Bar Next Door
Bar · Norma Triangle ·
Vintage cocktail bar with reel-to-reel music & LA history cocktails
Vintage cocktail bar with reel-to-reel music & LA history cocktails
"The name says it all: This is the kind of place you'd hope to discover next door to wherever you're staying, with an intimate scale and neighborhood energy that immediately puts you at ease. The crowd has the comfortable energy of people who know they've found something good and aren't interested in sharing it with everyone. Do everyone a favor and put the phone away. Classic cocktails are executed with the kind of care that comes from bartenders who've perfected their craft without needing to prove it nightly. The menu leans traditional with subtle modern touches—think perfect Negronis alongside seasonal variations that respect the original but add some personality." - Celeste Moure
"Housed in what was once Marilyn Monroe’s talent agency, Bar Next Door expertly balances the demands of serious imbibers with those of pre- and post-show revelers of the Sunset Strip, its charmingly retro decor serving as the perfect setting for enjoying wonderfully executed classics and inventive, balanced signatures by bar director Brynn Smith, which she named after nearby West Hollywood landmarks. You should try: Order the Olive Drive, perfection born of crossing a vesper with a dirty martini; on the lighter side, rewrite your understanding of the tart cosmopolitan with the Chateau Marmont, buoyed with St-Germain, green Chartreuse and hibiscus, which add body where the traditional vodka-cran-triple-sec recipe does not." - ByEsther Tseng
"This is a laid-back neighborhood bar on the Sunset Strip. Yes, you read that correctly. Bar Next Door looks straight out of a 1970s crime drama, with diner-style booths, fluorescent lights, and a wraparound bar where you could picture Lt. Columbo smoking a cigar. There’s always a good mix of coworkers rolling up their sleeves over cocktails and solo drinkers making chit-chat, adding a buzz to the small space that never gets too hectic. The cocktails are fantastic, too, even if they have cheesy LA-themed names. The Olive Drive tastes like a sweet, floral vesper, and the Viper Room is a pisco sour kicked up with serrano chile heat and tart passion fruit." - brant cox, sylvio martins
"The only Los Angeles bar named among the recently released numbers 51–100 in the organization’s expanded North America’s 50 Best Bars list (the expanded rankings were announced on April 15); the top 50 will be unveiled in a live ceremony in Vancouver on April 29, 2025." - Rebecca Roland
"What’s this now? A legitimately laidback neighborhood bar…on the Sunset Strip? If you have trouble believing it—we sure did—head to Bar Next Door to see for yourself. The dime-sized space on the west end of The Strip (over by Soho House) gets crowded on the weekends, which is why we stick mostly to Sunday through Thursday visits. That’s when you’ll find a laidback space filled with coworkers, friends, and solo drinkers all hanging at the bar and sipping fantastic cocktails. The signature drinks are named after local Weho landmarks like the rum-based La Cienega and The Viper Room, which is essentially a suped-up pisco sour. It’s definitely a little cheesy, but no one cares because they’re delicious. We particularly love the Olive Drive that tastes like a floral martini." - brant cox
