The whispers have begun. Rumors are getting out of hand. Somebody leaked a guest list to TMZ. It’s that time again―your annual holiday bash is almost here. So we’d like to present you with five of LA’s best new spots to hold it, complete with stages, pool tables and the occasional tequila tunnel.
Instead of your usual table at Scarpetta, tell your guests to head up the grand, curving staircase to the sprawling second-floor balcony. After a nice little meal of holiday spaghetti for 60, things will spill over into the private bar behind the dining space... and the private patio behind that. And since you’re in the Montage hotel, maybe a suite after that.
But to really distinguish yourself from the dinner-party/bar-party circuit, a private bash at Hollywood’s giant new pool hall will do the trick. Your private room will have plenty of bottles, candy platters and a low-lit pool table of your very own. Nothing says the holidays like a low-lit pool table.
If you prefer to do your private partying where everybody in town will see you, Red O’s got a semiprivate reservable platform in the back. Start there for dinner, then guide your guests through the glass-enclosed tequila tunnel to your private corner lounge. Along with any stray TV actresses you pick up along the way.
At Culver City’s most English new gastropub, there’s a new back room for dinner... and darts. After an intimate feast of Venison and Huckleberry Terrine and Kobe Beef Cheeks before a roaring fire, order another round of Piccadilly Martinis and let the tournament begin.
But if you’re looking to cultivate more of a Mad Men-ish party vibe, book the back room at the old-timey First & Hope. Your private bartender was dressed by the show’s costume designer, and there’s a stage for your favorite retro chanteuse. Leave the riding lawnmowers at home, though.
