In Hermosa Beach, Tiki Kai pays homage to tiki culture with mai tais, painkillers and build-your-own pu pu platters in a tropical setting.
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
L.A. bars offer something for everyone. Want to sip amaro cocktails in a moody Echo Park bar? We’ve got the spot for you. Or maybe you prefer a beachside tiki haunt with frozen Dole Whip and crab rangoons. What about a sprawling West Hollywood rooftop overlooking the hills, or a destination for locally produced sake in Sawtelle Japantown? Much like the drinks that flow from these newly established institutions, the options are endless.
A neighborhood favorite dive relaunched in its former Echo Park location, while a new gastropub brings Korean bar culture to Highland Park. In West Hollywood, a karaoke lounge elevates the art with luxurious surroundings, and just next door, a lesbian-owned LGBTQ+ club debuted just in time for Pride Month. Tapas seemingly is taking the city by storm, with two Spanish cafes on opposite sides of the city offering pintxos and bocaditos alongside vermouth and Tempranillo wines.
Nonalcoholic options are more thoughtful than ever, presenting those of us who aren’t drinkers with smart and layered concoctions that prove just as complex as their boozy counterparts. In Los Feliz, a veteran bar team launched a cocktail destination that puts the focus on L.A.’s seasonal produce, and in Beverly Hills, a three-Michelin-starred chef is behind a stylish new restaurant and lounge in a luxury retail shop. Here are 23 of L.A.’s best new bars to visit this summer and beyond. — Danielle Dorsey
About This Guide
Our journalists independently visited every spot recommended in this guide. We do not accept free meals or experiences. What should we check out next? Send ideas to guides@latimes.com.
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Bar Baldi
Beverly Hills Italian Steakhouse $$$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Chef Edoardo “Edo” Baldi’s new Tuscan steakhouse is sleek, classy and classics-minded — and so is its tandem amaro bar. It’s almost hidden in a corner at the base of the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills, but find the wood- and marble-accented Bar Baldi and you’ll be greeted by aperitivi galore. Bar Baldi’s wine cellar primarily is stocked with bottles from Tuscany and Piedmont, while its bar boasts a dizzying array of amari and imported spirits that practically glow on the shelves. Some are enjoyed all by their lonesome, while others make their way into cocktails such as the Tuscan martini, which evokes the countryside with olive oil and anise, and the house Manhattan laced with walnut amaro. It wouldn’t be a trip to a Baldi concept without ordering some of the city’s finest Italian food, so be sure to make use of the lounge menu’s offerings: a luxe fritto misto with airy-crisp batter; a wood-grilled steak with Tuscan sauces; and, of course, one of Baldi’s signature pastas.
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Bar Besito
Silver Lake Spanish Tapas Wine Bars $$
(Danielle Dorsey/Los Angeles Times)
The conservas-focused restaurant from Botanica chef and owner Heather Sperling quietly rebranded and reopened as Bar Besito, with a tapas menu that pulls some of the most popular dishes from its run as Bar Siesta. With curved ceilings, textured ecru walls and sidewalk seating, it feels like the sort of all-day bistro you’d stumble upon in a quiet Spanish neighborhood. During the day there are coffee drinks, bocadillos and small bites such as sherry-roasted Marcona almonds, while a daily happy hour offers discounts on house wines, tinned fish and a Spanish tortilla threaded with seasonal produce (recently broccolini). Dinner expands with slightly larger plates, including hangar steak with mojo verde and littleneck clams over saffron rice that pair well with the Spanish-dominant wine list that also spans sherry and vermouth.
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Bar Betsy
Altadena Breakfast Wine Bars $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Sunny cafe by day and moody wine bar by night, Bar Betsy delivers for the neighborhood at all hours. Owner Tyler Wells wanted a more casual concept to mirror Betsy, his live-fire restaurant in Altadena, and earlier this year he launched it. There’s wine to be had at all hours, with a larger selection than what’s found next door, but in the morning it’s usually single-origin coffee that pairs with grits showered in farmers market vegetables or hearth-fired pecan cinnamon buns. From lunch into evening — especially as the sun sinks low and the food menu flips to pastas, charcuterie and more composed plates — the mood shifts, the candlesticks drip down and the wine pours freely. To make your selection look to the constantly revolving menu of bottles gathered from Santa Ynez, San Luis Obispo, Spain, Italy, Portugal and beyond, or trust the staff to pour a dealer’s-choice glass from the large silver bucket on the bar.
