I'm not much of a person that likes to go out too much. I'm very picky about where I go and when (such as if I'm lacking sleep or if COVID starts to go up again).
As someone who is very specific about the kind of vibe and place I go to, here are a few places that I have been to and recommend for drinking or going out.
Long Beach. The Bungalow.
First, starting with The Bungalow in Long Beach, CA. The first time I went, it was to celebrate a friend's 30th birthday.
I had never been before and had no idea it was located at the shopping center off of 2nd and PCH, where the Whole Foods is on the way to Seal Beach.
It was way larger than expected. There were so many people too.
I didn't expect there to be so many rooms and I loved the ambiance. It was mostly a lot of earthy colors and low lights. There were pool tables by the entrance, but they were all taken up.
The whole places was packed; it must have been a special dj night or something. It took a very long time to get a drink, there was a very large crowd of people just mushed up by the bar waiting, not much of a line at all.
Thankfully, I found out there was another bar on the other side past the bathrooms, so I managed to get my drink quicker on the other side. I liked it better there than by the entrance area; it was a smaller and cozier lounging area with comfortable sofas.
I didn't realize they had an outside section, where the dj and the main dance floor was. There was also an outside bar in the far back. The djs were alright. Not too many bangers were played. My roommate had been to this place before, but during the day. Apparently during the day it's a restaurant and she had gone for brunch. I'd be interested in checking it out again someday during the day because the view was amazing. You could see almost all of the marina. I can only imagine what it looks like during the day.
Hollywood Walk of Fame.The Sound Night Club.
Late last summer (of 2023), my roommates and I decided to go to this club that had a dj duo that my roommate was a fan of. They were called Shermanology. So we signed up online to be put on the list and paid for our tickets, which was pretty affordable, I think it was just around $20, if not free to get on the guest list. So we drove all the way from Long Beach to L.A.. What I didn't know was that it was literally just down the street from the Hollywood Walk of Fame! How cool, we got to walk through some of the stars, and I noticed there were a lot of pretty cool bars that I would like to check out some day. Walking from a parking garage we found nearby, which was also affordable, I got to see the Chinese Theatre. Parking was just about two maybe three blocks away from the club.
I didn't realize that there would be another dj opening for them, name Lupe Fuentes. Honestly, she was pretty good and I liked how she did a lot of Latinx remixes of classic latino songs.
Never having been to The Sound before, I was very impressed. They had a neat bathroom and a lot of cool disco balls. The dance floor was my favorite part. They had ornaments and lights all across the ceiling that would move up and down. They had electronic paintings on the walls that looked classic, but would move! I was so impressed.
My favorite was the shark disco ball. The lights and everything were a cool touch. Overall the ambiance would have me come back again. There was also a VIP area in the back, and I believe some of the members would leave to join us at the dance floor. The VIP people were right behind the dj set. Looked pretty cool, but probably not worth the price, unless you just happen to have throw away money.
I didn't get any drinks, but I did see that they had two bars in the place and there didn't seem to be any lines. The seating was kinds of iffy. I didn't see any open seats until the end of the night and by then my feet had been hurt pretty bad. Shermanology was amazing, they made a great dynamic, were really friendly and loving with the crowd and their music hit, too. 10/10.
Long Beach. The Gaslamp.
I like this place it's pretty cool. Music is a bit loud. I went for one of their Country Thursdays nights. They usually have themed nights throughout the weekend. They have an 80s night I'd be interested in checking out someday. I thought it was cute how they had someone teaching line dancing and seeing some of the couples dancing together. When I went to country nights, I was expecting some of the music I listen to, like Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan, but it was mostly pop country that was playing (not my kind of jam at all). I enjoyed my time there in a booth eating some roasted artichokes with balsamic sauce and a beer. It was pretty great.
Universal City Walk. NBC Sports Bar & Grill. Antojitos Cocina Mexicana.
As I am a fan of Universal Studios, I have also driven down just to visit Universal City Walk. Two places I recommend for drinks are NBC Sports Bar & Grill and Antojitos Cocina Mexicana. Antojitos may be a little pricey for food, but I honestly enjoyed their drink options, chips, guac and salsa. I would go again (whenever I have extra spending money). Their decorations were cool and unique, too. I do remember enjoying the music they played too.
NBC Sports Bar is pretty fun. I've gone there for a drink and to write articles on my computer using their wifi. They have decent food options, I've gotten vegan, vegetarian food from there. Don't remember much if the food was good, but I do remember that the drinks there and at Antojitos were prettttyyyy strong; so just a heads up. I've ordered a margarita from here and my roommate ordered a cool coffee beverage with alcohol (an Irish coffee I think). I like to come here for the vibes as it's by the park with a bunch of sports games going on all around the restaurant.
Downtown Disney. Ballast Point Brewing Anaheim.
