The Stowaway

Great basement bar in downtown. Love this place for keeping jazz alive in LA. Great place to see some jazz bands. There's two rooms, one for live bands and the other side is the Rio Room that's more of a standard bar with DJ setup and some space for dancing. Inside is dark and intimate with a decent amount of comfortable booth tables for seating. Cocktails were good. Service was good. Friendly staff. Parking is tough. There's street meters but it's easier to go to one of the pay lots within a block or two.

DTLA must visit if you like cozy jazz spots. If you like your music in a DJ packaging, stop by the Rio Room. Or switch between the rooms, as the night progresses. It’s a good vibe either way but I recommend the live music room if you like your Jazz up close and intimate

The Stowaway has a back room called the Rio Room, which has a really cool vibe. Check it out. Also, the bartender was really skilled and made amazing cocktails.

Here for Art Night - DTLA on Thursday, April 6th, 2023 event starts at 10PM. You are able to activate your tickets at 8PM. Something about not being able to activate your code creates some type of anticipation. I like it. Makes you feel like you got to arrive early to make sure you get your spot. Got here early an ordered a Peach 🍑 Mezcalita from Sam, the Bartender. He is very attentive and asks you what your preference is in alcohol. I also met David, Entertainment Director; whose very out going and knowledgeable about the events he has lined up. It's Thirsty Thursday time to get our drink on. The band sounds so rad. The vibes give me goosebumps. Totally worth coming early.

Excellent cocktail bar / lounge with great live music. Came on a Thurs. Night and there was an awesome live jazz set. Vibes are really good. Service was quick and on point. Drink was tasty. This is probably my favorite spot I found in DTLA!

I was invited for a night of free comedy, but they also had live music performers. I have been here before for dancing and drinks, but this was something totally different. Everybody who performed was incredibly talented. It is definitely a hidden gym that you should check out.

Came last week for my homegirl's birthday. I had it listed on my want to go list. However, upon arriving I realized I had been here before. Although it was a different name at the time. But looks exactly the same regardless. Really dope vibe and nice ambiant atmosphere. The bartenders were very friendly and made really great cocktails. I would definitelty return, especially to try the food.

Now THE RIO ROOM is a bar open just for drinks. No cover. Amazing! Bartender super cool 5-8 HH also. So happy

I was staying in downtown LA for a few weeks and decided to find out if there's any good comedy venues in DTLA. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Stowaway. The atmosphere/ambience is really cool in a renovated, speakeasy looking basement club. The drink selection is great and service was on point. The lineup of comedians was excellent. LA has alot of great comedy talent it was 4 funny comics and only one dud. I had a great time. Comedy 5 Service 4 Location/ambience 5 Value 5 (only $15 cover charge for comedy) Overall rating: 5 Repeat visit: Yes.

Stowaway is the perfect name for this spot! You definitely want to protect the ambience and vibes of this festive live music venue. I attend an event called First Saturdays. The DJ, Che Diggz was on point with the variety of 90s and 2000s hip hop. He added a live musician playing the Saxophone to the set. It was "bananas" Prior to the DJ set, a live band performed a bunch of covers spanning across multiple decades. IF you want great live music, reasonable drink prices and room to test out your new dance moves, this is the place!

Cool basement bar in downtown. Great place to see some jazz bands. Inside is dark and stylish. There's a decent amount of comfortable booths for seating too. There's two rooms, one side for live music. The other side is the Rio Room that's more of a standard bar with a DJ setup with some space for dancing. I came in to see a jazz band and it was great. Had a nice, low-key, intimate vibe. Cocktails were tasty, will definitely be coming back. This is a great place for live music or to come in for a drink on your next downtown crawl. Check their website for the events calendar. Service was good. Friendly staff. Parking is always tough in downtown. There's street meters but it's probably easier to go to one of the pay lots within a block or two.

Cute vibe and very much a speakeasy. Caught a comedy show here it was fun. Drinks are good and I would like to try coming back another time.

Ambiance was chill, very good jazz and an attentive bartender. Security was on the jerk at the bar and even tried to have a conversation with him in a separate room before eventually throwing him out in a calm way. The lounge is small so I do not recommend large groups. Candlelight made it a fun but chill time.

This is downstairs and when we first walked in we thought it was a piano bar. It was short lived before the Dj started playing. They had some booths but they were covered in CDs, tapes and other material. The bar stools were not comfortable and my Manhattan was weak considering what I paid for it. There is another side with different music and another bar. As we were leaving people were setting up food to seek which is an awesome idea! The menu looked good and if they had started earlier I would've grabbed something.

