Soho House Holloway

Worth getting out of bed for

A city by itself in the dead – or rather, very much alive – centre of LA, West Hollywood is a ride, with legendary and often infamous bars and clubs along the Sunset Strip, monied Melrose Ave and Beverly Hills, historic gay haunts along Santa Monica (hi, Boystown), and trashier punkier Fairfax. Get the more touristy sights out of the way first: Take a leisurely stroll along the Walk of Fame, pausing at TCL Chinese Theatre to see celeb hand imprints and costumed characters. At the east end lies the Hollywood Palladium, but during the day head south for a tour of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery’s famous tombs and the Paramount Pictures Studio Tour. Then double back down Melrose where the serious shopping starts; find pre-loved couture at Decades and Resurrection, punkier pieces at Posers, and edgier designers at geometric marvel Maxfield – and Paul Smith’s pink box of a shop is always good for the ‘gram. You’ll need to drive for bougie-r boutiques and your Pretty Woman moment on Rodeo Drive, but the Grove in Fairfax is a more fun experience with green spaces and even a little tram, movie theatres, and lively events amid the luxe labels. If you’re feeling Soho House Holloway's love of art, then visit the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the LA Art Box (where content is produced as you browse), Jeffrey Deitch for intriguing installations and the Artspace Warehouse, which sells works at non-VIP prices. There’s also the MAK Center For Art and Architecture (itself in a lovely modernist number by RM Schindler), but you could just drive through WeHo and into the hills; on the way you’ll see the ​​Lloyd Wright House and Studio, the Storer House (another Wright build), Greystone Mansion, and the iconic Stahl House. The One Archives gives you a grounding in the city’s LGBTQ+ history, or you could dive on in, attending drag brunch or bingo at Hamburger Mary’s, bearded cabarets at Stache, and the Abbey for Musical Mondays. Soothe sore heads the next day with a hike in Runyon Canyon Park, or Griffith Park, a 20-minute drive away. This is home to the Hollywood sign, a challenging uphill hike, but with searing, hazy, city-wide views if you make it to the top.

Local restaurants

You’re in perhaps the most Hollywood part of Hollywood here so dining often comes with blockbuster bills and hard-to-get reservations, but you needn’t pull the ‘Don’t you know who I am?’ card to dine well here. Sushi Ginza Onodera’s omakase (the only option here) is a feast of very pricy and fresh fish, but you won’t feel short-changed; the fatty tuna is some of the city’s best. At Mexican Madre, spicy takes on mole-slathered chicken thigh or pork ribs, lamb barbacoa marinated in dried chilli and avocado leaves, and carne asada with grilled cactus are washed down with various margaritas and frosés. AOC is a deeply romantic wine bar, laced with greenery inside and out, where dishes are given the same consideration as the drinks, with bacon-wrapped, parmesan-stuffed dates; delicate salads (chicory with windrose apples, Asian pear, buttermilk and mint); duck stuffed with sausage, apple, dates and walnuts. For citrussy ceviches (scallop and blood orange, halibut with black mint and tiger’s milk, seabass with tarami-yuzu dressing), and unique Peruvian plates (filet mignon cooked in a red-wine-soaked cloth with huacatay sauce, wild prawns with pistachio salsa, miso-glazed octopus skewers with ninja radishes), roll up to the leafy terrace at Rosaliné.

Local cafés

LA is king of the kitsch-y cool hangout. Take Tail o’ the Pup, a hot-dog stand shaped like a hot-dog, which even serves hot-dogs in a bun shaped like a puppy – what’s not to love? And then there’s Norm’s, built in the Jetsons-esque Googie architectural style. Stop in anytime (it’s open 24/7) for cheese melts and chicken tenders, stacked sandwiches and bulky burgers, all manner of breakfast foods and a rootbeer float. And Pink’s hot-dogs is a Barbie-fied spot with a wall of signed photos from satisfied celebs.

Local bars

Ok, so, you’re unlikely to end your night in Tommy Lee or Axl Rose’s hotel rooms, or go on a bender with Leo’s ‘pussy posse’ these days, but the Sunset Strip can still throw horns. Whisky-a-Go-Go, where the Doors and Stooges took the stage, is legendary; the Rainbow Bar & Grill was home to the ‘Hollywood vampires’ (a largely nocturnal celebrity drinking club formed by Alice Cooper); and the Viper Room is infamous (for gangster meets, drugs to the gills and secret high-stakes poker games) but its off-the-rails rep is part of the fun. Chateau Marmont’s bar is a celeb-magnet still, but go there to take your seat among Hollywood history under the butterfly-dotted ceiling, in the glow of scarlet-shaded lamps. Plus the drinks – classic cocktails or those off the secret menu – are actually very good. And the art deco Tower Bar has hosted anyone who’s anyone (John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor…) and continues to do so.