Where LA Actually Drinks Now: 11 Cocktail Bars to Know

In Los Angeles, a quick drink is a beautiful lie. You tell yourself you’ll have one martini in Virgil Village, and then someone orders Spam musubi. You go to Sherman Oaks for a margarita and discover that choosing just one is the hardest part of the evening. You meet for drinks at the Hollywood Roosevelt and somehow end up bowling.

The fun of drinking in LA is how much the night can change from one neighborhood to the next. In Los Feliz, you can start with a pour of raicilla beneath the greenery at Mírate and finish with a tarragon martini at Vandell. Across town, Fairfax has an okra martini with your name on it, and Santa Monica makes a persuasive case for pizza with your nightcap. Pick a neighborhood, pick a drink, and be honest with yourself about that whole “just one” thing.

Photo Credit: Matt Egan

Mírate — Los Feliz

A skylit, plant-filled room is a very good place to realize how little you know about agave. Beverage director Maxwell Reis gives mezcal and tequila plenty of attention, then makes an equally persuasive case for sipping raicilla or bacanora neat. Tepache, tejuino and pulque make appearances, too. If you’re in a margarita mood, look for El Guero, an aguachile-inspired number with avocado-washed tequila and a nopales granita. I’d leave room for a neat pour and ask the bartender what they’re excited to open.

Vandell — Los Feliz

Vandell is the sort of place where you’d happily arrive a little early for a date and claim the good seat. The room takes its cues from midcentury California, with low lighting and hidden corners, while the cocktails draw on market produce. A martini sharpened with tarragon vinegar is a good illustration of how the bar works. It’s a familiar drink with one smart, slightly unexpected move. And if the date goes well, Mírate makes a very convenient second stop.

Thunderbolt — Historic Filipinotown

Thunderbolt will happily pour you a frozen drink and bring you a biscuit. If you’re curious about how much work went into that first sip, you can ask. If you’d prefer another biscuit, that’s a perfectly respectable line of inquiry, too. The team brings exacting technique and a thoughtful approach to waste to a room that feels like a neighborhood hangout. Start with whatever’s in the frozen machine or see what the team has canned in-house. The pleasure here is how easy they make the whole thing feel.

Death & Co — Arts District

Death & Co is where I’d send someone who likes to get a little lost in a cocktail menu. The Arts District location has a dark, subterranean lounge and a list organized by mood, which makes it easy to ask for something bright and playful or go in a richer, more contemplative direction. This is a good place to tell the bartender what you usually drink and give them room to surprise you. It’s an even better place to bring someone who likes a long conversation over a very good drink.

Capri Club — Eagle Rock

Capri Club took over an old red-sauce restaurant and kept the sense that somebody should pull up a chair. These days, the draw is aperitivo, with amari, spritzes and a frozen Negroni that makes a convincing argument for ordering something icy even after the sun goes down. This is where I’d go for an early drink with a friend I haven’t seen in months. The Italian bar snacks give you an excellent excuse to stay for the second half of the story.

Donna’s — Echo Park

Donna’s has the right ingredients for a drink that turns into dinner. The booths invite you to linger, there are only ten seats at the bar, and the smell of garlic bread makes a very good argument against leaving. Start with one of the Negroni variations or a spritz, then see how long you can hold out before ordering the fusilli alla vodka. The room channels an East Coast red-sauce joint, with enough Echo Park energy to make you consider ordering another round.

Photo Credit: Colleen O’Brien

Kato — Arts District

Book a seat at Kato’s bar for snacks and drinks and let the cocktail set the pace. The restaurant is known for its tasting menu, but a bar reservation gives you a way into the room on an evening when you want a drink and a few bites. I’d ask what the team is pouring alongside the snacks that night. It’s the kind of place where the relationship between what’s on the plate and what’s in the glass is worth paying attention to.

Real Charmer — Virgil Village

Real Charmer has a bubbling fountain, a red glow and a martini that more or less doubles as an olive course. Thunderbolt alum Kayla Dowell’s cocktail program has a playful streak, evident in the Mezze Martini’s olive oil-washed gin, dill and Kalamata olive. The snacks are just as much a part of the fun, from popcorn to Spam musubi and tinned fish. I’d bring the friend who always orders the most peculiar thing on the menu. For once, you’ll want to steal a sip.

Daisy Margarita Bar — Sherman Oaks

The team behind Mírate has given the margarita an entire cantina to itself. Frankly, it deserves one. Daisy takes its cues from northern Mexican saloons, with fringed lamps, dark wood and a drinks menu that moves from familiar classics to seasonal fruit and more experimental territory. The salt goes into the drink here, so every sip gets the benefit. A Tommy’s is a good place to start, especially if the person across the table is willing to order something wildly different and share.

Damn, I Miss Paris — West Adams

Celebrity stylist Jason Bolden and interior designer Adair Curtis understand the power of flattering lighting. Their West Adams bar has velvet booths, low lamps and murals that indulge a little Paris nostalgia. The soundtrack and the crowd supply the LA part of the equation. A shaken martini is very much at home here, especially if you’ve made an effort with your outfit and would like someone to notice. Go for a date, a nightcap or a drink with the friend who always knows where everyone’s going afterward.

Lucia — Fairfax District

Lucia takes familiar cocktails somewhere decidedly more interesting. Its Afro-Caribbean approach gives you a martini with pickled okra and herb-infused vermouth, a lychee margarita with jerk-spiced agave and sorrel, and a Tamarind Collins with mezcal, cinnamon, chili and a splash of Red Stripe. The room has the glamour for a proper evening out, but the drinks deserve a visit of their own. I’d start with the Collins, which may be the most persuasive argument on this list for putting beer in a cocktail.

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