Any night · 3 stops · all walkable
Los Feliz, strictly on foot
Vermont and Hillhurst are five minutes apart on foot, and right now they're home to two of the most talked-about bars in the country, plus the city's oldest running tiki room.
Los Angeles drinks like several different cities stitched together. Downtown and the Arts District run on hotel bars and mezcal dens built into old banks and warehouses. Los Feliz is having a moment, with two of the most talked-about new rooms in the country a five-minute walk apart. Hollywood still does tiki and rum the way it has for sixty years. And nowhere takes agave more seriously: this is a city built on good tequila and better mezcal, so we've pulled out a short guide to LA's margarita and mezcal bars below, with links to our own Margarita and Tommy's Margarita recipes and our full tequila and mezcal guide.
Driving in from Texas or Arizona? Our Houston guide covers Montrose's agave strip, another good stop on the way.
If you only have one night
Top picks
Craft cocktails$$$
Death & Co Los AngelesThe Arts District outpost of the bar that helped build the modern cocktail revival. Walk-ins welcome most nights.Walk-ins only
Craft cocktails$$$
ThunderboltA Filipinotown neighbourhood bar with a 2026 Spirited Awards nomination for Best U.S. Cocktail Bar, the only LA bar on the shortlist.Walk-ins only
Craft cocktails$$$
VandellLos Feliz's bar of the year, from the Bar Flores team: pre-batched martinis, rare vintage Campari, and a line out the door since it opened.Walk-ins only
Agave & mezcal$$$
MírateA 40-foot tree anchors the room; the bar program, built on rare mezcal and tequila, is the real reason to come.Book ahead
Agave & mezcal$$$
Daisy Margarita BarFrom the Mírate team: a Sherman Oaks cantina built entirely around the margarita, private-batch tequila and all.Book ahead
Speakeasy$$$
La DescargaA Cuban rum speakeasy through a cigar shop's hidden door, with a live band and burlesque most nights.Reservation required
Bars in an order that works
Ready-made nights
Any night · 3 stops · walkable with one short hop
Downtown and the Arts District
A rooftop for the sunset, a mezcal bar for the middle of the night, then a short rideshare east to one of the country's best-known cocktail rooms.
- Las Perlas Downtown
Over 450 mezcals and live Latin music most nights, no cover.
About 6 minutes on foot.
- Death & Co Los Angeles Arts District
The big finish. Walk-ins are usually fine outside peak weekend hours.
About a mile; a 5-minute rideshare east into the Arts District.
Wed–Sat · 3 stops · all walkable
Hollywood Boulevard, start to last call
Three bars built around a theme, all within a few blocks of Hollywood Boulevard: vintage bowling, a hidden backyard party, and a Golden Age speakeasy.
- The Spare Room Hollywood
A game of vintage bowling and a classic cocktail at the Hollywood Roosevelt.
- Good Times at Davey Wayne's Hollywood
A secret entrance into a 1970s backyard party. Open late.
About 4 minutes on foot.
Tue–Sat · 3 stops · one short drive
Echo Park to Filipinotown, a short drive
Two Echo Park margarita-and-mezcal spots a few blocks apart, then a short drive over to the Filipinotown bar that keeps landing on best-of-America lists.
- Thunderbolt Historic Filipinotown
A short drive or rideshare over to one of the most decorated bars in the country.
About a 10-minute drive.
By neighbourhood
Every bar
Downtown
Historic Core banks and basements turned into mezcal dens and rooftop bars, a few blocks from each other.
2
Agave & mezcal$$
Las PerlasThe country's first dedicated mezcal bar, open since 2010, with rough wood walls, wrought iron and live Latin music every night.Walk-ins only
Rooftop$$$
Perch LAA French-inspired rooftop restaurant and bar on the 15th and 16th floors, with plush couches, fire pits and unobstructed Downtown views.Book ahead
Arts District
Converted warehouses east of Downtown, anchored by one of the country's best-known cocktail rooms.
1Chinatown
Central Plaza's old apothecary storefronts, now a mezcal bar and a record-and-karaoke lounge.
2
Agave & mezcal$$$
Apothéke LAThe West Coast spinoff of New York's apothecary-themed speakeasy, with cocktails menued as cures and a patio on the LA River.Book ahead
Lounge$$
Melody LoungeA red-lit Chinatown staple with 24 beer taps, two turntables and a karaoke room, leaning more on records and good vibes than a deep cocktail list.Walk-ins only
Historic Filipinotown
A quiet stretch of Temple Street that's home to one of LA's most decorated bars.
1Echo Park
Sunset Boulevard's margarita and mezcal strip, a short walk from the lake.
2
Agave & mezcal$$
A TíA chic, casual Echo Park Mexican spot that started as a bar pop-up and grew into a full restaurant, built on yuzu-spiked margaritas.Walk-ins only
Lounge$$
The Semi-TropicAn Echo Park go-to since 2015: dim lighting, thoughtful craft cocktails, a rotating beer list and a DJ most nights.Walk-ins only
Los Feliz
Vermont and Hillhurst's village blocks, now home to two of the most written-about new bars in North America.
