The decor at this bar/restaurant is modern and upmarket, the attitude is relaxed and there isn't a bad seat in the house. But thanks to the fire pits and strategically placed...

Recently renovated, Benvenuto offers quality, inexpensive Italian fare in its restaurant, a former recording studio (the Doors recorded LA Woman here). The front patio is great...

Fans of the grape can't go too far wrong at the Bodega, a wine bar that doesn't take itself too seriously. The wines by the glass are all $8, so sampling a few varieties is...

Just a few junctions south of Dear John's, veteran piano man Peter Wagner holds court in the dining lounge of the resolutely retro Buggy Whip every Friday and Saturday. Dinner...

We can't claim that the English pub interior is especially authentic, but it was good enough for Morrissey, who was known to favour this place when in his former home town....

This divey but loveable spot close to Santa Monica Pier was a regular haunt for Brian Wilson back in the day. The traces of sawdust on the floor and the coterie of leathery...

A genuinely old-school supper club with a faux brick interior and a piano man at the weekend. The songs tend to be drawn from the hit parades of the '50s, '60s and '70s, and...

A convivial buzz fills this airy place even when there's just a handful of people inside it. Blame, or credit, the 30-plus beers, many from Californian microbreweries; there's...

There's a full Asian-influenced menu, but the food comes a poor third to the history and the strong, well-crafted drinks. In business for seven decades, the Formosa was a...

Naturally enough, LA's best nautical-themed bar sits fully 15 miles from the water. This agreeably egalitarian bar is famed for the warmth of its welcome and the cheapness of...

One of a handful of old-school Mexican watering holes in the inner city that have been taken over by new-school hipsters, La Cita serves as a bar, a restaurant and a club,...

This restaurant/bar is where clued-in locals kick off the weekend. Tom Whitman's Smack party on Thursdays features a five-minute cocktail free-for-all at 11.15pm and hourly...

There's food here, but this longtime Santa Monica hangout is really all about the keenly priced drinks and the scene that gets livelier as the evening progresses. Larger than...

A few years ago, the all-but legendary White Lotus helped kickstart celebrities' love affair with new Hollywood. Since taking over its location, the owners of the Zen-inspired...