study this: library bar’s new kitchen menu
Two weeks ago Library Bar parted ways with neighbor Wolfgang Puck Bistro to launch its new in-house food service.
Scribbled on a mirror behind the bar next to the Happy Hour selections, the limited kitchen menu (offered daily 5:00pm to 11:00pm) consists of five appetizers and four main dishes: Higher-end takes on burgers, fries and other pub grub that pairs well with a cold Stella.
Library Bar Manager Carlos Perez explained back in June the choice was made to begin serving food after patrons complained of few late-nights dining options in the area, giving them good reason to stay and spend instead of wandering off in between rounds.
After a dinner taste-tester this week, Perez reports that food sales are already doing well, though the venue’s busy bar and sofa seating aren’t very conducive for hungry Downtownizens popping in for an easy meal.
If you’re willing to eat bumping elbows or sitting forward to reach a table, service is quick, food is tasty and prices are fair ($13 for an entree sandwich with fries).
A $10 artichoke starter and grilled cheese sandwich made with Asiago, Gruyere and tomato tapenade on sourdough are the only options for veggies besides the seasoned potatoes. So “high end” or not, the menu won’t appeal to everyone.
And in the vein of Father’s Office — a gastropub on the Westside — “there are no substitutions, so please be cool.”
Library Bar
630 W 6th Street # 116A
(6th & Hope, Library Court Building)
Los Angeles, CA 90017
213-614-0053
librarybarla.com
[Kitchen Menu]
Mon-Fri:3:00pm – 2:00am
Sat-Sun: 7:00pm - 2:00am
Kitchen Hours: Daily 5:00pm – 11:00pm
8 comments
$13!!! How’s an old tennis coach like me supposed to “be cool” about this? Where is Annessa?
i agree 13 isnt a “fair” price.
7-8 dollars is more like it.
the mirror behind the bar with the menu written on it looks like el prado’s…
Yeah, 7-8 dollars is more like it…for 1986!
I’m spending 6 bucks at McDonald’s now (on the infrequent occasions I eat there). 13 is about standard, sadly, in 2008.
You can always spend $7-8 at any Vietnamese or Chinese restaurant still in 2008. However, commercial rent does dictate prices. In a dense and highly desirable location, prices for food and other goods and services will reflect that higher rent. However, I’m not sure DTLA has the density yet to sustain higher prices since it’s all about volume, volume, volume.
Please, no substitutions!?! Until they build up their dining repuation and prove their quality, they are in no means allowed to set any ridiculous rules. I would walk out and go to the Subway down the street or even god forbid, go to The Standard, if some waitress told me I couldn’t request a substitution. Until you come up with a signature dish or prove that your food lives up the quality that is offered at Father’s Office, you should just give up the pretense and graciously accept paying customers, along with an request for a substitution.
Young man, what do you eat at McDonald’s? I can get 13 burgers there for 13 dollars.
We know Michael and Angela from their Eatwell days, and were expecting a decent meal when we ate at Library Bar a couple of weeks ago. The food was good, the service was fine, and we are thrilled that a decent, convivial dining option has opened in the neighborhood. At the moment the menu is pretty limited, so a “no substitutions” policy is pretty easy to roll with (I mean, just pull the pickle off the bun if you don’t want it) but as the menu expands they may need to rethink that. Two thumbs up, in any case!