The Glendale Tap

The inspiration

The Glendale Tap, or The GT, opened in 2012 in a space that needed serious revitalizing when the owners bought it in 2011¹ . The goal was a vintage dive bar with a hip, relaxed feel, built around recycled materials: an old bowling alley became the bartop, and the back wall was designed to hold more than fifty tap handles¹ .

Who's behind it

Co-owner Glyn Samuel has spent forty years in the nightclub, bar and restaurant business, managing clubs including Vertigo, Martini Lounge and The Highlands, and he previously owned Timmy Nolan's Irish Pub in Toluca Lake^1,2 . Steve Skorupa, also from Timmy Nolan's, was his co-owner at the outset and planned the original fifty-plus tap setup^3,4 . LeighAnn, the other co-owner, is a school teacher of twenty-five years who handles the emails and paperwork¹ .

What to order

• A tasting pour: beers come in sixteen, ten and four ounce servings, so you can try before committing .
• Something from the Beer Cellar: rare bottles and cans to take home, including sours, barrel-aged beers and imperial stouts .^6,2
• Snacks and non-alcoholic drinks: the GT Snacks list covers everything from hop water to mocktails in a can .
• Whatever the patio pop-up is cooking: rotating food vendors serve in the outdoor beer garden .⁶

What people are saying

Diners keep returning to the depth of the draft list, with reviewers noting the vast variety of craft beer for such a small bar⁵ .

Why you should try it

If you're staying nearby, this is a genuine neighborhood alehouse with one of the deeper rotating tap lists in the area, plus a rare cellar of bottles and cans you can take back to your place^5,2 . Bring the dog, settle onto a picnic table in the beer garden, and let the pop-up handle dinner⁶ .