Seeing as how our league match was postponed yesterday it gave me the chance to visit a bar I haven’t been to for quite some time.  And of course I snapped some photos for the Dart Bars of Itaewon series.  So this week I present Hollywood Grill.

Hollywood is located on the main drag of Itaewon, about half a block “up” (towards Hannam-dong) from the Hamilton Hotel.  It’s on the 3rd floor, upstairs from Kraze Burger and La Tavola.

Hollywood features two dart boards, although you would have to rearrange some furniture to comfortably play the board on the right of this photo.  I’ve not actually thrown at Hollywood since my “B” Division days, but back then it was not a great place to play.  From my observation, not much has changed.  There is an aircon unit next to oche on the far board (which is what we played in those days).  Some darters complained about the breeze created by the airconditioner, others didn’t like throwing with cold, numb hands.  What I hated most was the lighting.  Not that great to begin with, but the fixtures where almost on top of the board and shooting for the double top (20) was sometimes an adventure as it seemed you were as likely to hit the light as the board.  I note they have definitely improved the lighting in that regard, which is a plus.

But note how there is some shelf like thing directly above the boards.  I don’t remember that from before and it certainly creates the same type problem.  You can see from the damage that many darters have been missing “high”, but with this setup, it doesn’t take much of a miss to be in the wood.

As I don’t frequent this bar at all these days, I can’t say much about what attracts the customers.  I surmise from the football jerseys and banners (that would be soccer for you Yanks) and the numerous TV monitors, they must be big on sports.  To the left of the above photo you can see a pretty impressive collection of wines.  So, I guess there’s that.  I also understand they show Hollywood films on Sundays.

This is the front half of the bar area.  The bar arcs around to form a full half circle, so there is ample bar seating.  On the other side of the bar is a regulation pool table.

Overall, I’d say this a pretty comfortable place to quaff some brews and watch sports and movies.  As a dart venue, not so much.  I believe Hollywood only hosts a “C” division team this year, and I guess the setup is adequate for that.  I’d rate this bar a C- for competitive darts.

Having some free time on my hands on a Monday night, I indulged in a little norebang…

I look better than I sound, if that gives you any indication of my singing ability…