Where in Los Angeles can you get the chill vibes of a bar, lively sounds of a nightclub and laughs of a comedy club, along with potential celebrity spotting, decent food and a wide selection of drinks?
Hold onto your guesses, because first, here’s a little info about the City of Angels.
Los Angeles had its wings clipped a few years back along with other Californian cities when state-wide lockout laws were introduced.
The strict laws make Sydney’s recently introduced lockout laws look relatively relaxed, with an emphasis on no entry into most nightclubs past 1.00am and no serving of alcohol past 2.00am. Oh, AND any unfinished alcoholic beverages in a venue at 2.00am will be removed from patrons’ hands and trashed (literally).
But it’s okay! While the tough rules may have reduced the number of nightclubs and made the remaining ones pretty tough to get into, they also paved the way for smaller venues to emerge such as bars, comedy clubs, and my new favourite spot… Hollywood Hookah Lounge.
Image: @HollywoodHookah/Twitter
Conveniently located on Hollywood Blvd – the side of the boulevard sprinkled with ‘classic’ celebrity stars – Hollywood Hookah Lounge promises a “comfy late-night lounge with unique tobacco flavours plus booze, flat screen TVs & hip hop tunes”, and that’s exactly what it delivers plus some.
Dimmed lighting, a comfortable, spacious setting and outdoor seating make for great ambiance along with tunes (a mix of hip hop, some reggaeton and every now and then, a little reggae) handpicked by resident music mixer, DJ Blvd, that’ll keep you bouncing between drags.
Of course, you do need to order shisha in order to visit the venue, but if there’s at least one person in the group that’s open to choosing from the wide selection of flavours then the rest of you can kick back, order some food, a couple of rounds of drinks and have a laid back night.
And if you’re hoping to spot a few celebrities, the lounge attracts stars of all kinds such as singer Christina Milian:
Footballer, Fred Davis:
And even rapper, Joe Budden, who was there one of the three nights we visited the establishment (check out my friend’s sneaky shot below):
But perhaps where Hollywood Hookah Lounge shines most, is through its staff.
It’s like one big family where Senia and Mariana are your incredibly sweet and attentive hostesses; and watchful Eric will keep your shisha going with regular coal changes and adjustments (if you’re lucky like I was, he may even indulge you with a light Marvel VS DC debate – hands down my favourite conversation the entire trip).
Doorman Khalid and security guard, Donnie, will relax enough around you after a couple of visits to crack a few jokes.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMqYyDxgAUI/?taken-by=hollywoodhookah&hl=en
And of course, there’s DJ Blvd (mentioned above) with his friendly presence and great music. If you’re nice enough he might even play a song request.
I’ll admit that while Hookah Hollywood Lounge may not be for everyone, I found it to be the perfect spot where great tunes, relaxed attitudes, drinks and amazing hospitality come together to offer a fun, chilled night in LA.