L.A. Prime

09/28/09

Great View!

by psboston7 at Citysearch

A friend and I went to the Vodka bar it was fabulous! Our Bartender "Allen" was attentive, creative and was playing very good vibing music. They have a HUGE selection of Vodkas and serve complimentary amuse-bouche which for this evening was Salmon topped with Cavier on Toast Points on a bed of herbed cream cheese DELISH!! We ordered the Seafood Trio for 2 and enjoyed the delicate Lobster, Oysters, Crab Claws and Lump Crab YUMMY!!

Can not recommend this place enough the staff is wonderful and the view is spectacular perfect place for a intimate date with someone special or an evening for you and your friends to just hang out at a nice bar... which is what I was doing!

Respectfully Reviewed

• Pros: Vodka Selection, Chill Music

10/08/08

A spinning bar and souvenir glasses atop this landmark downtown hotel.

by Contributor at Citysearch

The Scene
With sweeping views of the city, Downtown L.A.'s classic hotel dining and drinking destination is where you're head is sure to spin before your first drink. Old-school chic reigns supreme at this revolving dimly lit lounge. Once per hour, patrons are treated to a 360-degree view of downtown as smooth sounds emanate from the speakers. From the spicy pretzel mix to the Miro-inspired lighting fixtures, the BonaVista is a living testament to the more subdued side of the 80s. A steady stream of easily amused locals and hotel guests revel in the kitsch and house-special drinks, which come in ceramic souvenir glasses shaped like a movie camera, the state of California, or even the hotel itself. If you don't like the glass your drink is in, simply request another. Hooray for Hollywood!

09/24/08

Wonderful View

by Rakala at Citysearch

I am a LA native and this is a great place to see the city scape, especially at night. What most people do not know is that you can order the drink without the suveniour glass and the price will be dropped down, pretty significantly on most. ;) I found this out quite by surprise because I didn't want some glass when I live here anyway but still wanted the drink. Hope that helps a lot of you!!

• Pros: Beautiful views, revolvs
• Cons: a bit pricy

01/05/06

Nice view, decent drinks, sub-standard service

by schattenmann at Citysearch

The one big argument for going to this bar is the view of downtown LA (certainly less spectacular than the view from the top in some other big cities, but still very nice). Anything else is average at best: the drinks are OK, the design is rather dull. The service oscillated between being slow (waiting long for a hostess to show up) and the kind of speed that makes you feel like you are the 100th boring guest this evening. In terms of social scene, we may have picked the wrong night: it was after the USC-Texas Rose Bowl game, so the place filled up with "Longhorns" dressed in orange ...

My advice: If you have visitors from out of town, go there for a round of pre-dinner or after-dinner drinks and pick up one of the souvenir glasses. If you are looking for a nice bar, go somewhere else.

• Pros: View
• Cons: Service, Atmosphere

02/21/05

Beautiful panoramic view

by patee333 at Citysearch

I went here on a Saturday nite for my birthday. It was raining but there was still a fantastic view. Getting seated was quick, the server we had was super busy and rushing through everything, but we did get our order which was somewhat pricey but still really good. The drinks were yummy and you get to take home the glass. I highly recommend.

05/10/04

Can you say PRICEY?!

by azenmikko at Citysearch

The food is not worth the price. We ordered 3 appetizers and 4 drinks and the bill came out to $120!

The view is nice, the drinks and food are good...but the price just ruined it for us. The service was good also. We went there on Mother's day, so the service was probably good because they weren't as busy.

Valet is the way to go. $5.50 with validation.

• Pros: View

05/10/04

Pricey

by poptartsgurl at Citysearch

We went on a Sunday night and it was not busy and the service was pretty attentive and somewhat quick. My only problem is the price. I paid $11 for a Strawberry Daiquiri!! The appetizer sampler was small but cost us $20! Other than the price, the drinks weren't too bad, but not really worth the $$.

• Pros: Atmosphere, 360 rotating view
• Cons: , Price, Price

12/14/03

Slow Service!!!

by acidburn172 at Citysearch

Waited for an hour just for an order of french fries, the drinks were not too strong, food was expensive.

• Pros: view
• Cons: service, pricey

04/17/03

Fantastic View on a Sunday Afternoon

by izelmorena at Citysearch

I really liked this bar. Everything was fantastic. The view was amazing. The drinks were great. Very yummy. You get to choose a specialty drink and take the glass home. The atmosphere is very romantic. They serve finger foods there as well, but it's kind of pricey. The only thing that lacked was that service was kind of slow. Other than that, I would recommend it to everyone.

• Pros: Beautiful View, Specialty Drinks, Romantic

12/15/02

Great View

by nessa1218 at Citysearch

Slow service to pay during closing. Great view, found the Roofbar at the Standard Downtown. The ride up the glass elevators is great. Everyone must go here at least once.