Tango Room & Bar

At least they have Jameson now.

MacArthur Park dive bar beside «That Popular Sandwich Place.» Took the Metro Red Line from Downtown one Saturday evening and walked into this place with a «How Bad Can It Be» mentality. In retrospect, it was a diamond in the rough.
9PM and found a seat in the middle of all the action. $ 5 Jack N’ Coke was more like $ 5 Jack shot which was much appreciated. Cash only folks. I sat beside a couple of lovely chicas that where arguing about something and I offered to buy them a drink which they very kindly accepted. There is a pool table but it’s too close to the walls, a juke box and a couple of tv’s. About 10 – 12 locals all drinking that Bud/​Miller crap, might as well order a bottle of water. The vibe however was chill and everyone minds their own. The bartender is generous and cordial. A great place to have a drink with a friend or two.

We had a party of 19 descend on Langers next door so we had a bit of a wait for our table. After several minutes kibitzing with everyone on the bustling sidewalk, we noticed this scary looking bar. Me and two of my biggest buddies sauntered in to 3 happy regulars who gave us a friendly greeting. Nice, took the edge off anyway.
After our eyes became adjusted, the place revealed itself to be a clean and tidy joint, definitely a pleasant surprise. That and 2 domestics, 1 Jack/​Coke for $ 11 made this place an official A-​OK pit stop.
Speaking of edge, I did get a flash of some local color on the way to the restroom. Yep, I dared to go there in this druggie part of town. I did it for you dear reader, part of the Unilocal Responsibility Code. Caballero looking cat is coming out of the mens room and holds the door for me, just as I start to give thanks he mutters something and doubles back to the sink where he had forgotten his 10 inch blade. Yep, pretty much expected in this part of LA. But at least in mid-​afternoon the facilities were spotless, always a plus if one needs to shoot up.
Would I recommend a stop here after dark? Absolutely not. For an afternoon drink? Yes if you are somewhat fearless. Well it helps if you have 500+ lbs worth of friends, but yeah absolutely.

this is one of the few bars left near 7^th and alvarado. this bar is very authentic in that it reflects the neighborhood.
yes, it’s cash only and the bathrooms are putrid… but if you can’t handle that, take the train downtown to the Edison or some other pretentious place.
Santiago is a great bar tender and you know you’re not getting cheated because drink prices are clearly posted.
The patrons are also substantially more interesting than those at the tango room.

After checking out Langer’s next door, we wandered into this dive bar.
Now, okay, maybe I am being harsh when I say «dive» bar just because it’s in MacArthur Park and there are people selling new IDs and drugs in broad daylight but seriously, there were paper signs on all the liquor bottles of the prices.
As you can imagine, this is a cash-​only sort of place. We were the only people in there at 12 noon on a Saturday. Everyone had beers but me. I had to get all fancy pants and order a… vodka tonic.
Except they didn’t have tonic.
And the «best» vodka they had was Absolut for $ 5.
Let me wrap my head around that one. Absolut. $ 5.
Okay, Absolut and 7 then. The bartender also gave me a shot glass full of extra limes and salt (yeah, don’t explain that one to me). They also didn’t have cocktail napkins. That’s okay, I liked the big white picnic napkins instead!
Overall, I liked the jukebox playing oh-​so-​romantico songs and the clean restroom. My drink was eh. Maybe I should have had a beer but I don’t drink beer. Oh, and this bar has tons of tequila.
But FUN times with the gang. I’d totally go back after grabbing lunch at Langer’s again. But maybe I’ll bring a flask of «good» vodka.

Stop by after you jam a Langer’s sandwich down your face… an oddly comfortable mix of people who, for the most part, will be sloshed when you get there… I have a feeling if we were there a bit longer we would have been making some good bar friends — but we couldn’t stay. Oh the possibilities.
Pool table? Yes. Loud ass Jukebox? Yes. Cash Only? Yes.

A few friends and I bravely strolled into this east-​side cantina on a Sunday. It was about 2pm and the place was filled with locals boozing it up. The record completely stopped as soon as we stepped foot in the joint. Everyone sitting at the bar was 35+ and of Hispanic descent. We ordered a round of beers and sat on the opposite end of the bar ans took in the scenery. Not much else to be said for the place. Cash only and locals only! LOL