John Sparr Tavern – Open for Business

If you haven’t stopped by the John Sparr Tavern (3437 Ocean View Blvd., Glendale/Sparr Heights 91208) yet, you need to. It is a show stopper and well worth the wait. Marble walls, tin ceilings, stained glass windows, custom tile work and much more. But the real star of the show is the food and drinks.

“Good food, fine wine, craft beer and classic cocktails. That is what we want people to find when they come to the Tavern,” said the owner. On the menu you will find classic food dishes such as jumbo shrimp cocktail, homemade starter soups and salads, steaks, short ribs, prime rib of pork, salmon, scallops and Julia’s Chicken made with a white vermouth crème sauce. That’s only the beginning. They will continue to add to the menu and create new dishes for the seasons. They were open on Easter and served up choices of pineapple glazed ham with scalloped potatoes and Normandy applesauce and roasted turkey with mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce finished with either crème brulee or bread pudding. Perfect. The bar is fully stocked with the finest wines, a variety of hard-to-find craft beers and a complete list of classic cocktails. Here you find the very exclusive craft beer from Craftsman Brewery in Pasadena.

Thankfully, the notoriously fastidious founder of Craftsman Brewing Co., Mark Jilg, stopped into the John Sparr Tavern to see if the Tavern met his high standards.

According to the owner, “He came in, looked around, then looked at me and said, ‘It will do.’ Then he sat down for dinner.”

There is no end to the classic cocktails you can order. You can order a martini, an old fashioned, a Manhattan, a Moscow mule, a gin and tonic, a margarita, a negroni, a bloody mary, a sidecar … or just about anything else. If you don’t see your drink on the menu, don’t worry; they can still make it for you. They have a fantastic bartender named Adam Delaney who is very knowledgeable and is the icing on the cake who adds to the ambience of this great establishment.

Now back to the building. No detail was overlooked in the making of this place. The beautiful bar comes from upstate New York and was removed from a bar that was built in the 1940s. The walls are lined with green marble. The ceiling is made of tin tiles to resemble the old style copper metal ceilings that were used in Victorian buildings in North America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the pièce de résistance is the stained glass windows made by Sparr Heights’ own RD Gibbs.

“We are craftsmen in the trade for over 30 years,” said RD Gibbs. “We design, fabricate and install leaded and stain glass windows for the residential, ecclesiastical and commercial markets. We are a family owned business, with three generations of craftsmen to service your decorative glass needs.”

They create pieces of art in beautiful buildings all over the world. What can you look forward to in the coming weeks at the John Sparr Tavern? Their backyard patio will be opening just in time for summer. The beautiful patio seats 25 and is an open space that is perfect for big parties. Book early because reservations will go quick! Lunch service will be starting in the next couple of weeks. New menu items are added daily and look for seasonal items to pop up at a moment’s notice. Like them on Facebook to get the most up-to-date information.

According to the owners, “The John Sparr Tavern has an East Coast feel in terms of vibe, architecture and easy accessibility for the neighborhood. And that is what we wanted to create. A social gathering place in the neighborhood. We are so proud of the restoration work we have done on this old building and hope we have created an establishment that this wonderful neighborhood can be proud of.”

We are.

Welcome, John Sparr Tavern. 3437 Ocean View Blvd., Glendale/Sparr Heights 91208

  melinda clarke