Bonaventure Brewing

Bonaventure BrewingBonaventure Brewing
Bonaventure BrewingBonaventure Brewing
Brewery, Bar, Eatery

404 South Figueroa Street #418
Los Angeles, California, 90071
United States

(213) 236-0802 | map
bonaventurebrewing.com
BEER STATS
Average:
3.42
Beers:
14
Ratings:
47
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.49
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
21
pDev:
12.32%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Griffith:
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Rated by Griffith from Connecticut

3.93/5  rDev +12.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4

Mar 19, 2019
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.36 by fthegiants from California

Jan 29, 2016
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Reviewed by mrcraft from California

3.61/5  rDev +3.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.75 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3 | food: 4
I went here for early dinner with some colleagues during LegalTech. This place is located right in the hotel, and they also have number of seating outside near the pool area.

The food was good. I don't recall if they had any guest beers, but they did have about 4-5 house beers on tap. The beers were okay. I hear they brew on-site, but I didn't see any equipment visible from the restaurant.

I stop by here from time to time. Not a bad place to hang out with friends.
Dec 11, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by atrocity from Virginia

Dec 01, 2014
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Reviewed by chum_husk from Minnesota

3.74/5  rDev +7.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5
During my time in LA I ate here a lot and drank here even more. They have a good happy hour and a nice location, tucked away in the Bonaventure hotel (4th floor). Dim bar area and a patio out by the hotel's pool. Most other bars around are double the price and have at least double the patrons. The food can be sketchy but the beer is cheap and reliable - like some old-school homebrew kits done well. Oh and they had a jazz band play some nights while I was out there.

Great hang-out/meet-up location.
Apr 06, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by EchoParker from California

Feb 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by Chuggernaut00 from California

Feb 08, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by GRG1313 from California

Nov 19, 2013
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Reviewed by Retsinis from Arizona

3.65/5  rDev +4.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
I was in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel yesterday for a conference for work. I saw on Google that there was a brewery in the hotel, and if given the chance, I hoped to check it out. Thankfully at about 5 p.m. and the end of a long grueling and exhausting day, others in my work group suggested we go there (I was semi-curious myself, and was happy that I didn't have to try the place alone, or plead my case as to why we should go there).

Anyhow, the brewery is located on the fourth floor, and for the most part blends into the hotel as a casual hotel bar. Most others in the bar were business travelers, or some hotel guests. The service was prompt, food was simple ( we had appetizers) cheap, good, but average. The prices were reasonable too considering it was in the Hotel. Quite a lot was on the happy hour menu too, including all of the in-house beers & a lot of appetizer choices.

The waitress said that they do brew there, and there is a brew master that comes in once a week. Not sure where they do that, didn’t see any equipment. I assume it's either contract brewed, or brewed off site and brought in, but didn't want to call the waitress out, since maybe they do brew there and I just couldn’t see where)

They had a blonde, strawberry blond, a Hefe, and a Pale Ale. the Pale Ale was probably the best of the bunch, but the rest were decent too. They also had Arrogant bastard, Racer 5 & Fat Tire on draft too. All of their beers were mostly average, or mediocre imho, but still seemed to be craft, and not macro adjuncts, so I was content, and relaxed for what it was. While not a spot to seek out just for what it is, if you have business or pleasure within a few miles of here, (or staying at the hotel) it's an option, though spring street bar is just a half mile from here, with a better selection.
Jun 09, 2011
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Reviewed by RedBeerchetta from Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3
Surprised to find a brewery in this relatively famous but ugly and dated hotel. Atmosphere is exactly what you'd expect for an old chain hotel - dull, unoffensive, top 40 music playing, and filled win a bunch of people who aren't there because thats exactly where they want to be, but because they ended up in this hotel on business.

But besides the lame space, they make a pretty god IPA and have Stone's on tap if you don't like it. Bartender was quick and friendly and gave me tastes of both IPAs without even asking.

If you're in the neighborhood, the beer is good enough to stop by, but this isn't a destination.
Mar 28, 2011
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Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev -15.5%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 4 | selection: 2 | food: 4
Located on the fourth floor of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. As others have stated, this is a true labyrinth to find--the elevators do not go to this floor so you must take a stairway from the fifth or third floors. The Brewery is located on the southern side of the hotel near the pool.

