In L.A.’s bars you can find it all — and with the city’s latest openings, you’re going to find a lot of fun. Now you can enjoy baijiu punch and dim sum in a space inspired by Chinese apothecaries and family recipes, experience matcha in martini form, slip into what feels like a raucous downtown house party (red Solo cups included), and sip a rainbow of margaritas from a team that landed on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, twice.
There are rooftops prime for sunshine sipping near the beach, technique-driven cocktail destinations with sultry playlists, and bars with food so good it’s tough to say what’s better: the bites or the beverages.
In the last few months and at the tail end of 2024 a number of seasoned vets also branched out with new bars: The Thunderbolt team launched a neon-disco drinking den, pasta impresario Evan Funke debuted a cocktail lounge inside Mother Wolf restaurant, and the Little Jewel of New Orleans owners leaned into their Big Easy ode with potent hurricanes and charbroiled oysters. Here are 21 of L.A.’s best new places to grab a drink, with a vibe — and cocktail — for everyone. —Stephanie Breijo
Showing Place Places
Alisa Wine & Friends
Venice Greek food $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
With a serene back patio, a wine list spotlighting small vintners and plenty of mezze to share, new Venice spot Alisa Wine & Friends is, as the name suggests, exactly the kind of place you want to drink wine with friends. It’s the latest project from the family behind popular Ukrainian restaurants Mom, Please and Fusion Kitchen, and while the Kochetkovs’ first two restaurants pay homage to their Eastern European heritage, their newest is in ode to Oleksii Kochetkov’s Greek grandmother — who operated her own Greek restaurant for many years — and focuses entirely on the Mediterranean cuisine.
The wine list spans Europe but its Greek wines are particularly notable highlights, with unfiltered orange wines from Santorini, skin-contact rosés from the Fteri region, and biodynamic reds from Tyrnavos to sip with a rainbow of dips, small plates, grilled skewers and mains such as silken lobster orzo. In the coming months look for Alisa’s upstairs bar, which is planned to serve as a sort of speakeasy.
The wine list spans Europe but its Greek wines are particularly notable highlights, with unfiltered orange wines from Santorini, skin-contact rosés from the Fteri region, and biodynamic reds from Tyrnavos to sip with a rainbow of dips, small plates, grilled skewers and mains such as silken lobster orzo. In the coming months look for Alisa’s upstairs bar, which is planned to serve as a sort of speakeasy.
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Bar 109
Larchmont Cocktail Bar $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
It began with pop-ups, where chef Brian Baik’s seafood-focused tasting menus garnered curiosity, praise and a frenzy every time reservations dropped. Now comes Bar 109, a sleek, dimly lit cocktail bar that will run tandem to Baik’s permanent home for Corridor 109 in Melrose Hill. While the tasting-menu counter — located in the room behind the bar — is set to open in the coming months, Bar 109 just debuted with delicate yet spirit-forward cocktails, new bar bites from Baik and wine curated by a Momofuku Group vet.
Lead bartender Kayla Garcia devised a cocktail menu of signatures that take their ingredients and inspiration from Korea, Japan, Mexico and beyond. The old fashioned involves orange umeshu and Sichuan flavors, the boulevardier is deepened by oolong, and one of its nonalcoholic options, the Chic Hey, blends fermented rice with malted barley and hojicha kombucha for a complex sipper. The wine list, compiled by consulting sommelier Michael Engelmann, focuses on independent, family-owned operations. Round out the experience with Baik’s first-ever foray into bar bites such as the dilly, must-order smoked fish dip, a Wagyu dog and a jumbo shrimp cocktail.
Lead bartender Kayla Garcia devised a cocktail menu of signatures that take their ingredients and inspiration from Korea, Japan, Mexico and beyond. The old fashioned involves orange umeshu and Sichuan flavors, the boulevardier is deepened by oolong, and one of its nonalcoholic options, the Chic Hey, blends fermented rice with malted barley and hojicha kombucha for a complex sipper. The wine list, compiled by consulting sommelier Michael Engelmann, focuses on independent, family-owned operations. Round out the experience with Baik’s first-ever foray into bar bites such as the dilly, must-order smoked fish dip, a Wagyu dog and a jumbo shrimp cocktail.
