The Best Places To Drink In LA
OLD-SCHOOL GEMS
Tower Bar at the Sunset Tower Hotel
Old-school elegance defines the Tower Bar, which occupies gangster Bugsy Siegel’s old apartment on the ground floor of an art-deco building that is now a landmark hotel. Its walnut-panelled walls are lined with vintage photos of old Hollywood stars, and the bar is an A-list favourite to this day, thanks to discreet niche seating and graceful, white-gloved service.
Visit SunsetTowerHotel.com
Bar & Lounge at The Bel Air Hotel
If you can’t stretch to a stay at the Bel Air, a spell in its bar is the next best thing. There’s live music each evening, and a smart-casual dress code ensures illusions of your own ascent into Hollywood royalty are never shattered. The fireplace is alight year round, but the atmosphere is never stuffy – there’s even a Fresh Prince cocktail of Sipsmith, fresh mint, lime juice and club soda.
Visit DorchesterCollection.com
Capri Club
‘Come early, stay late’ is the in-house advice from the Capri Club, and we don’t disagree. An Eagle Rock institution since the 60s, this is the kind of place to start with a spritz – except on warmer days, when there are chilled shots and frozen negronis to take the edge off. A wonderfully retro food menu features meatballs, mortadella, cacio e pepe risotto balls and, in one small concession to the modern LA diet, a plate of tuna crudo.
Visit CapriClubLosAngeles.com
The Musso & Frank Grill
The bar at Musso’s is called the New Room, but it has a long history. In the 1950s, its fixtures, fittings and furniture were moved wholesale from an original space known as the Back Room to a ‘new’ home. They’re still here, and this is an atmospheric spot in which to enjoy one of the team’s genuinely classic martinis – stirred never shaken, they are served with care (and a bit of theatre) to keep them at an optimal low temp for longer.
Visit MussoAndFrank.com
Wally’s
Wally’s started in the 60s as a neighbourhood liquor store. A decade ago, the French brothers who built the GUESS jeans brand bought Wally’s and brought it to a much bigger site in Beverly Hills, where it’s gained a deli, a restaurant, and a tasting bar with more than 100 wines by the glass to explore. You can also join the smart crowd at Wally’s Santa Monica, with its similarly slick setup including a caviar service.
Visit WallyWine.com
Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel
Another well-preserved old Hollywood favourite, the Polo Lounge played a role of its own in the Watergate scandal – this is where the phone call that would eventually bring down President Nixon was taken. Embrace the power-meeting, deal-making vibe with a Millionaire cocktail of Absolut Elyx vodka, Giffard Crème de Pêche, blueberry, ginger and lemon.
Visit DorchesterCollection.com
La Dolce Vita
A big deal in 60s LA, when Frank Sinatra was one of its original investors, La Dolce Vita has recently been restored to former glory – and today’s Hollywood elite have taken notice. Screen stars shine its dark dining room, and tables can be hard to come by. That’s why we suggest a walk-in visit to its elegant bar, where they just happen to make some of the best martinis on the continent.
NEW-SCHOOL DELIGHTS
The Let’s Go! Disco
This hot new take on a 70s disco cuts through the cheese to focus on what really makes a night fun. Beneath a couple of glitterballs, crowd-pleasing DJs use funk, soul and Italo-disco to fill the floor. If you’re ready to go early, happy hours runs from opening at 5pm through to 8pm. Drinks here are much better than they ever were before – fuel up with a cacao-nib daiquiri or the dry paloma that is the Donna Summer Dress. The same team runs the De La Nonna pizzeria next door – you’ll be grateful for its Late Night Slice Window on your way out.
Visit TheLetsGoDisco.com
Bar Next Door
Everywhere’s got a story to tell in this town, and this small space on Sunset Strip used to be the office of Marilyn Monroe’s agent. In intimate, art-deco surrounds, its signature cocktails pay tribute to some of Hollywood’s favourite bars of old – there’s a pisco-based Viper Room or a Whisky A Go-Go featuring both bourbon and the Irish stuff.
Visit BarNextDoor.com
The Normandie Club
Land a booth at the bar within Koreatown’s Hotel Normandie and you could easily pass an evening exploring its imaginative cocktail list. There are novel takes on staples like the gimlet, the old fashioned and the gibson, as well as bolder originals like a Japanese sour (gin, rum, melon, pineapple, lime) or the Jaguar (bourbon, apple brandy, apricot, pomegranate, lemon, angostura bitters) to keep you entertained.
Visit TheNormandieClub.com
Dama
This retro Lat-Am restaurant in Downtown’s Fashion District is built around a tropical-deco bar that turns out quality new-generation pina coladas and palomas. Sprawling and low-slung, the main space spills out onto a big outdoor patio – another good spot to try a Sierra Norte (mezcal, Aperol, lemon, pineapple) or a Presidente (Bacardi Superior, white vermouth, orange liqueur, grenadine).
