15 New Venues in Los Angeles for Fall 2021 Meetings and Events

After a series of COVID-19-related delays, the highly anticipated Academy Museum of Motion Pictures opened in late September. Dedicated to the art and science of movies, the seven-story, 300,000-square-foot property—located in the former Saban Building on Wilshire Boulevard—features exhibition spaces, the 288-seat Ted Mann Theater, and several studios and event spaces. Connected by glass bridges is the spherical-shaped 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater and the rooftop Dolby Family Terrace with views of the Hollywood Hills. There’s also a 10,000-square-foot restaurant, Fanny’s, from restaurateurs Bill Chait and Carl Schuster that has an open kitchen and a design from Commune Design. Wolfgang Puck Catering oversees catering for the rest of the museum.

The 11-story, 190-room Thompson Hollywood opened in August. The hotel, designed by Tara Bernerd & Partners, mixes West Coast-style modernism with old Hollywood glamour, blending industrial finishes with rich textures, bold artwork and midcentury furniture. The luxury hotel has a 4,500-square-foot restaurant on the ground floor, along with Bar Lis (pictured), a 10,000-square-foot rooftop comprising an interior lounge, a pool area and an outdoor bar with a retractable roof. The hotel has a full event staff and audiovisual specialist. It can also coordinate events and meetings at the Citizen-News Building next door, which offers 15,000 square feet of traditional event space.

In August, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum introduced The Torch, a new outdoor concert space located within the historic stadium, the future site of the 2028 Summer Olympics. Located underneath the famous Olympic Gateway sculpture, the open-air, park-like venue can host between 3,500 and 10,000 people for general-admission concerts, sporting events, conventions or other types of gatherings. The Torch offers full production capabilities, multiple locations for merchandise or concession booths, and space for VIP areas with exclusive entry and viewing options. The 77,500-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is located in Exposition Park, across from the University of Southern California.

Sparrow, a modern coastal Italian restaurant from International Hospitality Group’s Noble 33, opened at downtown's Hotel Figueroa in late October. Sparrow marks the fine-dining group’s first venture into Italian cuisine and features a large selection of pizzas, pastas and other wood-fired dishes that use fresh, seasonal ingredients. Located next to the hotel’s popular pool area, Sparrow features a 15-foot cathedral-like arched entryway and a 1920s limestone fireplace, plus a neutral color scheme with blue accents and marble, tile and wood details. The Hotel Figueroa has 268 rooms.

The long-awaited Fairmont Century Plaza opened in late September. A $2.5 billion redevelopment of famed architect Minoru Yamasaki’s midcentury-modern hotel, the renovated space includes two 44-story towers that include luxury residences and boutique shopping, as well as 400 guest rooms and 49 suites, all with private balconies. For events, there is 24,000 square feet of flexible space including a 4,000-square-foot rooftop and a 13,000-square-foot, Yabu Pushelberg-designed ballroom that has an intricate wooden ceiling and a 2,000-square-foot stage. The property also boasts a 14,000-square-foot spa, a rooftop pool and bar and several dining options—including Lumière (pictured), a traditional French-inspired brasserie that holds 12-120 guests in a variety of private dining areas.

Nicholas Mathers and the Wish You Were Here Group opened a Belles Beach House in October, a fun new restaurant that blends surf culture, Hawaiian cuisine, 1970s-style retro decor and the Venice boardwalk in a bamboo-filled tropical paradise. The space, designed by Tara Bean, mixes lounge furniture and high tops with oversized palm trees, vintage Hawaiian upholstery and retro surfboards; there’s even an oversized, hand-carved tiki statue greeting guests at the door. Another memorable decor touch? Vintage prints, which were discovered on an unprocessed roll of film from over 70 years ago. The menu offers a full sushi program and Hawaii-inspired menu, along with a tiki cocktail program. The Venice Beach restaurant can be rented for private events.

The Los Angeles Airport Marriott completed a $50 million renovation in August. The property-wide refresh included updates to the hotel’s 1,004 guest rooms, lobby, three restaurants and resort-style pool. The hotel, located minutes from the airport, has over 55,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 18th-floor M Club Lounge (pictured), which last month opened to nonmembers for the first time. The 4,000-square-foot space offers views of the LAX runways and downtown Los Angeles and can accommodate as many as 100 people with multiple televisions and a full-service bar.