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Bar Avoja
Hollywood Italian Cocktails $$$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Walk through the bar area of Mother Wolf, glancing for celebrities in the always-buzzing dining room as you go, and make your way past the semi-open kitchen where Evan Funke’s celebrated Roman dishes come flying out at a rapid clip. Head through the double doors, hang a left and you’ll find yourself at the entrance to Bar Avoja, Funke’s near-hidden cocktail lounge that’s draped in jewel tones and sports its own beverage and food menus.
Like Mother Wolf, Bar Avoja — Roman slang for “hell yeah” — is co-owned by operator Giancarlo Pagani and inspired by the cuisine of Rome. Here Funke’s crafted a separate lounge menu of haute takes on its street foods such as beyond-tender grilled octopus skewers, hearty oxtail-meatball sandwiches with garlicky escarole, and a garlic-knot take on his restaurants’ signature sfincione. But the cocktails in this Thursday-to-Saturday lounge also deserve praise, as they’re some of the most balanced on this list. Sometimes they incorporate region-appropriate ingredients such as limoncello and amari, other times they blend the unexpected (the Morso Di Vita, made with vodka, tomato, basil and passion fruit, is a highlight). Dimly lit and slightly upscale, it feels like a more pared-down, intimate experience to Mother Wolf’s ever-humming dining room.
Like Mother Wolf, Bar Avoja — Roman slang for “hell yeah” — is co-owned by operator Giancarlo Pagani and inspired by the cuisine of Rome. Here Funke’s crafted a separate lounge menu of haute takes on its street foods such as beyond-tender grilled octopus skewers, hearty oxtail-meatball sandwiches with garlicky escarole, and a garlic-knot take on his restaurants’ signature sfincione. But the cocktails in this Thursday-to-Saturday lounge also deserve praise, as they’re some of the most balanced on this list. Sometimes they incorporate region-appropriate ingredients such as limoncello and amari, other times they blend the unexpected (the Morso Di Vita, made with vodka, tomato, basil and passion fruit, is a highlight). Dimly lit and slightly upscale, it feels like a more pared-down, intimate experience to Mother Wolf’s ever-humming dining room.
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Bar Benjamin
Fairfax Cocktails Bar Bites $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
Bar Benjamin’s cocktail program feels a little like alchemy: Seemingly disparate ingredients enter a drink, but the results can be liquid gold. White chocolate mingles with English peas, lemon, olive oil tequila and cream sherry, while in another potion there’s fermented-mushroom green tea with red curry, olive-leaf gin, coconut rum, cilantro, and lemongrass foam. At the upstairs follow-up to the Benjamin, one of 2024’s best new spots to grab a drink, the cocktails are taken far beyond the downstairs focus on martinis and classics.
Owners Ben Shenassafar, Kate Burr and Jared Meisler tapped Jason Lee (formerly of n/soto, Baroo) and Chad Austin (formerly of the Mulholland, Bootlegger Tiki) to steer the new venture, and they’ve injected the dimly lit space with equal parts creativity and technical prowess. They draw on L.A.’s cross-cultural landscape with ingredients like Parmesan-washed Oaxacan rum, Sichuan peppercorn-laced mezcal and miso-imbued rye. There’s taro in the clarified milk punch and everything-bagel seasoning in the Gibson, and there’s a selection of bar snacks and small plates — beef tartare, shrimp rolls, deviled eggs — to round it all out.
Owners Ben Shenassafar, Kate Burr and Jared Meisler tapped Jason Lee (formerly of n/soto, Baroo) and Chad Austin (formerly of the Mulholland, Bootlegger Tiki) to steer the new venture, and they’ve injected the dimly lit space with equal parts creativity and technical prowess. They draw on L.A.’s cross-cultural landscape with ingredients like Parmesan-washed Oaxacan rum, Sichuan peppercorn-laced mezcal and miso-imbued rye. There’s taro in the clarified milk punch and everything-bagel seasoning in the Gibson, and there’s a selection of bar snacks and small plates — beef tartare, shrimp rolls, deviled eggs — to round it all out.
