World City Guide

Nightlife

The ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’ has a range of nightlife – nightclubs, cabarets, jazz, rock, blues and country and western can all be found somewhere in town. Clubs offer a mix of live bands and recorded music on different nights of the week. Comedy clubs are also big in LA.

Sunset Boulevard (with its famous ‘Sunset Strip’) still boasts some of the city’s most famous clubs but is by no means the only hotspot. Other good nightlife areas are Santa Monica, especially along Third Street Promenade; Hollywood and West Hollywood, the latter a centre for gay nightlife. Pine Avenue in Long Beach and Pasadena’s Old Town also have a good number of jazz clubs and other night spots. Admission prices for clubs and live music vary widely according to the entertainment. Entertainment listings can be found in LA Weekly (website: www.laweekly.com) and New Times (website: www.newtimesla.com), both free papers distributed around town. A good online hotel and dining reference is Los Angeles City Search (website: http://losangeles.citysearch.com). Because of LA liquor laws, bars stop serving at 0200. The minimum drinking age is 21 years and you should carry photo ID at all times as you may not even be allowed in a venue without it. There is no smoking inside any public place in Los Angeles and this includes bars and nightclubs. However, many offer outdoor areas where smoking is permitted.

Bars: Starting with the Sunset Strip, Bar Marmont, 8171 West Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, next to its famous hotel, Chateau Marmont, is a small and intimate bar with a Bohemian feel and a favourite with celebrities. The SkyBar, at the Philippe Starck-designed Mondrian Hotel, 8440 Sunset Boulevard, is a very smart spot for LA’s beautiful people and has a great view as well as the glamorous look of this hotel chain. Another hotel bar, The Standard, 8300 Sunset Boulevard, is slightly less difficult to get into, but equally popular and stylish. Still on Sunset, make sure you stop off at number 8358, the Argyle Hotel, a splendid 1920s building, whose authentic Art Deco lounge bar extends to the pool area complete with statues of pink flamingos. The Cat'N Fiddle is an English-style bar with courtyard and fountain, at 6530 Sunset Boulevard. Two other good choices include Spider Club at 1737 Vine Street and the Velvet Margarita Room Cantina, a late night trendy Mexican lounge, 1612 North Cahuenga Boulevard, both in Hollywood.

For LA gay life, try any bar along Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, including: the reliable Gold Coast at number 8228, the Goth/indie Parlour Club at number 7702, which features themed nights, Peanuts at 7969, which has a cool bordello decor, or the crazy Fubar at number 7994, with drag queens and bingo nights. Lesbians in this boys’ paradise have Palms, at 8572, or the friendly Normandie Rooms, at number 8737. For a mixed, hipper crowd, try Akbar, 4356 West Sunset Boulevard.

For fans of the film Swingers, it is worth making the trek to Los Feliz, where the Dresden Room, 1760 North Vermont Avenue, all white leather upholstery and cork walls, is good for sipping cocktails while listening to the loungey crooning of Marty and Elayne.

The Observation Bar, aboard the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, is an Art Deco joy – a great place for a romantic martini while the sun sets. In the same area, the Rock Bottom Brewery, 1 Pine Avenue, is a good place to try handmade beers brewed on the premises. Downtown, the best views of the skyscrapers can be had from the revolving cocktail bar, BonaVista at Westin Bonaventure Hotel, 404 South Figueroa Street. With souvenir glasses, floor to ceiling windows and piped music, it’s all very 1980s but hard to beat. Also Downtown, The Roof Bar at The Standard, 550 South Flower Street, is a very stylish place to check out the skyscrapers.

Casinos: Gambling is illegal in Los Angeles.

Clubs: The eclectic Viper Room, 8852 Sunset Boulevard, owned by Johnny Depp, is a small, dark, hip hangout for rock musicians and groupies, although its club nights tend to be more funk and disco. River Phoenix died there in 1993 of a drug-induced heart failure.

In Santa Monica, Gotham Hall, 1431 Third Street Promenade, with its clubby look and popular billiards hall, is populated by pretty boys and girls. The sophisticated Club Cohiba part of Mum’s Restaurant, 110 East Broadway, Long Beach, features a Cigar and Billiard Room, a Martini Lounge and a Roof Top Terrace with live salsa on Fridays and Saturdays. Swing-dancing is making a comeback in LA and the Derby, 4500 Los Feliz Boulevard, is the best place to jive – also featured in the film Swingers.

LA is getting a dance club scene, as international DJs start to play there more and more. In the middle of Hollywood, Blue, 1642 North Las Palmas Avenue, which looks like a haunted mansion, is popular on its techno night (Fridays) and has an outdoor smoking area. For cool decor, Sugar, 814 Broadway, in Santa Monica, is a good place to go – check out the glass toilets (with blue lights for boys and pink for girls). For serious style, long queues and sexy dancing (including semi-naked dancers on glass-encased podiums), try Deep, 1707 Vine Street, on the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Run by the same man (Ivan Kane) as Deep is the new Forty Deuce, 5574 Melrose Avenue, a sultry cabaret-style lounge-bar, complete with burlesque. A bit further out in Santa Monica, but equally good, is The Space, at 2020 Wilshire Boulevard.

For gay clubs, again check out Santa Monica Boulevard. The biggest are probably Rage, at number 8911, and Circus Disco, at 6655, and Micky’s, at 8857.

Comedy: The Comedy Store, 8433 West Sunset Boulevard, is a good starting point as it offers three rooms, which offer a variety of acts, from mainstream to fledgling. In the past, it has seen the arrival of people like Robin Williams, David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg and Gary Shandling. The Laugh Factory, 8001 West Sunset Boulevard, is a smaller venue where you may see famous names, like Jerry Seinfeld or Rodney Dangerfield, testing out their routines. The Improvisation, 8162 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood is another premier venue.

Live music: The House of Blues, 8430 Sunset Boulevard, features top blues and folk names. It is also committed to hosting rap and hip hop artists – other venues and promoters have tended to shy away from this in more recent years. Harvelle’s, 1432 Fourth Street, in Santa Monica is another good spot for blues.

Top jazz entertainers perform at the packed Catalina Bar & Grill, 6725 Sunset Boulevard, (tel: (323) 466 2210; website: www.catalinajazzclub.com). Booking is essential. Another good spot for jazz is Lunaria Restaurant & Jazz Bar, 10351 Santa Monica Boulevard.

Two venerable rock clubs, hosting fairly mainstream acts, are The Roxy and Whisky A Go-Go at 9009 and 8901 Sunset Boulevard. The Staples Center, 1111 South Figueroa Street (tel: (213) 742 7340 or (877) 305 1111; website: www.staplescenter.com), is the venue for mega-concerts and events, such as the Grammy Awards.