The Top 5 Outdoor Dining Experiences in The Financial District

With summer temps heating up here in Downtown LA, that means one thing: time for some patio dining! Luckily for us, patio dining in The Financial District is abundant and aplenty. We decided to round up some our go to’s for Financial District’s outdoor bars, outdoor patios and restaurants here in our Financial District for Downtown. Read on, and let’s get out!

Casey’s Irish Pub

Originally built in 1916 as a general store and Turkish bath house, Casey’s Irish Pub opened in 1969 before being annexed into Cedd Moses’ 213 Hospitality group in 2007, Casey’s is an underground pub set in one of Central Downtown Los Angeles’ only single-story buildings, and serves a variety of purposes; acting as a restaurant by day and a casual bar spot at night.

The 10,000-square-foot space is surrounded by photos of athletes and features an outdoor patio, a dart room, billiards, ping-pong, multiple TVs, and, of course, a fantastic patio setting . In addition, its performance stage offers live entertainment such as musical performances, comedy routines, and trivia, too!

Border Grill

For a truly unique experience and outdoor patio dining in The Financial District, we recommend Border Grill. Famous for their “Modern Mexican” flare and patio weekend brunch (bottomless mimosas, anyone?) Border Grill Downtown LA also hosts several entertainment nights like their popular Red Light Lounge with Happy Hour and live DJ sets most evenings.

Bunker Hill Bar and Grill

With locations popping up throughout SoCal, we feel a bit biased as we’ve been fans of the first Bunker Hill Bar and Grill on West 5th since the beginning. A perfect place to kick back on their terrace after work with a cocktail and small plate, Bunker Hill Bar and Grill hosts a great Happy hour 5 days a week (Monday through Friday) from 3pm to 6pm.

Chaya

Chaya is easily one of the best Japanese restaurants in Downtown LA and The Financial District. You will definitely want to soak in the sights and have a drink (or two) on their patio as you prepare to try their infamous dish: The Puffer Fish. The pufferfish—a.k.a. fugu or 河豚 in Japanese—is one of the deadliest fish out there, and it’s not often that you sit down to eat a poisonous creature! With its toxic bits removed, however, fugu is a delicacy in Japan. Rumors abound that some aficionados keep a little poison intact because it makes the eater’s lips tingle when they consume it. Do you dare try it? We think so!

Bottega Louie

Whether it’s breakfast, brunch, pizza or a glass of wine that strikes your fancy, you are guaranteed to find an incredible bite and libation at Bottega Louie, another great choice for your outdoor dining pleasures in The Financial District. Word of advice? Make sure to get some macaroons for your dessert!

Where will you head next time you want to experience outdoor patio dining in The Financial District? Keep in-touch on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Check Out The Best Parties in DTLA on the 4th of July

Have you put your plans together for July 4th yet? Downtown LA is filled with things to do so we thought we should put together a short list together of what’s going down and where you might like to spend your July Fourth.

Why not head to the Fourth of July Block Party in Grand Park? It’s a fun time with food trucks, live music and plenty more. The music begins in the afternoon so pack for an all-day picnic (and bring plenty of empty water bottles). No booze is allowed – but your pets are, so bring Fido (and seriously, why are you still calling your dog Fido?). While there you can see Downtown LA light up – and it’s all free. And did we mention you can use Metro to get there real easy?

It’s not in Downtown but it’s darn close; you can see in July Fourth in Pasadena at the Fourth of July Americafest at the Rose Bowl. This festival comes with a motorcycle stunt show, lots of food (hooray!) and, of course, the world-famous fireworks show at 9pm. The Rose Bowl opens at 2pm with a host of things for the kids to do – from inflatable rides to games and crafts. Parking will set you back $20 but make the most of it by tailgating!

There’s also the July 4th Fireworks Spectacular with Pentatonix at the Hollywood Bowl. Appearing there is the pitch-perfect Pentatonix who will be unleashing their a capella a mazingness (see what we did there) for a red, white and blue celebration under the stars. Make sure to stay hydrated because it’s going to be hot out there.

Wherever you choose to celebrate your Fourth, if alcohol is involved please make sure to drink responsibly. And have a great July Fourth, especially in Downtown LA!!

2017’s Best 3 Happy Hours in City West

Ah, Happy Hour; that time of day when work might be over but the day isn’t and there’s some serious unwinding to be done. But which are the best Happy Hours here in City West? We went out, got VERY happy, and put together this blog for you!

We highly recommend the happy hour over at The Black Sheep, located at 126 E. 6th Street. You can find it by looking for Cole’s which is next door. Once you’re inside, you’ll find modern furniture as well as a booths, stool seats, a couple of large TVs and a huge bar! We moseyed on up and found Happy Hour drinks range in price from $4-$7 as well as Sake bombs for just $3. And the sliders they serve up are delicious! More please!

