Top Ranked Death & Co Cocktail Bar - My Honest Review
Top Ranked Death & Co Cocktail Bar - My Honest Review
A DTLA date night with a line-filled journey to try one of the world’s top ranked cocktail bar
I love hyped up places. Once of the most exciting bits of living in Los Angeles, getting to hit up all those “must visit” places and chiming in with my two cents. :) The thrill of visiting a new place, new atmosphere, not sure what to expect - and taking it all in. Which means taking a whole bunch of photos and ordering everything on the menu, and cramming it into my belly until I’m full and cannot consume any more!
Death & Co is NYC’s notable cocktail bar; named one of the world’s best bars. Finally opened their third branch in surprise-surprise: Los Angeles.
It’s underground. Sleek. Sexy. Mysterious. With an elite, secretive air. Yup, everything you expected and more.
As if you needed more reasons to check it out:
50 Best named it #34 in North America’s Best Bars: refined and tailored to serve customers’ mood of the moment.
Eater LA called it innovative: relentless sense of innovation in the glass, with unexpected ingredients and flavor combinations boosting the distinctive qualities of each spirit.
So before I get to my Death & Co experience, let me first kick-off this lovely date night with dinner. You don’t expect me to drink on an empty stomach, do you?
Read on to learn about my recommended date-night aka dinner and a drink in DTLA kinda night. Keep scrolling for more juicy bits.
But first, dinner at Bar Ama
Bar Ama’s outdoor patio
It’s Friday. Of course, we’re gonna do a date night in DTLA! It’s essential night life for married couples (and singles!!). In post-covid times, so we try to eat outside. With perfect LA weather, I donned a bold blue tank top dress, nerdy vintage hipster glasses, pragmatic black combat boots - and headed east in our red Prius!
Our evening started at Bar Ama by my favorite LA chef Josef Centeno. Situated a few blocks from the Sunday, day-time Smorgasburg, on the edge of the Arts District — the area is a mixture of warehouses, the latest retail brands (vying to appeal to Millennials and Generation Zs), and industrial business operating Mon thru FRI, 9-to-5 so if you’re caught in an empty pocket - it can be sketch (if alone, I walk with pepper spray!).
Not to worry, Bar Ama looks like a dark, cinder block facade distinguished by it’s small neon sign and a guy checking IDs at the door. It’s better than a seedy bar — it’s a casual, elevated restaurant / bar. I thoroughly enjoy their expansive patio, fully enclosed with sparkling lights, and overgrown vines. Pre-covid times, their patio was a bit seedier and an afterthought - and we mainly ate at the sleek bar. However, with covid pushing many events outside, I’m glad to see they invested in this beautiful yard - reminds me of a brewery. We ordered crispy, fried brussels sprouts (eat those greens), and nachos (carb load!) which hit the spot. Coupled with a refreshing tequila cocktails - which was cloyingly sweet without crossing the line. Their wine selection is solid - my go to is their white wine which rotates. Their alcohol selection is always solid.
The interior bar and indoor seating at Bar Ama
I cannot express enough how much I love-love-love every single one of Josef Centeno’s restaurants. The food menu, appears straight forward, but as soon as I take a bit, the explosion of flavors, freshness, and extremely well-executed food continues to blow me away. I will forever be a fan of his work. May he keep his LA strongholds, and continues to evolve his restaurants, menus, and empire. The staff is very professional, working like clock-work (front and back house). Josef and his team know how to run a restaurant. So if you’re looking for an exceptional experience, in a casual atmosphere with food and drinks that never disappointed, I find myself again and again at Josef Centeno’s LA restaurants (which include Baco Mercat, Orsa & Winston, and the now closed Ledlow).
Walking to Death & Co
After a casual, yet elevated dinner at Bar Ama, we wanted to burn some calories and walk the 30 minutes to Bar Ama. Due to the seediness of DTLA, I do not recommend walking this route alone, at night. Practice LA street smarts, y’all! But since I have a plus one, and my trusted pepper spray - we were feeling sufficiently watered and brave. Thus began our walking journey. Great for a date night (wink-wink), for people who can’t sit still.
The new 6th street viaduct Bridge! Opened in JULY 2022
Let me point out the NEW, beautiful 6th street viaduct bridge ^^! We meandered north on Mateo and captured this picture near E 6th St. Gorgeous right? It better be. It cost a whopping $588 million, and took almost 7 years. Incredible. The original 1932 bridge (beautiful as it was - sigh - check out old LA movies to see its vintage charm) was not capable of withstanding an earthquake. This is the most expensive and largest bridge replacement and I believe build-out in California history. Just completed its grand opening the weekend of JULY 9, 2022 (Mayor Garcetti was there with all the ribbons, bells and whistles). We can now walk from the Arts District to Boyle Heights using this lovely concrete bridge!