Initially, I sat at the bar just before 12 noon, but the bartender was working under the bar and after five minutes of not acknowledging me, I went to the restaurant portion and was seated outside. I ordered wings and a Sampler of their beers. This is the first location where I was served my appetizer before I received the beverage. I guess the server had the same difficulty with the bartender. To the Bonaventure's credit, the wings were served very quickly.

The setting was quite nice on a hot day. The patio featured ample greenery and had a pleasant view of the downtown buildings. The server was efficient and pleasant. AND she was the very first person who has ever asked about my note taking while tasting beers. She became very interested in BA and said that she'd check the website.

The beers, alas, were quite pedestrian. The lighter ones were particularly unremarkable.
Nov 05, 2010
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Reviewed by Gobzilla from California

3.53/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 2 | food: 4.5
I have to say that the location of the brewery is pretty damn cool. Located on the fourth floor on one of. LA most famous hotels the views on the outddor patio are very pleasing to the eye overseeing downtown LA. The quality of the beer is average but the food is really delicious. One dish that really stood out to me was the chicken pot stickers served with this very delicious teriyaki peanut butter sauce. The waiters and food runners were on point and made my visit quite pleasent and inviting. As far as the selection of beers the one that stood out to me the most was the strawberry blonde cause I do like the occcasional fruit beer paried with my food. They did in fact carry guest taps ranging from stone, bear republic, and belmont. Overall it was a nice experience but they really need to step up their beer game to hype up the brewery.
Oct 05, 2010
Photo of charlzm
Reviewed by charlzm from California

3.33/5  rDev -4.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 2.5 | food: 3.5
Visited on Monday afternoon, 11/19/07. The awesome Bonaventure Hotel is the setting. The fourth floor is the place. The BBC has an outdoor patio that's got GREAT ambiance and an indoor dining room that's all dark wood and brass and flatscreen TVs with sports. The staff is friendly and attentive. The menu is varied and the dishes I had with my friend ranged from pretty ok to pretty good. Their beer is nothing special, sadly. It's the weakest link in this chain. So go in the afternoon or evening and while away some time high above the street on the outside patio with a so-so beer or two and some all right food.
Mar 10, 2008
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Reviewed by Gmann from New York

3.73/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Visited during my stay in wonderful downtown LA. Located in the Westin, on the 4th floor of the labyrinth like lobby. This is the type of establishment that the guests of the Westin go to eat, not much of a local scene. The place has a nice wooden decor with some sparse beer related pictures on the wall. There is a smallish bar and decent amount of table seating. Though I didn't check it out, there is a good sized outdoors deck to hang out during the warmer weather. I pulled up to the bar to order their sampler and some wings. In the sampler I got their hefe, blonde, strawberry blonde, APA, and as a replacement for their stoud, Stone's Smoked Porter (good trade up). The hefe was a solid American wheat sample, their blonde was grassy and had an odd charcoal flavor, the strawberry blonde seemed to be a macro with strawberry taste, the APA is fairly light but had a good cascade hop flavor, and the smoked porter was off the hook. That stuff is great on tap. I also had the NB Fat Tire and the Green Flash Nut Brown. There is not much of a selection of bottle beer, just a few of the typical macros. The wings were fine, nothing spectacular and the service was prompt. If you are staying downtown it is at least worth a visit.
Jan 20, 2008
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Reviewed by SwillinBrew from California

3.45/5  rDev -1.1%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
I came here for lunch one day when i was working in my company's downtown office. This place is on the 4th floor in the Westin.

The atmosphere was kind of ordinary hotel lobby look. There were a few big screens and it was clean. THere was a patio that looked like it would be really nice to sit out on on a sunny day, but i didnt venture out there.

Service was quite speedy and friendly. Selection was solid with 9 taps, which were

Bonaventure Stout
Bonaventure Pale
Bonaventure hefe
Bonaventure blonde
Belmont Strawberry blonde (their sister brewery)
Bitburger Pils
Stone Smoked Porter
Fat Tire
Green Flash Nut brown

I had the sampler. The stout, pale and hefe-bavarian were all good representations of the style with the hefe being extra tasty. The strawberry blonde was refreshing and i did have a pint of the Stone porter... love that stuff.

