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The FIFA World Cup is coming to L.A. in 2026. Fans of clubs from different parts of the world will probably look for something familiar when they land in L.A.
And ... one British expat and writer has put together this guide for the best European pubs to watch games in the L.A. area.
The FIFA World Cup is just a few months away, and some national soccer teams, like Cape Verde, Curacao and Uzbekistan are competing for the first time. Their fans — and those of the other 45 countries — will probably look for something familiar when they land in L.A.
Whether it’s a fast food logo or a restaurant serving regional dishes from home, that sense of familiarity can be the first stepping stone before you start discovering the delights of where you are now.
When I arrived in Los Angeles from England, I was soon directed to Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica. Judging by the dozens of photographs on the wall, it has been a kind of entry checkpoint for newly arrived British Isles celebrities and regulars alike since the 1970s. They do afternoon tea, of course, plus their bar will open early to show UK soccer matches. Their store has snacks and candy for the homesick.
It was, of course, reassuring for me to hear familiar accents and recognize the beers on tap and even some of the crisps — sorry, chips — behind the bar. Asking whether any “football” matches were going to be shown didn’t raise any eyebrows either, even though that could mean having to arrive soon after sunrise because of the time difference in the UK.
Even if I had been living locally, I don’t think it would have become my “local” (as it were) because I thought it was important to try to get to know my new home, rather than hold on too tight to what I had just left behind.
That said, I did occasionally return to watch football matches and even for a couple of New Year’s Eves, which happen here at 4 p.m. to coincide with midnight in England. Then I could call home and hear the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” while we in the pub were singing it at the same time.
Here's a select list of pubs where you can sample the drinks, eats and even watch the sports from several European countries.
Owned by an actual Irishman, Kevin Kearns from Inishowen, they pour an excellent Guinness (don’t ask any Irish person about the importance of that, nor how hard it is to find that in L.A.) and have a good selection of savory pies. Kevin’s also an actor and appeared in blockbuster Battleship.
An L.A. staple since 1936, it’s the center of celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day. Stapled to the ceiling and walls around the horseshoe bar are shamrocks with the names of past patrons: try to find Cary Grant, Kiefer Sutherland, Ronald Reagan and Bing Crosby. A short menu, but you can get shepherd’s pie (steak, carrots, celery, caramelized onions, under mashed potatoes), and it’s said to have invented Irish coffee. Choose that or a good Guinness.
Owned by Irish family the Hanlons since 1969, Molly’s was damaged by a fire last year but bounced right back with its dark interior and original mission as a place where Irish troubadours and traditional musicians could get together. It’s long been a respected music venue and occasionally gets some bigger names on stage. You’ll get a good pour here, too, though the menu is just a few items long.
Named after a bonnet worn by Scotsmen, the “Tam” looks like a castle crossed with a witch’s house, in part because the original fairytale European look wasn’t a hit for owners Van de Kamp bakeries when they opened in 1922, so they pivoted to kilts, flags and bagpipes. Actors came in from the nearby studios, and famously, Walt Disney and his companions were regulars. A steakhouse, it also offers Scottish rarebit (cheddar, Scottish ale, cayenne pepper on sourdough) and, as you see when you enter, a large selection of scotch whiskeys. It even has resident ghosts!
Head to Wirsthaus to experience the best of Bavaria with steins of German beers, giant pretzels, schnitzel (boneless, thin slices of meat that are pounded, breaded and pan-fried until golden and crispy), bratwurst (sausages), plenty of oompah music and staff dressed in traditional dirndls and lederhosen — the Hollywood movie go-to for scenes of beer debauchery.
Originally an “Olde English” pub opened by the then-owners of Cole’s in downtown, it always had some German beers on draft, and in 1963, new owners fully embraced that. The German wife of one of them reportedly taught her home recipes to the chef, and it was German-owned until 2004, when Aidas Mattis and family, longtime patrons, took over. They kept up the style at this small, maze-like local favorite: flags, German signs, memorabilia and the back-patio beer garden. Schnitzel, spaetzle (doughy noodles), goulash and bratwurst are on the menu, as well as many beers and ciders. Oktoberfest runs Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22. Try a four-liter boot of beer.
