work earlier than expected and found parking close by. I thought about grabbing a bite at one of the many places nearby, but everything looked packed already, so I decided to simply have a liquid meal as I past the time until the show started. The huge dude outside the door checked my ID (as was usually the case for me wherever I go) which was quick and painless. Thankfully, the place wasn't too crowded at all so I took the first available barstool and sat between two gentlemen close to the entrance. There were a handful of people at the bar and one noisy group of twenty-somethings in the back corner.
Since it was St. Patty's week and I couldn't think of anything else to order, although they had a full bar, a Guinness Draught in a can ($6.25 ea.) called my name. Aahh...a nice cold can coupled with an equally chilled beer glass, the evening was about to start on a good note. Mmm...the chocolately taste of Guinness Draught was truly amazing. Eventually, I chatted-up Mike the bartender and others who sat next to me at the bar; good times with complete strangers. My attention soon turned to the conclusion of the Lakers vs. Orlando basketball game (Boston vs. Charlotte was also on) which they won! The first one went down so smoothly and easily, I needed another. This time, Joel, was the bartender and he offered peanuts which I gladly accepted (I was kind of hungry and needed something to absorb the beer).
I enjoyed watching the variety of people from the unemployed, the lonely, the disenfranchised, the hipsters, the employed, and show attendees. In a 1-1/2 hours, I saw it all. Regardless, the vibe was good, welcoming, and no one had any air about themselves. But alas, it was time I settled my tab because I still needed to pick up my ticket at will-call.
The service was good from both male bartenders - Mike and Joel, on this particular occasion as they took my drink order and served me quick enough. Mind you, it was during the happy hour time and many people filled this place for pre-show drinks. Heck, that's why I was there in the first place!
Parking was tough in the sense that they didn't have their own. So in true Hollywood fashion, you could try your luck and find metered street parking, but your best bet would be one of the many paid parking lots in the area. I parked at Lot A nearly catercornered to the Pantages Theatre ($10.00 cash only).
Overall, the Frolic Room was a dive bar that seemed out of place what with all of the newer bars, restaurants, and other businesses in the area. I imagined it to be a hold-over from decades ago (along with the Pantages Theatre) while redevelopment occurred all around it. I found good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (total bill was around $12.00 before tip), but it didn't appear they had any sort of happy hour prices nor food (they had peanuts). The atmosphere, décor, and ambiance was like any dive bar - someone who checked IDs at the door, small, crammed, limited seating, dark, loud, jukebox, locals, cool bartenders, and several TVs for those who wanted to catch a game. There were several old celebrity photos hung on the wall behind the bar (I saw a couple Sylvester Stallone pics), and a cool wallpaper what appeared to be caricatures of past Hollywood stars along one stretch of wall. The attire was totally casual, so if I weren't attending a show next door, I would've been in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops. And they accepted my credit card of choice...AMEX!
Sadly, i hadn't been here in over 15 years, thankfully, not much has changed. Â The only change seemed to be that there was a less intimidating clientele. Â Drinks are still reasonable making this a great place to go prior to paying an arm and a leg at any one of the nearby concert venues.
The only change that I noticed is that the $1.50 sub sandwich spot next door has disappeared.
Within minutes, before drink in hand, I had befriended a regular. Â And that regular talked to other regulars. Â And then the first character spotted some new arrivals, other regulars and introduced the admittedly harder to now track in this story group of regulars to each other. Â And we were off.
All before two plays on the jukebox. Â This place had potential.
Of course, had the bartender been my friend that may have been a different story. Â A nod, a wave, a move to an empty spot at the bar netted me nothing. Â I resorted to the sort of tactics reserved for the night clubs in the area, everything short of me leaping over the bar.
By this time I had befriended the bouncer.
The thing is, despite what many people think, dive bars aren't that hard to find in this neck of the woods...
So I frolicked out of there, in search of greener pastures.
Meh. I was pretty excited to come to this place, being new to the area, and everyone talking about it. It was just another dive bar. Moderately filled - took a really long time to get drinks, which were way more than what I'd expect from the vibe of the bar. Had good music playing, but a prior review mentioned that being jukebox-driven, so kudos to whoever was cranking tunes from the juke. We only stayed for one drink and decided to try another place.
Review Source:Finally made it to this spot. Many friends have said nothing but good things about this place, plus all the reviews were great.
Consistently good, strong drinks -- $4.50 for a TALL glass of Screwdriver -- yum yum!
Another plus is the bartender! He does take care of you. Kept our seats warm for us for nearly an hour while my friend and I were outside smoking! LOVE LOVE this place! Will be back!
A gem of a dive bar on Hollywood Blvd. Avoid the crazed clubs with velvet ropes and "Fast and Furious" crowd and get cozy with a shot of Jameson and PBR. Dim lighting and a juke box make for the perfect late night rendezvous.
A Hollywood staple - you can almost imagine Dennis Hopper or James Dean drinking at the bar with you.
This place gets my thumbs up!
A classic, old school Hollywood Bar. Never judge a bar by it's cover, looking at it from the outside I thought it was a strip bar. Frolic Room is right down the street from me, it's part of the Pantages theatre building. It's tiny, can hold around 40 people maximum I think. It's dark and quiet and a deffo Hollywood gem.
