Meeting People in Los Angeles: Where to Go

Meeting people in a city is easier when you attend a recurring event: a board game night on Wednesday, a pub quiz, a drawing session a few times a month. You see the same faces again, and a stranger quickly becomes someone you know. Los Angeles is spread out, so each entry names its neighborhood. This guide only lists events that the organizer describes on its own page.

The options at a glance

Name	Neighborhood, venue	Format	When	Price (year)
Weekly Board Game Hang	Eagle Rock, ROCK Coffee House	Board game night	Wednesday 6:30 to 9:30 pm	No entry fee, the café asks you to buy something (2026)
Trivia Tycoon	Bars in several areas, such as Native Son LA, Downtown	Bar trivia in teams	Weekly, day by bar	Free (2026)
O'Brien's Pub Quiz	Santa Monica, O'Brien's Irish Pub	Pub quiz, on your own or in a team	Wednesday 8 pm	Free according to the website (undated)
Los Angeles Public Library	Echo Park, Edendale Branch; Atwater Village, Atwater Village Branch	Well Played for board and card games; Scrabble Club	Monthly on a Saturday, 1 to 5 pm	Not stated
Social Lingo	Santa Monica, Solidarity Restaurant	Language exchange party	Dates vary	$5 in cash or $5.50 paid electronically (2026)
Community Improv LA	Glendale, The Glendale Room	Improv workshop and jam	Usually the first Sunday of the month, 11 am	Suggested donation of $5 to $10 (2026)
Bring Your Own Pen	Echo Park, Stories Books & Cafe	Drink and draw	Several times a month, dates vary	Free (2026)
Shut Up & Write!	Cafés across the city, such as And Destroy, Glassell Park	Writing session	Days vary	Free, the host cafés ask you to buy something (2026)
Timeleft	Restaurants on the Westside, in West Hollywood and in North Hollywood	Dinner with four to six strangers	Wednesday and Friday 7 pm	Membership, plus food and drinks (2026)

"Not stated" means we found no price, not that it costs money.

Playing

Weekly Board Game Hang (ROCK Coffee House, Eagle Rock)

ROCK Coffee House, a nonprofit café in Eagle Rock, hosts its Weekly Board Game Hang on Wednesdays from 6:30 to 9:30 pm. The café provides the games, players of all experience levels are welcome, and there is no entry fee; the organizer asks you to buy something at the café (2026). The evenings are listed on ROCK Coffee's Meetup page, which does not say you need to sign up in advance. rock.coffee

Trivia Tycoon (bars in several areas)

Trivia Tycoon hosts free bar trivia in several areas of Greater Los Angeles, with no sign-up beforehand; each bar has its own weekday. The Downtown schedule lists a game at Native Son LA on a Tuesday at 7 pm, and the company also names Where the Creatures Sleep in North Hollywood as a regular venue. You play in teams; the website does not say whether players who come alone are put on a team. triviatycoon.com

O'Brien's Pub Quiz (O'Brien's Irish Pub, Santa Monica)

The pub's own quiz takes place on Wednesdays at 8 pm at O'Brien's Irish Pub in Santa Monica. According to its website, entry is free (undated), and both solo players and teams are welcome; you simply turn up. The coming Wednesdays are listed in the schedule. obrienspubquiz.com

Los Angeles Public Library (Echo Park and Atwater Village)

The Los Angeles Public Library hosts two monthly game afternoons in two of its branches. Well Played, a Tabletop Gaming Gathering, is a monthly get-together for modern board and card games in the meeting room of the Edendale Branch, 2011 W. Sunset Boulevard in Echo Park; recent dates fell on the first Saturday of the month, and you can drop in at any time between 1 and 5 pm. The Scrabble Club meets on the first Saturday of the month from 1 to 5 pm at the Atwater Village Branch, 3379 Glendale Boulevard, and asks you to bring your own board and tiles if you can. The library gives no price and mentions no sign-up for either. Check the dates on the Scrabble Club page and with the Edendale Branch before you go.

Talking

Social Lingo (Solidarity Restaurant, Santa Monica)

Social Lingo holds language exchange parties at the Solidarity Restaurant in Santa Monica, where you talk in the languages of your choice. The dates vary, so check the Meetup group for the next one; you RSVP there. Entry is $5 in cash or $5.50 paid electronically (2026). Social Lingo on Meetup and sociallingo.com

Improvising

Community Improv LA (The Glendale Room, Glendale)

Community Improv LA holds an improv workshop and jam at The Glendale Room in Glendale, usually on the first Sunday of the month at 11 am, for about two hours. All levels of experience are welcome. The group suggests a donation of $5 to $10 (2026) and adds that there is never any obligation. Check Meetup for the next in-person date and RSVP details. Community Improv LA on Meetup

Drawing and writing

Bring Your Own Pen (Stories Books & Cafe, Echo Park)

Bring Your Own Pen is a Drink and Draw group that meets several times a month at Stories Books & Cafe in Echo Park, on varying dates. Paper and markers are provided, all levels are welcome, and seating is first come, first served. Taking part is free (2026). Bring Your Own Pen on Meetup and bringyourownpen.com

Shut Up & Write! (cafés across the city)

Shut Up & Write! holds writing sessions in cafés across Los Angeles, on different days according to its Meetup group. Each session starts with a short chat and introductions, then everyone writes for an hour, and afterwards there is time to talk. One example is a Sunday morning session at And Destroy in Glassell Park; check the Meetup group for the current venues and days, and RSVP there. Writers of all levels are welcome. Taking part is free (2026), and the host cafés ask you to buy something. Shut Up & Write! on Meetup

Sharing a table with strangers

Timeleft (restaurants in several neighborhoods)

An app that brings you together with four to six people you don't know yet. In Los Angeles, dinners take place on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 pm, in restaurants on the Westside, in West Hollywood and in North Hollywood. You book on your own, and the app shows you the venue twelve hours before. You need a membership, whose price is shown when you book, and you pay for what you eat and drink (2026). timeleft.com/los-angeles

Going alone

Pick one format and go three times before you judge it. The first evening is often the most awkward, and every time you return, you are more likely to see familiar faces. A shared activity gives you something to talk about straight away: the game, the quiz question, the scene you just improvised, the drawing in front of you. At O'Brien's Pub Quiz, solo players are welcome alongside teams, and at Timeleft everyone books on their own anyway. Shut Up & Write! starts each session with a round of introductions, and at Well Played you can drop in whenever it suits you during the afternoon.

Good openers are deliberately ordinary: "Is this your first time too?", "How did you find out about it?", "Have you played this game before?" Ask one follow-up question and listen to the answer.

Making plans to meet again

A good conversation does not turn into a second meeting on its own. Before you leave, suggest something concrete: "Are you coming to the board game night again next Wednesday?" or "I'm going to the pub quiz on Wednesday, want to join our team?" A specific suggestion is easier to answer than "We should do something sometime".

Try it this week

• Pick one format from the table above
• Put the date in your calendar and check it on the organizer's page
• Arrive five minutes early and talk to one person
• Before you leave, suggest a specific plan to meet again

For organisers

If you host evenings like these, you know the moment: people get on well and then lose touch. before is a web app for organisers. Guests check in at the door with a QR code in their browser, without installing an app, and anyone who likes takes a selfie. The day after, the afterparty is open from 10 am to 8 pm. Anyone who shared a selfie sees everyone else who shared one there and can press the button for meeting again for up to five people. At 8 pm everyone finds out at the same time who wants to see each other again, and only then does a chat open. One-sided wishes stay invisible, and nobody receives a rejection. Nobody needs a profile. More on the page before for organisers.