Cat Power: Where to Catch a Cougar in L.A.
Updated: September 24, 2009
Just when you thought cougar mania had finally shriveled away like some non-injected wrinkle, TV has pounced on us with "Cougar Town," a new Courteney Cox series about (you guessed it) an insatiable 40+ femme fatale who's on the prowl for some young guy half her age. In that spirit--and at the risk of sounding insensitive, sexist and as we like to think, highly entertaining--we'd like to give you the inside scoop on L.A.'s hottest cougar dens. Boys beware. Ladies ... watch the claws.
On this page:Hungry Cougars, Thirsty Cougars.
Hungry Cougars
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Pancho's Restaurant
Read Reviews3615 Highland Ave, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (map)
Add one part Mexican spice, two parts live entertainment and strong cocktails, and what do you have? This sizzling cougar den in the South Bay. (We hear weekend nights after 9pm are when the ladies really come out to play.)
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Ago Restaurant
Read Reviews8478 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069 (map)
Still banking on its big-name backers (De Niro and Weinstein, 'nuff said) this industry hot spot for Italian classics is where model-type cougs sidle up to the bar in hopes of meeting the next James Franco, but often end up settling for old Italian farts when the going gets rough. Wednesday through Saturday nights are when the claws really come out.
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Katsuya
Read Reviews11777 San Vicente Blvd, Brentwood, CA 90025 (map)
Unlike the newer locations of this chic sushi mini-chain, this Brentwood outpost is where to find a bevy of blonde Botoxed babes clamoring at the bar for a white grapefruit cosmo or having a smoke out front near the valet. Thursday through Saturday nights offer primo hunting opps.
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The Ivy
Read Reviews113 N Robertson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048 (map)
Is that a celeb? No, it's a cougar. This power lunch hot spot is de rigeur for famous faces who want their mug splashed across the tabloids the next day, but during the weektime lunch rush, this place becomes fertile ground for hungry cougs sizing up the young male waiters/actors/models just desperate enough to land a housewife.
Thirsty Cougars
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Shade
Read Reviews1221 N Valley Dr, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (map)
Coo coo for cougars? This Manhattan Beach hotel might be a quiet little beachside getaway by day, but come Saturday night, the lobby bar becomes an out of control frisk fest. Wall-to-wall short-skirted, hair-straightened, appletini-nursing cougars mix and mingle thisclose with the local set of hair-gelled dudes ready to party. Just be careful--trying to squeeze through the crowd just to order a drink can be lethal.
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Mastro's Steakhouse - Beverly Hills
Read Reviews246 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (map)
It's open season every night at this posh Beverly Hills dining haunt. But it's not the food (or even the A-list celebs) that brings in the nightly parade of cougs. The "Cheers"-like vibe at the piano bar is where these ladies can let their (dutifully dyed) hair down and pounce on the young males looking for a sugar mama to hold them over till their next gig.
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Spa Montage
Read Reviews225 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 (map)
It's the same old cat-and-mouse at this posh newcomer where tanned, bleached and wealthy cougars with large alimony checks are the nocturnal forces of nature. Once 10pm rolls around (every night except Sunday), expect to see feline packs circling the 20- to 30-something agent/manager types who are usually busy talking up the younger talent.
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Vertical Wine Bistro
Read Reviews70 North Raymond Ave, Pasadena, CA 91106 (map)
Maybe it's the suburban ennui of Old Town Pasadena, or maybe it's the fact that wine--not food--reigns supreme at this swanky spot, but whatever it is, this place has become ground zero for connoisseurs and cougars alike. Sure, it's "vertical" in name, but it's the horizontal mambo that's on mama's mind.
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