10 Hottest New Bars in Los Angeles
In a city as huge and varied as Los Angeles, there is really every kind of lounge, club, bar and boîte for imbibing. Whether it’s craft cocktails to dance-fueled party nights, new beer bars or fantastic rooftops, you can find your jam, from Burbank to Hollywood to the South Bay. Here’s a look at what’s hot and new this season. Plan those outfits accordingly, and make sure that designated driver is ready.
Why It’s Hot: This Arts District newcomer has a ton of star power behind it, including former Mozza chef and James Beard Award–winner Matt Molina; his old Campanile bud Randy Clement, co-owner of Silver Lake Wine; and barman Chris Ojeda from Varnish and Soho House. Attached to the new Silver Lake Wine DTLA store, the bar is slick and elongated inside with a fantastic patio out back, complete with a bocce court.
Must-Drink: Great sippers like the Paper Plane, made with bourbon, lemon, Aperol and Amaro Nonino; the Garibaldi, made with rye, Campari, lemon and Concord grapes; and a classic Rob Roy and a Southside, made with gin, mint and lime. The wine list is superb and reasonably priced; everything from the Tank rosé to the white and red wines, and a draft vino from France is just $7 a glass.
Insider Tip: Molina’s burger is quickly becoming a cult favorite for Angelenos. Here’s a look at the food.
1936 E. Seventh St.; 213-335-6166
Why It’s Hot: You’ll find this exclusive little bar once you walk through the Normandie Club (see slide No. 7) attached to the Hotel Normandie in Koreatown. And it’s probably the most experimental of spots from the 213 Hospitality (Cedd Moses) and Proprietors LLC (Dave Kaplan, Alex Day and Devon Tarby, who also own and operate Honeycut Downtown, among other ventures).
Must-Drink: “Experimental” doesn’t even begin to describe it, really. The seasonally changing themed omakase menus cost around $65 (à la carte drinks hover around the $20 mark). For the summer, items were camp-themed, including the root beer float made with milk-washed rum, and one served with a mini box of Frosted Flakes. The menus change every few months.
Insider Tip: Since only about 27 people fit in the bar, reservations are strongly encouraged.
3612 W. Sixth St.; 213-263-2709
Why It’s Hot: From ACME Hospitality Group, the outfit that’s also behind Laurel Tavern, Spring St. Bar and Beelman’s Pub, this Toluca Lake spot blurs the lines between restaurant and bar. You order at the bar, but the food is more composed than any of its other spots, with big burgers, smoked meats, wood-grilled chicken, roasted marrow bones and veg-heavy side dishes. It’s a rustic spot with lots of taxidermy, dark woods and communal dining.
Must-Drink: Whiskey takes center stage here. Draft cocktails include things like the mint sweet tea made with bourbon and Forman’s own blended tea; cucumber swizzles with mezcal and Chartreuse; and a Sage Goldrush.
Insider Tip: This is not a daytime drinking and eating spot. Doors open at 5 PM.
10149 Riverside Dr.; 818-760-6900
Why It’s Hot: This beer bar keeps Highland Park hipsters busy with more than 300 beers in cans and bottles and on tap, along with hot dogs, pretzels and shuffleboard on a redwood-lined patio. Locals huddle around communal tables with lights strung overhead just as they would in their neighbor’s backyard.
Must-Drink: Beer, and lots of it. There’s wine too.
Insider Tip: While the place is overseen by Gracias Madre barman Jason Eisner, there aren’t cocktails (yet). But you can get a fancy michelada served with a housemade strawberry and lime paleta.
5052 York Blvd.; 323-741-2747
Why It’s Hot: Just when you think Warner Ebbink and chef Brandon Boudet can rest on their laurels — Dominick’s and Little Dom’s seem to be running without a hitch — they go and open something else. But this is really something else, especially for anyone living in or around Hollywood’s Franklin Village. Tucked inside the Best Western that houses 101 Coffee Shop, the duo’s diner, Minibar is a cozy new retro spot for cocktails, a glass of wine or maybe a craft beer.
Must-Drink: Probably because it’s so petit, the offerings are as well, with only eight specialty cocktails, throwbacks like an updated Harvey Wallbanger and Fuzzy Navel, and the Regal Beagle Twinkle Toes, an ode to Three’s Company that’s “a Greyhound, Sloe Gin Fizz and Kir Royale all in one.”
Insider Tip: For the summer, keep this one handy for pre- or post-Hollywood Bowl cocktails; in the winter, it’s a good new spot to hit before a comedy show at Upright Citizens Brigade or at the Pantages or Palladium down the hill. Should you get hungry, there’s always grilled cheese, pancakes and omelets next door, or the equally petit Papilles one block over.
