Saddle Ranch Country Bar in WeHo: Mechanical Bull Until 2am

Saddle Ranch Chop House, at 8371 Sunset Blvd in West Hollywood, is the closest thing the Strip has to a country bar: a timber-and-stone saloon with a mechanical bull in the middle of the dining room, campfire pits on the patio and a bar that stays open until 2am every night of the year. It calls its concept Rock Meets Western, so expect classic rock next to the country songs, and a bull contest every Thursday at 9pm.

According to the restaurant's About page, Saddle Ranch opened on the Sunset Strip in September 1999 to lines out the door and, as the company tells it, the only mechanical bull in Los Angeles at the time. Hollywood noticed fast. The bull and the room have appeared in Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, American Idol, Six Feet Under and VH1's Rock of Love.

The building is designed to look like a mountain ranch: wood and stone construction, Western props and memorabilia, faux balconies and saloon girls, in a style the owners describe as an Aspen ski lodge crossed with an old Western saloon. A large oval bar sits in the center of the dining room, so wherever you sit, you have a view of whoever is about to get thrown. Outside, a large patio is set around stone campfire pits, where the restaurant invites guests to roast their own s'mores or sit with a glass of wine by the fire, and it is the calmest corner of the property when the bull is busy indoors.

Every rider must be 18 or older with a valid ID and has to sign the bull release before climbing on, which makes it a better plan for a bachelorette party than for a family dinner with teenagers. Riders take turns in the padded ring while the bar crowd counts the seconds, and the loudest moment of any night is someone lasting longer than anyone expected.

Thursday is the night for competitors. The current menu advertises a bull competition every Thursday at 9pm with a chance to win a $1000 Saddle Ranch gift card. Tuesday is karaoke at 9pm, and weekends start with brunch from the morning, so the bull sees action long before sunset.

This is a chop house first, and the menu prices reflect the address. The 14 oz rib-eye is $54.99, the 12 oz New York strip $53.99 and the 9 oz filet mignon $58.99, all served with buttermilk biscuits, jalapeño cornbread muffins and garlic mashed potatoes. BBQ pork ribs are $32.99 for a half rack and $42.99 for a full rack.

For a cheaper night at the bar, The Original Burger is $21.99 and the jumbo buffalo wings are $16.99. The dessert people photograph is the Roast Your Own S'mores platter at $12.99, which you take to one of the outdoor campfire pits, or the Cotton Candy Tower at $11.99, a pile of pink spun sugar taller than most drinks on the table.

The prime rib is the slow-roasted centerpiece, served on weekdays from 4pm and on weekends from noon until it is gone. The 14 oz standard cut is $54.99, the 18 oz chef's cut $64.99 and the 24 oz butcher's cut $79.99. Sides are $9.49 each, and the sweet potato fries come with a marshmallow cream sauce that suits the campfire theme. Drivers and anyone sitting out the drinks can order mocktails such as the watermelon basil lemonade at $9.99.

Specialty drinks come in a signature carafe for $19.99, including the Ranch Punch with vodka, peach schnapps and lemonade, and the Spiked Honey Lemonade with honey whiskey. Classic cocktails such as the espresso martini and the strawberry paloma are $15.99. A classic bottled beer is $8.49, a regular classic draft $9.49 and a pitcher $29.99, while a premium draft pitcher of Shiner Bock or Modelo is $34.99.

Happy hour is the best-value window on the Strip. From Monday to Friday, 4pm to 6pm, drinks and appetizers are 30% off in the bar area, with wine, sparkling wine and champagne excluded and the deal paused during special events. Arriving at 4pm also means an empty ring, so the first ride of the night has no audience.

Reservations go through OpenTable, which is the safer route for a Friday or Saturday dinner before the bull gets busy. The restaurant also books birthday, bachelorette and bachelor parties and group events through its website, and it sells gift cards and souvenirs at the host stand. For questions, call (323) 656-2007.

Weekends open early. Saturday and Sunday the doors open at 10am with brunch, including a breakfast combo at $22.99 and thick-cut Texas toast at $19.99, and the prime rib appears from noon until it runs out. That makes a late weekend brunch the quietest way to see the room and the patio in daylight.

Saddle Ranch sits on the stretch of Sunset where the Strip's comedy clubs and hotels line the hill. The Comedy Store is a short walk west for a late show, and the Chateau Marmont, the hotel with the famous castle silhouette, is a few minutes east on foot. Walking the boulevard between them takes you past billboards and rooftop bars that look best after dark.

Parking on the Strip is expensive and limited, so a rideshare is the easier plan for anyone who intends to drink and ride. If you want a quieter wind-down, Sunset Plaza's sidewalk cafés are a little farther west and calmer than the late-night crowd outside the clubs.

Address: Saddle Ranch Chop House, 8371 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Phone: (323) 656-2007. Hours from the official site: Monday to Friday 4pm to 2am, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2am, open 365 days a year. Happy hour: Monday to Friday 4pm to 6pm, 30% off drinks and appetizers in the bar area. Mechanical bull: 18 and over with ID and a signed waiver. Events: karaoke Tuesday 9pm, bull competition Thursday 9pm. Reservations: OpenTable.