Barcopa

As a regular at Bar Copa let me tell you things have gone DOWN hill at the new «pink elephant» and I’m sorry but it starts with the djs. My friends and I go to Bar Copa to let loose, dance and have a good time.
Ever since it turned into Pink Elephant and you lost DJ Maple Syrup and any other decent dj who knew how to actually play some old school hip hop it honestly is no good. It’s been highly disappointing every time! GET NEW DJS!!! This bs loungy weird stuff they’re playing isn’t working. Keep the old school hip hop vibes people come for. Tip for your dj… if no one is dancing, it’s cause your musical selection sucks, try to entertain the crowd, not yourself.

just wanted to follow up. I went back to get the phone and it was literally sitting right on the bench where I had been sitting.
The jerk behind the counter asked if i had «called» hahahahahha.
What a joke. I called all week and even the other bar that they own. No one helped. Such a joke. Im going to make sure to boycott this place for the last few weeks they are open. Thank god it wasn’t the last night. I never would have gotten my phone back.

I came here on a Saturday night for the music! Music played here was awesome and was mostly danceable hip hop and R&B stuff. My main complaint was about the place is that it is really small and somewhat claustrophobic. I also did not like how they charged cover even if it was only $ 5. That was just annoying.
Our group was at the Basement Tavern earlier and although the ambiance is much better there, we could not make any sense of the music.
I can’t speak to the drinks, but it appears as thought it might be a fun place to hit up for happy hour.

Second week in a row where the music is great, the crowd is hilarious sand the bartenders are phenomenal. Definitely one of my favorites in LA…

Great place to throw back a couple of drinks and dance the night away. The DJ was great and played a blend of rock, pop, hip hop, rnb, and soul. The bartenders were attentive. I’d come here again anytime I’m in town.

Amazing bar! Amazing music! Amazing staff!
I have 2 different experiences with this bar:
1. It was my friends 22^nd birthday so I looked up some bars in Santa Monica. BarCopa popped up and since I’ve never been, I said why not. I contacted Farrah (who is amazing and responds quickly to your emails). She set everything up so we would have a reserved section and everything. When we got there, the music was on point and the venue had lounges and a dance floor. It was very early in the night for bar hopping so there wasn’t many people there but my small party didn’t care and we had drinks, danced, and moved to the next bar.
2. I decided to host a party with just my friends from my college. I contacted Farrah again who was more than helpful to accommodate the details. Of course, word got out about this event I was hosting and we had a lot more guests than expected. It was a private party and it was a hit! The bartender was overwhelmed with the turn out but that was my fault for not giving them a better accurate number of guests. But all my friends said he was quick and had great customer service. Everyone enjoyed themselves and said it was the best night ever at a bar.
Farrah — super accommodating, patient, gets back to u with any questions.
Elliot (bartender for the private party) works fast, efficient, very nice, and great customer service.
Music– it was ratchet when we went on my friends 22^nd birthday. Just how we like it.
Drinks are $ 2 off before 11p. Drinks are average priced.
Overall, all my friends want to go back and everyone had a great time!

So much fun! such a good playlist on Sat night! I’ll be back for sure.

This is a fun bar to drink and dance at! They play the CLASSICS here. It is so fun to come with friends and just have fun and dance! The line outside is kind of unnecessary because everyone ends up getting in anyways, but it’s not too bad if you come before 11 o’clock from what I’ve noticed. The only thing that was annoying was how much it smelled inside (probably from the sweaty people dancing). I got a whiskey sour, and it was fine, pretty standard drink that’s hard to mess up.

Cute little bar in Santa Monica. I came on a Saturday and would come back again, but not to stay the whole night. It’s a cool place to stop by for a drink or two and plays good music– basically all hip hop. The crowd is very diverse and primarily people in the 20 – 30 age range, which is what to expect for this area. Entrance was $ 5, but there was no line. There’s a few same tables/​couches in the back area to hang out, but I wouldn’t try and come here with a large group of people.

Hated my experience here.
Parking:
We parked at a public parking lot $ 10 for all night.
Service & Ambience:
So…We got here at 10:59pm, the bouncer checked our ID and he said we have to pay $ 5 cover for each person because they charge cover fee from 11:00 pm…
I said we got there before 11:00pm and it was exactly 11:00pm by the time they checked our ID. They made us pay. :(
We went inside and it was like a tiny ZOO. Smelled awful, couldn’t even move my feet because it was literally FULL and loud that I felt sick. We immediately came outside and complained and the manager came to us and asked us what was wrong. I explained the situation and she gave us this attitude and repeated that there is cover after 11:00pm.
I KNOW GOSH. I understand Engrish… It wasn’t even about the money from the beginning. I can care less about paying $ 5 cover but my point was that we got there before 11pm so they shouldn’t make us pay. I had to repeat myself numerous times until she looked at us as if we were asking for money and said «Ok, so you want your money back?»
I felt like sh*t, my boyfriend was pissed. I got the money back because I didn’t want to donate any money to this place at all. We went to Viceroy after.
Won’t be going back.

