Sangria

I came here, and it is now called American Junkie. My review is on the American Junkie page.

This will go through two experiences that I have had close together.
Dinning:
I took my sister there to play catch-​up and we had some Sangria and we ate some tapas and it was ok. Not great, but ok. They had a spanish style dancing and music, SPANISH not Ranchero, Cumbias, Chente, Mariachi or whatever other music types are associated with Mexican culture. It was a nice mellow week night.
Club:
They have three rooms, usually the main area by the bar is for hip-​hip/​top 40 main-​stream dance etc. That where the bar is at, it takes a while for the waitress to get to you, but I’m patient. Also the drinks are a bit more expensive, their Sangria is good.
In the small room to the side is usually where they play electronica, house music and trance. Its more of a lounge area where the music is loud enough to dance to, but you can still talk to people. I used to like to go there…
Now it had been a few months since the time prior but the weekend came, I was there with my girl. We were dancing and then a group guys came in and they were in all red, boston red sox hats with the «B» not the socks, red belt buckles, red chucks, red laces, etc. Throwing up gang signs they pretty much took over the place. It was uncomfortable, but I am told that under the new ownership there has been a big gang presence there; and thats their new spot.
Sangre is Spanish for blood. So I will be giving my money somewhere else or at another bar where I dont feel like I am gonna get hit up outside or on my way to the car.
Place at least needs a dress code.

Me n my group of club buddies came here one night. I don’t club frequently so i didn’t really know what to expect but I surely had a great time! The crowd is very culturally mixed which absolutely contributed to the amount of fun I had.
I had so much fun dancing, I only ordered one drink. They had a couple of rooms, I don’t remember how many for sure nice I was back and forth between two rooms. The DJ’s were amazing! They played awesome music.
I had a lot of fun. I’d come back here. I do think that it matters who you go with and the crowd that’s there.

I’ve been to Sangria several times and I’ve never had an amazing time and I dont know why that is.
It’s so funny because, at night, the people who work here think its a club… and I guess it is? There are 3 different rooms and they all play different music… there is only one bar and it is very hard to get a bartender to serve you!
They play decent music and their drinks are a little too expensice for my liking.
There is a cover charge but I have never paid it so I dont know how much it is… There is a small patio if you want to have a smoke or if you just want to get away from the loud music.
In my opinion, Sharkeez is a better time!

Was here for New Years 2012. Guy on phone and website both say $ 20 per person. Bouncer says $ 30. Guy at door says $ 40. The place was empty (for Hermosa) yet they did not let anybody in and the advertised cover had doubled while we waited in line. The only people getting in were pre-​sale tix and several ugly «big» girls (no offense) that were too good to wait in line like the rest of us yet convincing enough for the incompetent bouncers.
We arrived at 9pm like the guy on the phone recommended and ended up waiting in line till 11pm until we finally decided that we were tired of getting jerked around by the staff. Whatever Sangria’s thinks it is, it is not worth the hassle. Don’t tell us 20 minutes when in reality you aren’t going to let anybody else in at all.
We were at the front of the line and the place was still empty when we decided to leave and actually enjoy our last night of 2011. A bunch of angry people followed us out of the line since we were at the very front and that probably sent the message that nobody was getting in. The line at one point was in the hundreds before it dissipated into a few unlucky patrons before midnight.
It will never be worth the hassle again. I won’t be back. We had a fantastic New Years at Fat Face Fenner“s instead and saved $ 30 per person in the process.

Oh I remember those days when I use to hangout here every Friday and Saturday when I use to live in Signal Hill. My gfs and my sis knows the bouncer and the bartender (CJ) and would get in no sweat at all. I remember the food and drinks being good as well.
8 years later when I went back, the vibe is not the same. I guess its better to go to Santa Monica or Venice;)

Ugh… I should have known better! I’ve been here for nights out with friends in Hermosa at Pier Ave. and I knew what to expect from Sangria. I’ve had fun here at night — it’s the typical Pier Ave bar and Hermosa crowd.
This review is for the restaurant portion during the day. My suggestion… keep on walking. I knew when I walked up to the restaurant that I was probably making a mistake coming to actually eat here, but it was a college game day and a lot of the other places were packed.
I walked up to the wait stand and there was no one there to seat me. I waited for five minutes before the hostess came out of the back to seat me. I took my seat… and my wait began.
I waited for 10 – 12 minutes and no waiter came to take my drink order. I asked the hostess to go and get me a waiter to take my order. Another 5 minutes and a waiter comes out. I order a Cobb Salad and a Stella. Another 20 minutes later, I get my beer. And another 5 – 10 minutes after that, I get my salad. It took 40 minutes to get a beer and 45 – 50 minutes to get a salad. By the way, the salad looked like it was bagged Costco lettuce with some blue cheese crumbles on it. Oh, and no dressing. Another 5 minute wait for dressing. Overall, poor service. The staff was more concerned with setting up chairs than serving the customers. Notices the same service for other customers as well.
I can only blame myself — should never have come here for food!

