Underground + + $

Who? Andrew, Satsuki
Where? Redondo Pier

Place is split into a more clubby DJ'd/dance spot that is dark and more loungy with couches and little high tables. The other half is more sports bar'ish with pool tables and is much brighter and quieter. Drinks are relatively cheap. $43 for 4 mixed drinks, 2 beers and a ginger ale.

Hotel Cafe + + + + $

Who? Andrew, Themo, Dora, Rajay and Dimitri
Where? Hollywood and Cahuenga, Los Angeles

Cute, intimate venue for up and coming artists. Drinks are strong and comparatively cheap. Good sound, nice crowd.

The Roost

Who? Andrew, Steve, Adam
Where? Loz Feliz and Edenhurst

Cool neighbourhood bar. Really strong, cheap drinks. Plays random TV, has a jukebox, free popcorn machine and a guy at the end of the bar sitting with a baseball hat, cigarettes and some peanuts. Not that busy on Tuesday night. Reminds me of college... and those drinking days.

Equator

Who? Thomas, Joyce, Andrew
Where? Colorado and Mills

Very nice place. Huge couches. Nice decorations and atmosphere. Music a bit too loud. And the quarter to use the restroom is quite stupid.

The Day After

Who? CASA
Where? Hollywood and Highland

Sleek modern compact club.

The Union Cattle

Who? Themos, Thodoris, Dimitri, Stayros, Costas
Where? Pasadena

There was boobular difference between this place and the Casa parties. The cattle can be ridden by anyone, but for some reason it moves a lot more agressively when guys ride it:-) Thodoris is now a regular there, and says that at fridays this palce is just awesome. It is usually crowded and it ahs quite loud music and lots of dancing. Thumbs up.

The Century Club

Who? Themos, Panos, Thodoris, Giota
Where? Century City

The Century Club hosts all kind of events, from Beauty Contests and fashions shows to casting calls and, of course, nightlife events. We went to this Chinese American event with various 18+ girls invlolved, and it was quite the event. We were among the few whites in the club, and I have never felt more tall in my life. I stepped into the dancing hall and I could every single head across the sea of heads in front of me. Two Gogo Goddesses (I don't have a clue what does the first word mean) were dancing for most of the time, but the dissaponting thing was that the prime time is only for about 1 hours, from 23:30-00:30 since before that people are still coming, and after that people start leaving (the show stops at 2am).
The best thing though was Stayro's sweet girl, a former student of his named Tracy that I was absolutely delighted to get to know. She was beautiful and smart and funny, and if Stayros makes out with her eventually I am going to treat him with the highest respect.

Viceroy

Who? Themos, Psounis, Birthday people
Where? Santa Monica

Viceroy is a hotel. However at the lobby a nice restaurant and bar is located, with outside pool and several tables and couches that can hold big parties without problems. People going there are in the upper 20s, including a very common sight of divorced women. The drinks were nice, and the birthday cake was accompanied with discussions on the nature of the stars, potential trips to Chicago and the upcoming 5x5 intramurals plans for next semester.

Dresden

Who? Adam, Wan, Steve, Andrew, Ben, Anna
Who? Themos, Fani, Julian, Dimitri
Where? Vermont+Hollywood Blvd

I won't lie. I went to this place because I saw it in Swingers, a nice movie about LA hanging out. The 2 performers there perform since 1982, and they also appeared in the movie. Dresden features excellent quality of service, Martinis and people. It was voted from Zagat as the #1 Lounge in LA in 2003. It is a slow music / Jazz lounge, with these guys playing from 9 to 1 every night. We went on a Monday, and were immediately struck. We met Marty and Elaine after they finished playing, along with a special guest star: a young chinese american girl with face like a flower and a voice like an angel... I haven't since a most beautiful and charismatic performer in my life. She said she'll be back next wednesday, so we will probably return too. Thumbs up!

Cock N Bull Pub

Who? Themos, Stayros
Where? Santa Monica

We paid a $10 cover fee in order to go inside and watch the soccer game PAO vs Barcelona. This is an english pub that regurarly host soccer games and other events. The staff is nice, the food is decent, and it's always fun to watch games with other fans. It wasn't too crowded which is a good sign since will always have your seat. Maybe we'll visit it in the nighttime too.

The Standard

Who? Bunch of Europeans
Where? Downtown LA

This is arguably the #1 place in LA. Impossible to get in at weekends, this is a place I myself couldn't have designed better.

- Rooftop
- 360 degrees view of downtown skyscrapers
- Swimming pool
- Water beds
- Not very loud music
- Lots of couches
- Movie projection at the next building

This is the perfect place to bring your date in you have nasty intentions for the night. For myself, I just lie down there as the girls walk by and Venus sweeps across the night sky. Plain bliss. #1 Standard, #2 Moonshadows so far.

The Red Setter Irish Pub

Who? Themos, Alex
Where? Brentwood

This is located in an area where the street names are stanford, berkeley, harvard, princeton etc in a row. True irish spirit, they have good food and nice music. The best thing is they feature trivia nights: people form groups and try to answer the host's questions (and oh my God, they are hard!). I left having met several interesting people and wondering whether all imdb information can fit in a cd or a dvd.

Ye Olde King's Head

Who? Themos, Thalis, Stavros, Dimitri
Where? Santa Monica

We had this place as a restaurant in our other blog, but right next to it is the pub part. They feature either live music or karaoke nights, gathering people in their mid 20's and 30's. I haven't spent ages in original English pubs in London, but from the short experience I have there this place looks very much alike. Yee-ha!

Zanzibar

Who? Themos, Thodoris Caltech, Dimitri, CostasZ, bunch of biology girls
Where? Santa Monica

Yes! Yes! Finally! A great club that doesn't play stupid hip-hop yo yo stuff. The music has rhythm, instrumental mostly, and it just wants to make you dance. The people are awesome too (not too many black dudes, yey!). $10 entrance on weekends, but it's totally worth it.

Lollicup

Who? Jarika, Howie, Andrew

Urth Caffe

Located near Beverly Center, this falls into the european-style coffe shops (along with Ragazzi, Insomnia) with tables outside where you can enjoy the street views. The deserts are great.

Who? Themos, Fotini, Xouros, Marios, Yiorgos
Where? West Hollywood

World Cafe

The Main Street in Santa Monica goes right behind Venice Beach and is the host of numerous bars, clubs and restaurants. World Cafe is great because 1)You can sit outside 2) The music is not so loud so you can have a decent discussion with your friends.

Hui Lo San

This Taiwanese dessert place is located in San Gabriel on Valley at Del Mar. It serves many tapioca-type treats with tropical flavours such as mango and papaya. If you like the gooey gunk that is birds nest, give this place a try! Eat some turnip cake. Tasty, fun, but the chairs hurt my butt.

Castaway

One of the nicest bars in L.A. It offers absolutely fantastic views of the city from the hills of Burbank. The ambience inside and out is truly awesome. Drinks are reasonably priced.

Cat & Fiddle

http://www.thecatandfiddle.com/

That's a european style bar/coffee house/restaurant right on Sunset Blvd. Good people and relaxing atmosphere are guaranteed until late.

Moonshadows

http://www.moonshadowsmalibu.com/ Excellent late night place in Malibu - the food is somewhat expensive, but you can have drinks right above the rocks being shattered from the ocean waves. Magnificent in the night time.

Ragazzi

An excellent coffee house right next to usc on Hoover street. Students go there to study, but there are always people you can talk with - that's the best part actually. And the staff is kinda cute too:-)

Insomnia

Located on Beverly blvd, its nice and open till 1am everyday. Interesting people like script writers hang out there.