Michele StuevenThe historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A. kicks off the first of its 2023 centennial celebrations with the L.A. Noir Speakeasy event on New Year’s eve that includes a whirlwind of live music, dancing and entertainment in the iconic Crystal Ballroom. Performers, displays and tours of the actual speakeasy tunnels, will take guests on a roaring journey back to LA’s golden era.
John F. Kennedy speaking at the Biltmore Hotel during the 1960 Democratic National Convention (Courtesy The Biltmore)
Artists and organizers of the Labyrinth Masquerade will create a world of jazz and speakeasy cocktails as they take guests on the countdown to 2023. Jazz ensemble, Alice Underground, will provide time-traveling tunes to an anachronistic era – while champagne flows and guests cut a rug in dapper glad rags. Attendees are encouraged to flaunt fringe, pearls and feathers. Period-inspired attire or black tie is encouraged and imagination is celebrated. Coat Check will be available on-site.
Having recently been added as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, the beaux-arts institution has played host to a golden-era prohibition nightclub, the first several Academy Awards ceremonies and subsequent Grammy Awards, one of the last sightings of the Black Dahlia. In 1960, John F. Kennedy set up his campaign headquarters at the hotel during the Democratic National Convention in the Music Room, now the lobby, with running mate Lyndon B. Johnson across the hall in the Emerald Room.
Doors open at 8 p.m., at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel with festivities going through 1:30 a.m. Tickets available HERE.
The flapper era (Courtesy The Biltmore Hotel)
Looking for a decadent New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day dinner downtown? Mastro’s Ocean Club offers its signature steaks and Mastro’s Seafood Tower, which can be customized with the fresh oysters, shrimp cocktail, lobster, Dungeness crab and chilled crab legs in a swirl of dramatic dry ice fog, as well as lobster mashed potatoes, creamed spinach and creamed corn. Take in some celebrity sightings and a Lemon Drop in the four-tiered back bar that also offers specialty options such as Louis the XIII, Hennessey Richard and Balvenie 40-year Scotch.
Located at the corner of Figueroa and 12th Street, Mastro’s Ocean Club DTLA will also feature live entertainment in the Piano Lounge and will be open from 5 p.m. till midnight on New Year’s Eve and from 4 p.m. till 9 p.m., on New Year’s Day, and proper dress code is required. Mastro’s enforces a strict upscale dress code, noting “No excessively revealing clothing will be allowed and clothing emitting offensive odors is not permitted to be worn anywhere on the property.”
Back at the beach, Loews Santa Monica will transform into a winter wonderland for the Westside Winter Wonderland New Year’s Eve Ball.
Festivities include a live performance from international 1940’s pin-up darlings, jazz vocalists and tap dancers, The Satin Dollz from 9 p.m. to midnight in the main lobby and the sounds of DJ L.I.T. Cullen spinning Top 40, ‘80s and ‘90s music outside on the ocean view poolside patio deck until 1 a.m.
The Satin Dolls vintage singers (Courtesy Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel)
Countdown to 2023 will include specialty-themed cocktails, indoor/outdoor dance floors, multiple bars, VIP fire pit tables, a photo booth, party favors, and a countdown with a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. Guests will also receive an exclusive second-floor level area with private bars and rail seating for viewing of the main stage performance. All-white, cocktail attire is encouraged, get tickets here . The full dinner menu is available with separate reservations required via Resy.
Atrium will offer three menu specials to make the evening extra decadent and then guests can walk over to Pinky’s to keep the evening going with Miami vibes, cocktails and music. The Atrium New Year’s Eve specials include:
Oyster & Caviar: Kusshi oyster served with black Oscietra caviar and champagne granita
Risotto & Lobster: Maine lobster with Meyer lemon risotto, espelette butter and herb salad
New York Steak: 14-day dry-aged New York Steak served with bordelaise jus and truffle butter
Over at the Beverly Center, Yardbird turns holiday brunching into a nine-day celebration beginning Christmas Eve through Sunday, Jan. 1, with signature brunch favorites starting at 10 a.m. daily, as part of their Nine Days of Brunch celebration.
Mastro’s Seafood Tower (Fertitta Entertainment)
H&H Brazilian at Beverly Center will be open all day on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day offering a specially priced $70/per person all-you-can-eat churrasco menu that includes their usual 16 cuts of meat and sides along with an a la carte menu of add-ons like a 6 oz cut of Japanese A5 wagyu beef. Regular reservations required, with no special seating times.
Looking for some fireworks? Whiskey Red’s on the waterfront in Marina del Rey will offer a surf & turf special that features grilled ribeye, a half butter poached lobster tail, 50/50 mashed potato, with grilled broccolini, as well as an a la carte menu with seafood classics like the beer-battered fish and chips and seafood pasta collage. Stay for the ball drop and take in the waterfront views of fireworks over the marina.
Odyssey, overlooking the San Fernando Valley, will feature a four-course menu, a glass of midnight champagne and views of the fireworks show over Granada Hills on New Year’s Eve.
Castaway, in Burbank, will offer a five-course menu and glass of midnight champagne with panoramic views of the fireworks show over the Burbank skyline, with the option of two seatings on New Year’s Eve, at 6:30 p.m. ($150 for a patio table; $180 for a window seat) or 9:30 p.m. ($150 for a patio table; $180 for a window seat).
NYE in Granada Hills (Courtesy Odyssey)