When general manager Briana Larrañaga comes into work, she likes to stand at the bar where she can watch people meet and, sometimes, even fall in love.
Barney’s Beanery, which sits on Broxton next to the Landmark Theater, joined the Westwood scene four years ago. As part of a small chain serving traditional American cuisine, the restaurant takes on dual roles as an eclectic lunchtime destination by day and a lively bar scene by night.
While the bar commonly plays host to beer-loving couples on first dates, it’s also a great place for singles to meet. Larrañaga said even one of Barney’s own servers, a current UCLA student about to graduate, met her long-time boyfriend playing shuffleboard in the upper deck of the restaurant.
“It’s a great place to meet someone, especially if you’re a beer person and you’re looking to meet another beer person, or someone into sports or even someone just interested in cool little restaurants.”
Since the restaurant offers karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as trivia on Wednesdays, Larrañaga said the bar gets an animated crowd every night. In addition to its weekly events, the restaurant tends to throw events for various holidays. This Friday, in honor of Valentine’s Day, Barney’s quarterly stoplight party should be in full swing.
Larrañaga said the point is for people to come wearing red, green or yellow to indicate their relationship status. Green communicates being single, yellow means it’s complicated and red tells others that you are off the market. The event will also feature themed shots and free giveaways.
Larrañaga said David Houston, owner of Barney’s Beanery, chose to open the Westwood branch in part because of personal connections with doctors at the medical center and with people involved with UCLA athletics. She also said the restaurant is always open to supporting UCLA.
“We had UCLA sports radio hosted here throughout football season, and we’ve had a lot of UCLA soccer alumni parties,” Larrañaga said. “(Houston) is really involved with (UCLA) sports.”
In addition to hosting UCLA events, Barney’s has a secret Bruin menu featuring items costing roughly five dollars. Beyond the Bruin menu, Barney’s offers a broad spectrum of appetizers, burgers, Mexican favorites and American classics. Larrañaga said the chili recipe dates back to the restaurant’s inception in 1920.
Inside the restaurant, endless Christmas lights give a dreamy feeling, especially against the busy backdrop of license plates, album covers, magazine clippings and bottle caps which cover nearly every surface.
Barney’s, which offers both cozy booths and breezy outdoor tables, attracts a mixed demographic, Larrañaga said.
“A lot of people, when they think of Barney’s they just think of ‘bar’ and just young people, but we also get a lot of business people from Wilshire,” Larrañaga said. “Our place is always packed, but it’s always a fun mixed group.”