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Bar Franca
Downtown L.A. Cocktails $$
(Carlin Stiehl/For The Times)
Next door to the Regent Theater, the sapphic-coded Art Deco cocktail bar with sexy silhouette line drawings on the walls traded hands last fall, with regular Rolando Alvarez taking over as owner and using his knowledge as a local concert promoter to inject energy into the neglected downtown corridor. Hi-fi speakers were installed, and a seasonally shifting cocktail menu was tailored by Broken Shaker’s Gabriel Orta and Bathtub Gin LA’s Jonny Child, with all drinks priced under $20 and beer or a glass of wine ranging from $10 to $12. Alvarez, who founded the late-night dance series Midnight Lovers, regularly hosts live DJs at the bar as well as full jazz bands.
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Pershing Square Station
Bess
Sierra Madre Wine Bar $$
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
There’s biodynamic wine in the glass with meatballs on the table, and Bess is adding a bit of fun and retro flair to the main drag of Sierra Madre. The natural-wine bar opened quietly in the mountain town in October, offering an Italian-leaning wine list, vintage furnishings and serious kitchen prowess from a former Charcoal chef de cuisine. Owner James Mann named Bess for his fun, loving late grandmother; she couldn’t cook, but spending time with her was a delight. The former certainly isn’t a problem for chef Dani McNish, who’s firing lasagna, mushroom cavatappi, chicken parmesan, spicy cannellini dip and other Italian American bites, while Mann leads the wine list. Come for the rotating pours and red sauce, stay for the photo booth and Wednesday-night programming such as reading club and watercolor night.
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Circle Bar
Santa Monica Cocktails Bar/Nightclub $
(Liz Parkinson)
The legendary Santa Monica nightlife venue that first opened in 1949 has risen again on Main Street after a two-year closure. Thanks to new owners Mark and Addie Van Gessel, behind Venice beach bar Hinano Cafe and Santa Monica’s Tavern on Main, there’s now more space to groove on the renovated dance floor, with new sound and lighting systems. Named for the porthole DJ booth where musicians spin every Thursday through Saturday, as well as the wraparound bar that anchors the space, the reinvigorated club has seen a line spill out practically every night since reopening in late May.
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Everywhere
Long Beach Brewery $$
(Danielle Dorsey/Los Angeles Times)
Founded by a close-knit group of friends, this community-minded brewery has been rapidly expanding across Southern California, including a spacious, sun-lit taproom with exposed ceilings and a pebble-strewn patio in Long Beach, and a brand-new location in the historic Fred Harvey room inside Union Station in downtown L.A. On Long Beach’s Retro Row, Everywhere offers a full coffee menu in the morning, plus hoppy and light beers, seltzers and slushies intended to appeal to all types of drinkers. Food pop-ups are hosted in the back garden, with Smorgasburg L.A. vendor Terrible Burger recently smashing patties into Thai-inspired burgers with papaya salad and peanut sauce.
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The Holloway
Echo Park American Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The crowd is buzzing and the Dodgers are up, and there’s trivia and music peppered through the night. It’s another evening at the newly revived Holloway, Echo Park’s neighborhood bar that just returned after five years of closure. After a stint as the Lonely Oyster, run by some of the same team, the Holloway reopened in March. TVs broadcast live sports, and the near-nightly programming includes meatloaf Mondays with Mario Kart tournaments; tiki Tuesdays; Wednesday-night trivia and wings specials; and Sunday supper, when the usual food menu of burgers, kale salad and wings welcomes weekly specials such as crab risotto and thousand-layer lasagna. To drink, wash it down with craft beer, wine and a pared-down, serviceable cocktail menu of martinis, spritzes and Manhattans.
