Tokyo Noir

On our lists of the best speakeasies and cocktail bars in Los Angeles.

The door is green, halfway down the alley behind El Barrio Cantina, under a red lantern, and the room past it is dim enough that eyes take a minute. Kevin Lee carves ice blocks shipped from Kanazawa into spheres and diamonds and builds drinks around Japanese whisky, shochu and umeshu; the Dirty Soba arrives in a covered miso bowl with grated daikon to stir in yourself. He and Jesse Duron opened it in 2024, and the menu reads like a zine, illustrated with tasting notes.