Pull up a chair, have a pint

GOT 20 bucks? You’ve got an evening out.

With its long bar, bare wooden tables and chairs, giant portrait of William S. Burroughs, peculiarly ornate chandelier and big street-side windows, the 3rd Stop, a new pub on 3rd Street near San Vicente, isn’t your everyday Irish American local. Sure you can get a Murphy’s Stout here, and one of the owners hails from Dublin (another’s French Irish and the chef is from Argentina).

Nor is it an enoteca, though there’s gnocchi with four cheeses, a list of brick-oven pizzas and while supplies last, wine by the glass (from the stock of Cafe Veneto, the Italian cafe formerly in the space).

It’s an exuberant mongrel that suits L.A. marvelously.

The stellar selection of more than 30 beers on tap at $5 a (mostly pint) pour is strong on carefully chosen imports such as Chimay Cinq Cents from Belgium, Birra Moretti from Italy and Unibroue Maudite from Canada, balanced by an intelligent list of West Coast microbrews from makers such as North Coast, Humboldt, Rogue and Anderson Valley. The menu suggests a surprisingly complementary list of beautifully made Italian-leaning small plates such as crispy polenta, fried calamari and stopino, fish soup, all less than $10.

The 3rd Stop brings the “concept” of eating in the bar back to its working-class roots. It’s a place groups of co-workers gravitate to as they come off shift, and represents the kind of place the owners, both former waiters and managers at high-end restaurants, say they were always looking for themselves after work. It welcomes the uniformed (lots of workers from nearby Cedars-Sinai in scrub tops and jeans) and name-tagged (retailers from Beverly Center), as well as dressed-down dating couples, the occasional early-evening family group and a rotating roster of every imaginable foursome or more of friends. Whomever you can imagine wanting to meet and have a pint with would be comfortable here. The combination of really great beer and really good bar food is unbeatable.

One night, when the place is still squeaky-new, we meet some friends whom we’ve most recently seen at large parties at our respective houses. Our lingering sense of not having had a chance to talk is satisfied and then some, as we spend a wonderful three hours drinking ales and cider and ordering a parade of snacks: spicy olives, a crisp-crusted pizza, a couple of little burgers and a spinach-beet salad sprinkled with pine nuts.

On the bar as you walk in are stacks of printed menus with beers listed on one side and food on the other. Food categories are “1st Stop” for small plates dishes, “Pizza Stop” and “Sweet Stop” -- choose from one or all of the categories. We order our beers and take the menu to the table to scrutinize. The barkeep gives us a plastic table number and runs a tab for us.

One person orders the Birra Moretti -- you so rarely find it. That sense of novelty informs our first round. Another has to try the hard cider (Blackthorn, a British version), very seldom seen on tap in Southern California. An Anderson Valley Amber and a Lost Coast Great White, two estimable West Coast microbrews, reflect the Euro-West Coast balance of the list.

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Snack time

AFTER about 10 seconds of discussion we send a representative back to the bar with our food order, which will be delivered to our table. Deciding is easy: At these prices, we all say “sure” to whatever’s proposed and hope the kitchen has a better sense of whether this haphazard approach will make us happy.

It does and it does. The fried calamari is top-notch. Crispy polenta squares are golden brown with a heavenly crumb crust; they’re served with a delicious Gorgonzola-garlic sauce. The regular burger, at 6 ounces, is sort of a White Castle “slider” size and served on a plain white bun. It’s a disappointment -- the simple ingredients can’t stand up to the spotlight. But the spicy Italian-sausage burger is a great idea. The flavor’s robust, great with beer, and, with its modest proportions, a wonderful stand-alone snack. In fact, we figure out, spicy is a good way to go here. The thin slices of steak come with a terrific chimichurri sauce, the marinated olives have a marvelous kick.

Working the house, welcoming people, explaining the setup and offering counsel on beer selection (as does the easygoing and knowledgeable bartender) is co-owner (with Frank Alix) Jason Killalee, who talks us into dessert. We reluctantly and laughingly agree to a chocolate hazelnut pizza, basically a sweet crackery crust spread with Nutella that’s pretty silly, but turns out to be surprisingly good with the Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (a rich, dense, chewy brew) that we close out the evening with. The dessert list is short but all over the map -- flan, a dulce de leche crepe, chocolate mousse -- and might include other good choices, but it was so fun to share the first double-crusted, powder sugar-sprinkled dessert pizza, we try it again and are seduced by one made with berries and mascarpone. Weirdly, it hits the spot.

Beer fanciers are always suggesting stouts and porters with chocolate. This time, it works. On another visit, though, I can’t resist Old Rasputin for the after-dinner moment, I see that diners at a nearby table are enjoying the dessert pizza with a St. Louis Framboise.

And you don’t have to be a beer geek to explore such combinations. One evening, two from our girls’-night-out party opt for Chianti from the wines by the glass, but another, who’s adventurous but not familiar with the beers offered, orders something she can’t stand. She high-tails it back to the bar, where the easy-going and informative bartender acts as beer sommelier, quizzing her on her preferences and offering samples until they target just the right brew.

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The 3rd Stop

Location: 8636 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (310) 273-3605.

Price: Small plates, $3 to $9; pizzas, $7 to $9; desserts, $5 to $8.

Best dishes: Italian sausage burger, ahi tuna steak, crispy polenta, pizzas.

Details: Open Monday through Friday noon to 2 a.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Valet parking (shared with Locanda Veneta), $3.50, some street parking. All major cards.

Special features: Extensive selection of beers on tap.