Vandell
Los Feliz, Los Angeles
📍 1966 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
🍽 Cocktail Bar · New American
📅 Visited: January 2026
🍴 Forks Given: 🍴🍴🍴☆☆ (3.20 / 5.0)
A gorgeous room and genuinely great cocktails wrapped around food that never quite earns the wait.
Overview
Vandell is the Los Feliz cocktail bar everyone has been talking about since it opened in December 2025, and after fighting through a walk-in line on a Saturday night, we get why people are talking about it — just maybe not for the reasons they think.
The pedigree is real. Michael Francesconi and Matthew Glaser of Park Hospitality, the team behind Donna’s in Echo Park, teamed up with Republique cocktail alums Vay Su and Shawn Lickliter to build this one, and it debuted at No. 68 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026. Vandell runs mostly walk-in, which means showing up and hoping, or getting comfortable exploring Hillhurst Avenue while you wait.
First Impressions
The building does a lot of the work before you even order. Exposed brick, a pink storefront, a hand-painted mural, and a green awning that spells the name out in script — it photographs itself. Inside, the room keeps that same balance: a 30-foot soapstone bar, wood-and-leather booths, warm lighting, and just enough polish to feel special without feeling stiff.
It was also, without exaggeration, one of the more packed rooms we’ve been in recently. Every seat at the bar was full, and the line for walk-ins didn’t let up the entire time we were there. Credit to the room for handling the crowd without turning chaotic.
What We Ordered
Cruciferous Caesar
A caesar built with yuzu dressing, grana padano, and cheesy croutons. It’s a good-looking salad — big cheese shards, char on the greens — but the flavor never showed up to match. Not bad, just not especially memorable, which ended up being a running theme.
Anchovy Toast
Chili-lime boquerones over arugula pesto and country sourdough. This one is exactly as fishy as the name promises, and the texture didn’t do it any favors. If you like a heavier anchovy hit, it’ll work for you. It didn’t work for us.
Steak Frites
Australian wagyu bavette with housemade chimichurri, $36. The fries were the better half of the plate. The steak itself was fine — a little chewy, nowhere close to a steakhouse-quality cut — which makes sense once you remember this is a bavette at a cocktail bar, not a dedicated steak restaurant. It’s a reasonable middle ground if you’re here to drink and need something substantial on the table. The burger, which we didn’t order, may have been the smarter call.
Banana & Date Upside Down Cake
Pomegranate anglaise, and a genuinely solid way to close out the meal. This is the dish we’d order again without hesitation.
Cocktails
This is where Vandell earns its reputation. The Olden Days section leans into vintage-spirit builds — a Vintage Manhattan with 1970s I.W. Harper bourbon, a Vintage Negroni built on 1980s Gordon’s gin and Campari — alongside a lineup of originals built around produce (pear, mango, smoked tomato) and spirit-forward classics. Vandell is also one of the few bars in town garnishing with wakamomo, a Japanese white peach, on the Gimlet — worth ordering on its own. The cocktail menu is the strongest part of the experience by a wide margin, and it’s not close.
Service
Service was a clear bright spot: friendly and attentive from the moment we sat down through the last course, even with the room running at capacity the entire night.
Forks Given Score Breakdown
| Category | Score (1–5) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Food Quality | 3.0 | 40% |
| Value | 2.5 | 20% |
| Service & Experience | 4.5 | 15% |
| Ambiance & Environment | 4.5 | 10% |
| Execution vs Intent | 3.0 | 10% |
| Return Factor | 1.5 | 5% |
Final Forks Given Score: 3.20 / 5.0
The Quirks
- Mostly walk-in — reservations are limited, so plan to wait or show up early.
- The vintage-spirit “Olden Days” cocktails carry premium prices, up to $65 for a pour built on 1980s spirits — worth knowing before you order.
The Verdict
Vandell is overrated, at least relative to the wait. The room is beautiful, the service is excellent, and the cocktail program is legitimately one of the better ones in LA right now. But we’re in a city with no shortage of standout food, and a restaurant attached to a bar this good needs to be more than fine across the board. The food here is fine. Sometimes good. Never the reason to stand in line.
Between the crowds and a kitchen that doesn’t match the room or the bar, we won’t be returning.