EHK PASS!
I was invited to a friend’s b’day a while back… All I can say is, my dear Unilocal friends is… Pass on this one, had a horrid experience.
Service; bad. The waitress had such a bad attitude. She obviously does not like her job!
Or people. Or life.
(we tipped her by writing, with coins ‘fail’ on the table. heehee)
Food; Bad. Cold. Flavorless. Expensive.
(And I ordered a Chinese chicken salad. How can someone mess that one up??)
Anyways, cut a long story short, there are plenty of other places to eat and or go out and hang out with friends. Even bloody McDonald’s would have been better that this place.
:))

Review solely for the bar/​lounge!
While Sangria isn’t the most amazing place I’ve been to, it definitely has a vibe and the chemistry inside isn’t too bad. There is a «dance» section on one side and a calmer «let’s chat» section on the other (and a mini «dance» section deeper in).
There are also 2 bars – the one on the right «let’s chat» side from my experience has always been better. I don’t know the bartender’s name but he is an older guy who, instead of picking out all the hot girls to order, will remember in perfect order who was there first. That’s rare on the pier and that makes him a winner in my book. Drinks were also pretty strong (and therefore kinda disgusto).
Anyway, ambiance is club-​ish but not so intimidating. I always seem to have decent GNOs here.

**The food is good and the ambiance is festive making Sangria’s a nice place to dine with friends.**
After spending a summer in Spain a few years ago, I’ve really become a fan of Spanish cuisine, especially tapas. I’ve been to Sangria’s a couple of times now and have had a good experience each time I’ve come.
I went a few weeks ago because I had a group coupon I had purchased. I invited a buddy of mine whom I haven’t seen in a while so it was a great locale to grab a casual bit and catch up. We sat out on the patio where you can see all the happenings on the pier which made the evening quite festive.
It happened to be happy hour so I ordered the Sangria which came in an impressive sized carafe. It was decent and although not very strong-​tasting, I surmise they used some cheap wine because afterward, I felt a slight headache from it. My waitress said they do fill it to the brim with ice so you’re not getting as much as you think. The sangria may not have tasted very strong, but beware because it packs a subtle punch.
We decided to start with appetizers and ordered the Ahi Poke which was made of diced Ahi tuna mixed with a soy sauce marinade and placed on a fried wonton and drizzled with a spicy wasabi cream sauce. This rocked it! I almost wanted to order another plate of this it was so good.
Then we had the Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto which was just average to me. The prosciutto was salty as I suppose prosciutto usually is so I wasn’t really a huge fan of this plate and most likely wouldn’t order it again.
We then shared a Paella, which is one of their main dishes. They split our order into two separate plates for us. It turns out they added a $ 2 surcharge for splitting the plate into two which perturbed me a little bit because we just said we were going to share it and they didn’t mention the extra charge and went ahead and split it into two bowls without informing us.
The paella was made of saffron rice mixed with generous portions of mixed seafood such as squid and clam as well as pieces of chicken and sausage. The dish was a little moist and there was a small puddle of water at the bottom of the bowl like the rice dish wasn’t cooked well enough. This was the first time I had paella here so it was a little disappointing especially since paella is one of the main dishes of Spain so for them to not prepare this well, was just not a good thing.
After we finished our meal, we received our bill and calculated that it was slightly less expensive to just pay the happy hour bill than to use my group coupon so I was able to save my coupon for another day.
Sangria’s has a great ambiance and the food is decent. I wasn’t too pleased that the waitress moved on to take an order from another table right after taking our order. I think they should work on that because I think it’s rude to not get the orders in as soon as possible.
Next time, I think I’ll order one of the main plates in addition to the appetizers because they had some really good choices on the menu. I’d recommend going during happy hour if you have a choice because a lot of the plates are discounted ½ off which allows you to order enjoy several of their offerings.

