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Hollywood Boulevard nightlife

A stroll down the boulevard of broken dreams and bumpin' nightspots

By Amir Kenan

Special to Metromix
July 24, 2007

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(Credit: Mel Melcon)

Hollywood Boulevard: that mythic stretch of L.A. where the stars are literally under your feet and the Scientology Centers outnumber McDonald's three-to-one. But while tourists are busy catching a $14 flick at Grauman's and checking out the Hollywood Banana Republic (Wow! It's just like the one in my hometown!), club-lovin' Angelenos are bar-, pub- and club-hopping their brains out.

In the last few months, some Hollywood hotspots have fizzled out (R.I.P. Star Shoes), and others have changed names (from Ivar to Façade), but one thing in Hollywood will always be true: If you can make it here, you'll make it anywhere. Oh wait, that might be New York.

The Ruby

7070 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-467-7070

The music: '80s dance songs, for a crowd that was barely born in the decade. The clothing: the finest duds Forever 21 and H&M have to offer. The bar: The Ruby’s bars hardly ever get crowded, since most of the revelers are not of legal drinking age yet. The scene: Home of popular nights Café Blue and Bang!, and a giant dancing stage for the uninhibited (or those too doped up on Red Bulls to care).

Knitting Factory Hollywood

7021 Hollywood Blvd - Los Angeles

323-463-0204

Beck’s been here, so why haven’t you? NYC transplant The Knitting Factory offers two rooms to satisfy your musical pleasures: the main room, where big local acts (and the occasional Oasis cover band) enjoy the venue’s state-of-the-art sound system, and the AlterKnit Lounge, where alternative acts like ironic-comedian Neil Hamburger and some of tomorrow’s biggest rockers (and a fair share of duds) rock it like it’s Madison Square Garden.

LAX

1714 N. Las Palmas Ave. - Hollywood

323-464-0171

Named after an airport, and housed in an old Mexican restaurant, DJ AM rules this Hollywood nightclub, where the Mischa Bartons of the world go to burn off a few extra pounds. An enclosed outdoor patios keep the smokers happy, while indoor bars keep everybody happy. If the real LAX were anything like this place, nobody would ever want to make their flights back home.

The Ivar

6356 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-465-4827

Club Ivar recently got a facelift, and the result: pretty much more of the same. Downstairs: a cavernous, industrial space where Akon and Gwen rule the DJed sets. Upstairs: a VIP area (though there’s rarely an enforcement) where floor-to-ceiling windows allow you to check out the dance floor below and scope out your next victim, er, dance partner. Every now and then, a bikini show classes up the joint.

Teddy's

7000 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-466-7000

To get through Teddy's tough velvet rope, you’ve either got to be a star, part of a star’s entourage, or a star of the TV show “Entourage.” Inside, channel your inner-celebrity (or make friends with a real live one) among the bar’s sleek leather banquettes and intimate arched ceilings. Though getting in to a bona fide Hollywood hotspot can be tough, the right outfit, the right arm candy and the right coinage never hurts.

Forbidden City

1718 Vine St. - Los Angeles

323-461-2300

From red hanging lanterns, to dragon decals, to a color scheme well-suited for a White Stripes album cover, there’s no getting around it: this Asian-inspired bar/club/restaurant is pure Hollywood kitsch. The diverse crowd of Hollywood playas gets their groove on with a healthy dose of DJed music (a club-thumpin’ mix of hip-hop, R&B and whatever Timbaland is releasing these days), and gets their Moo shu on with Forbidden City’s satisfying, highly Americanized Asian grub. The trick to getting past the door: get dinner reservations, which will sneak you past the velvet rope.

Bardot

1735 N. Vine St. - Los Angeles

323-462-1307

At the Moroccan-themed Spider Club, personalized service is the name of the game, from private cabanas, VIP booths and a ‘concierge database’ that tracks guests’ favorite tables and drinks (sounds kinda like a creepy ex to me). On Fridays, resident DJ AM spins hip-hop and old-school to the beat-hungry crowd: a healthy Hollywood mix of wannabe models, their wannabe boyfriends and the occasional cleavage-happy divorcee.

