Los Angeles - July 13, 2007

Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Bar Nineteen12

Voilà. A cheat sheet for your first night at the newly opened Bar Nineteen12 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

• God bless soft lighting and amber-colored velvet couches. Play it up inside at the far corner sofa setting.

• On the terrace, nab the double-enclosed sofa corner. The bottle service bartender rolls with a fully stocked dark wood caddy and might appreciate the elbow room.

• Flamingo swizzle stick? Ehm, no. Try handmade candy 1912 accents and freshly picked herbs from the hotel’s garden.

• Share the hanger steak and onion quesadillas, hog the hamachi sashimi, and if the jelly shots (kawaiii!) and martini sorbets don’t satisfy your sweet tooth, ask (nicely) for dessert from the Polo Lounge.

• Philip (the manager) is predicting Thursdays will hop. Perhaps the tunes (selected by KCRW’s Jason Bentley) will be cranked up ’til 2 a.m.

• You don’t have to listen to Philip. Crispy Asian calamari and Shady Ladies (tequila, Midori, and grapefruit juice) are fun any night of the week.

You’re practically a regular already.

Bar Nineteen12, The Beverly Hills Hotel, 9641 Sunset Boulevard, at Crescent Drive, Beverly Hills (310-273-1912).