If you weren’t at the White Harte, a British pub in Woodland Hills, for the World Cup last summer, you missed a raucous, rivalrous day at one of the most soccer-addled joints in Southern California: Italians at some tables, Germans at others, Argentines at others, Brits everywhere. For most of the year, when soccer isn’t hot, this popular, charming brick-and-beams place is a nifty, small bar meant for jawing with friends you’ve just met over a gourmet salad or remarkably good burger. There’s often a gorgeous bartender on duty who flirts and chats — and she’s been known to pour a shot of liquor directly down the gullet of a guy if he can sit still for it. Like we said, very British. The pub’s website plays God Save the Queen, and is running a second-hand countdown to the next World Cup, well over 1,000 days away. 22456 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills. (818) 224-3822, whitehartepub.com.
—N. Jenssen

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