Archive for the ‘Bars’ Category

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La Bodega de Papagayo – St. Tropez, France

Saturday, October 4th, 2008


83990, France.
Phone:+33 (4) 9497767
Fax:+33 (4) 9497546

On the port at the Residence du Port on the quai d’Epi is La Bodega de Papagayo club-restaurant it has an asian influence and is the latest magnet for the very young set—teens to early 20 somethings crowd. It has a reputation as the hottest dance club in town. It starts to take-off after midnight with a live band on stage, the bar starts to become busy and the dance floor becomes frenetic, the club turns into the proverbial “packed like a can of sardines” and goes and goes until 5am.

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Luau – Beverly Hills (CLOSED)

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Above and left photo and menu are from the original Luau on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Below is a photo of the new Luau on Bedford Drive in the same city.

LUAU CLOSED

The New Luau opened to the public for dinner on Friday night October 24th.
369 North Bedford Drive
Tel. 310-274-0090 (reservations advisable)

A new Luau is open on Bedford Drive in Beverly HIlls however, it will not be a 100% tiki-type operation and will lean more to Balinese decor laced with Asian-influenced cooking with a menu put together by Mako Tanaka from Mako, Beverly Hills. There will be, I am happy to report, some tropical drinks based loosely on old recipes from the original Luau. There is no relationship whatsoever to the original Luau on Rodeo Drive that was opened in 1953 and was a popular celebrity hangout throughout the 50’s and 60’s, which closed in 1978. The Luau was owned by Steve Crane who was one of Lana Turner’s husbands. Their daughter Cheryl Crane became infamous due to stabbing her mother’s boyfriend gangster, Johnny Stompanato to death, although it was deemed justifiable. According to latest reports Ms Crane (an admitted lesbian) is currently a real-estate broker living with her female companion in Palm Springs.  A decade earlier the same Rodeo location housed “The Tropics” owned by Harry Sugarman also popular with celebrities in the 40’s.

Regarding the comment below from Susie: flattery will get you everywhere! No, not really, but I do think the cause she is plugging is a good one so I allowed it to fly. K.M.

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Players, Imperial Gardens Location Sadly, Goes to Dodd Mitchell

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

Defunct Miyagi Restaurant

8225 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood

In the 1940’s this historic building was the famous club called the Players owned by writer/director Preston Sturges , then in the 1970’s it became the Imperial Gardens where I first met Hoki Tokuda while she performed playing piano and singing in the downstairs bar, she later married well known author, Henry Miller. It then morphed into the Roxbury and finally Miyaki. It has now fallen into the grasp of designer, Dodd Mitchell as his personal project to turn Miyagi into a venture called Ming & Mi. This is really sad, and a great pity that he now has the opportunity to destroy, once again, another establishment with a history and inflict his atrociously bad taste upon it. What is the point. The establishment usually fails after he finishes his redesign.

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Update: Trader Vic’s – Los Angeles

Sunday, September 7th, 2008

It appears as if the replacement of the shut Beverly Hills Trader Vic’s will be in downtown at L.A. Live it has been rumored. This Traders will be managed by the Valencia Group, and this may be a good thing as all the relatives and original owners are no longer actively involved in the original corporation. I know a lot of people living in Beverly Hills that will rarely, after taking an initial look, ever drive to downtown L.A., even though most of them have chauffeur driven cars, it is simply too far unless they are going there in the evening for another purpose. Since Trader Vic’s main customer base for the past 50 years have been mainly from the westside of the city; does this make any good business sense or are they trying to develop a new market?

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Trailer Happiness Bar – London

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

177 Portobello Road
London, W11 2DY
Tel.+44 (0)207 727 2700
Opening Hours: Tues-Fri: 5pm-1am; Sat:7pm-1am; Sun: 6pm-10.30pm

Think Tiki drinks and you immediately imagine the South Pacific and Trader Vic’s, and when prepared properly, there is nothing more thirst-quenching than a tropical cocktail. Tiki mixologist, Dale DeGroff can mix a mean drink including the dangerous, incendiary kind. Set in trendy Notting Hill on the boho-chic Portobello, the décor is coconut retro kitsch, with dark walls and the odd Tretchikoff on the wall, the South Africa’s master of the kitsch genre.
The crowd is typical Notting Hill cool, which includes celebrities, media tarts and fashionistas.

