It’s no secret that I loves me some whiskey so I was excited to hear that Seven Grand, a new whiskey bar, opened up in Downtown L.A., especially one that’s put together by the Golden Gopher peeps. And sure there are vodka bars, sake bars and wine bars, why not whiskey? But then I heard about it from UrbanDaddy, then Daily Candy, friends emailing me about it and so on and so on… Talk about overselling. I do wanna check it out but judging by all the attention it’s getting, maybe I’ll wait til things die down before I order myself up a stiff one.
Since that probably won’t be for awhile, I wanted to put all the preview excerpts in one place for my (and your) convenience. (No full reviews yet, ‘cept one on Yelp).
Curbed LA: “Old Irish bar feel. Very big whiskey selection. Walnut bar, pool tables. And apparently there’s a nitrogenator, which is some kind of fancy-pants draft beer delivery method which people go nuts over.”
Daily Candy newsletter: “Only blocks from owner Cedd Moses’s other joints, Golden Gopher and Broadway Bar, the English lodge/library-looking gem on the second floor of the old Brock’s Jewelry Emporium is all dark wood, rich leather, plaid carpeting, and friendly taxidermy.”
Downtownnews.com: “Similar to the Gopher and Broadway, Seven Grand will feature a smoking patio, flattering lighting (which is to say, dark), no cover charge and spacious ladies bathrooms. ‘Friendly service without attitude,’ Moses adds, ‘and geared toward Downtown regulars and not the boring Hollywood crowd.'”
Gridskipper: “The atmosphere is lodge kitsch, with relics from the jewelry store and taxidermy from the cafeteria that previously occupied the premises.”
LAist: “DJs spinning old-time jazz, 200 choices of whiskey, and a dark mellow vibe with a twist of a thirty something crowd is making the old Clifton’s Silver Spoon location another reason downtown nightlife is coming abuzz. Seven Grand, named after its nearest intersection, just opened this month and it feels as if it has been here for ages.”
A secluded back room, a pool table, and a smoking patio — so the guy who hustled you at pool has an airy place to light his cigars with your money.
A rare-to-downtown live-performance permit, and a partnership with the bookers behind Silverlake’s mainstay, Spaceland. Upcoming plans include hipster indie rock nights, and traditional Irish, drunken-brawling music.
UrbanDaddy newsletter: “Speaking of spirits, you can choose from more than 125 whiskeys or try a flight. If you’re feeling adventurous (and we trust you are), sample the rare, 30-year-old Macallan scotch (at $120 a glass) or the George T. Stagg (unfiltered, uncut, 140 proof).”
Seven Grand
515 West Seventh Street
Los Angeles, California 90014
(213) 614-0736