Catcher In the Rye

This place was such a random find!My friends and I were looking for a spot to meet up after a long work day. I found Cather in the Rye. I arrived before my friends, and met Louie, the resident barkeep. We started talking, he gave me the rundown on specialties and things he believes they do well. So my friends arrive, we sit at the bar to enjoy Louie's company and the drinks start flowing. We had several spicy margaritas, a habanero concoction that Louie was experimenting with, and what I believe is one of the best Manhattan's I've had in awhile. Dubbed "a clockwork orange" on their menu, this rendition of a Manhattan was lovely, spirit forward but not overpowering and so easy to drink it was scary!Louie's skills as a bartender are without question. What came next was their food.They have serval options for burgers, each with it's own twist. From a pineapple teriyaki burger to a habanero option. They were huge and delicious, with the chef grilling right in front of the restaurant for all to see. It was well worth it.Needless to say, Catcher in the Rye is on my rotation of places to visit. If you want the best experience, stop by Wednesday through Saturday to see the man, Louie. He'll take care of you!

The Catcher in the Rye was a controversial novel by J.D. Salinger. While there is nothing controversial about this friendly neighborhood bar, a literary theme is the central focal point. In fact, the cocktails are named after famous novels. The place has a low-key vibe and a laidback aesthetic. There's a little lounge section with books that you can read while enjoying a sip and a nibble and board games that you can play with a group of friends. I met up with some darling Yelp friends here for Happy Hour, which is daily from 5 pm - 7 pm. As soon as I walked in the door, I received a warm welcome from bartender Rayna. She had a wonderful personality and took great care of us. This is the type of place where you order at the bar, and someone will bring your food/drink to you. Rayna went above and beyond. Stepping out to personally walk over to our table in the back and check on us. I started with A Life in Lavender - a vibrant cocktail featuring Gin, lavender bitters, rosemary syrup, lemon juice, St. Germain, & Crème Yvette. It was absolutely delicious! The conversations at the table were engaging, so I ended up ordering another drink. This time Pearadise Lost was calling my name. This tasty concoction combined Absolute Pear Vodka with fresh pear, lime juice, vanilla simple, & soda. It was light & refreshing and packed a punch! My friends ordered food - Sliders, Artichoke Dip, Quesadilla, Chicken Tacos, Baby Green Salad. They each enjoyed their selections, and we all agreed that we would be back. *Parking lot in back & street parking.

One of my favorite books as a teen by J.D. Salinger which made it very nostalgic for me. A neighborhood bar for 8 years just East of Cahuenga Blvd on Riverside Drive. Met a group of yelp friends for drinks and ended up staying for a few hours. Very friendly atmosphere with lots of games to play, great tunes in the background and drinks with catchy names from well known books. I had read a few reviews saying the food wasn't fabulous but I beg to differ. My chicken tacos and baby green salad were really good! Yes, a tad pricey for the salad ($14) but I thought the drinks were priced fairly and Rayna our bartender definitely didn't skimp on the liquor. She was very friendly and made a fabulous cocktail! It seemed like there were many regulars here which added to the comfy feeling. Great for large or small groups. There were lots of tables and a few comfy sofas. *Parking in the back as well as street parking.

Catcher in the Rye has been on my to-do list for a while, and I was thrilled to finally cross it off while meeting some Yelp friends. I adore the vibe of this place, especially the cozy reading corner, which attracts book lovers. Our bartender, Reyna, was attentive, kind, and offered excellent drink recommendations. They are open from 5 pm to midnight on weekdays and 2 am on weekends, with street parking or a small back lot available.They also have happy hour every single day which is a plus! I tried the sliders that had a quail egg on top and they were delicious.

I love this bar and the bookworm theme it has. It's cozy, they have games, and it's a great spot to come with a group, or on a date. The servers have always been nice, and the prices are reasonable. My favorite cocktail has always been the "Huckleberry Finn," and I really like the "secret garden" and "life of lavender" as well.

Great drinks with a very mellow atmosphere. Good selection of games to play while you drink.

