Los Angeles
Mission brown is back in vogue at this retro-inspired cocktail bar and eatery, decked out in brown dining booths and drawing a mixed, low-key crowd…
Must-see nightlife in Southern California
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Matcha (Japanese powdered green tea) finds its way into lattes, Americanos and other traditional coffee drinks at this Japanese-style cafe; we love the…
San Fernando Valley
The Valley's gay bar of record (since 1968) is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, with disco, salsa and lounge thrown in. The lineup on…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
You know Toms, which made its name selling fun, slip-on canvas shoes and giving a pair away to underprivileged kids overseas for each pair sold in the…
Los Feliz & Griffith Park
This ubercool coffee bar comes with naturally lit loft environs, exposed rafters, local art and a marble-slab common table where locals tap their feet to…
San Fernando Valley
This old-shoe-comfy neighborhood bar is renowned for its extraordinary beer selection – a changing choice of 38 craft beers on tap, plus wines and ciders…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
Coffee snobs in Beverly Hills can now gravitate to this celebrated San Francisco import, known for its meticulous baristas and rotating selection of…
Malibu & Pacific Palisades
The place to come for everything from wild honey, organic chocolate, supplements galore to its raison d'être – a fabulous juice bar where ingredients such…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
Get your drink on the Beverly Hills way, with organic and biodynamic wines around the zinc bar at this chichi tasting room and shop. Wines are mostly from…
Long Beach & San Pedro
There seems to be a juice bar on every LA block, but only this one is owned by the gregarious Angela, who will pound a (spicy ginger) shot with you to…
Hollywood
In the heart of Hollywood, this piano bar owned by Darren Criss (star of Glee and The Assassination of Gianni Versace) is a little bit classy, a little…
Los Feliz & Griffith Park
Mellow, minimalist Maru brews superb specialty coffee, poured into handmade Portland ceramics and elegantly presented on little timber trays. Espresso and…
Los Angeles
Coffee geeks flock to Cognoscenti, a clean, bright, contemporary cafe showcasing a rotating cast of specialty micro-roasters such as San Francisco's…
Los Angeles
Neighborly, light-soaked Found showcases a rotating cast of mostly Californian specialty coffee roasters, including LA's Demitasse and Peri Coffee,…
Westlake & Koreatown
Tucked off the western strip is this wood-paneled barrel of craft beer and creative pub grub, written in colorful script on the chalkboard behind the bar…
Los Angeles
On Wednesdays, gritty dive bar Airliner hosts Low End Theory, one of the city's top electronica nights, with loud, body-shaking beats spanning dubstep and…
Los Angeles
This '70s throwback is technically a Mexican restaurant, but the real reason to stop here is for the killer margaritas. Considered by many to be the best…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Santa Cruz microroastery Verve turns ethically sourced beans into beautiful cups of coffee at its loft-like DTLA branch, an industrial combo of concrete…
The Deserts
This spit-and-sawdust-type joint with half a dozen pool tables is a good place to point your compass for a rollickin' good time, especially on Friday or…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Soaked in natural light, this airy mix of glass, marble and concrete brews fantastic coffee, including espresso, drip and cold brew. Beans are seasonal…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Sensible ladies descend to this Indian-owned emporium for affordable afternoon-tea service (full tea service $18): tea, scones, half-sandwiches and…
Los Angeles
A lofty, minimalist coffee shop with photogenic floor-tiles, Civil peddles a rotating cast of single-origin espresso, cold brew and drip coffees to…
Disneyland Resort
Uva is Italian for grape, and this bar resembling a Paris Metro station is Downtown Disney’s best outdoor spot to tipple wine, nibble Cal-Mediterranean…
South Bay Beaches
In this craft brewery's giant converted warehouse, you can sample ales, IPAs and IIPAs such as 24th Street Pale Ale and the Beach House Amber. Buy food…
South Bay Beaches
Despite its nondescript Torrance office-park location, this family-run craft brewery is making waves in the LA culinary scene. It has a tap room where you…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Pulling everyone from hipsters to urban vaqueros and nostalgic Latino aunties, this red-vinyl Mexican dive bar just keeps on kicking, despite Downtown's…
Hollywood
Enter the faux garage, walk through the refrigerator door and emerge in a dim, rocking ode to 1970s Californication, complete with pine paneling, 'groovy'…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Part of Downtown's booming gay scene, Redline's metal-pressed bar draws everyone from laid-back old timers to twinks and punks. Head in for $5 happy-hour…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
The ultimate gay dive bar, with all the thrilling prerequisites: no cover charge, regular drag shows, a heaving dance floor and wallet-friendly drinks …
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Old-timers remember this place as a divey pool hall owned by ex-boxer Babe Brandelli (that’s him and his wife on the outside mural). Now it’s a bit…
Hollywood
The neon sign is worth a trip alone, but Frolic Room offers more than colored lights. This is one of Hollywood's true dives, a vinyl-lined relic where the…
Laguna Beach
Perched atop La Casa del Camino, this bar, with 270-degree coastal views and a friendly vibe, has locals singing hallelujahs. Mango and wild berry mojitos…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Two-story Rage does theme nights – Asian Fridays, Latin Saturdays etc – with thumping music and lotsa bars and boys. We admit to having a soft spot for…
San Fernando Valley
Under a vaulted brick ceiling, this upscale neighborhood tavern had us at its list of Bloodys (Mary with vodka, Maria with tequila, hell with gin, etc),…
Greater Palm Springs
More high energy than chill, but an essential stop on the Arenas 'boys town' strip. Relax at the rectangular bar or on the wraparound patio, and mingle…
Santa Monica
This neighborhood coffee shop is oh-so-LA. Think superfood coffee and tea drinks: matcha lattes, 'brain coffee' with MCT oil and ghee, sea-salt cold brew…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
A fun Little Tokyo bar with waxed concrete floors, a blonde-wood slab bar, common tables and built-in bench seating. Expect ball games on the flat screens…
Los Angeles
This storefront across from the water does triple duty: cafe, bakery and possibly California's micro-est brewery. Tiny tanks in the corner dispense brews…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
A loud, cavernous, industrial Arts District hot spot, with huge brewing vats behind the bar, vintage Skee-Ball tables and a Charles Bukowski quote glowing…
Los Feliz & Griffith Park
Is it a Chinese restaurant? A '70s massage parlor? Actually, it's one of Los Feliz's older hipster dive bars. Step through the velvet curtains and into a…
