Date Night Ideas in Hollywood

A good Hollywood date night isn't the Walk of Fame at sunset. It's the version locals would actually plan: dinner at a place that's been there longer than either of you, a cocktail in a room with a story, something to do with your hands or your attention before the night settles. Here are seven ideas that work, ranked by how often they actually deliver.

Hollywood as a date-night neighborhood is dense in good options and dense in bad ones. The bad ones are the obvious tourist traps on Hollywood Boulevard. The good ones cluster south, on Sunset and Santa Monica, in the warehouse blocks between the Roosevelt and Hollywood Forever. Most are within ten minutes of each other by car, which means you can stack three of these in an evening if you want a layered date.

The distillery tour as a first move

An afternoon distillery tour is a sneakily great first move on a date. It runs about sixty minutes, you get to ask each other questions while a guide does most of the talking, and it ends with a four-spirit tasting flight that gives you something to react to other than your own jokes. Hollywood Distillery on Santa Monica Boulevard runs tours Thursday through Sunday — $30 per guest, all ages welcome, the only working distillery in Hollywood. It pairs well with dinner immediately afterward at any of the spots below.

Dinner spots that aren't trying too hard

• Musso & Frank Grill on Hollywood Boulevard. Open since 1919. The martini is famous for a reason. Dress code is loose but a collared shirt feels right.
• Yamashiro in the hills. A century-old Japanese-style mansion with a view of the basin. The sunset reservation is the move.
• Providence on Melrose if you're going for a serious dinner. Two Michelin stars, tasting menu, a bookable counter at the bar.
• Petit Trois nearby for an unfussy bistro option. The omelet is the order even at dinner.

After-dinner moves

• The Tropicana at the Roosevelt. Rooftop pool bar with a Hockney-painted bottom, decent cocktails, the right kind of low light.
• The Frolic Room next to the Pantages. Tiny neon-lit dive that Bukowski drank in. The opposite of the Tropicana, in the best way.
• No Vacancy or Black Rabbit Rose. Speakeasy-style cocktail bars, both reservation-only, both worth the planning if you're trying to impress.

If you want to do something

Hollywood has more legitimate stages per square mile than most American cities. The good date-night options:

• The Hollywood Bowl in summer. Picnic on the lawn with a bottle of wine. Hard to do wrong.
• The Pantages for touring Broadway productions. Gilded everything, comfortable seats, dinner-worthy atmosphere.
• The Comedy Store on Sunset. Three rooms, multiple shows a night, drop-ins from major comedians. Stack a 7 PM show with dinner before or after.
• Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on summer Saturdays. Classic films projected onto a mausoleum wall. The strangest first-date in Los Angeles, and somehow always a good one.

An actual itinerary

For a couple with four hours and an afternoon-into-evening to fill:

Frequently asked

Where to next

For more on the distillery tour itself, our visitor guide walks through what to expect. To learn how a 1920s mortuary became a working distillery, read our story. Or skip ahead and browse the spirits.