Best Airport Bars In Los Angeles
Whether you're waiting to take off or be picked up in Los Angeles, hanging out an airport bar can be a great way to pass the time. There are always the restaurant and bar chains, but here are a few local picks to tide you over before your final destination.
Skewers by Morimoto
Los Angeles Airport
1 World Way
Los Angeles, CA
Terminal 5
While it is not a bar per se, the much-anticipated Skewers by Morimoto by Food Network Iron Chef Morimoto has just arrived at LAX Terminal 5. The new casual eatery provides a walk-up-service bar where you can grab a quick drink while you dine on kushiyaki and kushiage — popular street and bar food in Japan. Skewers' contemporary design and décor fuse rough-sawn wood and rebar for a feel all its own. It's fast and easy, perfect for the airport environment when you have to drink and run, or fly.
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The Bob Hope Airport Bar
Bob Hope Airport
2627 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91503
(818) 840-8840
Gate B3
www.burbankairport.com
The Bob Hope Airport, formerly the Burbank Airport, might not be the first airport you think of when you are traveling to L.A., but it's a favorite of the locals because of its easy-in, easy-out access and its smallness. This laid-back and small-town feel is reflected in its signature bar, the Bob Hope Airport Bar. The bartenders are friendly and chatty, and they have several beers on tap and cheaper drinks than most bars in town. Most notable is the kick-butt spicy bloody Mary for $7.25 and very large glasses for wine for $9. If you don't feel like mingling, WiFi is $4 for two hours, and the music is usually pretty good listening. It's nothing special but it's clean and a great place for people watching.
(credit: David McNew/Getty Images)
El Paseo Café & Bar
Ontario International Airport
2500 E. Aiprot Drive
Onatrio, CA 91761
(909) 975-8008
Gate 24
www.lawa.org
Ontario International Airport is a rather obscure Los Angeles airport that many locals have never used or even know where it is, so it's expected that airport bar pickings' are slim there. El Paseo Café & Bar serves Mexican fast food and beers. The seating is limited, with and handful of laminate tables and about a half dozen padded steel high stools at the bar. There's not much ambience to speak of, though the food is decent and portions are generous, and the beer is cold, beating the alternative of TGI Friday's for local flavor.
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K. Pearson Brown is a freelance writer covering all things LA. Her work can be found on Examiner.com.
