The Best Bars in Los Angeles Right Now

Hidden behind a door in the back of Cole's French Dip restaurant on 6th Street, The Varnish is one of the city's founding craft cocktail rooms and remains one of its best. Small, dark, and serious about what it does. The menu rotates around classic templates — sours, stirred-down drinks, flips — executed with precision. The bartenders here will make you something off-menu if you tell them what you're in the mood for.

Order: The Clover Club — gin, lemon, raspberry, egg white. One of the city's best versions.

A genuine neighbourhood bar that happens to serve excellent cocktails and has a back room with live music most nights. The front bar is quieter — good for a conversation and a properly made whisky sour. The back fills with the East Hollywood creative crowd and stays open until 2am. No velvet ropes, no dress code, and the kind of regulars who are glad you showed up.

Order: The Penicillin — blended Scotch, Islay float, lemon, honey-ginger syrup

Silver Lake's most reliable spot for a creative cocktail in a room that doesn't take itself too seriously. The programme leans on local producers and seasonal ingredients — citrus in winter, stone fruit through summer, fermented everything year-round. The staff knows the menu cold and will steer you well if you're undecided. Weeknights are ideal; weekends require patience at the door.

Order: The Silver Bullet — blanco tequila, cucumber, jalapeño, lime, activated charcoal salt rim

Mastro's rooftop on Canon Drive is LA at its most theatrically glamorous — which is either exactly what you want or not what you want at all. Live music every night, serious martinis, a view across Beverly Hills that reminds you why people move here. The crowd runs from industry veterans to tourists who have been told this is the place. Both are right. Arrive early enough to get a table by the railing.

Order: The Classic Dirty Martini — Belvedere, house olive brine, served ice cold

La Cienega Boulevard's most important cocktail bar — a low-ceilinged, candlelit room that feels transported from another era and another city. The cocktail menu is organised by spirit and written in complete sentences. The bartenders have long tenure and the kind of institutional knowledge that takes years to develop. Go on a Tuesday when the industry crowd comes in and the bartenders have time to talk.

Order: The Mezcal Negroni — Del Maguey Vida, Campari, Dolin sweet vermouth, smoked orange

A Japanese-influenced cocktail bar in Little Tokyo that draws from the area's cultural roots without being precious about it. Japanese whisky features prominently on the spirits list, and the cocktail programme incorporates sake, umeshu, and Japanese bitters alongside the expected bases. The room is compact and tends to fill quickly after 8pm — come early and stay for the bartender's recommendations.

Order: The Tokyo Sour — Nikka Coffey Grain, yuzu, egg white, Angostura bitters

Primarily known as a restaurant, but the bar programme at Here's Looking at You in Koreatown is among the most creative in the city. The cocktails are driven by the same philosophy as the kitchen — unexpected ingredients, global flavour profiles, and technical precision. The bar seats fill first; book them specifically when you make your reservation. Worth every minute of the drive across town.

Order: The Korean Tiger — soju, gochujang honey, pear, lemon, ginger beer

A former cafeteria transformed into a multi-floor bar experience spanning five levels with different music, different drink programmes, and different crowds on each floor. The tiki bar on the third floor is the draw — proper syrups, house-made orgeat, correct garnishes. The ground floor is loud and social. Go with a group and spend an hour on each level. You'll end up somewhere unexpected by midnight.

Order: The Zombie — aged rum blend, falernum, absinthe rinse, grapefruit, lime

The Silver Lake bar that the neighbourhood has been drinking in for over a decade, regardless of what else has opened nearby. Jackalope has never tried to be anything other than what it is: a well-run neighbourhood bar with a small but considered cocktail menu, a good jukebox, and zero pretension. The regulars are the kind of people who moved to Silver Lake before it was Silver Lake. They'll tell you about it if you ask.

Order: The house Old Fashioned — Elijah Craig, Demerara syrup, Angostura and orange bitters

A whisky bar in Burbank that has quietly built one of the best spirits lists in Southern California. Over 400 expressions on the shelf, organised by region and style, with tasting flights available for guests who want to explore rather than commit. The bartenders understand their stock deeply — ask questions. The neighbourhood crowd includes studio workers from the nearby lots, which makes for interesting conversation on a slow Tuesday.

Order: A Scotch flight — ask for the Highland comparison; they'll build something educational