(323) 461-2300

1718 Vine St
Hollywood, CA 90028 34.1021 -118.3265

Get Map & Directions »

Neighborhoods: Central LA, Hollywood

FORBIDDENCITYLA.CO…

Reviews & Ratings for Forbidden City

3.5 Star Rating: Average

22 reviews

What users are saying:

3 Star Rating: Average

11/24/08

Saturday Rock Hollywood

by jennydds

We were there this past Saturday night celebrating a birthday party for one of the girls. I didn't expect much from the club , but to my surprise the club was really jumping off. The music was great and the people were nice. The staff was wonderful , we had bottle service and our host took care of us like no other. I really would recommend this place to anyone wanting to party at a nice spot in hollywood.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/17/08

IN THE HEART OF HOLLYWOOD

by JerryBiv

Forbidden City - One of LA's hottest nightspots with great entertainment, excellent but reasonably priced Asian food and gorgeous, eyecatching decor. The dining room has a distinctly Oriental vibe going, but the lounge is all modern, with cozy booths and plasma TV screens. Afterhours, the dining room is tranformed into a dancefloor. Should you make it into the mezzanine VIP area, you'll get a kick out of the retractable roof, which allows you to stargaze in more ways than one on warm nights. Even if you're just a normal guy or gal, you can enjoy great views of the nearby Capitol Records building from the patio.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/13/08

The Next Big Thing In Hollywood

by Jennygoldman

Me and my friends have been hearing alot of things about the renovation of the forbidden City nightclub. We hope that this place will rock like the way it was a couple of years ago. I know for a fact that hollywood and Vine is going to be the next big spot to party and be seen. Can't wait to see what it's going to look like after the face lift. We are in desperate need of a new spot on hollywood and Vine.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/12/08

Hong Kong meets Hollywood

by IvanaSolei

Guys at the door are difficult and made us wait 20 minutes even though we were 'on the list' and just opened the rope for any blonde Barbie walking by. I know this world is unfair and can swallow things like that but it was obvious the guy was being rude because there was absolutely no line. A group of frustrated non-blonde dudes and my non-blonde friend were pretty patient for as much as any well-mannered, grown person with some self-respect could handle. The group of guys ended up leaving and luckily my friend (what did we do before texting) who was hosting the party inside made a call to 'someone' who had the blonde bouncer/doorman open the rightous velvet rope and let us in.

Yuck!

Music was pretty good, R&B, Soul. (That's how they earned one star.)

Bartenders were attentive. (second star)

Ambiance was opera meets shabby chic (..third.)

Seating for table service only.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

11/12/08

BEYOND MY EXPECTATION

by hollywoodken

I take it the bad reviews here are from the people who go to the hip hop/top 40 nights. This place rocks if you are into trance or electro house on Friday nights or Sunday mornings. Go to Forbidden Fridays by Leverage 360 and Feelgood Nights Sunday Morning Parties.

1 Star Rating: Poor

04/18/08

Bad, overpriced food; horrible ambience

by unex315

Ended up here by default for dinner before a show at the Pantages, only because there are very few other options near the theatre. The food is way overpriced for what you get and where you are - $11 for a small plate of chow mein with about two snap peas and a big chunk of onion in it, and prices go up from there. I left hungry and with an MSG headache. I don't have a problem with little hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve bad chineese food, as long as they charge accordingly and don't pretend they are something more glamourous than they are. The ambiance was really creepy, with the decor consisting of a disco ball and not much else. Disco and chinese food, together at last! The room is cavernous and felt dirty and looked as though they were either just moving in, or getting ready to shut down. There is a large empty area in front of the bar which probably gets populated during night-club hours, but adds an unsettling, incomplete feel if you are there to dine. The tables are awkwardly arranged in lines so that if you are seated in the center you feel like you're floating out on an island. Service was nothing remarkable. Waiter was a bit aloof, and seemed irritated that we ordered only water to drink and not an expensive cocktail. You would do better grabbing a slice of pizza at one of the little locations down the street, which is what I wish I had done.

