A beautiful sunny Sunday and a planned visit to an art exhibition in Thousand Oaks provided a great excuse to stop in Calabasas on the way west to try Industry Bar & Grill, opened in October at Summit Shopping Center.

There’s not much else in the way of shopping and dining on Agoura Road near the 101 Freeway. But if you happen to find yourself here—either because you live here or on your way somewhere else—this kid-friendly, dog-friendly establishment offers a large and airy patio with a central fire pit, great burgers and beer, and an atmosphere more sophisticated than you might expect from a mall whose centerpiece is an enormous Home Consignment Center.

Indoors there’s an enticing, high-ceilinged bar that’s probably hopping anytime except noon on a Sunday. Outside the atmosphere is festive anytime, whether you’re here with a date, a spouse, three generations of family or two German shepherds. Most patios don’t accommodate the big dogs. This one can.

Service was a bit ragged but enthusiastic; it’s hard for a small staff to cover such a huge patio. When asked for recommendations, our waiter suggested burgers, as well as poutines and truffle lobster quesadillas. Knowing that poutines are heavy fare and after seeing mile-high burgers going by, we decided to try lighter dishes to share: Wagyu beef mini corn dogs, grilled onion sliders and a grilled chicken and guacamole sandwich on ciabatta bread.

 

The sandwich was fine, though not worth a special trip. The corn dogs seemed over-engineered: The bright pink Wagyu beef was oddly soft, and the coating was very light and oily–not well-suited to the corn dog tradition of hearty cornmeal batter. But the sliders were delicious, perfectly cooked and served on flavorful brioche buns—boding well for the larger burgers on the menu. The moral of this story: Listen to your waiter.

26787 Agoura Road E-1, 818-871-9501