Reviews The Hotel Cafe

Great space for intimate shows! Saw Ally Rayne perform, and the acoustics were dynamite. . .

Great venue for small-medium shows. A magnet for great live acts in LA.

Super nice place with 2 stages 1 small and 1 bigger one. Great drink prices . Usually in Hollywood is higher, this is the correct pricing for it. Great atmosphere, great bar. I Just can recommend it!!!

My friends and I drove down to Hollywood to the Hotel Cafe to see Garrison Starr! We saw her in the Second Stage in the back. The space itself was small and cozy, with very little seating, and great drinks. The lighting is dark and warm, and the atmosphere is raw, glam, gritty, and pure. In these older Hollywood haunts where music is presented and taken in, there is a feeling of anticipation, of scented glory, of a secret joy of finding treasure in an unlikely place. The Hotel Cafe is small and cozy and it is the secret garden with musical treasures. If you are lucky enough to go, see, and enjoy - you should consider yourself blessed! It was a night to remember!! You may think there are better places to go, but you'll never experience the intimacy you can find at The Hotel Cafe - Second Stage. Ps. They no longer serve food. As it's LA there are always good eats close by. The Staff was warm and friendly. The outer courtyard was lit with fairy lights, red brick, wood, and lots of plants. Parking was dicey to be sure. There was a paid lot right down the block, but we opted for a public lot about 5 blocks away. #thehotelcafe #garrisonstarr #hollywoodcalifornia

The Hotel Cafe books an eclectic variety of artists. The sound engineering (either on the main stage or the smaller secondary stage) is excellent. I was actually in a very bad mood as the 101 was completely blocked off. Last time I parked blocks away to park just to save $5.00. This time I parked closer and nearly had a heart attack when I was told it was $30.00! But then I told the attendant I was going to the Hotel Cafe. The attendant told me they had a deal with The Hotel Cafe and it would only be $20.00. Considering I had paid $15.00 for the parking blocks away, this was doable. The previous time (just a month ago) I came to the The Hotel Cafe was for Gal Musette's new album release party. In full disclosure, I had featured her 5 years ago when I ran my own venue in Santa Ana. Yes, she was the daughter of a friend, but even back then, she was a fantastic singer/songwriter and has only become greater. Her new album release party at The Hotel Cafe was packed. She is definitely a name to mark down. Tonight I went to see Alicia Witt. Many might remember her as an actress on Twin Peaks, the The Sopranos, or Nashville, but she is a damn fine singer/songwriter. I met her in 2015, I believe. She was co-starring in a play at The Geffen with a friend of mine, Amber Tamblyn. Amber invited me to join them at a bar afterward. That is when Alicia (who, again, full disclosure, was a teenage crush of mine because of the show Cybil) mentioned she was appearing at The Hotel Cafe. So I went. That was my first time at that venue. Both Alicia and the venue made very favorable impressions on me. Tonight was my fourth time there. Three of those times was because of Alicia. However, I do like the venue. The staff is always professional and friendly. The place is classy. The drinks are priced in the same range as most of the clubs in the area. Not cheap, but not unreasonable. I also appreciate that they are taking Covid precautions seriously, asking for vaccination cards (I always have mine in my wallet) and making masks mandatory when not drinking. All in all, for the solid talent they seem to book ( I have seen names I recognize that play there that I have in my own DJ collections) I think it is more than a fine venue. If I was richer, more tolerant of traffic, ( I have to drive all the way from Anaheim) and/or L.A., I would be there more often. For folks already in L.A., it is definitely one of the jewels in the L.A. venue crown.