Cozy’s Bar & Grill

I still go by the location and grieve at the loss of a great music venue. We are not likely to see a club in the Valley like this forever more. Man, it was a great venue while it lasted and I really miss Cozy’s.

I’m so sad to see that Cozy’s closed its doors. During most of the nineties and in the the oughts, I would to go there almost weekly to see and hear great blues acts. Low cover charges and high priced drinks kept me from getting too drunk to drive and still have a great time. My favorite music club in all of LA even if I did receive parking tickets in that crazy neighborhood more often than not!
I moved away from the pit of hell known as the valley several years ago for a more accommodating area so I didn’t go as often. My last visit was about three years ago. I do miss it. The blues scene in LA is all but dead now. SO sad.

Breaks my heart that such a great place for blues musicians and blues lovers to go… PLEASE…INVESTORS…BRING IT BACK!!!

Yup. I drove by, and indeed. It’s closed.

It’s closed. Another place is there now.

CLOSED. Only blues in the Valley is now Mondays at Maui Sugar Mill!

Ok, cool little spot even though it’s closed now. I can’t wait for them to re-​open so I Unilocal about it :)

They closed on Sat, 07/​10/​2010. Fifteen years plying a dying art form… not bad.
Thank you Cozy’s!

Chill spot. Good music, always… Jazz and blues mainly. Pool tables, spacious rooms and kitchen: always open” is their motto.

I’ve been to Cozy’s so many times over the years, I’ve lost count! It’s a great place to be. The music is usually really good! I’ve seen Blues, Reggae, R&B, the works.
The bar is tiny, but the drinks are done well. I usually get Hard liquor when I’m there. I think it sets the mood. The prices aren’t bad, but it will never be confused with happy hour prices.
The food and table service have been good to me. It’s nothing spectacular, but it makes for a delightful experience. Like I said, the folks on the clock are pretty nice and will gladly engage you.
The lounge area in the back is pretty chill. There’s an ATM, pool table, sofa, and I want to say there’s a PGA arcade. If you go on an off night, you may feel like you run the place, but I’ve seen this place at capacity! Either way works for me!
I got to say, there’s not too much room for dancing, The bathrooms are tiny, and there is usually a cover charge of some kind. So that’s my beef, but trust me, it’s minor in comparison to the great music, cool people, good drinks, and generally, a lovely experience.

The Best Little Blue’s (Funk & R&B) Bar in the
S. F. Valley.
Wednesday Night is Comedy Night.
Cozy’s offers a Full Bar with reasonable Drink prices.
Lots of touring and local talent plays here.
Lots of dancing in the isles, as well as on the dance floor.
Highly recommend Cozy’s for a great night of live music!

Can I say, I LOVE COZY’s. Some of my fave Monday nights out are spent there after 9:30 w/​the long standing Monday Night Blues Jams where people from all walks of life can get up and play w/​pros that have sessioned w/​the best. There is really no telling who will show up to play&it always sounds great.
And! there’s no cover. The great Suga Ray just asks that you «buy a few drinks amoungst yourselves to keep it free», which I have no problem doing.
I have never left this place disappointed.*

Yes, there is only one dirty little bathroom, with a toilet that clogs frequently.
Yes, the bar feels dirty in general…
Yes, the food here is slightly on the greasy side…
And maybe the story is true about the temporary close down for the vermin infestation… I don’t care i don’t care i don’t care…(ok so the vermin thing did sorta scare me)…but hell I wouldn’t have it any other way – this place feels like a blues bar in all it’s dirty glory and I don’t come here for the food… I don’t come here to pee comfortably… I don’t come here to eat… I come here to drink and listen to the blues (btw, bartenders and servers here rock)…
Lastly, that this place is nestled comfortably in the valley and not near the foo foos and la las of Hollywood makes the joint even more awesome…
I love the blues and the blues loves me… check out bb chung king and the buddha heads… they rock.

