An Intimate Cocktail Lounge With Rare Spirits and a Roving Booze Cart Debuts in Downtown LA

Chef Suzanne Goin and restaurateur Caroline Styne are betting that Angelenos’ appetites for Spanish-inflected fare paired with expertly made drinks won’t wane anytime soon. The longtime business partners are opening an 18-seat cocktail lounge on Wednesday, May 17 inside the Proper Hotel in Downtown, where they currently operate Caldo Verde, a Portuguese restaurant, and Cara Cara, a rooftop bar and lounge. The latest project, Dahlia, which is named in honor of the Mexican national flower, is an intimate venue that works as well for aperitifs as it does for lingering postprandial hangs.

Dahlia’s pared-down drinks menu focuses on classic cocktails prepared using rare and small-batch liquors; prices start at $22. The Old Fashioned is made with barrel-strength Japanese whisky and house-smoked cherries, while the quintessential sour comprises single-harvest tequila, lime juice, orange bitters, and egg white. A roving cocktail cart promises tableside flourishes, the opportunity to engage with mixologists and direct access to hard-to-find spirits.

The food menu of Iberian-inspired bites is just as succinct. Think savory tartines topped with jamón ibérico, crisp salt cod fritters with saffron aioli, tinned mussels, and grilled prawns that are ideal for sharing. A blood orange and pineapple baked Alaska, along with cheesecake bites with berries, are available for dessert. (Food, dessert, and beverage menus are below.)

Designed by Kelly Wearstler, Dahlia’s interior echoes the same Mexican, Spanish, and Moroccan influences throughout the hotel, with revelers entering through a stained glass door made by LA-based Judson Studios. Silk ceiling fixtures, textural Roman clay plaster walls, Moroccan cement tiles, and built-in banquette seating complete the polished but welcoming space.

Downtown is slowly but surely getting back on its feet after a rough couple of pandemic years. Dahlia joins a slew of exciting new openings tucked inside hotels, including Boka Group’s Café Basque at the Hoxton, chef José Andrés’s Agua Viva and San Laurel at Conrad, the Houston Brothers’ extensive Level 8 project at Moxy, and the Ritz-Carlton’s plethora of dining options perched on the 24th floor.

Dahlia is located at 1100 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90015, and will be open 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.