The Sunset Strip’s newest nightlife spot is Bar Jubilee, a cocktail bar by the team behind Fairfax’s Blue Collar and Cold Shoulder speakeasy. The team took over the former Rock & Reilly’s space and converted it into an opulent nighttime destination where meticulously mixed drinks use house-prepared tinctures, unique syrups, and fresh juices. Bar Jubilee, which opens Thursday, October 16, hopes to reawaken the Strip’s bustling past as something partner Vincent Laresca sees as a crucial need for Los Angeles right now: a true neighborhood bar and third place.
Fans of Blue Collar and Cold Shoulder will immediately clock Cold Shoulder’s ornate style. But Bar Jubilee takes the fun romp into circus and carnival territory with plush wall curtains, a long copper bar, velvety fabric on the booths, hanging gold lights, and unique photos of music legends like David Bowie as the iconic Ziggy Stardust, plus a painting of Amy Winehouse in full clown makeup. The team added an upstairs game room with a television and pool table to complete the 3,000-square-foot space.
Laresca and his staff developed Bar Jubilee’s menu, which matches the carnival theme. Find popcorn syrup and fat-washed bourbon for Jubilee’s Orville Old Fashioned with Angostura bitters and salt. The Gladiator’s lead spirit is limoncello, rounded out by an olive leaf liqueur, quinine-flavored aperitif Cocchi Americano, hazelnut gin, and Suze Gentian Liqueur, as well as fragrant rosemary. Most original drinks run for $18; alcohol-free drinks cost $14 and include fresh juices, like one made with cucumber, lime, agave, and mint.
”See what’s happening at Barney’s Beanery,” says Laresca. “You can go there to have a personal connection. You can meet someone new from a different background or go on a date. My friends and their kids don’t go to clubs anymore; they prefer bars. Jubilee is a place where people can talk to one another.”
Bar Jubilee is open at 8911 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA, 90069 from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, with a 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. happy hour where all cocktails are $12.