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The Little Room
West Adams Cocktails American $$
(Pascal Shirley)
Tucked in a maroon building on West Adams Boulevard is the Little Room, an old-school lounge with antique chandeliers and portraits on the wall, plus plush leather booths for sinking into with a dirty martini and a generous plate of lasagna or pork loin with duck fat potatoes. With a late-night kitchen, this unassuming spot already is winning over neighborhood locals.
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Farmdale Station
Mic Drop Karaoke
West Hollywood Karaoke
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(Gary Coronado / For The Times)
Brothers Leo and Oliver Kremer are behind this glitzy new karaoke bar in the former Larrabee Studios building in West Hollywood. Leo is the bassist of nostalgic millennial band Third Eye Blind, and band members Stephan Jenkins and Brad Hargreaves are investors in the venue, which aims to elevate L.A.’s karaoke options with enhanced sound, lighting that cues to the music, performance props and a disco-ball microphone that glitters over the dance floor, plus creative cocktails and bar bites. A lively emcee hypes the audience between performances on the main stage, and crowd contests invite the entire room to sing hit songs together, with a free session in a private karaoke room given to the winner. Private studios are available to rent.
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Mitsi
Chinatown Cocktails Wine Bars Sushi $
(Danielle Dorsey/Los Angeles Times)
On the edge of Chinatown in a nondescript building is this intimate, second-story bar from Mumford and Sons musician Ben Lovett, who also helms the midsize performance venue Pacific Electric next door. Inside Mitsi, the ceilings are high, vinyl records are stacked on shelves, and abstract chandeliers hang over velvet, cloud-shaped booths. Outside, a balcony beckons with a striped canopy awning, wrought-iron furniture and Metrolink trains buzzing by. Alongside natural wines and cleverly updated classic cocktails (including a negroni with palo santo-smoked gin), chef Jon Kim offers a tight menu with sashimi, sushi and temaki — the fatty tuna roll with caviar is a standout.
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Chinatown Station
Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn
Beverly Hills French Californian $$$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
It would have been easy enough for the House of Dior to serve a basic cocktail menu at its new restaurant and bar, but Dominique Crenn isn’t one to cut corners. At her elegant Monsieur Dior by Dominique Crenn, located on the third floor of the Dior Beverly Hills store, the celebrity chef and her team craft fine dining dishes inspired by the designer’s patterns, textiles and campaigns past and present. The bar, which sits apart from the dining room with a semi-separate patio lounge, follows suit and almost always has a seat for walk-ins. Crenn’s group mixology director, Florian Thireau, created fragrant and complex cocktails such as a rosebud-and-peppercorn spin on the negroni, with the floral notes a nod to Christian Dior’s love of flowers. The team is pedigreed to the nines, pulling from République and Manzke and, in the case of beverage director Fahara Zamorano, Alinea. Let them guide you through themed — but not kitschy — concoctions and supplement with some of the city’s most elevated bar bites. This is a place to sip in style, people watch and taste fashion history on the plate and in the glass.
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The Ramona Room
Echo Park Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Echo Park mourned the loss of long-running Elf Cafe after it closed last summer, but its team didn’t waste much time: In September the group reimagined the space as the dimly lit Ramona Room. This amaro bar feels like a date-night destination as well as a neighborhood secret. Candles flicker, there are plenty of alcoves for cozying, and beverage director Shawn Shepherd — also of Bar Sinizki — serves an array of amaro, vermouth, global wines and cocktails that involve them all. Drawing from the partners’ other restaurants, Bar Sinizki and Dune, the menu of small bites to pair runs the gamut, including house-smoked mussels escabeche and a hummus-smeared taco on a freshly pressed tortilla.
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¡Salud! Venice
Venice Tapas Cocktails $$
(Nicole Murphy)
During the day, this relaxing cafe in Venice draws remote workers and neighborhood locals with its coffee and brunch menus, but in the evenings, the vibe shifts to a lively tapas bar that you might find in Mexico City or Barcelona. Opened by Celia Sanchez Lara in January, it boasts cocktails that spotlight Mexican flavors, including an espresso de olla martini and the Bosque Sacra, with Oaxacan and spiced rums, hoja santa, mint, lime and bubbles. The morning menu features a breakfast burrito and a churro waffle, while dinner brings tostones topped with yellowfin tuna, an albondiga-inspired burger with guajillo ketchup and quesillo, and empanadas that might be stuffed with spinach, corn and queso Chihuahua or Wagyu beef and olives, depending on the day. Happy hour runs daily from 5 to 7 p.m., with $12 cocktails and a $9 michelada, plus discounts on food.
