Local restaurants
Downtown, Patina (+1 213 972 3331) at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on South Grand Avenue serves superb Caliornian cuisine – especially the seafood tasting menu.
Handy for refuelling after browsing Venice’s shops, Joe’s (+1 310 399 5811) on Abbot Kinney Boulevard combines the area’s boho atmosphere with excellent French-Californian cooking.
Local bars
The Edison (+1 213 613 0000) is a lounge bar, club and restaurant set in a slickly renovated former power plant. Go for the inventive cocktail inventory (try a tequila and espresso-loaded Finite Wattage) and stay for brilliant bar snacks. Or hole up at literary libation station the Library Bar (+1 213 614 0053) in the downtown Loft District, a cosy neighbourhood drinking den lined with bookshelves.
Nightlife
Luckily for guests of this hotel, The Rooftop Bar at the Standard Downtown LA is one of the hottest places to see and be seen, and is buzzing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, but if you want to go out somewhere in the city, you could try out the louchely fabulous Bordello (+1 213 687 3766) on East First Street in Downtown. Bettie Page-styled waitresses, antique love seats and eclectic sounds lend this after-hours bar a whacky burlesque vibe. Alternatively, check out our nightlife round-up in the Los Angeles destination guide.
Worth getting out of bed for
The Walt Disney Concert Hall (www.laphil.org) on Grand Avenue in Downtown is home to the LA Philharmonic orchestra, but it’s worth a visit just to see Frank Gehry’s fantastic cubist architecture. If you like to do your shopping under one enormous roof, the Beverly Center (www.beverlycenter.com) mega-mall on Beverly Boulevard is a spendthrift's heaven.
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Smith extra at The Standard Downtown LA
Two complimentary cocktails in the Lobby Bar. Smith members staying in a Penthouse will receive VIP access to the Rooftop with an exclusive reserved table and two free cocktails (must be booked; tables only held for 15 minutes after booking time).
