“Everything cool in Los Angeles is hidden,” says Jonny D’Amico, who moves through West Hollywood with the cocksure swagger of the area’s unofficial cultural czar. He never claims the title, but his confidence suggests it. I’m skeptical.
Yet after walking with the firebrand up and down West Hollywood’s signature Sunset Strip, I’m convinced. This is the man about town: a ribbon-cutting, raucous Angeleno who lives and bleeds this complicated city.
“This ain’t no New York,” he explains before turning to the man behind me, who double-times to reach earshot. “You’ve got to keep up, man, I told you.” He’s right; you don’t have to put in much effort to find the magic in New York, but L.A.’s secrets are more rewarding simply because they’re harder to find.
And he did tell us. Just minutes earlier, we were squashed into a booth at the original Barney’s Beanery on the corner of North Olive Drive and Santa Monica Boulevard. He laid out the game plan, right after pointing us to Janis Joplin’s name carved onto a table; she etched the signature just hours before her death on 4th October, 1970.
“I walk fast. That’s all. You need to keep up because I’ll show you some cool shit; you’ll meet some cool people.” He whips out his phone and shows us a bunch of photos he’s taken of tour guests with celebrities (some I know, most I don’t). But he isn’t one of TMZ’s stain-on-society bottom-feeders; Jonny is a bona fide former rockstar who has seen the Sunset Strip live and die a thousand deaths.
There are bars framed by history, and then there’s this colourful chilli diner – once a Route 66 staple when the old Mother Road ran through to Santa Monica Pier. Over on the far wall, the long bar is packed with people who’ve danced all over the film and music industries. Jonny walks up to one and grabs him like an old friend before pulling him outside for a chat. “You’re in good hands,” the man slurs. “This guy knows everything – ev-er-y-thing”. We take a photo with the man and leave. He had a minor role in Top Gun.
“If you tell anyone my secrets, I’ll fucking kill you,” he turns to me and jokes. It’s all smiles, but there’s a part of me that believes him. Jonny is the kind of guy who embodies the theatrical nature of L.A.’s formative rock scene. He knows everyone, and everyone knows him. There’s nothing but warmth and wisdom beaming from the former rockstar as he whips four of us around town, first down a section of Santa Monica Blvd and then up the Sunset Strip.
The WeHo stalwart used to play bass around the traps and has been attached to West Hollywood lore for three decades. Once a stage manager for the likes of Alice in Chains and Mötley Crüe, he’s built up a level of insider knowledge that makes him the only person who can give this kind of tour. These are hard to find, but the reward is authenticity, and authenticity is hard-won in a cutthroat city like Los Angeles.
Celebrity spotting is light on the day. “Sometimes you get very lucky, sometimes you don’t. Weekends are always best,” he says. “Chris, you’re a hip hop guy, yeah? A lot of rappers hang here.” Jonny looks hopeful as he walks us into State Social House. I have a brief chat with Christopher Reid (Kid, from Kid ‘N’ Play and House Party) inside before we leave to pop by a famous bookstore, Book Soup.
While L.A.’s other-most-famous bookstore, DTLA’s The Last Bookstore, is known for its whimsical design and fantastical art pieces, this one is a straightforward, snub-nosed institution dedicated to the art of publishing. Name a music biography and you’ll find it here. Name anything and you’ll find it here.
But as Jonny says. “Everything cool in Los Angeles is hidden.” Behind this bookstore is another. It’s a small, family-owned cottage. I’m told literary enthusiasts from around the world fly in just to visit. Not surprised. The owners only sell collectible first editions and signed copies of books, tracing both classic literature and modern works. Some of these books sell for eye-watering sums.
A grungy shift takes us over to the notorious Viper Room. Jonny knows the ins and outs of River Phoenix’s tragic final moments here, and so we trace his steps and hear details about the who, what and where. This tour is not just perfect for pop culture history buffs; it’s essential.
An hour or so more with Jonny brings us over to the Rainbow Room before tracking back up through the middle area and ending with an enormous slice of behind-the-scenes rock history [ain’t spoiling, Jonny]. Our fearless leader gives me some context that instantly helps me understand the Sunset Strip and why it’s so perfectly organised.