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Sawtelle Sake
Sawtelle Sake Bar $$
(Dong Joon Victor Lee)
L.A.’s sake history traces back to the early 1900s when Japanese immigrants began opening some of the country’s first sake breweries. More than a century later, Sawtelle Sake, founded by Troy Nakamatsu and partner Jon Rugg, upholds this tradition at its downtown brewery that debuted in 2024, as well as with its newly opened tasting room in the heart of Sawtelle Japantown. Before or after filling up on bowls of udon at Marugame Udon, ramen at Tsujita or Wagyu tonkatsu at Ten No Meshi nearby, stop by the minimalist tasting room for a flight of its locally produced sake, with knowledgeable experts behind the bar ready to lead your journey. Current options range from the tasting room-exclusive Northern Lights, a seasonal junmai sake with local red shiso, to the Super Nova, a light junmai sake that zips with raw Japanese yuzu, and canned sake seltzers, including Purple with ube and dragon fruit. All bottles purchased at the tasting room are 10% off when you order a flight.
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Expo / Sepulveda Station
Sid's Bar
South Pasadena Cocktails Craft Beer $
(Ethan Gulley/For The Times)
Indie concert promoters Sid the Cat opened their self-titled concert venue in a former school auditorium in South Pasadena last December, followed by Sid’s Bar in an erstwhile classroom, with vintage touches like stained glass light fixtures and jungle-green walls cast in moody red lighting. The vibe is casual and neighborly, with plenty of spillover after concerts at the auditorium. Cocktails lean classic, such as the Manhattan-inspired Lucile Lloyd with whiskey, amaro and bitters, named after the late muralist who painted the auditorium ceiling. Additional businesses are expected to open on the former elementary school campus, including an outpost of Villa’s Tacos and Boy and the Bear coffee roaster.
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South Pasadena Station
Six Seven Five Lounge
Inglewood American Cocktails $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
The sleek lounge became an instant hit when it opened on La Brea Boulevard last November, with TVs perched above the bar and live bands playing jazz and R&B every night. The short but serviceable menu includes starters such as char-grilled oysters and crab cakes, Cajun chicken Alfredo and steak for entrees and a gooey butter cake or strawberry shortcake for dessert. The creative cocktails are worth exploring, with playful takes on classic drinks, including a pear martini, a cognac sour and a smoked mezcal old-fashioned. Note that the environment is upscale and that a casually elegant dress code is enforced.
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Downtown Inglewood Station
Sushi Samba
West Hollywood Japanese Peruvian Brazilian $$$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Take the elevator to the rooftop and you’re greeted with near-panoramic views of the Hollywood Hills — but the view of the drink in your hand isn’t too shabby, either. Sushi Samba, a prolific global chain that weaves Peruvian, Brazilian and Japanese flavor through its food and cocktails, launched in West Hollywood in March with a splash. There’s nightly entertainment here, be it DJ sets or dancers, and there’s a high chance of celebrity spotting. This location serves a more ambitious cocktail program than the others, featuring elements like lychee water, Kobe-fat-washed Japanese whiskey, shiso simple syrup and hibiscus mezcal, and garnish flair such as singed, branded citrus peels. Make a reservation for a table on the main floor under the retractable roof or at the chef’s counter overlooking the grill, or simply head to the standalone bar with lounge seating for walk-in availability and a limited food menu.
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SweetWater
West Hollywood Bar/Nightclub $
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Just across the street from Mic Drop, former L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Bernadette “Berni” Gambino opened SweetWater just in time for Pride month, hoping to bring an inclusive, lesbian-centered bar back to West Hollywood. Awash in blue-gray with strobe lighting and a projector against one wall, plus a patio that spills out to Santa Monica Boulevard, it’s quickly establishing itself as a must-visit on a busy block of gay bars.
