The Surly Goat

The Surly GoatThe Surly Goat
The Surly GoatThe Surly Goat
Bar

7929 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, California, 90046-5107
United States

(323) 650-4628 | map
surlygoat.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.45
Reviews:
38
Ratings:
64
pDev:
8.54%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by euskera:
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Reviewed by euskera from North Carolina

4.72/5  rDev +6.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5
An oasis for beer geeks in a desert of stores on Santa Monica Boulevard. Cool, quirkly laid-back atmosphere, excellent selection, great service. Beer list is always slightly different when I go there, which I most definitely enjoy.

Always on my list when I visit LA..
Mar 30, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.5 by slasich from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2020
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Reviewed by cratez from Canada (ON)

3.65/5  rDev -18%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4
Visited with my wife on a recent trip to San Diego and Los Angeles.

Tried the following:
Kern River River Buddy (draft)

Which was drinking great. Large and diverse tap selection; my wife enjoyed her wine. Service was okay, though it took us a while to figure out that you have to order at the bar and nobody said anything to us in the meantime. Slightly divey atmosphere in here, but it seems like they attract a good crowd. Our overall experience was decent, and we would possibly come back.
Apr 04, 2020
 
Rated: 4.62 by eawolff99 from Minnesota

Mar 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.36 by psoriasaurus from Thailand

Jun 08, 2019
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Reviewed by West_Chester_Ale_Tester from Ohio

4.29/5  rDev -3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.75
Hollywood without feeling like it. In a good way. The beer selection was out of this world for me. Pliny the Elder, just as number 8 on the draft board? Like, I can just order that and you'll bring me Pliny the Elder? I actually said that to the bartender. He seems surprised that I was so surprised. They had several other beers that most people would line up for hours over. Really cool spot with great vibes. I'm glad I was able to cross it off my list.
Nov 11, 2018
 
Rated: 4.65 by santig0nzalez from Paraguay

Oct 07, 2018
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Reviewed by Antg8989 from New Jersey

4.14/5  rDev -7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25
Definitely one of the better places to stop if you're in the mood for a good beer. I prefer the Surly Goat in Encino, as there is a pool table and shuffle boards. Who doesn't love games with a craft beer? Overall, decent selection - there's usually 2-3 that catch my eye.
Apr 08, 2018
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Reviewed by MtnSoup from Colorado

4.79/5  rDev +7.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Worldclass? Yes, definitely. They had a veritable cornucopia of bourbon barrel aged goodness the evening I was there...servers are very knowledgeable and friendly. I will be back.
Nov 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.25 by fthegiants from California

Nov 12, 2015
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Reviewed by Absolut from California

4.65/5  rDev +4.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.75
Trendies craft beer bar. Staff is knowledgable and understands the beer. They will talk beer and strike a fine balance between fans and sellers. Only downside is low foox
Sep 13, 2015
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Reviewed by Mista_Carta from California

4.15/5  rDev -6.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
Really good selection and great specials, guest taps, etc. They even put a few taps on special for "happy hour." One of the best options for this part of town. Fun little "beer passport" program—tick off all the breweries to get discounts and special access to events.

Biggest gripe? No half pours. With almost 30 taps it is inevitable that you will want to try several but several full pours = boozy Suzy. Add to this a couple, how to put it, less than knowledgeable barkeeps. When I asked about "half pours" one actually told me to look at the menu, some of them were smaller pours. Uh... That's because they are higher ABV—yes, Dogfish 120 Minute is going to be a small pour, otherwise people would be crawling out of there. Yes DIPAs are going to be smaller pours... So awesome going to places that will do a 8oz or 6oz or 4oz. Not sure what the downside or hesitation is there. I ended up leaving a lot of beer in glasses. You win, you get my $ but you also lose since someone else that may have really wanted that beer just watched you pour the last of it down a drain.
Aug 19, 2015
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Rated by sillyhed8 from California

5/5  rDev +12.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Ooooh....had my bourbon county with vanilla here...couldn't be better
Aug 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.65 by SDStoutly

Mar 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4.39 by oldsailor from Connecticut

Feb 22, 2015
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Reviewed by Alpha309 from California

4.89/5  rDev +9.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5
Great and knowledgeable bartenders and very prompt with their service. Constantly checking on customers to make sure that everything is good. Beer selection is top notch. All taps are rotating and you can never be sure what they are going to have when you pop in. They have both very rare beers, and the common but great beers on a regular basis.
Feb 13, 2015
 
Rated: 4.73 by d_kizzle from California

Dec 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by wethorseblanket from California

Nov 27, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by HopHead84 from California

Nov 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.3 by DCLAguy11 from California

Nov 14, 2014
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Rated by jwolfe1311 from California

5/5  rDev +12.4%
Pretty much the best. Gets really busy weekend nights. nice and dive-y but not dirty.
Oct 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by barflybastard from Pennsylvania

Oct 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by aoampm from Hawaii

Sep 11, 2014
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Reviewed by mhksuccess from California

4.75/5  rDev +6.7%
One of the best spots in the los angeles area
they always are friendly even when gets crowded
always has a variety of great beers on tap and the bottle service is awesome at a fair price
no cover charge and great dj on saturday night
would definite recommend checking out this spot for sure
A+++
Aug 20, 2014
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Reviewed by tpix from California