Visit DamaFashionDistrict.com
Accomplice
In Mar Vista, Accomplice is the bar attached to Taiwanese restaurant Little Fatty. It benefits from the kitchen’s great food – XO fatty noodles are a good order after a couple of rounds – while getting the freedom to play with some flavours of its own. House favourite cocktails include the Horse With No Name (tequila, rum, coffee liqueur, passionfruit, amontillado sherry, black sesame). Its fun daily happy-hour menu is all about ‘trashy drinks done right’ – it’s a safe space where no one will be shamed for ordering a Midori sour, a woo woo or an appletini.
Visit LittleFattyLA.com
Apotheke
The LA outpost of an NYC favourite is a rare combination of sultry indoor bar and relaxed outdoor patio. The drinks are good enough that you’ll be happy in either location. Following through on its name, Apotheke offers ‘Healthy & Beauty’ cocktails like the Healer (mezcal, pisco, kale, spinach, celery, ginger, apple, lemon, bitters) and ‘Aphrodisiacs’ such as the Manananngal (vodka with green cardamom, ube, mango, coconut milk, lime, pansy flower).
Visit ApothekeMixology.com
The Wolves
At the turn of the 20th century, the Hotel Alexandria opened as a landmark building Downtown. Within it today, the Wolves cocktail bar recalls a Parisian establishment of the same era, using marble, mahogany and period antiques to create a grandly romantic atmosphere. The bar team do the classics well, but still have time to experiment with an intriguing list of specialities like the mezcal-based Tigers Milk, served smoked for two in a decanter, or a rotating Farm to Glass option that draws on local farmers market ingredients. French small plates are available to keep you in the room.
Visit TheWolvesDTLA.com
Melrose Umbrella Co
This low-lit, vintage-styled bar is one to remember after an afternoon shopping in Melrose. Take the weight off with an easy drinking Melrose Mule (vodka, lime, blood orange, cinnamon brown sugar, ginger) or a more spirit-forward Proud Sinner (mezcal, vermouth, Lillet Blanc, angostura bitters, tamarind).
Visit MelroseUmbrellaCo.com
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt uses centrifuges and custom refrigerators to create drinks you just won’t get elsewhere, but don’t worry, it’s also a laid-back place that wears its brilliance lightly. The team’s unswerving commitment to experimentation regularly produces remarkable things like a sparkling pina colada. For a next-level espresso martini, try the Jazz Funeral (vodka, coffee, chicory, cacao, amontillado, sorghum). When you need it, food comes from The Park’s Finest, the brilliant Filipino BBQ place next door.
Visit ThunderboltLA.com
The Varnish Bar
The speakeasy trend has been ridden hard in recent years, but the Varnish was one of the first of the new wave. Hidden behind the Cole’s French Dip saloon, the drinks served in this old storage room have been excellent for a sustained period of time – no gimmicks required.
Follow @TheOriginalVarnishBa
Dante at The Maybourne Beverly Hills
Up on the ninth floor of the Maybourne Beverly Hills, Dante’s views onto the Hollywood Hills help make it a new destination to know. The original Dante is a highly rated New York cocktail bar, and the list here is impressive in both depth and detail – entire sections are given over to martinis and negronis. Begin, though, with a Garibaldi of Campari and ‘fluffy’ orange juice. For live music with your drinks, there’s the separate Maybourne bar.
Death & Company
A moody basement joint in the Arts District of Downtown, Death & Co has an always changing and ever excellent cocktail list. Recent highlights run from a light and playful Buko Gimlet (gin, cachaca, panda, coconut water, finger lime) to a rich and comforting Seismic Wave (mezcal, vermouth, Cynar, smoked sunchoke). A short food menu might include a pork sando or buttermilk fried chicken.
Visit DeathAndCompany.com
Big Bar
Big Bar opened as an add-on to the Alcove Café but has become a key fixture on the LA cocktail scene. Occupying a couple of century-old Spanish duplex in Los Feliz, the pair have patios and a pleasantly suburban feel. The bar’s seasonal cocktail list is currently built around different places in California – a Rain Shadow (tequila, gin, prickly pear brandy, nopales brine, mesquito smoke) is credited to the Mojave Desert, for example.
Visit AlcoveCafe.com
Redbird
Redbird took over a big old church in Downtown a decade ago. It’s got space for a couple of dining rooms, one of which features a handsome horse-shoe bar. Its revolving cocktail list tends to partner familiar favourites like a mint julep with house originals like a White Carnation of Haku vodka, lemon, Giffard Crème de Pêche, cream and egg whites.
Visit Redbird.la
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