I had the fish and chips which were satisfactory. Warm, crisp and while not the best, they werent bad.

Overall, i was a little impressed with this downtown hidey hole. On the way back to my office, i walked by Weiland brewing. I didnt know downtown had a selection :)
Jan 18, 2008
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Reviewed by Citadel82 from New Jersey

3.44/5  rDev -1.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.5
I visited the Bonaventure Brewery while I was in Los Angeles for a hearing at the California Department of Insurance. It was about three in the afternoon on a Tuesday when I arrived and it was fairly dead. There were a few folks enjoying a local brew or two and some drinking the guest taps. Anchor Steam and Franzikaner Hefe Weizen. The barmaid was friendly and seemed to know a little about beer. She and I chatted about the area and the brewery and its brews. She mentioned that there were two locations, one in Long Beach. She also recommended the Pale Ale she indicated that it was her favorite. I said great start me with one of those. She did not care much for the IPA, nor did I but I had two Pales and in between the IPA. The Pale was indeed tasty and was hoppier and spicier than the IPA which was very pale and not very tasty.Is it possible that the taps were switched??? I was offered a Hefe Weizen for free which I declined ... apparently it was ordered by mistake. I was not in the mood for a Hefe. Overall nothing spectacular to set it appart from other brew pubs. A decent sort of place but not one that I will seek out on my next visit. Though I must admit, I found downtown LA a beer wasteland for the most part.
Jan 26, 2006
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Reviewed by sloejams from Oregon

3.63/5  rDev +4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Even though I work in downtown Los Angeles, it's rare when I visit any of its drinking destinations. The happy hour crowds downtown usually get too yuppie for my likes and to be honest, none of the establishments are good enough for me to weather that. Since it was Sunday and I was meeting a friend for drinks before heading to the Lakers game, I decided to stop in to the Bonaventure Brewing Co and see what they had brewing.

First off, this place is EXTREMELY difficult to locate. I remembered that from my previous visit, even still – I had trouble finding it. Getting to the Bonaventure is easy enough, but inside is like a labyrinth and brewery is snuggled amongst it somewhere on the 4th level. The inside was almost empty, a few hotel guests were eating on the outside terrace. I hopped to the bar and took a look at the draft pulls: 5 of their own and 2 guests: Bitburger Pils and Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse. The 5 house beers were Stout, Pale Ale, Blonde, Strawberry Blonde and their Seasonal which was an IPA.

An IPA lover, I quickly order a pint. It comes out looking very light for an IPA, I’d say it visually resembled a definition pilsner. The aroma is pleasant, again on the light end of things, same held truth upon tasting it. It was a below average beer, it really lacked character. But still it was an IPA, so I drank it without complaints. I decided to get the sampler next. The stout was decent, a full flavored offering. The Blonde was a bit bland and I could have easily down without the Strawberry Blonde. The Pale Ale was the clear favorite, it was the only one I tried on my previous visit and likely the one I’ll stick to with subsequent trips.

The staff was very friendly, perhaps not terribly knowledgeable of the beer – but it’s probably rare when they need to be. The food was very good, I just scarfed down some boneless buffalo tenders. They were really good. I’d say it’s worth the visit if you are downtown and need a decent beer, there aren’t a lot of great options and Bonaventure Brewing Co is probably your best bet.
Nov 21, 2005
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Reviewed by TheLongBeachBum from California

3.8/5  rDev +8.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5
Another trip in the BA-Banner-Beer-Mobile, this time Downtown LA with my Partners in Crime, DavidBanner and StoutLove77.
I had not been here before and my BA Bodyguards appeared to have a little trouble working out how to get into the Bonaventure complex, as it was after 6pm and most of the alternate entrances close at this time. So we took the front entrance. After negotiating a complex maze of stairs, walkways and elevators – we made it. “Is this is?” I have to say it is rather unassuming from the outside, once you enter it is not that much to write about inside either. Well I suppose it is, a rectangular bar sits in the middle, surrounded by Tables and Chairs all very neatly laid out and clean looking. Has a smart, modern, upmarket feel – which is reflected by the Clientele at times.
The Bonaventure is a Sister of the Belmont Brewery in Long Beach, and the beer range is therefore very similar. A few other familiar beery faces nestle amongst the taps for its own house beers. Interestingly, the two venues also share the same brewer, and at least the Belmont Strawberry Blonde is always available here. Food looked good when I was there but I never tried it. We tried the Stout which was wholesome and very good.