3
Agave & mezcal$$$
MírateA design-forward modern Mexican restaurant and bar anchored by a 40-foot tree, with a bar program built on rare mezcal and tequila.Book ahead
Craft cocktails$$$
VandellA low-lit, retro wood-paneled bar from the Bar Flores team and two République alumni, with pre-batched martinis chilled to a frost.Walk-ins only
Tiki$$
Tiki-TiA tiny family-run tiki bar on the Los Feliz/East Hollywood line, open since 1961 and still run by the same family.Walk-ins only
Hollywood
Hollywood Boulevard and the side streets around it, still running on tiki, rum and retro theme bars.
5
Lounge$$
Harvard & StoneAn industrial-leaning bar with hidden nooks, flash tattoos on the walls, live bands most nights and a cozy patio.Walk-ins only
Speakeasy$$$
La DescargaA Cuban-themed rum speakeasy accessed through a cigar shop's hidden entrance, with over 100 rums, a live band and burlesque moving through the crowd.Reservation required
Lounge$$$
The Spare RoomA gaming parlor and cocktail lounge on the Hollywood Roosevelt's mezzanine, built around two hand-restored 1920s bowling lanes.Book ahead
Lounge$$$
No VacancyA vintage-style cocktail bar and nightclub inside a 1902 Hollywood house, pairing sophisticated cocktails with shadowy, retro decor.Book ahead
Lounge$$
Good Times at Davey Wayne'sA 1970s-themed backyard party recreated indoors, with garage-sale decor, an Airstream trailer and a secret entrance.Walk-ins only
Koreatown
Hotel bars and theme rooms built into the neighbourhood's grand old residential hotels.
2
Craft cocktails$$
The Normandie ClubA street-level cocktail bar beneath the historic Hotel Normandie, with a compact menu blending classic and contemporary drinks and a self-professed martini obsession.Walk-ins only
Lounge$$$
Break Room 86An '80s-themed bar behind the Line Hotel, reached through a false refrigerator door, with arcade games, karaoke suites and an hourly burlesque show.Book ahead
West Hollywood
La Cienega's hidden-door cocktail rooms, a short walk from the Sunset Strip.
1Santa Monica
Beach-adjacent classics, from a Rat Pack-era steakhouse to a hotel's beachfront bungalow.
2
Lounge$$$
The BungalowA beachside Baja-chic cottage lounge at the Fairmont Miramar, with a billiards table inside and sofas under hanging surfboards on the patio.Book ahead
Restaurant bar$$$
Chez JayA Santa Monica Historical Landmark steakhouse and bar open since 1959, peanut shells on the floor and a jukebox still playing.Book ahead
Sherman Oaks
Ventura Boulevard's agave specialist, from the team behind one of Los Feliz's best bars.
1North Hollywood
The NoHo Arts District's restored 1941 barrel-shaped landmark.
1Cypress Park
A dark, wood-paneled neighbourhood dive north of Downtown with a serious cocktail list.
1Hermosa Beach
A tiki bar built right onto the pier, the one stop here that isn't walkable from the others.
1Good to know
Questions
What's the best bar in LA for margaritas?
Daisy Margarita Bar in Sherman Oaks is built entirely around the margarita, with private-batch tequilas made for the bar. Mírate and Tommy's-style builds are the move at most of the agave-focused spots on this list; see our Margarita and Tommy's Margarita recipes for the two classic builds.
Are there good speakeasies in Los Angeles?
Yes. La Descarga in Hollywood hides behind a cigar shop's door, Vandell and Mírate in Los Feliz both run low-lit, no-sign rooms, and Good Times at Davey Wayne's gets in through a secret entrance. None of them are hard to find online; they just don't hang a sign outside.
What's the best rooftop cocktail bar in LA?
Perch LA in Downtown has run its 15th and 16th-floor rooftop since well before the current wave of hotel bars, with unobstructed views and a fire pit for the cold months. Tiki Kai on the Hermosa Beach pier is the pick if you want the view to be the ocean instead of the skyline.
Do LA's best bars need reservations?
Vandell and Mírate are both walk-up with real lines most nights; go early or expect to wait. Death & Co takes reservations but usually has walk-in room outside peak weekend hours. No Vacancy is best booked ahead for weekend nights. Most of the neighbourhood bars on this list, from Thunderbolt to Footsie's, are walk-in only.
Is downtown LA walkable for a bar crawl, or do I need a car?
Downtown proper, from Perch LA to Las Perlas, is an easy walk. Getting to the Arts District, Chinatown or Echo Park from there is closer to a mile, so plan on a short rideshare between neighbourhoods. Los Feliz and Hollywood are each walkable within themselves, but LA overall is a driving city: budget for rideshares between the clusters on this list, especially out to Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood or the beach cities.
Every bar here was checked against its own site or listing in November 2026. Bars change hours and menus often, so check before a big night.