The Cat & Fiddle Pub

I’ve lived 5 minutes walking distance from the Cat & Fiddle for 8 years. I’ve gone a total of maybe 6 or 7 times in all that time. If I want to have English pub grub I’ll either drive to Ye Olde Kings Head in Santa Monica or the Robin Hood in Burbank. So today we decided to go one last time before it closes, for nostalgia as it was the first place in Hollywood we had food when we moved here.
So we get there around 1pm today. It’s busy but not crazy. We stand in the main bar area by the greeters station for a good 10 minutes trying to get someones attention without any luck. Now I remembered why we don’t go here much. Terrible service and mediocre food. We finally decided to leave and went somewhere else for lunch. It’s a shame that my lasting memory of Cat & Fiddle will be their poor service and being ignored as I waited to give them my money one last time.

I can’t believe that I have not reviewed ( Unilocaled) this place yet.
I have been coming here for years.
Like 15 years.
I always enjoy the fish & chips.
My normal meal here is fish & chips + a Guinness or two.
I tried the Scotch egg years ago. I had read a book that mentioned a Scotch Egg and when I noticed it on the menu I had to order one. It was fine but not really my thing.
I have enjoyed coming here for drinks over the years. Good times with good people. I remember many, many evenings at the crowded bar drinking Guinness and talking with friends and strangers.
I’ve taken a few dates here. The patio is very nice.
This location is closing 12/​15/​2014.
It will be missed.
I hope they find a new location and open again soon.

One last hurrah before they close. The Dude has spent most of his birthdays here and we’re both equally sad to see it go. It’s been fun. It was the first bar I came to when I moved to Hollywood from Colorado to start my very first professional audio engineer gig next door at Larson Studios just over 10 years ago.
Outside of the nostalgic, they have the best scotch eggs and english breakfasts around town along with the best (dog) patio and sunday night jazz. It really is a damn shame.

So very sad to say this place is about to close, TRY IT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!

I tend to explore quite a bit since moving to Hollywood from Long Beach, and passing by the giant Union Jack hanging out in front of the Cat & Fiddle has always intrigued me. I’ve been looking for a good British place, and one that has a beautiful patio and a cat in the sign? Count me in!
However, this last week I saw a banner up saying they were moving, so I knew I had to experience it soon before it became too late.
I ordered the Cat & Fiddle breakfast which is composed of very authentic English breakfast staples, such as a banger, eggs, chips, English bacon, and Heinz beans on buttered toast.
Despite technically being a British citizen, many of these I had never tried before (I moved here young,) and I must say, I am now a huge fan of English bacon. It had a wonderful smokiness and saltiness to it that just complemented everything on the plate. Heinz beans and toast were also a new experience for me, and they were good as well. Everything was prepared perfectly, and was delicious.
My beautiful dining companion ordered the Eggs Benedict. I’m a huge fan of Benedict, and thought I had experienced everything there was to taste when it came to the dish. I was so wrong. Cat & Fiddle has the best Benedict I’ve ever had.
I hope they find a new location soon, because I’m totally bummed out my new favorite place (within a 7 minute walk no less) is going to be gone so soon after I tried it for the first time.

It is with sadness that I write this review, as The Cat & Fiddle Pub will be closing its doors December 15^th. So, I decided to give it one last go. What better way to end a run than with a Scotch Egg, Fish n’ Chips and an Ale as well as one last stroll to one the best patios in LA.

Why oh why do you have to move Cat & Fiddle — apparently they don’t know where they are moving to as of today, December 7, 2014. And they are closing the current location on the 15^th of this month.
The Cat & Fiddle Pub is close to Yuri R.‘s place and we decided to check it out for today’s brunch. We instantly loved the patio. It was such a cute patio with plenty of seating and lots of trees with sparrows roaming around.
The food was great. My eggs benedict was one of the best benedicts I’ve had. Everything was done right and the side of chips (french fries…) were so freaking yummy. I personally like my fries thick just as Cat & Fiddle made them. English Breakfast was great too, although I wasn’t a huge fan of English bacon that tasted just like ham.
Service was good. It’s really too bad that we just discovered this place and it’s about to move away. I hope they don’t go too far.

