Eater Preview: Hush Lounge

We got a very last-minute invite to check out Hush Lounge last night, the new "supper club" in the basement of the Hillview Building on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Hudson. The low lights, live jazz and cool clubby vibe is exactly what you'd expect for a former speakeasy, and one once owned by Rudolph Valentino at that (so the rumor goes). There just aren't places like this in LA. Co-owner Robert Palmer excitedly told us about the entertainment he has planned (Sunday jazz, indie Wednesdays, maybe burlesque, maybe Flamenco), which all sounds fantastic; the band playing last night was hot. Unfortunately, Hush has that Hollywood supper club/lounge caveat: Dinner reservations accepted from something like 7:30pm to 9:30pm, and at 10:30pm servers drop the checks so the tables can turn to bottle service. For the food, the preview menu was just to give us a taste: tomato salad with boccconcini, "tiny lettuces" with butter pears and pecans, short ribs and lobster mac and cheese. We were sitting at a lounge table with a group of strangers and for some reason we all only got the tomato salad and nothing else. Chances we'll go back for the real deal: Good to slim. Love the jazz and the space, hate the bottle service. (6533 Hollywood Blvd, 323.467.4874; website)
· Presto-Changeo: Lift Becomes Hudson Bistro, 86 Now Hush [~ELA~]
· Name Wars: Hudson Bistro vs. Hudson Inn [~ELA~]