That’s the first thing I noticed when I checked in a few days prior.
Luxury hotels like (old school) The Andaz and (new school) 1 Hotel West Hollywood stand on one end of the strip. The opposite end, downhill both topographically and metaphorically, is packed with all the legendary rock clubs and bars like Whisky A Go Go, The Viper Room and Roxy. The middle section is stuffed with luxury shops and is rapidly modernising. There’s a futuristic Tesla power station in the centre, right next to a large Skims shopfront.
Thinking of the Sunset Strip as three different sections – luxury hotel end, shopping middle, nightlife end – begins to make perfect sense as Jonny explains the history. About how powerful men would keep their wives on one side (now the luxury hotel side), while visiting their mistresses on the other (the nightlife end), but only after buying gifts on the way down (the luxury middle).
This kind of history has built the most well-planned blend of the high-brow, low-brow lifestyle in the entire country. This windy strip is heaven and hell; the slight dip after Sunset Plaza? That’s a metaphor.
Insider Tips – How to book the Rock & Roll Tour of West Hollywood
- You’ll need to book online if you want to take part in the Rock & Roll tour. Jonny runs these tours from 5pm on most days of the week, but I suggest booking on a Friday or Saturday. Logically, you’ll get the best celebrity sightings here, in addition to all the many secret spots that Jonny will show you.
- As with all walking tours, I recommend doing this one on your first or second day of the trip so you know where to go on the other days.
- The tour will only cost you around AU$90, which I think is well worth it given how easy it is to feel lost and overwhelmed in L.A. You’ll get your bearings from this tour and have a better overall experience as a result.
L.A. Confidential
As Jonny says, everything cool in L.A. is hidden. You have to work harder for these spots. As opposed to New York, where you just have to walk outside. That makes L.A. discoveries more rewarding, denoting that air of stuffiness, but showcasing just how irresistible this city can be when it reveals the arts, music, and food that keep people coming back for more.
In that spirit, these are my favourite L.A. spots. Some are secret, while others are well-known. None of them are talked about nearly enough as they should be, deepening Los Angeles beyond its glossy surface of Santa Monica Pier, Venice Beach and Beverly Hills.
1Hotel West Hollywood’s Juniper Lounge & Garden
Imagine having a big night on the Sunset Strip and randomly stumbling upon this beauty. Order a glass of wine, sit out in this fantastical hidden garden, and enjoy the serenity. 1 Hotel West Hollywood’s Juniper Lounge & Garden is a pocket of peace that feels far from the strip’s go-hard-or-go-home lifestyle.
The hotel is beautiful as it is, with a stylish lobby bar spruced up with lounge seating, and a rooftop bar that’s both sexy and modest. But it’s this Alice In Wonderland-esque garden that gets the most applause, especially when all the well-strung fairy lights start glowing against those deep greens. The wooden table pictured above is the best spot.
Head upstairs and you’ll find a cinematic view of Los Angeles with amphitheatre-style seating for those who just want to sit in a safe, hidden spot and dream big in La La Land.
The Getty Centre
The first thing you should know about The Getty Centre is that it’s free. And it’s one of the greatest free collections of European art in the world, showcasing plenty of rewarding sights across three major sections: Italian Renaissance & Baroque Paintings (14th-17th century); Dutch & Flemish Paintings (15th-17th century); and French & English Paintings (17th-19th century).
But it wouldn’t be half as spectacular if the Getty Centre weren’t an entire experience that goes beyond what’s hanging on the walls. L.A.’s hilly topography means you get spectacular views of the city from many different locations. This is, without a doubt, the best, with multiple garden and sculpture terraces boasting outsized views of the city.
The immaculate Robert Irwin garden is the highlight. Much like The Getty Villa, which is also on the list, it’s a serene, otherworldly scene of spirals and sharply drawn edges, backed by remarkable city views.