There was a little confusion finding the place because the outside entrance leads to two different venues, without clear signs indicating where to go. The stairs going down on the right lead to the Stowaway (though the sign on the doorway says "Cocktails"). The inside has a great atmosphere, we had a arrived a little later in the evening when the live entertainment had probably just ended, and the crowd was clearing out. They do either live music or a DJ every day at 8pm (according to the bartender). On this night, they were putting away the piano, so that must have been cool. It's a fairly small space, but there were only a few guests left, which slowly dwindled down to just us within the hour. So we got a lot of attention from the bartender and a lot of time for ourselves, which was great. For drinks, we tried the Hard Times, Cruise Control, and The Rio. I liked the Hard Times the best, subtle but fruity flavors just the way I like it. We didn't stay too long, but enjoyed our experience here, and street parking was easy to find just around the corner on a Sunday night.

Cute bar downstairs in the basement in DTLA. Had a Kool little DJ and a dance floor. Not real big but just the right size. We were there early on a Friday so it had not picked up yet. I think it was still Happy Hour. That was great. The music was good, and the drinks were strong. I'd go back. I can tell the crowd would be younger like around 30, but it was kool.

My partner came upon The Stowaway via Eventbrite. They hosted an R&B music night with 2 popular local DJs. They played R&B from the early 2000s and we had an amazing time. The bartenders are so nice and fast. They worked that bar like pros! The crowd was diverse in every way. The vibe was "do your own thing" with an atmosphere of chill. With the music bumping, and the drinks flowing, we danced the entire night away. So much fun! Clean restrooms and friendly staff. Looking forward to going back on a regular night to see what they are all about. Sorry the pics aren't perfect, largely because I had 2 margaritas (wink)

When I first arrived around 12:30am on a Friday it was quite empty, which I enjoyed! BUT the bartender was snappy at first impression. As we received our drinks we realized there were roaches on the counter. We were absolutely disgusted. We asked the bartender if we could send our drinks back and get a refund due to this, while specifically stating "it's not about you, it's about the roaches" and she was the offensively impolitely. I would be cautious as the environment seems inviting but I would question consuming anything there.

I had heard about this place via a DTLA facebook group. So with my friend that was visiting from out of town we checked it out. This was the old El Dorado bar. It's a basement piano / jazz bar and we got to see Sam Hirsh on the piano and his buddy Luca on the stand up bass. It was a pretty rockin good time. The music was good and so were the drinks. We got a Central Station and Mariachi Plaza. All of their signature cocktails are named after DTLA and adjacent neighborhood spots. The drinks were good. I thought it was well crafted. They are a bit on the pricier side at $17 but it came with live music so I thought that was fair. It's a spacious bar, with lots of room to roam around, theres a bunch rooms off the the side, so i'm sure once word gets out of this place and it starts getting really packed, it would be a great place to hangout have some drinks listen to some music, or you can hang off to the side with your friends and have discussion or it could be a great date place. We got there right when it opened so it was a bit quiet but it was picking up with more patrons when we were on our way out. I thought the team working there was real nice and very friendly. Julian the manager host guy was real cool and checked in on us a couple of times while were there. Im definitely gonna come back. Definitely good to see a cool new bar pop up in the neighborhood.

The vibe was awesome. I went on a poetry night. The crowd was young but respectful young. The music was to my liking. I would attend another event in the future.

Stopped by this bar for a friends bday and it was the worst service I've received and I'm a local to LA and I go to bars and restaurants often from recommendation but I won't be back here again. I will also let others know about the bartender service here. Summer worked the night of 1/20 she was short with blonde curly hair. She was intoxicated herself, you could see it in her eyes and her voice. She took very long to service and serve us. She was very slow and we felt ignored as she served everyone over us, even if we had been there before other customers who had just arrived. We did not tip her due to her service and attentiveness towards us which there was none and she then looks at us and has the audacity to say "tips are appreciated and I won't be serving you anymore" I'm sorry but tips are given when there's great service. And to demand a tip and then threaten us to not serve us anymore is quite unprofessional. She was drunk, rude and not welcoming at all. If this is the type of bar and bartenders they hire I will make sure not to stop by again and let friends know of the mistreat that happened.

