YE OLDE KING’S HEAD, certainly the most famous British pub in California (and probably the USA) is celebrating its 40th Birthday this month.
The Santa Monica institution, founded by Phil and Ruth Elwell in 1973, has long been not just the first stop for British expats arriving in Los Angeles, but a magnet that brings them back time and again, for good food and drink and – of course – some civilized conversation with the regulars.
Soon after its debut the pub quickly became the watering-hole of choice for Fleet Street’s LA correspondents, as a consequence of which it was soon immortalized in numerous newspaper articles and cartoons back in the UK. Readers with long memories may also remember the pub being the model for the thinly-disguised Nag’s Head, which was a staple of Sean Thomas’s California Diary section in this newspaper from 1984 to 1989. And the pub’s popularity meant it quickly outgrew its original space – what is now the front bar – to expand eastwards to its current size, which includes the restaurant, the back bar and private dining room, and the King’s Head Shoppe, which sells British food and those other essentials from home that we simply can’t do without.
Phil and Ruth retired to the desert almost a decade ago, passing the torch of ownership to Paul Boetcher and Donal Tavey, and the energetic pair have expanded operations to include the Kings Head II in Studio City. But Phil and Ruth will be back on April 23rd to celebrate the pub’s 40th birthday. Fittingly enough, April 23rd celebrates two other British icons, it is St. George’s Day, and the 450th birthday of a talented writer by the name of William Shakespeare, so it will be something of a triple celebration for local Brits. Food and drink specials will be offered, and there will be music from DJ Stubbsy from 7pm onwards.
Ye Olde Kings Head is located at 116 Santa Monica Boulevard, Santa Monica. Tel: (310) 451-1402. www.yeoldekingshead.com