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Bonsai Coffee Bar
West Los Angeles Asian Cocktails $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times )
The Sawtelle cafe quickly became a neighborhood favorite for matcha lattes and specialty coffee drinks when it opened in early 2024. The coffee shop, which offers sweet and savory Asian-inspired pastries such as curry pork and pineapple custard buns, recently revealed an evening bar concept with a similar bent, where a creamy matcha martini has immediately become the star of the menu. A take on the espresso martini reimagines Vietnamese coffee (add a side of sweet sea salt cream top to pour on top) while the lavender-hued Moonlit Taro combines filtered sake, plum sake, taro syrup, lime juice and mint. The food menu offers nostalgic remixes of classic Asian American comfort food, including a Thai chicken pizza a la California Pizza Kitchen and cheeseburger egg rolls. On a recent Friday evening, a crowd spilled out of the bar onto the sidewalk. On the interior, sculptural bonsai trees stood out against minimalist decor, with a Gen Z-approved playlist that took several turns through Justin Bieber’s latest album.
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Café Tondo
Chinatown Bar Bites Wine Bars $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Cast in a moody magenta glow, Café Tondo seems to vibrate with energy. Or maybe that’s the A line train that departs every few minutes from the neighboring Chinatown station. Taking over the former Oriel space, the wine bar from first-time restaurateur Abraham Campillo alongside partners Mackenzie Freemire, Alex Tan, Ben Mingo and Mike Kang and chef Valeria Velásquez, blends influences from Bogota, Colombia, where Velasquez was raised, and Mexico City, her home since the pandemic, including a short food menu with cheesy empanadas, chicken Milanesa strewn with arugula and an affogato with homemade cafe de olla poured over vanilla ice cream. The restaurant’s sprawling layout includes a parking lot deck where milk crates double as seats and tables; a bar with ruffled stools that slings natural wines and spritzes at night and coffee, matcha and conchas during the day; and multiple dining rooms, including one reserved for walk ins and a separate area for seated reservations that opens up to a patio nook. Mexican ceramics and art from Campillo’s personal collection adorn the walls, and the playlist ranges from jazz to bolero depending on when you visit.
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Daisy Margarita Bar
Sherman Oaks Mexican $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times )
The team behind Mirate — a Los Feliz restaurant and agave bar featured on the World’s 50 Best Bars list for two years running — opened this Sherman Oaks cantina that features western touches like tasseled bar stools and light fixtures, a jukebox and a mounted deer head. Led by Max Reis, the beverage program exclusively uses Mexican-produced spirits and puts a spotlight on the margarita, with 12 takes that span classic, market-driven and salsa-inspired versions, including a frozen guacamole marg that’s garnished with a tortilla chip and a clarified creamsicle that blends tangerine, mole, coconut and reposado. The food menu is ideal for pairing with the inventive cocktail list, including a trio of tacos, a crab-topped tostada and large plates such as pollo asada over Wagyu tallow fries.
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Damn, I Miss Paris
West Adams Bar/Nightclub $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
An emerald tile facade welcomes you into this narrow cocktail den along West Adams Boulevard, a hint at the glamour you’ll find inside. From celebrity stylist Jason Bolden and interior designer Adair Curtis, the buzzy hot spot serves as a suitable substitute for the City of Light, with curved terra-cotta entryways, checkered marble floors and a hand-painted mural depicting scenes of fabulous Parisians dancing and pouring Champagne. The newly unveiled summer cocktail menu includes a refreshing take on the classic daisy with watermelon and basil and a clarified painkiller with cacao. The food menu leans casual with a few French touches, such as a cheeseburger slider with Gruyère, charcuterie and chicken tenders with an optional caviar add-on. As one of few nightlife options in West Adams, the bar is packed wall to wall most evenings. Head there early to take in the surroundings without a crowd, or later in the night for a raucous scene that feels like it was pulled straight from Moulin Rouge with an early-aughts R&B soundtrack.
