West Hollywood’s Santa Monica Boulevard is known for housing some of the most famous and popular gay bars and clubs in Los Angeles. On any given night, flashing lights, loud music, and an occasional bar dancer can be seen and heard emanating from 692 N. Robertson. But the nightlife isn’t as lively as it once was. Lisa Vanderpump’s tourist-bating restaurant, PUMP, recently closed, and now comes word that its next-door neighbor, The Abbey, has been listed for sale, according to WeHo Times. Marcus & Millichap of Brandon Michaels Group have the listing, which describes the landmark as, “A Gene ..read more

By nature, nightlife is always changing. Hot spots cool off, “scenes” change, and club-hoppers are always looking for the next thing they haven’t experienced yet. With the exception of neighborhood dive bars, a few landmark music venues, and a handful of seasoned party promoters who’ve cracked the longevity code (by evolving with entertainment tastes and hospitality trends), Los Angeles thrives on novel ideas and new environments. Part of the winning formula in 2023 is about catering to specific tastes, communities, and niches, and in a city as diverse as L.A., there are many types and tribes ..read more

Mark and Jonnie Houston were practically born in a bar and raised on rock and roll. The brothers’ mother, Ploenpidh—Plo, for short—was the owner of MonteCarlo, a famed ’70s dive in Koreatown with a legendary jukebox. A little later, in the ’80s, she opened Raji’s on Hollywood Boulevard, home away from the road for bands like Black Flag, Guns N’ Roses, Green Day, and the Flaming Lips. No big shocker, then, that the twins would grow up to become two of the city’s most prominent club owners, the Winklevosses of L.A. nightlife. Already operating a slew of the town’s hottest nightspots—including d ..read more

My favorite nights driving over the hill were when the fog was so dense that I felt like I was starring in my own film noir. I could hear the coyotes and the owls performing like a backup band to whatever cassette was playing, which was invariably an advance of the latest EP of the artist I was on my way to see at the Viper Room. Flying over the canyon at night was my life. When people asked me what I liked most about living in the Valley back then, I would tell them I could make it to the Viper Room—door to door—in 15 minutes. Juliette Lewis performs with her band in 2003. (Photo: Barry King ..read more

Of all the COVID casualties on the Los Angeles nightlife scene, perhaps the most deeply felt, indigestible loss was that of Bryan Rabin’s Giorgio’s, the black-walled, black-mirrored disco at The Standard Hollywood, which was shuttered in 2021. On any given Saturday—it ran one night a week for seven years, finally closing in March 2020—you might see anyone from Debbie Harry and Mick Jagger to Dita Von Teese and Kenny Scharf ripping up the dance floor next to LA’s most stylish machers in art, fashion, and entertainment. “I thought it was a gone moment, I had moved on in my mind,” says Rabin, who ..read more

My first visit to the Abbey, the sprawling queer bar on Robertson between Santa Monica and Melrose, was as a visitor to Los Angeles in 2012. It was a glorious late-spring afternoon, and the place seemed to embody everything that makes life in L.A. so intoxicating: the beauty of its clientele, the diverse sexiness of its go-go dancers, and the breeziness of its open-air architecture. There was the seductive sense that, if you can make it work, life in this city can be as pleasant and carefree as a happy hour in June. I moved here a month later. I’M COMING OUT. Diana Ross with Abbey owner David ..read more

Up until recently, West Hollywood had essentially two options for public libations: upscale hotel/private clubs or old-school Santa Monica Boulevard gay bars, with requisite pounding music, G-stringed go-go boys making it rain, and randy, rowdy crowds spilling into the street, margaritas in tow. And that was just during the day. The muted contempo decor includes a beguiling amoeba-shaped chandelier and barstools covered in faux marble fabric. (Photo: Peter Christiansen Valli) Now, there’s an appropriately named and quite luxurious option: Or Bar. Partners Rob Novinger, George Kotsiopoulos, and ..read more

Perched above Crypto.com Arena and the Los Angeles Convention Center along Figueroa Street are the new Moxy and AC Hotels, which will hold a grand opening celebration on May 4, after years of construction. Although the Moxy brand has 35 locations across the country including San Diego, Chicago, Boston, Miami and six in the New York City area, this is the first in Los Angeles. Mitchell Hochberg, President of the property’s developer, Lightstone Group, said it was time to bring the Moxy and AC concepts to L.A. “Moxy and AC provide two distinct hotel experiences under one roof, allowing travelers ..read more

Saturday night brought a star-studded affair to the Majestic Downtown, in the form of an ESPN-hosted party in honor of Monday night’s college football game between Texas Christian University and the University of Georgia. We sent local theater-goer Ben Kawaller to cover the event, where he rubbed elbows with a number of mega-famous athletes he had never heard of, including Tim Tebow, Greg McElroy, Mike Posner, and a bunch of ESPN hosts and reporters. This is what he brought back.   Stay on top of the latest in L.A. news, food, and culture. Sign up for our newsletters today. The post The ..read more

Welcome to LAMag’s semimonthly update on major restaurant openings, club news, hotel announcements, celebrity and influencer sightings, and everything else you need to know before you venture to Sin City. Adele’s Caesars Palace residency premiered at The Colosseum on Nov. 18 in Las Vegas. (Raven B Varona) Adele Begins Residency; Garth Brooks is Coming Soon Adele’s long-delayed Weekends with Adele residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace finally kicked off on Nov. 18 as she welcomed the crowd with “Hello,” and continued a 20-song set, with hits like “Easy on Me,” “Skyfall,” “Rolling in the ..read more