Another great Happy Hour in City West can be found at the Library Bar over on 630 W. 6th Street. Their Happy Hour goes from 3-6pm Monday through Friday and for $6 you can get excellent cocktails or for $7 plum for the “bartender’s special”. We loved the ambience there – it’s quite dark. They’ve got a great selection of small plates on hand too. We sampled the mushroom boursin crostini – four small crostinis topped with herbed cheese and mushrooms and it was yummy!

Another amazing place to go for Happy Hour in City West has to be Seven Grand over on 515 W. 7th Street. Their Happy Hour goes every day and extends until 8pm and it really delivers on the Happy! They sell $6 cocktails and $5 beers and if you’re in the mood for whiskey, are you in luck. They carry one of the biggest menus of premium whiskeys in the country and display some of the fancier bottles in vintage cases. Seven Grand also comes with live music, pool tables and if you really want to get involved, a Whiskey Society. You have to pay for this but it provides comprehensive tastings. Amazing stuff!

Wherever you go for Happy Hour in City West, be sure to drink responsibly – and have fun!

The Best 4 Juice Bars in South Park

Sweet, refreshing, cooling and delicious – that’s what you get out of a good juice bar. But where are the best Juice Bars in South Park? We’ve got all the answers in our latest blog so let’s dive straight in!

The Green Grotto Juice Bar is located over at 541 S. Spring St. The Grotto is all about organic fresh-pressed juice and tasty smoothies and they taste utterly delicious. All the juices are pressed on site and all the produce is sourced locally to make sure you have the best and healthiest juice in front of you. We love the Green Grotto and think you will too!

Talking of the best juice bars in South park, you really should check out Earthbar too, over at 523 W. 6th Street. Start off with their acai bowls (and various add-ons) for a delicious treat. And try their smoothies too; we sampled their Earthberry smoothie and fell in love at first sip. They use honey to sweeten a lot of their stuff so make sure you’re not getting too much extra sugar (if at all).

The winner of best name for a juice bar is Amazebowls located at 300 S. Santa Fe Ave. But they don’t just have a great name; their Acai bowls are indeed amazing! We sampled the Dragon Bowl-Z with strawberry, blueberry, and kiwi with nut butter, and we’re literally going to have dreams about it! They offer up all sorts, from acai bowls to smoothies to other super-food treats.

Rounding out our list of the best juice bars in South Park is Om Nom Organics over at 215 W. 9th St. Om Nom (another place we love just saying out loud, over and over!), comes with locally-sourced ingredients all of which are prepared daily. It can’t get any fresher! Their menu is designed to appeal to all; from meat-lovers to gluten-free enthusiasts and more – and we’re sure you’ll find something there for you too that you can’t live without.

So what are you waiting for? The weather’s gorgeous so go out and treat yourself to something at one of these amazing juice bars right here in South Park!

The Best 4 Gyms and Fitness Studios in DTLA’s Financial District

Work hard, play hard. And if you’re working Downtown – especially near the Financial District – you know that ethos all too well. So where are the best fitness studios in the Financial District? Let’s dive straight in.

First off is City Athletix on 626 Wilshire Blvd.  City Athletix comes with top notch weightlifting and cardiovascular equipment along with group fitness classes and, of course, personal training. Work those burgers off with classes that include BodyPulp, BodyCombat, as well as cycling and Zumba. And if that’s not enough – and don’t you think it is? They also have a suspension training area with TRX equipment. We love it!

Next up, check out Sanctuary Fitness over on 718 Jackson St. We really love this place as it offers up two free classes of indoor cycling or high intensity interval training classes for new members! Sanctuary also offers up free cycling shoes, free parking and – get this – hot showers! Wooh! You can also sign up for their strength-focused HIIT classes which really push (and push AND PUSH!). Each day brings a new workout so you can’t get too complacent!

There are plenty more fitness studios in the Financial District – and if you want to try something a little different then hit up The Jyim which offers up not just personal training but boxing classes too. They offer up a free day pass so head on over and check out the classes – including hybrid yoga, body sculpt, circuit training and TRX. In our experience there we found that the classes are small (yay!) and the instructors were fantastic (double yay!).

We’re going to wrap up our list of the best fitness studios in the Financial District with Speedplay over on 1113 ½ S. Hope Street. Speedplay really tired us out – in the best way possible – with their amazing trainers and their workout programs that give you the energy to see it to the finish. The calorie burning continues on even after you’re done!

So get out there and burn off those calories the best way possible – at one of the great fitness studios in the Financial District!