Inside: Libertine

(Credit: Mike Vin Lee)

When Prem Joshi, who works in real estate, decided to open Libertine, he was set on one thing: to make it the anti-club. "When I go out in Hollywood, my shoulders tense up at the door," he said. "But when I’m in Tokyo or London, I feel relaxed. And that’s the whole point of going out: to relax."

A spot on the Sunset Strip could belie such an ambition. Libertine is next door to a $20 valet parking lot and across the street from the Château Marmont, L.A.’s quintessential celebrity magnet. To the low-key, jeans-wearing clubber, the thought of trekking into such high-maintenance territories might inspire a sprint in the total opposite direction.

But with Libertine, Joshi actually has achieved a laid-back, fun-for-all club. When I walked up to the door on a recent Friday night, the doorman let me in without checking the list or charging me a cover. "We'll never have attitude at the door," he said while the club was packed to the gills—proof he wasn't desperate to lure in a crowd. "If four guys want to come in, they can." That’s a rarity in this part of town, where if four barely-dressed girls don’t accompany a dude, he most likely won’t get in.

Inside, the club has the feel of a house party, which is partly due to its structure. It was an apartment building until the '70s and rumor has it that it was Charlie Chaplin's home in the '20s. In fact, Libertine’s open space still looks a lot like an apartment. The "living room" has comfy brown couches, a fireplace, flat screen TVs and windows that overlook the Strip. In place of a kitchen, there's a long bar; what was probably once a bedroom is now an intimate lounge; and, out back, there’s a steep iron-railed staircase that leads to a stone patio that used to house the parking lot. All that's missing to make Libertine like a real house party is a keg.

That brings me to the booze. By Hollywood standards, the drinks here are pretty cheap. When Joshi learned he couldn't legally host a happy hour, he rebelled and so Libertine's motto was born: "We don’t need a happy hour, because we're happy all the time." Rather than charge the neighborhood norm of $9 to $12 for a cocktail, mixed drinks always cost $6. And he doesn't skimp on quality, either. The well liquors are premium brands like Effen, Tanqueray and Jack Daniel's.

To soak up all that inexpensive alcohol, Joshi brought on Gabriel Morales, formerly of Republic, to create a menu of upscale bar grub. There are sliders (beef or vegetable), lettuce cups (sautéed chicken or lime beef), fried fare (mini fish and chips, popcorn shrimp, polenta fries) and hearty entrees (roasted herb chicken, pork chops, New Zealand lamb chops), all of which come with reasonable price tags.

It should be no surprise that with his anti-club theme, Joshi refuses to play Top 40 or hip-hop. Come at 4 p.m. and you’ll hear jazz and bossa nova; arrive later in the evening and the DJ will be playing electro, house and what he calls "good" rock. But the music is never the center of attention. "We want people to come here and have a conversation without losing their voice," he says.

All of the ingredients—cool boss, homey décor, cheap booze, tasty food, good music—amount to the ultimate anti-club. And judging by clubbers chillaxing in every nook and cranny, it's something the scene has been desperate for.

Décor: You might wonder why there are oversize Moulin Rouge-style lampshades in the "living room." Initially, Joshi planned to name the bar Harlot and brand it as "the little French whore across the street from the Chateau Marmont." 

Attention cigar smokers: There's a roofed area by the outside bar for cigar fans to puff the night away.   

Stay tuned: Plans for a balcony with a retractable awning are in the works, as is a cave-like grotto in the basement.  

Click here for Libertine's address, phone number and website.

Alexandra Le Tellier is Bars & Clubs editor for Metromix Los Angeles.

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