5 months ago I discovered an amazing blues guitarist named Michael Burks at a blues festival in another state. I’ve been checking out his website on a regular basis just waiting for the day he would be playing in Los Angeles. That day was tonight and the bar he was playing in was Cozy’s
If you go to Cozy’s website it says that they actually take dinner reservations and have a pretty nice looking menu. My friends and I thought it would be a good idea to meet at the bar early for dinner so we would then have a table to sit at during the show.
After making a reservation, so they knew that at least 10 people would be there to eat, we show up at the club only to be told that the cook was not there tonight and they did not have the full menu but instead had a limited menu of just appetizers and burgers. Okay fine, I’ll have a burger.
So my friends and I order our food and wait, and wait, and wait. It is literally over an hour before the first 3 plates of food come out. Then it is another 15 – 20 minutes before the next three plates of food come out. I am not exaggerating, it literally took that long. But that did not complete our order, there were still 3 more plates of food that we were waiting for. Those last 3 orders didn’t come out until 10:15. We ordered at 8:15. So yes, it was 2 full hours before the last people in our party got their food!!! I had the burger and fries. The fries were acceptable, but the burger sucked. One of my friends had the quesadilla and she said it was actually very good, but I didn’t try it.
After that the service didn’t get any better and the waitress rarely checked on us to see if we wanted any more drinks. After a while she actually closed out my tab and brought me my check without even bothering to ask me if I wanted another beer (which I did!).
After I closed out my tab, I was there for another 90 minutes and she didn’t check on me to see if I wanted another drink, NOT ONCE!
Now Michael Burks was fantastic and the sound quality for the show was very good. He is literally the only reason I would ever go back to this place, and if he plays there again and I have to go there to see him, I will definitely eat before I go, and will probably drink before I go too.
Unless there is an act that you really want to see, I would avoid this place. If you have to go here to see someone who isn’t playing anywhere else, DO NOT try to eat there.

3 stars for the bar and live music… not reviewing the food.
so in case you want to know how you get a C health code rating…
COZY’S BAR AND GRILL, 14 058 VENTURA BLVD, SHERMAN OAKS, SHERMAN OAKS, CA, 91 423
* Date Closed: June 09, 2009
* Date Reopened: June 12, 2009
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin Harborage
Vermin infestation
gross.
BUT, this was a pretty cool place to go hang out at and see a funk/​blue band. if you don’t get a table its pretty cramped in the back so be sure to get one. strong drinks.

all i can say is… I FEEEEEL GOOD! :D that was me impersonating the james brown tribute band that was playing tonight YAY!
first off, i’m not that into james brown that i would ever consciously choose to go watch a band dedicated to his legacy, but i had a helluva good time! this was my first time at cozy’s and it made a great first impression.
like a gentleman, cozy’s…
–complimented me… «right this way fine ladies» (one star)
–wined and dined me… «refill? you ordered fried calamari, right?» (two stars)
–put on a show… «i feeeeel good! and i knew that i would now. NA NA NA NA NA NA NAH!» (three stars)
–said he’d call… «if you write down your email on this yellow pad here, we’ll let you know when we’re in town» (four stars)
hey, this is more action than i’ve had lately…
the band was awesome, the crowd was totally fun, and the atmosphere was just as he said, «cozy.» honesty. i like that. i can see a future with you… or at least a second date.

My mom grew up in the Valley, so Ventura Blvd. west of Studio City makes me think of her. And how much she partied. And then I start to doubt I will ever live up to her youthful antics. But then again, from what I hear, she spent most of her time on Sunset, and after my night at Cozy’s I can sort of guess why.
First, the pros: A $ 5 cover for live music on a Friday night isn’t bad. So no deductions for that. And despite being pretty small and there being a good sized crowd by around midnight, there were plenty of seats. (No room for dancing though, although a few brave souls tried.) And plenty of street parking on Ventura Blvd. The drinks were strong.
But… said strong drinks were awfully pricey for the atmosphere. If I am paying $ 9 for a vodka soda, I want something a little less dive-​y. And while the bartender was quick to serve us, the kid next to me had to wait until a song and some very important SportsCenter highlights were over. (And when I say kid, I definitely mean with fake ID and all.)
No real complaints, just kind of meh.