Nibbles: Uncle Leroy’s Lamb & Lemon Racks, Alabama Black Snake Sesame Shrimp, Dr. Jay’s Green Chilli Fireballs, Trailer Happiness Smokin’ Sausage Salsa and Where You Been All My Life? Crispy Roast Duck.

A garlanded plastic hula-girl stands at the top of the stairway that leads down to this basement bar, which is more tacky and heavy on kitsch than you could shake a plastic palm tree at, and fortunately for you, the downhill climb is to enter and not to leave otherwise, the exit could be fraught with mishaps!

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S Bar – Hollywood, California (CLOSED)

Saturday, August 16th, 2008

6304 Hollywood Blvd. at Vine St.
Hollywood
Tel. 323 957-2279
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun 8pm – 2am
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate

CLOSED: Sam Nazarian, nightclub entrepreneur had to close S Bar due to a lawsuit by condo owners in the building above complaining about noise. Soundproofing measures were taken to rectify it but were not sufficient to satisfy condo dwellers.

The famous corner of Hollywood and Vine was once home to the Palace Theater, at the end of 2007 the S Bar opened with a lot of fanfare. The new boîte, designed (of course) by Philippe Starck, has a discreet entrance on Hollywood Boulevard, while inside, stylish patrons lounge on leather chesterfield sofas.
They serve cocktails made from freshly squeezed vegetable or fruit juices with again (of course) Roberto Cavalli vodka for the health-conscious.

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“21 Club”, New York City

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

21 West 52nd Street
New York City, N.Y., 10019
Tel. (212) 582-7200
Opening Hours: Lunch Mon.-Fri., Dinner Mon.-Sat.
www.21club.com
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive

“Jack & Charlie’s 21” was once a speakeasy, today it is one of the most celebrated destinations in New York City. The legendary Bar Room that includes a dining room and lounge, is the center point and spirit of the “21 Club” in addition, it has two other restaurants, and the new upstairs dining room, and the famous Prohibition-era Wine Cellar, which are all located in a four-story townhouse.
A little publicized fact is that my friend, the late, Ricky di Portanova, almost bought the “21 Club” the baron offered $13 million for a share in the famous club, which he intended as a birthday present for his wife. The deal was called off when it was announced that the baroness planned to open a boutique on the second floor above the dining room, a plan not in keeping with what the owners had in mind for the club.
Now it is owned by Orient-Express Hotels, Trains and Cruises, a company that has been busy gobbling up
hotels such as the: Hotel Cipriani, Venice; Hotel Splendido, Portofino; Villa San Michele, Florence;
Copacabana Palace, Rio de Janeiro.
Every president with the exception of George W Bush has dined at 21 since the time of FDR.
The legendary Bar Room is and has been the watering hole of celebrities, captains of industry, and world
leaders. The food is not the bright star here, it is the memories and the famous bar that shines.

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Bamboo Bar, Oriental Hotel – Bangkok

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

48 Oriental Avenue
Bangkok, Thailand 10500
Tel. +66 (2) 659 9000
Facsimile: +66 (2) 659 9284 / 659 9285
Email: orbkk-enquiry@mohg.com
Website: www.mandarinoriental.com/bangkok/
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Expensive

The famous Oriental Hotel, awarded “Best Hotel in the World” for many years running possesses on its ground floor, one of the coziest bars in the civilized world, the Bamboo Bar. This small, chic bar is one of the best in Asia and it contains all the magic ingredients to make it what it is, a top class bar; amazingly well-mixed drinks, a top jazz ensemble with frequently changing guest vocalists that perform every night except Sundays, a very sophisticated mood, which at the same time delights with its jungle motif, and it is all overseen by a professional staff. In addition, they offer an interesting mix of wines by the glass, which includes French Champagne—of course!

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Bars in Beijing – China

Friday, July 11th, 2008

BEIJING BARS: Most of the bars are jumbled together around Sanlitun Lu, recently renamed Jiu Ba Jie Bar Street and Nan Jiu Ba Jie South Bar Street, a hutong south and just to the west, all within walking distance of one another. Sanlituns bars lies just inside the third ring road (take the subway to Dongzhimen and then take a taxi) Following are a few of the many bars in these areas, just to get you started.

