Best Cocktail Bars in Los Angeles

Four floors of curated drinking across different eras and styles, each with its own distinct personality. The Pacific Seas tiki bar on the top floor is a genuine destination. The basement speakeasy keeps the serious cocktail programme going until 2am.

The gin selection at Genever runs to over 100 bottles, with a menu structured around gin families and cocktail styles. The knowledgeable staff make this an education as much as a night out. The Filipino snacks are a welcome counterpoint to the serious drinking.

Inside the storied Raymond Restaurant, the 1886 Bar applies serious craft to a menu rooted in classic technique. The California Cobbler has been on the menu since the bar opened and remains one of the city's great cocktails.

The cocktail bar above the Mandrake Hotel does impeccable work with Italian bitters and Mediterranean botanicals. The Spritz variations are the best in the city. The terrace catches the evening air perfectly.

The closest thing Los Angeles has to a neighbourhood cocktail bar with genuine edge. The Buddha room in the back, the potent Zombie bowls, and the honest prices make this Los Feliz's best-kept drinking secret.

The cocktail programme inside the Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills applies luxury hotel resources to genuinely creative bartending. The seasonal menu changes every three months. Expensive but worth the splurge on an occasion.

The reservation-only cocktail experience inside The Normandie Club remains one of the most unique drinking experiences in LA. A rotating tasting menu of cocktails built around a single theme.

The ground-floor sibling to The Walker Inn, with a more casual approach but the same commitment to quality ingredients. The soft-opening-era cocktails from the kitchen are excellent.

The natural wine bar side is well-known; fewer people know about the serious cocktail programme running behind the bar at Bandini. The vermouth selection is exceptional.

From the team behind Botanica, Thunderbolt approaches cocktail-making with the same farm-to-table philosophy applied to produce. Seasonal, local, thoughtful.