With planning for corporate and office holiday parties underway, these new and recently renovated Los Angeles venues provide suitable options for company celebrations. The venues, which include bars, lounges, nightclubs, restaurants, private rooms, cultural spaces, and hotels, can accommodate small and large groups for Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve, or holiday parties of any type.
Silver Lake’s newest modern Mexican restaurant opened in early September. Owned by chef Maycoll Calderón and partner Walter Meyenberg, Tintorera has a seafood-centric menu. Decor pays homage to the owners’ hometown of Mexico City, and features an indoor speakeasy modeled after 1950s Acapulco that holds 20 for reception-style events. The highlight of the restaurant, however, is the large patio. All decor and furniture was sourced directly from Mexico, and includes bright blue cement tiles and rustic wood tables and chairs. The outdoor space is surrounded by greenery, and features string lights, pendant lanterns, and custom-designed booths and stools. The patio holds 100 and is available for buyouts.
After six years, Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio closed his West Hollywood steakhouse Ink. in July. His new restaurant opened about a half a mile away in the space that previously housed Hutchinson. Ink.Well, open since mid-August, is a larger space, and offers a more varied menu and more casual dishes. The restaurant also has a new bar program, which is orchestrated by Otello Tiano, who oversaw Ink.'s cocktails. Ink.Well seats 115 and is available for buyouts.
Located at the new Kimpton Everly Hotel in Hollywood and open since August, Ever Bar is a hip new hangout that is available for full buyouts. The bar takes inspiration from the nearby Capitol Records, and its expansive cocktail menu plays homage to Los Angeles’s music scene. Divided into three sections, the list of offerings is split under the Basement Tapes (forgotten classic drinks), Reissues/B Sides (new takes on typical drink orders), and Riffs (modern cocktails). There is also a menu of bar snacks available. Ever Bar has 28-foot ceilings, a pool table, and a semiprivate library off the main room. There is a 12-seat bar and an 80-seat lounge area. Also new at the Kimpton Everly is Jane Q, a sunny eatery featuring seasonal farmer’s market ingredients. Overall, the 216-room hotel has 10,000 square feet of meeting space.
Open since late July, Good Measure is a new wine-focused eatery in Atwater Village. The restaurant and wine bar comes from sommelier Matthew Kaner of Covell in Los Feliz and Augustine in Sherman Oaks. Good Measure has a larger food menu and wine list than Kaner’s previous endeavors; the space has dinner and brunch bites by chef Mike Garber, and a 150-bottle wine menu that will change weekly. The 75-seat venue is available for buyouts; currently weeknights carry a $7,000 spending minimum, while the weekend minimum is $12,000.
Originally built in 1926 as an old vaudeville house, the Kim Sing Theatre has been through several transformations and in July became open to the public for the first time in a decade. The Chinatown venue is now a micro-boutique hotel and event space. When not rented for overnight guests, the 3,300-square-foot venue seats 75 or holds 125 for receptions. There is also a 2,200-square-foot courtyard, a projector and screen, a full residential kitchen, and access to a custom neon marquee. Outside vendors can be brought in for catering and bar services. For overnight stays, the entire three-bedroom venue must be rented for the same group; it sleeps 10 guests. The owners plan to add a coffee shop later this fall.
Open since late June, cocktail lounge 18 Social is located on the top floor of the Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown, which debuted in April. Designed by Hirsch Bender Associates, the speakeasy-style lounge has sweeping views of Los Angeles and decor inspired by old Hollywood. Photographs of historic L.A. theaters line the dark-blue walls, while neon lighting and metallic finishes lend an industrial flair to the space. The cocktail menu is also historically inspired, with drinks such as the FDR Martini and the Mann’s Chinese Theater; appetizers are also available. 18 Social—which is named after the 18th amendment that outlined the ban on alcohol during Prohibition—features a 10-seat bar and a 100-seat lounge area. The entire venue is available for buyouts.
Gratitude opened in Beverly Hills in May. A spin-off of the popular Cafe Gratitude collection of vegan, plant-based restaurants spread throughout California, the sunny spot has light wood floors, white and beige seating options, and touches of greenery throughout. Food and beverages are named after positive adjectives meant to complete the phrase “I am…”; for example, salads are named “Infinite” and “Gracious,” while a macrobiotic bowl is named “Whole.” Cocktails also have a health-conscious bent, like the “cleansetini” with alkaline vodka, ginger, and cayenne pepper. The indoor-outdoor space spans 3,600 square feet. The inside area seats 40 or holds 65 for receptions, while the patio seats an additional 42 or holds 50 for receptions.
Housed in a 95-year-old brick warehouse downtown, Crafted Kitchen is designed to give small food businesses access to space and resources. In addition to four private kitchens and a shared-use kitchen, a test kitchen space serves as an event venue for corporate events, culinary classes, pop-up dinners, and more. The indoor space spans 675 square feet and seats 40; it has a 14-foot professional cook line as well as a display counter with a four-burner cooktop and a double-door refrigerator. Large doors open to a patio that seats 100 or holds as many as 175 people. Due to the location of the venue—which opened early this year—there are no noise ordinances, meaning music can be played late into the night.
The new Santa Monica chophouse Meat on Ocean opened in late June. The restaurant from King’s Seafood Company specializes in—you guessed it—red meat, with a menu of bone-in cuts, dry-aged chips, pork ribs, and racks of lamb. Visible from the dining room is a wall of steaks ready to be served, and terrines and charcuterie are prepared in-house. Designed by Hatch Design Group and Architect Design Consortium, the rustic space has red leather booths, wooden tables, and ocean views. The 11,000-square-foot space is available for buyouts.
The Hotel Figueroa is slated to complete a redesign in October that will restore the downtown hotel’s original 1920s Spanish-Colonial style. More than 12,000 square feet of event space is available, spread across several new versatile rooms. The 2,100-square-foot Gran Sala has French doors, an original limestone fireplace, and views of the pool. Another unique venue is Tangier, a lower-level Morocco-inspire lounge with six semiprivate areas; the 2,300-square-foot space has a DJ booth and built-in audiovisual accessories. A 1,500-square-foot outdoor space, dubbed Rick’s Place, has views of the pool and the downtown skyline. Meanwhile, the 700-square-foot lobby bar has a hidden 300-square-foot private room where the walls and ceilings are covered in mirrors to create the illusion of infinite space.