Boardner's

1652 N. Cherokee Ave. - Los Angeles

323-462-9621

This Hollywood nightclub has been a Hollywood staple for over 60 years (though it doesn’t look a day over 50). Updated amenities (hooray for HDTVs!) add a modern touch to the space's charming, old Hollywood sensibilities (word on the street’s that this is the last bar Elizabeth Short visited before becoming The Black Dahlia). Weekly events bring out a diverse crowd – from Madonna look-alikes on ‘80s-centric Blue Mondays, to indie rock scenesters at Club Moscow, to the dark, brooding types who pack the place with gloom, despair and Hot Topic for weekly goth night Bar Sinister.

Pig 'N Whistle

6714 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-463-0000

If British ex-pats love one thing, it’s Benny Hill. And if they love two things, it's Benny Hill and pubs that remind them of home. For over a quarter century, Pig & Whistle’s been a jolly good place for an after-work pint, and arguably the best place to watch Danny Bonaduce fall off the wagon (again). It’s a little taste of the UK in Hollywood, complete with a fireplace, dart board and a menu featuring yummy pub classics like bangers n’ mash and scotch eggs (arguably the greatest bar snack ever invented), though the occasional studio suit will remind you you’re still smack dab in the middle of La La Land.

CineSpace

6356 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-817-3456

Star Shoes is a distant memory, and Ivar’s been reimagined (well, sort of) as Façade, but Cinespace has held its ground with the fickle Hollywood crowd. The place cycles through a range of Hollywood scenes, attracting everything from Shadowscene-approved hip kids to the bumpin’ and grindin’ hip-hop crowd. Signature event: Dinner & A Movie (which is dinner… accompanied by a movie), typically followed by a frantic dance-off to work off that fried calamari appetizer you just devoured.

Element Nightclub

1642 Las Palmas Ave. - Hollywood

323-460-4632

Walk in and get lost in a sea of colored lights and dry ice (or is that just smoke coming off the scantily clad hot bods on the dance floors?). Element’s big, booty-shakin’ dance floor has made it a favorite for private events, so double-check that the place is open before heading out. The joint also sports a surprisingly spacious outdoor patio (complete with tiny bar), yummy bar grub, and the occasional live act (Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo has rocked the mic at Element). Some clubbers complain about the lacking of seating, so make sure to reserve a table.

Vice

6364 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-462-7827

Hot cocktail waitresses dressed in ripped t-shirts, pleated red mini skirts and suspenders begging to be snapped work this intimate ultra lounge lit by chandeliers and shimmer screens that turn from blue to green to pink. There’s a small dance floor in the back, but most of the action takes place up front on the long black leather couch that snakes around the bar.

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The Kress

6608 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-785-5000

Paris Hilton threw a masquerade ball at the Kress even before it even opened, that’s how hot this venue is. Since then, the multi-level setting, complete with a basement nightclub, deco-style restaurant, special events room and a rooftop lounge has really kicked it into high gear.

h.wood

1738 N. Orange - Los Angeles

323-871-2262

The short-lived Stork Lounge known for its iron-clad velvet rope and burly bouncers has been replaced with H-Wood; a bar that’s, ironically, less Hollywood and more relaxed, despite the name. The original industrial, art-loft design (made from antique salvaged bricks and windows from Andy Warhol’s factory in New York) has been given a makeover with comfy brown leather couches and wood tables. Want to spark up a conversation with the cute artist-type by the bar? Invite them to play a game of chess on the boards you’ll find scattered about. The lounge is still under the helm of Loyal Pennings (who also owns LAX) and John Terzian, but gone is partner Grace Fernandez and taking her place is Amanda Scheer-Demme, who initially designed the space. In layman’s terms, dress in your best if you want in.

MyHouse

7080 Hollywood Blvd. - Los Angeles

323-960-3300

Picture the ultimate bachelor pad. Minus the STDs. MyHouse is pimped out with a contemporary kitchen that serves as the club’s main bar, a formal dining room with a long table that “pierces” through the glass wall and ends up in the “backyard,” a living room-like lounge, a fire pit outside and, even more exciting, a Jacuzzi. The best feature of all, is a master bedroom upstairs with a leather-crafted bed and—wait for it—“all the necessities you may need … discreetly hidden away in the nightstand drawers.” Ahem.

Amir Kenan covers Bars & Clubs for Metromix Los Angeles.