The Cinema Bar

It is what it is. And this place IS !! I ain't been to a bar Ina long time...my best decision involving alcohol that I've made Ina while. Michelle tended bar..well. In addition she happened to be beautiful. This is your late 70's..80's type "dive bar". Music was loud and good. Prices were great. This place found me. Moved into new place last month and this wonderful throwback bar is 1 block away!! Can't wait to return.👍👍👍3 thumbs up.

My favorite spot for live music in Los Angeles. The monday gipsy jazz band hot club of LA is just awesome - super good quality music, good entertainment (the drummer is super funny and kind). These guys should be playing for a massive crowd, enjoy while the place is not packed every monday yet.

For what it is, it's magic. In a Los Angeles full of places that are so hip I feel like I'm being granted a favor when someone completes my drink order, this place is a throw back to the good 'ol days. A good, solid dive-bar with no attitudes or pretense. Prices are reasonable. I hope this place never goes away.

If you love a good Dive Bar then this is one to checkout! I've been a few times now and every time has been a great time with a diverse crowd! The staff is great, other patrons are friendly, drinks are a good pour, and the live music has been amazing. Definitely recommend if you're in the Culver City area or looking for a laidback good night out!

Tiny dive bar with lots of character and friendly staff. Shout out to Omar for the good music and dancing.

This place does not have food. FYI. But really good vibe all ages and races and you can smoke outside in the covered patio. Oh and free LIVE music every night!

A Diamond in the Rough... How wonderful to walk in to a bar that isn't full of plastic plants and fancy lighting, as so many "trendy" places are. The instant you walk in, you're made to feel at home. The staff and customers are genuinely friendly. The beer is good and, if you're in to tropical fish, the tanks are very well maintained. If I were a local, this would be my pub.

Stumbled into a piece of LA history and culture in Culver City at a place called The Cinema. The live band was amazing. There is No Cover. The place has a nice patio out back. Lots of friendly beautiful people.

Old school since 1947. This dive bar was packed the night we went and there was a band playing. The place is small and people are basically shoulder to shoulder trying to get a drink and watch the local band play. There's an outdoor patio out back if you want more space and you can check out the fish in the big aquarium.

How shall I put it, this is an interesting place... The only way I heard about it was because friends were performing there and I went to support them. Small dive bar that definitely smells like one! Very eclectic indeed. The magic is that if you know aspiring artists who try and make it in this town, you'd probably catch them starting on this stage. Always good to support and show up. It's a one man kind of service so be patient to get your drinks, I didn't order any food ;)

Great to see the venue promoting live music , there is a local band performing at the venue on all days of the week

I've passed by this place numerous times. I finally took the night to check it out and loved it. It's a small joint but the drinks were tall like I like them and the music they had that night was great.

Great spot and hidden gem. Lowkey ran into this spot on accident trying to avoid the cops . The bartender her name is Serafina great hospitality and very attentive. Makes multi tasking look easy and she takes pride in what she does . Thank you Cinema for being open and providing a great atomsphere . Thank you Serafina . Cheers

The dive-iest of dive bars in LA. Came here around 7:30pm on a Wednesday and there were a few folks who appeared to be regulars at the bar. There's an outdoor patio as well, where smoking was allowed. Parking is available in the back or you can park at metered street parking along Sepulveda. Credit cards accepted. There's live music at 9, and when we went, it was gypsy jazz for that particular night. There's no menu, you can just order a drink. The gin and tonic was pretty tasty and the bartender was really nice. No food is served there, but there's Tito's Tacos and Cinco de Mayo down the street where you can buy some Mexican food and take it back to the bar to eat. The crowd is on the eclectic side, but overall, it's a fun spot to hang.

If you like an intimate "living room" atmosphere and dig some rock n' roll, and don't mind a tight squeeze, this is your spot. It is very small, with what appeared to be a full bar along the wall, some bar stools and small tables along the other wall, with the band in the front middle. Upon arriving at 11pmish, there was a wild snakey haired fellow who i later found out was "Ginger Merkin" doin' his honkytonk thang. I actually came to see the Natalie Ford Brown band and had a great time! Rollicking good fun! My older brother, who played electric guitar, used to have his band practice in our garage as often as he could get away with! My memories were instantly activated sitting along the wall bobbing my head to "Give Me Back My Bullet". I have only one suggestion for the owners - get some "mocktails" on your menu for drinks!

This is a great bar but I was there the other night with some friends and some cracked out bartender named Omar became very agitated with us for no reason whatsoever. He appeared to be on meth and very unhinged. Get rid of this clown before he gets rid of your customers.

