Vandell · Los Feliz, Los Angeles
Vandell is the Los Feliz cocktail bar to know right now
The team behind Donna's opened Vandell on Hillhurst in December 2025. Within four months it had a five-star Time Out review and a spot on North America's 50 Best Bars extended list. Here is what to drink and how to get a seat.
Vandell opened in early December 2025 at 1966 Hillhurst Avenue, in the space that used to be Nossa Caipirinha. In January, Time Out gave it five stars. In April it was named No. 68 on North America's 50 Best Bars 51-100, a few months after its first night. Resy called it the cocktail bar Los Feliz had been waiting for.
Who is behind it
Michael Francesconi and Matthew Glaser run Park Hospitality, the group behind Donna's in Echo Park. Bartenders Vay Su and Shawn Lickliter helped build the program, and Brian Moran of Aero Collective designed the room: low ceilings, mid-century California lines, about 80 seats. The owners have said they want the drinks to stay affordable.
There are around 18 seats at the bar, about ten booths and European-style tables up front. The Red Room in back has its own bartender.
What to order
- The Smoked Tomato: mezcal, basil, galangal, tomato and hickory smoke. It is the drink the bar sells most.
- One of the two house martinis, the Olive or the Vandell.
- The Pandan Milk Punch.
- From the kitchen: anchovy toast, the burger on an English muffin, or steak frites.
- Not drinking: there is a full zero-proof section.
The list runs to about 30 cocktails, with signatures named for produce, and it changes every two to three months. If a drink here has rotated off, ask for whatever replaced it.
How to get in
- Open daily, 5pm to 1am.
- Most seats are held for walk-ins.
- Resy releases a few tables one week ahead, at midnight.
- Online bookings top out at eight. Bigger groups book a private room.
- Sunday and Thursday are the easiest nights to book a table.
How we reported this
- Press coverage: https://timeout.com/los-angeles/bars/vandell
- Press coverage: https://blog.resy.com/2026/02/vandell-is-the-cocktail-bar-los-feliz-has-been-waiting-for/
- Press coverage: https://blog.resy.com/2026/08/vandell-los-feliz/
- Press coverage: https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/news/these-two-bars-in-l-a-were-just-named-some-of-the-best-in-north-america-040126
- Press coverage: https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/bars/best-bars-in-los-angeles
- The venue's website: https://thevandell.com/
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