HMS Bounty isn’t quite a dive. It lacks the sticky floors, defunct electronic relics, and feeling of genuine unwelcome that is typical of LA’s grungier bar scene. No, the quirky nautical themed restaurant, located on a street in Korea Town with exactly zero parking, belongs to a different genre than The Tattle Tale or The Drawing Room. In fact, HMS Bounty feels a lot more like a pub than a bar. Technically, it has the universal four characteristics of a pub, as defined by The Campaign For Real Ale:
is open to the public without membership or residency
serves beer or cider without requiring food be consumed
has at least one indoor area not laid out for meals
allows drinks to be bought at a bar (i.e., not only table service)
The Public House (or ‘pub’ for short) started in 17th century Britain, and is a particular type of community magnet, one which seems to generate locals but also leave behind any presumptions of its on-goers. And HMS certainly manages to do this— gleaning an aura of unassuming hospitality that’s not easy to come across here in LA.
Brown leather booths line the shiny wainscoting of The HMS Bounty, and on popular nights, seem to completely disappear underneath crowded bodies. The bartenders are polite but not warm— you must seriously make yourself known if you’d like to order a drink— but once you have, it will certainly be made with the same rigor and effort that you’d find at any fancy LA cocktail bar (but without the fancy garnish). My drink of a choice? A Dirty Gin Martini. Only eight bucks at HMS. I tried to save the receipt to prove it, but after three or four I lost interest.
The tavern-like bar has it’s quirks— the bathroom is located across the way, down the stairs in the lobby of the Gaylord Hotel (which is now just an apartment complex). This is because HMS Bounty used to be part of the hotel, aptly called “The Gay Room”. In 1952, the property was separated from the Hotel, and was re-configured as a restaurant.
About the food— I can’t speak on it. I’ve been to HMS two dozen times, and never ordered the food. The only memory I have of the food is when Kristoffer Borgli and Frank Yang screened A Place We Call Reality in the back room of the pub. I watched as they joined hands to lift a laptop over a couple enjoying what looked like a very tough piece of steak. They stood up on a couple of booths, holding the computer high enough for the entire crowd for the entire 14 minute runtime of the film as part of an 'impromptu meditation’.
This type of behavior is what gives HMS its charm, and all the more what makes it feel like a traditional pub. A place where anyone is welcome, regardless of the ruckus they cause. A bit of a relic here in LA, where any disruption out of the ordinary is more often viewed as faux pas rather than novelty.
HMS Bounty
3357 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Mon - Thurs 12:00PM – 12:00AM
Fri - Sun 12:00PM - 1:00AM$
Parking: Street (digital meter) - pray that you find a spot on Wilshire because you won’t find any parking in the neighborhood.
My order: Dirty Gin Martini
Pro tip: You can pay by card, but cash is king at HMS.
Pairs well with: Bud Namu (.6 miles), The Prince (.2 miles)
I was literally just near there last weekend and we debated going there!!! Now I know and will make a point to go.