With its soaring Art Deco buildings, vintage signage and jutting skyline, Downtown L.A. is a real looker. Now imagine you're seeing it all from 18 floors up, a speakeasy-inspired cocktail in hand. Come Friday, you can take in the scenic view and make this scenario a reality at 18 Social, downtown's newest penthouse bar.
As the cornerstone of Francisco Street's massive mixed-use Metropolis development, and just one of a few flashy new Downtown development projects, Hotel Indigo had to be eye-catching. In order to do just that, its team opted for a mixed-concept plan: on the ground floor, find a boutique retail section; a coffee bar featuring pastries from the Bread Lounge; a 24-hour grab-and-go snack station; and a full-service restaurant, Metropole Bar + Kitchen, which serves fine-dining dishes in a casual space just off the hotel lobby. And high above it all is 18 Social—named for its floor number and the 18th Amendment, which ended prohibition (wink, wink).
Beginning at 5pm on Friday, you can enjoy the view, perch yourself at the 10-seat bar or settle into the sleek lounge area, which comes complete with plenty of gold accents—a nod to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and also found throughout the hotel—for Prohibition-era cocktails. Also expect takes on bar classics including the daisy, the Moscow mule and the L.A.-born brown derby, in addition to a focus on locally brewed craft beer, plus served-till-midnight small plates including tuna tartare, chicken wings and a quesadilla stuffed with duck confit.
All about living large till late? The fun runs 5pm-midnight Wednesdays through Sundays, with DJ sets and other events on the weekends.
18 Social is located at 899 Francisco Street and open Wednesday through Sunday from 5pm to midnight.
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