Work is all play at Father’s Office

The day after a visit to Father’s Office on genteel Montana Avenue in Santa Monica arrives with many lingering questions. Namely, why do the holidays inspire bouts of strange drink making, weird martinis or beers like Delirium Noel or Sierra Celebration. Why doesn’t anyone order the appetizers here? Why does the word “producer” seem to waft above the drone of conversation every few minutes?

And: How does one approach a place that is neither bar nor restaurant but rather a hybrid?

Somewhere between the compact, back-of-the-house bar and the double row of blond wood dining tables exists an invisible divide between eatery and drinkery. Early in the evening, with plates of legendary grilled and decorated burgers arriving on every table, the balance is clearly toward “restaurant.” Near the dinner hour, visitors arrive hungry and ritually order one of the 50-plus artisan beers and the charred burger topped with caramelized onions, applewood bacon compote, Gruyere, blue cheese and arugula.

Toward 8 p.m., the balance shifts toward “bar.” Every bar stool is occupied, the floor space is packed with carefully dressed guys quaffing brews, and couples stalk diners to grab their coveted tables.

Father’s Office offers an upscale menu that features innovative bar food such as anchovies cured in-house, tapas and lamb skewers. Yet virtually every order is a clone of the previous: burger and fries. The vast menu now includes special-edition holiday brews, like that 9% alcohol Delirium Noel. There’s a 10-foot span of beer taps that a nimble bartender operates like a huge pipe organ.

Beer, a manly beverage, brings a majority of guys, most of whom seem involved in the work of advertising, film production or checking hotspots off their to-do list. Few are babe hunting, though the pickings are good.

By 8 p.m., the place is packed. Visitors stand holding beers, eyes peeled toward the tables. Two studly guys waltz in, adorned in almost matching motorcycle jackets and red Arai helmets. May they join the ladies at their table?

Sliding along the bench, the moto boys squeeze in to make room for beer and bodies. The line between restaurant and bar officially has vanished. At bar time, it is downright “bad” to hoard space, especially if the boys are buying.

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Father’s Office

Where: 1018 Montana Ave., Santa Monica

When: 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. to midnight Sunday.

Cost: Beer (list changes weekly) $4.50 to $14. Wine $9 to $12.50 per glass.

Info: (310) 393-2337