Who needs a table?

There comes a point in one’s nightlife career when the sawdust-on-the-floor aesthetic just doesn’t cut it. Dance clubs start to make you cringe, dive bars wrinkle your nose and meat markets just make you sad.

And then you discover the restaurant bar, and there’s no going back.

Maybe it was the night you slipped onto a stool at AOC and were presented with a bowl of oil-slicked olives and spicy tapenade -- instead of stale pretzels and wasabi peanuts.

Or maybe you wandered into Table 8, perched in the chic lounge and let the sommelier choose something unusual for you to sip on -- instead of shouting “Cabernet! Chardonnay! Merlot!”

Or it could have been when you joined the easy back-and-forth around the bar at Primitivo, a little tapas spot buzzing with conviviality -- instead of forcing conversation over yet another round of something-tinis.

Whatever the scene, it’s become clear: over the last couple of years, restaurant bars have come into their own in Los Angeles. They are one of the liveliest and most varied parts of the city’s nightlife, and the easiest to experience -- no tickets or reservations required. In many restaurants, the seats at the bar are best seats in the house. In fact, it’s hard to think of an exciting new restaurant that doesn’t come with a genuine bar scene on the side.

These are welcoming spaces, of course, where you sit elbow to elbow, fully engaged with your surroundings. They’re places where conversation comes naturally, whether you arrive alone or not. Where the quality of the drinks -- house aperitifs, expertly made cocktails, good wine lists -- is unimaginable in those other places. And since the appetizers are often the most interesting part of the menu, you may be eating better at the bar than if you were socially marooned at a dining room table.

Some of the best menus put an irreverent spin on bar fare. Bistro EM on 3rd Street serves house-made potato chips and fresh onion dip that will forever ruin the old Lay’s and Lipton’s combination. Up the block, Opaline’s “den menu” includes a sandwich with duck confit, red onions and raclette cheese. Maple Drive in Beverly Hills skips the old mini-pizza in favor of the French version: a to-die-for tarte flambe.

Not every great restaurant bar is minutes old. For 39 years, the bar at Dan Tana’s has propped up its share of the glamorous and the grizzled, whether they’re waiting for a table or waiting to see what mischief the night will bring. This is the kind of place where anything goes, where the bartender -- 35-year veteran Mike Gotovac -- dispenses whiskey and wisdom with equal abandon, usually tossing a few drinks in his own direction.

The West Hollywood joint Jones has had a cool bar scene since the mid-’90s. The lighting is as easy on the eyes as the clientele, and there are always as many people sharing a meal in one of their cozy booths as there are clamoring for a drink at the brick-lined restaurant’s sexy bar. Like so many of the best restaurant bars, it’s a place where you end up talking to strangers.

On a recent night, a West Hollywood cop, Chris Noth from “Sex and the City” and software engineer Michael Soderstrom were all knocking back drinks and sharing jokes with the bartender.

Soderstrom, 29, started coming to Jones a few years ago.

“I got sick of standing around in a super-loud bar with a bunch of screaming 22-year-olds,” he says. “Friday and Saturday nights can be so lame most other places if you actually want to have a conversation.”

And the answer is yes, we do.

At AOC on 3rd Street, reservations for their much-talked-about small plate menu are hard to come by -- you could wait weeks to get a table. But you don’t need a reservation for the wine and cheese or charcuterie bars. In fact, they don’t take them. And considering how noisy the dining room can be, you might as well sit at one of them and enjoy a view of the action.

On a recent midweek visit, the wait for bar seats is a tedious 40 minutes, but at least that’s plenty of time to select one of the 468 wines, or to decide between the Capricious Eureka California goat cheese or Italian Cravanzina Piedmont. There’s really nowhere to sit while you wait -- just a drafty doorway -- but no one seems to mind. Everyone’s feeling pretty smug just to be here.

Michelle Weisler, a 37-year-old film producer, has already nabbed a couple of seats at the wine and cheese bar with her friend, TV producer Andrea Buchanan. They’ve ordered their wine and are considering the cheese plate -- though they could order anything off the full menu as well.