Located on Sunset Boulevard for several decades, “The Cat” has long been an expat hangout, especially for musicians. Now on Highland Avenue, the Gardner children carry on offering a friendly face and a familiar meal to all visitors. Their Sunday roasts are a real taste of home, and they have other classic British dishes like shepherd’s pie, a ploughman’s lunch (Gloucester, brie, scotch egg, grapes, cornichons, Branston pickle and baguette), Scotch egg and sticky toffee pudding. Want to know what those last two are? Go visit!
Soon, ex-pats will be able to try Gordon Ramsay at the Carnaby, a recently announced 175-seat British gastropub that will open at Downtown Disney and bring 1960s London to Anaheim. Live bands will play music from that fab era, and dishes will include beef Wellington, fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding. No word yet on an opening date.
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The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to look at ways of expanding youth-centric mental health centers.
The details: So-called allcove model centers serve as a “one-stop-shop” for youth ages 12 to 25 to get mental health support and form their own community.
The model sees young people taking part in everything from designing the spaces of the mental health centers to offering support to their peers.
Developed at Stanford, there are several allcove model mental health centers in California, including the allcove Beach Cities in Redondo Beach.
The quote: UC Irvine psychology professor Stephen Schueller, who provides services at the San Juan Capistrano allcove center, says the model calls for inviting spaces that allow for drop-in visits.
“It’s amazing to me that young people can come and get support right when they need it for a variety of different aspects,” he said. “People don’t need to make an appointment to come talk to me... They can just walk in and I see them right then.”
A top concern: The LA County Youth Commission’s latest annual report showed that mental health was the top concern for young people in the region.
What’s next? The motion, co-authored by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Janice Hahn, directs staffers to report back in two months with funding options to bring more allcove centers to the county.
The measure also backs up the existing L.A. County allcove center with $1.5 million a year in funding over the next three years.
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At Queer Latin Dance OC, salsa, cumbia and bachata are for everyone. The dance studio offers lessons to dancers of all experience levels and has created a new community hub in Orange County.
Why it matters: Rodrigo Marquez founded Queer Latin Dance OC at the beginning of this year to fill a gap in Orange County that he said lacks safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.
What dancers are saying: Before taking lessons at Queer Latin Dance OC, Melba Rivera said she came in with zero dance experience.
“You come as you are, no matter what level you're at or how you identify or what your experience is, everybody's here and everybody's learning,” Rivera said. “It's a very encouraging and motivating space.”
Read on … for how the dance club is fostering community and how to join.
In a cozy dance studio in Garden Grove, dancers of all experience levels, ages and backgrounds flock to Queer Latin Dance OC to learn the steps to salsa, cumbia and bachata.
For many, the dance class is more than educational — it’s a place to get away from it all, to find community and to uplift one another through art.
When Rodrigo Marquez founded Queer Latin Dance OC at the beginning of this year, he said he was filling a gap in Orange County that often lacks safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community.
“I wanted to make creative communities for us to learn in a safe environment,” Marquez said. “Everyone's here to learn, and I want the pressure of whatever's going on in the world, just to forget for the next hour.”
When creating his teaching plan, Marquez said he considers the range of experience his students might have. Everybody starts somewhere, he added, and the hardest part is showing up.
“It is scary, but if you're already showing up, then just jump in and just forget about the world. It's a great distraction, and dancing makes you feel better,” Marquez said.
Philip Lee, an elementary school teacher from Tustin, took his first class with the group Monday night, trying the quick steps of salsa.
“I had a stressful day. … All my stress that I had in my neck and upper back just kind of went away,” Lee said, adding that the high energy in the room is infectious. “It was nice just laughing with people in the community and meeting new people.”
Lee said the dance lesson gave him a space to be with community.
“The queer community specifically, and just kind of let my guard down and just be free and laugh and enjoy being me and celebrated for a love for the arts,” Lee said. “That's not a space that is always safe.”
Before taking lessons at Queer Latin Dance OC, Melba Rivera said she came in with zero dance experience.
“You come as you are. No matter what level you're at or how you identify or what your experience is, everybody's here and everybody's learning,” Rivera said. “It's a very encouraging and motivating space.”
Salsa and bachata are social dances, Marquez said, but one thing that makes his class unique to many is that regardless of gender identity, anyone can follow or lead.
Typically, the lead falls to the male dancer, and women follow. Marquez said it was important that no one feels pressured to be one or the other.