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Tiki Kai
Hermosa Beach Cocktail Bar $$
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
With tropical vibes and frosty cocktails, this new ode to tiki legends of yore fits right in at the beach. Outside, seating nestles next to the volcanic-rock exterior and thatched umbrellas at the Hermosa Beach pier. Inside, the kitsch is everywhere in a nod to tiki forefathers Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic’s: It’s plastic skulls, puffer fish, a 30-foot bar and multicolored lighting galore. At Tiki Kai, which opened in November, ceramic mugs and tall glasses hold classics such as navy grog, mai tais, painkillers and blue Hawaiians just as easily as they do house concoctions such as their own boozy, frozen take on the Disney-classic Dole Whip or an ube-and-vodka refresher that’s fragrant with toasted jasmine (nonalcoholic version available too). The best food for pairing is the build-your-own pu pu platter, where options like hamachi crudo, sticky ribs and firecracker shrimp spin around and around on a wooden platter. Careful, too many of these potent cocktails and you’ll be spinning too.
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Unidos
Studio City Wine Bar $$
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
Upon moving back from Spain, Che Peña dreamed of opening his own Spanish restaurant to bring L.A. a taste of the cuisine and the culture he’d fallen in love with. After decades in legendary local restaurants Pace and the Ivy, he finally made his dream a reality — and it quickly became a Studio City hot spot. Peña’s long-planned wine bar, Unidos, incorporates dishes and varietals from a smattering of regions from Barcelona to Basque Country. Let Peña guide you through the Spain-heavy wine list, where there’s a style and price point for just about any palate and the pours are generous. They pair with classic tapas such as gambas al ajillo, croquetas and boquerones-topped pan con tomate, as well as pintxos, braises and large paellas. Comfortable but classy, it’s a popular date destination — and a new neighborhood staple.
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Vandell
Los Feliz Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
The stylish Los Feliz tavern opened in the former Nossa Caipirinha Bar space at the beginning of the year, courtesy of owners Francesconi and Matthew Glaser of Park Hospitality, who also are behind red sauce hot spot Donna’s and thrumming cocktail-and-burger bar Lowboy in Echo Park. With rich wood paneling, low lighting and a maze of dining rooms with window seating that overlooks Hillhurst Avenue, a marble bar and cozy booths tucked in a back room, Vandell’s can be an impressive first date or a place for girlfriends to yap uninterrupted and for locals to wander over to and read a book at the bar. République veterans Vay Su and Shawn Lickliter are behind the cocktail menu that is broken down into categories of light, market fresh, spirit forward, olden days and zero proof. Classic cocktail enthusiasts may appreciate swilling vintage spirits in their sidecar or negroni, but sampling at least one potion from the produce-driven section of the menu is a must. The smoked tomato cocktail with mezcal that requires three days of prep became an instant hit; the earthy spirit is infused with ginger, lemongrass and galangal to give it a savory, complex finish. A food menu with high-low takes on bar favorites is available, including a Wagyu burger with cheddar sandwiched between an English muffin, and a pomegranate-glazed banana and date upside-down cake.
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Vermont / Sunset Station
Yi Cha
Highland Park Korean $$
(Stephanie Breijo/Los Angeles Times)
After years popping up around Los Angeles, chef Debbie Lee’s modern Korean cooking found a home in Highland Park, and its final form took the shape of a Korean American pub. Her eclectic, electric take on a pocha — a South Korean street-side cart or tent where food and drink go hand in hand — is full of creative cocktails matched by equally inventive bar bites and large-format dishes. “Yi cha” translates to “second round” or “I will have another,” and it’s a fitting name for a spot offering these cocktails, which put clever spins on classics and utilize fruit and Korean ingredients in fresh ways. Sip soju, makgeolli and imported beer alongside cocktails such as the caviar-optional Radish to Riches, which combines gin, chartreuse, lemon oil and house ferments of daikon radish brine and ginger cheong, or the roasted-corn-whiskey Corn Quartet with puffed corn and nixta. Knock them back with mandu-inspired lumpia, bone marrow corn cheese and bulgogi sliders for best results.
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Highland Park Station
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