Best cocktail bars for a date in Los Angeles
A proper drink between dinner and dessert.
142 spots · Jump to the list
These are bars you go to for the drinks themselves — a considered menu, careful technique, a bartender who can make you something that isn't on it. They sit best in the middle of a night: after dinner, before dessert, or as the nightcap. Restaurants with a strong bar are on the restaurant lists instead.
This guide ranks 142 cocktail bars in Los Angeles, from Downtown Los Angeles to Long Beach and Silver Lake / Echo Park. Editors' picks come first, then the rest by rating, and the plans below build a whole evening around the best of them.
The list
Editors' picks first, then by rating.
Shim Sham
4.3(8)Silver Lake / Echo Park · $$
Apothéke
4.3(8)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Death & Company
4.3(7)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Bar Stella
4.3(4)Silver Lake / Echo Park · $$$
The Washington
4.2(25)Playa Vista / Marina del Rey · $$
Cafe Bleu in Koreatown
4.2(17)Koreatown / Mid-City · $
Bar Benjamin
4.2(15)West Hollywood · $$$
Caña Rum Bar
4.2(14)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Foxy's Restaurant
4.2(10)Glendale · $$
Steep After Dark
4.2(6)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Club ChaCha
4.1(21)Torrance · $$$$
The Famous
4.1(20)Glendale · $$
Angel's Share Whiskey Lounge
4.1(13)Long Beach · $$$
Luau Larry’s
4.1(12)Catalina Island (Avalon) · $$
Harvard & Stone
4.0(26)Los Feliz / Griffith Park · $$$
Abbey
4.0(25)Beverly Hills · $$
The Let’s Go! Disco & Cocktail Club
4.0(23)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Roxanne's
4.0(20)Long Beach · $
The Lincoln
4.0(13)Venice · $$
Monte Carlo Bar
4.0(12)Koreatown / Mid-City · $$
Good Times at Davey Wayne’s
4.0(10)Hollywood · $$
Alter Ego
4.0(6)Long Beach · $$$
ÜCA
3.9(21)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
The Holloway
3.9(14)Silver Lake / Echo Park · $$
Showing 49–72 of 142 spots
Good to know
- What's the best cocktail bar in Los Angeles for a date?
- Our top pick is Shim Sham in Silver Lake / Echo Park, rated 4.3 out of 5. Apothéke and Death & Company round out the top 3.
- Which Los Angeles neighborhoods have the best cocktail bars?
- Downtown Los Angeles (6), Long Beach (3) and Silver Lake / Echo Park (3) have the most spots in the top 24.
- Are there affordable cocktail bars in Los Angeles?
- Yes — Shim Sham, Apothéke and Death & Company are all $$ or under.
- What should we do before or after?
- Make it a cocktail night: dinner, then cocktails, then something sweet. The plans on this page pair each top spot with the best-rated places within about a 20-minute walk.