Hal's Bar & Grill

Hals house special is NOISE. My friend and I went to Hals specifically to hear a musician who was playing there. We had dinner, and then left after the first set because we could not hear the music. The room is divided by a low partition, and it has a very high ceiling. One side of the partition is tables and booths; the other side is a long bar stacked 3 deep with people. (This was 8:30 Sunday evening.) The noise from the bar required the people at the tables to shout at each other in order to be heard, which only added to the din. We caught the attention of the owner to ask if the noise level lowers later in the evening only to learn that no, it doesn more

I have loved going to Hal's, especially when meeting with my girlfriends, and at least twice each month on Fridays. However, for the last three times the female waiter for the bar tables either does not like her job or is not fit for it. She comes to the table and ask, anything to drink? do you need to see the menu? duuhhh! After getting our order finally, the food arrives and she never comes over to check on us girls, but I see that she does that twice with the good looking man on the next table... When we are almost done with our drinks, she comes over to ask if we were ordering more drinks and we say ""not yet"" and she simply places the bill on the table! Then we purposely take our times to finish the drinks... She passes by from picking up plates/glasses from another table and grabs our credit cards - we specifically say ""from the blue card you charge $26 and the rest on the other"" and she goes ""how much on the other""; we say ""about $42""; she asks again and we repeat it twice. She comes back with the wrong charge. In this situation if she was offering good customer service, I would try to accommodate the situation and simply pay for the difference directly to my friend, but I think, oh please, she needs to learn a lesson. We call her back and explain, she goes like ""but the amounts will not match"", finally I write on the bill: ""$42"" for my gray c.card and tell her ""the balance on the blue one"". She comes back with the bills and says ""here, sorry about that"" - but with little sincerity in her voice. We left the absolutely minimum tip and I wrote on my bill: ""should improve service"". But we will think twice before returning there... it's a shame, because we used to love the place, especially Dennis at the counter-bar - he is a gentleman and so professional and absolutely polite!!! more

When my boss suggested Hal's as our next stop, I immediately thought. Nothing good can come out of the name Hal's. Hal's sounds so ... Dive barish? Country? Old? I would never name my kid Hal or Hank or Butch for that matter. Then again, this is the girl who wanted to name her first boy Skylar in the 7th grade. OK before this launches into a diatribe against non-sexy names. I must say, Hal's is a mighty sexy place. High ceilings, large piece of art, really buzzing even around 10. In fact, SO busy that we had to chill at the bar for a good 20 minutes. I had a vodka tonic which was amazingly strong. My boss told us that this was an industry hot spot back in the day and has been in AK since 1987. Wow. For food we stuck with appetizers because we ate and drank back at Otis. We shared the rustic pizza, calamari, ahi and scallop sashimi, and hummus. I noticed a great dinner menu also - veal, roasted chicken, flat iron steak, etc. I'm definitely up for coming back for dinner. Even though the place was crowded, service was on point. We got our bread quickly and our waters stayed full and they always notice your alcohol level and offer to bring you another one. The pizza was good and I haven't had pizza in almost a year so Mmmmmmm. Pizza. Cheesy cheesy pizza with yummy sausage. I really enjoyed the calamari but the highlight of the meal was the sashimi! The scallop sashimi tasted really fresh and sweet and went well with what I assume was ponzu mixed with a bit of sesame oil. It was more of a carpaccio rather than 'japanese style' sashimi. The hummus was meh. It was bright green :-/ I suspect there was a hint of wasabi in it because it was spicy. Well color me surprised. Besides coming in the AK area for brunch one time, Venice really isn't my hood. I do start to appreciate the hustle and nightlife of Abbott Kinney and excited to come back and try Hal's dinner menu. Maybe even date a Hal. Not really. Pros: Lively scene. Crowded. Good food. Industry. Cons: Too loud for an intimate date. more

I am happy to report that Hal's is doing so well during this economic downturn that it does not need its longstanding female customers. Pros: Dennis the Bartender Cons: Everyone Else more

