Head through this unmarked door on Melrose Avenue and you’ll find Bathtub Gin, the second-floor speakeasy of Stone Street Cafe. Draped in baroque wallpaper, chinoiserie accents and faux-Victorian furniture, this tiny cocktail bar exudes the glamour of the Roaring ’20s minus all the police raids and accidental poisonings. Inside the space, there’s even an actual clawfoot bathtub floating around, a small outdoor patio and plenty of seating for your next date with a sultry themed cocktail. Note: Dress code is smart casual.
Los Angeles speakeasies generally run on the gimmicky side, but one new exception just might be Bathtub Gin, the Melrose Avenue offshoot of a popular NYC coffee shop-slash-speakeasy that first debuted to the public last December. Just like the original Bathtub Gin in Chelsea, all-day café Stone Street serves coffee and lunch-friendly plates during the day—while its sultrier Prohibition-inspired upstairs counterpart offers a slate of gin and tonics, bar bites and dinner entrées by nightfall.
“I love that time period,” says Bathtub Gin founder David Oz. “A lot of cocktails came out of Prohibition, and I’m a big fan of gangster movies.” The Brooklyn native moved to L.A. with his partner and their infant child to oversee the West Coast expansion, which ultimately took four years to open. Almost a year past Bathtub Gin’s initial debut, plenty of Angelenos have made their way to the unmarked door behind Stone Street, where an intimate cocktail lounge full of antique furniture awaits, as well as one of L.A.’s only floor-style burlesque shows (where a performer walks around the room versus on-stage).
Designed by L.A. burlesque maven Donna Hood (who’s also designed productions at Black Rabbit Rose and the Hollywood Roosevelt), the live performances make Tuesday evenings one of the most popular nights at Bathtub Gin. During each show, the burlesque dancers work the room, sometimes getting close and personal with patrons, as servers bring food and drinks to tables. Most Tuesdays, a claw-footed copper bathtub in the center of the room takes center stage with a little aquatic drama—and we’ll just leave it at that.
Living up to its name, Bathtub Gin also offers over 50 different gins from around the world for juniper lovers. A separate menu of a half-dozen G&Ts make it easy to explore the spirit’s myriad flavor profiles, from an Aperol-esque blood orange gin with elderflower tonic to another infused with cinnamon and dried orange. Beyond gin, the bar carries your usual cocktails, including an ever-popular espresso martini and low-to-no ABV options.
The bar’s entertainment calendar, however, just might upstage its gin selection: Beyond burlesque on Tuesdays, there’s live jazz on Wednesdays, a saxophonist on Thursdays and a house DJ on Friday evenings—in other words, always something interesting going on. Since Angelenos, on average, tend to have more living space than New Yorkers, Oz has found that the jam-packed entertainment calendar has helped get people off their couches, out of the house and up the stairs to Bathtub Gin.
Given the living room-style feel of the place, however, there are space constraints, and Oz highly recommends reservations, especially on Tuesday evenings and weekend nights, when a queue outside the unmarked door might give away the second-floor speakeasy. “We don’t turn people away unless we’re at capacity,” Oz says. “We invite everyone to come, if they can find us,” he adds, with a laugh.
Bathtub Gin LA 7174 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles Tue–Thu 6pm–1am; Fri, Sat 6pm–2am.