Barbarella Bar: more bosoms, less Zen

A festive group (of EatingLA readers!) enjoys Barbarella in its first week.

We stopped by the brand-new Barbarella in Silver Lake Friday night to take advantage of their 7 days a week happy hour from 4-7. Have the dingy memories of Zen Sushi finally been erased? Yes, fortunately Barbarella is a whole new and much cleaner ball game. I can't say I love the decor -- the Spanishy leather and wood seats don't look quite right with the crystal chandelier, corseted waitresses and nudie wallpaper, and the odd-shaped space is cavernous rather than cozy (especially since there's no heat yet.) But there's plenty of seating in two different areas as well as along the bar.
The beer list is helpfully divided into categories: lager, hoppy, yeasty, etc. Unlike our trip to Blue Palms the other night, there weren't really any beers I was that excited about trying, but the $4 a pint happy hour price is certainly a bargain for the likes of Green Flash IPA or Unibroue Maudite. We had two appetizers ($6 each at happy hour): crunchy fried avocado rolls, reminiscent of chimichangas with a tangy tomatillo salsa; and a hearty-sized portion of the ubiquitous tuna tartare. With a giant fried tortilla chip and a bottom layer of avocado, this dish may be cliché but it was filling and fun to eat. Kathy recommends they add fries with various sauces to the bar menu. Service was more earnest than expert, as it is still early days, but servers were generous with extra beer if service slowed down. The dinner menu is fairly brief; I'd say this is more of a lounge with snacks than a dinner destination, but either way, nearby neighbors seem happy to have a new place for drinks, with one of the bigger beer selections in Silver Lake (taps shown below), as well as fruity 10 oz. martinis and a solid wine list.
Barbarella Bar
2609 N. Hyperion Ave.
(323) 644-8000