When these busy women actually have time to grab a drink together, AOC is their new favorite locale because it’s both sophisticated and social. “I don’t think I’ve ever sat next to someone here and not spoken to them,” says Weisler, who comes here a few times a month. “And even though it is pretty exclusive right now, it doesn’t feel stuffy. The bartenders are never aloof and it’s the kind of place where you could spend $30 or $300. It’s up to you.”

Buchanan, who recently married, said that when she was single, she preferred to meet new people in restaurant bars because it was a food scene, not a meat market. “If you love food and wine, you immediately have something to talk about. It feels genuine. It doesn’t feel forced,” she says.

In fact, the restaurant bar takes the stigma away from anyone who chooses to go out on their own. Put a plate of sea bass carpaccio next to your Chardonnay and suddenly you’re no longer a social pariah who drinks alone. You’re enjoying a glass of wine with your meal.

And for the oenophile -- someone who’s more Robert Parker than Charles Shaw -- the restaurant bar is a dream come true. The wine list is often longer than at a regular bar, and some places are a wine lover’s paradise. At AOC, and to a lesser extent at the Little Door, also on 3rd Street, the selection of exceptional wines by the glass is so staggering you could spend an entire evening sampling them. Dolce, the celebrity magnet on Melrose Avenue, offers the services of a sommelier to guide you through their impressive stash of Italian wine, whether you’re at a table or the bar.

Ben ARISTONE, a 26-year-old actor who is movie star handsome (think a brunet Aaron Eckhart) takes a small plate of tapas with his Cabernet several times a week at Primitivo in Venice -- alone -- although he’s always hoping he’ll meet someone. A charming, strapping young man would have no trouble meeting a girl down the road at the Brig, a trendy, raucous bar heaving with eager twentysomethings, but Primitivo has something the Brig does not: older women.

“I like women in their 40s; 50s is even better. They’re out for a good time. They know who they are. And, older women let me be myself,” Aristone says, stopping just short of sounding too “American Gigolo.”

A look around Primitivo’s small, rustic, candlelit bar finds women who are more 30ish, so whether he’ll find his perfect fiftysomething is yet to be seen.

On the other side of town, in Studio City, another good-looking man sits alone at Firefly’s shiny mahogany bar, nervously sipping an $8 Ketel One vodka tonic while checking out the menu. Turns out, he’s not really alone. He’s waiting for a date, and Firefly is the perfect date restaurant. Its magnificent patio, with a blazing outdoor fireplace and privately curtained cabanas, screams romantic interlude, but the bar is also a great place to wait for a date, or create one.

The Firefly bar has two rooms: the first, painted blood red and strewn with gilt framed mirrors, casts extremely flattering lighting that ensures you’ll find someone attractive -- and there are a lot of attractive people here to begin with. The second lounge, a library-themed room with big sprawling couches and book-lined floor-to-ceiling dark-wood shelves, is perhaps the place to seal the deal.

Don, the 33-year-old screenwriter waiting for his date, has booked a table on the patio but would prefer to eat in the library. “The date is a little business, a little pleasure, and I’m hoping to get some couch action, if you know what I mean,” he says and smirks. Don counters his peripatetic and solitary work routine by eating out, and he prefers upscale restaurants like Firefly. “When I go out by myself, I want to go where I can get food, but decent food. Not Barney’s Beanery. And I want to be able to talk to people,” he says.

Restaurant bars fill a social void for a lot of Angelenos -- those who like to eat alone, those who want to be part of the culinary chic, those who like to drink with a certain level of sophistication -- and restaurateurs have taken notice.

At Table 8, a recent addition to the restaurant hot list, the owners paid as much attention to the design of the lounge as the dining room. The figure-eight-shaped bar and soft couches don’t crowd the diners, but they’re close enough that lounge patrons don’t feel like they’re in another restaurant altogether. Nikos Karalekos, one of the co-owners and managers of Table 8, says: “We wanted the lounge to have a life of its own, a great place to wait for a table, but also to drop in for a cocktail or a late-night snack, and to give the same experience in the lounge as the restaurant.”

When the Silver Lake eatery the Edendale Grill opened its doors just over a year ago, the owners placed so much importance on its bar, they even gave it a different name: the Mixville Bar. Built in a 1920s fire station, the bar is situated where the fire engines used to come and go, and therefore has enormously high pressed-tin ceilings and huge arched doors that open to a welcoming patio. Inside, several couches and armchairs are grouped at the end of the long mahogany bar. The whole effect is urbane yet inviting. It’s a place where you can sip a hot toddy or hot soup at the bar.

