I love this place. Â Went there on a random, the location is key - right on the street corner so it's super ez to find. Â Nice inside, chill, the bartender made me a (few) really good Lemon Drop Martinis.. yum... they had a cover band there called "Choyce Band" and they ROCKED THE HOUSE. Â It was a lot of fun.
Review Source:My daughter lives and works in Pedro and is a regular here. A lot of bars in Pedro are pretty sketchy but this one is OK. Pretty clean, several TV's for watching sports and a decent pool table. Ice cold beer on tap, including Stella, so I was happy for the short time I spent here. And I am fairly comfortable with my 24 year old daughter hanging out here on occasion. Clientele mixed, some young, some older crowd, friendly bartender.
Review Source:You know your evening is going to be interesting when you have to pass by a guy by the entrance steadying himself on the street light as he looses his cookies.
Nothing says " Hello! Come on in, glad you could make it!" quite like this.
Godmothers has a pretty rough exterior like the kind of place you'd see in a cop bad 70's movie where they'd go to shake someone down for info. That perceived seediness is compounded by the fact that it's neighbor is one of those funky old school motels which if I'm not mistaken rent by the week on one side and a liquor store out of the same cop movie on the other.
I had learned about a jazz jam they have on Wednesday nights through you the well informed and trustworthy Yelp brothers and sisters and wanted to check it out.
Jams of any nature can be a mixed bag. Some work and some well....
To the house bands credit "Mike Guerrero Trio" they were all good musicians with some good local sit ins hitting it as well. The crowd was small but they were in to it and the band was having fun and playing well.
I will be back to check out the Jazz Jam again.
I'm a little on board with how Eric T is on this place. I'm not sure If I find it somewhat charming or repugnant.
Ahhhhhhh, Godmothers...
Kind of reminds me of my own emotionally unstable, bi-polar, alcoholic, godmother. God bless her.
Godmothers Saloon will begin to suck the soul right out of you as soon as you enter through its decrepit corridor into a room where sunlight cannot  enter nor can darkness escape. A room where the smell of blue collar sweat and Old Spice linger in the air.
Yes, it's filled with your typical run-of-the-mill scumbags. What you will not find here are Ed Hardy shirts, upside down backward visors, wristbands worn up to the elbow, polo shirts, popped collars, or  anything contemporarily fashionable.
Large mustaches, old Ray-Bans, Hawaiian shirts and Dickie shorts are the orders of the day at Godmother's. A place where men are men and so are some of the women...
So why, you ask, would I give four stars (actually it's a marginal four stars, more like three and a half) to Godmother's Saloon?  A total lack of pretension  or superficial glamor. Godmother's doesn't try to be anything except what it is, a real life version of Moe's Tavern.
Occasionally, they also have food. I was fortunate enough to be there when they had meatball sandwiches, which to my surprise, were fucking awesome!!!
Godmother's is a place where you're likely to get hustled in pool, puked on, violently assaulted, forced to listen to old jail stories, and leave with a woman in her late 30's who carries a toothbrush in her purse, all in the same night but not necessarily in that order. If you go there expecting anything else, you never belonged there in the first place.
Godmother's Saloon is one of the places you can get close to the old San Pedro--minus sailors and fights. Prices are great. Good rotation of live music throughout the week and especially on weekends. You'll see all kinds of people there, from the ones who spend all day (and usually have a story or two to tell) to Saturday night patrons who look like they've just passed a velvet rope to get in. (There is no velvet rope.)
Don't expect to walk into a cookie-cutter-comfortably-designed-by- some-corporation-bar. This is the real deal with real people. Longshoremen, businesspeople, riggers, scalers, executives. Just experience it and you're experiencing real life.
Just went in there again, before leaving for a wedding. What a blast; we had a great time and ran into several friends!
Godmother's Saloon just gets better & better. Now they have expanded, added more band nights and added security. (Not that its needed, but it makes you feel better!).
Check it out when you are next down San Pedro way. You won't regret it.
By the way, - it's not CLOSED, whatever Yelp will tell you. Godmother's is open 7 days a week.
So, the first time I came here with a friend, we were both terrified. Â Stopped in after seeing a play across the street and felt like we'd stumbled into some locals only joint and the natives definitely weren't friendly.
Second visit with a date was much better.  There was a decent  band and the server was friendly but a bit ditsy.  I vaguely remember some confusion about a misplaced credit card but it worked out OK.
Last visit with a friend and some random stranger that tagged along from the previous bar was good too. Â Although I've heard better live music, can't really complain when there's no cover. Â The crowd was pretty friendly too.
But the real test of this place will be a solo trip. Â I know I've found a great bar when I can feel comfortable being there alone until I make a new friend or two.
Rating based on Live Music nights -
Select Fridays, Saturdays you can get some quality live music in a convivial, casual atmosphere. Pay a bit more for a drink? big deal - the proprietors appear to have an understanding that the tip jar may not cut it for the entertainment... I've never paid a cover charge there.
