Bar Hop: Los Angeles

I should start this Bar Hop by saying that Los Angeles is HUGE. Covering a geographic area bigger than some countries. Not just Vatican City either, I mean places like Barbados and Martinique. Doing a comprehensive Bar Hop in LA would take a few weeks at least. This is, as all our Bar Hops are, just a few suggestions of places to check out should you find yourself among the Angelinos.

You will also notice that we skip the dining part of this bar hop. That is because there are street food vendors everywhere in this city. Tacos, Burgers, Noodles, whatever you want, you will find it by walking around LA.

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1/ Tiki Ti (4427 Sunset Boulevard). By now you should know that we at Bartender Atlas are fans of tiki. The Tiki Ti opened in 1961, this place remains one of the last original tiki bars in L.A. If you are at all interested in Tiki, look up Ray Buhen. Tribal drums play while people yell whenever someone orders a Blood and Sand. This place is a true to the spirit of tiki as you can get.

2/ Las Perlas (107 East 6th Street). You are going to want to take a cab or Uber downtown. Las Perlas specializes in beer and Mezcal. On our last visit we had a guided tour through about 11 or 13 different makers and styles of mezcals. If you do this right, you can learn a lot. Just don’t have too many, or you will forget all that you learned.

3/ Varnish (118 East 6th Street). This bar tucked in a back room of Coles will be inspirational to anyone looking to experience “Speakeasy”. The room is so dark you can barely see, music from the 1920’s plays and your server knows exactly the questions to ask so that you get one of the most perfect drinks you have ever tasted. The good news about this spot is that after a couple tropical drinks and mezcals, a sandwich from Coles will be just right.

4/ Honeycut (819 South Flower Street) is part mixologist haven and part (bigger part?) tongue in cheek dance club. The thoughtfully themed menu will not disappoint. It’s nice to have a delicious cocktail without a hint of pretension.

Do you have any bars in Los Angeles to add to our list? Comment below.

Note: As with all Bar Hops, we are not encouraging getting inebriated. This is a list of great cocktail bars that we suggest visiting while in Los Angeles. We want you to have fun and play safe. Check out How to Do a Good Bar Hop for some hot tips.

Josh Lindley

Co-Creator at Bartender Atlas

Josh Lindley has been bartending in Toronto since 2007. Before working for Hendrick's Gin as a Brand Ambassador he was bar manager at Campagnolo and a hired gun at Bar Isabel before working at Chantecler, Le Phenix and Eataly. He has contributed to many magazines, tv shows and newspapers with his recipes and opinions. He recently put his diploma in Radio Broadcasting from Humber College to good use through The Blackbird audio documentary. Currently pouring at Civl Liberties and teaching cocktail classes for Evelyn Chick's Love of Cocktails, he enjoys being an ambassador to Toronto and talking about horror movies, punk rock and basketball.