You might even find a few mechanical bulls mixed in.
Featured image credit: Sassafras Saloon
Let’s be honest: we don’t get a lot of people looking for an authentic hoedown in LA. It’s a place where the city slickers are extra slick; where the palm tree is greater than the prairie rose; where the emphasis is firmly on the boogie instead of the boot-scootin’. But we also like variety here, so you can bet that you can still find venues that pass as country bars in Los Angeles.
Sure, you’re not going to think you’re in Kansas, no matter how many times you click your heels. But you can still get a line dance in, take a tumble on a mechanical bull, and maybe even mosey away feeling like you got enough twang for your buck. So sit back while we lasso up 11 of the best country western bars in LA.
The Cowboy Palace Saloon
21635 Devonshire St, Chatsworth, CA 91311
Chatsworth is a bit of a trek for the average Angeleno, but it’s where you’re going to have to “get along to” if you want to experience “the last real honky tonk in Los Angeles.” And while the bar is admittedly low, it just makes The Cowboy Palace Saloon’s authenticity all the more admirable. This may actually be the best of the best country bars in Los Angeles.
When you join in the very sincere line-dancing, you get the distinct feeling that these aren’t trust fund culture tourists giggling through a country-by-numbers square dance but rather genuine southern ex-pats yearning for big skies in small towns. The cowboy boots dangling above the bar further the call of the generous dancefloor, but there are plenty of pool tables and drink specials if you’d rather cool your heels. And country acts from all over SoCal recognize the Cowboy Palace’s solid reputation, so you can expect to catch some top talent under its roof.
Bigfoot Lodge East (Bluegrass Night)
3172 Los Feliz Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Bigfoot Lodge East is one of the many venues on this list that isn’t a full-time country western bar. So, if you’ve got your heart set on honky tonk, you need to pick the right night. Your best bet? Tuesdays, when Bigfoot Lodge becomes one of the most reliable country bars in Los Angeles with its Bluegrass Night.
You’ll be delighted with live performances from some of the city’s best up-and-coming country acts (yes, they do exist). The live music starts at 8 pm and often goes into the wee hours. Did we mention that this is a log cabin-themed watering hole with a thing for Sasquatch? So, yeah, even on a non-bluegrass night, you could stumble on some psychedelic alt-country oddness.
The Cinema Bar
3967 Sepulveda Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
The Cinema Bar is quite possibly the oldest surviving bar in Culver City. While its history is much more obviously steeped in silver screen magic (as its name suggests), it also hosts a pretty mean selection of live country music for your drinking pleasure.
Don’t expect to break your kitshickers in on their concrete though. Attempts at line dancing will end abruptly about three feet away from where they start. No, this standing-room saloon is much more ideal for sipping a cold Bud while some relatable heartbreaking ballad plucks your heart like an old busted-up guitar.
Cowboy Country
3321 South St, Long Beach, CA 90805
One of the most important factors in a good line dancing venue is space. Long Beach’s Cowboy Country gives you plenty of room for those boots to scoot with a 15,000-square-foot dancehall. Throw in quality live country music, plenty of opportunities for instructor-led dance lessons, and, finally, the first mechanical bull on our list, and it’s no wonder that Cowboy Country secured the coveted award for Southern California’s leading country music venue in 2017. And, arguably more prestigiously, made our list for the best country bars in Los Angeles. Now for a little rain on your campfire: Cowboy Country is only open on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Polish your boots accordingly!
Sassafras Saloon (Grand Ole Country Bunker)
1233 Vine St, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Another one to file under “Not Strictly a Country Western Bar”, Sassafras Saloon still earns a prestigious spot on our list for its distinct aesthetic. Modeled after a New-Orleans-by-way-of-Savannah mid-1800s home, this rustic and ancient-looking bug house welcomes you through a greenhouse foyer festooned with hanging moss and ivy before opening into a grand lounge adorned with authentic southern antiques and intricate flourishes. You can hear anything from live jazz to blues at this bar and even see some retro burlesque. But if only the telltale twang of country music will soothe your soul, make sure to check in on one of the Grand Ole Country Bunker’s nights.
