Ercoles 1101

Burgers were the bomb dot com.
Plain and simple.
Order the burgers you won’t regret them.
All the guys behind the counter are super sweet and funny, that’s always a breath of fresh air, specially when you sit by the bar on packed days.
Cool local beach vibe! Go!

I am rarely in the area and I didn’t think we’d be able to find an appropriate dive bar so close to the ocean.
Among the big bars packed to the brim with younger folks in Hermosa, Ercoles in Manhattan is a welcoming dive bar filled with an older crowd and cheap drinks. $ 6 for a mai tai and $ 7 for a moscow mule. Whoa, you can’t get any cheaper than this in this expensive strip of real estate/​retail space.
Crowd is older; the median age was probably around late 30’s and up. Fine with me because there were no annoying games of beer pong or screaming round of shots. It’s just a watering hole where locals enjoy adult beverages on the cheap.
It was bit crowded but there were a few empty seats.
I have to say the best part is that it’s short waking distance to The Kettle which is excellent for late night bites.
Definitely earns a repeat visit!

LOCAL LEGEND.
Best little dive bar in Manhattan Beach (without an ocean view). Bring cash and a fun vibe. Incredible burgers and tacos sourced from Manhattan Meats just next door.

Clearly a local neighborhood bar. If you are not looking for fancy, this is your place.

I would give this place three stars just because I have been to truly phenomenal dive bars and this isn’t that, but I’m bumping it up to four because it’s around the corner from the incredibly disappointing Shellbacks. The beers are half the price, the atmosphere is much more laid back, and the service is much better. They were not serving food the night we went, which was a disappointment because we were told they had good burgers etc. Cash only, so be prepared. We were forewarned, so that was not a problem. IN REPLY: We will definitely stop in again to try the burgers if we are in the area again… our Air BNB hosts (great couple) raved about them, hence we were bummed! LOL. We enjoyed our short stop-​in. Thanks!

Today my friend and I decided to walk 4 miles to the beach from our hotel. We were hungry but had a vague idea of where we should eat. There are so many amazing places to eat between our hotel and Manhattan Beach, not to mention all the offerings at Manhattan and Hermosa beach! Since it wasn’t Tuesday, American Junky’s $ 5.00 was out! My friend remembered seeing a sign once about a hole in the wall bar that offered a BOGO burger with the purchase of two drinks, so we decided to try something new and located the bar. This is definitely a hole in the wall nitty gritty Tavern. We weren’t sure how the burgers would taste but we were starving, so we decided to give it a go! It was hands down the best burger I have EVER HAD!!! It is messy, and falls apart (WARNING: this is not the place to go for a first date, unless you really don’t care what your date thinks)! It comes with the basics, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, ketchup, mustard, and a delicious dill pickle, and a side of potato chips. The burger is medium rare, so if that isn’t your thing, then you might want to by pass, but for those who love a good medium rare burger, you need to check this place out!

Hands down one of my favorite bars, simply for the service and drinks. They’re that good. I’ve never tried the food, but I’ve tried the cocktails and they are perfectly stiff. The bartenders are experienced, friendly, and never disappoint. It is CASH ONLY! It’s a pretty small bar, right by the beach with an old school feel. When I’ve gone it’s usually been older crowds but the atmosphere is very laid back. They do have TVs and a pool table (only one though).

For low budgets but you will need cash!!!
Cool place! They have a lot of cocktails and a lot of surfers!

This bar has good cheese burgers made right in front of you. Don’t ask for a menu. They have burgers, they have hot dogs, and they have beer. Choose from that and enjoy the company! If you run into a nice local named Mike you won’t regret it.

Came here for the 2 for one special night and the burger were amazing. I had a chicken burger and the rest of the group ordered the classic hamburgers that looked amazing. Nothing fancy about the place just a cool dive bar in Manhattan beach with a cool crowd. Neighbors, visitors, regulars and a few visitors. Love that it’s a different from the rest of the bars on the boulevard that are usually pretty pricey for food & drinks and filled with those douchey bar guys we all dislike. This place remains pretty old school even with prices on food & drinks.

Old school dive bar with great burgers, good cold brews, and solid cocktails!!!
Add this to a five star location and a rotating cast of serious drinkers make this desirable
pit stop anytime your ready to play.
Nice pool table and a strict no gambling policy (bummer)…cash only establishment.