Love this place. Among the last great dive bars on LA's westside. Places like this need historic designation at this point.

My favorite dive in LA (is that offensive in a case such as this??)! The drinks selection here is pretty extensive, if you like whiskey. If not, there's always cheap beer and well vodka, rum, etc. There are no fancy cocktails to speak of, but you will pay peanuts for the bartender to spill a lot in the glass if you ask for a whiskey sour or rum and coke. The atmosphere is what makes this place a clear 5-star review for me. The decor is hip, funky, and even a little kitsch and the clientele is friendly and quirky. The space is tiny, so you will hear what your neighbor is saying on her date. Or you can choose to listen to the live music (free, tips recommended). I saw their blues band and the Hot Club of Los Angeles there; both are good enough to charge a $10 admission but run on the energy and generous tips from the patrons. It's a haunt that has a lot of charm. When you go here, you'll see what I mean when I say that it makes you feel like we're all on the same team: enjoying great music, chatting up the bartender, and enjoying the company of each other as we should.

So good, best place to make your regular spot. Felt like a regular even on my first visit

This was my first show at the Cinema Bar and it was a Blast! The room is small but this bar has a really cool Vibe. The stage is small but I was able to fit my small drum kit perfectly. The staff was really friendly and the drinks were reasonably priced. I'm looking forward to performing there again or just to hang for drinks.

Live music! Cheap drinks! Cute patio with a massive fish tank and standing heater. Love this place. It's so chill and hole in the wall vibe. Michelle and Rod were our bartenders. Very attentive. Great service. Check this place out!

Neon sign out front and a fish tank to look at while you chain smoke out back, small so it always feels like a good crowd, pretty decent live bands, good tacos down the block, all in all it's the best bar in LA.

Hello there. I've been to this joint before. A friend was performing on your groovy, intimate stage and a group of us joined for support. It was a great experience. Yesterday wasn't. Same kind of support, our friend was helping run the musicians and another friend was out back selling his denim. Different experience though. Elmo, your joke of a bartender is garbage. He was decent to me for awhile and then turned, becoming a racist ashhole. He tried to extort a denim jacket from our friend who was out back, with permission, selling hand drawn and hand sewn patched denim. At first, Elmo came out back and asked about a denim and then, with a friendly smile, said, 'let me go inside and make some tips to pay for that.' All good. Now one beer later, another friend and I were were watching the fish and talking when your bartender went off on a childish rant about the denim pricing saying the denim is all trash and our friend, who is one of the most generous, kindest people I know, has no respect for people of color. What? No one even regarded Elmo as a man 'of color.' Looked like every other bald headed bartender. You might want to check to see if he hits the coke or meth or something of that nature. He just turned nasty and told our boy that he should give him a denim for free. He wanted a denim that he just called 'trash' for free. We walked over and tried to ask what was wrong and he just started barking that we could leave and we 'don't know how things work' there. Well, I thought it works like this. You go to a joint, ring up a good tab, have fun, tip accordingly and have a great evening. This clown, he yanked my beer out of my hand and creepily grinned while throwing it away stating 'do you want to leave too?' Then he kept telling us to shut up when all we were doing was trying to calm him down. Again, he kept telling us to 'shut up' repeatedly like we were his children. Then I said to him, 'yes, I absolutely want to leave but I still have a tab with you so we have to go close it.' We then went to the bar where he could barely even think because he was acting like a childish fool. He was trying to play to the crowd like a smarmy infant begging for attention. What a joke. Good luck with that puppet. Cheers.

Great little spot. Not QUITE a dive, but has a bit of that cozy, intimate feel. Went there for some live music and had a great time--the band was doing country covers of Top 40 songs. Five stars for a fun late night out.

Great dive bar with a big patio. Live music is awesome. Bartenders are all great. Highly recommend

Best bar in LA because (1) it is an authentic dive with no pretentions of being anything else and (2) Hot Club of LA on Monday nights. Best musical experience in LA. They take over the tiny bar with world-class Gypsy jazz, and all of a sudden everyone is dancing and slapping each other on the back. Life is good!!!

Amazing place! My favorite hangout in the city and I've seen a lot. Awesome music, wonderful staff, very interesting people you meet, deep conversations. In these difficult times my heart is with Roderico and all the personnel. We all will be right back when you open again.

