Kind of like you and your metamorphosis from a greasy-haired metalhead to a self-realized butterfly, the Downtown Arts District in Los Angeles has been through a lot of changes over the years. If you can believe it, the area was once home to Los Angeles’ original wineries—before industrial manufacturing moved in.
Once manufacturing dwindled, the area looked a bit like the aftermath of a Transformers movie. And in a twist, the creatives moved in and the warehouse district transformed into the Arts District. Now, in another more ShondaLand-esque twist, the artists are being pushed out as the money moves in thanks to, drum roll please, gentrification. Luckily there’s still a movement to keep the Arts District about and for artists, so the Arts District has become a creative corner that’s explosively delicious for the stomach, eyes and soul alike.
Located from Alameda Street and the LA River and Second Street to Seventh Street to the Southeast section of Downtown, DTLA’s Art District is all totally walkable. So read on to discover the best that the Arts District has to offer—from Italian food to breweries to galleries ... to more Italian food. Did we mention that there’s really good Italian food?
Eat
Bestia
If you’re skeptical of all the hype surrounding this DTLA Italian landmark, one bite of the Perigord black truffle crostino will shut you right up. Bestia pushes the boundaries of what modern Italian means and wows everyone in the process. Their fresh cavatelli is a rare find in California, and the bone marrow is a rich, buttery, treat yo’ self delight.
Fresh Cavatelli at Bestia. Image courtesy of @bestiadtla by @gatsbycoram
Roasted Bone Marrow at Bestia. Image courtesy of @bestiadtla by @boskee
Pizzanista!
On the other end of the Italian dining spectrum is Pizzanista. Here, you can grab a slice and chill for a halftime break while you barcrawl, or stop by on a Sunday for the mac and cheese pizza (there’s a vegan option, oh-LA-la). No matter what, you must head next door for ping pong and craft brews at Tony's Saloon.
Pizza at Pizzanista!. Image courtesy of @caxshe
Mandilli di seta at Factory Kitchen. Image courtesy of @thefactorykitchen
The Factory Kitchen
Next stop on the Italian tour of the Arts District is housed in a former fish factory that serves up modern Italian food in one of those industrial but comfortable spaces we’ve all come to know and love. The stand out dish is the deceptively simple: mandilli di seta, a soft thick green pasta with an almond basil pesto. It was Jonathan Gold’s favorite, and after one bite it’s easy to see why.
Wurstküche
Nobody knows how to pronounce this place’s name, but walk in, order an artisanal wiener, belgian fries, a craft beer or three and your apprehension for German pronunciation will be a thing of the past. No, it’s not worst-cooch—it’s voorst-kyoo-huh, German for “sausage kitchen,” obviously. But forreal, this contemporary European beer garden and sausage spot is in the heart of the arts district—ideally located to start or end your day or night.
Rabbit & rattlesnake sausage with jalapeño peppers at Wurstküche. Image courtesy of @calvin_honeybelle
The Earl Grey Pie at The Pie Hole. Image courtesy of @stirandstyle
The Pie Hole
The Pie Hole is rolling out their sweet, flaky-crusted goodness all over the city (first at LAX and Indiana Colony in Old Town Pasadena, and coming soon to Hollywood and Vine). The original and best location in the Arts District is where hipsters spill out into the streets to snatch some sweet or savory pie delight at all hours imaginable. And for good reason: their Earl Grey pie is good enough to make even the Queen of England scream ‘YASS’ in polite exuberance.
Cerveteca
Although billed as a Mexican joint, Cerveteca is more like a global food trot mostly through Latin America. Baja fish tacos, Peruvian ceviche, Argentinian steak, and hey—even American chicken wings. With all that craft beer on their menu, you’re probably gonna need wings and also probably that cheese dip three ways.
Ceviche at Cerveteca. Image by @cervetecadtla
Cerveteca. Image by @cervetecadtla
Zinc Cafe & Market / Bar Mateo
Zinc is the kind of place that you might walk into and think, ah, Europe has landed. The open space has clean aesthetics and on-trend, clean-eating cookbooks, reminiscent of when you casually litter your apartment with candles and vintage novellas when you’re trying to impress a date. All in all, the concept is tasty, especially when you meander over to Bar Mateo hidden in the back.
