The best bars in Los Angeles aren't ranked by neighborhood here, they're ranked by what's in the glass. A well drink at a Hollywood dive runs about $6 to $12; the same hour at a Downtown rooftop costs $20 to $26. That spread, not the address, decides your night. This guide sorts LA's bars into four honest categories: dives, cocktail dens, speakeasies and rooftops. Pick the category, then pick two within it.
One fact governs all four. California stops alcohol service at 2am statewide (a 2025-2026 bill for 4am "hospitality zones" has been discussed but is not in effect), so plan to start by 9pm and treat 1:30am as last call.
Dive bars: the cheapest, most LA option
Start here if you want the real city. Dives are where the performance stops and a round costs less than one rooftop cocktail.
Tiki-Ti is the cult pick: a tiny family-run tiki bar on Sunset in East Hollywood, open since 1961, with more than 80 custom drinks around $12 to $16 and a fierce local following. It opens only Wednesday through Saturday evenings, capacity is minuscule, and it leans cash only, so arrive early or expect to wait on the sidewalk.
The Frolic Room is the postcard dive, a 1930s neon room next to the Pantages in Hollywood with a vintage mural, noir lighting and well drinks around $6 to $12. It turns up in films because it looks exactly like what people picture when they imagine old Hollywood drinking, and it runs cash-friendly and no-frills daily until about 2am. Pair it with HMS Bounty, the nautical dive in Koreatown open since 1962 in the old Gaylord Apartments, where well drinks and beer run $6 to $12 in booths that feel sealed off from the present decade.
A dive-only crawl is the cheapest legitimate night in the city. Two or three of these spots, plus rideshare between them, comes in under what a single rooftop reservation would cost. The trade-off is hours: Tiki-Ti's limited Wednesday-to-Saturday schedule means a true dive night usually has to fall on a weekend.
Cocktail bars worth the higher tab
If you only book one serious-drink night, make it Death & Co in the Downtown Arts District, the LA outpost of the famous New York bar. It's a dark subterranean lounge serving until 2am with a long menu and cocktails around $18 to $22, walk-ins welcome and no strict dress code, so you get the craft without feeling graded.
Thunderbolt earns its own trip. This neighborhood cocktail bar in Historic Filipinotown, near Echo Park, is the one LA bar that lands on North America's 50 Best Bars year after year, with refined drinks around $16 to $20 in a low-key room locals quietly protect. It's the antidote to the see-and-be-seen circuit, and it stays casual at the door.
Quick way to compare the cocktail and rooftop picks before you commit:
| Bar | Area | Cocktail price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death & Co | DTLA Arts District | $18-$22 | Serious cocktails, no dress-code stress |
| Thunderbolt | Historic Filipinotown | $16-$20 | Local-favorite, 50 Best list |
| Apt 503 | Koreatown | $16-$20 | Hidden speakeasy, classics |
| Perch LA | Downtown LA | $18-$22 | Skyline views, live jazz, groups |
| Spire 73 | Downtown LA | $20-$26 | Tallest open-air rooftop, fire pits |
Speakeasies and bars you have to find
LA hides some of its best rooms on purpose. Apt 503 is a fifth-floor "apartment" bar above the Line Hotel in Koreatown, doing precise classic cocktails around $16 to $20. Reservations help and the hours move around, so confirm before you go.
Death & Co counts here too, with its unmarked Arts District door and limited reservations released about 30 days out. And inside Level 8 downtown, the multi-venue floor atop the Moxy/AC hotel on Figueroa, a speakeasy-entrance nightclub called Sinners y Santos sits behind a hidden door among eight bars and restaurants. Cocktails across Level 8 run about $18 to $24, it goes 21-plus after 9pm at most venues, and reservations are strongly advised on weekends.
Rooftops: pay for the view, not the pour
Rooftops are the one category where you're buying the skyline as much as the drink. Spire 73 is the headline, a 73rd-floor open-air bar atop the InterContinental, billed as the tallest open-air rooftop bar in the Western Hemisphere, with cocktails around $20 to $26, fire pits, blankets and no cover. It runs Wednesday to Sunday, roughly 5pm to midnight.
Perch is the warmer, more romantic option, a French-bistro setup on the 15th and 16th floors with string lights, live jazz and drinks around $18 to $22, open to about 1am. For a beach-city change of pace, The Bungalow at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica is the marquee indoor-outdoor lounge, with fire pits, a back garden, a games room and cocktails around $16 to $20. Just note Santa Monica closes earlier than the central districts, so treat it as a sunset play, not a 2am one.