I USED to LOVE Hal's... but, the events over the past week has recently altered my entire view. I realized that I don't LOVE Hal's as a place to eat; I love Hal's as a Saturday night bar... more so, I love Dennis, the heavy handed, friendly bartender! This is why I no longer enjoy Hal's during the day... Last week, I ordered a take-out lunch for my production team prepping a commercial down the road. Within 20 minutes, my food was ready for pick-up..awesome. As I went to pay the bill, there was an $18 gratuity charge included... not awesome. I asked how this could be on a CARRY-OUT order?! The woman responded and said on ""orders over $100, we charge gratuity because the guys work so hard in the back."" My order was a single bag; 5 items; minimal packaging. Ironically, my meal WASNT OVER $100. It was $90.. and the woman said, ""Oh, well $90 is close enough to $100."" I said I'd pay it, but that I was NOT happy. After speaking with one of the manager's, he credited me my $18 tip, but he was NOT happy about the whole situation. I asked if this ""18%"" gratuity for take-out, was mentioned on the website. He said ""it should be."" Alas, it is not. Ok, end of story. Today, I received a MUCH friendlier reception from the wait staff. Very nice young man at the bar... sweet hostess. Yet, upon returning back to the office, my producer mentioned that his tofu tasted ""fishy."" But, he is good people, so he didn't insist on me taking back the food. I, however, discovered a 2 inch, dark black hair, within my grilled tuna salad. My hair is blonde. My producer's hair is blonde. My PM's hair is red. And, the ""$18 gratuity packaging"" involves sealing the container shut with tinfoil.... meaning, the only access to my food, is by the kitchen, then me. Here is a synopsis of why I don't recommend Hal's for lunch... or any meal, for that matter: *Your take-out gratuity (you know, that fee that doesn't pertain to ANY OTHER RESTAURANT) will cost far more than a single dish you order. *If you're vegan, DO NOT EAT ANYTHING HERE, because it could be infused with fish matter/juices ***If you order a salad thinking you're going to be healthy, just prepare for a little extra ""protein,"" if you will. I'm not really a fan of thick black hair, so I'm gonna skip out on the next meal at Hal's. The only thing I DO recommend, is late Friday/Saturday nights @ Hal's. Ask Dennis for his ""specialty drink."" Dennis is one of the few bartenders on the Westside, who I trust to make me something delicious AND strong. Just dont order any food...... more

I have never written a restaurant review but this was a must. Went to Hal's a little early on a Friday night and were seated quickly to a great booth in the back. Enjoyed the evening with good friends, atmosphere was fun but extremely loud. It forced us to speak louder than normal. Unknown to us, Hal was sitting directly behind us. He came to our table of women, announced who he was, apologized for poor acoustics and then preceded to tell us to lower our voices. I surely thought he was joking. When asked if he was he very seriously pointed is finger at a friend and said ""ask her""! UNBELIEVABLE! We have never been so insulted and spoken down to like that before in our lives. He then sat back down at his table leaving us in shock over what was just said to us. We then quickly finished our meal, skipped coffee & dessert and paid our bill. Upon leaving this LOUD, cement cave I went to Hal's table to let him know that he was RUDE and that we were no louder than any other table in his restaurant and how dare he ""shush us"" like schoolgirls. He stood up and said to us ""you women do not know how loud you are"". He then began to walk us towards the door. I explained his table was directly behind us that is why we may have sounded a little louder. I also told him their acoustics were not our problem they were his. He started to scold me again, saying I was very loud. Hey Hal, take some ""people skills classes"" maybe ""restaurant management 101"". A bar setting for the entire restaurant is a bad cocktail. Needless to say the other 4 women and I were all in shock and embarassed at how we were spoken to that evening. We will NEVER return to that place. My suggestion to you is if you have to go to Hal's just don't sit by him if you want to have a nice evening. Better yet, go somewhere else where you can get much better food and the owner won?t insult you. Cons: Parking, Too Loud to hear the person next to you, Having the owner insult your group more

I have been to Hal's several times after work- parking is usually a pain on abbot kinney at night. I like the atmosphere at Hals- especially when they have live music. Just to go there for a drink is fine, but if you are looking for a dining experience I would not recommend Hals. The food has nothing special to write about, it's just a blah experience. Pros: single scene, live music Cons: food more

I'm surprised by some recent reviews. My first time there was last week based on a friend's recommendation. I had a Thurs, 7:30 reservation. I arrived early and had a drink with my date at the bar. Crowded, but friendly. Bartenders were FANTASTIC - very friendly, whatever they are paid it's not enough! We were seated right on time. The waiter was just right - not pushy and he never rushed us. The food was terrific. We loved the sweat potatoe ravioli and the calimari was outstanding! We shared dessert over coffee and even though we held the table for 2 hrs, we never were rushed to finish. The place was crowded, and everyone seemed to be having a great time. I don't always write reviews, but I had to in this case. I will return. I will recommend to others. Pros: Great location, great service, great food, can't say enough great things Cons: a bit loud when crowded more

lazy table service, food is decent but not worth the wait, had reservation waited 40 min. can't hear yourself think. Long evening with no pony Nice bar Pros: food Cons: service more