Hey diddle diddle, The Cat and the fiddle,
The Cow jumped over the moon.
The little Dog laughed,
To see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon
1) Atrocious food:
The Onion Rings were over-​fried to an almost burnt dark brown, and was not worth the $ 6.00.
My Scotch Egg was over baked & extremely hard & dry. Texture was mealy & bland with no Umami.
The Sausage Roll was over cooked, hard, dry, mealy «savory, homemade» sausage in puff pastry in which the pastry was halfway decent.
The pattern seemed to be over-​cooked, hard, dry, no good flavour.
2) Terrible Table Service:
Our tall waiter was disinterested, uninvolved, & could care less. He was worse than an automaton. I asked him for a simple request of a glass of ice since the ice in my spicy Bloody Mary had melted away. He responded with a weak acknowledgement, but then he completely forgot. So after 10 minutes, I walked inside to the bar & got ice for myself. If you want it done right… do it yourself. So sad that he couldn’t even remember to do such a simple request.
We waited over an hour for a table, but since we didn’t have a reservation, that is understandable for 12pm on a Sunday. But once seated, the food was extremely slow in coming. The kitchen should be used to having a fair volume of customers for Sunday brunch after years in business, but the staff that we had dealings with only one exception didn’t seem to really know what they were doing. The staff should have better training from management on how to efficiently & effectively run the restaurant, but perhaps the management is just as incompetent or disinterested.
3) Saving Grace:
The Happy Hour Bloody Mary’s were excellent. I ordered it spicy so it was amped up with Tabasco-​like chile sauce. I could also tell there was a touch of horseradish that added another more aromatic sharpness & heat. A friend detected «clamato», but I didn’t detect a sea scented touch. There may also have been some beef bouillon since there seemed to be a meatier Umami. The tomato juice, although probably canned, had a bright tomato flavour that also augmented to this tangy, spicy, aromatic savory drink. A spear of large pimento stuffed green olive, lime, pickled green bean accompanied this elixir. All this for only $ 5.00 per tall glass. This was a great deal.
The «bartendress» was another asset to the Cat & Fiddle. Cheerful, friendly, convivial, with great personality, she was good at amiable one-​liners & a big smile. Efficient & effective. What a pleasant person to deal with. I will place her photo as the first top, big major picture in this Unilocal review. I hope the management recognizes her intrinsic worth in making the Cat & Fiddle a welcoming, warm establishment.
Also, the front patio was extremely pleasant on a Santa Ana wind, cobalt blue sky, warm balmy day. The interior is pleasant enough with a somewhat UK/​SouthernGermanic feel like a pub or Kneipe.
Food = 1 Unilocal star Service except at the bar = 1 Unilocal star Bar service by the exceptional bartendress & Happy Hour Bloody Mary = 5 Unilocal stars. Overall: 2+ Unilocal stars

The Cat and The Fiddle are scheduled to close it’s doors on December 15^th. So, I recommend you and your friends rally up to attend brunch for the last hooray. The English breakfast served up has authentic bangers and mash and (pork in’) beans — as I like to call em. Nevertheless, enjoy the beautiful patio setting at high noon. It’s exceptional. The staff has always been polite and the food good.
It’s said to have been a culinary institution for the Brits. I say it was a hell of a hangout spot for friends. Ample street parking, themed nights, and happy hours (5pm-​7pm) it’s undeniable that the locals will miss this spot. It’s more about the vibe than the food. Right?!
See ya on Sunday for brunch.
#Yelp #YelpLA #YelpElite #LosAngeles #SantaMonica #Hollywood #Food #CustomerService #Tourism #Tips

To me, hanging out in Hollywood is about as thrilling as my annual Pap smear. So to go here was no small feat for me. But OMG! The food is tasty good. Everything looks so delish – especially the fried chicken sliders. I had the fish and chips. I’m still drooling.
There’s also a gluten-​free menu.

Pros: charming British pub with plentiful outdoor seating
Cons: um, it can get kind of crowded? I dunno, I love this place.
TL;DR: I hadn’t been here in ages, but it’s exactly how I remember. Abundant patio seating with drink service. Can’t go wrong with that in LA. I guess there’ an inside portion, too. They have darts for those who like to play darts. Darts is a fun game. Just don’t get really drunk and walk in front of the dart board and get hit in the eye with a dart. That is a really good way to ruin a birthday party.

Though I haven’t eaten here in a long time, the food was always pretty good. And, it hasn’t stopped others from eating here still, as the kitchen is always busy.
It’s a good place for a pint and a chat. I like the open pit fire — conducive for passing around the peace pipe. Coming here is relaxed but a sometimes charged up place, too. People are hanging out, but they’re connecting and re-​connecting, too. It’s pretty easy to stop in (finding parking is sometimes another matter — but valet is an option). I don’t come here nearly enough — but when I do, I almost always have a good time.

ADORABLE little pub. Not crowded, so the bartender actually gives a slight fuck about you.
A lot of seating area, both inside and outside. Super casual.
After asking for 3 drinks off their menu that they no longer sold or had the ingredients for, I settled for a Pimm’s Cup. I understand that a Pimm’s Cup has about as much alcohol as a wine cooler, but I think mine may have been missing alcohol entirely.
Cat and the Fiddle, I would’ve loved you as a watering hole otherwise, except the quintessential point of getting a drink in a bar was missing from my drink.

