Novel Bar

stopped by with a homie after work. sat at the bar and did the $ 10 beer and shot special. great deal. u get a pretty good selection on both shot and beer. i didn’t know the names, we just picked randoms, but they drank well. we were sitting there for like 5 or 10 minutes and this girl walks by and offers us free pizza… lolwat?! i was pleasantly shocked. who doesnt want free pizza…
the place is a bit divey and thats how i like em. the influx of american nightlife into ktown has been great but most of them feel a bit too exclusive. if u like hms bounty you’ll probly like it here.

Stopped in here while going to a show at the Wiltern and needed to kill some time before the doors open. Baaam, a bar, that is what we needed.
The vibe in the place is nice. It is your typical old school bar with a sticky concrete floor, seating is adquate if you get in early or get one of the few high tops.
Prices are about in line with everywhere else in LA so you are not going to get gouged but your not going to get lit up cheap here.
The thing that brings it down to just average is the service. It was not completely slammed by any means, but the guy behind the bar seemed way in over his head and was extremely slow in getting drinks out. We walked up and were waiting to order about 10 mins, he walked by us a couple of times and looked like he couldn’t handle more than one beer on his mind at a time. There were two ladies right down from us who had been sitting there waiting for their order to be taken at least 10 mins before we walked up, he grabbed our order, they were pissed, so I asked them what they wanted and threw it on our order. Clearly this dude just couldn’t work the bar very well.
All in all, good little place especially in this neighborhood where standard fair is not easy if you know what I mean… but if they can get bartenders to hump a little harder, this could be a much better place. OK to kill some time pre-​show or after show, but don’t travel here just to hit this spot.

I found this little spot recently after a concert at The Wiltern and I’ve got to say — it’s pretty cool!
We left the Wiltern and wandered up the street, looking for a spot for a quick drink. Tucked away in a storefront, this place appears unassuming on the outside, but that belies a much deeper interior that includes numerous options. There’s a kitchen onsite, and a full bar, along with a karaōke stage.
We enjoyed the (very) strong cocktails. I’d definitely stop by here before or after a concert at the Wiltern to enjoy the different ambience.

Atmosphere was good, bottle domestic not a bad price $ 3. You also get a free slice of pizza with your drink. Only problem was that their happy hour had several different times. Sign behind bar said he until 10. 6 roll around the sign disappeared. I’ll get over it. Ill be back

It’s a peculiar place. It’s like a bar that’s owned by a person that’s never been to a bar or only seen it in television. Their selection is increasing and they have a big space with tons if tvs so it has great potential. Good prices too.
If the owner hired a consultant, this place could be popping

It’s the best hang out spot in Koreatown. I’ve been coming here for a couple months and I can’t seem to get away! I invite all my friends and we have alot of fun…

Go with a laid-​back attitude and an open mind because you never know what you might find. They’ve been staging a lot of new events recently, so anything might be happening from live music to comedy to dancing. It’s pretty cool and eclectic.
But it can also be loud with several TV screens showing non-​stop sport, so be prepared for that.
One of the main attractions for me is the huge, very long bar. Great for pulling up a stool, hanging out, reading a book, checking-​up on the news, being a bar fly. You can even take your drinks onto the enclosed area outside on the sidewalk and watch the world — and the number 720 bus (all 37 of them in one hour) — go by.
They ALWAYS have pizza ready and waiting. Great for an unannounced drop-​in to quench a dry thirst or a hunger attack with a slice of pepperoni and a quick beer.
Recently, there has been a huge improvement on the range of hand-​pull ales available, and they have a whole back wall of hard liquor if cocktails and shots is your thing.
A significant asset are the bar staff. Super-​friendly, working extremely hard while maintaining a smile. Always a great welcome, and — just as importantly — a sincere goodbye. They’re a huge draw.
The menu loses the star; somewhat limited — but what’s there is good. Great traditional burgers, salads and even a chicken masala.
You can take your meal either at the bar or a table, but if you’re drinking only then stick to the bar while you’re savoring that beer.
And if you find yourself sitting next to me, buy me one!

If I could give this business No Stars, I would. Absolute disaster!!! My work colleagues and I work across the street and had heard that they have good burgers. Novel Bar was a HUGE Disappointment. We met there at 1:00pm and ordered 4 California Burgers… not a hard order, not a big order, not a complicated order. There was no other patrons there at the time… But for some reason, we didn’t get our food for over 45 minutes. And when we finally received our food, all of the orders were wrong and the food was HORRIBLE!!! The burgers were dry and crumbly, the meat quality was low, the fries were soggy and the service was appalling. How do you mess up a burger… you order it at Novel Bar. We will not be returning.