The historic La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates reopened in October with a new owner and a refreshed design. Now operated by Megan Walker, CEO and executive chef of catering company Made by Meg, the 98-year-old property features updated decor from Dannielle Albrecht Designs. Updates aimed to preserve the historic architecture and sweeping Pacific views while installing a new tranquil color palette of creams, gold, navy and blush. Other highlights include refinished wooden floors, modern chandeliers, textured wallpaper and handcrafted furniture pieces. La Venta Inn can host up to 220 guests for outdoor events and ceremonies and offers a catering menu with over 1,500 options.

The highly anticipated new location of Girl & the Goat opened downtown in July. Owned by James Beard award-winning chef Stephanie Izard, the restaurant serves family-style dishes, combining staples from its Chicago location as well as new dishes unique to California. The 200-seat eatery features floor-to-ceiling windows, light wood floors and tons of greenery, plus an in-house event team and a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces for private gatherings.

The team behind the Planet Hollywood brand opened The Breakfast Club in August. Designed as a creativity-inducing space that encourages interaction and content creation, the restaurant features fun food items like build-your-own cereal and ice cream bars, as well as contemporary twists on classic breakfast items. The 7,000-square-foot eatery, which—despite its name—is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, features Insta-worthy design elements like giant bird cages, a donut wall, an art installation made from cereal boxes and more. Several areas of The Breakfast Club can be rented for private or semiprivate events.

In August, the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Los Angeles/Sherman Oaks debuted an extensive redesign from Studio HBA. The 96-room hotel, which tends to attract entertainment-business groups due to its proximity to the studios in Hollywood and Burbank, has 1,400 square feet of event space, including a large meeting room that opens to an exterior patio that can be used for business or social gatherings. There’s also a business center and various dining areas. The new design was inspired by Southern California culture, with nods to the movie business as well as the area’s bygone citrus groves. In the meeting-friendly lobby (pictured) is a patchwork of wood planks and finishes reminiscent of citrus crates, along with a 12-foot preserved orange tree.

VIDA Modern Taqueria opened in Redondo Beach’s Riviera Village neighborhood on Oct. 12. The debut concept from local hospitality pros Mickey Mance and Justin Essman, the restaurant is a Baja-inspired taqueria that serves contemporary takes on Mexican street food classics, with a menu of 16 different taco variations and a variety of Sabe-infused craft cocktails. Designed by local hospitality firm Vanrooy Design, VIDA’s colorful interior was inspired by the festive decor of a traditional Mexican taqueria and the tropical coastline of Baja, with driftwood and white stone materials, turquoise dining chairs and brown leather booths. A retractable garage door can be lifted for an indoor-outdoor feel.

In October, Rapt Studio completed its latest project, a reimagining of the 5670 Wilshire, a 27-story tower in the Miracle Mile district. The 437,155-square-foot building, built in 1962 as office space for the California Federal Bank, is now a mixed-use tower that includes a professional-grade theater, a fitness center with a yoga and boxing studio, a conference center and an outdoor patio. The exterior courtyard can also offer flexible, semiprivate spaces for tenants to host events. The building is pending LEED certification, and the parking garage offers EV charging stations and a car-share program.

The Andaz West Hollywood recently finished a $300,000 full renovation of its event-friendly Panorama Suite, which gets its name from its furnished balcony that offers panoramic views of the Sunset Strip. The 1,700-square-foot suite has two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, a living area with a 60-inch flat-screen TV, a fully equipped kitchen, a dining area and more; it features a contemporary desk from Indidesign that pays homage to the hotel’s rock-and-roll heritage while emphasizing sophistication with white tones and subtle pops of color. In total, the 240-room hotel has 13,000 square feet of event space, including the 3,100-square-foot Panorama Ballroom that holds 190 people as well as a 3,600-square-foot roof deck that holds 150.

Highly anticipated Japanese restaurant Imari opened in Brentwood in August. Created by restaurateur Philip Camino and Camino Industries, the venue serves traditional Japanese cuisine known as washoku in a minimalist setting featuring planked white oak and leather booths. The restaurant’s focal points are a floor-to-ceiling, hand-painted mural from artist Sheila Darcey of SketchPoetic, as well as shelves displaying unique sake bottles and traditional imari pottery. The restaurant has a 28-seat dining room and an eight-seat bar, plus a 22-seat outdoor patio.