Post #478916 by tikithor on Sun, Aug 23, 2009 1:43 PM

Hi all, I hadn't revisited this forum for a while and it was great to see all these replies. My wife and I were visiting a relative in Hermosa Beach last night, and we three decided to try to find the Purple Orchid. Pretty easy, it's the only place in El Segundo open past 9 p.m., and on a Saturday night! So different from Hermosa ...

The place was packed, but we found a small table up against the wall while a great three man band called Ghosts of Searchlight set up in a very tight corner near the flat screen TV. Any band that starts off a set with "Having an Average Weekend", the Kids in the Hall theme song, is okay by me! Good mix of non-vocal surf rock/post rock music, great tight lead and bass and drums. We hope to see them somewhere else again soon.

Decor: Thatched walls and decor, blowfish and tiki like lamps hanging from the ceiling, nice long wooden bar. The place felt like "home".

Drink report: My wife got a nice tall Mai Tai for only $8, I had a taste and it was nice and strong, no stinginess on the rum there, but not overpoweringly so. It was a good drink, too bad I was the designated driver!

Crowd: A good mix of young and older there, even a guy at the bar reading a book while the band played on, and pool players in back. Noisy, crowded, all the elements of a great neighborhood bar.

We really like this place. We'll be back any time we're in the neighborhood, and wish we either lived closer or it was closer to home.

[ Edited by: tikithor 2009-08-23 14:37 ]