Zinc Cafe Market & Bar. Image by Instagram user @zinccafeandmarket
Avocado toast at Blacktop Coffee. Image courtesy of @farrahtana
Blacktop Coffee
Blacktop is one part tiny artist coffeeshop straight outta Berlin, and one part I-could-meet-my-future-ex-fiancee-here. Oh yeah, and the espresso, from San Francisco's Sightglass Coffee, and the avocado toast are worth shoutouts as well.
Groundwork Coffee Co.
Groundwork might be scattered throughout the city and there’s a sea of other coffeeshops in the area … but Groundwork Coffee is an LA original and their prices are relatively affordable. Plus, the food menu has recently been revamped in a very, very good way. Grab that pear and cardamom muffin. No regrets, just love. As Actual Cannibal Shia Labeouf says: just do it.
Brunch at Groundwork Coffee Co, Arts District. Image courtesy of @groundworkcoffee by @atwcale
Groundwork Coffee Co. Arts District. Image courtesy of @groundworkcoffee by @realsungwook
Art
Hauser Wirth & Schimmel
Not long ago, the international art world referred to LA as the place “where great art goes to die.” Well suck it, haters. The new Hauser Wirth & Schimmel gallery— full of gleaming prestige—and with tons of other art pockets springing up around the city, it’s safe to say LA is now one of the world’s best places to experience art. A huge warehouse at the nucleus of it all, this opening brings validity to what the Downtown Arts District has become: revitalized, relevant and a part of the international arts community. The inaugural exhibition features work by international contemporary women sculptors, solidifying LA’s place within the greater global scene. To top it off, Manuela, a Southern-meets-Mexican restaurant will open in the gallery space this summer.
Hauser Wirth & Schimmel Image courtesy of Citizine
Art Share LA
In 1997, the warehouse was a safe haven for struggling artists to create and showcase their work. Since then, Art Share has bustled with fresh artists and fresh art, with exhibitions, screenings, poetry readings and more. Today, Art Share continues to fight the good fight: keeping the Arts District the Arts District by supporting artists like the ones who helped to make it the vibrant and interesting place it is today.
Art Share LA. Image courtesy of @artsharela
The Container Yard. Image courtesy of @thecontaineryard
The Container Yard
Now I know what you’re thinking: one man's graffiti is another woman’s mural. But at the Container Yard, they sort of combine both, giving street art a venue in which it can thrive.
A+D Museum
Always on the move, that Architecture and Design Museum is! Their last locale was near LACMA, but just as everyone who’s anyone has moved east, they’ve also flocked down (though that was mostly the Purple Line Metro’s fault). It seems their home will be a bit stabler in the Arts District, especially as Hauser Wirth & Schimmel bursts onto the scene. Go for the progressive exhibits and retrospectives that range from graffiti to graphic design to urban hikes and beat poetry excursions.
MAMA Gallery
MAMA gallery might be one of the most exciting spots in the arts district to experience contemporary art. The gallery space captures the large scale installation movement that is taking the art world by storm right now. They showcase large scale immersive installations—such as a pool made of 62,000 pennies by artist James Georgopoulos—and actively foster ways of working with new approaches of representation.
MAMA Gallery. Image courtesy of @actressmodeldj
Play
Angel City Brewery
The brewery has been in this location since 2010, but only opened its doors to the public in 2013. Since then it has become a staple. Its public house is that weird but amazing combo of grime and old school class that defines the neighborhood. The brewery does public events and tours, but the best thing about visiting in person is trying out their experimental flavors like Sriracha and Chai Stout.
'9.9 Problems And A Stout Ain't One’ at Angel City Brewery. Image courtesy of @angelcitybeer
Beer flights at Mumford Brewing. Image courtesy of @charlenewestbrook
Mumford Brewing
The DTLA microbrewery scene might be growing exponentially, but that’s not a bad thing. This brewery is only open Thursday to Sunday and offers growlers and flights of beers brewed on site.
Arts District Brewing Company
A new player on the block by the same bar wizards that own Golden Gopher, Cole's, Las Perlas and tons of other DTLA hotspots, ADBC is the kind of chill neighborhood spot that would have been the ultimate place to hang in college. They’ve got skeeball, darts, ping pong, and craft beers both in-house and rotating visitor taps. You can also get good bar food by Fritzi, like the brussel sprout-topped carrot hotdog. And a sit-down version of Fritzi is next door if you want to celebrate your victorious bean bag tossing skills in style.
