First Draft Taproom & Kitchen

Weekday visit during happy hour The inside wasn’t full so the access to beer taps were readily accessible. This is the first time I go to a self tap servir and it was amazing! The selection was vast! The service was great got a lot of recommendations and they didn’t disappoint. The food service was great! Very tasty. Would love to come back again soon 😋

+1

Spacious seating and very cute decorations. Draft beers were excellent. Lots of options. The peanut butter milk stout was delicious. Lavender lemonade cider was refreshing. Grilled shrimp skews and lemon pepper fried chicken were also very tasty. The dip were yummy.

I like this place to stop by for a beer, maybe two, or I can get as much beer as desire. Unfortunately, today the kitchen was closed, but everything else was great! The customer service is amazing; they explain everything to understand how the system for the beer works since, when you arrive, you get a card to use to get the beer from a draft in a glass they provide. This is my second time coming to First Draft Taproom and Kitchen, and I will come back again for sure.

Really enjoyed our visit to First Draft Taproom. The pour-your-own beer setup is such a fun and flexible way to try new things. I sampled a Saison, Milk Stout, Peach Cider, Golden Stout, and a super crisp and refreshing Helles by Audiograph Brewing. Loved being able to taste a bit of everything. The Rodeo Burger was delicious and the Lemon Pepper Wings were extra crispy and flavorful. The staff was super friendly and helpful and gave great beer recs and even put on the games I wanted to watch. The space is modern and open with plenty of TVs and a nice outdoor patio. Easy parking across the street for $7. Great spot for food, drinks, and catching the game in downtown LA.

The FD Burger is bomb! So are the wings! They have a wall of beer taps with a wide variety to choose from. You grab a glass and pour as much as you like (the taps charge by the oz). Cool concept. Great place to go watch the game.

Absolutely love the space, wine and beer program and food. We also love Toni's Pets Concierge and were happy to connect with our South Park dog community!

For a beer drinker with commitment issues (sorry, honey!) this place is a dream. Cool space. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. And more self-pour taps than I've seen anywhere in LA or otherwise. Taps are mostly beer (duh) but also a handful of wines, a couple ciders, kombucha, and even seltzers for you Claw fiends. Everyone will go home happy. ...and tipsy. Just want to try 6 ounces of Hop Slam to say you got it earlier in the season than most? That's what's going on in my picture. Can't decide between sauv blanc or rosé? Go crazy and try half a glass of each. And as a thrifty beer guy, I did the math-- Prices per ounce actually equate to pretty much what you'd pay at other bars downtown- roughly $7-9 for a 12-ounce. Oh and they just started trivia nights on Wednesdays. But don't show up of you're too good. 😉

It’s down the street from me and I love this local spot, I come here too often not to give it a 5 star review.

Good place to spend time with friends. The staff was friendly welcoming.

Always a great spot with a large variety of brews from everywhere including wine and others.

Good food, great beer selection that changes often, fun place to come and hang out.

Loved the atmosphere, music, and food. The alcohol all works on a pour your own service that charges by the oz- which is awesome if you are wanting to try small amounts of many drinks or just cannot/do not drink a large amount. Great for me with medical issues to avoid too much alcohol.

My two daughter's and I ventured out for a day of shopping in the Garment District and needed a place to eat. I opened up Yelp and one of the first selections was First Draft Taproom and Kitchen - well why not? We walked in and the hostess was sweet as pie! Super professional and knowledgeable. We walked up to the counter and another smiling face! We all ordered 3 burgers - my girls ordered non-alcoholic drinks and I purchased a card to drink some of the local beer and wine. First off - the burgers were AWESOME! You can tell that they are fresh. they were thick and juicy! The fries were great as well. I loved the selection of beers and wines! I loved the fact that you can tap on the screen and you can read more about the beer. I also love the fact that I can taste as many as I like and only pay for what I pour - pay by the ounce. The overall experience was AMAZING! Only one selection - provide a better selection of non-alcoholic drinks for patrons that are non-drinkers.

Wonderful place. Love the idea we pay by the ounce so that we can sample many beers ciders and mix drinks. Squirrelors' Tavern above is a wonderful night of adventure. Highly recommend reserving a spot in the Tavern for Great fun.

I'm impressed! This was my first time there and a friend invited me so I didn't really even know what to expect and when I saw 60+ beer handles I was excited. And it's a pour your own which was fun. I ended up maxing out at 32 ounces. I think I got to try 10 different beers. And the food was pretty good to. I did not expect the Fry's to be as large as they were, but I ended up eating more than I should have. It was good!

