Best Bars in Los Angeles (2025)

A neighborhood bar with world-class ambitions, Thunderbolt blends Southern comfort with serious technique. Named No. 24 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025 and winner of the Sustainable Bar Award, it’s praised widely for innovation and community ethos.

Maxwell Reis’s agave-driven program centers ethical producers, ancestral ferments, and big flavor. Ranked No. 12 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025 and named Best Bar in the West, it’s a destination for thoughtful Mexican spirits.

An Eagle Rock aperitivo bar reborn in a 1963 Italian space, with frozen Negronis, amari flights, and sidewalk energy. Celebrated by the Los Angeles Times and Time Out for restoring vintage spirit with modern taste.

10 Top Bars in the United States

Perched on a second-story with open-window patio views of Echo Park and Sunset Boulevard, this welcoming day-drinking spot—led by beverage director Karla Flores-Mercado and a mostly female bar team—features colorful, refreshing cocktails and a deep mezcal list. The space honors family and community with photos of grandmothers on the walls, queer-friendly themed nights, and crowd-pleasing pitchers of mezcal Margaritas. - Kara Newman

Echo Park’s everyday bar: classic-leaning cocktails, a standout smashburger, and a crowd that feels like the neighborhood. Noted by Time Out and local guides for keeping it fun without the fuss.

Los Feliz Icon Tiki-Ti Reopens After a Devastating Family Loss | Eater LA

A nearly 63-year-old tropics-themed bar in Silver Lake has reopened after a temporary closure while co-owners Mike Buhen Sr. and Mike Buhen Jr. mourned the loss of Mark Buhen (Sr.’s son and Jr.’s younger brother), who was 40; the family announced his death on June 25 via Instagram, offered no further information, and requested privacy while directing people to social media for reopening updates. Starting July 17, the 12-seat spot is open Wednesday through Saturday from 6 p.m. until midnight. Over the years the Buhens have closed the bar for vacations, for “restructuring,” and it was among the last to reopen during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic; when it resumed in 2021 longtime fans queued for hours (a five-hour wait) for classics like the Puka Punch, Zombie, or mai tai. - Mona Holmes

A Highland Park hi‑fi bar from Stones Throw Records with thousands of vinyl records and Japan-inspired highballs. Covered by Time Out and music press for its DJ-driven vibe and neighborhood feel.

Little Tokyo’s neighborhood bar with one of the country’s largest Japanese whisky collections. Praised by local publications for community ties and approachable education around rare bottles and highballs.

A dim Echo Park standby showcasing natural wine and Belgian ales under a disco-ball glow. The Los Angeles Times dubbed it an ‘it’ bar, spotlighting the deep bottle list and chess-at-the-tables scene.

From the Thunderbolt team, this futuristic Valley lounge riffs on classics with clarified and carbonated stunners. Time Out’s reviewers raved in 2025, calling it a destination-worthy night out.

The Suave Cocktail Bar Companion to Melrose Hill’s Corridor 109 Is Open | Eater LA

Debuting on July 29 in Melrose Hill, this sleek, mostly black-painted cocktail hangout opens in the front portion of Brian Baik’s forthcoming tasting menu restaurant, Corridor 109, with bartender Kayla Garcia overseeing the drinks and Jon Tran as general manager. Garcia serves updated versions of classics like the gently salted Marine Layer (a martini mixing gin, Manzanilla sherry, dry vermouth, saline, and white kelp), the Ichigo Punch blending strawberry and basil with vodka, mezcal, clarified milk, and junmai sake, and a Korean-inflected spirit-free Chic Hey (named after sikhae) using malted barley, fermented rice, and non-alcoholic kombucha; Tran, a certified sake sommelier, compiled the sake menu alongside a wine list curated by master sommelier Michael Engelmann. Food runs to bar bites: a smoked salmon dip with Ritz crackers; a massive U-10 shrimp cocktail; a fried fish sandwich inspired by Japanese nanbankan with hefty tartar sauce and pickles between potato buns; and a wagyu hot dog heavy on Dijon with pickled pepper relish. Designed by Montalba Architects, the room is anchored by a striking Forest Gold marble countertop with tendrils of rusty brown—an element Baik says he went “all out” on—plus three elliptical tables for groups. No reservations are taken; it’s meant to be a casual neighborhood hangout open Tuesday to Saturday, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m., at 641 N. Western Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90004. - Matthew Kang