Hot new bars in Pasadena to know: late October

The bar map around Pasadena keeps turning over, and late October is a good moment to check in on what is new and what everyone is talking about. The standout right now is Bar Betsy in Altadena, a sunny cafe-by-day and moody wine bar by night that the Los Angeles Times named among the best new bars in Los Angeles this summer, and the buzziest new gathering spot this month is The Green Room on Mentor Avenue, a community arts and live-music room with a neighborhood-bar feel. I am Alejandro Espitia, a Broker Associate and REALTOR with Apex Realty and Investments, licensed in California (01213999) since 1996, serving Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Gabriel, and Riverside, fluent in English and Spanish. I keep a running list of the best new places in the neighborhoods I serve, and every spot below comes from the venue's own site or current local coverage, with sources at the bottom of the post.

Bar Betsy: Altadena's cafe by day, wine bar by night

Bar Betsy at 871 E. Mariposa Street in Altadena is the light, all-day sibling of the live-fire restaurant Betsy, opened by chef-restaurateur Tyler Wells in April 2026 just next door to Betsy at 875 E. Mariposa. By day it pours coffee and serves pastries and light fare; by night it shifts into a relaxed wine bar, open daily from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm with no reservations. The Los Angeles Times featured Bar Betsy among the best new bars in Los Angeles this summer and wrote about the room as a mountain version of a Parisian wine bar, and it carries Yelp's Hot and New flag. Hours, menus, and directions are on the Bar Betsy site, with the opening covered by Eater Los Angeles.

The Green Room: a music-and-cocktails room on Mentor

The Green Room at 308 N. Mentor Avenue shares a building with the Mentor School of Music and Arts, and it works as a community arts and live-music room with a neighborhood-bar feel. The calendar leans on jazz and local musicians, and the space describes itself as family-friendly, welcoming guests of any age, with no cover-price barrier to most evenings. It has been showing up on Yelp's hot new bars list for Pasadena as a gathering spot worth knowing, and the Green Room music site carries the live schedule. It is the kind of place that makes a neighborhood feel like home, which is why I like to track rooms like this for the buyers and sellers I work with across the area.

This week's Yelp hot new bars list, at a glance

For the crowd's own verdict, Yelp's hot new bars ranking for Pasadena this week runs: Bull And Barrel, Behind Bars, 10 1/4, Bar Betsy, Good Neighbor Bar, Osa Rooftop, The Lucky Tiki, The Green Room, 1881, and The Blind Donkey. Several of these got their own write-ups in earlier journal guides, including Behind Bars, Bull And Barrel, 1881, The Lucky Tiki, Sid's Bar, Osa Rooftop, and The Dungeon, so this list is a fresh snapshot rather than a repeat of those reviews. It shifts week to week, so the live version lives on the Yelp hot new bars page for Pasadena.

A note on details: bar hours, kitchen times, and live-music schedules can shift, and the hot-new-bars list rotates quickly as new rooms open and reviews stack up. Please confirm directly with each spot before you head out, and use the links below for the latest. If you have a favorite new bar around Pasadena I missed, text me and I will add it to the next edition.

Sources: Bar Betsy, Bar Betsy, Eater Los Angeles, Best new bars, Los Angeles Times, The Green Room, Hot new bars, Yelp Pasadena, and A mountain version of a Parisian wine bar, Los Angeles Times.