SOPHISTICATED COCKTAIL BARS

[kbo516]

Im from NY and love milk and honey, pdt, the little branch..

any suggestions on places in la like this?

I know comme ca hires mh for thier cocktails...hungry cat has amazing fresh juice cocktails....other suggestions???

[budlit]

tasting kitchen

[AlkieGourmand]

I strongly agree.

[gordo26]

Freddy Smalls on Pico. Great vibe, awesome drinks, amazing food.

[honkman]

It's an older thread but we are always on the look out for new cocktail bars with creative cocktails. There are a number of the established ones like Roger Room, Varnish, Library Bar, Tar Pit, Copa d'Oro we visit regularly
What are your curent favorites (including restaurants with a good cocktail program) ?

[maudies5]

Bar Toscana also Hungry Cat just keeps getting better and better

[westsidegal]

re: hungry cat:
by that, do you mean that they have stopped adding sugar to their cocktails?
i know that i'm in the minority here, but i don't like the cloying sweetness of the added sugar. . . .

[crystaw]

1886 in the Raymond restaurant in Pasadena

[TonyC]

+1. It's like Varnish, w/o the douchery. Then again, S. Pas cops are massive aholes so... Give & take.

[bruinike]

My current favorites: Playa, Rivera, Black Market Liquor Bar, The Tasting Kitchen, Cana Rum Bar, Sunny Spot, Oldfield's, Stark Bar, Big Bar

[perk]

Nic's in Beverly Hills is fun, too. They've got that cold vodka room (it's got a name...but I forget what it is) where they give you a coat and you do a tasting....kind of fun. And their other cocktails are very nice as well.

[jlrobe]

Molecular Gastronmy Cocktails: Bar Centro at the SLS

Classics done right: The Association and Coles downtown.

A good mix of quality drinks: The Edison and seven grand downtown.

I thought hungry cat was pretty average. Fraiche, Riva, Library Bar all have better cocktails IMHO.

None of these places are as good as Milk and Honey, Flat Iron Lounge, or my personal favorite, Death and Co, but they are still pretty darn tasty.

[AquaW]

Not that really hits spot on with what the NYC bars offer (more to do with different cocktailing philosophies, NYTimes had a nice article on that recently here: http://tinyurl.com/6hgh6p) , but ones that come close in terms of sophisticated drinks include Seven Grand, the Association, Varnish and Edison, as well as the Bar Centro in the Bazaar, Drago Centro in downtown and Providence.

~H.C.
http://la-oc-foodie.blogspot.com

[jdwdeville]

oh yeah, +1 on the Edison.
it's pricey, but most "sophisticated" places won't be cheap, I fear.
and I never mind the extra buck or three to be drinking in a place that looks like the set of "Metropolis",
and sometimes you just want to be little more dressed up when you go out, this is the place.

[Ciao Bob]

In fact, a most excellent barkeep -- it is a testament to his excellence that I never remember his name -- who I loved at Comme Ca has decamped to the Bazaar. He is very good.

[troublemaker]

Also Joe at The Bar Keeper in Silverlake told me that if you like creative cocktails involving tequilla, to go to Malo's on Sunset (http://www.malorestaurant.com/) and to specifically ask for a knowledged bartender, Christine. Apparently she only works Thursdays regularly however.

[troublemaker]

Seven Grand (http://www.sevengrand.la/

)

Make sure when you go to Comme Ca that you try a "pepper smash" a signature cocktail that involves whiskey, honey, basil, and red bell pepper. The concoction is a delightful mix of savory, spicy, and slightly sweet sensations.

I hear the SLS hotel just opened a fairly good bar on the premises.

[Servorg]

http://www.magnoliaonlake.com/

[jdwdeville]

sorry, only took a sec. the owner of milk and honey has opened a bar called "the Varnish" in the back room of Cole's, apparently an old school LA eatery.

[kbo516]

varnish actually isn't opened yet- slated to open in feb

[jdwdeville]

there's talk of a m'n'h opening soon here, i'll search for more but it may be a place to start!