But I was still puzzled. I was still trying to work out where the Brewery was, and what all the fuss was about from my 2 fellow BA’s.

Then Jake the Manager appeared a nice friendly chap who is also a fellow BA. He led us through the French Doors outside. Ahhh!!! The Bonaventure’s Secret Weapon was then revealed. It is its Location, Location, Location!
Walk out of the doors at the back of the Bar area, and onto the outside patio, which is 4 floors up incidentally and quite suddenly this Brewery fully explains itself – yes, it keeps the best until last. For outside there is a quite marvelous view of Downtown LA, at night when I was there it was simply amazing. There is a concrete patio area, a well manicured grass-lawn area, and a swimming pool –yes a Swimming Pool!!! On top of all of this – I had now found where the Brewery was, it is on the Patio also in its own self contained purpose built glass house. Wow, this is quite a place – I can’t wait for a return during those long hot Summer nights.

A superb BrewPub that has a decent range of above average beers, but which really majors on its incredible Location and superb views of Downtown LA.
This would make a great venue for a BA Social. Hmmm….

Oh, but a Word of Warning – Parking nearby is Very Expensive!!!
Feb 11, 2003
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Reviewed by Myk from Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +11.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
definately an out of the way trip for most people. had trouble finding parking, as i am cheap and would not pay for it. once in the bonaventure hotel, had to ask where the brewery was and people seemed oblivious. figured it out myself, after many minutes of elevators and different staircases we found it. walk in and the bar is there with the regulars and a few of their own. beer was alright, nothing to write home about, but better than average. then we walked out on the patio, which is bigger than most multi-million dollar houses in LA. it's huge with an amazing, so beautiful, view of downtown los angeles, especially at night, no one is there, and your can see everything. the bartender knew his beers well and could describe them in detail, which he did. perfect place for one of us to take someone on a date. rather romantic for the other person, and good beer for us.
Jan 17, 2003
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Reviewed by stoutlove77 from Arizona

4/5  rDev +14.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.5
Located on the fourth floor of the Bonaventure Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, its gonna be hard to stumble across it, but being the explorer that I am I decided to stop by and pay a visit. My trip started by getting parking, waiting for the elevator and a couple steps. Clearly a trip, but worth the visit. My first impression was the elegant layout (expected being that it is at the Bonaventure) with its table settings, trimmings and surrounding view. My place was at the bar, so I got a chance to see the beer menu available. It stocks the usual suspect in addition the specialty beers that are made on location. One note I had the pleasure of meeting the manager, Jake Tringali. He gave me some intersting notes on clientel, most of them are from people who see the brewery from other buildings sky high and the traffic is mostly during the lunch hours (lunch beer?..). They stage a happy hour from 3 to 7 and is worth the wait. On the patio is the brewhouse, nicely enclosed in a kiosk overlooking the surrounding tables, and nice view of Downtown L.A. to add to it. Right here you got yourself a place to make some good corporate meetings and secure some major contracts. Overall a good place for beer.
Jan 10, 2003
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Reviewed by mickeymac from California

3/5  rDev -14%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 3 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
The Bonaventure is a humongous, black-glass hotel/restaurant/retail complex in downtown Los Angeles. The BBC is located on one of the nondescript floors of food and retail space. The interior of the bar is nothing special: the usual upscale food and beer spot. The crowd is mainly downtown businesspeople with a smattering of out of town visitors. Partly because of accessibility issues and partly because of less than spectacular beer, I would imagine that the BBC doesn't bring in a regular clientele of beer geeks. The beer is the run-of-the-mill pale ale, blonde ales, stout variety, with a seasonal thrown in. It's not bad, but it's nothing to write home about. If you're downtown and looking for a fresh-made brew, it's about the only game in town.
Oct 05, 2002
Bonaventure Brewing in Los Angeles, CA
Brewery rating: 3.42 out of 5 with 47 ratings