One of America’s Best Cocktail Bars Debuts on This Gorgeous Downtown Rooftop

Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

There’s still plenty of summer left, which means it’s a perfect time to witness the debut of Broken Shaker, one of the most celebrated cocktail bars in America — now operating from one of Downtown’s best rooftops.

Broken Shaker comes to Downtown’s Freehand LA rooftop by way of Miami, where founders Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi (Bar Lab) and partners the Sydell Group first got the party started back in 2012 as a courtyard pop-up. Since then Broken Shaker has gone on to be nominated for two James Beard Foundation Awards, and is consistently considered to be one of the world’s best bars, period. Now they’re bringing that spirit — both in terms of vibe and the drinks themselves — to a revitalized 8th Street.

Much like The Exchange restaurant downstairs, Broken Shaker carries a very well-defined and effortlessly casual aesthetic. That means loads of greenery in pots and planters, blonde wood everywhere, vintage furniture and colorful decor touches. There’s also a pink-hued mural from artist Luke Pelletier — and that’s all to say nothing of the pool, the lounge chairs, and the view overlooking a huge chunk of Downtown proper. Bar Lab and Roman & Williams deisgned the space.

Broken Shaker officially opens on September 1, keeping daily hours from noon to 1:30 a.m. Despite the stiff nearby competition from places like The Standard and Spire 73 (or further afield options such as E.P. & L.P. in West Hollywood and The Highlight Room in Hollywood), it’s a safe bet that this Downtown bar will be pretty busy from day one. A full opening drink and bar bites menu is below.

Broken Shaker
416 W. 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA