A Preux and Proper cocktail. Photo courtesy of Preux and Proper.
Don’t have an invitation to the local Halloween Party? Who needs one!? From the best dive bar and low brow chill to the swankiest nibble shacks with saucy snacks to set your hair on fire, there is plenty a party to be found all over L.A.
Many cover-free or cheap, here is a collection of venues packed with entertainment and the odd costume contest with straight up the best grub and cocktails.
So load up the Lyft app, leave the car at home, whip up a costume, grab a friend or two, throw on your fit bit, and go long night’s screamin’ crawl.
Sunday, October 27, 2018
The Bad Decision cocktail crafted by Syd Thomas at the Tonga Hut, North Hollywood, August 20, 2017. Photo by Monique A. LeBleu.
Tonga Hut’s 7th annual Halloween themed MONSTERS & MAI TAIS and 60th Anniversary Party
L.A.’s oldest Tiki Bar is opening up their double sized parking lot for their XTRA MEGA HUGE Parking Lot Sale and art show featuring dozens of vendors and artists, with tunes outside provided by DJ Tonga Tom beginning at Noon along with an outside cocktail bar with Durangos Tacos serving up tacos, quesadillas, & burritos. Spooky melodies by DJ’s Lady Mo and Stevie Mitch inside the bar at 6 p.m., a costume contest, and lots of special and classic Tonga Hut freaky tiki cocktails.
A few featured Halloween cocktails for the night include an Old Skool Zombie with four rums, apricot brandy, Passion Fruit and juice-based on the 1950’s style Zombie, a Blue Tongan – a Creamy coconut concoction with blue curaçao and Galliano, lemon and pineapple juice, a Mohave Punch with homemade hibiscus syrup, light and dark rums, and other exotic flavors, or the classic Trader Vic’s 1944 Mai Tai, as well as Painkiller cocktails or an appropriate Dark & Stormy. The costume contest prize will be awarded after art show, about 6 p.m.
Tonga Hut – 12808 Victory Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606
Preux & Proper Big Lebowski Halloween Brunch
Fuckin’-A Chicken Sandwich. Photo courtesy of Preux and Proper.
Start early at Preux & Proper for The Big Lebowski Halloween Brunch. Have a White Russian, or three, or a “One Hell Of A Caucasian” White Russian Frozen Daiquiri made with Effen Vodka and St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur.
Come dressed in a costume inspired by the film and get a “One Hell Of A Caucasian” frozen cocktail JUST for hangin’ with the Dude! Cowboys can get yer Good Sarsaparilla cocktail with cardamom and clove-infused Effen Vodka, vanilla bean sassafras syrup, cinnamon ice, and ginger ale, and other cocktails specials for the occasion.
Dude (Chef Sammy Monsour) will present the “I Told That Kraut A Thousand Fucking Times I Don’t Roll On Shabbos” House Andouille Nachos made with 2-day housemade kraut, Thousand Island dressing, gruyère, toasted caraway, and pickled mustard seeds, a “Fuckin A’?” Nashville Hot Chicken Sando topped with Pot d’Huile CBD oil, house pickles and cookout slaw, or an “Ay Dios Mio” Masa Fried Crawfish Roll with Cajun spice, slaw, pickles, hot sauce, and avocado mash. Sounds like a real painkiller! The Dude abides.
Open for Halloween Brunch on Sunday, October 28, 2018, from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m., and for Happy Hour from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. For Brunch contact the restaurant for reservations.
Preux & Proper – 840 South Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Halloween Night – Wednesday, October 31, 2018
Columbo’s Cocktails and Halloween Costume Contest
A Dodger Boo cocktail at Columbo’s Italian Steakhouse and Jazz Club, Eagle Rock, California, Tuesday, October 31, 2017. Photo by Monique A. LeBleu.
Depending on where the Dodgers may be by Wednesday, there might be cause for a double celebration with cocktails like a Dodger Boo martini or beers on tap at Columbo’s Italian Steakhouse and Jazz Club. The evening will include live music by party cover band The Hodads beginning at 9:00 p.m., and a costume contest at 10:15 p.m. There will be select prizes for the top three costumes including Columbo’s gift certificates and gift baskets. Cocktail specials are at the bar and dinner will be served in the restaurant, but party will continue throughout!
This post-modern perfect underground speakeasy-like cocktail lounge with a full bar sets the setting with a spooky ambiance worthy of a dark Bewitched episode (think cousin Sabrina’s favorite haunt.) Sip on a tropical aZombie of rum, plum infused brandy, lime, lemon, orange, a float of chamomile grenadine, and angostura bitters. If you are crawlin’ with friends, share a Twilight Zone punch bowl filled with white rum, overproof rum, black strap rum, batavia arack, crème de peche, lemon, lime, pineapple, orange, and jerk spices.
