L.A.'s bar scene runneth over. 21 new spots to check out ASAP
In the last few months and at the tail end of 2024 a number of seasoned vets also branched out with new bars: The Thunderbolt team launched a neon-disco drinking den, pasta impresario Evan Funke debuted a cocktail lounge inside Mother Wolf restaurant, and the Little Jewel of New Orleans owners leaned into their Big Easy ode with potent hurricanes and charbroiled oysters. Here are 21 of L.A.'s best new places to grab a drink, with a vibe — and cocktail — for everyone.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Eater
2 hours ago
- Eater
Why You Need to Order the New Tea Pairing at Emeril's
Henna Bakshi is the Regional Editor, South at Eater and an award-winning food and wine journalist with a WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) Level 3 degree. She oversees coverage in Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, the Carolinas, and Nashville. On a Saturday night, wrapping up dinner at Emeril's, Jason Burse's eyes lit up when I asked for hot tea to finish the meal. 'I've got just the thing,' he said. Out came two glass tea pots on warmers lit with tea lights, accompanied by the most beautiful bone china tea cups and saucers, wrapped in painted florals and gold trim. The first pour was a vintage Emperor's private reserve pu-erh tea infused with truffle and gold, and the second a Gyokoro green tea. Burse, the captain at Emeril's, enthusiastically spoke of age on the pu-erh, a fermented Chinese tea, asking me to smell the cup. It was scented with deep notes of cedar, nuts, and truffle. Emeril's, the lauded restaurant by namesake chef Emeril Lagasse in New Orleans, isn't done surprising its diners. The restaurant has introduced a new tea service, meticulously paired with its tasting menu, or served a la carte at the bar. And it's not just any old sweet tea. These are treasures Burse and wine director Aaron Benjamin have sourced from Rare Tea Cellar, a purveyor of fine teas and other specialty ingredients. Banana cream pie is served with an aged 2010 pu-erh called Caramel Dream. Henna Bakshi 'My first experience with tea was in Chicago in 2017, while I was working at Band of Bohemia. It was a 1979 pu-erh,' Burse says of the time he knew tea was a special calling. 'The tea was gifted to me by a mentor of mine who wanted me to stay focused during service, and I was hooked after that.' Emeril's chef and co-owner, E.J. Lagasse, is on board. 'We're having a lot of fun with it,' says Lagasse, who had his first specialty tea tasting at three-Michelin-starred SingleThread Farm Restaurant in California. 'It was phenomenal,' he recalls. Lagasse is recreating some of what he experienced, working with individual courses and matching their taste profiles with equally heavy-hitter teas. 'Hojicha tastes like nori, it's got a seaweed thing going on, so we tried it with the trout. We've got the Fulsome for the oyster stew with fennel pollen in the tea.' Cold tea is served in a wine glass to preserve aromas. Randy Schmidt Tea preparations go through cocktail-like mixing. Randy Schmidt With the beef course, the team is serving warm beef tallow in the tea, much like a consomme. With fish and caviar, the teas are chilled; for another course a genmaicha tea is cold-steeped for 48 hours and served at room temperature, and a lobster mushroom tea is served hot. 'The mouthfeel of it is incredible,' says Lagasse. Cold teas are served in wine glasses to help collect aromas, and hot ones are served in fine china of different shapes. 'Hojicha tastes like nori, it's got a seaweed thing going on, so we tried it with the trout.' — E.J. Lagasse, chef and co-owner, Emeril's 'Thinking that wine is the only avenue for pairing and luxury should really be a thought of the past,' says Benjamin, who directs a weighty wine list. Both Burse and Benjamin are working with Lagasse to pair the teas with the different courses. The pairing can be purchased as a $100 add-on to the tasting menu ($225) or ordered by the cup for $8 to $20. 'We also make our own iced tea,' says Benjamin. The food at Emeril's has a linear focus on local ingredients — the boudin, seafood, takes on po' boys and sno-balls, are all quintessential New Orleans. When it comes to tea, Lagasse hopes to steep some NOLA into that, too. The tea blends are worked like cocktails, with different steep times and even fat-washed with tallow. Lagasse says the team is working on a tea that tastes like a Sazerac. Related Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate in New Orleans This Week 'Will we find the chicory of the tea world?' asks Lagasse. 'We'll find more sense of place in tea.' As for now, I'd tuck into a warm cup at the end of a meal here. To finish, banana cream pie is served with an aged 2010 pu-erh called Caramel Dream. It's a dainty thing, with depth and honey, a gentle lullaby to pie. And how can you say no to that? Eater New Orleans All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Eater
