Sassafrass

Address: 1233 North Vine Street, (btwn Fountain and La Mirada Aves), Los Angeles, California, 90038, United States
Tel: +1 323 467 2800
Website: view Sassafrass’ website
Door: Open door/walk-ins
Style: Lounge bar
Food: Tapas/plates & dishes
Established: 2012

Review

A 1920s New Orleans themed lounge with inside out decor - inside it feels like you are outside with a street scene resembling those built in the nearby film studios. Known for its barrel aged cocktails.

Named after Sassafras albidum, a tree native to north America that subtly references this bar's New Orleans theme as the leaves are traditionally used as a thickener and flavouring in the mainstay of Louisiana Creole cuisine - the gumbo. The plants roots are also a traditional ingredient in root beer.

Inside the huge double height space, the front of a Savannah townhouse faces the bar, inviting you to go inside and enjoy your drink in its parlour. Incredibly this building formally stood in Georgia before being dismantled and reconstructed here - down to the moldings and fireplace.

Barrel and bottle aged cocktails are dispensed bottles which continuously rotate above the bartenders in in flip-top bottles hooked onto a vintage conveyor. As you'd expect, the food menu follows the Southern theme with dishes such as jambalaya.