The crowd reflects the new flavor of Silver Lake itself -- yuppies happily mingling with old-school artists and bohemians. Although the restaurant is earning a reputation as one of the best in its area, the owners were clever to create such an upscale bar and lounge. There’s absolutely nothing like it nearby. And there’s a huge profit margin in a successful bar, one that can offset a slow night in an adjoining restaurant.

Charles Burrows, a producer in his early 40s, recently moved back to Silver Lake after living for eight years in San Francisco. He’s pleased by the area’s gentrification because it means he has more nightlife options than a quirky coffee shop or edgy bar. “There are lots of good dive bars around here, but you might be in the mood for a good dive bar one night, something more upscale the next, and you don’t want to drive all the way to Hollywood just to get a good martini. We were going to go to Musso & Frank, but you really don’t want to be drinking and driving that far. Here, I can have a great martini and walk home.”

For all of the reinvention of restaurant bars around town, there’s one classic that needs no revamp: Dan Tana’s. Opened almost 40 years, Dan Tana’s is neither fashionable nor out of date, and it’s one of those rare nightlife success stories that’s packed every night.

The bar is so small that patrons brush shoulders with the waiters delivering plates of veal Marsala. Regulars take up at least a few bar seats most nights, but it’s the regulars who make this spot so much fun.

There’s something refreshingly hedonistic about the bar at Dan Tana’s. Ask bartender Gotovac for the time, and he’ll go into his “crotch watch” routine, an elaborate display that involves rubber gloves and a fishing expedition into his trousers. A Farrah Fawcett-style blond with obvious lip and cheek implants wears black Ray Bans at the bar, flanked by two dates, both men in their 50s who seem as entranced by her glinting gold anklet as they are by her clinging cherry-red dress.

The unaltered checked tablecloth decor, timeworn wood walls and dusty stained-glass lamps take you back to an era when more than musty old wine bottles swung from the ceiling. The only thing that brings you back to the present is the smattering of hipsters and the $11 calamari -- a modern-day price tag on a bar food classic. You won’t find foie gras or poached figs here. Just an example of what once was, in a city that’s filled with modern versions hoping to capture some of that restaurant bar magic.

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Belly up to the bar

Restaurant bars run the gamut from posh and pricey, like AOC, to comfortable classic watering holes, like Dan Tana’s. Each has its own appeal, whether it’s the atmosphere, the wine list or the food.

Le Dome

8720 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood

(310) 659-6919

Go for: nostalgic glamour

The recently revamped Dodd Mitchell showplace isn’t as wild as in its youth, but it’s a beautiful spot to grab an earlyish drink.

AOC

8022 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles

(323) 653-6359

Go for: bragging rights

You’ll still have to tough out a long wait to sit at the bar, but it beats the weeks-long wait for a table.

Firefly

11720 Ventura Blvd., Studio City

(818) 762-1833

Go for: the scene

This gorgeous bar in the Valley is a ripe playing field for singles because everyone looks beautiful. But it’s also perfect for a first date. Sit at the shiny mahogany bar in the first room, or snuggle in the “library” next door. Either way, you won’t be disappointed.

Jones

7205 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood

(323) 850-1727

Go for: the scene

This restaurant bar classic still delivers reliable food and drinks in a friendly, chilled-out atmosphere -- and still draws a good-looking crowd.

The Prince

3198 W. 7th St., Los Angeles

(213) 389-1586

Go for: a change of scene

If you can tolerate a soundtrack of Korean pop music, you’re in for a treat in this K-Town gem. They may try to talk you into a bottle of Crown Royal -- de rigueur in this part of town -- but you can get away with ordering a sake or soju for about $12. The best thing is the strangely addicting kimchi pizza. And it’s free.

Cafe Stella

3932 Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake

(323) 666-0265

Go for: the atmosphere

This tiny wine bar seats maybe 15 at a push, so don’t bring a crowd. Old oil paintings, framed vintage Michelin posters, musty antiques and fresh flowers help set the scene for a contemplative drink, not a rollicking frolic. The vibe is serious but friendly.

