Hidden bars in los angeles plus#

Tucked around the back of the Line Hotel in Koreatown is a loading dock. Just when you thought getting into a joint couldn't get any more surreal, the Houston brothers raise the bar once again. Open Tuesday to Saturday from 7pm-2am Sunday from 5pm-12am. Once you've recovered from the shock of getting in, look up for another surprise. Expertly mixed craft cocktails are the order of the day here with names such as Torpedo, Razzle-Dazzle and Secret Coalition. Thankfully, there's a hostess to assist and once inside you'll find a cosy, flatteringly-lit bar with a handful of plush green booths and a soothing soundtrack of smooth jazz. Finding the unassuming red door on Vermont Avenue is fairly straightforward figuring out which of the dozens of keys and knobs on the inner door will actually get you in, not so much. Taking the entrance process up a notch is Lock & Key in Koreatown.

Hidden bars in los angeles plus#

Enjoy carefully crafted Prohibition-era libations from some of the city's best bartenders plus an intriguing line-up of live entertainment, including burlesque dancers and gasp-inducing tightrope walkers. There's some entertaining theatre to getting in (which I won't spoil) but once inside you'll be plunged into the glamour of the early 1900s thanks to red velvet banquettes, elegant wood panelling and an intimate courtyard complete with outdoor fireplaces. See .Īnother Houston brothers concoction, No Vacancy is housed inside a restored Victorian home, stumbling distance from Dirty Laundry. As the evening progresses, the revelry ramps up with DJs, live bands and a pumping dance floor. Come early before the queues start and you'll be able to explore the bar's many nooks and crannies and chat to its dapper, braces-sporting mixologists. Created by LA's nightlife wonder-twins Mark and Jonnie Houston, the bar is accessed via an anonymous stairwell hidden in a dark alleyway off Hollywood Blvd. There's certainly a sultry vibe to the place thanks to dim lighting, cosy leather booths and acres of dark wood panelling.

Here are six of the best: Dirty LaundryĮxpect to be confronted by sex when you enter this subterranean Hollywood bar – at least, a red neon sign saying 'sex'. New York once led the pack when it came to these clandestine drinking dens but LA is now hot on its heels. A tribute to the illicit underground speakeasies that operated during Prohibition in the 1920s, they're often accessed via an incongruous entrance or hidden behind an unmarked door – all of which adds to the thrill of discovery. The last decade has seen a proliferation of 'secret' bars pop up all over the US.