Skip to main content
Back to Show
Free Lunch

The King Eddy Saloon: A Historic Haunt

Want to go on a Free Lunch? Tell us about your favorite restaurants in the comments below!

Downtown L.A. personality and resident Thomas "TK" Nagano is a veritable fountain of knowledge about DTLA's history and haunts. TK has been known to offer tours for those looking to experience our city's wilder side and the charter bus company he works for offers the much talked about, socially motivated LA Gang Tours.

In keeping with his colorful personality, TK took Free Lunch to the historic King Eddy Saloon located at the base of the King Edward Hotel in Skid Row. The kind of place where high and low have been mingling without pretense for more than a hundred years, it's the quintessential dive bar and a slice of Los Angeles that TK felt Southern Californians would be interested in.

This is a place where the company is always going to be more interesting than the food. John Fante and Charles Bukowski were some of its more illustrious patrons.

According to TK, "the King Eddy is part of the time tunnel continuum of the water trade. In Japan, they call the night life "Mizu Shobi." Mizu means "water," shobi "trade" (exchanging expensive water for cheap)."

King Eddy Saloon

31 E 5th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 629-2023

Support Provided By