The first and still the most popular of several wine bars in the area, Bottle Rock performs double-duty as a sophisticated wine bar and an upscale wine store: trying before you...

Moneyed, fashionable Downtowners gather nightly around the 50-foot circular bar at this lavish hangout, where the upscale atmosphere is a world away from the bleak stretch of...

This agreeably worse-for-wear little taproom is tucked off to the side of Canter's Deli. The mood is matey and the drinking tends to be pretty focused. It's sometimes quiet,...

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...

Happily, the plans that called for the redevelopment of this legendary 3,300-capacity club into shops and condos have been shelved. One of the city's oldest clubs, Circus is a...

Don't let the dress code (no T-shirts, sportswear, sneakers or baggy jeans) scare you off: you'll be thankful you made the effort when you set foot inside this power...

Two venues for the price of one, run by the same team and almost sharing a building. The Factory's line-up is highlighted by Friday's top-40 Popstarz party; on the same night,...

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...

In business since the '30s and with one of the finest neon signs in the entire Los Angeles region, the Frolic Room remains what it's always been: a straightforward, friendly...

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...

On a scene where DJs are known more for their tabloid exploits than their skills, DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein, is the real deal. Goldstein's deft hip hop and rock juggling create...

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...

The oldest lesbian bar in LA is still going strong, supplementing its mellower evenings with regular dance nights inside its cosy confines: among them is Club Gloss, held on...

A former cop bar that found a new lease of life after it was bought by Afghan Whigs frontman Greg Dulli, the Short Stop helped kickstart the still-ongoing Echo Park renaissance...