While crowded Los Angeles clubs and college bars are an experience, sometimes a quieter, more sophisticated Thursday night is in order.
West 4th/Jane, a new pub in Santa Monica, offers this sophistication without any hint of ostentation.
The strength of West 4th/Jane is its ability to combine the best of the bar world with the best of the lounge scene.
If you are the rare college student who does not occasionally imbibe, no worries.
You can see the monthly art exhibit on view or challenge your less sober friends to games of Connect Four and Ms. Pacman, and probably win.
It is this old-school charm of board games and old arcade machines combined with cushy sophistication and flat-screen TVs that make West 4th/Jane a perfect hangout spot after a long week of school stress.
Sinking into the booth with my friends and letting out a collective sigh, I could imagine myself coming back post-finals madness to sip a beer or glass of wine and recover.
Inspired by the pubs of the East Coast, West 4th/Jane offers a spacious bar and upstairs longue, comfy leather booths, and rustic art.
Not to mention, their beer list runs the gamut from your standard Budweiser to the finer brews of Europe and Asia.
If beer is not your thing, the pub also offers assorted wine, including a delicious sparkling sake that offers the bubbly refreshment of champagne with an additional tangy zest.
The pub also has a selection of finger foods that are a step above the usual greasy bar food without being pretentious.
There are the usual comfort foods to choose from, but with a slight twist. For instance, the french fry plate has both the usual “fast food” style fry but also sweet potato and curly fry variations on the old favorite.
In addition to satisfyingly greasy appetizers, West 4th/Jane also offers East Coast comfort food, such as NYC hot dogs and bacon-crusted French toast, which is served until 1:30 a.m.
If deep frying is not your forte, there are also more veggie-friendly salads and adventurous desserts, such as the “Fat Elvis,” a concoction of peanut butter, banana and fluff with crispy onions.
In short, West 4th/Jane tempts your inner fat kid while not insulting your inner connoisseur.
If you are looking for harder drinks, you might look elsewhere. A mixed-drink girl myself, I was slightly disappointed to discover that West 4th/Jane does not serve hard liquor, and thus my usual Cosmo/Sex on the Beach/Screwdriver was out of the question.
The greatness of vodka aside, the pub’s wine- and beer-only policy encouraged me to explore the realm of beer and sake, bringing back memories of English pubs and Chicago bars.
Even if you do not have prior pub experience, with the expansive beer list that stretches out before you, it is hard not to feel that much more cultured, or at least more informed, as you order your drink.
Unfortunately, however, as informed as you feel, you might feel significantly poorer when the bill arrives.
The catch to the refreshing atmosphere of West 4th/Jane seems to be the unrealistic menu prices, which will definitely discourage a large college crowd.
As one of my friends discovered, a glass of white wine could run you almost $20, and a plate of about four chicken fingers is definitely not worth almost 10 bucks when Carl’s Jr. is probably somewhere nearby.
Although it falls victim to the metropolitan curse of overpriced dining, West 4th/Jane maintains the East Coast pub feel, blending relaxation and culture to create a genuinely pleasant evening.
““ Shelley Brown
E-mail Brown at sbrown@media.ucla.edu.