Los Angeles is a town built for the dive bar. Great neighborhood watering holes populate just about every corner of this massive county, from the South Bay to the thick of the Valley, playing to locals who (at least until ridesharing apps came along) rightfully didn't feel like getting behind the wheel just to go out and drink.
For many, the Los Angeles-area dive bar is a sanctuary away from high prices, big crowds, long waits, and bad parking. You'll find inexpensive drink options from the West Valley to Hacienda Heights that strip away the expense and burden of simply settling into a barstool for a beer or five.
Yep, even with sky-high real estate prices and a dense urban core, there are still plenty of places on the below list that are perfect for escapism in the form of year-round Christmas lights, cash-only bars, and historic old beer haunts. You might still belly up to the bar next to the occasional hipster, but more often than not at places like these you'll also come across a true regular who's been working the jukebox for decades and knows everyone in the place by name. That's the beauty of a true dive bar: it brings people together easily, even on nights you might want to be left alone.
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