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Evangeline Swamp Room
Chinatown Bar $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
This is the place to let the good times roll in true New Orleans fashion. The hurricane-slinging bar from the team behind restaurant the Little Jewel of New Orleans — which sits right next door — opened in Chinatown in late 2024. With faux-cracked walls, faux hanging moss and a very real disco ball, the Evangeline Swamp Room is serving strong, substantial tipples in a setting that’s big on Big Easy vibes.
All of the requisites are here: Ramos gin fizzes hand-shaken to an inch-high fluffy top, smooth sazeracs, mint juleps crowned with bushels of fresh mint, frosty hurricanes and more. But the Evangeline Swamp Room also makes room for a few of its own creations, such as a pink-lemonade take on the Pimm’s cup, a Cajun riff on the bloody Mary that’s garnished with blackened shrimp, and a rotation of frozen seasonal cocktails that go down dangerously easily. When you need food to sop it all up, opt for po’boys, charbroiled oysters, jambalaya fritters, fried okra and gator chili.
All of the requisites are here: Ramos gin fizzes hand-shaken to an inch-high fluffy top, smooth sazeracs, mint juleps crowned with bushels of fresh mint, frosty hurricanes and more. But the Evangeline Swamp Room also makes room for a few of its own creations, such as a pink-lemonade take on the Pimm’s cup, a Cajun riff on the bloody Mary that’s garnished with blackened shrimp, and a rotation of frozen seasonal cocktails that go down dangerously easily. When you need food to sop it all up, opt for po’boys, charbroiled oysters, jambalaya fritters, fried okra and gator chili.
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Force of Nature
Venice Cocktails Wine Bars $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
Head past the host stand at Only the Wild Ones and up the stairs, then behind the DJ booth where you’ll find a door that opens to a narrow staircase. At the top, you’ll find Crudo e Nudo co-owner Leena Culhane’s attic speakeasy opened in collaboration with Heather Tierney, founder of the downstairs bar and Butcher’s Daughter restaurant group. Force of Nature features a small bar with a short and rotating list of wines, cocktails and nonalcoholic beverages. Bottles and ingredients are sourced from women makers utilizing regenerative practices. The interior is bordered with cushioned benches and side tables, while the balcony draped with string lights and communal benches overlooks the adjacent Cooks Garden. Guests can order pizza at the next-door garden, come back to the bar and retrieve their slices via a pulley.
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Good Neighbor Bar
Altadena Bar/Nightclub $$
(Jakob Layman)
Good Neighbor became the first cocktail bar to open in Altadena in 40 years when co-owners and husband and wife Randy Clement and April Langford — who also run Everson Royce bar and Silverlake Wine — debuted the space last fall along with neighboring West Altadena Wine & Spirits. The name was inspired by a sign that the couple found when touring the building and became the backbone of the bar’s ethos, driven by the question: “How can we help you?”
That mission was put into action at the beginning of the year when the Eaton fire destroyed countless homes and businesses across Pasadena and Altadena. Altadena residents since 2017, Clement and Langford used their wine delivery software to check on the homes of neighbors and friends who were blocked from entering the area and to send photo updates. When the bar reopened after the fires, it became a place of healing and community, hosting fundraisers as well as food pop-ups from local spots such as Triple Beam Pizza and For the Win smashburgers. More than six months after the fires, Good Neighbor Bar is still delivering on its name. An all-ages patio; a self-serve popcorn machine; and drinks spanning a house beer, tiki-inspired tipples, natural wine and updated classics mean that just about everyone who walks through its doors becomes a regular.
That mission was put into action at the beginning of the year when the Eaton fire destroyed countless homes and businesses across Pasadena and Altadena. Altadena residents since 2017, Clement and Langford used their wine delivery software to check on the homes of neighbors and friends who were blocked from entering the area and to send photo updates. When the bar reopened after the fires, it became a place of healing and community, hosting fundraisers as well as food pop-ups from local spots such as Triple Beam Pizza and For the Win smashburgers. More than six months after the fires, Good Neighbor Bar is still delivering on its name. An all-ages patio; a self-serve popcorn machine; and drinks spanning a house beer, tiki-inspired tipples, natural wine and updated classics mean that just about everyone who walks through its doors becomes a regular.