Drinks are cheap, it has that old Hollywood feeling which I love. Great for out of towners, to gossip with friends over a screwdriver or G&T. Drop in and stay for one or two, it's worth it and it will grow on you :o)
What can be said about this place? Its a super tiny dive bar!! I went during the middle of the day when I was seeing an afternoon show of Book of Mormon.
Place was full and service was quick. The drinks were fine. Not really a lot to say about this place? ITS A DIVE BAR! What else do you want. I like dive bars! 4 stars it is!
We had half an hour to kill before The Book of Mormon at the Pantages so I said, hey let's check out the historic Frolic Room! Â Honestly I expected more than the most generic of dive bars. Â Aside from the mural of Old Hollywood caricatures on the back wall, once inside I really could have been at any old dive in the USA. Â
It wasn't too crowded since it was 6PM, but still I had some drunk guy trying to grab my arm the entire time we were there, while asking my boyfriend, "¿Que haces?" repeatedly.  There was one bartender, an elderly lady who was clearly struggling to keep up.  We witnessed her serving some drink with whipped cream, lick her fingers and then grab the straw for the drink, yeahhhh... Â
We waited for about 15 minutes to get a drink, so when we finally got it, we had about 10 minutes to down it and find our seats at the Pantages. Â At least it was cheap - 6 bucks each.
Total dive. Â Awesome. Â I was in there before going to the Pantages (same block) and was watching classic car auctions on TV with a bunch of regulars, cheering when the cars were sold!
I wonder how many nights Phil Spector walked from the old Gold Star Studios in the 60's over here to get wasted.
It was early evening when I was there so I have no idea what it's like after hours.
I live a few blocks from the Frolic Room and have a drink there now and again. The crowd is friendly, the atmosphere casual, the bartenders are good and personable. Reuben (bartender) always remembers my name, though a few months may go by between visits, always grabs a Sierra Nevada beer when he seer's me, and I must say that's impressed me....or, hmmm...maybe that's bad...lol
Highly suggested for kick back, relaxing, drinking....
**** Precursor:
1. Hollywood in general is a dumb venture to make. Unless you're a lazy and uncreative tourist ... but even then - it's still a terrible waste of time.
2. Friends of mine were in town and despite ALL THE DAILY INSISTING I heckled them with to NOT waste their time in Los Angeles, via Hollywood - that is exactly what the fools did. (If I ever hear them complain about Los Angeles I'll smack the words off their mouths. They never gave it a real go.)
3. I work in the bar scene in LA LA. I know the drill in front and behind the bar.
**** Enter the Frolic Room.
After 5 days in L.A. my friends decided to cap off the trip at some craptastic "German Brewhaus" off Sunset and Vine and then the Frolic Room.
All I remember about this place follows:
- The Doorman = Balls: Â The fat blob at the door was looking for any reason to not let us in. Saw this a mile away and fortified our entry attempt with saccharine sweetness. Didn't want to set him off.
- The Service = Balls: Â Thursday night and the bar had maybe 15 people in it. I was the sober driver for 8 drunk fools. All I wanted was a water with bitters. The bartender ignored me till round 3 for everyone to get alcohol.
- The Locals = Balls: Â Sitting at the bar I overhear the toothy shitass next to me make a comment about one of my guests, who isn't doing anything to draw attention to himself. The local tells his pal he's doing everything he can to not punch my friend. His pal then gets angry at me for sitting to close to her. NOTE - I had been sitting on a stool at the bar and these local venereal crabs, who were coming in for a drink after working at "The W," pulled up chairs right up on us. In order to defuse the situation - I had to make nice conversation with them ... which ate up the rest of my miserable time there. Imagine toothless and unjustifiably angry people in your face with bad breath - incoherently talking about tattoos and other shit IDGAF about.
- The Music? = Balls: No music unless you pay for it out of the juke box. Pretty much $1 per song.
**** Summary: I understand this place has history. But what doesn't? The Frolic Room is beyond "dive." It's a shithole with bad service, sinister regulars, and a doorguy who'd serve better as a deadpan comedian in a obesity survivor forum. From what I can tell ... the only reason this place remains is due to a mainstream infatuation with "gag me with a spoon" novelty. In the event you're living that hipster ironic and novel lifestyle ... do us all a favor before going to the Frolic Room and "Go hang yourself from a tree - It's the greenest thing you can do." ;p
Oh - I guess I am review #200. What do I get? Bfd. ***twirls finger in the air***
I love this place.
I went here for the first time yesterday and the experience was out of this world. The place is relatively small compared to other bars I had been too, but our bartender Gita (spelling?) was simply lovely. My friend and I had no idea what to order so she made us (what tasted like) a Malibu Seabreeze and then a Brandy ________ (it's a drink that has half and half in it). So delicious and she's such a sweetheart. The locals seemed pretty nice and if not too drunk, you can have a lovely conversation with them haha.
The drinks are extremely cheap here comparatively and I just love the decorations in that place.
Can't wait to go here again, I'd definitely recommend coming here! :)
I love you.
