North, Where It’s Hot

It is a beautiful thing when people with good taste and good track records collaborate. The moment you walk into a venue, you can tell when its owners are selective: when designers, chefs, bartenders, barbacks, waiters and hosts appear to have been hand-picked. North, a bar and restaurant that opened quietly last year with an unlisted phone number and a modest sign offering spirits and dining, exemplifies this quality.

Bars don’t become “the” place to be in L.A. without a reputation for quality, and North offers that in spades. One of its owners, Marc Smith, with former partner Matthew Webb, gave Hollywood the great gift of Three Clubs, a bar that Hollywood has swooned over for years now. It remains a sure-fire nightspot, the place you go when you don’t want any hassle, just a drink, a seat, cool music to listen to and interesting faces to stare at. Harrah and Webb also ran Hollywood’s modest Burgundy Room and, when it came time to sell it, they were again selective, weeding out some of the seedier club proprietors in town until they found one with credibility, a rockabilly guy named Iad, who’s turned the bar into a haven for the post-mod ‘50s set.

North, which Smith owns with partner Eddie Harrah (himself a promoter at Three Clubs and Roxbury), is sort of the culmination of their experience and, as a result, there is no hotter spot on Sunset Boulevard right now. Its designer, Ricki Kline, took a gnarly old bar and transformed it into something beautiful and simple. His less-is-more ethic provides a venue that’s classy but not unapproachable. Kline, who also built Swinger’s and the Olive and is designing a bar for the new Standard hotel, here used such materials as cherry wood and copper to create a warm space that feels like you’re in the cabin of some cool ship.

Kline’s wife, Monica May, is North’s chef, and the whole thing feels like a family operation. And, in fine Olive fashion, food is served until 1 a.m. Also, the fare is not little froufrou dishes but hearty tummy-pleasers.

By virtue of its enormous popularity, newcomers will have trouble getting acclimated, though. It’s not every day you walk into a bar where all eyes are on you, as if you’ve stumbled into a beauty pageant without warning. Your Miss America moment arrives compliments of the stairwell that leads down into the bar from the rear entrance off the Strip. (If you’re having a fit of insecurity, lie down until it passes.)

This problem is particularly noticeable early in the night, when stargazers--yes, nearly every famous person hangs here--who have arrived before 10 p.m. to position themselves for maximum viewing pleasure, let their eyes do so much self-conscious darting that, surely, this annoying habit must lead to premature blindness.

As it gets later, and North gets packed, the lookilosers get swallowed up by the scenery, and the soothing blend of funk and soul piped in makes everything feel so good, it’s difficult to summon the strength to leave. And really, there is so much to look at. Those who deride such scenes as being a showcase for the Beautiful People just don’t get it. L.A.’s all about living up to your potential and here, most people do.

BE THERE

North, 8029 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 654-1313. 21 and over. No cover. Arrive early or be subject to guest list and dress code.