Cara Cara by Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne is the 15th-floor rooftop at the Downtown LA Proper Hotel with a wraparound terrace and full skyline views.
Tip: Reserve through OpenTable for the terrace tables; bar walk-ins are easier weeknights before 19:00. The lunch service is the hidden booking.
Address: 1100 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015
The Bungalow at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica is the Brent Bolthouse Los Angeles beach-house bar with fire pits and Pacific views from the front deck.
Tip: Walk-in only, no reservations. Sundays draw the longest line; weekday late afternoons hit happy hour before the crowd arrives.
No Vacancy in a Hollywood Victorian house in LA is the Houston Hospitality speakeasy where you ring a hotel bell at a closed front desk and a bookcase opens.
Tip: Open Thursday to Saturday 20:00 to 02:00. Reservations through Resy preferred; walk-ins go on a waitlist before 22:00.
Apt 503 hides on the 5th floor of the Aroma Wilshire Center in Koreatown, a semi-rooftop Los Angeles lounge with DJs, dance floor and an outdoor patio.
Tip: Reservations strongly recommended via Discotech. Dress code enforced on weekends; the patio fills first.
Death & Co in the LA Arts District opened in 2019 under Alex Day, Dave Kaplan and Devon Tarby, the West Coast outpost of the East Village room.
Tip: Tock reservations open weekly. Walk-ins try the standing rail or the adjacent lobby bar at the Hoxton.
Dirty Laundry in a Hollywood basement, once Rudolph Valentino's prohibition stash, is the Houston Hospitality LA speakeasy with DJs in the back and stiff drinks.
Tip: Enter through the alley off Hudson; password posted on Instagram some nights. No-cover walk-in early weeknights.
The Roger Room hides behind a faux psychic storefront on La Cienega in West Hollywood, a 50-seat dim-lit cocktail bar that has been pouring classics since 2008.
Tip: No reservations, walk-in only. Smart dress preferred. Arrive before 21:00 weeknights to skip the line.