Came on a Saturday night around 9:30 without cover (no cover until 11), and what you’ll find is a chill crowd just enjoying drinks at happy hour prices (2 dollars off normal prices).
That all changes at 11 when happy hour ends for some unclear remains unclear to me… people really get the drank on and the music bumps and people get down. The music was good and there is a small area to get your dance on. Mostly 90s and some random cameos from 2000s and top 40s.
Crowd was diverse. 20s-​30s with all mixed races and super chill, friendly faces all around. Definitely would come back to get my 90s fix.

Spent NYE here with a bunch of my friends, and we had a ton of fun! Caveat — since we did go on a holiday I’m not sure if the rates/​experience are the same on a regular night.
Got a table through one of the promoters (it was either a bottle or $ 250 drink minimum to reserve), but we still had to pay for cover, unfortunately ($ 20). We got there around 10. It was pretty empty at first then it got fairly packed, and the place is pretty small, so it doesn’t take that many people to fill that up. However, it wasn’t too bad because there was still some wiggle room left (i.e. we weren’t shoulder-​to-​shoulder like a bunch of sardines lol).
The drinks were good (and not too pricey), and the bartenders were pretty animated. The crowd is also a grab bag of different characters — from classy to trashy/​boughetto lol. The music was a mix of hip-hop/R&B/pop/top 40’s, so it made for a pretty good time.
The only little snag that we hit on that night was that when we were closing our tabs, certain bartenders didn’t give back some of my friends’ cards. They’d give the receipts to sign, but not actually return the cards. Some had to wait forever to get back their card back and some had to go back the next day. Just a heads up if you’re going to open a tab there. Otherwise, this place is solid. I would go back to it again.

Ohhhhh barcopa how I love you. I live up the street and me and my friends always come down here after a party at my house. Deedra is so freaking cool and all my friends (girls and boys) always leave having a crush on her. This place plays THE BEST drunk music. If you listen to the radio now (or 10 years ago) you’ll have a good time here. I love this place !

This place is okay and nothing special. The music is alright and the bartenders do a good job, but the dance floor is just a little too small.
Additionally, they don’t have draft beers but the seating options aren’t bad.

Can’t believe I just found this place! Barcopa is a mix between a dive bar and a club. They have a happy hour from 9−11pm which makes it great when you want to stay for the dancing. The DJ’s were playing club-​like dance music and great hip hop hits.
This place is on the smaller side and really dark. This didn’t bother me since the overall experience is fun but some people can get turned off with how hot it gets and it’s hard to see someone 6 inches in front of you. It’s bigger than the Circle Bar and just as dark.
If you’re looking for a fun night of dancing come here!

I stopped by Barcopa on a Saturday night and there were enough patrons to fill the place. However, it wasn’t too crowded to maneuver through the crowd or to get a drink at the bar. In fact, the bartenders are extremely helpful and cute, and we were able to get service rather quickly. Drinks were stiff and inexpensive.
The DJ played a lot of 90’s music, mainly hip hop – I loved it!!! The crowd was a good one. Even though there aren’t a lot of places to sit, everyone stayed on their feet and moving to the music. There was no cover charge and parking was easy to find.

I give this place five stars because I love the bartenders, also the weekends people dance all night long. The drink are reasonably priced and its nice and dark so you feel comfortable. Its has a great location but is still kinda tucked away like a cute little secret spot.

03÷15÷14 I made a reservation at barcopa it was cool lil bar. prices are up to par There’s no DRESS CODE!!!
It took a party of 17 people’s n everybody was feeling the vibe plenty of s pace to dance.

Yup I’d agree — solid 3.5 stars. I’ve been to Barcopa only a few times. Always on a Saturday night, always has a good time. Val M. put it best. It’s like you’re back in 2001! The DJ plays the jams! Yes, every other song you or your girl will literally be saying, «Ohhhh this is my JAM!» Barcopa is a great little (truly little!) bar to seriously get your groove on.
The crowd seems be getting a little bit drunker more recently (unless that’s just me getting older?! Lol). Almost kinda sloppy drunk. No one is attractive as a sloppy drunk. Ladies, don’t expect to find your soulmate or future husband here. Fellas, you can likely find a pretty drunk girl though that is likely DTF… if that’s what you’re looking for.
Parking in the back lot. Pay the meter, then pay the cover, then get your dance on!

I have great memories of the Barcopa of five years ago, so I decided to revisit recently and I must say, this place has gone down hill. For some strange reason they’re trying to make this place a tiki bar. This is done by painting the word «Tiki» on the wall outside, and having the bartenders wear white linen shirts and sunglasses. They also offer a new tiki menu with island themed drinks, which I would never even think to order here. The whole theme seemed so contrived and looked like a desperate attempt to rebrand the place. And it’s not working. The place was EMPTY at 11:00 on a Saturday, but that was actually a good thing. We got a great table right on the dance floor.
The good news is that the music is just as good as it has always been. When people started showing up (around midnight) it was a decent crowd of good people there just to have a good time. Barcopa used to be my destination for a night out. Now, it’s more like if I’m in the neighborhood, I’ll stop by.
Please consider nixing this whole Tiki idea. It doesn’t fit and from what I know, changing the direction of a bar is usually the last stop before they go out of business.