Santa Barbara
Grab a cocktail at the beautiful, blue-tiled bar, then grab a book from the shelves and settle into a leather banquette in this petite place that has a…
Must-see nightlife in Southern California
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Venice's only rooftop bar is quite an experience, with 360-degree views from the shore to the Santa Monica Mountains – if you can take your eyes off the…
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Hollywood
This tastefully frayed, reservations-only rum and cigar lounge is a revelation. Behind the marble bar sit more than 100 types of rum from Haiti, Guyana,…
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Greater Palm Springs
If you worship at the altar of Bacchus (the Roman god of wine), you'll be singing his praises in this dimly lit clandestine boite at the Parker Palm…
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Los Angeles
Step out the back door of restaurant Cafe Birdie and you'll find this red-brick speakeasy. A neighborly oasis of tealights, leather booths and competent…
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Santa Barbara
Father and son brewers have brought their gold-medal-winning hoppy IPA, Danish red lager and potent stout from Santa Barbara's Wine Country to the Funk…
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San Diego
With a French-bistro feel and plenty of old-world charm, Polite Provisions' hip clientele sip cocktails at the marble bar, under a glass ceiling, and in a…
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Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Lounge
Disneyland Resort
It's tiki to the max and good, clean fun inside this faux-grass shack by the Disneyland Hotel's pool. Look for strong, sweet cocktails like the Shrunken…
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Hollywood
Less a hotel rooftop bar and more lush, tropical-like oasis with killer views of the Hollywood sign and LA skyline, multicolored daybeds and tongue-in…
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Hollywood
With daily rotating craftsman whiskey, bourbon and cocktail specials, Harvard & Stone lures peeps with its live bands, solid DJs and burlesque troops…
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San Diego
This Gaslamp hot spot serves sushi and Asian bites five nights a week and turns into a steamy dance club (EDM, minimal, deep house) on Fridays and…
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Los Angeles
Clippers and cocktails conspire at this winning speakeasy. The front section is an actual barbershop, complete with vintage barber chairs and inked…
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Hollywood
If you prefer your cocktail sessions with plenty of wow factor, make a reservation online, style up (no sportswear, shorts or logos) and head to this old…
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Los Angeles
One of the city's top cocktail dens, intimate ETA serves innovative, complex libations such as its famous Penultimate Word, an out-of-the-box mix of gin,…
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Hollywood
You'll be pining for the bayou at the hospitable Sassafras Saloon, where hanging moss and life-size facades evoke sultry Savannah. Cocktails include a…
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San Diego
Dozens of classic arcade games – pinball to Mortal Kombat, Pac-Man and Big Buck Safari to Master Beer Bong – line the walls of this hipster bar in North…
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Santa Barbara
Dave, the owner of Municipal Winemakers, studied the vine arts in Australia and France before applying his knowledge in this industrially decorated…
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Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace
Joshua Tree National Park
For local color, toothsome BBQ, cheap beer and kick-ass live music, drop in at this textbook honky-tonk in Pioneertown, a movie set turned living town…
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Anaheim
This chill, dimly lit, atmospheric speakeasy carves its own ice, makes its own juice, does regularly changing (but always creative) cocktails and has live…
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Death Valley National Park
This craft brewery in the middle of nowhere is not a mirage but the pint-sized operation of artist and brewer Jon Zellhoefer in a restored railroad tie…
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Hollywood
Under a cotton-candy-pink apartment block of no particular import is this funky den of musty odor, low ceilings, exposed pipes and good times. There's…
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Santa Barbara
Large glasses of wine and beer and a great grilled cheese make this cozy place, located up an alley off Anacapa (follow the murals), a worthy detour…
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Hollywood
When established stars such as the Black Keys, and even movie stars such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, decide to play secret shows in intimate environs, they…
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Greater Palm Springs
Crimson light bathes even pasty-faced hipsters with a healthy glow, as do the pretty crafted cocktails at this teensy tiki bar with blowfish lamps and…
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Hollywood
Evoking an old hunting lodge with its timber panels, Chesterfield sofas and mounted antlers, this handsome hideaway sits off the Roosevelt Hotel's…
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Coastal Orange County
This minimalist cool cafe takes fair-trade, shade-grown and organic coffee a little further, with unusual flavor combinations that (mostly) work: Spanish…
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San Diego
A superb neighborhood pub, with creative decor like beer cans piled floor to ceiling and longboard skateboards attached to the walls. It sells craft ales…
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San Diego
Through a secret doorway, disguised as a refrigerator in the next-door Good Time Poke cafe, you'll step into a lost Hawaiian world with Polynesian wood…
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San Diego
A stack of kegs masquerading as a door inside the Neighborhood restaurant is your key to this 'speakeasy' that is so well known you need to make advance…
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San Diego
Find the unassuming doorway on 5th Ave with 'Eddie O’Hare’s Law Office' on it, then flip the light switch on to alert the door staff, who'll guide you…
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Greater Palm Springs
In the back of the updated steakhouse Mr Lyons hides this furtive libation station named in honor of owner and entertainment lawyer Tara Lazar's dad. The…
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
In this hip, industrial, minimalist monument to the coffee gods, perfectionist baristas – who roam the central bar and command more steaming machines than…
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South Bay Beaches
This holdover from 1952 is as cool as the Redondo Pier gets, with its classic neon sign, 360-degree views from the glass octagonal lounge upstairs and…
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Disneyland Resort
This centrally located terrace is a great place for relaxing and regrouping in Disney California Adventure.
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Joshua Tree National Park
Organic and locally roasted, this spotless outfit makes some of the best coffee in JT. It's sold in places around the valley but roasted right here in the…
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The Deserts
The self-proclaimed 'best five-star hole-in-the-wall' has cheap beers, nightly karaoke and opening hours that might just keep you off the slopes or trail…
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South Bay Beaches
Part of the South Bay's Beermuda Triangle, this craft brewery looks like it's in a middle-of-nowhere office park. All that's forgotten once you enter the…
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Los Angeles
Mission brown is back in vogue at this retro-inspired cocktail bar and eatery, decked out in brown dining booths and drawing a mixed, low-key crowd…
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Matcha (Japanese powdered green tea) finds its way into lattes, Americanos and other traditional coffee drinks at this Japanese-style cafe; we love the…
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Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
You know Toms, which made its name selling fun, slip-on canvas shoes and giving a pair away to underprivileged kids overseas for each pair sold in the…
