The King Eddy Saloon, (131 E 5th St., Downtown; 213.629.2023) at the base of the 120-year old King Edward Hotel, is one of the most infamous of Los Angeles dive bars. New owners closed it for renovation, and now it’s soft-open.
Why infamous? King Eddy’s Saloon was the hub of illegal alcohol bootlegging back in Prohibition days. They were part of a network of underground tunnels sprawling downtown Los Angeles. This 90-year old speakeasy made its home beneath a well known piano shop.
After prohibition ended in 1933 the upstairs was converted back into the “dive” that is there today. With Los Angeles’ longest standing liquor license King Eddy’s serves their Skid Row residents the cheapest “muddy water” in town, whose ingredients are still a mystery to us all. They some how managed to avoid downtown renovation projects and still carries a little of mystery.
These days you can head down there for breakfast, lunch or dinner for straight forward dishes like sausage, hashbrowns, biscuits & gravy; BBQ rib sandwich; ham & cheese; and chicken pot pie. The most expensive thing on the menu s $3.50! And to wash it down, order up a beer. Domestic or imported.
King Eddy’s “Where no one gives a sh*t about your name.”
