LA Sports Fans, Meet Your New Favorite Spot: Pawn Shop
From chef-driven dining and craft cocktails to 53 screens and weekend brunch, Pawn Shop is redefining the sports bar experience in Los Angeles.
- By: Julianne Elise Beffa I Photos by: Shelby Moore
When I landed in Los Angeles from New York City on Saturday night, all I wanted was a Jack and Coke, a game on TV, and the kind of comfort food that has become synonymous with sports bars. I’d heard plenty of buzz about Pawn Shop, Hollywood’s newest hotspot on Melrose Avenue, but I still assumed I knew exactly what I was walking into. In my mind, it would be a more polished version of the classic sports bar formula: plenty of televisions, cold drinks, familiar food, and a crowd gathered around the biggest moments in sports.
Instead, Pawn Shop completely changed my expectations of what a sports destination could be.
I’ll admit, I even questioned my outfit choice before arriving. Dressed in my signature New York uniform—a black mini dress and heels—I left my hotel wondering if I had accidentally dressed for the wrong kind of night. But the second I walked through the doors, I realized I had misjudged the assignment. Pawn Shop doesn’t feel like the sports bars most of us grew up visiting. It feels like one of Los Angeles’ most exciting new restaurants, cocktail destinations, and gathering spaces that just happens to be built around sports.
And that distinction is exactly what makes it stand out.
The timing of Pawn Shop’s arrival in Hollywood couldn’t have been more fitting. Since opening this summer, the venue has already become a go-to destination for some of the biggest sporting moments, including the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon final, MLB season and UFC events. In a city that continues to embrace sports culture on a global scale, especially after welcoming the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Pawn Shop has positioned itself as the kind of gathering place where fans don’t just watch the game- they experience it together.
Perhaps that’s why the concept resonated with me immediately. I grew up in St. Louis with a father whose love of Cardinals baseball shaped my childhood and a brother who can effortlessly recite player statistics from virtually every major sport. Sports have always been part of my life, which also means sports bars have been part of my life. I’ve watched games everywhere from neighborhood taverns in Missouri to packed bars in Manhattan, and while every city has its favorites, they almost always follow the same formula.
Nothing illustrates that better than the menu. Led by James Beard Award-winning chef Tony Messina, the kitchen has little interest in serving the predictable lineup of bar food that has long defined the sports bar category. Instead, Pawn Shop approaches game-day dining with the same level of ambition you’d expect from one of Los Angeles’ most talked-about restaurants.
Like most first-time visitors, I arrived expecting wings, nachos, burgers, and the familiar lineup of sports bar classics. Instead, our table quickly filled with Sticky Pork Spare Ribs glazed with spicy kabayaki, Charbroiled Maine Oysters finished with XO butter, parmesan, and roasted garlic, Romanian Hanger Steak Frites featuring Australian Wagyu alongside perfectly crisp tallow fries, Dry Aged Branzino served with burnt strawberry salsa criolla and rocoto, and Pan con Tomate layered with smoked tomato, boquerones, and urfa pepper. Every dish felt polished, intentional, and worthy of a destination restaurant, making it difficult to believe I was technically dining inside a sports venue.
That was exactly the vision founder Diego Torres-Palma set out to create.
“We wanted the food to be a destination in its own right,” Diego told LOOP Mag in an interview. “We believed guests shouldn’t have to sacrifice a great meal just because they wanted to watch sports.”
We wanted the food to be a destination in its own right,
That philosophy represents a significant shift in sports hospitality, particularly in a city as competitive as Los Angeles. For decades, sports bars have operated under the assumption that the game itself was enough to bring people through the door, leaving food and beverage to play a supporting role. Pawn Shop flips that idea on its head by treating hospitality as the main attraction and sports as the shared experience that brings people together.
“We felt there was room for a hospitality-first sports concept,” Torres-Palma explains. “Great food, thoughtful design, exceptional service, and sports all under one roof- not just a place to watch a game.”
The approach extends far beyond the kitchen. While I happily ordered the Jack and Coke I had been craving since boarding my flight in New York, it quickly became obvious that the beverage program deserves just as much attention as the menu itself. Rather than relying solely on pitchers of beer and standard game-day drinks, Pawn Shop has built a cocktail list that feels perfectly at home in one of Hollywood’s best bars, a philosophy that continues with the recent launch of weekend brunch.
Guests can now spend Saturday and Sunday mornings enjoying dishes including Chicken & Waffles with sambal and Japanese black sugar, Avocado and Prawn Toast, Spam Fried Rice topped with pineapple and fried egg, and shellfish towers designed for sharing alongside Hugo Spritzes, Espresso Martinis, and a lineup of cocktails that move far beyond the traditional mimosa. For Torres-Palma, brunch isn’t simply another service- it represents an opportunity for Pawn Shop to become part of the neighborhood’s everyday rhythm.
“We picture families strolling over with their kids, friends gathering around a table for great food and mimosas, and people settling in without needing a big game as the reason to come,” he says.
That vision feels particularly relevant at a time when sports hospitality is undergoing a transformation. Watching a game at home has never been easier, which means restaurants can no longer rely on giant televisions alone to fill their dining rooms. Guests increasingly expect memorable hospitality, chef-driven cuisine, thoughtful cocktails, beautiful design, and the kind of atmosphere that makes leaving the house worthwhile.
“Fans expect more today,” Torres-Palma says. “They want great hospitality, quality food, thoughtful cocktails, and an environment that feels special- not just a room full of televisions.”
It’s difficult to argue with that assessment after spending an evening inside Pawn Shop. While the venue certainly delivers everything sports fans could ask for, from impeccable sightlines to an atmosphere that becomes electric as the room collectively reacts to every play, the games almost become secondary to the overall experience. The conversations linger long after the final whistle, another cocktail seems like an easy decision, and the food alone provides enough reason to plan a return visit regardless of what’s on television.
(Sports fans) want great hospitality, quality food, thoughtful cocktails, and an environment that feels special- not just a room full of televisions.
As Torres-Palma puts it, “Sports have always been about more than what happens on the field. They’re about the people you watch with, the collective anticipation, the celebration, the heartbreak, and the stories you tell long after the game is over.”
After one Saturday night in Hollywood, it’s hard not to believe him. I arrived expecting a sports bar and left convinced that Pawn Shop represents something much bigger. By combining chef-driven dining, exceptional cocktails, thoughtful design, and the communal excitement that only live sports can create, Pawn Shop isn’t simply raising the bar for sports hospitality in Los Angeles- it is redefining what the category can become.
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