Oldest Dive Bar on the Westside! Get your butt there, truely a staple! They have some great free music on some nights and always great to catch up for a drink with a friend and enjoy

This is old school dive bar, complete with tiny stage, rockin' bands (at least every time I've come for a visit) and relatively cheap drinks, actually strike that last part, they're not that cheap. There's even a semi-hidden outdoor patio complete with tattered vending machine selling nuts of some varieties. One thing about this place that stands out is the wide range of clientele, you're likely to run into just about any and every kind of person in here. Oh and did I mention how small this place is? yeah, it's small so if you wanna get a seat, come early and stake your claim. As a tiny bar that features bands on a regular basis, it's nice that the sound person gets it right cuz it's way too easy to over crank the sound in a small club. Cinema keeps the levels loud, but totally listenable. And as with all band driven spots, a lot depends on the band that's playing the night you visit. Then again, you can always escape to the back patio which is band proof for the most part and allows for actual conversations, and of course peanut munching. The overall vibe of Cinema is very congenial, everybody seems to get along and you're more than likely to make some new friends here, and in these times, getting along is always a pleasant surprise.

This is the best dive bar in LA. Think u know one that's better? Well ask yourself does it also have a back patio with a huge fishtank where u can read, write, smoke cigs or cigars and also order a drink without getting up? I thought so

Cool dive bar where the Rum and cokes were seven bucks And decently strong

This quirky little spot left me pleasantly surprised. My bf and I were going to a concert in LA and stayed at the ramada across the street from here. We found this place on Yelp, as it is kind of hard to notice with the naked eye. The store front looks like a wooden wall and I don't think there is a sign. The inside is very dark and small, but they have a stage in there and based on the other reviews they have live music. We went in the afternoon, around 3PM on a Saturday and there was no live music. The best part of this place is a hidden patio in the back. It is so eclectic back there! There is a big fish tank, wooden seating, a wall covered in ravines, a BBQ, and apparently some parking behind that. There was also a cute little girlie running around the place. Lastly, we ordered two gin martinis.

Ah, the Enima bar. I know this place well having been a regular for a few months while looking to find a new place to have an after work beverage. There is a titanic difference between a dive bar and a dump and I would place the enema bar firmly in the latter category for the following reasons. The bar is tiny, I mean small so you cant really avoid speaking to anyone, if you don't want to but despite that during shows its pretty hard to get a fresh drink. The place is outright dirty. Roaches, roaches everywhere I have seen them crawl across the bar on the floor in the bathrooms and even on the back patio. The roof leaks whenever it rains which leaves a thick moldy after smell for a while following each shower. It is nice to have a cigarette on the back patio whilst having a beer but most times you have to break through a group of disheveled drunk dayworkers who are smoking pot and cat calling in the alley or parking lot. Management doesn't seem to care much about the activity because hey they're customers too, I guess. The regular crowd is littered with broke wannabe hipsters amongst who the phrase "hey man, can you buy me a beer?" is almost like a greeting to, they even do it with new visitors and its pretty awkward. For every third hipster you trip over you will find a mega Trump supporter ready to vocally defend the antics of the current administration ad hoc. I was once refused service at the bar for making a Trump joke (that was the last straw). They do have entertainment and I enjoy comedy and occasionally there is a gem to be found in the Weds night comedy set crowd but you still have to sit through the stale show MC's delivery who, I think would have problems entertaining an audience if he were the only one in it. In conclusion there is no parking, there is only one good bartender that is employed by the bar the drinks are $2 more than their competition (Cozy Inn) The pours are soft, there is no happy hour, it's a Trump bar. This place sucks! For the price, try Cozy Inn or even Joxer Daily's.

I have to say this local dive bar is one of my favorites to go to. The way the bar is set up is honestly so relaxing and really mellow. All the bartenders are great and know how to pour. They have local bands almost every night and a comedy show on Wednesdays. It's a great local hang out with all different types of people that come and hang out after work or on a weekend night out. There's even a cool fish tank in the back patio. (I love when places have fish tanks :D ) This place has an awesome vintage ambience about it. Such a great and amazing atmosphere. I must say I'm disappointed on the bad review on here, and I'm pretty sure he Just had a bad day in his life. I been coming here for awhile, and I do not live locally, I make the drive to come out this bar because it's comfortable and everyone who comes has been very cool and chill. THE CINEMA BAR ROCKS!

This bar feels like home! I recently moved to LA from a smaller town and have been missing my dive bars like crazy. I love all of the bartenders, regulars and entertainment they have. This bar is more than a dive bar it is a small community that is warm and friendly. They have a great liquor selection, cheep beer, and a great music. I cant wait to go back!

This is what a dive bar is supposed to be like. A few people, good stiff drinks, not overcrowded with folks, nice dark corners to chill in. Staff was really cool and a bunch of what seemed like regulars. There is a full bar but all their beers are bottled beers they have nothing on tap... Dropped a star because I was supposed to see some live music that was listed on their website. the band cancelled. But the cd jukebox had some great hits from Bob Marley to Sublime, and Santana. Parking was ample and patio was great nicely decorated, but my friend could handle the smoke outside. All and all I had a first time. I will definitely be back for some live music and good drinks.