Now I recently found out where the Long Beach location of Ballast Point is, but I have yet to go. I've only been to the one in Downtown Disney and it is one of my favorite places. I've driven to Downtown Disney on multiple occasions just to go to Ballast Point, as I had gone to the sports bar at Universal, for a drink and to use their wifi to write articles. They don't often have my favorite drink, I believe it's seasonal. But my usual order at Ballast is a guava spritzer and their garlic fries - ah-mazing! I definitely recommend this place for drinks as it's always fun to walk around through the stores after you're done. I would come here more often that Universal City Walk as it was closer and more affordable than Universal.
Downtown Long Beach. Solita's Tacos & Margaritas.
Came here for the drinks. The chips and salsa were pretty good. I had ordered the mango margarita. I've been pining to coming back for more. You could find this restaurant at the end of Pine st.
Hermosa Beach. Saint Rocke.
My first punk show, pit and I got to see the local and famous band T.S.O.L.. I definitely recommend this place, I would come again. Although fair warning, not much seating in the area. A lot of cool people showed up that night, as it was a punk show, from all ages and demographics. Apparently they had other themed nights as well. The area was beautiful too.
South Central L.A.. 1720.
This was a pretty fun event. A record label that had just signed up a few bands held a show at the 1720. It was pretty cool. The drinks were way too expensive here, just for a regular beer. The outside area in the back was pretty cool, it was covered in stickers and graffiti from artists who passed by. Bands were amazing, I loved the variety and different demographics, too. Warning if you are not the type that likes to mosh (like me), stay very far away from the center stage. They go pretty hard here. I watch from the outside of the pit and still got kicked in the head from someone who wanted to jump in from the bar.
Downtown Long Beach. Sevillas.
Sevillas was one of the first places I went to when I first moved to Long Beach, as it was closer to where my roommates and I lived. It's located right on Pine where most of the well-known bars in downtown Long Beach are. Anyways, this was our usual go to spot, until we noticed less people started going and it was more of an older crowd. At first we enjoyed going on Thursdays as I think entry was free on those nights, but after being disappointed when we went on a Friday, I never really
felt the need to go back. But for one of my first places to go out to, I enjoyed it for a bit and I hear some people around here really like it still, so I guess it's more of a personal taste kind of thing. They also have a restaurant with live performances that I haven't experienced in the lower part of the building (the top floor is where the clubbing scene is at here).
Los Angeles. Members.
I loved this place I want to go back so bad. I had a great time here. The ambiance was my favorite. Heads up, you do need to dress up a little bit when coming in. One of my roommate's brothers had to run to the closest Ross to buy a pair of pants since they wouldn't let him come inside wearing shorts. I loved the way the place was decorated with drapes, lanterns and red lighting everywhere (my favorite).
The seating and cushioning was great, more than enough and very comfortable. I believe they had performers throughout the place two that were dressed very elegantly and beautifully and carrying something like a candelabra around. Found out you could also smoke hookah here as well. My roommates and I came to this place as they knew a dj that would be performing that night. We had a great time; we got invited to dance with the djs. 10/10 would do again (even if not invited with the djs).
Huntington Beach. Fred's Mexican Cafe.
I recommend this place as it has a great view of the ocean/beach in Downtown Huntington Beach.
I went on a Saturday in August so they had a street market with great food options and live performances. The view was my favorite. And I had a fairly large margarita.
I didn't order anything to eat, but I loved the painting work they had in the place, seemed pretty iconic. They also had a pool table with the bar inside. However, I mostly recommend this place for the view of the beach. I'll definitely be coming back for drinks with friends.
Highland Park. The OffBeat - A Bar on York.
After my first Dodger game, my friend Sazi and I went to check out this place. Supposedly they would have Latino rock that night. I wasn't much of a fan of this place. It was mostly an older crowd here. The music was pretty cool, I will say.
Downtown Long Beach. Hamburger Marys.
Expensive. Jesus Christ. I've been here for two different occasions. One, for their drag events and two, just for drinks. The drag events are amazing, I recommend. If you have extra cash they're actually pretty fun to experience and it's recommended that you tip the drag queens (if you want, but I recommend if you're paying to see the show to show your appreciation). I've always had a blast at these occasions.
However, one time I went with my roommates for a quick drink, and we ended up getting a bite to eat as well. Cost us over a hundred dollars for the three of us. Oof, pretty scary. For some that may be normal, but I didn't like that. The drinks were somewhat large with a very strong taste of alcohol. If that's something you like, then go ahead, I personally prefer drinks that don't have a strong taste in alcohol. Shows - amazing. Drinks and food -expensive. But to each their own. There are also some nights where you can go dancing (clubbing here) with gogo dancers and everything; my roommates went one night and described it to me. Sounded pretty out there, so again if that's what you're cool with, then I recommend. I prefer a somewhat chill atmosphere - not too much fun, I know - but that's just me. I'm mostly Earth placement in my top three (if you know what that means).