I went to catcher in the rye for a birthday party. I'll start with the good things first there is no cover charge and not worried about a dress code which I'm surprised because it's in Toluca Lake near Burbank. Anyway, first thing I noticed they had a lot of parking in the back lot of parking on the street so that was awesome. Went inside. The space was nice had a bar the bathrooms were clean but then after that he is where everything goes bad. The service was horrible. The restaurant was packed!! So I'm not sure if they did not expect this. It was a weekend so I'm not sure why not. There were 2 servers for the entire restaurant . There were 3 bartenders.There were menus on the table, but no one ever came around and asked if we wanted any water let alone anything to eat. There was also a drink menu on the table. No one came around and asked if we wanted anything. Finally, I waved someone down no one came. He looked at me and ignored me so then I got up and I went to the server I saw and I said can I order and he said oh no I'm sorry I was told that you have to order at the bar that was odd. Maybe they should've made an announcement come by the tables let everybody know so I went to the bar to order. I wanted brussels sprouts and cauliflower and sliders. The bartender charged my car for all three of these items, he gave me a number I said are you going to bring it to my table? He said yes, I said can I have a copy of my receipt please and let me mention that I try to get his attention for at least five minutes to ask him for a copy of my receipt then the other bartender, I asked her, and then I saw Jason the manager. I said I am trying to get a copy of the receipt I signed. He looked at the receipt and said we don't have cauliflower and we don't have brussels sprouts. I was in shock disbelief, almost laughable, but it was not I said, what do you mean you have already charged me for it so what were you going to bring to my table? That's the part that got me like you don't have it you charge me for it I was going to go sit down with my number on a stick what were you going to bring me and you charged me for something you did not have so now I point out the bartender who took my order he's reprimanding him in front of me then he said what do you want me to do do you want me to refund it which was a dumb question of course I want you to refund it if you don't have it I'm so confused by this place now then he finally said I will make it for you OK so you do have brussels sprouts and you do have cauliflower you just didn't want to make it. This was so crazy and then he said I will bring it to you myself like that makes everything all better and fixes everything and it did not, he finally brought it over. The brussels sprouts were great. The sliders were great. The cauliflower was terrible. It was like he dumped out a bag of frozen cauliflower. Put it in the microwave and put it on a plate. No seasoning no sauce no batter. No nothing just terrible. We eat all of our food. We spend all this money on drinks and all our dirty dishes stayed on our table for ever I picked them up and took them to the bar. Also, we were cutting a cake. Excuse me prior to the cake. I ordered the brussels sprouts and cauliflower and sliders. I ordered enough for the table. I asked one of the waiters can you bring me six more plates and forks he said OK and he never did I got up I said what happened to my forks and plates. They were literally sitting right there clean next to the bar, he said I'll bring them to you. I said just give them to me I can take them myself I'm standing right next to him. He totally forgot about me and had no intention on bringing me plates and forks horrible service. Just horrible. They had an awesome DJ I don't know if the DJ is always there, but the manager JASON needs to hire more people or a train better because that service would make me never want to go there again.

I'm not going to bury the lead here -- the service was the only problem. And it was a big one. I went with friends and we enjoyed the food and the cocktails. Cameron, one of the bartenders, threw off the vibe of a fun night. As explained later by an apologetic manager's call, the other bartender was running late and he was working solo. As we approached the bar he looked at us, but didn't greet us. As he began to help those around us, including those that came after us, we shrugged it off. Things were busy.He was short with us as he took the order. We ordered 3 Catcher in the Rye cocktails, burgers, fries, and cheese sticks. The food and drinks came quickly. We enjoyed it all.When I go to close my tab, we watch him search around the register for my card, he digs through the ice in the well with his hands, and then inexplicably begins picking up liquor bottles and looking underneath them. He then slides a piece of receipt paper across the counter and says, "Can you write down your number?"I ask, "Did you lose my card?" No answer. I say, "If you lost my credit card I will need to lock it. You might have given it to someone else. Did you lose my card?"He shrugs and mumbles, "Yeah. Sorry. Can you write down your number?"Here's the deal, I've waited tables for a long time. If I had lost someone's credit card, and trust me there have been some scares, I would have been MORTIFIED and apologized profusely. Maybe even offered to do something nice. (We'll get to that in a minute.)We leave and about an hour later we get a call from a manager. She apologizes and tells me that they found my card. She offers that if I decide to try them again she will comp a couple of drinks for me.A night later I go to the bar and pick up my card. They had charged me in full. A little mea culpa would've been nice. A comped cocktail. 10% off. Just something. When you screw up, you make amends. Not make amends if someone returns and spends more money. If there was any real token offered, I honestly wouldn't have submitted this review at all.There are a lot of other places in Los Angeles that have good cocktails and cheeseburgers. I will just go to another one of those.

I loved the concept of a library/board game bar but I felt the execution fell a little short. The music, decore, drinks (names and taste) plus the cozy vibes were great. However, we went at 8pm on a Friday and the service was VERY slow for our first round of drinks even though there were few people. The bar tenders were just talking behind the bar for far too long. Also, I was hungry but the food menu was just burgers and fries so I passed on that. I wish there was more board games to pick from, the current section was beat up and falling apart. Lastly, for small talk I asked the bartender what the book "catcher in the rye" was about and they said they never read it... I feel if you work somewhere named after a book you should atleast know the summary and a few fun facts. Would not return

I just hosted my boyfriend's 40th birthday at Catcher in the Rye and we had the best time. Eric, the owner, was our point of contact and he was more than happy to host us. Communication was excellent! The night of, Kim, Cameron, and Becca took superb care of our guests. Everyone was impressed with their large selection of specialty cocktails. I've lived in this neighborhood for over a decade and I've seen this bar go through some changes. It definitely seems like people are going less sense the pandemic. While the food menu is currently in flux, the cocktails are still high quality unique creations and the decor has remained unchanged. We were able to throw a party for 30 guests without reserving the bar-- on a Saturday night. That's unheard of in LA. We were given charge of the music and everything. They were so nice and accommodating. My boyfriend had an unforgettable 40th thanks to Eric and his crew. Definitely consider having a party or just some drinks here! Let's keep this neighborhood treasure thriving!