Here's a look at new Los Angeles eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this spring. The new and renovated Los Angeles venues are available for corporate parties, weddings, fund-raisers, outdoor functions, business dinners, teambuilding activities, conferences, meetings, and more.
Chef Wolfgang Puck opened Cut Lounge in November. The new bar and lounge is located in the Beverly Wilshire hotel in the space formerly occupied by Sidebar, adjacent to the flagship location of Puck's steak house, Cut by Wolfgang Puck. The venue has room for more than 60 seated guests. Guests enter the bar and lounge through two oversize steel and glass doors, which create a feeling of seclusion. A neutral palette of beige, brown, and gray accents the mid-century modern furnishings and finishes throughout the space.
Dream Hotels’ Dream Hollywood opened on February 1 after substantial delays. Designed by Rockwell Group, the hotel is the flagship West Coast location for the lifestyle hotel brand—and an anchor of Hollywood’s revitalization. The 10-story hotel has 178 rooms, and an 11,000-square-foot rooftop with a pool. An intimate meeting space holds 15.
Liaison Restaurant & Lounge debuted in January as a dining and nightlife venue with an open-air garden and an intimate indoor lounge. With room for 125 seated guests, Liaison serves a menu of seasonal California fare and cocktails. The 10,000-square foot indoor/outdoor contemporary space has a design by Davis Ink, with organic elements of fire, wood, rope, and water. Full-service bars feature four-sided onyx displays. Overall, the venue has a capacity for 600 for receptions, with 400 in the garden, 100 in the main room, and 100 in the back room. There’s a retractable roof in the garden. For private events, each room features a separate entrance.
Opened in Koreatown in January, the Venue is a subterranean karaoke space and dining destination helmed by executive chef Kayson Chong. The venue includes a spacious dining room and bar plus 13 private karaoke rooms that hold as many as 50 each. Devon Espinosa, previously of the Church Key, Ink, and Pour Vous, created the cocktail program, and Nina Raulo from Boa developed dessert offerings. The space is accessible by a private stairwell, opening to the dining room, lounge, and bar area. The private karaoke rooms can order from a shared-plates menu as well as the full dining room menu. Each of the rooms is designed differently, encompassing a variety of themes.
Opened in January, the Peppermint Club is a partnership between the H.wood Group and Interscope records. The new live music space includes a lounge with lush textures meant to conjure an executive’s living room. The H.wood Group's John Terzian and Brian Toll are the leads on the project, with Interscope's John Janick, Steve Berman, and John Ehmann. The 1960s-inspired lounge includes top-end sound for live music and playback listening parties. The venue took over the old Henry’s space in West Hollywood, and has room for 225 for receptions.
In January, Santa Anita Park unveiled its newest destination, the 100 to 1 Club. The revamped space offers panoramic views of the racetrack in a luxury lounge atmosphere. The new club spans 4,000 square feet at the first turn of the track, in an area formerly known as the Gallop Out. The space underwent extensive renovations, including an architectural overhaul that added terraced seating, eliminated exterior walls, and elevated the main floor to maximize sightlines. There's exposed steel infrastructure overhead, and original curved concrete walls with hexagonal windows. Throne-like banquette seating set beneath the base of Santa Anita’s iconic spire provide visual interest within the space. A historic neon sign lights the bar area, and the former concrete parapet in front of the space was replaced with a glass partition, adding natural light and views. Private bar and wagering machines separate a suite with room for 75, with outdoor, covered seating, and amenities. The club has room for private events for as may as 150. It's the latest space to be unveiled as part of Santa Anita Park’s ongoing multiyear renovation.
Drago Ristorante opened in December at the Petersen Automotive Museum. The restaurant serves housemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, Italian entrees, artisanal breads and pastries from Drago’s Dolce Forno bakery in Culver City, and locally grown produce from Drago Farms in Santa Ynez. Design from Felderman Keatinge & Associates includes elements such as blackened steel and hammered copper with finishes incorporating curves and fluid lines; aesthetically, it’s meant to be an extension of the museum’s dramatic and recognizable curving facade. The eatery holds 50 inside for a buyout and will have room for 150 for inside/outside events once the patio opens, slated for this spring. Drago Culinary Productions was appointed as the official food and beverage partner to the Petersen and provides catering services to all events in the space.
Sycamore Tavern opened in November with 10,000 square feet of space, serving twists on traditional American fare and craft beer and cocktails. The venue features a marble bar and more than 55 flat-screen TVs. It comes from Happy to Serve You Hospitality Group, and has room for 200 for dining. The menu features dishes like the Cubano, steak and fries, and chicken farm pizza. The eatery also offers its signature deep-fried fluffer-nutter dessert with peanut butter, marshmallow, bananas, and sea salt. For private events, the second floor of the venue is equipped with audiovisual and screening capabilities and includes a full-service bar.Â
Opened in November in Santa Monica, O+O Sicilian Kitchen & Bar offers what it bills as “modern Sicilian cuisine with a California flair,” serving lighter versions of traditional Italian dishes made with local ingredients. The neighborhood restaurant and bar also features an outdoor patio, handcrafted cocktails, wines on tap, and an extensive wine list of Italian and California varietals. The venue’s decor is modern combined with an old-world Italian influence. Murals come from Sicilian artist Vincenzo Magno. The bar is covered in a black shiny tile frame, and the interior has high ceilings to mirror the modern beach vibe of the Seychelles complex above the restaurant. The patio features market lighting and a fire pit. It is available for buyout with a capacity of 50 seated or 150 for receptions.
Opened in November, the new restaurant Terra Cotta comes from Sixth Avenue restaurant group, the company behind Koreatown’s Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong and Quarters. Located in the Pellissier building, the same space as the Wiltern, the restaurant offers cocktails, 24 craft beers on draft, and a global wine program. The large interior includes glamorous vintage touches, such as 20-foot-high ceilings outfitted with chandeliers, and tufted matte black booths. There’s room for 150 seated guests.
