The Penthouse is an american late-night spot in Downtown, Santa Monica.
Editorially verified August 18, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Must order: Weekend brunch with the ocean panorama
Tip: Happy hour runs 16:00-18:00 on weekdays; sunset window tables go to whoever books earliest on OpenTable.
Address: 1111 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90403
Harvelle's books blues, burlesque and soul into a low-lit 4th Street room in downtown Santa Monica, one of the Westside's longest-running music bars.
Try: Blues sets and whisky cocktails
Order: A whisky cocktail down front at the stage
Tip: Tickets go through Seat Engine on the venue site; the long-running Toledo Show jazz and burlesque revue owns Sunday nights.
Not No Bar plays throwback Euro disco over wood-fired pizza on Main Street in Santa Monica, bar director Kent Thompson's cocktails until 01:00.
Try: Wood-fired pizza and disco
Order: The Soy Del Rancho and a wood-fired pizza
Tip: Friday and Saturday are fully walk-in; the patio never takes bookings and the room goes 21-plus after 22:00.
Santa Monica Brew Works pours ten house taps in its Colorado Avenue taproom, 310 Blonde to PCH Porter, with Emmy Squared pizza serving till late.
Try: House beers and after-hours pizza
Order: 310 Blonde Ale with a Detroit-style Emmy Squared square
Tip: Monday is all-day happy hour; the Emmy Squared after-hours menu runs Friday and Saturday from 21:00.
Harvelle's books blues, burlesque and soul into a low-lit 4th Street room in downtown Santa Monica, one of the Westside's longest-running music bars.
Try: Blues sets and whisky cocktails
Order: A whisky cocktail down front at the stage
Tip: Tickets go through Seat Engine on the venue site; the long-running Toledo Show jazz and burlesque revue owns Sunday nights.
The Gaslite has held its Wilshire Boulevard corner in Santa Monica since 1962, a come-as-you-are karaoke dive open 06:00 to 02:00 with free popcorn.
Try: Well drinks, popcorn and karaoke
Order: Cheap well drinks and a turn on the karaoke list
Tip: It bills itself as Southern California's longest-running karaoke; sign up early because the nightly list fills by 21:00.
The Daily Pint stocks more than 500 whiskies behind a Pico Boulevard dive-bar front in Santa Monica, with sharp rotating taps, pool and shuffleboard.
Try: Whisky, craft taps, pool
Order: A rare pour from the 500-bottle whisky wall
Tip: Ask the bartender to steer a whisky flight; the beer list turns over constantly and skews serious.
Chez Jay has kept its nautical dive-bar dining room on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica since 1959, a city Historic Landmark of steaks, peanuts and lore.
Try: Late steaks and martinis
Order: Steak and a martini, peanut shells on the floor
Tip: The sandy-floored front room is the landmark bit, designated by the city in 2012; the Backyard patio opened in 2019.