Staff was okay not to friendly, music was different but enjoyable. Drinks where great.

Hot Club of L.A. on Monday nights.....the joint was jumpin. Dancers in the tiny floor space jivin to the Django. These five guys could (and do) banish the blahs and get your blood singing. Oh, yeah, and the drinks are great too.

What a amazing place. Love the live music bands offered here. The fish tank out back is amazing. Will definitely be coming back here.

Awesome bar live music! This is the place to be! I love it and highly recommend to go there if you love live music

Notes based on a brief tourist visit a couple Saturdays ago. Fun band playing to a truly diverse audience whose diversity was no big thing to anybody involved. For someone from San Francisco, that's a shock. The monoculture of SF would assimilate the FUCK out of a place like this. Great crowd and vibe in the place. Actual "dive bar." 2 bottles of Stone IPA and 2 bottles of High Life ran us $30. Ouch. Is there some kind of tax for non-regulars? Christ.

This Bar is busy no matter what nights it is! It's small, dark and definitely smell like a bar when you walk in.. haha It's kind of cheesy, but sometimes the cheesier it is, it can be a plus! At this bar, it sure is that way. It has a juke box and sometimes live music. Good place to hang out. Cheap drinks. Non alcoholic drinks includes a watered down ginger ale. lol Again, it's really small, so any night is pretty packed here. But everyone is friendly!! :-) So if you are ever in the area, you should give it a try. This is the closest place between me and West LA. My friend who lives closer by National and Pico and I, We both don't like to drive too far so we wind up here a few times.

So good the LA Kings chill here. Great vibe, music always. I almost want to give it a bad review to keep the crowds down!

Great neighborhood bar with a nice staff. Often has live music, no cover charge. Small but fun!

Yes, yes, yes. This is it. I love this bar! This bar is the definition of a dive. It's super small, it's sort of dingy in a good way, and the ambiance is terrific. Even though it's extremely small, the cinema prides itself on their live music every week with no cover. If you're not from L.A. you wouldn't know that live music is super difficult to find here, especially without a cover. The owner is not willing to get draft beer because he's never had it in the bar and he's going to keep it that way. I totally respect that, and it's still my favorite bar in L.A. Out back is a covered outdoor patio with great tables for chilling out and having a smoke. The patio area expands the bar by two fold, haha! Make sure to check out the fish tank and old refrigerators. Mark my words, I will be the duchess of this place in no time.

Great little bar with cool bands.

Love this place! Such a great vibe. So excited they reopened! And when Melania is working, I know I'm getting the best service!

Melania is the best. She is so sweet and helpful . I love this place, Great staff and good service.

We hit this spot on Friday after dinner for some live music and were not disappointed. Great little music joint with a great vibe and no cover. They pour em strong so settle in and enjoy!

Came here to knock a few back w/a friend and had a great time. The live band(carlos sanchez i think) is bitchn! Waitresses are friendly, people are nice and the atmosphere is laid back.

A great dive bar with personality. You will come back to play with them. Forever and ever and ever.... (Yes that was a Shining reference)

As everyone else has mentioned, yes it is small, but that's never stopped me from having a great time. Pretty much down to earth crowd, no flash, no bull, no "I can't get a drink cause I'm not a rock star". And as others have said: No cover so TIP your bartenders and the band!

Cool bar. Super laidback for Culver City. Strong drinks ;) the patio outside was a lot of fun to chill in and hang out with a group of friends.

Kind of old but this is a fun place to get a casual drink. They have the usual selection of alcohol and drinks and they are def very, very, very strong which is the best thing ever. This place is dope, cheers guys

A true dive bar. Great juke box. Cocktails are a bit small and have way too much ice. They usually have a band playing inside. The outdoor patio is nice and they have a lovely fish tank. The bathrooms are disgusting. There is only street parking available.

It's small and a classic! I'm seeing a musician friend play there tonight! The bartenders are full of life and exciting to talk to. There's a cute patio outside as well!

The Cinema is my most favorite bar in the Los Angeles area. It is a great place to experience live music in a very intimate setting. I have discovered some of my most favorite local music here. The owner and the entire staff make me and a lot of other regular customers feel like they are "Norm" from "Cheers". The Cinema is truly a Los Angeles treasure. Fred Kiko

Love it here! Love that there's a little patio outside. I have only been here on the weekends and enjoy the band and patio. Drinks are good, and I like the diverse crowd!