Sunday, June 05, 2005

Bottom's Up: Johnny's in Silver Lake

After an early drink at the nearly-empty, yet convivial Footsie's Saturday night, we stopped in at Silver Lake's newest bar, Johnny's Cocktail Lounge. It's a dark little intimate place that shows how swanky Silver Lake has gotten. There's no hard liquor, which has spurred the owners to create an imaginative drinks menu of soju cocktails. The cocktails are named in homage to other local bars -- choose from a Rustic Inn or a Cheetah's -- and the margarita is tasty, if not especially potent. There's also a good selection of draft and bottled beers and an ambitious and pricey wine list ($76 bottles of Pinot Noir, for example). The jukebox ranges from plenty of AC/DC and Prince to the collected works of the Clash, Elvis Costello, Soft Cell and Siouxsie and the Banshees with nods to newer acts like the Killers and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. With low leather banquettes, a rounded wood bar and sexy, dim lighting, this may be the only Silver Lake bar that someone actually designed from the ground up, and with a wine list like that, they may actually be expecting some grownups.
Johnny's Cocktail Lounge
2939 W. Sunset
(323) 660-2276

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