Located in the heart of the San Fernando Valley, the idyllic Los Angeles neighborhood of Sherman Oaks has a number of vibrant bars and brew pubs.
If you’re looking for new places to enjoy a fine selection of craft beer without venturing too far from your apartment, check out the following neighborhood hangouts.
Blue Dog Beer Tavern
March Madness is still raging. If you haven’t scored tickets to a game at the Staples Center on Thursday or Saturday and want to experience the excitement in an action-packed environment, the Blue Dog Beer Tavern is the place to be. Get crazy over excellent local craft beer in good company at what L.A. Weekly calls ones of the best sports bars in Los Angeles.
You can build your own flight from an impressive selection of regional, national, and international draft beers. This bar offers more than 1,000 different craft and artisan beers in its permanent selection on draft and in bottles.
Boneyard Bistro
Beer and barbecue go together like, well, beer and barbecue. And the Boneyard Bistro does both pretty well. An upscale ambience and extensive selection of craft beer and wine from the keg makes feasting on barbecue, brisket, and mac ‘n’ cheese all the merrier.
The beer flights (including one featuring all local craft brews) and whiskey flights are both pretty popular. And if you’re feeling adventurous, you might give the chili donuts a shot. Zagat calls these sweet, savory, spicy delights one of Los Angeles’ 10 must-try fried foods.
The Local Peasant
Another Sherman Oaks bar that prides itself on its neighborhood feel, The Local Peasant is a gastropub for creative, appetizing snacks. The blue cheese fried olives; bacon and truffle oil mac ‘n’ cheese; deviled eggs with brown sugar-chili applewood smoked bacon; and crispy pork belly with hints of tamarind and watermelon are all hits. Where mains are concerned, the burgers and pizzas don’t disappoint.
With 20 beers on tap and another couple dozen available in bottles, The Local Peasant offers no shortage of craft for the specialty brew lover to choose from. More of the brews are sourced in California than anywhere else, with Belgium coming in at a distant-but-respectable second. Flavor-packed brews include a pumpkin porter, coffee Belgian Dubbel, and grapefruit IPA. The Local Peasant offers a large enough range of hop-heavy, malt-drowned, and high-ABV brews to satisfy the palates of everyone on the spectrum.
Tipsy Cow
After long-standing Sherman Oaks restaurant La Pergola closed its doors, the facility that housed the Italian restaurant was gutted and renovated. In June 2014, the doors of the old ristorante reopened under the banner of the Tipsy Cow. Just a ten-minute walk from the Sherman Oaks Galleria, the Tipsy Cow has already made quite a splash on the area’s eating and drinking scene.
The gastrobar’s menu features grass-fed burgers, free-range turkey, ahi tuna, healthy veggie burgers, and other organic eats. It also serves fine wine, handcrafted cocktails, and 31 draft beers. Regional breweries featured in the beer selection include Backyard, King Harbor, El Segundo, Stone, and Ballast Point.
Sherman Oaks is emerging as a must-visit place for those looking to explore the Los Angeles craft beer scene. If you live in an apartment near Sherman Oaks Galleria, you’ve got easy access to the bars and restaurants on this list. Gather with friends or colleagues at one of these great neighborhood hangouts and raise your glasses to the good life!
Do you have a favorite place to grab a beer in Sherman Oaks that isn’t included on this list? Let us know in the comments.
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View All Posts by Jason Ernst