Nightlife in Hollywood

In creating Premiere Supper Club, Vinny Laresca harnessed his acting experience in films such as The Aviator and Romeo and Juliet to invent a nightlife experience that integrates theatrical drama. The luxurious Kristofer Keith–designed interior combines chic touches of exposed brick, wrought iron, and velvet curtains with decor reminiscent of a Spanish stage performance, including molded stucco arches and oil paintings of bullfighters. But the ambiance isn't the only red-carpet element—the guest list often includes A-list celebrities, as featured in People and on Perez Hilton. See and be seen at the 30-foot downstairs bar, where Grey Goose bottles glitter beneath a longhorn skull, or on the second-story dance floor. Here, DJs spin remixes of hip-hop and indie rock beneath exclusive balcony seating reserved for VIPs and music snobs who shout song requests in Shakespearean verse.

Amid a shopping center adorned in rustic white plaster and wood accents, Alpine Village Restaurant welcomes visitors to lively banquets of hearty German fare, frosty brews, and umlaut-heavy revelry. Guests gather under the restaurant's timbered eaves to sip samples of 15 frothy European beers on draft and munch on tasty brats, salads, and schnitzels while soaking up live music or matches of UEAF soccer. In addition to its festive eatery, the village draws in huge crowds for Southern California's largest Oktoberfest, a traditional Bavarian celebration replete with imported oom-pah bands, a 32,000-square-foot beer tent, and kitting circles churning out traditional beer cozies for the Oktoberfest fairy.

More than 100 whiskeys and a comparable bounty of beers flow at Johnny’s Saloon, an eccentric neighborhood bar that dubs itself a “twisted Cheers.” Opened in 1982, the bar emanates a charm stemming from its appreciation of the rock 'n' roll generation and a rejection of anything that represents the status quo, such as walls. The jukebox is stocked solely with vintage rock 'n' roll and country, steering clear of Top 40 pop and hip-hop, and in the spotless bathrooms, 20 scented lotions keep hands smelling fresher than the Snuggle bear’s dance moves. Though the bar doesn’t serve food, the staffers happily order in from the nearby famous Donuttery and pour libations from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. They serve up single shots of spirits such as Midleton Irish whiskey and Macallan 21-year, but patrons can also purchase a private bottle of liquor that’s held behind the bar under lock and key.

For more than 43 years, Oil Can Harry's has teemed with disco dancers, cocktail drinkers, and socialites who arrive nightly to bask in the club’s rollicking atmosphere. Owner Bob Tomasino left behind his career as a math teacher to turn up the volume at the lively nightspot, which hosts a myriad of diversions and special events that include spirited line dances, Diana Ross impersonators, and the annual Mr. Oil Can Leatherman competition. Cocktails and bottles of domestic beer clink to the beats of show tunes and karaoke ballads in the upstairs lounge, and complimentary snacks line the bar during weekday happy hours. An all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch—complete with a glass of champagne—staves off appetites worked up while dancing at Oil Can Harry's Saturday-night disco parties or attempting to outrun the sun at dawn.

Ziller Karaoke & Bar's private rooms and booths reverberate with the sounds of friends crooning to one another amid ambient neon hues, laser lights, and a selection of Asian and American pub fare. The bar's extensive catalog of hit tunes provides fodder for spotlight-ready vocal chords, and its Karaoke Camstar system employs cameras to capture performers and insert them into projected music videos laden with special effects and shots of sports cars made of cash. As nights unfold into impassioned displays of singing prowess, the resident team of mixologists keep tables stocked with a spread of cocktails and bottle service to fuel singing into the late evening hours.

Of all the things a bar could be well known for, eggs might be low on the list. At Baddeley's Pourhouse, however, pickled eggs become unlikely stars, especially when washed down with iconic crimson, blue, and silver cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. As patrons cluster in choruses of clinking cans and glasses, games flicker to life on seven high-definition televisions, which helped earn the tavern the No. 3 spot on CityVoter's list of Best Sports Bars in 2011. In a neon halo, a computerized jukebox spills out tunes and secret aspirations of becoming a food replicator on a starship missions. The cinnamon-hued felt of the pool table washes into the colors of red-topped bar stools, where customers perch as they order from the daily specials or discuss forming a synchronized swimming team for sponsorship by the alehouse.