Tom Bergin's

{{refimprove|date=July 2010}} {{cleanup|date=July 2010}} [[Image:Tom Bergins Tavern.gif|175px|right|thumb|Tom Bergin's Tavern in Los Angeles, California, looking north on [[Fairfax Avenue]].]] '''Tom Bergin's Tavern''' is one of the oldest restaurant/bars in continuous operation in [[Los Angeles, California]]. Originally opened on [[Wilshire Boulevard]] in 1936 by lawyer Tom Bergin, it has been at its current location on [[Fairfax Avenue]] since 1949. The tavern is known for its annual [[St. Patrick's Day]] celebration and its tradition of placing cardboard [[shamrock]]s on the walls to memorialize the names of its customers. Among the famous names with shamrocks are [[Tommy Lasorda]], [[Kiefer Sutherland]], [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Cary Grant]]. [[Image:Tom Bergin's, Faifax, Los Angeles, CA.JPG|thumb|left|220px|Tom Bergin's]] Tom Bergin's is also famous for its [[Irish coffee]] drink. Although the Buena Vista Cafe in [[San Francisco]] is generally credited with introducing the drink in the United States in 1952, Tom Bergin's claims to have been the first.{{Fact|date=December 2008}} A large, shamrock-shaped sign in front of Tom Bergin's reading "House of Irish Coffee" (not visible in the photo at right) has been in place since the early 1950s. The "horseshoe" bar at Tom Bergin's and its colorful bartenders and regular patrons were reputedly the inspiration for the 1980s [[sitcom]] ''[[Cheers]]''. ==In popular culture== Tom Bergin's appeared as a prep location in an episode of the television program, [[Top Chef]]. ==Reviews== *A [[Los Angeles Times]] review pointed out that Tom Bergin's, "like a traditional Irish pub, [is] a sort of community living room." ==External links== *[http://www.tombergins.com/ Official Website] {{coord missing|Los Angeles County, California}}