A popular quiz

“How old was Louis Armstrong -- in years and months -- when he sang ‘Hello, Dolly’?”

Voices hush as 11 teams of four to six people huddle around tiny bar tables, noodling over the answers between sips of Guinness. It’s Thursday Quiz Night at the Fox and Hounds pub in Studio City, and the mood is playfully competitive. Will the team that calls itself “The Churchills” remain No. 1? Or after tonight’s seven-round trivia bout, will the prize -- a bottle of vodka -- go to the lawyer-heavy “Four Beers and a Mule” team?

And don’t rule out the thirtysomething librarians who call their team “Cradle da Ballz.” “Cradle” team captain Natalie Cole met her husband, Jonathan, at a pub quiz night in England, where the events have been popular for more than 20 years. “You get to socialize, but it’s also intellectually stimulating,” she says. By the end of Round 2, Natalie and her teammates are scarfing bangers, mash and peas, and fish and chips. “Best English pub grub in L.A.,” claims Jonathan.

Last fall, to ramp up his slow Thursday nights, Fox and Hounds owner Gary Richards added Quiz Night to his entertainment roster of TV soccer, dart games and live music -- the first pub to offer it in the L.A. area. “At first we had three teams,” says Richards. “Now nine to 14 teams show up every week.” And the players are not just Brits. “Sixty percent of our customers are American; they come from as far away as Newport Beach,” he says. Since Quiz Night started, the pub’s Thursday night business has grown by more than half.

Phil Morgan, a retired engineer who volunteers as quizmaster, peppers his patter with jokes and good-natured expletives. The questions come from the Brainstormer Pub Quiz company in San Francisco, but Morgan, once a DJ in England, prides himself on hand-picking the music stumpers for Round 6.

“The music questions are definitely the hardest,” says Ian, a 48-year-old lawyer on the “More Idiot Than Savant” team as he munches a California roll smuggled in from a neighboring sushi bar. Indeed, when Morgan tantalizes the crowd with a few bars of a song, groans of frustration compete with whoops of recognition. At the end of the round, Morgan identifies and plays more of each tune. Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” inspires an impromptu singalong.

By 10 p.m., countless pints of Guinness, Harp and Bass ale have been downed, the noise level is maxed, and Babs, the cheerful blond barmaid, delivers tabs with a “Here you go, luv!”

Morgan complains that the double-point questions for the final round are no-brainers. “Which religion forbids people to have blood transfusions?” At the Churchills table someone jokes, “Republicans!”

But this isn’t the Churchills’ night. First place goes to a rookie team: “Spurs Reloaded.” “We came in one night to watch a Laker game,” says Robert, a 29-year-old talent manager, “and we got hooked.”

The booby prize -- a few bags of potato chips -- goes to “V Formation.” “We’ll be back,” vows one team member. “But we’re going to change our name to ‘Gluttons for Punishment.’ ”

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Quiz Night

Where: The Fox and Hounds Pub, 11100 Ventura Blvd., Studio City

When: Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.

Info: (818) 763-7837