Happy Hour at an Upscale Dive Bar

, an upscale New York dive bar meets popular nightlife destination, has an exciting array of weekly events and what many consider to be “the happiest happy hour in Hollywood.” It's also a favorite watering hole among locals.

The bar’s interior is reminiscent of the East Coast with its exposed brick walls and chocolate leather booths. Walls are decorated with plasma screen televisions and subway signs. A rich wooden bar sits in the center of the establishment, providing a view of the many sporting events broadcast on various stations. A dining area filled with tables and chairs occupies the main room and a pool table is tucked away in the back.

Weekly events at Happy Ending include beer pong nights, movies shown with free admission and popcorn, live band “Coreyoke,” Monday Night Football specials, Sunday Funday brunch, Industry Night and ping pong tournaments.

One of the bar's nightly staples is the “Spin-the-Wheel” event which gives patrons a chance to earn a 15-minute drink specials for bar attendees by spinning the wheel.  Check out the claw machine in the back of the restaurant where $2 will buy you a chance to win a lobster. If you catch it, The Happy Ending Bar and Restaurant will cook it.

Happy hour is from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and offers a plethora of drink specials: $5 well cocktails, $1 off all pints, $12 Bud Light pitchers and $15 margarita pitchers (48 ounces). In addition, select appetizers are available for $5 and $7.

The bar serves a variety of draft beers including Bud Light, Jack’s Pumpkin Spice, Shock Top, Old Speckled Hen, Firestone Union Jack IPA, Newcastle and Leffe Blonde at happy hour prices of $3.50 to $5 a pint, $10 will get you a beer tower. Varieties of red and white wines range $7 to $8 per glass.  “Happy Drinks,” like The Happy Face,  a frozen pina colada with Malibu and Bacardi silver rum served with mango puree, for $9 are popular among patrons in a group of two or more. A 35 ounce beach pail ($16) or 64 ounce fish bowl ($25) in flavors like Squeeze My Grapes (Smirnoff White Grape, Cranberry Sierra Mist, and a touch of Blue Curacao), are always fun to share.

Happy Ending takes comfort food to a more sophisticated degree. Signature entrees include Thee Mac and Chee ($11) with gruyere cheddar, mascarpone, onions, and shrooms; Baby Got Back ($11)  - Korean barbecue-style baby back pork ribs; Filet Mignon Sliders on Pretzel Rolls ($13) with bleu cheese, chipotle cream and caramelized onions; and Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos ($11) seasoned with soy ginger marinated in a sesame scallion lime aioli, topped with avocado, cucumbers, ginger, sesame seeds, and scallions. Zagat recently rated the bar’s pizza as one of the best Sicilian style pizzas in the country.

Located at 7038 Sunset Blvd, this bar provides more of a neighborhood feel to the glamorous City of Angeles. The crowd is diverse, but almost always includes a concentration of sports fans that view Happy Ending as their big game-watching destination of choice.

It was a rowdy night when I stepped into The Happy Ending Restaurant and Bar. A fierce game of beer pong was going on in one room, fans were cheering for their favorite college basketball teams at the bar and the back room was occupied by a group of amateur pool sharks. I caught up with several patrons as they were in line to refill their drink order to ask them what brought them into this humble abode:

• “I like the atmosphere, the people and all the different events like Wednesday night Coreyoke, Saturday night Club night, beer pong and drink specials...even though it always seems to be $2 PBRs.” - Chris Chavez

• “I like the beer pong table.” – Caroline Ma

• “Lobster claw, plastic cups and a suggestive namesake...also, proximity to my old job.” – David Freid

• “Things get very tense in Hollywood world. People really love to work hard and party even harder. This is the place to do the latter.”– Julia Torchine

• “I love that it's not your typical Hollywood bar/club, but it's in Hollywood. The vibe is great, the crowd its cool. It's the type of bar that would be popular in any city in the country. It's always packed on the weekends and often on the weeknights too and I'm guaranteed to have a good time whenever I go.” – Bridget Kleinberg

Hours: 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. Monday – Sunday; 9 a.m. – 2 a.m. Saturday & Sunday during football season

Cover Charge: No

Dress code: Casual

Features: Weekly entertainment: Monday night karaoke with live band Coreyoke, Thursday night beer pong/flip cup, Friday and Saturday night DJs spin until 2 a.m., Sunday night Industry Night.

Ping pong table, pool table, complimentary popcorn, flat screen TVs, spin-the-wheel drink specials, lobster claw machine, video games

Payments Accepted: Major credit cards

Parking: Street, onsite parking lot

Music: Various DJs

Happy Hour: 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. Monday through Friday

Happy Hour Drink Specials: $5 well cocktails, $1 off all pints, $12 Bud Light pitchers, $15 margarita pitchers (48 ounces)

Happy Hour Food Specials: Select appetizers $5 and $7: Where’s The Beef (carne asada tacos) $5, Chicken Satay $5, Cock-tail Shrimp $5, The Healthy Happy Salad $5, Shwing (buffalo chicken wings) $5, The Cobb $5, Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls $5, Drunken BBQ Chicken Quesadillas $5, Happy Nachos $7, Fish Sticks $7, Spinach & Artichoke Dip $7

Signature Drinks: The draft beers are popular with locals ($3.50 - $5). It’s also likely to see visitors sipping on a beach pail ($16) or fish bowl ($25).

More Information: www.thehappyendingbar.com