Spent an entire weekend at a beach house in Hermosa beach, went to eat, drink and dance at Sangria on Friday night.
Service: 4 stars
Food: 2 stars
Bar: 3 stars
Lounge area: 4 stars
DJ: 5 stars
After we settled everything at our beach house, it was nearly 9:30 PM, we were really in a hurry to get to the restaurant, cause the kitchen was closing real soon. Our waitress was really nice, she informed the kitchen that we were going to eat there, and gave us menus, said she would be back in just a few minutes to take our orders, we needed to hurry. we ordered a few drinks, appetizers and entrees real fast, at least we got our food, everybody was starving! Thanks to our friendly and fast waitress!
Our food came out, we were disappointed, we don’t know if it was because we were the last ones to order food or something like that. Ahi poke looked brown, obviously it was not fresh, and it tasted very very bad! House Salad was OK, BBQ chicken was OK, Mahi Mahi was a disaster, they just threw everything in a plate. the only good dishes were blackened shrimp and scallops, they were delicious. the complementary garlic bread was not bad either. the portions are big for tapas though.
After our disappointed last minute dinner, the nightclub has started, we ordered a few more drinks, relaxed a bit in our booth. The music in this room was not good, so we walked to the other side of the restaurant, there is a lounge area with another DJ and a small stage.
I liked this little lounge area, comfy couches and cushions, small dance floor and stage. Everybody was having so much fun on the dance floor. Th bar area was so crowded, it takes 15 minute to get drinks, very bad, glad we had more bottles back at our beach house.
DJ was very good! he played lots of good songs, perfect for dancing! lots of sexy girls went on the stage to dance, it was really fun to watch them sexy ladies! :) My gf and I went up there too, cause I wanted to request a song, lots of girls requested songs up there. I told DJ if he could play ” Baby” I knew it was hard to do that, I didn’t expect him to play it, BUT he played my song in 5 seconds! wow! I was soooo happy! what a nice DJ! good job!!! 5 stars! :)
I don’t recommend to eat there, the food is really not that great. But it is a very good place to dance, perfect for a group of friends to have a fun night!

Wow Sangria, what a pleasant surprise! Boyfriend and I came here for dinner the other night and absolutely loved everything. The restaurant itself is lovely; I love the trendy yet casual atmosphere. The space has a lot to offer from a bustling bar area, to seating for large parties, and even a space towards the back that was reserved for a birthday party. It was relaxing yet lively, and it seemed as though all other patrons were truly enjoying themselves as well.
We ordered the tequila lime shrimp appetizer (amazing. the bf can’t stop talking about how good the shrimp were). Entrees were the chicken Parmesan and the ahi tuna salad. obviously the salad was mine, and holy smokes guys, it was not only delicious, but huge as well. I was expecting some measly little salad with a few pieces of tuna, and was totally blown away. I actually ended up taking half of it home. *gasp*! I know, me taking half a salad home? unheard of. I usually scarf down my salads like a bulimic with ice cream. I can’t get enough, but at Sangria I was a lady about it and followed all the other tanned and toned milfs; I ate slowly, enjoyed conversation, admired the sights, and ate half my food… and got to enjoy it again the next day. Score.
Can’t go wrong with a huge plate of baby greens, mandarin oranges, tortilla strips, noodles, and a hefty portion of seared ahi. damn it was good. Came with a yummy honey balsamic that I ordered on the side… which I received in addition to my already dressed salad lol. no biggie.
Oh shit, I completely forgot about the bread. This was my demise during the meal and I definitely indulged (which is probably why i ended up with leftovers). The bread is so damn good and whatever the heck the butter lemon sage pesto dipping sauce (i really have no idea wtf it is, but its so unique and amazing I wanted to drink the stuff). mmm.
Can’t wait to come back and experience what Sangria has to offer on a Friday or Saturday night!

Sangria is the best. More place, more people, more fun. good drink, and all the people work there is so friendly, nice. Great great great!

We came here for dinner on a Saturday night right at dinner time. There was no wait for outdoor seating and we loved the atmosphere. The meal was great, service was great and all in all a fun evening. The atmosphere of the pier is so much fun!
The hubs loved his Blackened Salmon and I enjoyed the Korean BBQ Chicken. The only weird part was that they have only one type of Sangria… You would think that having a restaurant named Sangria there would at least be several types of delicious sangria!

Funnnnn place. My girlfriend and I came here on a Saturday night. We were kind of lagging and got here late (9 pm) for dinner. We sat down in the bar area and has some appetizers. From my point of view they were delicious, my friend said they were more Mexican before. Whatevs…
We had the Ahi Poke, yum! And we split some type of chicken pesto, which was delish and just what we needed to absorb one of the stronger Sangria’s I’ve had in my lifetime. VERY GOOD!
We stayed a while, while this lovely dinner place turned into a night club. They had a more house/​trans room and they had a little hip-​hop area. The music was meh and the mix of people was eh.
Not a lot of ethnic diversity, but it was fun nontheless and there was a little bit of mix up in there, enough to not make me stick out like a sore thumb. The only sucky part was that someone stole my jacket here and then it started raining. LOVELY!
I will say that I was sufficiently buzzed and had a great time overall.

