Butchr Bar

"Located on the same block as Clark Street and sourdough pizza maker Grá, Butchr Bar’s charming mauve-colored dining room serves outstanding wines, cured meats, and steak. Everything is organic, antibiotic-free, dry-aged, and butchered in-house by chef Danny Rodriguez (formerly of Cobi’s in Santa Monica) and sous chef Chianne Mallari. Ask what specialties are on the menu for the day, but one can always order the beautifully prepared dry-aged bone-in tomahawk at $6 per ounce." - Matthew Kang, Mona Holmes

"Butchr Bar looks like just another cutesy wine bar. The Aussie-owned spot in Echo Park has pink-hued walls, pop playlists, and a menu featuring orange wine and small plates. Don’t be fooled though. Because hiding behind a somewhat generic aesthetic and snack-y dishes you’ve seen before is something you might not expect: big plates of meat that rival some of the best steakhouses in LA—without the steakhouse prices. Look for the row of refrigerators behind the bar if you’re not sold. Lamb chops, Australian wagyu, and cured boar legs hang in illuminated dry-aging chambers—one of many reasons (along with devout sourcing from Australia) why meat should be taken seriously here. It’s also why the generic-sounding charcuterie boards arrive with non-generic things like house-cured lamb speck, decadent tri-tip, and boar. photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp Few restaurants in LA make popping in for some wine and a steak feel doable, and Butchr Bar is one of them. While dates in hand-stitched denim and groups of graphic designers fill the airy dining room, we prefer snagging a seat at the cement bar. It’s first-come, first-serve, and the leather stools are cozy and comfortable. Most of the food is plated in front of you and bartenders will chat about everything from which part of Queensland your steak came from to last night’s episode of Survivor. But the main reason Butchr Bar works for a breezy carnivorous meal is the price. There are two six-ounce wagyu cuts on the menu, and each is under $52. In the world of high-end meat, that’s the equivalent of Chi Spacca putting a LIQUIDATION SALE: EVERYTHING MUST GO sign out front. But a good meal at Butchr Bar isn’t necessarily dependent on red meat. We’ve swung by just for fermented tomatoes and salad topped with dill and dukkah-roasted macadamia nuts. Plenty of people are there just to drink chilled reds while traffic dies down. At least, until they see the steak come out. Food Rundown photo credit: Jessie Clapp Charcuterie Charcuterie? At a wine bar? Groundbreaking. Don’t be fooled though—Butchr Bar’s version is different. Everything from salty boar salami to peppery lamb speck is dry-aged in-house and comes alongside buttery, crackly bread from Clark Street next door. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Fermented Tomato This dish is admittedly best during the summer months, but it’s still worth ordering regardless what the calendar says. It’s simply dressed in olive oil, salt, parsley, and lemon, and split into individual pieces for easy sharing. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Market Salad As the name suggests, Butchr Bar’s salad changes depending on what’s at the market. Expect something incredible no matter what. These people know meat, but they also know vegetables, too. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Dry-Aged Purebred Wagyu Available as a ribeye or NY striploin, this is one of the best petite-sized cuts in LA—and not just because it’s $52 for six ounces of wagyu. The steak is evenly charred with a buttery, medium-rare interior. Smear a little of the shallot marmalade on each bite for some sweet acidity. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Seared Sausages NSFW: The first time we cut into one of Butchr Bar’s excellent sausages (one pork, one mutton), we got squirted in the face. You should hope for the same experience. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Olive Oil & Lemon Shot There's an above-average chance your bartender will put this in front of you. Drink it. It's literally a layered shot of fresh-squeezed lemon and Australian olive oil—and it's oddly soothing/refreshing." - Brant Cox

"Here’s a concept we can get behind: a meat-centric wine bar. This low-lit Echo Park spot serves organic, grass-fed steaks, charcuterie platters with lamb salami, and beef tartare lettuce wraps paired with whatever glass (or bottle) of natural wine is on the rotating list that night.  We recently visited Butchr Bar and added it to the Hit List." - sylvio martins

"Tyson Blackney, who co-owns Butchr Bar with his wife Bridgette, can trace his family’s history in the meat industry back to the 1920s in Australia. Now, the duo are using their meat expertise and penchant for hospitality to operate a new wine bar and butcher shop right next to Clark Street Bakery and Grá in Westlake. The food menu focuses on small plates like beef tartare and olives alongside charcuterie plates made of salami, sausages, and more. But it's the meat, which is imported from Australia, that’s the star of the show. Smaller cuts of wagyu are available for those dining alone, but make sure to ask about the tomahawks hanging in the fridge if dining with a group. — Rebecca Roland, associate editor" - Eater Staff

"A break-in shattered Butchr Bar’s massive side window facing Court Street and Glendale Boulevard slightly south of Echo Park hours before its debut on August 16, 2024. The new butcher shop and wine bar’s Aussie owners, Bridgette and Tyson Blackney, watched from their Westside home as security footage showed a man rifling through the space at 4 a.m. before departing with retail items. Tyson sped over, spoke to the police, and installed plywood and cloth to hide the damage. The Blackneys pushed forward and opened Butchr Bar a few hours later. Located on the same block as Clark Street and sourdough pizza maker Grá, Butchr Bar’s retail arm sells organic, antibiotic-free meats dry-aged and butchered in-house by chef Danny Rodriguez (formerly of Cobi’s in Santa Monica) and sous chef Chianne Mallari. The same team serves small plates, charcuterie, and imported meats flown from Down Under on the wine bar side, which the couple views as an Australian-style restaurant serving an Italian menu. Butchr Bar’s multi-use space feels like a more casual version of Curtis Stone’s Gwen and is reminiscent of the Butcher, The Baker, The Cappuccino Maker on the Sunset Strip and the notoriously shuttered Belcampo Meat Co. Lunch and dinner menus include bone broths and seasonal charcuterie platters with dry-aged lamb, giardiniera, cheese, boar salami, and Clark Street bread. Salads, a picanha-cut tartare, and fermented tomatoes with herby lemon myrtle, parsley, and hibiscus salt round out the small plates. The tomahawk rib-eye wagyu is priced at $6 per ounce, while the 14-day dry-aged lamb is served with red currant jelly for $35. Grilled pork and lamb sausages are also prepared in-house. Henry Smith (from Clark Street) curated a coastal Californian, French, and Italian list of biodynamic or natural wines available by the glass or bottle. The Blackneys recruited Tyson’s sister and Pink Jam Trading designer Addy Nuthall to brighten the 1,700-square-foot space with a 30-foot concrete bar, soft rose interiors, and communal tables. Local ceramist Sasha Wachtel’s ‘80s-esque lamps are set on the bar, while platters, plates, bowls, and bone broth mugs are made by Still Life Ceramics. Artisanal touches are placed throughout Butchr Bar, along with family heirlooms and artwork from friends in Australia. T-shirts, housemade jerky, and dehydrated dog treats are available for sale. Butcher Bar will host events and community classes showcasing Rodriguez’s knowledge in the coming months. The journey has come full circle for the Blackneys since opening Butchr Bar in mid-August, as Tyson hails from a family of Aussie food exporters dating back to the 1920s. “There’s a saying in this business, you’re either born into the meat industry or you’re married into it,” says Bridgette." - Mona Holmes