Remember when Jared Meisler promised not to go messing with your hard-rocking, bar-brawling memories at Coach & Horses? Apparently, he just couldn’t help himself, as Meisler and partner Sean MacPherson have turned the former Richard Burton haunt into The Pikey, a new British bar named for (oh god no, please), Brad Pitt’s character in Snatch (or possibly the pejorative some Brits use to refer to itinerants and groundlings). The bar reopened this weekend under its new name and in place of a dark cavernous pit of metal, bad tats, and wafting curries, now there are paintings of Maharajas, photos of East End Teddy Boys, chandeliers, and three spaces bearing their own style among a more traditional pub atmosphere. And what about the food?
Guest of a Guest tells us the good news that Ralph Johnson, a former Spotted Pig chef de cuisine**, will be swinging some Michelin chains in the kitchen over a pub-inspired menu of thrice-baked fish and chips and vinegar chicken, backed by 30 beers, and cocktails by Damian Windsor. The place doesn’t appear to have stayed the same, but we’ll admit, it sounds like it’s making up for a lack of grime with the potential for some great eating. The Pikey is currently soft-open this week, to be followed by a grand-opening this Sunday.
The Pikey, 7617 W Sunset Blvd. Hollywood.
Earlier: MacPherson and Meisler Get Back on Coach & Horses [GS]
**This post has been corrected as we could find no material substantiating the original source’s claim that Johnson was ever the executive chef at April Bloomfield’s Spotted Pig.
