From the driving, to the parking, to the not knowing where to drive or park, dinner in L.A. is harder than it should be. That’s why we created Dinner Plan — your itinerary to a damn good time.
The Shirt: Life After Denim
Life After Denim makes tailored button-downs that pair well with boots and jeans. We like the soft flannel in chestnut, which has chambray cuffs — a subtle detail that’ll stand you out from the crowd.
Dinner: elysian
Frogtown
Those pop-up dinner parties are fast becoming a bit passé — we’re over signing up via email, waiting for directions and having to be there by a certain time. Which is why we like elysian. It has all of the good parts of the dinner party without the rules: intimate setting, obscure location (warehouse on an industrial street), interesting interiors (bamboo forest with marble tables) and great food (pâté with rye crackers and lamb ribs). Now they have a full cocktail program, too. Come as you will.
2806 Clearwater St. (map)
Website
Drinks and Dancing: The Friend
Silver Lake
It’s hard to put your finger on just what The Friend reminds you of. Creamy walls, pastel colors, a pinball machine, booths, tables, room to move and a giant disco ball overhead that seems to cast light on a new group of ladies with every rotation. It almost feels like a nightclub staged in a candy store. But where nothing is familiar, nothing goes out of style (you’d expect nothing less from the Bar Lubitsch and Pikey crew). The drinks are strong, and though they do offer bar vittles a la Eric Greenspan, you’re here to drink, dance and be merry.
2611 Hyperion Ave. (map)
Website
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