Interesting place. We came here for a networking event for work. Its bigger than you would think. Aside from the regular LA parking struggles, I really like the atmosphere here and the outdoor seating, which is pretty beautiful.
They have a pretty amazing Happy Hour and I would totally consider doing an event here in the future. They had some pretty tasty food items for Happy Hour too. We had the Potato Skins, french fries and something else. Looking forward to coming back here in the future.

Been here a couple of times — always for Happy Hour that turns into a dinner and we’ve always sat outside. This is a fun place to go and it has some really good HH deals.
Parking it atrocious. That’s the worst thing about this place is there is simply no place to park… and at least during the times I’ve been there, no valet parking is offered.
Beer and wine specials during HH are really good… I like that they include Stella on the beer specials list without an «up-​charge» ($ 4.50 is a pretty good deal for a draft Stella). HH apps are $ 5.00 and include grilled shrimp and guacamole (delicious!), potato skins (skip these — not particularly tasty), and onion rings (pretty good! — not Hamburger Mary’s good, but not bad!).
From the dinner menu we’ve had the «hot roast beef dip» (really good and she absolutely loved the homemade horseradish), and the fried chicken sliders (very nice… recommend!).
Staff is uniformly friendly and this is quickly becoming one of my favorite places to meet folks for a couple of drinks and munchies.

Love this place. It is like two completely different atmospheres available with the same great menu. Indoors has a vibrant pub feel to it. Their large courtyard dining area has a great laid back feel where you can enjoy the always perfect Hollywood weather. It is shady and beautiful with upstairs apartments overlooking the courtyard that I fantasize about living in during my younger years.
Happy hour is great with $ 4.50 apps. Wines wells and drafts are half price… my Bloody Mary was not. But it was good, so whatever.
We’ve been here a couple of times now and the food has been excellent. Service is really friendly and this is a new favorite.
Parking is a b — - but you can always seem to find it on the street somewhere, just watch the signs because tickets are EXPENSIVE AND ABUNDANT — welcome to Hollywood.

Love their theme nights. Have come here a few times for trivia Tuesdays and aside from the obviously cheating groups, it’s always a fun time.
Gorgeous (and huge) outside patio. I will definitely be checking out their movie Mondays soon to be able to sit outside.
Food’s not great. Beer selection is decent. Don’t bother with the wine list.
This is definitely a «come for the environment» kind of place, but be prepared to shell out $ 6 for the valet. Street parking on Sunset is no good.

Came here with a large group of friends (~12 people) — surprisingly they were quite accommodating for a friday night. Not sure if that’s out of the norm.
Cat & Fiddle is a very unique little gem in hollywood. You definitely feel like you’ve just escaped the madness of the city as you walk into a quaint safe bubble of evening leisure. The outdoor area is perfect for an evening hangout.
Inside is also a nice atmosphere, good for groups.
Anyways, once we settled down, I got a snakebite (yum blend of cider) but I also got to sample some of the new Newcastle that they has and wow, that is nice and dark! Would recommend that if you like it bitter. And I also ordered the beef shepherd’s pie, replacing veggies with french fries.
Service was pretty fast for us, not sure if because it was rather empty at the time of ordering.
I loved my dish, but not love-​love. The beef was dry, which was disappointing. The pie itself though, overall good. A little too salty to my liking, but it wasn’t too bad. The bread was like and flaky, and the veggies were quite savory. But it wasn’t completely mindblowing. i feel like we should’ve just ordered a lot of appetizers instead of entrees. Oh and nothing special to the french fries. They’re kind of wimpy and greasy. The sandwiches/​burgers looked better haha.
Overall great atmosphere, absolutely friendly waitress and service. The girl who served us was so sincere. I would definitely recommend this for an evening hangout.

On the face of it, the place is really cute. Love the concept. Nice patio and pub atmosphere. The greeters and manager were nice, but the waitress was pissy and rude. Granted, we had a large party, but still… I don’t appreciate that tone of voice when I’m being nice.
Had the Strongbow cider — awesome — sweet and crisp. The salmon was pretty good. My only criticisms are that the place is super loud and the service is slow and comes with a side of attitude.

This review, is long overdue.
Since my first visit back in the spring, I’ve been to the Cat & Fiddle several more times, not just for darts, but because it’s an awesome place to grab a bite, a few drinks, a movie, throw some darts or just hanging out with friends.
Parking isn’t so bad if you get there after the meters’ feeding time — not to mention, I’m usually on the bike so it’s VIP parking for me right on the sidewalk.
On Mondays, it’s movie night. A little dilemma for football fans. Every month, for one of the showings, the writers or someone associated with the flick is present. Trivia night on Tuesdays. Always fun to match wits with other drunks.
I’m not sure about other nights but even if there isn’t an event going on, you have to experience sitting out on the patio. It’s a cool are to just hang out at. Service is friendly and great whether you’re sitting inside or out.
Distance from home for me is a moot issue when I like a place. And I like The Cat & Fiddle!