Dante Beverly Hills
I never used to drink martinis until I first stumbled upon Dante in the West Village of Manhattan. Creamy, texturally perfect signature martinis and exceptional food made me an instant fan. I’ve been back five or six times since. And so I was elated when I found out The Maybourne’s rooftop bar is just a slinky, upscale version of Dante.
With the same martinis, some of the signature dishes, and a hard-working pizza oven that pumps out some of the best, perfectly-sized pies I’ve had outside of New York and Chicago. Needless to say, both pizza and martini are best consumed at The Maybourne’s fabulous rooftop pool.
Dante Beverly Hills is an even more likable version of New York’s Dante, which was once ranked as the single best cocktail bar in the USA. The views over Beverly Hills are superlative and wide-reaching, stretching all the way to the distant hills for a vista that teases the imagination; one that genuinely makes you feel like you’ve just made it to L.A.’s upper-upper crust.
You don’t need to be a guest of the legendary luxury hotel to have a drink up at Dante Beverly Hills. Just get a reservation locked in and enjoy the appropriately lush experience. And just like the New York staple, there’s a martini happy hour with Dante’s vaunted signature martinis served half-size and for $10 each.
Note that you will need to be a hotel guest to enjoy Dante poolside.
Harvelle’s
Santa Monica is the most pleasant part of L.A., and you won’t be surprised to hear that it’s where most Aussies choose to stay. Those golden sands form one of the world’s most recognisable beaches, and walking along Crescent Bay Park at sunset gives life-affirming views that echo Los Angeles’ perfect postcard aesthetic.
But while Santa Monica is endlessly pretty along Ocean Avenue, its visuals often mask what’s happening on those other streets. Santa Monica can feel empty and quiet in most areas, and it’s challenging to pinpoint exactly where locals like to hang out. That is, until you waltz into Harvelle’s.
The narrow nightclub on 4th Street is one of the only standalone jazz bars in Los Angeles that’s both authentic and approachable. Programming seems to favour those old-school jazz performers and husky vocalists, creating a consistently retro atmosphere that feels stuck in a time and place far removed from modern Santa Monica.
Wrap one of your nights with a show here, and you’ll start to get a sense that it’s not only the breeze keeping Santa Monica cool.
The Getty Villa
Many places in New York State feel like Europe, but very few on the West Coast can muster the same transportive quality. The Getty Villa, one of the only institutions that miraculously escaped catastrophic damage during the Pacific Pallisades fire of 2024, is an easy exception.
I first visited in 2024 when I was staying in Santa Monica, which is the gateway to Malibu and the Pacific Palisades. These are two areas I have only ever associated with the ultra-wealthy, disregarding the immaculately preserved and architecturally precise Getty Villa.
J. Paul Getty commissioned this museum in the 1970s so he could house his various works of Greek and Roman antiquities. And he wanted it to look exactly like Villa dei Papiri, the famed Roman country house that was buried by Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.
While I can’t claim to have ever visited the Roman estate, I have seen some of the blueprints and uncovered artifacts that helped bring Getty’s vision to life.
And it’s exacting. The sprawling gardens and picturesque pools rip you away completely from Los Angeles. There are many places throughout the US that feel distinctly European, from New York State’s mansions to Nashville’s Parthenon; Getty Villa is the best of them.
Lemon Grove
Think all the cool bars and restaurants are in West Hollywood? Think again. Lemon Grove sits atop membership-based boutique hotel The Aster (check out our review of the hotel) and is a fine example of L.A.’s slick and breezy, scene-to-be-seen lifestyle.
The rooftop is cleverly split into two bars, one far from the action and much more intimate, and the other indoors. Both are stacked with the kind of impressive drinks collection that’s only possible with a deep, hard-won network of distillers and brewers. Cocktails favour fresh flavours and light profiles, while the food ranges from light salads to hearty meat dishes and pastas.
It gets super busy up here, so you won’t find much peace or quiet, but you will be immersed in Hollywood’s buzziest social scene. The juxtaposition makes it even better; Hollywood’s streets have been eerily quiet lately, but you wouldn’t be able to tell up here.
The writer travelled as a guest of Discover Los Angeles and Visit West Hollywood.