I love the people from all walks of life who wander in and out of this bar. Â I love the history and imagining the glory days of Marilyn Monroe. Â
I love the cigarette machine in the corner. Â I don't love the smell of chemical cleaner, but I love that it covers the smell of vomit.
My bar tab is never more than $10.
Definitely smells a little weird at the entrance. Different  crowd in here than you would expect from the other places in Hollywood...you don't really see the clubbing crowd here, but more of the older, laid back people just trying to share a drink and a conversation.
Beers are around $5 I think. Music can be selected from a jukebox for as little as a dollar. I consider it an acceptable pregame spot.
You may be familiar with the Frolic Room as a result of it's face on the cover of 2010's "L.A.'s Best Dive Bars". I believe that the bar was given the cover on the basis of nostalgia. And I get it, the bar has served the good people of Hollywood for over 80 years, but should it be declared the poster child for all LA Dives? Heck, Wrigley Field is historically one of the most illustrious ballparks in all-America, but the venue is a [fill in the blank] hole.
Although this may come across as being somewhat inimical, I mean no disrespect. I'm sure in it's heyday the Frolic Room was one of the places to be on Hollywood Blvd., but like Billy Crystal hosting this year's Oscars -- just way past it's prime
As goes for the setup, the joint's narrow configuration makes it easy to venture from one end to the other. Behind the bar, a mural by Al Hirscheld (may he rest in peace) depicting his unique interpretation of Hollywood socialites that will instantly grab your attention. Electronic card games & a series of TV's (broadcasting major league fixtures, lotto results & yes...the Boondocks) provide entertainment for those wandering eyes. But don't blink, because at the corner of the bar sits a retro vending machine that sells...Cigarettes!
Lighting fixtures are the problem here. The place is too lit for any dive setting. In addition, the men's restroom was out of commission -- which resulted in a long line of wait n' go to the lady's room (are we back in grade school here folks?). Before & after shows at the neighboring Pantages, the joint will get pack within a instant. But what saves the day is the staff behind the counter. One bartender taking multiple orders with no barback, all the while remembering what my associate & I had requested 30 minutes prior. I raise my glass sir
Furthermore, drinks are generously priced (given the region) at $3.50 for brews & $6.50 for wells. Music overplaying consists of the Ramones, the Chili Peppers & B-52's (rather diverse). Clientele is mixture of die-hard regulars, Pantages patrons & Hollywood lovelies. With that being said...
The joint is an ode to the former days of old school Hollywood. But something about this modern-day incarnation that I just can't put my finger on. To put it bluntly, the Frolic Room resembles the traits of another L.A. landmark.. Pink's on La Brea -- really more for the experience, but overrated
Me and a couple friends came here as the second bar of a Hollywood bar hopping night, and I was not disappointed. It was a Friday night and there were a great amount of people here. A fun jukebox and great drink prices. 3 Blue Moons for only $10.50?!?! In Hollywood? On a Friday Night? Am I on Candid Camera?
A good fun crowd of varying groups of people with great drink prices and a fun atmosphere. I didn't do too much frolicing, but I did a hell of a lot of drinking.
A dive amongst all other dives! Â The Frolic Room has awesome prices and a huge bar selection. Â With an almost cult following and a great location, this has been a celebrity favorite for decades.... It's a little of whats left of Old Hollywood!
It's small... To say the least, Â offering a very intimate setting. Â The juke box has a lot of great selections for all tastes from Madonna to Jay-Z!
This is one of the few places in LA with beer specials for under $3.00! Â And Keno!! Â Can't find that elsewhere either! Â
All the deuchebags avoid this place, thankfully they all flock to Dillians near by. That said, there's always a bunch of cool cats and fun characters here.
I stopped in on St Pattys day, and they were giving away an amazing ham feast as well.... That was a pleasant break between car bombs!
Stop #3 on our Charles Bukowski tour.
Well sorta. We hit The Frolic after visiting Buk's bungalow over on De Longpre Ave where there is now an official Cultural Heritage Board Monument sign with the header: "Bukowski Court." Very impressive, and thanks to the people that fought for not only the designation but to forever preserve the bungalow its-self.
So The Frolic is categorized as a Dive Bar on Yelp? Hmmm, shiniest, cleanest, and coolest Hollywood Dive Bar I have ever set foot in. We were there at 5:30 - 6:30 on a Saturday night so not sure if the later evening crowd makes it scream dive bar or not. Well, we did have one representative of that possible crew. I had the misfortune of siting next to "Rocky from Riverside" who was so drunk he could barely balance himself on his bar stool. That was fine until he insisted we play the "guess how old I am" game. I hit his age right on (29). He guessed me to be 17 years younger than I actually am (remember he was very drunk). When I told him my real age he grabbed my hand and sloppily kissed it. "You are my inspiration for living" he cried. Uh boy, bout time for stop #4 guys.
Well this is one confirmed old Bukowski haunt and in the past they have even done Monday night readings of his work. Will have to check and see if that is still happening. Regardless, great vibe and service, and if you see Rocky ask him if his iPad still worked after he drowned it in Budweiser.
Gotta love Hollywood.
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