  • Pros: They put a slice of lemon in your water
  • Cons: Bad food, bad ambience
2 Star Rating: Below Average

04/15/08

Uummm.....

by armyant2cute

I had heard about Forbidden City and wanted to go there (not to eat, but for the nightlife) . So I look it up on the internet. The pictures are really nice and classy. I noticed that all of the pictures of the people clubbing were from 2006. but I figured it wouldn't be THAT different. So my friends and I get DRESSED to go to this nice Hollywood club. I park in the parking lot around the corner for only $15. And right before we get out of the car, we see a girl with her @$$ hanging out of the bottome of her dress. And I'm not talking the bottome on her cheeks, but like 2 to 3 inches of @$$ literally hanging out. We were hoping she was headed to another club. We get to the line, the bouncers let us get in front (which was really cool). Inside was nothing like the pictures. The colors were the same but it looked like they hadn't bought anything new since 2006. The people were hood as hell. There were girls in wife beater and flip flops. (who wears flip flops to a club?) The guys were like hounds and wanted to grab on you. And if you didn't dance wit them, they talked about or gave you dirty looks. This was my first and last experience here. Good luck if you do decide to go.

  • Pros: bouncers were nice
  • Cons: Everything else
1 Star Rating: Poor

01/14/08

Horrible Experience

by barx_2001

Do not try this club out or you will just have a bad night. My friends and I checked this place out since it did not have a long line outside (now I know why...). There was this guy who approached us and gave us a ticket saying that we can get in for $15 instead of $25 if we showed it to the cashier. So my friends went in first then we followed. 4 of us went in and paid $15 each which I thought was cool. When we got in my friends told me they got in for $10 without a ticket. I went back to the cashier and asked her why were we charged $15 with a ticket where we can get in without a ticket and pay $10. THe cashier was pretending she dint know anything blah blah. SO that was a bad thing to start the night off. Then, we went inside and the bar was so tiny. Everybody was trying to get drinks and there was ONE bartender. He suddenly screamed on the top of his lungs and said... " I CANNOT HELP ALL OF YOU GUYS SO CAN YOU PLEASE CALM DOWN!!! " Hahahaha... Crazy club. lol =) and oh. it looks ugly inside! =)

  • Pros: lots of space because no one is inside =)
  • Cons: old people, bad service at the bar, bad music,
4 Star Rating: Recommended

11/18/07

Pleasantly good!

by vegasred

My mother, my daughter, and I went to see wicked at the pantages theatre. We had 3 hours before the show started and needed to find somewhere to eat. We could smell the food from a distance on hollywood blvd. It smelled great. We were the only patrons in the restaurant as they were just opening up for dinner. The manager and everyone we encountered on the staff was really nice to us. When we received our food, it was fantastic. The shrimp entree we ordered was delicious. We had sweet and sour chicken and kung pao and it was very authentic. It was not commercial at all. The atmosphere was great, it really left for a different dining experience outside the norm. I would reccomend this place to others. It seems to meet many different dining needs: romantic setting, night out with the girls, nice time to catch up with mom and daughter.

1 Star Rating: Poor

10/06/07

Crappy Food, Crappy Service, Expensive.

by peppylargo

Had to get up to ask for things like place-settings, silverware, chopsticks, more drinks...even though the place was nearly empty. The owner has attitude, as if this were some place that actually knew what it was doing...it's not. And everything--especially the drinks--are way over-priced. I can't speak for the nightclub scene, but I can say that you absolutely should NOT go here for dinner.

  • Pros: The Decor Isn't Totally Lame
  • Cons: Everything Else Is, and it's WAY OVER-PRICED

Showing 1-10 of 22 reviews

Lists In Los Angeles

Advertisement

Best of Citysearch

Things To Do Nearby Forbidden City

Recent Reviews In Los Angeles

1 Star Rating: Poor

Buon Gusto Ristorante

15535 Devonshire St, Mission Hills, CA

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

Fina Estampa

21830 Nordhoff St, Chatsworth, CA

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

Headlines Diner & Press Club

10922 Kinross Ave, Los Angeles, CA

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

Campanile

624 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Advertisement