I had heard such great things about the food at the Pub at Golden Road Brewing.  The menu lists a ton of vegan options – and some of these options are very creative.  I was super excited to try it.  My vegan guy and I headed all the way over to the north-east side of Los Angeles to get some grub.

The Fritters ($4) were my favorite.  Fried wild mushroom risotto with a vegan pimento cheese?  Yum!  I love risotto on its own and had no idea that a crispy outer layer could make it a whole other thing.  Well done, Golden Road, well done.

Fritters

And the Pretzel ($7) was one thing that I read such nice things about prior to coming.  It was good, I’ll give them that, but I think it was covered in what would be the average person’s daily recommended intake of sodium.  Yikes!  Too much salt for me.  It was like ocean in my mouth.  I had to rub some of it off with my fingers just so I could eat it.  I wonder if one can order it lightly salted?  It came with spicy mustard and some more pimento cheese.  Still, the sauce was not enough to cover the flavor of all that salt!

Pretzel

I appreciate the eclectic menu, which included some international dishes – like the Bahn Mi ($7).  The deep fried tofu was a little bland (I wish they marinated it in something more flavorful), but the pickled veggies were nice.  The sriracha mayo was way too spicy for me.  I’ve said this before, but I’m a weakling when it comes to spiciness.  Because the tofu was kind of bland, most of the flavor came from the sriracha.  I wouldn’t get this again.

Bahn Mi

The Quinoa Burger ($9) is handmade and deep fried.  It’s served with lettuce, tomato, onion and a remoulade sauce.  To me, this burger was just so-so.  I liked the fried part of the patty, but the inside was just too mushy to be put on a bun.  It reminded me of a giant potato croquette.  The flavor was there, but I just wish they added some texture to the patty.

Quinoa Burger

And for dessert, they actually had a vegan option!  It was a mini Gingersnap Cheesecake ($5).  Again, while I appreciate the effort, this cheesecake was just too chewy.  Maybe it was accidental and the baker just baked it too long, but I didn’t like it.  The strawberries were pretty tart (it wasn’t strawberry season) as well.  I think I’ll stick to baking my own vegan cheesecakes.

Cheesecake

I bet this place would be great to hang out with friend while sipping on some of their handcrafted beers.  It’s a nice place and I am disappointed I didn’t like their food that much.  There are a few more menu items I’d like to taste some day and maybe I’ll come back to give them another try.

The Pub at Golden Road

5410 West San Fernando Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90039
213-373-4677

Wednesday – Saturday 11am – 2am
Sunday – Tuesday 11am – midnight