LA's cocktail scene came late but went deep. The Varnish opened in 2009 and proved a serious speakeasy could work in Los Angeles. The Walker Inn turned it into a tasting-format experience. The 10 below are the rooms where serious technique lives. Most are in Downtown, Hollywood or Koreatown.
Part of our 50 Best Cocktail Bars in the World listThis article is one chapter in our larger global guide. See the full pillar with every featured city.
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The 10 best cocktail bars in Los Angeles
01 · Los Angeles
Downtown
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Through Cole's · Speakeasy
Through Cole's restaurant in DTLA. The room that taught LA how to drink seriously again.
Order: A Sazerac
02 · Los Angeles
Koreatown
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Tasting menu · Behind The Normandie
Behind The Normandie Club. Tasting-menu cocktail bar. Reservations essential.
Order: The full tasting
03 · Los Angeles
East Hollywood
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Industrial · Burlesque
Industrial-loft cocktail bar with mid-week burlesque programming. The cocktails are precise; the room has character.
Order: A whisky-based seasonal
04 · Los Angeles
West Hollywood
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Hidden · Behind a palm reader
Through a fake palm-reader storefront on La Cienega. Tiny, dark, classics-driven.
Order: A perfect Manhattan
05 · Los Angeles
Downtown
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Speakeasy · Through a hotel
Through an unmarked entrance in DTLA. Multi-room cocktail bar with mid-century-modern aesthetic.
Order: A drink built around their seasonal honey-and-citrus combination
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06 · Los Angeles
Historic Filipinotown
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All-day patio
Mia Sarazen and Mathew Biancaniello's neighbourhood bar that punches at international weight.
Order: Negroni Sbagliato variant of the season
07 · Los Angeles
Hollywood
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Southern Gothic · Garden
Southern Gothic-themed bar with a garden patio that feels transplanted from Savannah. Bourbon-leaning cocktail program.
Order: A mint julep on the patio
08 · Los Angeles
Hollywood
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Victorian · Multi-room
In a restored 1902 Victorian house. Multiple rooms, garden patio, theatrical entry.
Order: A garden-side spritz
09 · Los Angeles
Koreatown
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Behind The Walker
Front-of-house cocktail bar. Casual, walk-in friendly, the same bar program as The Walker Inn but without the tasting format.
Order: Anything off the seasonal menu
10 · Los Angeles
Los Feliz
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Cocktail bar · Restaurant
Inside Alcove restaurant in Los Feliz. Long bar, classic-cocktail-driven menu, late-night kitchen.
Order: An old fashioned with their reserve bourbon
More LA cocktail barsThe full LA cocktail-bar index by neighbourhood.
See the full list
How LA cocktailing built its own identity
LA's cocktail scene rejected New York's posturing and developed its own laid-back precision — the Bon Vivants who founded Trick Dog in SF trained partly here. The 10 above represent both ends: serious speakeasies (The Varnish, The Walker Inn) and casual neighbourhood places (Thunderbolt, The Roger Room). Most peak between 9 and 11 PM; some run until 2 AM.
