The Griffin from “NCIS”

Today’s location comes with a caveat.  Last Saturday evening while in L.A. for a brief visit, I headed to The Griffin, an Atwater Village bar I had been dying to stalk ever since seeing it in an episode of NCIS almost three years ago.  The place did not disappoint and I started writing this post pretty much immediately upon returning home.  Unfortunately, later that night the watering hole came under fire due to an unfortunate set of circumstances that began when an extremist hate group held an impromptu gathering on the premises.  When word of the meet-up got out, some neighborhood activists popped by to protest.  A fight ensued, police were called and both parties were forced to leave.  Thankfully, no one was hurt during the melee.  The Griffin’s reputation was, though.  The establishment, which did not endorse or host the meet-up, bore the brunt of the blame from locals, concerned citizens and many media outlets for even allowing the group to enter in the first place.  Now I wasn’t there, but from everything I’ve read, it seems the tavern was unexpectedly ambushed and the staff was guilty of little other than being completely ill-equipped to handle the situation.  The Griffin’s owners have since issued an apology and even hosted a neighborhood fundraising event a few days later, but many are still angry.  While I considered holding off on publishing this post due to the backlash, I thought better of it.  In no way do I believe that the bar owners or staff condone any sort of hatred or support those who do.  My experience there had the opposite feeling.  The employees that I spoke with could not have been more kind or accommodating, even though I was annoyingly running around snapping copious photographs and asking countless questions about the place’s filming history.  Of the watering hole, LA Weekly says, “The Griffin, dimly lit and always welcoming, is magical any night of the week.”  I couldn’t agree more – so I’m hitting ‘publish.’

While watching the Season 13 episode of NCIS titled “Sister City (Part 1)” back in January 2016, I became transfixed with Tusovat’sya, the 4-star Russian restaurant supposedly located on the 700 block of K Street in Washington, D.C. where Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) and Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) tracked down Russian Counselor Anton Pavlenko (Lev Gorn).  The cavernous space’s brick arched ceilings practically had me drooling.

While set in D.C., NCIS is shot in L.A., so I knew the eatery had to be somewhere close by.  Thankfully, the hunt to find it was easier than Gibbs and DiNozzo’s hunt for Pavlenko.  Feeling lucky, I inputted “Los Angeles,” “restaurant,” “cavernous,” and “brick” into Google and one of the first results kicked back was this Thrillist blurb about The Griffin which states, “Decked with arched brick ceilings, Gothic-style chandeliers, and red vinyl booths, The Griffin is like a medieval dungeon in Atwater Village.  The cavernous lair is anchored by a stone platform with two fireplaces and a large bar.”  The description alone had me convinced me it was the spot I was looking for and once I pulled up images, there was no denying The Griffin had portrayed Tusovat’sya.

I was shocked at the discovery because not only had I long been aware of The Griffin thanks to its use in establishing shots of the bar where Nick Miller (Jake Johnson) works on New Girl, but I had stalked and blogged about the place for Los Angeles magazine back in 2014.  Since only the outside of the lounge appeared on the Fox series, I had never ventured inside, though, so I was completely unaware of its unique aesthetic (captured so beautifully on NCIS) . . .

. . . none of which is belied by its pretty, but rather non-descript exterior.

I promptly added The Griffin to my Re-Stalk List, but was not able to make it back out there until this past weekend.  Let me tell you, though, it was worth the wait!

The Griffin was originally established in September 2007 at the site of the former La Strada Mexican eatery.  While I had assumed that the vaulted, sepulchral space was a historic relic of some sort, possibly an erstwhile bank or wine cellar, our friendly bartender informed us that the extraordinary chamber was actually a build-out commissioned by owners Aaron Chepenik and Jonathan Hensleigh after La Strada vacated the premises.

The duo’s creation is nothing short of majestic.

While researching this post, I was shocked to learn that the design is an almost exact replica of Chepenik and Hensleigh’s inaugural bar venture, also named The Griffin, at 511 Fremont Street in Las Vegas, which opened in January 2007.  You can check out some images of it here.

Considering the cinematic feel of both places, it should come as no surprise that Hensleigh’s background is in the movie industry – the successful screenwriter has penned everything from Jumanji to Armageddon to Die Hard with a Vengeance).

With its circular fireplaces, arched ceilings, faux stonework, hanging lanterns, and diamond muntin windows, The Griffin looks like something straight out of a movie – or perhaps a ride at Disneyland.

In a 2008 Los Angeles Times article, Travis Woods lyrically describes the bar as such, “Stepping inside is like drifting into a 16th-century Spanish cathedral — arched stone supports crisscross along the cavernous vaulted ceiling, while two fireplaces hold court at opposite ends of the main lounge, each surrounded by the twin parentheses of semicircular red leather couches and the ellipses of several matching knee-high stools.”

He also states, “A clever, surprisingly cozy environment, it could have easily slipped from ambience to Ambien; instead, it'”‘”‘s classy dungeon-chic without the torture of ridiculous lines, list-wielding bouncers and too-cool L.A. detachment,” which is exactly what we experienced.  The Griffin lacks that ultra-hip, holier-than-thou, pretentious vibe that plagues so many area bars.  The place may look high-maintenance, but it’s about as laid-back as can be.

The Griffin’s dramatic design has landed it a couple of other onscreen appearances in addition to NCIS.

As I mentioned earlier, the outside of the bar popped up regularly during Seasons 2-7 of New Girl in establishing shots of the watering hole where the gang hung out.  (In Season 1, a different exterior was utilized.)

As I also mentioned earlier, only the outside of The Griffin appeared on New Girl.  Interior filming took place elsewhere – first at The Prince restaurant located at 3198 West 7th Street in Koreatown and then on a set re-creation of The Prince built on a soundstage at 20th Century Fox Studios in Culver City.

The Griffin also pops up in the Season 2 episode of Love titled “Friends Night Out,” which aired in 2017, as the spot where Gus Cruikshank (Paul Rust) and his buddies hang out and discuss the television series Friends.

The exterior of The Griffin also appears briefly in the episode.

And it is at The Griffin that Henrietta Wilson (Aisha Hinds) and Athena Grant (Angela Bassett) grab drinks in the Season 1 episode of 9-1-1 titled “Point of Origin,” which aired in 2018.

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Until next time, Happy Stalking!

Stalk It: The Griffin, from the “Sister City (Part 1)” episode of NCIS, is located at 3000 Los Feliz Boulevard in Atwater Village.  The Tam O’Shanter, from the “Dream On” episode of Glee, can be found right next door at 2980 Los Feliz Boulevard.

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