A Reborn Echo Park Sports Bar Goes for the Unexpected

Some restaurant locations seem damned to eternal turnover. The stretch of Echo Park Avenue just north of Sunset Boulevard has proven to be one of these haunted destinations — new independent restaurants have struggled to take root despite appearing ripe for success, including Red Hill, Allston Yacht Club, Alumette, and the Whisperer, as well as a casual sports bar that closed in 2021 called the Holloway. But now, five years after closing, the Holloway has come back.

The Holloway reopened in its former location after the space was temporarily inhabited by the Lonely Oyster. Its ethos remains the same as before — televisions and bar games inside, a small patio, and an accessible menu of cocktails and bar snacks. But this time around, the space feels warmer and richer (much like the neighborhood itself), all deep green and dark wood, and there’s a more intentional use of the narrow back patio, originally the domain of scruffy hipster-punk smokers (complimentary). Food and drinks come with innovation courtesy of hyper-creative chef Andrew Rodriguez and bar director Nathan Fisher. Regular events include Mario Kart tournaments, bingo, and trivia, in an earnest effort to establish a true hangout for locals.

What to order

• The menu reads straightforward: salad, wings, burgers. But the simple setup undersells Rodriguez’s creativity: the option to make the kale salad a wrap does not refer to the basic (but resurgent) burrito-shaped wrap; instead it’s a Taco Bell–style crunchwrap, a fun reframe to zhuzh up the only vegetarian option.
• Skip beer — it’s all disappointing macrobrews. Cocktails are the move, with a variety of fun tiki-inflected drinks like the Meet Me At The… with mezcal, cynar, falernum, and orgeat.
• Rodriguez puts up a weekly special that can take any shape. I ordered a bowl of pozole ramen and without warning received a take on katsudon instead. It was righteous crispy chicken katsu on a fluffy omelet on rice, doused in a green oil that tasted of celery and a jammy red sort of chutney. I never got an explanation of the actual dish, but it was a banger. 
• Go for steak frites if you’re balling on a mid-sized budget: fries get coated in a lively spicy-herby salt blend; a peppery rub highlights an excellent cook on New Zealand hanger. It’s $32, and I preferred it to the much-talked-about $49 steak frites at Dunsmoor Bar.

Best seat in the house

Anyplace inside — there’s a parklet out front, which seems nice in theory, but Echo Park Avenue is busy and loud, and in the early afternoon and evening the sun blasts directly onto it. Inside is cool and calm, with games and a lot more visible screens.

Insider tip

The Holloway’s pub game programming gets paired with themed food and drink nights, which seem largely driven by alliteration. Mario Kart tournaments are held on Meatloaf Monday, Tiki Tuesday means pandan coladas plus bingo, Wing Wednesday happens alongside high-octane trivia, and Sunday Supper features a rotating chef’s choice prix fixe dinner with specials such as crab risotto or gnocchi carbonara for $25. Like everywhere else these days, the goal is to be a “third space”; it’s hard to say whether that will land this time, but the ingredients seem in place.