House of Billiards

Go to spot on the West Side for billiards. They got plenty of tables and the price is reasonable and transparent (check the Unilocal photos). I’ve never had to wait for a table. Downside is the place is cash only.
Really chill vibe, everybody is relaxing, playing pool or sitting around the bar. They have beer and a bunch of TVs showing sports, so that’s a big plus. I even saw the dude who was running the place making a pizza in one of those pizza ovens so I guess that’s an option too.
I’ve told the dude previously that I suck ass so he recommended I not play on the pro tables since those have narrower pockets. Who knew?
Great atmosphere and price, haven’t found anywhere better.

Good selection of beers, good music and fun! The staff was also super personable. I had thought of going to this place awhile ago, and I wish I had gone sooner.
The Tuesday deal is pretty good at $ 28 for 2 hrs and a pitcher.

This is your average run of the mill great Pool Hall. It doesn’t get any better than a great place to hang out with friends and shoot on well kept tables and a simple no frills bar with bar food. Parking can sometimes be tough but I’ve never had to walk a block or two.
Pretty great if the local SM bars are packed and you want a place to chill

it’s a big pool parlor where they put the two girls in the middle of the room, rather than on the side. it was uncomfortable. Fancy potato chips and reasonable beer at the right time of day.

Good beer and foosball. Definitely recommend for drinks at night. No food. Jukebox. Friendly staff.

I like this place. Plenty of pool tables, cool music, and chill atmosphere. Taking off one star as they only accept cash. They do have ATM machine inside the place.

Natalia Is super fun. Friendly vibe. Great lighting. Music is pleasant. Food is ok but its a pool hall dont expect great food. Draft beers about 12 count. 3 tvs for sports. Cool hang out!

BEWARE: this place is horrible and will overcharge you. The staff is extremely rude — I brought in food (they used to allow outside food and have a very limited and unappetizing menu including no vegan friendly food) and they told me I had to eat it outside or they would «confiscate it» behind the counter. I had already purchased beers for my friends without noticing the small «no outside food» sign (probably should have it bigger if you’re going to require any customers to keep any outside water/​soft drinks or food behind the bar) but I was fine just keeping it with me and eating afterward. Nope, they needed to keep it behind the bar. This is so shady! When I was checking out I found out that they charge per person for the time (even if people play doubles) which is another non disclosed fact — but watch out, they will overcharge you if you’re not careful. Only two of my friends played pool but they charged me for four– I only noticed after I paid. This place is so, so, so cheap. As we were leaving, my brother noted this, and the personnel told him that we were not welcome here anymore and that we should write a Unilocal review (instead of offering to refund us for the money they overcharged). It makes sense why the place was almost empty tonight– the «crowd» was like 10 guys (late 50s and older) and I believe I was the only woman. Good luck running your business like this!

Well it’s not terrible. In fact, this is actually a pretty good pool hall, but there are a few flaws.
First, as a few people mentioned, they only take cash. Not the end of the world, but you are definitely not getting 5 stars if you aren’t taking credit/​debit in the year 2015.
Also, the service is kinda sketchy. 80% of the time it’s fine, but the last time I went here, there was an older guy I had never seen before who was being kind of snarky to me and my friend. Fortunately, I’ve been here a few times so I was kind of familiar with how things work, but it was my friend’s first time, and the guy was clearly getting visibly irritated with him for not knowing. Minus one star.
As long as you don’t get THAT guy, everything else is pretty good. Lots of pool tables, pretty decent pricing, and the beer selection isn’t bad. I wanna play pool, and I can play pool, so what’s what matters most.
If you are in the area, it’s a cool place and is totally worth checking out. Don’t go out of your way to come here though, there are better options.

Are you looking for a giant pool hall? House of Billiards checks all of the boxes for me as far as what I look for in a pool hall. Really chill vibe. Parking in the back as well as on the streets.
There are a BUNCH of tables… probably 20+ so there is almost always a table open. If you do have to wait, it’s not for more than 10 – 15 minutes which is not terrible at all. You can just grab a drink at the bar and watch some TV while you wait. The bartenders are nice and friendly. Decent selection of beers/​wine as well.
I like how this place prorates your time on the tables. If you’re only there for 45 minutes, they’ll charge you for 45 minutes instead of charging you an hour. It doesn’t force you to play longer than you want because you have to hit that hour mark. Play as you want! Prices are completely reasonable too.
The main thing about this place is that it’s cash only. There’s an ATM but why suffer that horrible ATM service fee? Just bring cash.