3.28/5  rDev -26.3%
vibe: 2.75 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3 | selection: 3.25
In my experience I could not describe this as a quiet place. I made the mistake of visiting on Karaoke night, and a constantly painful caterwauling left a slightly unpleasant aftertaste in my Saison. The selection of beers was quite impressive, and the service was quite cordial. It is in a fairly dense part of West Hollywood, so parking can be problematic. I will give this another chance on a night that is not Wednesday.
Aug 07, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by BeerBucks from New York

Jul 14, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Mdavies021 from California

Jul 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by RolandBlunts from California

Jun 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by SirBentham from California

Jun 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by SoCalBeerIdiot from California

May 02, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Kramerwtmf from California

Apr 24, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Bnoise11 from California

Apr 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by beernazi from California

Apr 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by raulstotle12 from California

Mar 03, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by GRG1313 from California

Dec 01, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by belgbeerdrinker from Colorado

Nov 05, 2013
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Reviewed by TheSevenDuffs from Canada (ON)

4.53/5  rDev +1.8%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
This is a really cool place and really stands out in an area that doesn't have much to offer in the way of beer bars.

You would walk right by the place if you weren't looking for it as there is no branding on the outside except for their logo and there was no indication from the outside that this beer even had beer, let alone craft beer.

The atmosphere is really cool. Clean and pleasant with a bit of an old school feel to it. One bonus for me was that they were playing 90's alternative music.

Selection was excellent. Nothing extraordinary on tap, although they had Abyss on deck that wasn't tapped while I was there. Good selection of styles too, with a mix of IPA/DIPA, stouts, saisons, Belgian Ales, etc. Pliny was on tap too.

Don't miss this place if you are in the area.
Jul 29, 2013
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Reviewed by pmoore311 from Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
Awesome bar, great atmosphere and great location and good tunes. Being from the Detroit area and in the Los Angeles area often for work, this is my go to spot. This is also the place where I had the pleasure to have my first PtE on tap so maybe I am partial. Definitely worth checking out.
May 07, 2013
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Reviewed by DoubleJ from Wisconsin

4.59/5  rDev +3.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
There are some people who believe that everything happens for a reason. While I've enjoyed many nights at Verdugo Bar and have a good relationship with owner Ryan Sweeney, I had never ventured over to West Hollywood to check out his other bar. I knew I would visit one day, it was a question of when. With place review #400 in my sight, I listed several choices to the BA Community of which place I should visit for that milestone. Congrats Surly Goat, you are the winner of that contest....

Using the Verdugo Bar as a base, I knew that the Surly Goat had high standards to chase in every department. Perhaps the best aspect of the Verdugo Bar is the dark, lounge-like atmosphere that's tough to replicate. To my surprise (or not surprising, depending on your point of view), The Surly Goat maintains a similar, awesome atmosphere. It's dark on the inside. A well lit bar area with taps written in chalk. That big goat head hanging over the bar is easy to recognize. Candles lit at every table. Lots of open space behind the stolls of the bar. Several games available to play in another part of the bar, including 80s arcade games and table games. No shortage of goat-related memorabilia, especially the ones in the German bock adverts. And let's not forget about the few areas outside where one can drink.

Two different female bartenders serving drinks during the night. It was easy enough to approach the bar and ask for a drink, though on a busy night I could see it turning into a clusterfu<k. No cluster tonight, but I did have to give a little time. I did receive good beer knowledge from one of them, when I asked the difference of styles between two of the taps. Speaking of....

There are over two dozen taps, a cask (when available), and 40 different bottled options. Many of the taps options are not easy to find, and this is reinforced from options like Firestone Unfiltered DBA, World Wide Stout, Tongue Buckler, Zymaster, Los Padres Ale, Craftsman Ochre. Other brands availale from the keg include Russian River, Avery, Lagunitas, Coney Island, Weihenstephaner, Stone, Ballast Point, Port, Eagle Rock, Anchor, Sam Adams Chocolate Bock. And that's saying nothing from the small, yet impressive bottle list (Firestone Anniversary, Cuir, several Russian River's, Eclipse series). In a nearly perfect marriage with the beers, the serving temperature, freshness, glassware, and pours are excellent. And extra props for oversized flutes with different volume lines; a 33 cl pour is actually going to give you 33 cl of beer, plus head. The prices are somewhat reasonable too ($6-8 pours), especially given that you're not going to get shortpoured.

The Surly Goat shares some trails with its older sibling Verdugo; a good beer list, people who know beer, and a great atmosphere. In fact, I would even say this is almost like Verdugo Bar v2.0. Congrats to Ryan and his crew for opening another must stop beer bar in the LA area, and happy #400 place review to me! Now if I could only find a convenient place to park in West Hollywood....
Jun 08, 2012
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Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

4.64/5  rDev +4.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
I headed over to Surly Goat tonight with my buddy after a dinner at Golden State Cafe. We got there right after they opened at 6 and there was tons of seating around the space. We grabbed some stools at the bar but there are also tables towards the back of the space. A very modern space inside aesthetics wise. They have around 26 taps all of which are great import and craft selections. The quality of all of my pours was very good as well. We got exceptional service all night long from one of the bartenders so that was awesome. Best of all, they now do tasters! Apparently they did not do so in the past from what I understand. Prices were reasonable for everything (especially the tasters at $1 or $2 depending on what kind of beer you want to try). I will definitely be back here in the future and I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a spot in the area.
Mar 09, 2012
The Surly Goat in West Hollywood, CA
Place rating: 4.45 out of 5 with 64 ratings