Desert 5 Spot
6516 Selma Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028
We obviously value a degree of authenticity in our top picks. But LA is LA. You’ll find more plastic than prairie in these here hills. So it’s only fitting that we include a few options catering to that cowboy-curious crowd. The kind of country bars in Los Angeles for people who don’t feel at home on the range. Hollywood Desert 5 Spot is one of those bars.
In this laidback, sleek and chic rooftop bar with a killer view, you can look around you and surmise that, for everyone you see here, this is indeed their first rodeo. Or the closest they’ll ever get to one anyway. But that being said, if you want Pioneertown without a desert drive, Desert 5 Spot has you covered with mezcal and tequila cocktails served in cactus-shaped glasses, live country tunes, and the occasional longhorn skull on the wall. So, yeah, kind of like a cute, Disney version of a saloon.
Club Bahia (Stud Country)
1130 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90012
For the rhinestone cowboys that sparkle twice as bright, no other country bars in Los Angeles can touch Club Bahia’s bi-weekly LGBTQ+-friendly line dancing night Stud Country. A positive and supportive environment, its ample dancefloor presents a judgment-free platform for people to be themselves. But make no mistake. The regulars take their country music seriously. You’ll see some line-dancing legends cutting the concrete with their moves to pop country classics with no irony. But if you’re just starting out, don’t be alarmed. “Seldom is heard a discouraging word” on the Stud Country dance floor.
The Echo (The Grand Ole Echo)
1822 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
The Echo has been somewhat of a mainstay for Echo Park’s alt-music scene since 2001. So what is it doing on a list of country bars in Los Angeles? We admit it would be wildly out of place if it weren’t for the Grand Ole Echo summer series it hosts every year. Early on Sunday summer nights, the Grand Ole Echo keeps country music fans sweating on the back patio through some of the best-rising country talent, both classic and provocative.
There isn’t much room to stretch your hoofs out (unless the show is big enough to move downstairs to the larger Echoplex), but the curation is top-notch. And country music fans can look forward to additional one-off venue-hopping events booked by the Grand Ole Echo throughout the off-season.
Eastwood
611 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
The jury’s still out on whether Eastwood really deserves to be counted among the best country bars in Los Angeles, but it offers enough to keep the urban cowboys intrigued. Part of the novelty is its location. Where else will you find instructor-led line dancing on a Saturday night in Koreatown? Plus, it’s the next location on our list to offer the much-coveted mechanical bull.
But Eastwood blends its countryfied leanings with more cosmopolitan trappings such as arcade games contrasting against the row of pristine white ten-gallon hats perched above a bar flanked with glowing neon longhorns. Even at its most immersive, you’re still going to feel like you’re deep in the heart of K-town instead of Texas.
Drugstore Cowboy
4330 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029
It’s funny. Ever since an establishment punched a hole directly through the iconic Elliot Smith Figure 8 mural, it seems that whatever business moves into the building struggles before fading into oblivion. It’s almost as if these things mean something to Angelenos. Regardless, Silver Lake’s Drugstore Cowboy didn’t do the deed, but you’ll still need to step through the corpse of music history to get your Cowboy Queso.
As the name makes clear, Drugstore Cowboy is very much a Silver Lake take on a country western bar. Sometimes you’ll get some live alt-country that pairs well with the spaghetti westerns plastered on the TVs, the Marlboro Man murals, and the red faux leather booths. Other times, it’s pretty much a sports bar. But if you kind of want a country bar but don’t really want a country bar, Drugstore Cowboy can satisfy.
Saddle Ranch Chop House
8371 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
If the last time you boot-scooted was because somebody forgot to pick up after their Frenchie, then the Saddle Ranch Chop House on the Sunset Strip may be your best option among the country bars in Los Angeles. It’s a little bit country, but a lot more rock ‘n’ roll. And by rock ‘n’ roll, we mean emo rock.
But it’s also the only place in town where you can celebrity-watch and whittle away at a tower of pink cotton candy while waiting for your turn on the mechanical bull. During the pandemic, Saddle Ranch became somewhat of a snakepit of influencers, but today it’s mostly regained its roots. We’ll let you decide what that means. But for the yeeha-llywood pardners out there, Saddle Ranch can be a good time.
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