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The Jaguar Room
Silver Lake Cocktails Speakeasy Bar $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The vibes are moody and the cocktails lean Latin at the sleek, popular cocktail sibling to Silver Lake restaurant Tacolina, which also opened in late 2024. The Jaguar Room’s spinning disco ball scatters light across jaguar-print wallpaper as its energetic crowd fills the red banquettes and bar stools. On Wednesdays they flock to the red-hued room for live jazz, but the main draws at this quasi-speakeasy — its only signage, a single red bulb at its entrance in a strip mall — are the cocktails, the tequila selection and the collection of Mexican and European wines. Opt for guava and tequila daiquiris, carajillos, habanero-and-yuzu palomitas, tobacco old fashioneds and, perhaps the most unique tipple, the highly comforting Abuelita, which combines sherry, brandy, avocado orgeat and coconut milk.
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Kassi
Venice Cocktails Bar/Nightclub Mediterranean $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
The hospitality group behind nearby hot spots Belle’s Beach House and Elephante recently debuted a new rooftop destination at Hotel Erwin. The lush, Grecian-inspired escape features a coastal palette with umbrellas, tables and comfortable couches for wasting away a summer day, all with a clear view of the crashing waves at Venice Beach. The beverage program fits the theme with strawberry and cucumber slushies that can be swirled together, a Mediterranean gin and tonic packed with fresh herbs and a pomegranate za’atar mule. The food menu from chef-partner Thomas Lim includes shareable bites such as mezze, skewers, crispy saganaki and a refreshing watermelon salad topped with whipped feta. The rooftop is popular with remote workers during the day but turns clubby with DJs in the evenings and on weekends; its patrons are a healthy mix of locals and tourists.
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Midnight Oil
Long Beach Dim Sum Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
With Midnight Oil, which debuted in spring, Long Beach received not one but three ways to grab a cocktail — as well as late-night dim sum, guided spirit tastings and cocktail classes. The bar’s primary den, informally dubbed the apothecary, specializes in Chinese-leaning craft cocktails on draft with options such as a lemongrass-shochu mule and a baijiu-and-Thai-basil punch. It’s also where you’ll find bar bites like har gao, scallion pancakes, sesame balls, radish cakes and Taiwanese popcorn chicken, some made with recipes from owner Leonard Chan’s family.
In Midnight Oil’s tropical speakeasy, the Lagoon, faux vines hang from the rafters and bamboo lines the walls. This is home to tiki cocktails and, soon, will also serve Hawaiian-leaning fare such as loco moco sliders, Spam musubi and curry fries. Yet to come is Hao Peng You Hand Laundry, another hidden bar, its design inspired by the laundries of 19th-Century Chinese immigrants, while its Chinese and Taiwanese cocktail menu is planned to include ingredients such as five spice, oolong and peanut soup. Chan, who operates multiple bars in Orange County, really made a three-part splash with his first project in L.A.
In Midnight Oil’s tropical speakeasy, the Lagoon, faux vines hang from the rafters and bamboo lines the walls. This is home to tiki cocktails and, soon, will also serve Hawaiian-leaning fare such as loco moco sliders, Spam musubi and curry fries. Yet to come is Hao Peng You Hand Laundry, another hidden bar, its design inspired by the laundries of 19th-Century Chinese immigrants, while its Chinese and Taiwanese cocktail menu is planned to include ingredients such as five spice, oolong and peanut soup. Chan, who operates multiple bars in Orange County, really made a three-part splash with his first project in L.A.
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Night on Earth
Hollywood Hills Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The walls and even the bar itself are often caught glowing with neon at Night on Earth, the Thunderbolt team’s retro-disco follow-up to its lauded cocktail bar in Historic Filipinotown. Its latest sits along Cahuenga Pass, at the border of the Hollywood Hills and Studio City, nearly hidden inside a strip mall. But open that curved wooden door and find a room drenched in color, with cocktails that are just as splashy and vibrant as the setting.