Los Angeles. Toxic Fridays.
Ended up here on accident. DON'T GOOOOO. I had already been drinking with my friends and when we ended up at a rooftop bar in DTLA we were disappointed in, we decided to go looking for another place nearby. My friend we had gone out with found a place on Instagram called Toxic Fridays, but that night was a Thursday. Ended up being a night for minors (what I still call 18 years olds, if they're under 21). It was the wrong night to go. Since we had already paid for the uber we decided to stay. The music was meh and it was a lot of...well, kids there. So, I'm not sure how the college nights go, but Thursday night was not the night to go. Do not recommend (unless you're under 21).
San Francisco. Monroe. The Bamboo Hut. Cigar Bar.
My first time experiencing San Francisco (and not just taking pictures at the bridge when I was two years old), was at a college media conference in the spring last year (2023) and I went with some of my coworkers. One of these coworkers had a friend in the area who showed us around.
The first place was Monroe, it was so cute/cool! Outside they had a lounging/smoking area (a lot of people smoke cigarettes in the bay) and it was 60's themed - very well done. When we first got there it was still pretty early (and there was hardly anybody there), so we left and came back.
To get back in we had to get stamped and it was a cute little trumpet - I loved it! It reminded me of Lady Gaga's tattoo. So we stopped by The Bamboo Hut for another drink.
This place was also cute, I very much recommend. The owner of the place was also pretty cool. My coworkers and I ordered a fish bowl (my first ever) and it was pretty cool. I found it funny being in a very tropical island themed bar in the rainy big city, but I loved it at the same time.
Then we got hungry, so before heading back to Monroe, we went to the Cigar Bar and Grill to eat some food. My coworkers also wanted to try smoking cigars so I guess it ended up being a win-win. Even though I ordered a plant-based burger, there was still cross contamination for those who are more strict (but I was starving). As someone who doesn't really smoke, and after drinking more than usual and eating something very greasy, I didn't end up feeling too well. However the ambiance was pretty cool. It was very odd but cool being in an area I'm not used too (a lot of people just chilling in the inside patio just smoking their cigars). We found out by accident that you're not supposed to smoke the cigar inside the restaurant. They have a patio section inside for those choosing to smoke. I recommend doing your research on how to use a cigar before going to this place if you don't already know how to, as we struggled for a bit before getting the cigars started correctly. They were also giving what seemed like salsa lessons on the other side of the patio so that was cool, too.
When we headed back to Monroe, it was PACKED. Considering it's a smaller place, that made sense, but I guess the place is very popular in San Francisco, but nonetheless it was a great time. I liked how it was more so people my age with a lot of diversity (more than I'm used to seeing in L.A.). It was a pretty great time. I would come back. I thought it was cool how the bar was themed with the early decades from the 50s & 60s, so they start off the day playing 50's, then 60's hits and so on and so on until you reach the 2010s and whatever by the end of the night. The music was great. 10/10.
Downtown San Diego. STK Steakhouse. ANdAZ. The Double Deuce. Omertá.
I've spent a lot of time in San Diego, but not much in exploring the city. So when I my friend Mitzi asked me if I wanted to go with her, downtown, to take a picture at a rooftop bar, I was down. We went, but since it was a bit of a drive and it was a bit late, I had gotten kind of hungry. When we got to ANdAZ (the rooftop), we were a little confused as to where to go, if we had to go up to the bar or could sit wherever. There weren't that many people when we got there.
It was a Friday. I went up to the bartender and asked him, he let us sit wherever and said they'd attend to us in a bit. But when we looked at the menu, I didn't find anything vegan friendly to eat, and it was pretty cold, so we left. We ended up going downstairs to the STK Steakhouse. It was only a 20 minute wait to get in. It was actually pretty cool.
I'd recommend being somewhat nicely dressed when going here. Since it was right around the time of Halloween, they were playing remixes of songs from various decades and halloween songs - I loved it! They had spider webs and smoke going off every now and then.
The food here was pretty good too - the bread was amazing! I enjoyed myself, this place was pretty cool. Anyways, my friend was down to go clubbing so we decided to go check out some of the other places nearby. On the way there, we passed by this place across the street called The Double Deuce.
We don't go inside, but it looked so cool from the window. It was a country themed place. From the window I saw that they had a bull-riding machine, and I've always wanted to try one. Even though I didn't get to go in, I would be interested in checking it out some day.
The Gaslamp district had a lot of cool places that looked like fun but I was ready to go home. For our last stop before heading home, we got (free) drinks at Omertá. A promoter stopped us outside of the club and gave us vouchers for free entry and a free drink. It seemed pretty new and there was barely anyone there but it looked like it had potential.You could find it in the Gaslamp district if ever interested.
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