Cocktails are good but if it is food you are after, avoid this place on Saturdays between 7 and 9pm. We have been twice in the past months and, despite a reservation, have had to wait an hour for a table and another hour for mediocre food. Pros: Great bar Cons: Terrible service more

so went to meet some friends at Hals and was a little surprised. what i thought was going to be a snotty bar and uppity restaurant turned out to be a really great place. The burger was awesome and the staff was really cool. dont let the pricey art and atmosphere fool you. its hip and fun with alot of cool locals. i cant wait to make it one of my regular haunts. Pros: everything was a pro Cons: parking but there was valet more

Had dinner there a few nights ago and was shocked by how good it was. I'm new to the L.A. scene, but I come from a food town (yeah, philly's a work in progress, but it's got some world class restaurants). This is the second spot in Venice I went to and both were shockingly good. I guess I figured Venice for a surfer town, but I'm finding out quickly that it's got some things going on. Pros: Pretty much everything Cons: A bit expensive more

This is a great place to eat or just wind down with some good friends. It has a positive atmosphere and the food is equally as good. However, I couldn't believe they didn't have filet mignon on their menu but the waiter said it changes often. The margaritas are good (but not as good as mine ;) and the food presentation is first-rate. It may be a little too noisy for those looking for a quiet dinner, but overall, I highly recommend this place. more

This place has great food and good ambience. Their waitstaff is very attentive and doesn't overdo it on the up-selling. The crowd is down-to-earth, the music is good, and the prices are reasonable. Pros: ambience, food Cons: waitstaff sometimes slow more

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of food and service. Price was pretty good, too, considering the amount and the quality of the meals. I had lamb shank and my husband had duck, and they were both delicious. I highly recommend the bread pudding for dessert. The only complaint is that it was really loud, but it was Friday night after all. I can't wait to go back and try their black cod. Pros: excellent food, service, value Cons: Noisy more

I've been going to Hal's off and on for a few years, and on Friday, we made a reservation for 9:30. We got there and were told our table had people on it that had just ordered dessert, thus inferring they would be done soon. We were told by the hostess to have a drink at the bar. No problem. An hour later, after we had asked the hostess several times what was going on, we were still not seated. An other group similar in size got seated before us! I have never been treated so rudely and inconsiderately on the west side, usually staff is l aid back and sometimes obtuse, but never so oblivious to a reservation. Bad Hal's! Pros: fun Cons: loud, bad hosts more

i had the sea bass here and it was very good. Kind of a simple menu...the crowd is in their mid 30's...it was a bit expensive, but it is Abott Kinney, so what do you expect. more

This place has a great nightlife on Sundays, and Mondays. The Jazz band is wonderful, and there are plenty of people to enjoy it with. The food is good, and it's reasonably priced. What I loved most about this place was the art pieces they have on the walls..... Pros: Great Monday night hang out Cons: service could be a little better more

I love this place. It's great to come to with a girlfriend to grab a glass of wine and some dinner at the bar (you have a high chance of being approached by men, but they seem to always be friendly here.) And it's also fun to come with a group and sit at one of the tables or booths. It can get loud, but there's a very convivial atmosphere and the staff and bartenders are great. The duck salad is awesome, the fries are famous and the bar menu is always good. Only thing I haven't liked was an order of ravioli. It gets bust on the weekends, so if you want to sit at the bar, come early. more

I had heard good things about Hal's, so when I saw that it was part of Pellegrino's Dine Out Week, I hurried to make reservations. Unfortunately, when we got there, it turned out there had been a mix-up and Hal's was not participating in Dine Out this year (either Pellegrino's mistake or Open Table's). The manager did not particular seem interested that Hal's was still listed as participating in Dine Out week when this was incorrect, giving us an indifferent shrug and an ""I could care less"" attitude. We stayed despite all this, which was a mistake. The food was mediocre at best. I ordered the Mexican Seabass, which was too spicy for me due to it being covered in some red sauce. A friend ordered the Penne Pasta, which was also incredibly spicy for some reason (and was not described so in the menu). The side of onion rings we ordered was tasty but was extremely small-portioned. The restaurant was LOUD, making it difficult to converse with the person next to you without having to lean in and practically scream in his/her ear. We were also a table of 5, and the waitress added an 18% gratuity to our bill! What restaurant does that for a party of FIVE? Needless to say, I will not be returning, nor will any of my friends. Pros: Seated promptly, Interesting Crowd Cons: Food, Gratuity Added to Bill, Lack of Parking more