BH Spaces

Nobu Malibu opened in a new location in July, with knockout views of the Pacific Ocean and cuisine from Nobu Matsuhisa. The restaurant is available for buyout with a total capacity of 240, and there's also a private dining room for as many as 32.

Sassafras opened in September in Hollywood, offering a selection of cocktails inspired by the American South. Bobby Green, Dimitri Komarov, and Dmitry Liberman, the men behind 1933 Group, say the 3,000-square-foot venue is their largest to date—and it’s their first music venue, too. The venue has a porch, living rooms, and several fireplaces. There's a fully restored antique bar with bottles of barrel-aged cocktails rotating continuously above the bartenders, suspended from a repurposed Prohibition-era dry-cleaning rack. The entire bar is filled with reclaimed materials.

ShoreBar, the newest bar from John Terzian, Brian Toll, and Adam Koral adjacent to the Will Rogers State Beach, specializes in complex and creative cocktails created by mixologist Vincenzo Marianella. Take a stylish, unstuffy meeting amid relaxed decor, including a nautical theme and a beachy feel. Artwork, knick-knacks, and photos are all vintage from the area. Each booth has its own personality based on the decor—Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, and Catalina Island—and is identified by a map paired with a photo of the place.

Sunset Entertainment Group along with Boulevard Nightlife Group opened the nightclub Lure in Hollywood in June. The 18,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor club gets its look from architect and designer Gulla Jonsdottir of G+ Design. It has a garden with 12 oversize cabanas, water features, and flower sculptures, metal lacework accents, dark mahogany floors, and four full-service LED bars. It also has a restaurant, Lure Gastro Lounge, a V.I.P. section with its own bar and restrooms, plus a back garden with suspended plants and six-foot topiary chandeliers.

The Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom has had significant reengineering work done in the past year. There's been a full HD projection upgrade with the newest Christie 14K HD Roadsters, which are 3-D capable. There's an updated screen, so content displays just the way it was created. Also new this year is a four-by-four rig grid over the stage, which gives flexibility in stage, rigging, and lighting setups. An improved lighting grid has 350 individual fixtures, which are a mix of intelligent lighting, LED, and studio lighting. There's also a new 14- by 40-foot ultra-wide custom projection screen that fits right along the back of the stage.

Southern California-based Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar recently opened its newest location in Beverly Hills offering steak house fare and a wine list with more than 100 wines served by the glass. The 7,200-square-foot restaurant seats 250 and has a two-story all-glass wine room, a second-story mezzanine dining room, and a patio marked by a soaring floor-to-ceiling glass window. Design Development Group of Agoura Hills oversaw the buildout and interior design.

Xen Lounge is a new restaurant, bar, and lounge in Studio City. From owner Duane Martin, the venue offers a new-American menu of twists on classic comfort foods. A seasonally driven cocktail program incorporates market ingredients and boutique liquors. Designer Nikki Chu incorporated red doors, a lounge and bar area with oversize silver-clad thrones, stools upholstered in animal hide, and a glass communal table. A private dining room has a glass table, polka-dot walls, and crystal chandeliers. The main patio hosts a second bar and cabanas. The back patio, right for private events, has couches and fireplaces accented by illuminated red umbrellas hanging from the trees. A spiral staircase leads to a rooftop patio, allowing access to expansive views of the valley.

Golden Road Brewing completed the addition of its pub in January. In the newly renovated yellow building in the collection of primary-colored warehouses in Atwater Village, the Pub at Golden Road offers both vegan and carnivore-friendly small bites, salads, sandwiches, and entrées, making the casual venue right for unfussy entertaining. The pub is available for buyout, and a new section dedicated to private events is slated to open in November.

Paul Hibler, owner of Pitfire Artisan Pizza, and chef Jason Neroni, formerly of Osteria La Buca, teamed up to open Superba Snack Bar on Rose Avenue in Venice. Offering handmade pastas, charcuterie, and a changing selection of produce, Superba Snack Bar opened this summer. Los Angeles-based design duo Design Bitches created the open-air space. The restaurant has an open kitchen, bar seating, and smaller tables surrounding the intimate space where the kitchen and dining area share equal room. The relaxed, modern aesthetic includes central communal tables as well as a wide indoor-outdoor bench that links the interior to the street-side patio. With materials like aqua-colored pool tiles, poncho blankets from the Venice boardwalk, and camping lanterns, the restaurant has an eclectic look and feel. The venue is available for buyout.

Sammy's Woodfire Pizza & Grill opened in May on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. Originally opened in 1989 in La Jolla, Sammy’s was the first restaurant in San Diego to introduce the wood-burning oven at that time, and the hit concept expanded throughout Southern California and into Nevada. Sammy’s in Studio City evokes an urban garden setting with a wooden canopy sculpture overhead and details of copper and lush greenery. Copper and resin paneling, custom art, and porcelain-tile flooring evocative of reclaimed wood adds warmth to the atmosphere. The menu, created by executive chef Jeff Moogk, includes approachable dishes and comfort foods right for holiday entertaining, and there's an extensive beer and wine selection. An expansive patio makes use of the L.A. weather for year-round entertaining—even at holiday time. The space is available for buyout.