6141 Franklin Ave.; 323-798-4939
Why It’s Hot: Sleek, long and narrow, just a few doors from Seven Grand and Mas Malo, this beer-focused bar has 40 taps, including six nitro, all flowing with top-notch craft beers from all over the country. There’s a lot to soak up those suds, too, including a pretty dynamite burger.
Must-Drink: The beer selection is excellent, with things like Bells Brewing Amber Red Ale from Kalamazoo, Mich., and Left Hand Brewing’s Milk Stout from Colorado. Great cocktails too, like the Hopped Rickey made with gin, hop syrup, soda and lime; and the Angel’s Flight with vodka, Campari, hibiscus syrup and sage.
Insider Tip: Watch the calendar for beer tap takeover events.
525 W. Seventh St.; 213-232-8657
Why It’s Hot: A swank little cocktail bar in the Hotel Normandie building in Koreatown, it’s overseen by some of the best in town: general manager Danieul Eun from The Varnish and Honeycut, Alex Day and Dave Kaplan from Proprietors LLC (Death & Company, Honeycut) and Cedd Moses’ 213 Nightlife group. The room feels a little art deco–ish with clean lines, black leather booths and super-sexy lighting.
Must-Drink: The list is divvied into seven sections, with variations on classic spritz cocktails, sours, Collins, martinis, Bloody Marys, old fashioneds and Manhattans with prices ranging from $12 to $14. That means something like vermouth, cucumber water, eau de vie, lime juice and mint fizzing together in a glass or in the Pitcher O’ Spritz (for $36).
Insider Tip: A bar behind the bar, The Walker Inn, will debut any day now, with even more twists on classics plus more adventurous creations with seasonal ingredients. Eventually, there will be a small 10-room boutique hotel within the hotel, as well.
3612 W. Sixth St.; 213-263-2709
Why It’s Hot: Mark and Jonnie Houston are up to their old tricks with this hidden nightclub in The Line Hotel. They’ve mastered the hidden entryway at some of their other bars (La Descarga, Good Time at Davey Wayne’s), but this one is even crazier. The schtick is that you enter through the loading dock off of Ardmore Avenue, on the side of the hotel. Friends will think you’re crazy, but after you walk through the hallway filled with random delivery items and old vending machines — any of which could be the door — everyone ends up in a time warp. There are old cassettes lining the walls, boomboxes at the DJ stand, arcade games, album covers from the best 1980s hits (yay, “1999”), vintage speakers under the bar and so much more.
Must-Drink: The drinks are all inspired by teenage trips to the mall, so there’s one icy number that resembles the red-white-and-blue Rocket Pops, and another fashioned after a boozy Orange Julius. There are even housemade wine coolers.
Insider Tip: Book a private karaoke room for parties. It comes at a price ($400 to $800 or more), but it’s a blast. If not, the music in the bar alone is all throwback and excellent.
Why It’s Hot: This new beer and wine garden in Santa Monica’s Ocean Park neighborhood replaces the long-standing (for more than 40 years) Wildflour Pizza parlor. What’s in store now is a sleek space with a huge patio where you can sit for one of the many craft beers on tap and wines by the glass and bottle. Should you need to eat, there are pork-belly tacos, deviled eggs and fried cauliflower among other dishes.
Must-Drink: For the summer months, Smog City Grape Ape IPA, Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin and The Bruery’s Jardiniere Belgian pale ale are on tap.
Insider Tip: This is one of those places where you order at the counter and take a number to your table. Work in tandem: have someone hold a good seat and the others order at the bar.
2807 Main St.; 310-392-3300
- Photo by: Lesley Balla
Why It’s Hot: The forces behind Bar Covell, Dustin Lancaster and Matthew Kaner, partnered with longtime friend and customer Dave Gibbs to open this charming little wine bar in Sherman Oaks. Full of vintage radios, a piano and other bric-a-brac, it’s a slightly funky and fun spot, just the kind of place to stop for a glass of wine and a bite.
Must-Drink: The ambitious wine list includes up to 75 wines by the glass, including vintage selections from Gibbs’s own private collection, so you might find something like an 1874 Chateau Lafite or 1934 Chateau Margaux, but also more familiar Pinot Noirs and rosés from the Central Coast or Italian vermentino, with prices ranging from $10 to $100 per glass and bottles up to $1,000. This is the place to drink your “birth year” wine.
Insider Tip: Unlike Covell, there’s a full kitchen here with chef Evan Algorri at the helm creating unique dishes like pork-cheek sandwiches and braised octopus with chickpeas.
13456 Ventura Blvd.; 818-990-0938
Source: Zagat