Minders Bar Sanlitun Lu. Another of the originals, with an in-house Filipino band that covers seventies and eighties pop and rock.

Jam House, Sanlitun Nan Tel. 65063845 Just past Nashville about 100 meters a sign points you down an alley. This little place is Sanlituns hippest, thanks to the gregarious manageress Mimi, Popular both with young expats and trendy locals, who usually converse with each other in Chinese. Live music on weekends with jam sessions afterwards. If it gets too raucous in the bar downstairs find your way to the rooftop.

Jazz Ya, 18 Sanlitun Lu Tel. 64151227 This place with wooden tables and mood music has a better drinks menu than most of its neighbours. Its hidden back from the road and can be hard to find; look for the yellow sign down an alley next to Bella Coffee.

Franks Place, Sanlitun Nan. One of the original group of bars frequented by expats, with a cosy neighbourhood feel; it is a place to enjoy a few quiet drinks.

Nashville, Sanlitun Nan Lu. The superb female vocalist is the headliner for the in-house band, which plays Wednesdays to Saturdays and unexpectedly does a wide variety of covers despite the country-and-western theme, the best in Sanlitun.

Poachers Bar 7 Sanlitun Lu Tel. 65323063). The theme is English meaning darts and pheasant but this famous expat watering hole is accessible, casual and cosy, complete with snooker room. Western movies are shown on Wednesday, and a jazz band plays on Thursday.

Public Space Sanlitun Lu. Sanlituns first bar and still one of the most pleasant.

Busy Bee 208 Dongsi Bei Dajie, (two blocks west of the Poly Plaza) Tel. 64025788 Look for the small neon sign. Local bands play here on Friday and Saturday. Simple, inexpensive French and Italian dishes. Cover price may vary.

Shadow Cafe 31 Kexueyuan Nan Lu (tel 62618587). A quiet place, attached to Club X, known for its weekend jazz gigs. There is no cover charge.

CD Cafe Dongsanhuan Bei Lu, (300m south of the Great Wall Sheraton Hotel) Tel. 65018877 ext 3032 Worth popping into for jazz played here on Friday and Saturday. A rock and blues band on Sunday.

Keep In Touch, (down an alley opposite the Kempinksi Hotel) Tel. 64625280) A casual and comfortable place, brightly decorated and featuring the motorcycle that Zhang Yu, former bassist with top rock band Tang Dynasty, died riding. This is one of the places to go to hear Beijings new young bands, with live music on most evenings. Live blues on Thursday, jazz on Sunday, and local bands play on Friday and Saturday.

Maggies, (close to the Hilton) Infamous as among one of the Beijing’s low-life dives, with a clientele of unsavory characters.

Due to heavy spamming on this post, comments will be closed until further notice! If you wish to leave a genuine comment you may contact me by email. Thank you, K M

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V9 Wine Bar-Restaurant – Bangkok

Saturday, June 21st, 2008

The colorful bar at V9 at Sofitel Silmon Bangkok

V9 Bar & Restaurant
Sofitel Silom Bangkok
188 Silom Road,
Bangrak,10500 Bangkok
Tel.02 238 1991
Opening Hours: 5pm-2am nightly
Credit Cards: All Major
Prices: Moderate

An interesting concept for a bar where the customer can buy their bottles at retail from a selection in wooden wine boxes stacked up by the entrance. All the wines are supplied from one source, the mainly retail distributor Wine Connection with wine shops around Bangkok and also in Vietnam and Singapore. The vibrant bar delivers all the expected exotic cocktails along with a good selection of wines by the glass. The Bar-Manager, Neungrutai Chaiya (nickname: Belle) and she definitely is V9’s “La Belle”, ask to talk to her she is a charmer, who incidentally, has been working there since the opening six years ago.

It is basically a wine bar surrounded by a restaurant, and that is not to demean the restaurant in the least, it serves new, original French cuisine with a panoramic view of the city lights from the 37th floor of the Sofitel Silom Bangkok. They also feature live performances by various musicians and and now on is an exhibition of paintings, oil and acrylic, of mainly Chinese faces that are very interesting and well-conceived and, which I quite fancy, interspersed about the restaurant. The Belgian artist, Christian Develter email: develterart@mac.com who is based in Bangkok at least for the present.


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