If I had, say, visiting friends from abroad for a night out, for Pedro, I'd suggest a Wednesday nights at Godmother's with Mike Guerero's jazz jam. Mike and his talented base group play and riff off  the standards and invite other musicians to show their stuff...craigslist? - I dunno. What I do know is that I can always count on some good grooves at the least, and some awesome interpretations - by surprise!
OK, drinking. Just drinkin', no live music. I would recommend an updated jukebox. Waitaminit....The bartenders are skilled. Just ask. Rob Roy, anyone?
We came here to listen to some music, it sounded good from outside and to just have a chill time. What we got was a cool atmosphere, but the drinks were a little overpriced, considering that I thought it was just a regular ol bar in pedro. Anyways, I learned later on because of the live band they tack on an extra buck to our beers. I did like the bartenders, they seemed attentive, yet it took a while to pay for our beers. I liked that they had pics of soldiers up on their wall, thus earning the 3-stars that I gave this place. Overall, maybe I will go back, the building is pretty cool and the band that they had on that night was pretty good, they played some blues, which I love.
Review Source:My cousin came out from Arkansas and wanted to jam with a jazz band and we ended up here. The musicians were friendly, we scored free drinks from the bartenders and parking is a breeze. It's also a great reminder of how deep in pedro country you really are here. Though it's being gentrified, I saw a man carrying a VCR at 1130 down grand and couldn't help but laugh. Also beware of the ILWU dudes on their lunch breaks... It got a little hard to shake some of them off sometimes. Overall, it was enjoyable and I definitely recommend checking out the jazz jam sessions on wednesdays.
Review Source:As part of my Mother's Day outing, Diane from D & D Gallery (across the street from Godmother's) introduced me to her favorite bar.
The bar's owners, Cathy and Jack, were there watching the end of the Lakers game.
I took photos of the bartender, the owners, and the incredible historic building that houses this bar, so check those out.
Godmother's is right on the corner, can't miss it, and there is likely to be a row of impressive bikes, as in motorcycles, parked in front.
Inside you will see a pool table (yay! Â next time I bring my new stick) and you will find a cool & friendly crowd.
Our beers cost something like $3.50 each, maybe less. Â That makes me smile. Especially considering Godmother's is smack dab in the heart of the San Pedro Arts District, and if you haven't been to that area recently, you are missing out. Â It's one of LA's best spots.
So Diane filled me in on the history of this family-owned bar:
Jack's father owned the bar originally, and when Jack was a little boy he would help clean up around the place. Â And now he runs the saloon, with his wife. Â How cool to find a second-generation business, going strong.
I was told about the music too:
Jazz on Wednesday, Karaoke on Tuesdays.
Good live bands on Friday & Saturday, ranging from country to blues to rock.
<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.godmotherssaloon.com&s=5ec06f58ec2d91454944d23ea8e71240502928318679862b9da117fbcc8a0eb5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.godmotherssal…</a>
I may have to move to San Pedro..........
I am falling in love with the place & its people, one business and one park at a time....
This is a pretty great place. I'm not really into that whole "big, loud, expensive" club scene and it's nice to find a local bar I feel comfortable going to.
I was there on a Friday night and they had a band playing right on the floor, and there was everyone from longshoreman to guys in business attire to old ladies dancing and having a good time.
I especially like that pints of fat tire are $3.25, which is almost unheard of in LA.
I can't decide if I love or hate this bar.
The bartenders are cool. Â They're quick and attentive.
I like that they offer pretzels and honey mustard sauce.
I like that it's a dive and that it's totally laid back.
I hate that this place is oddly arranged.
I hate that the jukebox is chock full of country
I hate that the bathroom is the size of a utility closet.
I hate that its patrons are too boisterous and sometimes the conversations get so loud I can't hear myself think...
Godmother's is a great low-key neighborhood bar that has quickly turned into one of my favorite Pedro hangouts.
Cheap stiff drinks and a wide variety of San Pedro peeps give this bar a friendly and boisterous vibe (cheap AND stiff drinks yo!). Â This is undeniably a neighborhood bar where locals come to hang w/ friends and unwind, NOT be seen.
They recently remodeled almost doubling the size of the original layout giving it a more open feel. Â It's not so divey anymore but the original area still has those dive bar characteristics that I love. Â Check out the mermaid statue behind the bar. Â Can someone please tell me those AREN'T a pair of testicles she's trying to stuff below here scaly mermaid area? Â I still prefer sitting in one of the old school red vinyl booths near the bar and chatting w/ friends, but the new section works better for larger groups. Â They have attentive waitresses that come to your table or you could just wander up to the bar for your refills. Â Either way, there isn't much of a wait for a drink. Â It's a really laid back atmosphere and I've never received or seen any attitude. Â They also have one pool table and a juke box w/ standard classic rock in high rotation...and free pretzels w/ kickass honey mustard!!!
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