So lately there has been major crap all over the world, so I figure, «hey, time to get into some blues!»
I had driven past Cozy’s for many, many years, checked a few reviews on Unilocal,and dropped in.
Thursday night, no blues, but some good soul.
Friday night, some cross between rock, soul, and funk, but no blues.
Sunday night, Karaōke. I guess, «cool, Karaōke at a blues club, I’ma here me some blues.» Nope, no blues, straight pop rap, rock, jazz, and everything in between from a mixed group of ages. Oh yeah, that guy from «that 70s show» Will Balderama was there, sang a few, makes me think if I ever make a movie about «I Love Lucy» I got my Ricky Ricardo, right down to the accent.
But I digress…
The beautiful bartender tells me to expect some kick a$$ blues on Monday night. So there I go, listening to the gorgeous girl that tries to get me drunk.
So what did I find? Of the four nights that I made it to Cozy’s (In the same week btw) I had a freakin blast!!! Each night had a different sound, and each night was an absolute freakin great time. Check out their site for line ups, but always expect Karaōke on Sunday’s and Blues on Mondays. Some days there will be a cover, but you know what man, it’s worth it. Drinks are great, food, is great, and the freakin waitress is breathe taking.
If you can appreciate different kinds of music, and can stomach some B-​Hollywood actors with bad accents, you will absolutely dig Cozy’s!

When you go weeks between seeing a good friend and finally have the chance to get together to catch up, you find that an hour at dinner just doesn’t give you adequate time to flap your mouth off recounting everything new since the last time you connected.
After dinner at Midori Sushi just up the street, I used mapquest navigator to search «bars» on my Blackberry and Cozy’s came up. We went last night (Thursday) around 8 p.m. They have a few parking spots in the back of the building, and that alone excited me.
Don’t expect anything pretty to look at. It is a dive bar after all. When we walked in we got a warm welcome from the bartender who looked like he could double for a bodyguard/​bouncer. (Read: He could pound you with one finger if need be). There were only about 2 other patrons there and a band that was setting up their equipment on the stage in the front of the bar. I guess that means we were early — lol!
The first thing we needed to do was use the ladies room. He pointed us in the right direction and said «If the light is off, you have to hit and wiggle the switch a little to get it to turn on. It works though.»
Luckily I had the magic touch and we didn’t have to tinkle in pitch blackness.
Anyway, we sat at the bar and I had a grey goose tonic; my friend had two sidecars (which she said were perfecto). Our bill came out to about $ 35 — more than I expected for a dive bar. The bartender showed us their food menu and told us we should come by for grub another night since we were already stuffed senseless with sushi.
A few short hours later more people began filling up the place, but we were good to go; the band was just about to start playing and our bartender told us we were missing out on a killer jazz/​old school R&B band. We would have stayed but not only were we in a food coma, we also had our fill of alcohol — the stuff zzz“s are made of.
We said goodbye to our friendly bartender and went off on our way; standing in the parking lot we realized we were both doing the «pee pee» dance and decided we better go handle our business.
We walked back in for an encore performance and felt relieved that we saved each other from potentially using our driver seat as a mobile urine sponge/​butt warmer while driving home.

Hot sweaty blues in LA. Who the hell knew?
I first saw B.J. Sharp play here and couldn’t believe that a little SFV hole in the wall could transform so effectively into the heart of Blues-​ville. They seem to draw some great acts from all over and the small room makes for a great up close and personal experience. I had no idea geezer sitting next to me was Buddy Guy, that was until he decided to join in for a jam of his «I Got a Problem» Damn coolest thing that has ever happened to me while living in LA!
The bartender is cool, big giant man with a mean five count!
I can’t recommend the food because I was too busy drinking.
A must stop for a real blues fix.