Hank’s Bar

There is a neon «OPEN» sign on the door, but it’s hard to tell if it’s actually open from the outside. If you have a courage to open a bit sketchy-​looking door, you will soon find a cozy dive bar.
We loved our lovely Latina bartender (too bad I didn’t get her name) for hospitality and great service! She has a great sense of humor and really cool. Every time when she serves a drink, she says «cheers!» and I thought that was kind of cute.
You can bring your own food if you order a drink (I assume which all of the customers do), or order food from the Indian restaurant which is located on the far side of the hotel, which I highly recommend. There is a huge jukebox and 2 flatscreen TVs.
This place is nice and cozy. I would come back again soon!

I have been coming to hanks for at least 22 years. What can I say other then this is your quintessential dive bar of American definition.

We popped in on a Wednesday night looking for a dive bar with a cool crowd. We found both.
The bartender was talkative and kind, and poured a stiff drink.
Hank’s is located next door and attached to Gill’s Indian Cuisine, so the back of the bar smells a little like curry which I liked.
Come in for a drink, bum a smoke and hang out.

This place used to be pretty cool. They closed for a while and when they re opened lots of things changed. Prices went up and they lost some pretty awesome bartenders.
If you want to try somewhere else where you’ll get some respect and really good drinks, try Wendell over on 7^th and Main.

Note: they usually open at 6 pm these days. And the piano only has about 40 working notes.
I like this place. It is like a neighborhood joint where all sorts of different types hang out, and it’s usually easy to get into conversation. To me, that’s an important aspect of bar hopping.
Mike retired… he’s over 80. But the new folks are friendly, and the beer is inexpensive.

When you want to get away from loud people and just have a drink. It’s a dive bar holding it’s ground again the encroachment of higher end establishments. The bartender was awesome and the people were friendly. Came here to watch a game and drink with a friend but enjoyed the atmosphere. The juke box had plenty of good tunes and drinks were cheap. The bar area itself feels like moe’s tavern and thats a good thing.

found this place on Unilocal looking for after dinner bars. close enough where we parked and 5 minute walk from broken spanish.
it’s small place with a bar, jukebox, piano and lounge area. it was pretty quiet night (for a saturday), thinking only regulars watching la kings game.
got our drinks and chilled. great hangs for the night.

Great spot to grab a drink before heading to staples center. Reasonable prices in a dimmed environment. Friendly service and a few televisions with the games on. Small setup, no more than 15 chairs lined up at the bar. Overall, great spot to meet up with a buddy before or after a game!

No stars! Was a gem?! Mike gone… Debbie gone! Shit hole! They need better bartenders. Is not the hanks it use to be!

I’m not from the area but found this place on Unilocal from the listing, we felt very welcomed by Sarah the bartender who provided us with great conversation and introduced us to all the other folks and we had such a great time!

This place is beyond divey; it’s like stepping into an alternate dimension, possibly directed by Terry Gilliam. It looks like a crap sports bar when you walk in, but then there are large black leather banquets in the back that are surprisingly intact. (This isn’t an invitation to aspiring strippers to jump around on them in your spiked heels.)
You won’t notice this until you have to use the bathroom and walk through the hotel lobby /​Indian restaurant and see a man using a urinal in the middle of it. All of this spectacle occurs under stadium level lighting, and then you go back into dark, dark Hank’s and pound shots.
Every time I go in there, it’s like a bachelor party. After having described the ambience, you know why. Prepare to wake up with a massive hangover in the morning. And say hi to my favorite bartender Sarah from Bar 107.

Great place, great bartenders, great happy hour prices. Will definitely make this a regular stop in DTLA.

Amazing down to earth local bar in downtown LA — Sarah is a great bartender and conversation starter! She makes a great slightly dusty martini and they stock Titos. I met some amazing new friends here too!

Hank’s is now officially reopened Christina back behind bar. Same great vibe great pour. There is a God.

Happy to report that Hanks will be open again starting Thursday, ⁵¹⁴⁄₁₅. Same owners but some new staff. Like other bars in the area it will not be open for lunch anymore but instead after 4/​5pm. Good luck to them!

Thanks for everything!
See you in the next life…

So so sad that hanks is closing! My favorite bar ever. Great dive. I wish I could make it over there but I won’t be out of work in time!
I’m gonna miss all the regulars there and Deb, for sure. If she was a bitch to you, it’s probably cause you don’t know how to tip, walked in there drunk, or look/​act like a douche bag. Thanks for keeping the trash out, babe. Really gonna miss this place.

And this is the notice I got from the bartender in question. Enjoy:
«For your review of: Hank’s Bar
The top 2, 5 star reviews are about me. You came off as a TOTAL creep and that’s why I didn’t want to be social with you. You’re lucky I even served you princess. 2 minute follow up? Not even a full drink? You asked for a whiskey on the rocks, I don’t know a place where anyone will serve a whiskey rocks or neat to the top of the glass moron, do you know what ounces are? I’ve been doing this for 10 years and I know creep when I see one. I can spot them a mile away. So say whatever you want to say. The fact that you took a picture of me and uploaded it to the Internet without my knowledge or consent is a clear violation and PROOF that you are indeed the creep I knew you were. Bye Felicia.»
Maybe Felicia didn’t understand that it was raining outside all day that day. If a person with wet hair from rain seems like a creep, then you must be terrified every day it rains I guess.
Still, horrible customer service. I guess that’s why they have so many negative comments, especially directed to the «rude female bartender with glasses» There are many other spots where you can get a drink and not have to deal with such a poor level of hospitality. If she was doing this kind of work for 10 years plus then she should know very well how to provide proper customer service. There are plenty of other options in the downtown area. Even Big Wangs across the street is a better choice, the Down and Out is near, and well, pretty much everywhere in downtown you can find a better dive bar, with better customer service, and much less attitude. Lady, I bartended for longer than that, and for 10 years of experience you showed the attitude of a person that just got started. Never again recommending or going to that bar, not worth it.

I literally never had a worse experience at a Bar in my life. I am a very well traveled and have been to many bars, and never once have I been barked at to show my ID and then immediately been told to move my seat for a regular customer. I have lived in downtown for 10 years and frequent the neighborhood, this was the most disappointing experience and I’ve ever had.
If you want to have a good time with friends, do not come here.

Thanks to Stephanie V for introducing us to this place. We all met up to celebrate her getting her MBA. It was a celebration alright! We got there around 7pm, still early for the night to start, so we all chilled at the bar. Lots of bar seat available and already we spot a drunk guy by us. According to the bartender, he has been at the bar since 4? We can all imagine how drunk he was… When he got closer to us, nope, sorry buddy, gtfo of our faces, we just want to have a good time here and not someone slurring by our side. We gave the bartender a heads up on what’s going on and the second time he came around us, he was kicked out. Thanks to our bartender lady for watching out, we then finally had a good night.
Drinks were dirt cheap. The music was awesome. Typical dive bar playing the Journeys, and Gun n roses. :D.