The Hollywood Roosevelt hotel’s new nightspot The Spare Room only looks like it’s been serving up highballs (and gutter balls) since Errol Flynn’s heyday. “We wanted to fill the void in nightlife—something more exciting than a restaurant and more comfortable than a nightclub,” says co-owner Med Abrous, who, along with partner Marc Rose, converted an unused space on the hotel’s mezzanine level into a high-class, cozy cocktail den definitively more timeless than retro. “We don’t consider ourselves a throwback, but we respect tradition,” says Rose.
Its splendors include two reclaimed maple-and-pine bowling lanes complete with handcrafted custom shoes by footwear designer George Esquivel, a “spirit forward” drink menu boasting classic and signature cocktails served in party-friendly punch bowls, and a hidden photo booth for snapping discreet mementos.
Rose says the 84-yearold Hollywood Roosevelt “deserved a bar of this caliber,” and hopes the lounge endures beyond years and into generations. “We really want our walls to talk, and we would love those stories to be there 40 to 50 years from now.”
The ageless feel is so pervasive, one hotel guest recently slipped inside during off-hours to take photographs of the “historic” bar, refusing to believe it had opened only weeks earlier. Says Rose, “She thought the room had been here as long as the hotel had been open!” 7000 Hollywood Blvd., LA;
THE SPARE ROOM SNAP
1 oz. Art in the Age snap
1 oz. Sazerac rye whiskey
1/2 oz. agave nectar
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. egg whites
Combine all ingredients and pour into a coupe glass. Garnish with fresh-grated nutmeg.
