Onyx at Hotel Shangri-La (CLOSED)

The Hotel Shangri-La's rooftop bar is the only one in Santa Monica proper where you can gaze at the Pacific Ocean with the beachside city’s iconic Ferris wheel in your visage. This is particularly key at sunset and on weekends, when Onyx typically draws a crowd, but brave the Third Street Promenade tourists for the only walk-in rooftop bar game in town.