A lot of people’s reviews mention having to pay cover to get in here? Well when my friends and I went on a Saturday night, there was none. It’s definitely not a club… I wouldn’t exactly call it a lounge either. But there WAS a DJ and a tiny space that some people turned into a dance floor.
There’s a long leather booth along the wall and a few seats at the bar, but other than that, not too much space to relax. I got the red sangria which came in a mini glass jug. Pretty big portion and it was only about $ 8 but it didn’t taste that great. My friend’s white sangria tasted like juice, which can be good or bad depending on what you prefer. I would think for a place called Sangria, they’d make better ones. :T But they were at least better than their mixed well drinks which were small portions, and cheap quality (my Midori Sour was made of some kind of melon syrup and not actual Midori). Basically, just stick to the sangria or beer here!
Overall, it’s an okay place to stop by if you’re bar-​hopping. It’s definitely a lot less crazy/​packed than Sharkeez next door!

Nothing to write home about– but just average — but overpriced for what you get. Location may influence the prices — since its right before the pier at Hermosa Beach.
Crab Sandwich is good– but yet — not alot of crab meat. Everything was fresh and service was alright. Hostess was a bit bitchy and could of done a better sell of the restaurant. Not sure where the attitude comes from? Waiter was professional and attentive.

This review is for their food. I came here and got the New Zealand Seabass in a tomato bell-​pepper coulis, served on Roasted garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach.
For that alone, I would come back.
The sea bass was not the best I’ve had, but it was good enough. I also liked the coulis. I’m not sure what it is but it tasted good.
I also got to try their seafood paella. It was not that good. A little salty.
The waitress we had was not very friendly. Actually, she was a little snobbish. In more ways than one. When Frank M asked what the specials were for the day, she gave us this look and said, «Oh you didn’t read it outside?»
Well we did, but we wanted to hear it again.
Parking: Just like everywhere else in Hermosa. parking can sometimes be bad. There’s a lot nearby where you can park. and there are also metered street parking around. It’s located on the pier.

So I’ve only been here twice but after my visit last night I’m thinking I may become a regular. My first time was a couple weeks ago and it was okay… not bad but nothing spectacular. I mostly stuck to the back room where the DJ was doing an odd mix of current hip hop and the usual Hermosa classics (i.e. Journey).
Now last night the DJ was MUCH MUCH better! Stuck more to current hits playing everything from Trey Songs to Miley Cyrus and I was really feelin the musical diversity. The place was packed and the crowd great… LOTS of cute guys in the building :) My only annoyance is that if they feel you have had to much to drink they will have you sit outside and force feed you water. Some may consider this a nice gesture but i was HIGHLY annoyed as it was my bday celebration and i had to sit outside for 20 mins instead of hanging with my people when i wasnt even being rowdy though YES I’d drank to much but hey it was my friggin bday!
While speaking of alcohol I wasnt very impressed with my adiós the first time I went as there was practically no alcohol in it. So i learned my lesson and went straight for shots the second time which I’d recomend you do if you are going for any sort of buzz.
I’ve seen people mention a $ 10 cover but the first time we only paid $ 5 dollars and lsat night we didnt have to pay at all so I’m not sure whats up with that lol. Overall very very fun place wll definitely be back for more.

The more than 50 reviews previous to mine have covered the bar scene at Sangria in detail. And Sangria is located on the infamous strip of lively clubs on Pier Ave., a few doors from the sand.
I would not touch that scene at this point in time, I missed it by about 20 years… haha…
I went for food. A take-​out. I’m sharing the experience because it seemed like a bargain, and in these tough times a good deal is important.
Although I arrived within Sunday happy hour time today, and could have taken advantage of the HH food specials, I wanted to head home and eat in front of the TV. That heavy fog at the beach made the air really cold! Brrrrrrrr…
It was even cold inside the restaurant. To hell with that.
So I ordered off the regular menu, and got the tostada salad, at the suggestion of the hostess. She said it was her fave… good enough for me.
They allowed me to substitute grilled shrimp in lieu of chicken or steak. And they were not cheap with those delicious shrimp. In fact, the tostada was huge, it felt like it weighed 5 pounds. There were refried beans, lettuce, chopped tomato, black olives, guacamole, a little cheese, and all those tender, tasty shrimp. Just right. A perfect dinner for 11 bucks.
And service was also perfect, but there were only 3 people in the place other than me.
The early bird menu at Sangria looks very interesting.
Tuesday thru Friday from 6pm to 7:30 pm
and Saturday & Sunday from 5pm to 7pm
you can get appetizers for 5 bucks, including spinach artichoke dip.
Salads are 8 bucks.
Entrees are $ 10, including prime rib, shrimp scampi, NY strip steak, and pasta dishes. The non-​pastas include a starch & veggies.
Not bad.
I may breeze by there one day soon and check out a steak.