The best places to drink in Koreatown for every occasion

There’s no bar in Koreatown that led the neighborhood’s cocktail revolution like the Normandie Club. Bestled on the ground floor of the Hotel Normandie, this sultry drinking den comes from the prolific hospitality group Pouring With Heart (Las Perlas, Seven Grand). The drinks are beautifully built, and the killer bar team makes this spot a shaken, stirred and straight-up temple to hospitality and versatility. You could order from the brief list of classics-inspired cocktails, but don’t let the bartenders’ skill go to waste: Give them a few parameters, then let them run wild. For the best time, make sure to get in early and keep an eye out for open banquettes; booths take up most of the room, but if you don’t snag one, you’re stuck huddled in a stiff crowd around the bar. Best to plant your flag at the start of the night.

Funnily enough, L.A.’s best nautical-themed bar sits a full 15 miles from the water. Located in Koreatown, this agreeably egalitarian bar is famed for the warmth of its welcome and the cheapness of its drinks, characteristics that are embraced by everyone from visiting rockers to residents of the Gaylord Apartments directly above the taproom. Sidle up to the bar or stake out a red leather booth where well-seasoned waitresses serve up apps and “ship entrées”—don’t miss the famous baseball steak—from a traditional American surf-and-turf menu.

Want to drink beer and munch on fried chicken while sitting on naugahyde? The oak paneling, oil paintings and moody red lighting of this historic haunt will make you feel like you’re conducting some dirty business in a secret spy restaurant. (No wonder Nicholson and Dunaway filmed a scene from Chinatown here.) The restaurant and bar, first founded in 1927, flipped to a late-night Korean-food mecca in its modern age, and now you can feast on sea snails, rice cakes and squid, or try the Prince’s two styles of Korean fried chicken (both naked and slathered in sauce) while slurping down beer, soju and cocktails. The drinks here are affordable, and while they’re not the best we’ve ever had, they’re still decent. We’re partial to the fun and frosty banana daiquiris here, but who’s to stop you from ordering a classic gin martini or a sazerac? Certainly not us.

Grab your proton packs, your best Heathers pleated skirt and a whole lot of hair spray because you’re about to time travel back to the 1980s—of course to find your wormhole, you’ll have to find it. The entrance to Break Room 86 is actually around the corner of K-town’s Line Hotel, near the loading dock in the back alley; what more would you expect from the Houston Brothers, whose other L.A. bars (hello, No Vacancy and Black Rabbit Rose) peddle in speakeasies and immersive experiences? Once you’re in, it’s all neon and VHS tapes and old-school arcade consoles, which you can play in between boozy push pops and sips of Ecto Cooler-inspired cocktails. There’s also karaoke (with live-band accompaniment on Tuesdays) plus regular DJ nights and the occasional stage show—the ’80s were a busy time for patterns and wild hair, but Break Room 86 is busy with everything. 

You want opulence? You’ve got it at Mama Lion, the tryhard-glamorous cocktail bar and nightclub near the Wiltern. Earlier in the evening, sip cardamom-vodka cocktails under dangling chandeliers while you dive into wings, tacos sliders and other typical bar fare. The best part? This spot is just as flashy as it is perfect for balling on a budget: Most cocktails are under $20, while dishes like fish and chips and house sliders  run below $15. Of course if you really want to ball out, stay here late for DJ sets and bottle service.

Brass Monkey is arguably the most notorious karaoke dive in the city. Located in the ground floor of a nondescript office building, this ski lodge-styled room has one of the most comprehensive karaoke songbooks in the city. Waiting times on weekends routinely hit 45 minutes, so you’ll have time to down plenty of liquid courage before you get your shot at the stage. The joint is super small and cozy, and if you want to sing, we suggest submitting your song choices early on.

Paper Tiger is a K-town keeper, and not just because we can stop by for a quiet drink or an all-vinyl DJ set and not run into everyone we know. (The minimal signage—a tiny “Paper Tiger” in neon cursive, might have something to do with its low-key status. We’re not complaining.) But if you came to party, just stick around long enough on a Friday or Saturday night and make your way to the dance floor, which fills up fast. The bar slings solid cocktails equally perfect for a quiet night or a dance party (whiskey with chocolate bitters, perhaps, or the tiki-leaning Red Bull-and-rum drink with pineapple and orgeat). They’re all complemented by the platonic ideal of drinking-night bar food: Korean fried chicken sliders, garlic chicken wings, egg rolls, gourmet corndogs and other snacks.

L.A.-raised Neil Kwon took a cue from the biergartens of Berlin and Munich in bringing craft beer to K-town in 2010. His beer hall, Biergarten, views Germany through a Korean prism: Platters of brats are dished up alongside Korean fried chicken, kimchi fried rice and burgers both American and international. The beer list combines Old World ales with West Coast IPAs, so you get the best of it all. The space also touts flat screens that draw UFC and sports fans, so if you’re looking for a low-key spot to grab a drink, beware game days or fight nights.

Standing strong since 1954, the bowling alley boasts—surprise—39 lanes, complete with a roundabout bar, a coffee shop, an arcade and a billiards room. Pre-game at the bar with some of the neighborhood’s cheapest cocktails, then graduate to a round of straightforward house cocktails that are heavy on the pours. In between celebratory strikes, refuel with salty snacks like heat lamp–ready (and heartburn-guaranteed) nachos, chili cheese fries, quesadillas, pizzas, tuna melts and even carne asada tacos. (But let’s be real: You came here to drink and bowl.)

It’s kind of a dive with kind of a limited drink list, but R Bar is a gathering spot at the nexus of great programming and inexpensive craft beer. Grab a $5 beer and maybe a cheekily-named cocktail, then settle into the saloon-y all-wood booths, at the bar or at one of the little tables angled toward the stage setup: This is where you can catch Wednesday and Thursday karaoke; Monday trivia; ’80s nights; yacht rock parties; monthly comedy shows; DJ sets and more.