I would never go back.
PROS: Good hamburgers, cheap eats.
CONS: The reason they are cheap is because they are cheap! They only take cash (no credit cards), no waiters (only bartenders). We sat at a table and waited for a waiter until we got a clue that there are none. You have to go up to the bar to order anything. There is nobody to clean the tables or make rounds to check on you and ask if everything is OK, really they could care less. Anything and everything has to be taken care of by the bartender and it’s very crowded at the bar so expect a wait to even find one who will give you the time of day. The place felt sleazy and dirty. It was loud with people but I expected that, with lots of TV’s and sports channels. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE old school dive bars, but this place was a total sh*thole. My friend sat on hard wood at the table and his @ss hurt until we noticed his seat cushion was on the floor from the partiers who had the table before us. (Again, nobody on the floor to clean things up, they just do not CARE, and it’s quite evident). We were there on Wednesday night for the 2 for 1 hamburger deal and they do not make french fries here, you get a bag of potato chips (again, cheap). We were a quiet couple of 2 and noticed a party of 4 that came in 20 minutes after us were waited on before us. I finally had to get up and ask where our order was since they obviously forgot us. Very disorganized. A lot of reviews say the bartenders are real friendly but that was not my experience at all. Mine seemed like an old grouch who hated being there. Never smiled once…
Parking sucks of course (hey, it’s downtown Manhattan Beach, all meter parking). A quarter for 12 minutes…

Fun dive bar in a great location. Be ready for cash only.

This review is for the burger, on a weekend afternoon. «Holy crap», my friend says «this is really good». And so it was. Perhaps one of the best burgers I’ve had anywhere in la. I meant to take a picture of it, but I ate it all too fast. Great kitschy ambiance, nice bartender, not too crowded spot. I’ll be back soon.
Would be nice if they took credit cards.

Nice people, they made my day. They were nice and friendly. They made me smile and feel welcomed. The food was great. I will defiantly comeback.

Came here based purely on reviews and I was not disappointed. I was looking for a burger and beer and that is exactly what I found. There is a grill at the end of the bar where you can get fresh, delicious burgers cooker up. Good draft selection. A local spot for sure but I didn’t feel unwelcome as an out of towner. Only tip. CASH ONLY.

Local dive with a great jukebox and aaaamazing burgers! Good late night spot with strong drinks.

Great little bar. One of my favorites. The crowd is great. The locals who come here are cool too. Its a classic dive bar for sure with the old school interior and one pool table.

Nice little bar, friendly and very funny bartenders (Martin and «pinche Ruben»). Fast service at the bar and patrons are upbeat and friendly. No dance floor, pool table in the back. Music low if it is playing at all.

Dive bar of all dive bars in Manhattan Beach, that is my opinion, with a very friendly atmosphere. If you visit the beautiful downtown Manhattan Bch area with all of their great restaurants and you are looking for a great dive bar with a very diverse crowd of people that range from multimillionaires, professional athletes, to the average Joe or Jane, than this is the place. No worries if you’re 21 or 71 years young the bartenders serve you the best drinks. It’s like going to your favorite Uncles house for a party.
They play music from a digital jukebox with great selection of songs, but what is prefered in this place is 80’s and 90’s favorites some 70’s as well. They do have one pool table that stays busy all night and they have a dozen small flats to watch a sports game. This place was built in the 20’s and it appears they kept it just the way it looked back then with a some obvious and necessary improvements. The front door guy is an awesome older guy but he doesn’t take shit from anyone also be respectful to others here because in this place customers who have a low tolerance for rude and bar fights and if you act like a drunk idiot and get out of hand the regulars will take you outside very quickly. We take care of our place like if it were our Uncles House!
Have fun, get drunk, have a great conversation with awesome customers, tip well and get home safe to do it all again the next night!
Love this place and recommend it to anyone visiting Manhattan Beach. Bring more woman is always welcome and a plus! Lol.

Ercoles has gone through an ownership change and fortunately for those of us who are regulars, no change is being contemplated. The new owner, Gary Moore’s niece, Stacy, is a hands on person who plans to carry on the legacy. Yes sadly, Gary passed about two weeks ago.
And yes, the music is much improved and is played via Pandora by several of the bartenders. Of course, you can override the free music by feeding the Jukebox and selecting your own favorites. Order a world famous burger & beers, sit back and enjoy one of the last real bars in the LA area! If you’ve not been here before, yes, you can call it a dive bar. Established in 1928 it’s alive and well. Don’t expect to be served table side. Ain’t happening. Check out the photos on the walls, play some pool (watch out for the old guys) and relax, you’re amongst friends!

