5 Hotspots In L.A. For Bars, Pubs & Clubs
1.) Hermosa Beach
What, never heard of it? Are you expecting to see Hollywood or Santa Monica here. (Keep reading, by the way). Well, you want to PARTY don’t you!? Hermosa Beach is the place to do it, with a young and energetic crowd of party-first, worry-later crowd that hangs out at fun and casual bars such as the “black hole” Sharkeez and the nice beach lounge Tower 12. All you need to do is head to the pier.
Plus, you’ve got more nightlife at neighboring Manhattan Beach a mile to the north and Redondo Beach a mile to the south of the bars of Hermosa.
2.) Hollywood
This is where you’ll find most of LA’s biggest and hottest clubs. This is where athletes, celebrities and VIPs go, as well as the club-seeking singles from all around the city. Lure and Playhouse Hollywood are two popular nightclubs.
One of the current hotspots is the rooftop of the W Hotel with its Splash Friday Nights where you can make a splash – in a pool.
For a casual pub, the Cat & Fiddle is a long-standing hangout. The Frolic Room (next to the Pantages Theater) is a funky bar well worth a few drinks.
Another bonus to staying here is the fact that you’re a fairly short Uber/Lyft ride from the Sunset Strip with its legendary live music venues (Roxy, Troubadour and Whiskey-A-Go-Go).
3.) Santa Monica Pier
The popular Santa Monica Pier is – aside of the Hollywood Walk of Fame area – the biggest tourist attraction in L.A. But it also has a lot of locals who hang out in its bars and it provides the best mix of the beach and Hollywood types as far as pubclubbers.
You’ll see some of the former at the legendary Chez Jays, a causal bar where “hiding” celebrities like to go for strong drinks and the latter at the rooftop bar of the Shangri-La. A mix of the two – and one of the most popular places in Santa Monica – is at the semi-upscale Bungalow Beach Bar in the Fairmont Hotel. For you pubbers, you’ll love Ye ‘Ol King’s Head, a great British watering hole.
During the day, get down and dirty at and around the pier; Big Dean’s is a classic and has huge burgers, too.
Popular Happy Hours can be found at and around the Third Street Promenade restaurants and bars.
4.) Downtown Long Beach
Hardy on anyone’s radar for great nightlife is Long Beach. It’s on the water, has lots of conventions (for single people, this means a lot of party possibilities!) and events. It also has one of PubClub’s favorite bars in all of L.A., the lively Auld Dubliner, across from the Convention Center on lower Pine Ave. Not only does it have a lot of youthful singles, there’s live music nearly every night. The place rocks.
A couple miles south is the bar-heavy, local singles haven of Belmont Shore. Tip: Start at Panama Joes and if you ever make it out of there, keep walking down Second Street. You will have a full evening of nightlife that will have you saying, “gee thanks, PubClub.com, for letting us know about this fun place for nightlife!”
• Downtown LA (DTLA)
The past few years downtown LA – DTLA to locals – has become a cool place to hang out at night. There are art walks with wine, free concerts at Grand Park and Pershing Square, singles events at the Museum of National History and rooftop bars (Broken Shaker, Mama Shelter, Perch, Upstairs (Ace Hotel) plus craft breweries such as the innovative Boomtown Brewery.
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