You Need to Visit This Stylish, Secret Cocktail Bar in Downtown L.A.

The Proper hotel group has made a name for itself by leveling up the hospitality experience in L.A. and beyond by marrying exceptional design to exquisite food and beverage programming. At the Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel, they’ve literally leveled it up at the rooftop restaurant and lounge Cara Cara, with a menu overseen by award-winning L.A. chef Suzanne Goin, as well as at her Caldo Verde restaurant, which blends Californian and Spanish culinary traditions. But the easiest way to get a taste of this winning formula is at the hotel’s cocktail lounge, Dahlia.

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The room is, like the rest of the hotel, imagined beautifully by designer Kelly Wearstler: all rose-colored zellige tile, sumptuous fabrics, cocktail tables and banquettes, with low-slung furniture dotted throughout the space, creating intimate areas for sipping and chatting. The wonderful thing about the bar is that there’s no traditional long “bar” per se separating the drink-making from the guests. Yes, there’s a little marble-topped service bar, but the cocktail cart rolled out tableside is both the right amount of theater and a welcome barrier-breaking flourish. Here you can get the little Iberian nibbles you might find in historic barrios of Madrid: salt cod fritters with saffron-tinged aioli, tinned mussels, and grilled prawns. The drinks menu is a combination of refreshed classics, sometimes inflected with Mediterranean flavor: a Jerez Fizz stars PX sherry and Jerez brandy. The Sidecar is made with Calvados.

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While you take a virtual tour of this exquisite space, mix yourself Dahlia’s equally well considered version of the Old Fashioned and contemplate how upgrading an experience with the finest furnishings and ingredients makes for an immersive cocktail experience that engages all of the senses. Cheers to drinks at Dahlia!

The Dahlia Old Fashioned

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The iconic cocktail is ennobled by well-sourced ingredients and expert technique. At Dahlia, the bartenders cold-smoke premium maraschino cherries three times using a bar smoker. You can skip this step, but it makes a subtle and delightful difference at Dahlia.

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