Cinnabar

933 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale

(818) 551-1155

Go for: eclectic crowd and historic cocktails

An ornately carved red and gold lacquered bar saved from the wrecking ball of the legendary Yeemee Loo’s in Chinatown is the backdrop for this colorful bar that mixes history with its cocktails. Bob the gregarious bartender lets you try as many wines as you like before you find the perfect glass. He can also pour you a classic cocktail: a White Lady, from London’s Savoy Hotel in 1932, or maybe the Golden Dawn, winner of the 1930 international cocktail contest. The crowd is as eclectic as the drinks: everyone from hipsters to doctors at Glendale Memorial.

The Little Door

8164 W 3rd St., Los Angeles

(323) 951-1210

Go for: the scene and the wine list

The young, the beautiful, the European, the chic drink here, and they know how to have a good time. There are no cocktails, just champagne and wine -- one of the biggest and best selections of wines by the glass in town.

Senor Fred

13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks

(818) 789-3200

Go for: post-work pickup scene

By 8 p.m. on a Friday, it’s buzzing at this spot on the boulevard. If you’re not lucky enough to get one of the cozy private booths, you can join the rowdy after-work crowd, noisy people having fun. Great for letting your hair down or loosening that tie.

Dan Tana’s

9071 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A.

(310) 275-9444

Go for: retro thrills

It’s the grandaddy of L.A.’s restaurant bars, packed almost every night of the week, and the characters alone are worth a trip.

Vermont

1714 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz

(323) 661-6163

Go for: sophisticated Eastside scene

Packed with metrosexual men and brainy but beautiful women who look like they’ve been ripped from the pages of a Paul Smith catalog, Vermont doesn’t have a lot of rowdiness or mingling. But there’s a great ambient music DJ after 10 p.m. and a creative cocktail list. Sample the Swedish au pear or the love potion.

Primitivo

1025 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice

(310) 396-5353

Go for: the scene

It’s easy to strike up a conversation with strangers at this colorful Venice tapas bar. Order small plates and a glass of wine. Even if you come alone, you’ll find someone to talk to here.

Dolce

8284 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles

(323) 852-7174

Go for: bragging rights

If you can’t get a table at this uber-hot eating spot, there’s usually room at the bar, and it’s so close to the dining tables, you’re practically there. Plus, you can order from the full menu at the bar while stargazing or people watching.

Ago

8478 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood

(323) 655-6333

Go for: the scene

Ago, famously co-owned by Robert De Niro, has lost some of its sheen in recent years, but it’s still a fun place to people-watch and have a delicious cocktail -- old-fashioned without being stuffy. Don’t leave without trying the incomparable Ago peach martini, so popular here, they make 18,000 of them a year.

Table 8

7661 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles

(323) 782-8258

Go for: the food

One of the few places in town where you can order a porterhouse steak at 1 a.m. In fact, you can get anything on the bar menu until 1 a.m. on weekends, including delicious comfort food like grilled cheese with pulled short ribs. Here’s a recommendation: chefs from Campanile, Lucques and Citrine come here to unwind after work.

Chez Jay’s

1657 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica

(310) 395-1741

Go for: Eastside edge on the Westside

Old-school watering hole with brash and friendly female bartender, rowdy regulars and salt-of-the-earth flavor. There’s not a lot of eating at the bar, but it’s a friendly, chatty scene. No phonies, no pretensions. This place is legit.

Edendale Grill

2838 Rowena Ave., Silver Lake

(323) 666-2000

Go for: the atmosphere

Other than one dismissive bartender,

the Mixville Bar is about as perfect as it gets. Sip a hot toddy in an armchair or on a barstool in the former firehouse.

The full menu is available at the bar until

10 p.m. on weeknights and 11:30 p.m.

on weekends.

Luna Park

672 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles

(323) 934-2110

Go for: the food and upbeat setting

Luna Park is pretty hot right now, so the bar’s always packed with people either waiting for a table or having their dinner right there -- a perfect setting for meeting new friends. Hint: No matter why you’re there, don’t miss their ultimate comfort food dessert: make-your-own s’mores.