I only stopped in here briefly but I love all the options and that it's self serve. Also the space was very open with an outdoor patio and the doors were kept open so it had a little bit of an indoor/outdoor feel. They also had various types of glasses for the various beers and wine which was a nice touch. You basically get cards from the staff and tap the pour you want and it's charged by the ounce. So a bit dangerous because you might not realize how much you're spending. But it's a great way to try a bunch of different beers since you don't have to pour an entire glass

This place is awesome! You get to pick your own beer on the wall and try as many as you can. You pay by the ounce so you don't have to commit to a beer if it's not your taste. The foot was really good too. I got the pretzel bites and the angel wings and both were delicious. Highly recommend.

Great beer selection and the self service model was fine. The rodeo burger was great and the prices were surprisingly reasonable considering the location and the quality of the food

Absolutely, try this place out! The process is: you pay for a tap card, i believe we paid $20, you tap your card to the beer, the beer is sorted in sections to find the ones you like the best and even the ones you are wanting to explore, next, you pour your amount and it shows you how much you are pouring, finally, it shows your remaining balance on your card. There are a few more beers upstairs, so do not forget those as well.

Super cute, cozy ,cool and chill vibe. Omg the guys are very friendly and informative. It was random and worth it. Definitely coming back. The chicken and burger sliders were the best I ever had... I'm a wine drinker... never got his name 🤦🏽‍♀️ I asked for Port wine and recommended a similar which was amazing.

Would definitely come back! It is a bit on the expensive side, but I think it’s worth it, especially if your goal is to spend time with friends and drink self serve bevs. I’m not a beer person, but I was pleasantly surprised by their other options that included ciders and wines. I discovered the taproom because of the Squirrellor’s Tavern experience upstairs and we stayed before and after enjoying drinks and food. I loved their selection of games and the staff was phenomenal! 10/10 experience.

Love the delicious variety of beer, wine, hard kambucha and seltzer all at your own self serve style service. The food is delicious. The flat bread pizzas and the roasted Brussels sprouts are always my favorite. Can’t wait to try a burger

I really liked it here, its so nice that i can try sips of different beers to see what matches my taste. Food is average priced for what you get in downtown restraunts nowadays although i havent tried it or seen the food portions. Beer selection is good. First they check you in like to verify ID and then they provide a glass and a card which is used like one of those game cards or a TAP card where a card is tapped then pour as much or as little as you'd like and once you stop pouring it charges for that amount at the end.

It’s a cool place you can taste on tap beer/ wine/ cider on your own and charged by oz you drink. Pretty awesome for someone like me want to try everything new a sip😂 Food is okay, super spacious.

Pretty cool little Tap Room. They have a line of taps, you serve yourself what you want and how much you want and they charge by the ounce. You link a tap card to your credit card that measures how much you drank and you are charged accordingly. They have a limited menu for food, but the food came out great. A good spot for a socal drink and a bite to eat.

Fun place to visit to pour your own beer/wine. I tried about seven different beers/seltzers/hard ciders and wine. Most of them were not good 😂 but I did find a favorite stout there called Milk stout that had a delicious peanut butter flavor. I like the idea of pouring your own stuff and then paying by the ounce. They on charge a 20% service tip automatically which I found a little odd since we serve ourselves everything and we didn't order any food. Overall it was a cool experience, something fun to try with a big group of people too since there's a lot of tables and seating available.

Good place if you don't mind pouring your own beers. Good food, too.

Visited before a King's game. It was rainy so there weren't many people here. I liked the pour your own model. Their keeps were very friendly. The food wasn't great in my opinion, but we came for the beer. I ordered the jalapeno poppers which tasted as though they came out of a freezer. Also had the cheese and meat plate which was okay and some street fries which were also okay. Kind of reminds me of Yard House but a slightly better vibe. I'd go here again, but I'd probably only go for the beer.

Good beer selection and food is better than average but overpriced. Saying $15 for sliders is one thing but then it’s actually $18 because there’s a “living wage fee”. No. It is $18. Tell me the real price and don’t blame the cost of getting staff on any factor beyond management trying to artificially lower prices to entice customers.

Aside from a good mix of taps, the shining star here is really the food and service. I found a handful of beers I really liked, but the overall selection found be rated a C+... nothing completely special or rare but there are some notable selections I would go back for. We ordered a bunch of small bites to share to try the food and not one thing that came out made me sad about my order. The street fries hit the spot and the combination of flavors made my mouth and belly extremely happy. The Elote and Green salad gave us our daily dose of veggies in a new and delicious way...I would have eliminated the mustard but for those who like that yellow nonsense it might take this to a better level for you. And finally, the butcher block of sausage selections was delicious as well....here the pickled veggies cut through all the heavy food we were stuffing face with pretty well. The pickle was different in a great way that complimented all the food really. Definitely coming back for food and beer

The staff is nice…but you have to pour your own beer from a tap, order your own food through a QR code, and 20% gratuity is automatically included.