The WeHo strip, if you want to walk between bars
There's one place where the four categories blur and you can hop ten bars on foot: West Hollywood has the highest bar density in the city and anchors LA's LGBTQ nightlife along Santa Monica Boulevard. The Abbey is the most famous gay bar here, a two-time MTV Logo Best Gay Bar winner with cocktails around $14 to $18 and a real line on weekends, open daily to about 2am. Down the strip sit Micky's, the high-energy dance bar with drinks around $12 to $16, Revolver, the long-running video bar on the corner of Santa Monica and Larrabee that usually has no cover, and Hi Tops, the gay sports bar where beers and cocktails run $8 to $15 and game days get loud. Most of these run to 2am and stay walkable to each other, which is why WeHo is the safest single pick for a first-timer who wants everything within a few blocks. The Sunset Strip side of WeHo skews pricier and more bottle-service heavy, but it carries the rock history: Whisky a Go Go and The Roxy sit walkable to each other, with show tickets roughly $15 to $50. June is the peak. WeHo Pride runs June 5 to 7 in 2026 and the strip goes shoulder to shoulder.
What a night costs and how to get home
Budget honestly. A round of four cocktails in Hollywood can run $70 to $80 once you add 8 to 10 percent sales tax and an 18 to 20 percent tip; beer sits at $7 to $12. Bottle-service minimums at the top Hollywood and WeHo rooms commonly land between $1,000 and $3,500-plus per table. Dives and Koreatown stretch your money; rooftops and bottle-service rooms drain it.
Getting home is the other line item. Uber and Lyft are how nearly everyone leaves a night out here, since Metro rail mostly stops between 11pm and 1am and skips some districts. Expect 2x to 4x rideshare surge on Friday and Saturday around the 2am close, especially on the Sunset Strip. Do not drink and drive, because DUI enforcement is heavy and the surge fare is far cheaper than the alternative. Dress codes and strict 21-plus ID checks are standard at the bigger Hollywood and WeHo rooms, while dives and the Silver Lake and Echo Park bars stay casual, so carry a passport if you're visiting from abroad.
If you'd rather have the route planned, a guided Hollywood pub crawl handles entry, drinks and timing for a group, which is the easy move for a birthday or bachelorette night. And if you're building a full itinerary, our Los Angeles nightlife guide maps the clubs and late rooms that pair with these bars.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous bar in Los Angeles?
The Frolic Room in Hollywood, the 1930s neon dive next to the Pantages Theatre, is probably LA's most recognizable bar thanks to its noir mural and Hitchcock-era looks. In West Hollywood, The Abbey is the most famous nightlife name, a two-time MTV Logo Best Gay Bar winner that draws a line on weekends.
Where do locals drink in LA?
Locals skew east and cheap: dive bars and cocktail rooms in Silver Lake, Echo Park and Los Feliz, soju and karaoke spots in Koreatown, and neighborhood cocktail bars like Thunderbolt in Historic Filipinotown. Tourists cluster in Hollywood clubs and the Sunset Strip. A good rule: if there's a velvet rope and a $40 cover, you've left the local map.
What is the best cocktail bar in Los Angeles?
Thunderbolt in Historic Filipinotown is the only LA bar that consistently lands on North America's 50 Best Bars, with cocktails around $16 to $20. Death & Co in the DTLA Arts District is the other heavyweight, a moody subterranean room serving until 2am with a 25-drink list and a no-strict-dress-code door.
Are there good speakeasies in LA?
Yes. Death & Co in the Arts District is the headline cocktail den, and Apt 503 in Koreatown is a hidden fifth-floor apartment bar above the Line Hotel doing precise classics around $16 to $20. Inside Level 8 downtown, the nightclub Sinners y Santos sits behind a speakeasy-style entrance. Reservations help at all three.
What neighborhood has the best bars in LA?
It depends on the night. West Hollywood has the highest bar density and the LGBTQ scene along Santa Monica Boulevard. Downtown owns rooftops and speakeasies. Silver Lake and Echo Park hold the dives and live music. For first-timers who want everything walkable, WeHo is the safest single pick; for character, go east.
What is the best dive bar in Los Angeles?
Tiki-Ti, the tiny family-run tiki bar on Sunset in East Hollywood, is the cult favorite: 80-plus custom drinks, open only Wednesday to Saturday evenings, and famously cash-leaning, so arrive early or wait. The Frolic Room (Hollywood) and HMS Bounty (Koreatown, open since 1962) are the classic old-school picks with well drinks around $6 to $12.