Cold Shoulder

Hidden behind a bookcase in Blue Collar (the Beverly Grove cocktail bar with talented bartenders) is Cold Shoulder, a speakeasy from the same owners. The secret entrance shtick is cool, but otherwise, we’re not sure Cold Shoulder is an improvement on its predecessor. The room is decorated as subtly as a theme park ride: Tables and chairs are glued to the ceiling, and photoshopped portraits of US presidents hang upside down, making it feel like you’re drinking Old-Fashioneds on the set of Poseidon. The over-the-top cocktails are good—particularly the tequila-spiked Amores Perros with smoky chocolate-chipotle bitters—but range from pricey to so-expensive-it’s-gimmicky (case in point: a $50 gold-crusted whiskey cocktail served on a marble platter). If we were getting buzzed at Disneyland then, sure, pricey drinks come with the territory. But cocktail hour at Cold Shoulder means dropping $20+ per drink at a neighborhood bar.