Food + Drink
Bar Delux
Bar Delux
Flapper extravagance meets industrialist opulence
The Cahuenga Corridor has evolved into the Disneyland of Hollywood, with each bar owning a different theme: Beauty Bar has its salon-style space, Ecco offers eco-friendly clubbing, and Velvet Margarita is a riff on a Tijuana cantina. The corridor’s latest addition, the 1920s-inspired whiskey watering hole Bar Delux, continues the trend.
Delux’s art deco interior is embellished with swooping wood adornments, crystalline chandeliers and Titanic-sized velvet curtains. It’s easy to imagine Howard Hughes sipping a sidecar while Gertrude Stein shares red-snapper ceviche with a wildly gesticulating Truman Capote.
Unlike some other L.A. retro bars, which can seem more like movie sets, Delux feels convincing. The bar pulls off a tricky balancing act: It’s old yet new, swank yet comfortable, energetic yet chill.
But make no mistake—this is no subtle speakeasy. Spacecraft’s Kristofer Keith designed the space with soaring ceilings and a massive wall of green stained glass towering behind the bar, depicting an Emerald City-meets-Metropolis cityscape.
Injecting a touch of class into a street often lined with back-tattooed girls in low-rise jeans and guys sporting faux-hawks, Delux is more than a time warp: It also acts as a safe haven from the barely legal crowd. “We imagine Bar Delux to be a comfortable place for A-listers and a classy crowd,” says general manager Leo Medina. Cahuenga can be a revolving door when it comes to bars and restaurants, but Medina says Delux aims to become an institution. “We’re looking to be here for a long run.”
The cocktails: For the distinguished drinker, Delux serves such genteel cocktails as the Pom Noir, made with Hennessy VS, Grand Marnier and pomegranate syrup, and the Flapper Jack, a concoction of 100-proof applejack, cranberry juice, lemon juice and blackberries.
The booze-drenched food: From the tuna sashimi with vodka and tomato marmalade to the beef tenderloin with Scotch and green peppercorn sauce, Bar Delux breathes life and spice into classic dishes from another era.
Bottom line: Your friends from AA should take a rain check.
By Drew Tewksbury
Special to Metromix
December 3, 2008
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