Date.. .. .. .. .. …3.28.15
Type.. .. .. .. .. .Pool Bar
Location.. .. .…Santa Monica, non-​downtown
Prices.. .. .. .…Normal for area
Tap Selection.…10−20 Craft and Macro
Bottle Selection. .Minimal
Full Bar.. .. .. .. .Beer + Wine Only
Samplers.. .. .. .No
Full Pours.. .. .. .Yes
Beer Level.. .…Okay
Food Level.. .. …None
Staff.. .. .. .. .. .Friendly
Growlers.. .. .. .No
Noise Level.. .. .Quiet
Décor.. .. .. .…Low ceilings, all pool tables
Good for Kids.. .No
Parking.. .. .. . …Street Enforced
Cash Only.. .…YES
Recommended. .For pool yes, For beer only no
Comments: Great pool bar with 20 tables, locals seem to love it, pitchers of craft beer available, Sculpin on tap along with Santa Monica Beer Works, about 10 or so more local craft like The Dudes. Nothing too special, beer was in good shape. Conical pint pours only. Fun place for pool or I guess fussball.

Nice until we found out they only take cash. There were no signs anywhere and the servers never told us. Had to take money out of their ATM, which charges $ 2.95 + my bank’s $ 4 fee… meant I had to pay almost 10% extra just to pay them. Very inconvenient. Won’t be making a special trip to my ATM just to get a wad of cash to play here. Note to management: you’re limiting the amount of money your customers will spend with this incredibly outdated policy.

This place is great and only three blocks away from my girlfriend’s place. We go quite often as it is a very chill environment and can always find an open table. They are cash only so make sure you know that before going. The bartender is always very friendly as well.

Huge pool hall that almost always has a table available. Great selection of beers on tap too. They have a small parking lot but lots of street parking surrounding it. Atm on site as it is cash only.

In the last two months a couple friends and I have made this place a weekly visit. There are around 20 tables all of which are nice and clean as well as the balls. The staff are very friendly and try their best to do anything to make the visit a good one. I havent tried any of the food but a lot of people order so Ill assume its at least half way decent. The reason Im giving four stars instead of five is becasue the last two times I went, the beer on tap seemed flat. The first time I thought it was just a keg that they have had a while. After the second time, my friends and I decided we’ll stick to their bottled selection. Overall this place is great and I will definitely keep going.

My day job is a couple of blocks away and I find an hour or two to come here to shoot from time to time. Very clean with a casual feel. Classic rock in the early hours which is cool except for when I threw everyone for a loop and played Gershwin, Rhapsody in blue. Got one applause from a couple two tables over :). Overall I enjoy my time here and even though im im 42 i tried to pass off my novelty McLovin i.d. for the pool table with no success and had a laugh… gave em my real i.d., shot my games, had some racer5 and made some friends… cant ask for more.

The best pool hall I have been to. The pool tables are clean and the sticks are all straight. Cool place to hang out. Keep in mind this place is cash only! They also serve beer. Price is reasonable as well. Would recommend this place over any pool hall!

When you want to be guaranteed a game of pool… There are 20 tables here, all full-​length tables (time to improve your game skills by graduating from average saloon size tables). Pool tables and sticks in above-​average condition, not perfect, but how can you complain. One or two of you might have a laugh over this, but there is a «Johnny Mnemonic» pinball machine (the misbegotten Keanu Reeves movie). Alcohol served. No kids. #funtimes

If you like playing pool this is the place. Whether it’s with friends or just to practice. They have around 20 tables, good quality, good sticks and good music. Yes you can select your music of choice for a fee. It’s CASH only, there’s an ATM inside and a Bank of America a few blocks away. Easy to find parking in my opinion around the area.
Friendly staff, good service and easy going atmosphere. Check it out :)

This has been my local pool hall for years. I just recently discovered Unilocal,hence my late review.
This is a great place to play pool. The tables are clean and free of rips and tears. There is a great selection of beer/​snacks and a jukebox for playing anything your heart desires.
The bartenders/​security/​staff has been great here since my first visit in 2005. They are kind and helpful. They make you feel like you’re part of a family/​community.
The rates vary from night to day and weekend to weekday. Overall, they have a great selection of beers and some craft beer as well as your basic BLT. Parking is ample in their own lot as well as all around the pool hall.
The reason for the ⁴⁄₅ is that I feel that they could use just a little bit more space between their tables and maybe more of a bar. Beer and wine just doesn’t do it sometimes. But all in all, I wouldn’t go anywhere else!