I should have read the reviews because nowhere on their website does it say this place is a self pour beer establishment. I dislike self pour places. Majority of the beers are never anything interesting. This does differentiate itself by having a couple cocktails and kombucha on tap. It was Sunday, it was empty, and they had the Olympics on, so I stayed anyway. You do everything including ordering your own food, so service is as good as you want it to be. They still charge a 20% living wage fee to every check, which I guess doesn't qualify as a junk fee under the new California law? I would rather them just raise the per ounce price of the beer. Nobody is really doing that math before they pour anyway.

Fantastic location. Huge beer selection. The food is good and has many TVs to watch sports. I wish there was a big TV outside or pointed towards the patio area so I can come and hang with my dog. The staff are the friendliest. Mark was very helpful and showed us how everything works. The only downside is that I don’t think these cups and machines are accurate. It is slightly expensive. It said that I had 52 ounces. I’m like that can’t be real. I should be blasted if I drank that. I hadn’t even been to the restroom once yet. Good spot but I pass on it.

I had a salad with fried chicken balls not bad really had 1 and a half beers. The price because of 20 percent grat for self service resturant...???? The biggy, paid cash 42 bucks, it's almost 24 hours later and they have a 24 dollar hold on my CC. That's 66 for a salad and a beer and a half. Please post big sign saying "20 PERCENT SERVICE CHARGE" !!!

Was shopping around the area so me and my sister stopped by for drinks and food. The self-serve concept could be cool and the place is artsy and cute but I'm writing a bad review for 3 reasons: 1) bad pricing 2) bad food 3) bad service. 1. You pay at the end. Things add up every quick. They charge like 70c to $1 per oz and it's like 13oz to fill a cup. We spent like $65 for 6 not even full cups of beer. Then they charge you 20% gratuity on top when you are serving yourself??? You also order food on your phone and pay online? So 20% for what? 2. The food is trash. 🗑️ Someone else mentioned it on the reviews actually. The food taste and looks microwaved! Got the flatbtead and 6 wings. It looks like one of those pizzas you pop in the microwave and it was like $40 for those 2 things because they also charge the 20% gratuity on that. Hella disappointed after spending over $100 for food and drinks. If I wanted to eat mid microwaved food I could have looked in my freezer. 3) Some skinny white petite waitress was rude. First, she hardly acknowledged us when we walked in. They have like a reception desk at the entrance so if you're gonna work that station shouldn't you at least be a little warm? I don't expect a red carpet and big ol smiles but atleast a gesture of acknowledgement. The mngr was sweet. On top of that, the same waiter made a weird comment when she came to clear our table. There was still food on the plates so we kindly told her we are still working on it to indicate for her not to pick it up and she says "ur gonna eat ALL of that?!" Very confused on why she would say that when it was a regular (actually on the smaller side) meal?? And wth do you care? Even if I didn't finish it I would take it home bc how pricey it was. Plain rude. Walked away hella disappointed in the food and super annoyed at the waiters rude comment and just regretful in general.

This place is a rip off, $13.15 for a tiny glass of beer 2/3 full - I dread to think how much it would be if you filled a whole pitcher. The UI is terrible too, a bunch of numbers with no explanation of what they mean (there was def no 13 on there). And if you want your staff to get a living wage, increase your prices and pay them properly - don't just sneakily add 20% on the bill at checkout, which you're expecting in addition to a tip. No wonder it was empty.

The food comes out instantly and feels microwaved. Forced 20 percent gratuity and it suggests an additional tip when it's self serve and the food is terrible. Worst place I have eaten in California. Would not recommend to other tourists.

$105 for 2 burgers and 2 beers. It’s a clean and a good place to watch a game but that doesn’t justify the price at all, there isn’t even a server you order the at the front. Not only that but the server conveniently forgot to tell me that there was a 20% gratuity charge included after I tipped 25% on the screen.

I rarely write reviews, but would like to write one here to inform future costumers as well as for some of my own personal venting. My girlfriend and I came here before a playoff game at Crypto. we were pleasantly surprised by the nuanced concept of pouring your own beer, and there were quite a few taps to choose from. After pouring a few very, very small tasters that were basically foam, we decided on a few beers to commit to. By the end, we totaled 4 beers with four full-foam tasters. It was news to me when I received the bill and it was $67 total. the most ironic part is the auto 20% gratuity they tack onto the bill - who am I tipping? I am literally the one that poured my own beer, why am I being charged 20% in tip automatically? Same story with the food there as well. It was decent bar food that you order on your phone, and they bring it out to you. Same auto 20% gratuity tip is charged for the food. Again, I am ordering the food on my phone and paying the bill on my phone automatically; no one is serving me, so why am I being forced to pay a 20% gratuity? My advice: go down a block to Audio Graph brewery. They'll have way cheaper beer, FREE tasters that aren't just foam, and not charge you 20% tip when again & ironically, they are the ones pouring your beer.

Ahhhh, as of Today ( Dec. 14 ) this place is closed…. Looks like it’s refurbishing but there was no sign saying anything…. 🤷‍♂️