Inspired by party classics such as sour apple martinis, swampwaters, midori sours and porn star martinis, Night on Earth is reviving a number of drinks with less-than-serious reputations using savvy, science-minded methods. Cocktails often feature fresh fruit, clarification via centrifuge, washings, house-made cordials and infusions, while the carbonated, batched options are made bubbly to order by way of a special bottle and carbonation gun. The bar makes tasting your way through each and every electric concoction easy thanks to the option to order them “mini,” andan already fun menu is even more enticing with programming like themed DJ sets and a vending machine full of disposable cameras.
Inspired by party classics such as sour apple martinis, swampwaters, midori sours and porn star martinis, Night on Earth is reviving a number of drinks with less-than-serious reputations using savvy, science-minded methods. Cocktails often feature fresh fruit, clarification via centrifuge, washings, house-made cordials and infusions, while the carbonated, batched options are made bubbly to order by way of a special bottle and carbonation gun. The bar makes tasting your way through each and every electric concoction easy thanks to the option to order them “mini,” andan already fun menu is even more enticing with programming like themed DJ sets and a vending machine full of disposable cameras.
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No Smoking Bar
Mid-City Cocktails $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
The aesthetics scream dive bar but the cocktails are thoughtful takes on the classics at No Smoking Bar, the kind of neighborhood spot that can go both high and low. Because owners Ben Rojo and Shin Irvin took over the former home of another beloved bar, Mandrake, curiosity buzzed to a deafening hum over No Smoking Bar when it debuted in late 2024. It’s forged a path all its own, providing $13 well drinks, daily happy hour, ample shochu and Japanese whiskey, and Rojo’s own thoughtful cocktails such as a chai old-fashioned made with a house chai blend that’s simmered into jaggery syrup; rotating frozen drinks that might offer pomegranate mojitos or ube coladas; and a devilishly smooth coffee negroni.
The food is often just as informal as the setting — which is decorated with Polaroids, art and nostalgia-driven knickknacks — with bags of chips and instant noodles available at all hours. Keep your eyes on the bar’s Instagram, however, for restaurant pop-ups that often take over the back patio.
The food is often just as informal as the setting — which is decorated with Polaroids, art and nostalgia-driven knickknacks — with bags of chips and instant noodles available at all hours. Keep your eyes on the bar’s Instagram, however, for restaurant pop-ups that often take over the back patio.
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Not No Bar
Santa Monica Cocktails Pizza $$
(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)
No matter the time of night it’s a little like a party at Not No Bar, between the lively playlists, the energetic buzz of its diners and the occasional pizza flipping into the air. Fun is the name of the game at this neighborhood cocktail bar and pizzeria, which comes to Santa Monica by way of the crew behind nearby Venice wine bar and seafood spot Dudley Market. The cocktails are playful, too, and separated into categories of effervescent, shaken and citrusy, tropical, and stirred and boozy.
There are options like the Space Camp ’98, which spikes root beer with fernet; the bright-and-tart Okinawa Apple, where tamarind tangs up Japanese whiskey, brandy and apple schnapps; and the Curry Killer, where green curry, coconut, orange and pineapple mingle with rum. But the most popular drink here — by great magnitude — is the Soy Del Rancho, a verdant yuzu-and-poblano spin on the spicy margarita. Just as bountiful are the Neapolitan-leaning pizzas, which can come topped with classics and hyper-seasonal options, and all get fired to order in the wood oven at the center of the room. Because this is a Dudley Market-adjacent venture, don’t skip any available crudos, and don’t overlook the wine selection.
