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The Black Cat (Black Cat Tavern)

Google (701) 4.5

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G4.5

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Address

3909 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029

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Website

www.theblackcatla.com

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About this place The Black Cat (Black Cat Tavern)

At midnight on New Year's Eve 1967, as couples kissed to welcome the new year, undercover LAPD officers inside the Black Cat Tavern in Silver Lake began beating and arresting patrons. Fourteen people were arrested; six men were charged with 'lewd conduct' for kissing another man. What followed made history. On February 11, 1967, around 200 people demonstrated outside the bar against police brutality — organized by PRIDE (Personal Rights in Defense and Education), it stands among the first documented LGBTQ civil-rights demonstrations in the United States, more than two years before Stonewall. The movement it energized had a long afterlife: PRIDE's newsletter grew into The Advocate, the nation's leading LGBTQ magazine. The recognition is now official twice over: Los Angeles designated the building Historic-Cultural Monument #939 in 2008 — the bronze plaque on the facade calls it the "site of the first documented LGBT civil rights demonstration in the nation" — and in 2022 it became California Historical Landmark #1063, the first state landmark recognizing LGBTQ history. What you see today: since 2012 the space has operated as The Black Cat, a handsome, mainstream 21+ gastropub (open daily from afternoon until 2am) that consciously honors its past — the name survives, the plaque is outside, and photographs of the 1967 demonstration hang inside. It is not a gay bar today, but it wears its history on its walls. Combine it with the Mattachine Steps ten minutes away for a compact Silver Lake heritage walk through the neighborhood that organized before Stonewall.

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4.5

★★★★★

701 reviews

Based on 701 Google reviews.

Jordan Dufelmeier Jul 2026

★★★★★

Claudia Sandoval Jul 2026

★★★★★

Delicious food and excellent drinks!

Samo Jobs Jul 2026

★★★★★

Basically a 5 star place. The weekend nights can get a bit busy but this is expected. Good beer and cocktails all prefect!

sonia powell Jul 2026

★★★★★

My food was too salty. I also felt rushed by the woman with short hair at the bar. This was my second time visiting so perhaps they had an off day. I don't recall these problems in the past.

MC Macadar Jul 2026

★★★★★

Pros: Food here is great! Especially the burger. Love that you can choose between sitting picnic-table style on the patio or more upscale bar/restaurant inside. Cons: it is quite expensive, even for LA. I have found that service inside can be quite slow, and it’s LOUD when busy. Lastly, I *REALLY* wish the space was more recognizable as a queer monument, since one of the first (pre-Stonewall) uprisings happened there. ie, a photo wall or something similar in the main space.

emily callahan Jun 2026

★★★★★

Came here on Thursday for happy hour with my boyfriend and baby (in a stroller) sat on the patio and a staff member came out to say we couldn’t stay to eat with the baby present. Very odd and have never experienced that before considering we were eating outside and it’s a restaurant not a bar. Would never come back here due to that, we left feeling very embarrassed and discriminated against

Mike DePinto Jun 2026

★★★★★

Service was excellent and the atmosphere is nice. We enjoyed the food, but the cost is a turnoff. $27 for a burger and fries is just too much, and then there is a 4% add-on fee as well. If you don't mind the prices, you will probably enjoy the place.