“That's why I created this, so people like me can just come and learn, not be expected to be in a gender role based on how they look,” Marquez said. “They want to dance how they feel.”
Taryn Heiner said, especially in Orange County, it’s challenging to find spaces that are queer-friendly and queer-open.
“That's really what makes this space so kind and warm and welcoming,” Heiner said. “We have all that base understanding of respecting one another, no matter who they are, who they love and what they do.”
Growing up in Orange County, not every room you walk into is a safe space, Rivera added.
“So walking into a room like this, where everybody's friendly, everybody's learning, everybody's just here for the same purpose to get better, to support each other, is really important,” Rivera said. “Not just in the class, but [in] the friendships we make outside of the classroom.”
Outside of dance class, Marquez’s students meet up for monthly hikes and other get-togethers. Marquez said it is a privilege and an honor to bring people together through his love for dance.
“I've seen people become friends since January, and I see them practice outside of practice,” Marquez said. “I've always had a dream to do my own dance classes, but to do it in a way where people can connect and just be themselves. It's far greater than that.”
Salsa, cumbia and bachata classes are held three nights a week on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Classes are $20 per session, but Marquez also offers a free beginner salsa class every Monday.
You can register for the class of your choice here. Payments are taken in person.
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A collaboration between CalMatters, Evident Media and Bellingcat has tracked immigration agents over the last 15 months, documenting their tactics on the ground and through mountains of video footage, since their first proof-of-concept raid in Bakersfield in January 2025.
What we found: Immigration agents engaged in a pattern of force and questionable detention, aggressive tactics that courts have said likely violated the constitution, as they moved from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, and then Chicago and Minneapolis.
Keep reading ... to view a film documenting those findings and to read more about the video evidence that suggests agents’ tactics became more brazen with each stop.
Border Patrol agents have been roving from city to city over the last 15 months, far from their home bases in California and elsewhere along the U.S.-Mexico border, engaged in an unprecedented mass deportation campaign.
A collaboration between CalMatters, Evident Media and Bellingcat has tracked these agents, documenting their tactics on the ground and through mountains of video footage, since their first proof-of-concept raid in Bakersfield in January 2025.
Exactly one year later, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed Renée Good in Minneapolis, followed weeks later by the killing of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent.
Our investigation shows that beyond those two shootings, immigration agents engaged in a pattern of force and questionable detention, aggressive tactics that courts have said likely violated the Constitution, as they moved from Bakersfield to Los Angeles, and then Chicago and Minneapolis.
In each city, federal courts stepped in to restrain them from violating civil liberties in that jurisdiction. Agents later deployed to another city. The video evidence suggests agents’ tactics became more brazen with each stop.
Under President Donald Trump, immigration agents have operated without typical public accountability. Many agents wear masks. Incident reports are largely hidden from the public.
“We are in a completely uncharted world now with these masked agents,” said John Roth, who served as inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security under Presidents Barack Obama and Trump.
“The first thing that you do when you give an agent a gun and a badge and the authority over American people is to make sure that they follow the Constitution, period,” he said.
In this new film, we focus on the activity of five agents from the US-Mexico border whose identities we’ve been able to confirm.
We are not aware of any disciplinary action taken against these agents. DHS did not respond to requests for comment; the individual agents either declined to comment or didn’t respond to calls or emails.
We showed the incidents to Roth and Steve Bunnell, former DHS general counsel. Both have testified before Congress, raising the alarm about what they see as a dismantling of the department’s accountability and credibility. Roth called the incidents “difficult to watch.”
“There are sort of two essential components of DHS and law enforcement generally being effective, and that’s trust and credibility,” Bunnell said. “And they have lost those things to the extent they had them.”
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The deadline to register for a drawing to buy L.A. 2028 Olympics tickets is Wednesday before midnight. But that’s just the first step.
Why it matters: Registering enters you into a drawing for a slot in April to buy tickets. You will be notified between March 31 and April 7 if you’ve been selected for one of those slots.
Buying tickets: The ticket pre-sale for L.A. locals in certain ZIP codes takes place April 2 - 6. Everyone else selected for a slot will be able to buy tickets April 9 – 19.
Ticket limits: People are limited to 12 tickets, but there are group rates for 50 or more. Babies and kids will love the Olympics, but each one needs a ticket.
Re-selling: Olympics officials say it’s OK to re-sell your tickets.
