Here's a look at new Los Angeles eateries, drinking spots, hotels, conference areas, private rooms, and other spaces to open for events this summer. 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.
The new Dream Hollywood, open since February, is quickly becoming one of Los Angeles’s hottest nightlife destinations with the opening of three stylish Tao Group venues, all designed by the Rockwell Group and available for private or semiprivate events.
First up was the 10,000-square-foot, two-story Beauty & Essex, which opened in late March and features multiethnic cuisine from chef Chris Santos. The bilevel space, which has a 20-foot oval skylight, seats 250 or holds 400 for receptions, while a private dining room seats 30. A ground-floor courtyard and a second-floor patio also can be rented for events.
The eponymous Tao, open since April, serves pan-Asian cuisine in a sprawling 300-seat restaurant and lounge. The massive space, which features a 20-foot-tall Quan Yin statue atop a koi pond, holds as many 750 for standing receptions. It also offers two 24-seat sky boxes and two 10-seat private dining rooms.
Also on site is Avenue, a 4,000-square-foot nightclub open since March. A semi-exposed garden patio (pictured) has a retractable roof and space for 250; it can be rented separately for events. The entire club holds as many as 450 people. Avenue is connected to Luchini Pizzeria and Bar—another Tao Group venue—which offers pizza slices and a speciality cocktail menu; it holds 100 people and can be rented in conjunction with the Avenue patio.
The Tao Group plans to open a fourth nightlife location at the Dream hotel in late June: an 11,000-square-foot outdoor rooftop and lounge named the Highlight Room.
Hilton Worldwide’s much-anticipated Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills opens today on the triangular corner next to the Beverly Hilton. Designed by Pierre-Yves Rochor, the luxury 12-story hotel has 170 guest rooms and suites, each of which offers floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies. The elegant venue has three cocktail lounges, including a French-inspired lobby bar and a rooftop deck with panoramic views, V.I.P. cabanas, and a swimming pool. The hotel boasts 6,500 square feet of meeting space, including the 2,945-square-foot Astor Ballroom, which seats 200 banquet-style or holds 400 for receptions. There is also a meeting room that seats 40 classroom-style, a French-American restaurant by famed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and a spa by La Prairie.
Chef Steve Samson’s sleek new 7,600-square-foot restaurant Rossoblu is located in downtown’s new mixed-use City Market South development. Featuring architecture and design by Marwan Al Sayed, interior design by Mies Al Sayed, and graphic design by J.P. Guiseppi, the 120-seat main dining room is classic Los Angeles, mixing colorful street art and warehouse styles with a marble bar and bespoke couches. The food draws inspiration from the mountain regions of Italy where Samson grew up. The venue has a private dining room with a chef's table that seats 25 or holds 40 for receptions, and an outdoor patio seats 80 or holds 120 for receptions. The restaurant is available for buyouts; it seats 200 or holds 400 for receptions. Rossoblu had a soft opening in May, and is slated to officially open on June 6.
One of the year’s most anticipated openings, Hotel Indigo Los Angeles Downtown opened in April. Located in the burgeoning Downtown Historic Core, the 350-room, 18-story property—the Hotel Indigo brand’s first Los Angeles location—offers 22,000 square feet of meeting space spread across 11 rooms; the largest room holds as many as 410 people. There is also a 9,100-square-foot outdoor pool terrace, a top-floor cocktail lounge, and a 24-hour fitness center. The hotel features a 1920s Prohibition-era design by Hirsch Bedner Associates, and was inspired by underground speakeasies, the Fiesta de las Flores parade, old Hollywood, and historic Chinatown.
In April, chef Evan Funke—owner of the now-closed Bucato—opened Italian restaurant Felix on hip Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice. The eclectic 2,435-square-foot space was designed by Funke, owner/partner Janet Zuccarini, and interior designer Wendy Haworth, and features a standalone temperature-controlled pasta laboratory as a focal point in the dining room. The restaurant also boasts an open kitchen, bright-green floral wallpaper, and vintage Italian light fixtures. Outside, there is a mural of Italian actress Sophia Loren painted by artist Cheyenne Randall. Brandyn Tepper created seasonally driven cocktails, while Funke plans to eventually offer as many as 20 different pasta shapes every night. A private room, called the Nonna room, seats 40 or holds 80 for receptions. The entire 115-seat restaurant also can be rented; it holds as many as 230 for receptions.
In April, the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport opened E.D.B., a casual outdoor bar adjacent to the lobby and pool area. E.D.B.—which stands for Eat, Drink, Be—seats 105 or holds 200 for standing receptions using the adjacent patio; the entire space can be rented for events. In addition to handcrafted cocktails, craft brews on tap, and California wines, there is a menu of shareable appetizers and bento boxes. The attached 488-room hotel has two outdoor pools with cabanas and fire pits, as well as a fitness center and 45,448 square feet of meeting space including 22 breakout rooms and four boardrooms.
Brooklyn-based eatery Sweet Chick opened a Los Angeles location on Fairfax Avenue in April. Owned by rapper Nas and restaurateur John Seymour, the 2,500-square-foot restaurant has a laid-back, cheerful vibe, with colorful chairs, string lights, framed pictures of poultry, and the phrase “Today was a good day” written in neon above the bar. The dining space seats 55, including a large dining table that seats 14. The bar area seats 15, or the entire restaurant can be rented for private events; it holds 200 for standing receptions. Menu items include shrimp and grits and plenty of variations on chicken and waffles.
Located within the CIM Group’s long-awaited Sunset La Cienega mixed-use project in West Hollywood, the 286-room James West Hollywood is slated to open this summer. The luxury boutique hotel will feature a modern design and panoramic views of the Hollywood Hills and the Los Angeles basin. The James will have two restaurants: the 1,500-square foot Fi’lia, an Italian restaurant by chef Michael Schwartz that will have two private dining rooms; and Farmspoke by Top Chef’s Chris Crary. A 2,500-square-foot rooftop bar (pictured) offering 180-degree views will hold as many as 150 people. Overall, there is 10,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space, including the 2,000-square-foot Overlook room and terrace and the 4,000-square-foot Great Room. The Sunset La Cienega development also will house a 190-unit residential building and 40,000 square feet of retail space.
Located one block from LAX's Terminal 1, the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport opened a self-contained conference center in February. Located on the ground level of the hotel, the conference center has almost 10,000 square feet of space, which includes several boardrooms, breakout spaces, and larger rooms for as many as 150 people. There is also a 14,000-square-foot ballroom (pictured), high-speed Internet access, dedicated meeting specialists, and catering by executive chef Charles Fusco. The conference center offers direct access to the hotel’s two multifunctional event lawns: the 7,000-square-foot Regency Park holds 500 banquet-style or 650 for receptions, while the 5,000-square-foot Regency Grove space seats 200 or holds 500 for receptions. The Hyatt Regency has 580 guest rooms, along with the Unity LA Restaurant Open Market and Bar.
The only California location of Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville opened in March at Universal CityWalk. The casual palm tree- and island music-filled restaurant features hand-crafted cocktails, live music, and signature dishes, including Jimmy’s Jammin’ Jambalaya and Cheeseburger in Paradise. The 13,000-square-foot space holds as many as 350 people; the entire restaurant can be booked for private events, and menus can be customized for a minimum of 50 people. A variety of semiprivate areas also are available.