THEN, if you are still able to walk, stumble around the corner to…
The Redwood Bar
This pirate ship themed bar is swashbuckling fun for any time of year, but this weekend the venue with feature bands Original Son, Varsity Drag (featuring Ben Deily of The Lemonheads) and the The Rainman Suite on Tuesday night, October 30, 2018 and an In Fuzz we Trust Halloween Bash II on Wednesday, October 31, 2018, with Obey the Wolves and Fire Bug on Halloween Night.
Redwood Bar– 316 W 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
The J.L.C. Photo courtesy of The Raymond 1886.
The Raymond 1886
The Raymond 1886, South Pasadena’s best-kept-secret bar tucked away in the original caretaker’s home of the long ago, ill-fated Raymond Hotel, is sure to host a few actual spirits, and definitely well appointed to concoct many a liquid version. This Halloween Head Barman Cameron Masden creates the potent Harvest Moon, prepared with lemon juice, honey, bourbon, and bitters to help summon the spirits who want to howl at the moon, and the J.L.C., a tribute to Jamie Lee Curtis (as her film “Halloween” was shot locally in South Pasadena) made with Carpano Antica, coffee-infused Gran Classico, and Real McCoy Rum. Open on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31st for Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Happy Hour from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., and for Dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The Raymond 1886 – 1250 South Fair Oaks Avenue., Pasadena, CA 91105
Halloween at Bluebird Brasserie
Join Sherman Oaks Belgian-inspired brewery and restaurant for free candy, pumpkin beer, and spooky cocktails, Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 4 p.m. – 11 p.m.! Come in costume and get a house-brewed beer or Halloween cocktail on the house! (*with additional purchase)
Bluebird Brasserie – 13730 Ventura Blvd, Sherman Oaks, CA 91423
The Hell or Highwater at The Moon Bar. Photo courtesy Lunetta At Night/Lunetta by Day
Lunetta All Day/Lunetta Dining & The Moon Bar
Barman Will Nozick of The Moon Bar has created Hell or High Water with gin, Jamaican rum, firewater bitters, Orgeat syrup, lemon juice, and Indian Pale Ale to help spice up your perfectly hellish Halloween! For Happy Hour there’s special bites by Chef and Proprietor Raphael Lunetta and Executive Chef Emilio Cuyuch such as the Albacore Crudo with mashed avocado and Meyer lemon relish, or Rock Shrimp Ceviche with fresh guacamole and house-made lime chips of Wood-Fire Octopus Tacos prepared with white beans, fire-roasted peppers, and charred tomatillo salsa. Open on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31, 2018, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Lunetta All Day/Lunetta Dining & The Moon Bar 2420 Pico Boulevard, Santa
The Stalking Horse
For a “Bloody ‘Ell Halloween” night, The Stalking Horse will whip up a special cauldron of Witches Brew just for you on Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018, from 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Take your Polaroid photo on the British pub’s spooky backdrop and come dress to kill because the winner of the costume contest receives a brunch for four! Try the Bottomless Witch’s Punch for $10, sip on a house-brew while watching classic scary movies all night. Portions of the event are for charity as $1 from a select Stalking Horse beer goes directly to our neighbors at Firestation 92.
The Stalking Horse – 10543 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.
Molly Malone’s
Loser Company is playing at Molly Malone’s on Oct 27th, 2018 with Mrs. Gill, Checkerneck, Liz Gherna, and Mike Scully, presented by Kelly McGarry! $10, 21+ only, doors open at 7PM, and Loser Company goes on at 11:20PM. It’s gonna be a crazy halloween bash so come on out! Please go to the ticket link to buy your tickets online at the link to get your name on the guest list. Just bring your confirmation email and you will be let in hassle free, and don’t forget your ID!
Molly Malone’s – 575 S Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Ocean Prime Beverly Hills
For those looking to celebrate Halloween with a bit more swank, the modern-American seafood-centric restaurant Ocean Prime offers a smoking “Berries & Bubbles” cocktail, tart and lightly effervescent, made with Belvedere Citrus Vodka, Crème de Cassis, Domaine Chandon Brut, fresh berries and finished with dry ice. Add that to a dinner of Lobster bisque and Surf and Turf, or their Truffle Mac and Cheese. Swellegant.
Ocean Prime – 9595 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90212
The Devil’s Kiss. Photo courtesy of Church and State.
Church and State for festive cocktails
For a truly haunting Halloween this year then head to Chef Tony Ensault’s Church & State where cocktail mixologists Floreana Edwards and Victor Moreno have created the perfect treat, a candy-sweet cocktail, the The Devil’s Kiss, made with Gosling’s Black Rum, Tuaca Orange and Vanilla Liqueur, honey, heavy cream, and a Halloween candy garnish! Happy Hour truly is with $1 Oysters paired with lemon and mignonette, the Le Cachat, a lavender herbed goat cheese on crostini, the Foie de Volaille – a chicken liver mousse on crostini, or—of course—the Deviled Eggs with paprika, lardon, and chives!
Open on Halloween, Wednesday, October 31st for Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and for Dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Church and State – 1850 Industrial Street #100, Los Angeles, CA 90021
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