Best cocktail bars for a date in Los Angeles
A proper drink between dinner and dessert.
140 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 140 cocktail bars in Los Angeles, from Downtown Los Angeles to Culver City and Hollywood. 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.
Sam First - Jazz Club & Bar
4.6(14)$$
Gold Diggers Bar
4.6(8)Los Feliz / Griffith Park
Verdugo Bar
4.5(25)Glendale · $$
Offhand Wine Bar
4.5(23)West LA / Brentwood · $$
The Rendition Room
4.5(23)$$
Death & Co Los Angeles
4.5(22)Downtown Los Angeles · $$$
VenTiki Tiki Lounge and Lanai
4.5(21)$$
The Paramount
4.5(16)Downtown Los Angeles
The Obscure
4.5(15)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Riviera 31
4.5(6)West Hollywood · $$
Beachwood Brewing & Distilling
4.5(4)Long Beach · $$
Hello Stranger
4.5(4)Downtown Los Angeles
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar
4.4(26)$$
The Hollywood Rooftop Restaurant & Bar by Madame Tussauds
4.4(22)Hollywood · $$
The Del Monte Speakeasy
4.4(19)Venice
Banter Bar
4.4(15)Culver City · $
Far Bar
4.4(14)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Tonga Hut
4.4(14)$$
Sassafras Saloon
4.4(9)Hollywood · $$
X Speakeasy
4.4(8)Manhattan Beach / El Segundo
Library Bar
4.3(25)Downtown Los Angeles · $$
Good Times at Davey Wayne's
4.3(24)Hollywood · $$
Bigfoot Lodge West
4.3(18)Culver City · $$
Lost and Found Cocktails
4.3(14)Culver City · $$
Showing 97–120 of 140 spots
Good to know
- What's the best cocktail bar in Los Angeles for a date?
- Our top pick is Sam First - Jazz Club & Bar, rated 4.6 out of 5. Gold Diggers Bar and Verdugo Bar round out the top 3.
- Which Los Angeles neighborhoods have the best cocktail bars?
- Downtown Los Angeles (6), Culver City (3) and Hollywood (3) have the most spots in the top 24.
- Are there affordable cocktail bars in Los Angeles?
- Yes — Sam First - Jazz Club & Bar, Verdugo Bar and Offhand Wine Bar 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.