Only the Wild Ones on Abbot Kinney in Venice is the Japanese-style hi-fi listening bar that opened 2025 with LA natural wines and small-batch drinks.
Tip: Resy reservations open weekly. Bar seats are walk-in; the Tannoy speaker set runs all-vinyl mid-week, mixed-format weekends.
Address: 1031 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90291
Tiki-Ti on Sunset in Los Feliz, opened 1961 by Ray Buhen, is the 12-seat LA tiki room pouring 90 family-recipe cocktails over three generations.
Tip: Cash only, no reservations. Closed Sunday through Tuesday. Order the Ray's Mistake, the bartenders ring a bell.
Rainbow Bar & Grill on the West Hollywood Sunset Strip is the 1972 rock dive that fed Led Zeppelin, Motorhead and Guns N Roses into the small hours.
Tip: Kitchen runs to 01:30, bar to 02:00. Lemmy's corner booth is preserved by the front door.
Frolic Room next to the Pantages Theatre has poured on Hollywood Boulevard since 1934, a neon-lit dive with an Al Hirschfeld mural and a regulars-only bar attitude.
Tip: Cash and card. Open 11:00 to 02:00 daily. The mural over the bar was installed 1963 and depicts mid-century Hollywood.
HMS Bounty on the ground floor of the 1924 Gaylord Hotel in Koreatown is the nautical-themed dive bar and diner pouring cheap pours and old fashioneds since 1962.
Tip: Burgers and kitchen run late. Friday and Saturday push to 02:00; happy hour weekdays 17:00 to 19:00.
The Prince on West 7th in LA's Koreatown, opened 1927, became a Korean dive in 1991: red booths, gold-flocked walls and Korean fried chicken until late.
Tip: Cash and card. The fried chicken and OB lager combo runs to 23:00 nightly. New Girl built a set based on this room.
Footsie's on Figueroa in Cypress Park is the dark wood-paneled Eastside LA dive with leather booths, a jukebox, pool table and nightly DJ dance parties.
Tip: Open 17:00 to 02:00 daily. Cash-friendly, cheap pours, dance floor at the back. The patio holds smokers and karaoke spillover.