Hop in the Truck, Head to the Troc
In the 1930s the Trocadero--along with Ciro’s and the Mocambo--ruled the Sunset Strip. Carole Lombard, Sid Grauman, Ida Lupino and scores of other Hollywood types would drink, dine and dance away the nights to popular Latin bands. The Trocadero achieved particular notoriety as the last watering hole for Hollywood party girl Thelma Todd, a comic film actress known as “The Ice Cream Blonde.” The hapless Todd had tossed back a few at the club on a drinking spree one night in 1935 and was found dead in her car the next day. The death has never been solved. Want to be a Hollywood legend? Die mysteriously.
If celebrity quotient is any indication, it looks as if the new Sunset Trocadero Lounge, located a few blocks from its long-gone namesake, is becoming just as popular with the famous as the old Trocadero. The only element missing is the line of elegant Bentleys and Rolls-Royces that used to separate the film stars from, well, everyone else. The parade of SUVs has stripped away such distinctions, which must be a surprise to Montana tourists who arrive here to find the Sunset Strip looking like cowboy land back home.
These days, the blond at the Trocadero is more likely to be Sarah Michelle Gellar or Tori Spelling. Vince Vaughn, Michael Ovitz and Oscar De La Hoya have also enjoyed the intimacy of the hot little spot located conveniently between Sushi on Sunset and the Standard. I lucked out and crashed Matthew McConaughey’s birthday party one recent night. Seated at a front patio table, the laughing birthday boy was wearing something that only the rich and famous can get away with on a Friday night on the Strip. A white T-shirt sans jacket. Oh, the Marlon Brandoness of it all!
“We wanted to get rid of the attitude and have a place that’s cozy, energetic and upscale,” says Michael Bezarra, who along with Milton Zampelli and Ari Ryan, opened the Trocadero last June. Investors include Melissa Joan Hart from “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.” The partners own bars in several local college neighborhoods, which may account for the comfortable feel of their new endeavor. If the door guy turns you away, it’s usually because the small room is jammed. Here, only the fire marshal cops attitude.
Interior Decor Gives Club Timeless Quality
The Trocadero’s decor is indeed a vast departure from Ian Schrager’s ode to Modernism next door, the Standard. Set designer Brenda Yates’ decor is more homey than artificial. Warm wood tables and flattering lighting from gothic wall sconces give the room a timeless quality. Here, retro means a photo of Dean Martin hanging over a comfy couch instead of minimalist fiberglass furniture that whines, “look but don’t touch.”
Like any crowded scene, the success of a lounge like the Trocadero depends on an expert wait staff. I watched one courageous waitress plunge into the crowd time after time and manage to get the right drinks to the right customers--all served with a big smile. In fact, she was much more pleasant than some of the customers. One tall inebriated dude near the open patio put his cigarette out on my jacket sleeve. My protests were met with the response, “This is a bar” from his equally inebriated date. “Things like this happen all the time.”
In a way, she was right. Anything can happen in a small crowded bar. Just ask Thelma Todd.
Background music ranges from techno to jazz and is loud enough to create a fun atmosphere but never overwhelms conversation. The front patio is open and inviting. No privacy here. Pedestrians can gawk at Slash and Lisa Marie Presley easily from the sidewalk. The owners also brought in former Asia de Cuba chef Alfredo Coda, who cooks up a swell Nuevo Latino menu for $9 to $15.
If the owners are aiming for a lack of pretension, they’re on the right track at the Troc. By eliminating snotty bouncers and exorbitant valet fees ($4.50), they send the signal that their little piece of Sunset is not just a playground for the elite, but a hangout where everyone is treated like a celebrity. Sure, the rich and famous are not like you and me, but the Troc is a good place for such types to party down with the rest of us.
* The Sunset Trocadero Lounge, 8280 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood. Open daily from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Dinner served until 1:30 a.m. Reservations suggested. No cover. Valet parking, $4.50. (323) 656-7161.