Everson Royce Bar
This bar serves food until 1 a.m., has a bocce ball court on the back patio, cheap wine flights on Wednesday and bad ass cocktails. Everson Royce Bar is an Arts District must.
Resident
The new Resident bar in DTLA is a one-stop shop for a night out. Both a music venue and beer (OK, more cocktail) garden, this place is certainly upping the ante for all the other live music spaces across the city. Plus, who doesn’t love drinks made in an airstream bar?
Resident DTLA. Image courtesy of @residentdtla
Villain's Tavern
Is an upscale dive bar a thing? This bar is sort of like a ruin saloon of LA’s past, bringing together a ton of different touches, providing a cool vibe with tons of live music and craft cocktails for thirsty tune-lovers like you and yours.
Villains Tavern featuring @rtnthe44s. Image courtesy of @villainstavern
Greenbar Distillery. Image courtesy of @greenbardistillery
Greenbar Distillery
Love craft spirits? Greenbar Distillery is the place for you as LA’s first distillery to open since Prohibition. They make a slew of organic booze—from hops liqueur to gin—showcasing the best ingredients that SoCal has to offer, but you know, in liquid form. Check out their tours and six-spirit tastings on the weekends. Reservations required.
EightyTwo
Have you ever wondered what a club would be like if, instead of a dance floor, there were vintage arcade machines? Well, EightyTwo is the place for you! It’s a barcade, but you might have to wait on line to get in, the music is clubish but with outdoor space, and a there’s a whole section dedicated to pinball. It’s just a really cool place to spend the night.
Apolis
If you like us, you’ll probably like this. Just sayin’. Go forth, menswear loving people of the world, go forth in style. Plus, Apolis regularly hosts cool arty-themed parties, from collection releases to screenings.
Poketo
Poketo is why you go to the arts district. It’s cool. It’s community based. It’s quirky. This fun shop has interesting home decor and clothing, like funky lamps and socks that smile at you, and they host crafty workshops on everything from creative writing to loom weaving.
Poketo. Image courtesy of @jeffmindell
LA Boulders. Image courtesy of @rileyneldam
LA Boulders
After wandering through all the galleries and exploring all the foodie wonderlands, you may have a strange urge for some scrambling. Luckily, LA Boulders—an indoor rock climbing gym—is there when the craving strikes, right in the middle of the Arts District.
The Springs
Is it a yoga studio? A juice bar? A wellness center? Well, it’s a bit of everything actually. And what’s not to love about the one-stop shop of goodness where you can receive a gravity colon hydrotherapy treatment, take a free meditation class and slurp down a S’more smoothie.
The Springs. Image courtesy of @thespringsla
The LA Gun Club. Image courtesy of @lady_phoenix by @aperian
The Los Angeles Gun Club
And if none of this is appealing to you, the arts district is also home to the Los Angeles Gun Club. Ah, Downtown LA where you can get delicious, freshly-made pasta, see spectacular international art and then go shoot up some targets all within walking distance.
Stay
Airbnb: Vintage Trailer in Artist Loft
Why shell out a couple Benjamins when you can live out your hippie dream of sleeping inside of a trailer inside of an Arts District loft? Thanks to Airbnb, you can sleep in a cozy, six foot tall 1954 travel trailer that has been retrofitted with a king size bed. A home that houses another home, the space is a 6,000 square foot artist loft with three bathrooms, wi-fi and all that modern stuff to remind you, no, you're not actually at Woodstock. Book HERE.
An Airbnb vintage trailer inside of an artist loft. Image courtesy of Harley and Airbnb.
Airbnb: Arts District Loft
If sleeping inside of a trailer sounds like a bit much, this bright and airy loft in the heart of the Arts District has your name on it. Walk out the door and find yourself in the middle of shops, cafes, galleries and more. The space's brick walls, wood floors, fully stocked kitchen and views of the LA skyline will have you feeling right at home, especially since the hosts encourage you to take a glass of wine up to the roof. Cheers! Book HERE.
Did somebody say exposed brick? Image courtesy of Sadye and Airbnb.
Melissa Karlin is a writer, photographer and professional social butterfly based in Los Angeles, California. She struggled in the academic art world for a while so now she sometimes writes about it … she still hopes to one day curate the retrospective that sculptor Jacques Lipchitz deserves. Follow her misadventures @meli64 on Twitter and @informedwanderer on Instagram.
Feature Image courtesy of Matt Marriott/Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Feature Image courtesy of Matt Marriott/Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
