Not No Bar
Restaurant · Ocean Park ·
Neapolitan-ish pizza, tiki-inspired cocktails, and Euro disco
Neapolitan-ish pizza, tiki-inspired cocktails, and Euro disco
"Leopard-spotted pizzas. Tropical cocktails. Swaying under a disco ball in a packed room. It’s not a checklist for your non-existent trip to Ischia; it’s a night at Not No Bar. Sure, you’ll likely have to wait in line, but you didn’t spend all those winter nights recharging on your couch for nothing." - brant cox, cathy park, sylvio martins, jess basser sanders
"Though everybody inside this crowded Santa Monica spot will be eating bubbly-crusted pizza, don’t be fooled. Not No is a cocktail bar first. Dates smoosh up against the bar with coupes in hand while groups of friends lounge on two-tops and booths like the Feast of Dionysus. Euro disco thumps over the hi-fi system while a couple of cooks twirl pizza dough in the open kitchen. It’s loud, a little messy, and a lot of fun. This is the kind of place you might stop into for a quick drink and end up staying for a while, sipping on tropical-leaning cocktails, like the rum-based Curry Killer laced with coconut and green curry, or the House Of Learned Doctors with aquavit, kiwi, and fennel." - brant cox, sylvio martins, garrett snyder
"A night at No Bar Bar is frenetic and a bit lawless. Walk into this pizzeria-cocktail bar from the Dudley Market people in Santa Monica and you’ll find dates smooshed up against the bar and groups packed into booths. On Friday and Saturday nights, you’ll probably have to wait in line for a little bit while DJs spin throwback Euro disco over the hi-fi. A spacious table is never a guarantee, but the reward is excellent tiki-inspired cocktails and bubbly-crusted pizza that goes toe-to-toe with the best on the Westside." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"Santa Monica, especially Main Street, is famously fickle when it comes to nightlife, but Not No Bar is clearly off to a hot start. And when we say hot, we mean it. Half the people at this narrow part-pizzeria, part-cocktail-bar look like this year’s Zara models. The other half looks like next year’s. You’ll likely have to wait in line on the weekends, but your reward will be boozy tropical drinks that are way better than they need to be, bubbly-crusted Neapolitan pizza, and the aforementioned models dancing under a disco ball to retro pop-house playlists." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
"The pizza at Not No Bar can be difficult to procure. The buzzy cocktail bar-pizzeria in Santa Monica is walk-in only and lines form quickly on the weekends. But your reward is bubbly-crusted, Neapolitan-ish pizza that goes toe-to-toe with the best on the Westside. The topping options are swapped out regularly, but if you see La Blanca, get it. The ricotta-layered white pie is squiggled with pesto and topped with a heap of frilly mustard greens that cut through the richness nicely. The room tends to be less packed on Sundays and Mondays, which means you might be able to glimpse spinning dough action at the back pizza counter from your seat." - brant cox, sylvio martins, cathy park