That’s not all, there is going to be a fully realized 12-acre park surrounding this arched beauty. They are continuing the park build-out in the coming months (perhaps years?). I expect the rest to move faster than the bridge; given there is less structural / engineering required. I’m personally excited for the basketball courts, soccer fields,
As an avid cyclist / commuter, I’m curious how this separated cycling / pedestrian lane will function. Will it be successful? Will people use it and feel safe? Will it be safe? The pedestrian lane is separated by low concrete barriers (they look like parking bumps to me). It won’t prevent a car from going into the lane if it’s going at a high speed, but it will wake them up so hopefully they can correct. I wonder if there’s been any research on to whether or not these are effective! Always wanting more ways for pedestrians to safely move through the city. Perhaps it’s the start of something newer and maybe better. Let’s keep an eye on this one.
Other than this new 6th Street Viaduct Bridge, the rest of the way is scattered with closed retail and coffee shops, and a few noteworthy eateries including the Girl and the Goat (a popular, meat-heavy Chicago based restaurant group), Zinc Cafe (perfect for a romantic date night, or a girlfriend brunch, wine-night, get-together), AFURI Ramen (Portland based ramen shop, very popular and I hear very good).
Once you get to - IMHO - the heart of Arts District, near Traction Ave and E 3rd St - you know you’re near the night’s mysterious climax.
Getting into Death & Co
Death and Co’s spin on a negroni
You know you’re upon Death & Co’s entrance when you see Salt & Straw ice cream on the north, and you are just east of Wurskuche, LA’s the beer and hot dog emporium. You’ll find yourself next door to LA Cha Cha Cha - a nondescript, industrial glass door.
The entrance is marked by an industrial glass door, looking upon concrete stairs, and blocked by a security guard who is obsessively ignoring us and watching TV shows on his phone.
We showed up at 10pm on a Friday and there was a 6 person deep line. Note to self: if you are going to go during a busy time, try making a reservation in advance and avoiding the wait altogether!
OK - we figure it can’t be too long of a wait. After 20 minutes, what seems like forever, the guard waves us in. Walk downstairs, past the first set of velvet curtains, and we are now entering the Standing Room. And NO, it is not Death & Co … yet. This is the pre-bar, where they expect you to wait, order drinks and/or small bites, while you WAIT for your seat to be ready in Death & Co. Make sure to put your name in with the host. Luckily, they put you on a list text you once your Death & Co seat is ready. The Standing Room’s cocktails looked much less exploratory compared to Death & Co’s menu. A lot more tropical, juice-y mixed drinks, and a good amount of alcohol forward cocktails: classy and traditional.
Already full from dinner, we opted to blow this joint (gotta save tummy room). Luckily, they texted 15 minutes later: our Death & Co table was ready - woopie! We made our way back.
Inside Death & Co
This time we walked down a narrow hallway past two more velvet curtains - into a dimmer, sexier bar. Along one wall, are tucked in nooked arches and booths - lots of couples and two-ses with leaned-in heads in having intimate conversations. It’s by no means quiet though; it’s a loud, fun, night out bar. With a crowd that likes their drinks classy. We sat along the bar: here to see the show!
The bartender immediate plops down a food menu and a drink menu that the is filled with crisp pages of drinks! They break the drinks down into categories like Light and Playful, Elegant and Timeless, or Boozy and Honest. My style is Boozy and Honest all the way.
The bartender asks - what am I in the mood for? What do I like to drink? We align - spirit forward. And he lights up, he has an idea and starts mixing away on my mystery drink. You can tell them your mood, your flavor, your likes - and they will do the rest. It’s fun to have a fortune-teller-like bartender. I don’t believe in superstition, but I do believe in this guy.
Indeed, what is my drink going to be? Once all the shuffling, spinning, mixing and pouring is done - he presents (drum roll) a negroni (I love negroni’s, so he is not wrong). It’s more liquor forward than the other negroni’s. The ice cube is a cube of glass perfection, no air bubbles - I want to take it home and frame. It seems shame to melt in into my belly. It’s perfection in a glass. The cherry on top. The best part of the day. By the time I’m on the last drop, I am thoroughly buzzed and trying hard to disguise my lightweight tendencies.
Review of Death & Co
4/5 stars
Make reservations ahead of time to skip the wait. Plan your meal around your cocktail - otherwise you’ll find yourself full beyond belief! I would 100% go again, and would definitely bring out-of-towners who want to splurge on a unique, seductive bar experience.
It’s sultry, as if I’m dropped into a film noir and should be wearing red lipstick, a satin dress, and stiletto heels while smoking a cigarette. I love it. The drinks are good. The experience is worth it. It’s like the secret bar in the back of Cole’s, The Varnish, but on a grander scale.
Save up for this splurge and live to tell another tale of a subterranean adventure; it’s a place where the sun doesn’t shine! Cheers.
Did you try Death & Co LA? What did you think? Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think. I’m always thinking about where to go, what to eat/drink/do next. Cheers, linhdy@outlook.com
