The Golden Gopher

The Golden Gopher like many long-time Los Angeles watering holes claims to have one of the oldest liquor licenses in the city. The difference though is Golden Gopher can sell booze to locals who stop in for a drink or a six-pack to go.

liquor to go

In the last decade, Golden Gopher experimented with craft beers and they still have a few on tap but you should really be going because it’s a fun neighborhood bar where you can hang out, play some video games and maybe grab a slice next door from Pellicola Pizza (they will deliver next door to the Gopher).

Wild Turkey buck

I like to keep it simple at neighborhood bars. How about a pickle back or a bourbon buck? Golden Gopher has a nice back bar with choice whiskeys and tequila.

bottom shelf looks good to me

And they sport some nice liqueurs and amari on the “bottom shelf.”

Ford’s gin with muddled cucumber and pomegranate syrup

But you want a cocktail? Sure, they can make you one. There wasn’t a drinks list that I could see but how about a little Ford’s gin with muddled cucumber and pomegranate syrup? Oh yeah, it’s fresh juice and fruit up in here!

The Golden Gopher

The best part of the Gopher? It’s amazingly clean now due to no small effort of 213 Nightlife’s Director of Neighborhood Bars Ralph DiTucci. When he asked me last fall why I didn’t go to the Gopher anymore, I admitted to not liking the stinky patio. He promised me the smell was gone. And it was. He actually had the city come and dig out the sewer lines and cleaned it out. Wow, high fives all around.

 Golden Gopher

Filed under: alcohol education, bar crawl, booze, cocktalian, craft beer crawl, dive bars, events, food, foodie alert, great cocktails, hot bartenders, minty life Tagged: 213 nightlife, downtown los angeles, drinkwire, dtla, golden gopher, la cocktails, liquor to go, neighborhood bar, pellicola pizza, the minty