As a local resident, this is easily my favorite bar.
some notable bullets:
–Cash only! (but theres never a cover)
–Taco Tuesdays and Thursdays.
–2 for 1 burgers on Wed (with purchase of two drinks)
-$ 6 mai tais and moscow mules
— Never TOO crowded compared to other bars in the area (although a bit crazy during dinner time on 2 for 1 burger nights wednesday)
— Median age is probably 40s; the crowd is mostly older than us but i prefer this over young annoying drinkers
— Beer on tap but nothing fancy/​craft

Dive Beach Bar but totally cool! A must try!
We had a party of 10 plenty of room for us!
Great drinks!
They have the best burgers! I tried the burger with Louisiana sausage link! Delicious!
No fries only chips, but still worth it!
Cash only!

Went there last night on a spur of the moment and I loved it. Bear and I needed a drink after a long day and this place was perfect.
It was packed and exciting. The music was fun. The crowd was super chill. Everyone seemed like regular customers. The bartender was drunk of his ass but really friendly and fun and he made amazing (strong) drinks. $ 6 per drink =p
I could definitely come back here even though I’m not the dive bar type at all.

Straight up beach dive bar, but totally cool.
Nice mix of eclectic, but generally respectful patrons… no one too loud and raging, and all folks looking like they’re enjoying their beverages and conversation.
Our party of 7 ambled in on Friday night late, after that debacle at The Strand House, and we were looking for a place to sit, sip whiskey, and talk /​laugh /​feel human.
We certainly found the spot.
1) CASH ONLY. But no sweat, ATM inside, cash machines close by at the Chase bank, and it’s all good.
2) SUPER CHEAP DRINKS. I’ll say that one more time. A double Jay-​mo over ice with a little lime juice was not $ 306 bucks like most «clubs and ultra-​lounges» it was $ 5.50…just over five bucks for a stiff drink. Man oh man. Sign my cracker ass up for that every damned day.
3) Nice bartenders, nice doorman, nice floor staff. All this makes for a good experience.
4) Relatively clean place, even the potty. Working sink and plenty of paper towels… what a frickin’ concept! A lot of higher end «bars» obviously don’t care about cleanliness and germs (aka Sharkeez!!) but Ercoles does… kudos.
5) We got a decent sized booth right away, no one bitched we pulled up a few barstools… and everyone did their thing. People smiled, people played pool… folks weren’t total assbags and skankapotamusses.
6) Great music… fun mix of a little old school rock, 80’s/90’s alt rock (loved the Psychedelic Furs song!), a little recent alt/​synth/​milder EDM… great mix… for relaxing and actually speaking with humans (versus yelling over top poorly mixed house/​dubstep at a place trying to sell itself as a Miami Beach ultra-​club).
7) We had a fun time right until they wanted to mop the floors. When you find your spot… you know it and you stay there… time flies… conversations flow… and you realize you don’t wanna go home (or to 3am breakfast at The Kettle, but I digress)…
Great place… just divey enough without being too divey… not clubbish… not too hipster… cool without being cool (if you get me).
I’ll be back… cash in one hand… whiskey in the other.

I was kicked out for saying I didn’t like this place. I hit my vape once, was asked to stop, responded «I don’t like this place» and a minute later was told I was banned.
The owner made the doorman tell us to leave rather than do it himself, and when he saw I planned to finish the drink I had paid for first, came up to us and told my friend I had to go outside if he was going to finish his beer.
Nothing about this bar was cool. There’s way too much space dedicated to a pool table for how many people they try to pack in there, they don’t tolerate people using vape pens, and they make the nice old door guy kick people out for dissenting opinions about the place.
I understand vapes are being banned but not every bar is banning them. Any bar with any sense let’s people hit their vapes. Fuck this bar. «Never come back,» he said. Haha.
I said «I never will.» Why would I go somewhere that doesn’t let me vape? And then takes my money without letting me finish my beer? I was in the middle of a really interesting conversation with some new friends. Yeah if you like vaping and/​or saying things, there’s a way cooler place up the street.

Thanks again for Real Reviews, from Real People (aka Unilocal)!
What an awesome dive in the heart of downtown MB. And this is no bourgeois spot, pretending to be a dive. It is truely a hole in the wall dive. Stepping in here you’ll forget that you just walked by million dollar homes and fancy dining establishments.
Great drink prices for the location. They can easily charge more, but, kudos to them for keeping it old school. Oh, and I picked a great cheat day to try out the burger. Man… Get. The. Burger. That’s all I gotta say. You’ll thank me and everyone else who makes the same suggestion.
We’ll most definitely be back.

Cheap Dive BAR.
Nice people serving you and cleaning up constantly. I spilled a drink and they were nice enough to pour me a new glass!
We wanted some ice cream from across the street and they let us bring it back in to finish it with our friends ! Very cool!
Throughly enjoyed myself!