With planning for corporate and office holiday parties underway, these new and recently renovated Los Angeles venues provide suitable options for company festivities. The venues, which include bars, lounges, nightclubs, restaurants, private rooms, and hotel event spaces in Los Angeles, can accommodate small and large groups for Christmas, Hanukkah, or holiday parties of any type.
Built by the philanthropic Ebell sisters in 1924, the landmark Ebell of Long Beach has been reimagined by owner Alan Dunn of Carondelet House and Très L.A. Catering. Opened in August, the venue has 25,000 square feet of event space with fully furnished rooms including the courtyard, Library Room, and Grand Ballroom, plus a commercial catering kitchen and large private guest suite. All areas are included in the rental of the property. The main dining areas seat 350 or hold 600 for receptions.
Situated blocks from Hollywood Boulevard, the new six-story, 70-room hotel Mama Shelter, designed by Thierry Gaugain and the Trigano family (the people behind Club Med), opened in July. In the lobby, there's a foosball table, abd guitars and instruments hang on the walls. Downstairs is a sports bar and restaurant, which holds 165 for receptions, where chef Benjamin Bailly offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus. Slated to open in November, the rooftop space will offer 360-degree views of the Hollywood Sign, downtown, and the ocean. It will have room for 100.
The Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills debuted the newly redesigned Estérel restaurant in July. The eatery has rustic, wide-plank mahogany and mustard-colored semicircle high-backed booths. Portraits of women deck deep blue walls, and white linen curtains decorate the spacious 2,732-square-foot dining room, which seats 120 or holds 180 for receptions. There’s also an exhibition kitchen with a wood-burning oven. Two private dining rooms overlook the main dining room and seat 15 people each; one is called “the chef’s table,” where groups can enjoy custom-prepared chef tasting menus. Le Jardin at Estérel is an outdoor area designed as a French garden patio and is an extension of the restaurant’s indoor space. It has fountains, a Provençal-inspired herb garden, colorful seating, and an expansive driftwood bar backed by a living wall of plants. Xperiment U.S.A. designed the space.
Red O, Mexican Cuisine by Rick Bayless, debuted a third location in August on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. Like other locations on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood and Fashion Island in Newport Beach, Red O Santa Monica features a menu with an emphasis on authentic sauces from the southern Mexican states of Oaxaca, Yucatan, and Baja. The new location has views of the Pacific Ocean along Ocean Avenue. Design comes from Judy Van Wyk of the Design Studio. An outdoor space features cabanas and high-top seating. Overall, the venue seats 124 or holds 250 for receptions.
In July, so-called “progressive Califonian” restaurant Leona opened on the beach in Venice from chef Nyesha Arrington and her team. Signature items include bulgogi braised short rib, local black cod, and sweet corn turmeric ice cream, along with craft beers and international wines. Multiple seating areas include a chef's counter, a banquette wall, communal tables, and a patio. Custom brass lighting fixtures and historic Venice photography complement whitewashed brick walls and dark wood arm chairs. The 2,000-square-foot venue holds 40 indoors and 35 on the patio.
Pan-Latin-inspired restaurant Viento is a new pop-up eatery located within the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza restaurant Breeze. Viento has mid-century modern design and a selection of farm-to-table tapas and fresh cocktails from executive chef Felix Nappoly’s culinary team. Menu highlights include small plates such as mini duck sopes and pork belly torta sliders; chicken mole is among the large plates. A cocktail menu includes Latin-inspired libations, as well as tequilas, mezcal, and rum. The venue offers indoor and outdoor seating, a sushi bar, and private dining rooms for groups of as many as 30. Viento is the first of a series of six-month-long restaurant pop-ups scheduled at the hotel.
Formerly a Hyatt, the recently reinvented Hotel Irvine in Orange County has undergone a gut remodel; it’s now operated by the Irvine Company, which also operates Island Hotel Newport Beach and the Resort at Pelican Hill. All event space has been updated, with a brand new Backyard outdoor event space that has more than 20,000 square feet; the Backyard is a lawn area and the hotel’s largest function space. The hotel’s grand ballroom holds 2,100 attendees for receptions over 15,000 square feet, making it one of the largest ballrooms in Orange County. The hotel has also unveiled a 2,000-square-foot, 12th-floor lounge, Club 12. The indoor-outdoor space has a living room motif with abstract accents, modern art, and bright pops of color.
Executive chef Ted Hopson and beverage director Ann-Marie Verdi opened doors to Studio City’s the Bellwether in August. Hopson (formerly of Father’s Office and Lukshon) offers a market-driven, family-style menu. Cocktails include house-made rotating liquor infusions like strawberry-jalapeño tequila and peach-pepper bourbon. The bar has 20 taps devoted to rotating beers. Design comes from Ana Henton (of Love & Salt and Lukshon), with an open dining room with direct views of the kitchen from every seat including booths, tables, and the tiled bar. There are oxblood leather banquettes and butcher-block tabletops in the 3,200-square-foot restaurant, which seats 70 guests indoors and 30 on the intimate patio.
OPM Restaurant and Lounge opened in June in Huntington Beach. Serving American cuisine with global influences, OPM offers a menu based on small bites and tapas, with a selection of seasonal dishes like the signature short rib croquette, Korean tacos, and foie gras ice cream from executive chef Charles Cho. There is also a large selection of craft cocktails and a boutique wine list. The venue, which holds 466 for receptions, is available for buyout. The downstairs area holds 115 for receptions and the patio holds 72.
Opened in August, Esters is an integrated wine shop, bar, and market in downtown Santa Monica. Housed in the historic Art Deco 1937 Telephone Building, Esters offers a broad wine list, with at least 15 poured by the glass at any given time. A curated selection of craft beers, specialty imports, and spirits come from small production distilleries around the world. Los Angeles-based Oonagh Ryan Architects designed Esters, which seats 50 guests indoors to flow between the wine bar and retail spaces. Decor combines raw, modern elements with a mix of new and vintage furnishings. Salvaged steel-frame windows have been repurposed into an enclosure for the high-end wine cellar, and a large beaded chandelier hangs over a custom wood and steel communal table. A 20-seat U-shaped bar anchors the 1,600-square-foot space and features a hand-plastered front with decorative molding and a fluted terrazzo and brass counter. Seating includes marble coffee tables, a green velvet love seat, and linen chairs. A fruit-tree-enclosed patio seats 40 with colorful tile-topped tables and a weathered zinc communal table. It's not currently available for buyouts, but it's appropriate for a casual gathering of colleagues.
