It is widely accepted that the UCLA bar scene is rather dead. On most Thursday nights, students can hear crickets chirping, and on occasion, a rogue tumbleweed will roll through the streets of Westwood— or so you thought. Maybe, just maybe, the UCLA bar scene isn’t quite as dead as you might have imagined. So here I present to you the ultimate UCLA bar crawl. I bet that you didn’t realize half of these bars existed.
Wolfgang Puck Express
You’ll start where all legendary nights begin— on campus. At the Wolfgang Puck Express in Ackerman Student Union, you’ll get buzzed enough to validate the brilliant idea of infiltrating Westwood for the sole reason of getting ~wasted~ on a Thursday night.
Ralph’s Bar
Ease into the crawl by going to the closest bar to campus, R Bar. Students can be found casually drinking beer flights in the middle of this family-friendly supermarket pretty much any time after 11 a.m.
Skylight Gardens & Napa Valley Grille
These two restaurants go hand in hand because of their status as Westwood’s classier establishments. I recommend going earlier in the crawl so you’re sober enough to not get too rowdy in front of the local businesspeople.
Frida Mexican Cuisine
Then, continue off the beaten path to Frida, an authentic Mexican restaurant at the edge of Westwood. Grab one (or a couple) of their infamous margaritas and maybe some homemade guac at the bar.
TLT Food
To continue the fiesta, head over to TLT where— to the surprise of many— you can order some pretty bangin’ tequila drinks.
California Pizza Kitchen
As you sip on your drink, you might consider carbo-loading on one of CPK’s many pizzas to help you rally through the rest of the night.
AMI Japanese Restaurant
Things may have started to get a bit dull with all of the family-friendly restaurants, but do not worry! You can rejoice in the rowdiness that will be AMI when you and 20 other fellow drunk people yell “Sake, Sake, Sake!” in unison.
Sepi’s
As you make your way towards the apartment side of campus, you’ll begin to find some action. If it’s past 10 p.m., you’ll likely see a winding line outside of Fat Sal’s, apartments full of people pumping their fists to bad EDM, and Sepi’s loaded with UCLA’s resident bros.
Barney’s Beanery
After you’ve drunk half your weight in beer and said “dude” enough times to make you question your identity, you’ll head to Westwood’s second biggest drinking hub. Thursdays are karaoke night, and at this point in the bar crawl, you’re probably drunk enough to sing Toto’s Africa in front of all of your peers.
Rocco’s Tavern
The last and most iconic stop is Rocco’s, the cornerstone of the UCLA bar scene. See every single person you know and order a couple of AMF’s to finish off the evening. It just wouldn’t be a Thursday if your night ended anywhere else.
So next time you’re sitting in Westwood wondering what there is to do on a Thursday night, remember to look beyond the obvious. There are definitely more than a few places to get trashed— UCLA style.