2 hours ago
- Eater
San Francisco's Buzziest Bakers Collab on Exclusive Cookie Drop
is the associate editor for the Northern California and Pacific Northwest region writing about restaurant and bar trends, coffee and cafes, and pop-ups. An old-school San Francisco chocolatier is working with four trendy confectioners for one week this August. In honor of National Cookie Day on Monday, August 4, Ghirardelli linked with Tano, StaySweetSF, Sixth Course, and the French Spot for their own riffs on chocolate chip cookies. At Sixth Course, it's a milk and cookies gelato pop, for instance, and at the French Spot there's a hazelnut mocha cookie. The spread of treats is available until Sunday, August 10. The partnership marks a keen sense of spotting buzzy bakers by the longtime San Francisco-founded chocolate company. Tano, one of the city's most line-inducing bakeries this year, is serving Guamanian-inspired coconut candy dark chocolate chip cookies. StaySweetSF — a fine dining pastry chef's love letter to the city — is serving hojicha-infused cookies at Shoji on Saturday, August 9 and Commis on Sunday, August 10. Mister Jiu's brings back banquet menus The country's only Michelin-star-holding Chinese restaurant Mister Jiu's is ditching its tasting menu. As of Wednesday, August 6 the a la carte menu is back in action in addition to a Chinatown-inspired banquet meal for $125 built around its famous Peking duck. The San Francisco Chronicle reports chef Brandon Jew felt the tasting menu wasn't quite the right vibe, but he's still not sure how the math maths going forward; the tasting menu pivot was to try and keep the checkbook balanced in the first place. Bulldog-inspired wine bar hits SF The now-closed Turkish restaurant Tuba is set to flip into Frenchie by the end of August. It's helmed by former La Mar Cocina Peruana wine director Joel Arias and is a nod to Arias's French bulldog Dolcetto. Wines grown by the cycles of the moon and organic fare alike star on the menu. The San Francisco Standard reports there'll even be an on-site dog walker for fellow pup lovers. Famous winery opens books for 2026 The Robert Mondavi Winery, one of California's most famous wineries and closed since 2023, is now taking reservations for its official grand reopening in spring 2026, lining up with the Oakville property's 60th anniversary. Three packages are available, ranging from $55 to $125 with various levels of engagement on the estate (and increasing amounts of wine drinking) scaling throughout the options. Reservations, sure to be snatched up quick, can be made through Tock. Eater SF All your essential food and restaurant intel delivered to you Email (required) Sign Up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Elle
6 hours ago
- Elle
Meghan Markle Reveals How She Celebrated Her 44th Birthday—and the Special Role Prince Harry Played
THE RUNDOWN Meghan Markle rang in her 44th birthday with an intimate dinner celebration in Los Angeles. The Duchess of Sussex shared a photo from the evening on Instagram, showing her seated at a dinner table, blowing out the candles on a gorgeous cake adorned with orange flowers. 'Blowing out the candles on a beautiful 24 hours, and thanking my husband, friends and family for making it so special,' she wrote. 'To those of you I don't know, but who send love every day—thank you so much. Please know I feel it and appreciate it ❤️.' She also gave a shout-out to the Beverly Hills Italian restaurant where she dined, Funke L.A. 'And just to get a little foodie on you….this dinner last night at @funke_la with the culinary mastery of @evanfunke and his team is in the top five meals of my life,' she added. 'Extraordinary 🍝 Thank you for a standout dining experience.' This was Meghan's first Instagram post since July 4, when she reminisced about the early days of dating Harry. She shared a photo of red, white, and blue-decorated cupcakes alongside a throwback image of the couple. 'Our second date was the 4th of July 2016, and H brought me cupcakes to celebrate,' she wrote. 'Now, all these years later, our two children are in on the tradition.'
