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It’s Memorial Day weekend, and the hot season of Southern California night life is here. Get off on the good foot with our Summer Night Life Guide: a great drink poolside, a movie in the grass, a ridonculous day-party, a midnight bike ride. It’s the start of a great summer -- but only a start. Go to latimes.com/summernights to see more and add your own summer night life picks.

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Tacos with punch lines

Three words: Punk. Rock. Comedy. This raucous outdoor comedy night, held at a Baja-style fish taco stand, is one of L.A.’s newest DIY entertainment success stories. After comedian Jeremy Burke’s Kreayshawn/Gucci Gucci parody (about fish tacos instead of designer duds) went viral online, he launched a brick-and-mortar stand-up comedy showcase at Best Fish Taco in Ensenada (which is actually in Los Feliz). The event, which runs the first and third Tuesday of the month, now draws big names including Patton Oswalt, Demetri Martin, T.J. Miller, Maria Bamford and Nick Thune, who perform alongside newcomers in the restaurant’s packed cabana area. Hipsters, one-liners and fried fish abound. And the fourth word? “Free.”

Comedy Night at Best Fish Taco in Ensenada. 1650 N Hillhurst Ave., L.A., (323) 466-5552. www.facebook.com/bestfishtaco.

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Deborah Vankin

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Drinking in mountain views

Grab a seat on Ladyface’s outdoor patio and enjoy a daydream-worthy view of the restaurant/brewery’s namesake mountain. Ladyface is a rare, only-in-SoCal treat: an adventurous craft brewery just a stoplight away from a freeway and at the base of a picturesque mountain. Plus, the gastropub menu is dotted with fetching seasonal, French-inspired creations that largely come in under $20. And there’s goodies to bring home, ranging from a growler of beer or some ale-inspired jewelry crafted by owner Cyrena Nouzille.

Ladyface Alehouse & Brasserie, 29281 Agoura Road, Agoura Hills. (818) 477-4566. www.ladyfaceale.com

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Todd Martens

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Cinespia returns

Don’t let anyone tell you that the summertime movie-series Cinespia has become too well-known or too crowded. Even if prime spots are gone early, there’s still no more iconic night out in Los Angeles than a picnic on the Fairbanks Lawn with a carafe of wine and a flick from Hollywood’s golden days. This spring has already seen “Silence of the Lambs,” “Strangers on a Train” and “Grease,” and the rest of the summer season will be announced any day now.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. $10 donation per show. www.cinespia.org.

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August Brown

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Vampires in sunlight

Some of L.A.’s best summer parties happen during the day, whether they start with a civilized brunch or go straight to bikinis and Patron. The midday drinking crowd has been piling into New York transplant Bagatelle on the Cahuenga corridor, which on Saturdays features eggs benedict until about 3 p.m. and then goes table-top with dancing to resident DJ Tony Mendes (Bagatelle, 755 N. La Cienega Blvd. [310] 659-3535. bistrot bagatelle.com). Hollywood’s former Cabana Club, now with the sexy moniker Lure, opens its massive doors on Sundays for outdoor patio dining and drinking beneath topiary chandeliers (Lure, 1430 Cahuenga Blvd. lurehollywood.com). Summer staple XIV keeps its name but moves its Sunday party location to Hollywood’s Colony, revamped in Hamptons white with aerial dancers and water features (XIV Summer Sessions at Colony, 1743 N. Cahuenga Blvd. www.facebook.com/xivsummersessions). And let’s not forget old faithful: the redesigned, Cabana-strewn deck of the Mondrian’s SkyBar gets an upgrade just in time for Saturday parties.

SkyBar, 8440 Sunset Boulevard, (323) 848-6025. Guest list only. www.mondrianhotel.com

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Matt Donnelly

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Mobile party

With two-wheeled transport making an impact on the city more than ever, the summer nights are tailor-made for the diverse rides posted on the Midnight Ridazz website (https://midnightridazz.com/). The monthly Critical Mass rides can be particularly festive, and -- with the blessing of the city -- transform miles of streets into bike-only zones, while other late-night rides offer a more roguish spirit with self-explanatory names like “Beerfest.” Those counting the days until the next CicLAvia on Oct. 14 (https://www.ciclavia.org/) can look into the 12th annual L.A. River Ride on June 10 as another chance to get in gear on a grand scale. Offering a range of rides from short family-and-kids excursions along the L.A. River bike path to a full 100-mile circuit from Griffith Park to Seal Beach, these rides are summer parties at their most mobile.

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Chris Barton

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Romantic hideaway

Looking for a picnic-perfect place to kiss your summer sweetheart? You can’t do much better than the year-old Perch rooftop restaurant and bar, which is located on the 15th floor of the historic Pershing Square Building. Perch reflects downtown’s sleek new leanings with a ritzy, Parisian-themed dining room and a patio with breathtaking city-sky views. On the menu? Sexy French bistro fare made with an American twist. (Think buttermilk marinated frog legs tossed with housemade buffalo sauce.) The dining patio is ringed by a waist-high, clear glass wall that affords uninterrupted views of the downtown skyline and Pershing Square below. When the sun sets, white lights glow in the patio’s trees, which can be seen from the hectic streets below.

Perch, 448 S. Hill St., L.A. (213) 802-1770; www.perchla.com.

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Jessica Gelt

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Poolside living

If you want nothing more than to sit by a stunning blue pool and sip daiquiris all day (and who doesn’t), there are few places better suited than the lovely Tropicana bar at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The shaded outdoor bar is small and unassuming, and staffed by friendly bartenders whose wrists tend to go loose if you wink at them. The pool is long and festooned with an abstract design painted by David Hockney. It’s ringed by the hotel’s exclusive bungalows, which create a self-contained effect: Settle in and it’s easy to forget that you’re in the seething heart of Hollywood. The butter leaf wedge salads, fish sandwiches and cherry gimlets on the bar menu are perfect.

7000 Hollywood Blvd.; (323) 466-7000; www.thompsonhotels.com.

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Jessica Gelt

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