Great local joint. Music is great and the drinks good. if there was a 3.5 star rating, I’d give them that, just my personal preference. But I’ve always had a good experience there so 4 stars for them! I also ran into DFD here, local Korean american celebrity/​rapper. which was cool

Mediocre at best. Came here before a concert, they had a «special» (more expensive) food menu and no happy hour pricing, even though that is what we were quoted… gnats flying around everywhere. Would not come back.

They are now featuring Salsa Dancing, Lessons and a Live Band on Wednesdays!
Beginner Lesson: 8pm
Intermediate: 8:45pm

$ 5 cover for Thursday night show case of rappers, singers, poets and others. Came here to supporter a promoter friend of mine. It’s in koreatown so parking is going to be a b*tch. It’s a small, open-​spaced joint that has potential to be more if work was put into it. The atmosphere when I went was mid 20s-​mid 30s. Mostly African Americans when I came with my BF. I couldn’t tell u what it’s like on any other night though.
There is a mini pizza place located within the bar itself which is both different and convenient for those late nights of drinking and munchies. Pizza’s decent especially for the price.

In all honesty, the worst bar tender I’ve ever had to deal with. I’ve had a blind paraplegic bar tender serve drinks faster than her. I waited about 30 minutes while she chatted with friends until I got my drink.

I know this place is not a fancy bar or something. For those who look for a place quiet and less crowded in ktown, this is the one. I and my friends looked for a café/​bar so that we could talk and have a few drinks. It looks little crippy for the first time because there were few people in a huge size of the bar but I kinda like that and we could actually have a conversation (hardly do it due to noises in a bar)! Drinks are pretty cheap too; $ 5 draft beer and $ 3 bottle beer. In sum, Not bad to hang out with besties here but this is not a place for hipsters.

The place is very very touristy– its as if someone tried to open an Italian restuarant without ever being to one.
The menu was boring with the regular salad, past, pizza, but we went because we were looking for diner style breakfast food in Koreatown… Very hard to find.
The eggs benedict is ok but a small portion, the 2 Novel platter was supposed to come with fruit which never arrived, and the chicken ceaser salad had avocado but very dry chicken. Overall it was ok until we got the bill.
I saw that the chopped chicken salad had an extra $ 2 for «added chicken». When I told the waiter I didn’t add chicken he said that the chopped salad can be with any meat and I had chicken. I explained that this was not specified on the menu and it stated «Chopped CHICKEN Salad» he said that its a mistake because the chicken is not implied and they have it different on their computer (even though it said «Chopped CHICKEN Salad» on the receipt from the computer.
Other than their false menu, the food was ok even if I wont be coming back simply because I prefer to know what the real menu has…

This bar has so much potential. I live in the area and wanted to love this place, but couldnt.
The location right next to the wiltern and off the metro train is so convenient. However, with the service and food its a hit or miss.
Although it seems like the chefs are working very hard, the food isn’t very consistent. But it is probably a management problem.
Also, im pretty sure the owners just recently changed it to the KONY pizzeria, because they also own that company. I have seen the owners in there from time to time and they seem to have forgotten the importance of being kind to paying customers.
If the owners would just pretend like they new anything about hospitality, the people who worked there would probably act the same way.
I am only saying this because I truly feel like this place has great potential. People, including myself, would come back and become regulars even if there are some inconsistencies here and there if the service and management were better.
I normally dont like to say this many negative things but something really needs to be done about it if they actually want returning customers.

Review in #Haiku:
Next door to Wiltern
Lies this oddly empty bar
With bomb ass pizza… =P

oh god, I don’t know what’s up with this place but it seems to be steadily going downhill. I’ve been here many times and the last couple times have left me wondering what the hell is going on. Went in for the AFC championship and they didn’t have any draft beers because apparently the manager forgot to order the kegs. My friend and I went last week and it appears that the place has merged ideas with KONY or something, I couldn’t tell you exactly because when I asked the bartender what was going on she said she had no idea either. They also got rid of the amazing hummus platter, I am very upset about this. My friend and I got the spinach dip and it came with four pita chips. Four. And they weren’t even real pita chips, it was like baked, hard dough.
This place seems to suffer from an identity crisis and it appears this isn’t the first time the bar has been reinvented, a little digging around revealed that the place has had like 3 different names and concepts. To be honest it seems to be a management issue because there are plenty of bars around this area thriving so it’s not a location problem. Get your shit together, Novel. Or at least sell to someone who knows what they are doing.

This place is so legit! To bring a group of friends is so awesome! Watching my first superbowl game here with my friends! Their food is amazingly delicious and their service is on point! Get the California Burger!
:D

Good happy hour menu. All draft beers are $ 4. Ton of seating and big bar.