The bartending staff needed major training on efficiency regardless of foot traffic. Multiple charges were made on my card due to it being left in the card reader although I was rushed with a receipt before receiving it back. It was a 2000's hip hop event on a SATURDAY night; please book more than 2 bartenders. My group left early because the cocktail experience was horrible, slow and rude. She never asked anyone what they wanted just looked at them like "What". I came from out of town and due to the slow place of communication on IG, I called via phone as well. Welp, phones weren't working either so I had to trek back to DTLA to get an answer regarding my card, which was indeed left. Furthermore, there's just wayyy too much competition in LA for this establishment to slack this bad. It was almost 7pm and I still hadn't received an answer via my card on IG (although m messages were read and the social media manager said I would be informed at 5pm) A response would've been useful and professional. I see what this bar is trying to do but they simply do not have the finesse to do it.

Came to enjoy the music but alas there is only stairs and no elevator access for wheelchairs. (Doorman said that there is an elevator but he didn't have the access code.). Look folks, the ADA has been federal law for 33 years. The Stowaway is discriminating against the mobility impaired.

I went to this bar for the first time and had an absolutely terrible experience! The bartender Summer was highly unprofessional and rude. She threatened to not serve us again because we didn't tip her very much due to how upsetting her service was in the first place. We felt that she purposely skipped us multiple times at the bar and helped out other customers who had just walked up. Her negative attitude caused us to leave almost immediately after.

Within the Los Angeles system's downtown proper, there is an unassuming staircase leading to this music-boasting cantina. Enchanting, modern, and not a Rebel in sight, this watering hole offered my officers and I a tasteful reprise from the bustling spaceports above. We enjoyed the musical stylings of Rachel Bloom & Friends singing songs from CRAZY EX GIRLFRIEND--a program I know nothing of, but will begin to "binge" immediately. *Arrive early for premiere seating (or be a Dark Lord of the Sith)!* If I enjoy it, I may recommend the program to the Emperor, perhaps we will run it on SBS (Sith Broadcasting Service). Moody lighting, beautiful music, tasty libations. 5/5 Death Stars

Wonderful atmosphere, drinks, and staff! The place has a speakeasy type environment with shows happening all the time and Karaoke on Sunday nights in the Rio Room! All the staff are friendly and talented even had one of the bartenders playing sax which was such a cool experience to see! Love this place both patrons and employees are super welcoming and friendly makes you feel comfortable and enjoy a good night right away!

Small and interesting, underground, yet not clustephobic...attended a get together for a friend here and enjoyed my time. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you're in the area.

5 stars could never be enough for the amount of service I've received. Sarah has been working on my body for over 2 months now... weekly. I'm here to tell you my body was a wreck but she has been putting it back together slowly but surely. I had zero hope when I started with her. I had accepted my situation. Everyday I find new areas of improvement. Small but great to me. Our goal is all of the littles will be 1 big! This is an experience you will not be able to duplicate with any other!

Just what DTLA has been needing. Live music every night. And not some throw-away cover bands ... actual talented musicians. Who would have thought?! The space is rustic, and well done. And the whole "speakeasy" vibe is very cool. The bar staff is light years ahead of the pack. Craft drinks, all the usual classics, and our bartender, Bree, made up a drink on the spot for my fickle companion. Mind-blown!

Menu felt limited. Drinks were good though. It just took a bit long to get it. The place is nice though. The vibe is moody.

Place to go on Wednesday nights! The players including Brian and Daniel were incredibly talented.

Recently stopped into this bar for pre-dinner drinks and had a great time. Loved the vibe and had a fantastic experience with the bartender, Mora. Looking forward to coming back!

Absolutely amazing. Such a cozy speakeasy. The music I got to hear here was beautiful. Will definitely be coming back!

Bomb drinks, great atmosphere and great staff. This place is going to be a go to anytime I'm in the area.

Went 3/3/2023 after dinner for a birthday celebration for my wife. We were accompanied by 5 of our friends. My wife asked the male bartender about the music choice. As we decided to leave a little man about 4ft tall comes out and approaches my wife introducing himself as the manager and asked what was going on because he was standing next to the bartender during their conversation. He stated she was yelling at the bartender "like a crazy person." My wife is a 6'1" black female who was talking loudly because there was a DJ. We proceeded to leave instead of engaging with little man and spoke to their security at the door who apologized on his behalf. For perspective, we were the only black people in there. Needless to say, we won't be returning due to stigmatized racial bias. Security was cool tho.

