Melody
Restaurant · East Hollywood ·
Indoor-outdoor wine bar with rotating pop-up kitchens
Indoor-outdoor wine bar with rotating pop-up kitchens
"The Virgil Village wine bar, opened in 2017 by Eric Tucker and his now-ex-wife, Paloma Rabinov, began as a wine-focused spot with French-leaning food and vinyl DJs and evolved into a hub for some of LA’s most exciting pop-ups. The owners eliminated a nightly food menu in favor of hosting pop-up residences, such as Malli and chef Tiana Gee’s SoulPhil. Tucker announced the closure on July 2 in an Instagram post thanking staff and customers, and the venue officially closed on July 12 after eight years. The Los Angeles Times reports multiple factors contributed to the bar’s closure, including a dip in business with the 2023 writers’ strike, the January 2025 wildfires, the current political climate, and high costs of living in Los Angeles. Although technically closed, Tucker will operate a temporary concept out of the bungalow starting July 16." - Rebecca Roland
"Virgil Village’s natural wine bar Melody converted into a wine shop for much of the pandemic, and now, they’ve reopened their patio, too. Alongside their long wine and beer list, they’ve got weekly pop-ups from spots like Metztli Taqueria, an excellent high-end taco spot. First come, first served." - brett keating
"This Chinatown spot is hard to neatly categorize, but it’s somewhere in between a dive bar and a cocktail spot. Bring a date who might want to do some canoodling under a paper lantern. They’ve got a bunch of cocktails under $20, an extensive list of craft beers, and nightly DJs who play whatever mix of tropical house, Latin trap, future beats, soul, or funk they feel like getting into that night. $7 Well Drinks; $5 Select Beers" - garrett snyder, brant cox, cathy park
"A Virgil Village venue that will host a pay-what-you-can fundraiser on January 19, 2025, from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. featuring pies and pizzas from a Little Los Angeles pop-up, chef Mere Brugler, Ugly Pie, and more; proceeds will go toward recovery efforts for specific Los Angeles residents who lost everything in the Palisades and Eaton fires." - Mona Holmes
"Chinatown’s Melody Lounge is the best place to meet kind strangers (and chatty bartenders) wearing small beanies, high socks, and penny loafers. The space is somewhere between a dive bar and a sparse cocktail lounge, but someone is spinning vinyl records in the corner here every night of the week. Paper lanterns bathe the room in a sultry red glow while 20-somethings mingle at their bar stools, with cold beers in hand. On weekends, expect to do a lot of dancing while a mix of tropical house, Latin trap, future beats, soul, funk (or whatever else the DJs feel like playing) thumps the walls." - brant cox, nikko duren, sylvio martins
