Veldskoen’s top 5 secret bars in L.A
Secret drinking is awesome. That came out wrong. To clarify, we’re not talking the
kind of secret drinking that lands people at AA meetings.
We are talking about thekind of secret drinking where finding, and then gaining access to the secret location, will make you feel like you’ve finally been allowed to enter your big brother’s treehouse, and may now join his gang of gangly pimple-faced followers, who all ride bikes without training wheels, and are therefore completely awesome. Basically, we’re talking about the type of secret drinking that will make you feel like a kid again. That also came out wrong. Never mind.
We’ve put together a shortlist of our favorite modern-day
establishments in L.A, and we sincerely hope you will search for, and visit all of
them in your Veldskoen shoes: perfect footwear for legal “bootlegging.”
Crane’s Bar Downtown
Where is it? Crane’s Bar is located at 810 S Spring Street in the heart of downtown Los Angels. It’s a tiny bar with a massive neon ‘Cocktails’ sign on the door. If you know what to look for, you won’t miss it.
What’s so special about it? It’s built inside an old bank vault. It takes you back in time with old school décor, gaming consoles, a jukebox, and the fact that it has no cell phone reception. Drunk dialing from Crane’s will never be a problem. Also, the cocktails and brews are pretty epic.
How do you get in? You just walk through the door, if you are of legal drinking age, that is.
The Edison : Los Angeles
Where is it? The Edison used to be Los Angeles’s first private power plant. It sits on 108 W 2nd St. But before you go there, make sure to visit their website, which treats you to a mini burlesque experience, right there on the home page!
What’s so special about it? It’s a proper time travel experience! And that’s before you’ve consumed any of the craft cocktails or absinthe they serve. The renovated powerplant plays host to live music and special burlesque evenings.
How do you get in? Dress to impress. T-shirts, flip flops and baseball caps won’t get you through the door, but a swanky pair of Veldskoen coupled with anything that says ‘old world style’ should do the trick. Double points if you come in a fringed Gatsby dress!
R Bar, Koreatown
Where is it? You can find the R Bar at 3331 W. 8th Street, Los Angeles in the heart of Koreatown.
What’s so special about it? Themed live music nights and great food. Also, it’s a pirate bar, hello? It is filled skeletons, rum bottles and romantic dark corners for doing things that make you go “RRRRRR!”
How do you get in? You need a super-secret password. We don’t know what it is today, but you should easily be able to find it on their not so super-secret Twitter and Facebook pages. If you don't believe us
A review from Zagat : "It’s not hard to find the password to this K-town “speakeasy” (a clue: check Facebook), but the doorkeeper will “give up some hints” for entry to the “dark” interior that looks like a “pirate ship” Sounds fun!!!
Blind Barber : Culver City
Where is it? When you first arrive at 10797 Washington Boulevardd, Culver City, you might be a little disappointed. You enter a pretty standard looking hipsteresque barber shop, and can get a pretty standard hipsteresque cut and shave… But then you spot the backdoor, and everything changes!
What’s so special about it? Welcome to a super-secret chic flapper style bar in the back room of a barbershop. Perfect for private party rentals!
How do you get in? Pretty much, through the Barbershop door…But, also by making a reservation on the website.
The TownHouse: Venice Beach
Where is it? Townhouse and the Del Monte are both located right in the heart of Venice Beach at 52 Windward Avenue, Venice, CA. The townhouse is upstairs and the Del Monte is downstairs.
What’s so special about it? Established in 1915, Townhouse is one of the oldest bars in Los Angeles. It was closed during the 1920-1933 prohibition and replaced by a grocery store called Menotti’s. It’s the basement, however, became known as The Del Monte, where alcohol could be bought illegally during this time. A trapdoor and a dumbwaiter would bring two guests at a time into The Del Monte via Menotti’s Grocery Store.
How do you get in? Getting in today is less complicated. Once you’ve tried one of the cocktails at Townhouse, now running again as a legal bar on the upper floor, use the staircase leading down to the Del Monte floor. It was installed when prohibition ended in1933, for your convenience.