There are options like the Space Camp ’98, which spikes root beer with fernet; the bright-and-tart Okinawa Apple, where tamarind tangs up Japanese whiskey, brandy and apple schnapps; and the Curry Killer, where green curry, coconut, orange and pineapple mingle with rum. But the most popular drink here — by great magnitude — is the Soy Del Rancho, a verdant yuzu-and-poblano spin on the spicy margarita. Just as bountiful are the Neapolitan-leaning pizzas, which can come topped with classics and hyper-seasonal options, and all get fired to order in the wood oven at the center of the room. Because this is a Dudley Market-adjacent venture, don’t skip any available crudos, and don’t overlook the wine selection.
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Only the Wild Ones
Venice Bar/Nightclub Wine Bars Vegetarian $$
(Danielle Dorsey / Los Angeles Times)
The listening bar from Butcher’s Daughter founder Heather Tierney had a short-lived run next door to her popular Venice restaurant during the pandemic. Now the casual restaurant and hi-fi bar has settled into a permanent space off Abbot Kinney, with a focus on natural wines, creative cocktails and a plant-based Mediterranean menu from Butcher’s Daughter chef Richard Rea, all in a sprawling Tulum-reminiscent environment with a custom sound system and soundproofing for savoring every note of vinyl record selections. The buzzy neighborhood den has quickly become a standby with daily cover-to-cover album listening parties and vintage markets on Saturday afternoons. If the crowd gets too thick, head upstairs to sister speakeasy concept Force of Nature for women-produced wines and cocktails in a chill atmosphere.
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Real Charmer
East Hollywood Cocktails Tiki Bar $$
(Brooke Olsen)
Nothing cures a case of the Mondays like a martini and musubi combo (for just $15) from Real Charmer, a Silver Lake bar from Dustin Lancaster (Shim Sham, Bar Covell, Capri Club) with an unassuming storefront that belies a kitschy interior anchored by a flowing fountain with moody red lighting and matching decor. Cocktail descriptions read like messages in a bottle, including “I believe we landed on the wrong deserted island” for Savory Bay, a concoction that blends tequila, basil-flavored brandy, carrot, bell pepper, ginger, hibiscus, house-made spicy Thai chile bitters and smoked paprika. With limited seating, the bar fills up quickly most nights — get there early for karaoke on Tuesdays and rotating food pop-ups and vinyl listening sessions held on the first Thursday of every month.
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Uncle Ollie's Penthouse
Downtown L.A. Dive Bars $
(Roger Kisby / For The Times)
For those who have grown bored of the craft cocktail scene and wish to return to the grimy underground house parties of their youth, Uncle Ollie’s Penthouse beckons. Next door to the Escondite at the edge of Little Tokyo and Skid Row, you’ll head upstairs where a host will check your ID and give you a red solo cup to write your name on. The bar menu is short and simple with beer, wine and a handful of cocktails — all priced at $10 or under. The house party theme manifests with an array of mismatched and oddball furniture, including vintage stained glass lamps, an arcade room with clown portraits on the walls, a fake Christmas tree, disco balls, rooster figurines, mounted deer heads and a gold-painted horse with a midsection that’s been converted into a plush seat. A stage and pole is built into the bar — convenient for raucous burlesque and amateur strip shows. The bar also hosts weekly karaoke and retro dance nights.
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Untamed Spirits
Los Feliz Cocktails American $$
(Alyson Aliano / For The Times)
Silver Lake’s first bar dedicated to women’s sports opened during Pride Month courtesy of wives Janie and Stephanie Ellingwood, joining a short but growing list of bars around the country intent on uplifting professional women’s sports teams. Formerly the home of Trophy Wife, a run-of-the-mill sports bar with an unfortunate name, Untamed Spirits features TVs throughout the space, from the open-air interior to the covered patio with string lights and hanging plants. The menu offers elevated bar standards including brisket nachos, kimchi fried rice and a smashburger, with house cocktails such as a pear lychee martini and tequila watermelon punch. Taco Tuesday brings tacos priced from $3 to $5, $3 tequila shots and $10 margaritas, while weekend brunch adds smoked brisket hash and a breakfast burrito. Untamed Spirits is an official bar partner of the Angel City Football Club and will host its first watch party on Sept. 7. Day parties, trivia and drag bingo round out the bar’s regular programming.
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