I'm giving this 1 star instead of 0 only for ambiance. It's a decent vibe, especially when there is some live music going on. It has an old school vibe/esthetic similar to The Prince if you have ever been there. The downside is the bar staff and the pricing. The bartender was rude and rushing customers when it was fairly slow. At one point saying "come on, I have a lot of people waiting." There was one other person at the bar waiting for a drink, everyone else was facing the other direction or sitting at table listening to the performance. I also understand getting busy having worked as a bartender for years. This was more like getting overwhelmed to keep up with a crowd under 30ppl. Everyone can have an off night, or maybe they were short staffed or something so I didn't pay much mind to it at the time. I ordered a well vodka double and a martini for my date. I had another friend there and got us 4 mixed shots. The bill came out to $140... even if the martini is $30 (which is pricey considering their "signature drinks" are $17) that means each shot was about $17 too and my double well vodka would've had to be around $30 as well. It was late and the bartender was already in a bad mood, so while I thought it was expensive, I didn't ask for the itemized bill which is my mistake. Either way, I'd say go to Rhythm Room bc the drinks are cheaper, the staff is friendly, the live music is great and so are the drinks!

We did not have food, we went for drinks. Ambience was cool, drinks were tasteless, DJ needs to read crowd better....... stayed for one drink being parking was paid for and left. no good vibe and really thought drinks would be good'

Went to see EarReguLARs perform. Great sound system, decor, atmosphere and some of the best cocktails I have ever had. Only reason I gave them four instead of five stars is that I Wish they would've served food, even if a limited menu.

Unfortunate. Got to the establishment at 1:27am. Security guard tells me they did "last call," and aren't letting anyone in. Heard and respected. Was meeting someone down here, but I respect the rules. I asked the guard "what time does the bar normally do last call. It's says 2am online is closing time, I'd just like to know for the future." Security guard: "I don't know." Me: "Is there a manager I can speak with?" (It's a Friday). Guard: "There's no manager. Unprofessional

Its true, the lady working the bar where the live music is played is terrible it was dead and she acknowledges no one. Go to the other room the bartenders in there are a lot friendlier. We stood around for 8 minutes ignored by her and within a minute in the other bar our drinks were made.

A cool spot with great cocktails and a chill vibe. Also check out their calendar of events for a really eclectic and exciting list of shows.

The piano karaoke nights are fantastic! Super nice staff, and a swanky, fun ambience. You'll feel like a classy grownup.

A hidden gem in Downtown LA. We came here on a Saturday night around 9pm, which felt early as there weren't too many people. We were immediately impressed by the classy interior and staff. When we left (~10pm), more people started to pour in. For parking, you'll have to find a parking garage or lot nearby as the business does not have its own. Looking forward to returning!

Classy, slick place for drinks, even better with a lit of nice, live, smooth jazz,,,,

If I could give this place a NEGATIVE 1000, I would. My boyfriend and I arrived after searching for a cool lounge vibe. Welp! It was everything a negative experience could be. We sat at the bar and the female bartender wasn't friendly, she had the nasiest disposition. I didn't feel a welcome reception and wanted to leave immediately. Yet, we had prepaid for parking so we decided we would have 1 drink and go. As I pondered my drink of choice, a male patron sat in my boyfriends seat. Then wanted to play effeminate games, he and his partner began to invade his personal space by touching and hugging. Words were exchanged. Meanwhile, the waitress/ bartender was the most negative person in life... she dropped our drinks. As the incident is being processed; she demands payment and only 1 sip had been taken. The conversation we left really quick with her snatching the drinks and mouthing off. She went to security and we also called him over. The behavior was beyond unacceptable. My boyfriend toked his vape and a male came from behind the bar yelling in his face. Well, we all know that things can escalate from here... they have words and this PSYCHO begins raging and screaming like a mass shooter... the whole experience was a complete disrespectful episode. It's hard to tell if they were RACIST OR VAMPIRES OR BOTH.... They lost money that night. And I will forever tell the TRUTH ABOUT THIS HORRIBLE, RACIST, VAMPIRIC, LOW VIBRATIONAL DUNGEON... save yourself negativity and take your money elsewhere... this place sucks goose balls‼

Great place for date night cocktails, live music and DJ dance parties. Enjoyed New Year's Eve and really love the Wednesday night piano entertainment. Weekend shows before DJs are also solid.