A Guide to Legendary Sunset Strip Hot Spots, Past & Present

Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip is a destination like no other. Rising from poinsettia fields and avocado groves in the 1920s, The Strip evolved into a playground for mobsters, Hollywood stars and rock ‘n’ roll royalty, thanks in large part to being just outside Los Angeles city limits — and outside the reach of the LAPD. Today, the Sunset Strip is still electric, with nightlife, dining, shopping and standout hotels at the forefront of LA’s cultural scene.

Explore the legendary hot spots — past and present — that define one of America’s most iconic thoroughfares.

Carney’s

8351 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

“Probably the Best Hamburgers and Hot Dogs in the World,” proclaims a banner at Carney’s, and enjoying them inside a renovated train car is an experience you’ll never forget. Just ask the countless fans who’ve been flocking here since 1975, including Jay Leno and the late French entertainer Johnny Hallyday. With such an eye-catching exterior, it’s natural that Carney’s is also in-demand for brand events, from Nickelodeon to Coach.

Sunset Tower Hotel

8358 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

An Art Deco masterpiece by architect Leland A. Bryant, the Argyle Hotel — now the Sunset Tower Hotel — opened in 1931. It drew a glittering roster of residents in its early days, including Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Errol Flynn and billionaire recluse Howard Hughes, who lived in the penthouse. John Wayne reportedly kept a cow on his balcony, while notorious gangster Bugsy Siegel’s ground-floor apartment has since been transformed into the Tower Bar — now one of LA’s most glamorous spots for cocktails and a haven for celebrities and industry power players.

Saddle Ranch Chop House

8371 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Making memorable appearances on TV shows like “Sex and the City” and “Desperate Housewives,” this Western-themed restaurant and its signature mechanical bull have earned a special place in pop culture. Rather not ride? Relax and listen to the Saddle Ranch Fiddlers while you dine. Steaks, ribs, cocktails served in carafes and s’mores for roasting around the outdoor campfire pits are menu highlights.

Andaz West Hollywood

8401 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Nicknamed the “Riot House,” this was the rocker hotel of the 1960s and ’70s. Bands like The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Doors all stayed here, leaving a trail of trashed rooms behind them. Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham is rumored to have ridden his motorcycle through the halls, while frontman Robert Plant famously proclaimed himself a “golden god” from the balcony of Room 905, which overlooked a billboard for their 1975 album, “Physical Graffiti.” Keith Richards dropped a TV off the balcony of Room 1015, and Jim Morrison was evicted after hanging out a window by his fingertips.

Today, the Andaz West Hollywood channels that rebellious spirit into a sleek, contemporary hotel experience, offering stylish rooms, rotating art and sweeping rooftop views of the city. It’s a far cry from its wilder days, but the rock ’n’ roll energy still lingers in all the right ways.

The Comedy Store

8433 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Several popular West Hollywood venues opened on The Strip in the 1940s. Billy Wilkerson of the Hollywood Reporter opened Ciro’s, a red-hot club frequented by Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart and Ava Gardner. In 1972, Mitzi Shore founded The Comedy Store on the same site. Early in their careers, comedians like Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey, Howie Mandel and David Letterman graced its stage. Letterman even served as the club’s emcee for three years, and Richard Pryor chose The Comedy Store for his 1972 comeback. Today, The Store is just as influential as ever, holding live comedy events nearly every night of the year.

Mondrian Los Angeles

8440 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Originally built in 1959, the Mondrian was later transformed into an avant-garde hotel inspired by the Dutch modernist Piet Mondrian, with Keith Richards and Elvis Costello among its regulars. Ian Schrager of Studio 54 fame purchased the property in 1995, further cementing its rock ‘n’ roll reputation. The hotel’s rooftop lounge, Skybar, soon became one of The Strip’s most famous hangouts — which it remains today.

Mel’s Drive-In

8585 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

You’ve got to eat at least one meal here. Once known as Ben Frank’s, this was a late-night hangout for rockers in the ’60s and ’70s looking to unwind after a gig. It also became a gathering point for protesting teens during the 1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots, with mass arrests taking place in the adjacent parking lot. This retro diner is still a perfect stop for a burger, milkshake, slice of pie or just a strong cup of coffee. Keen eyes may recognize Mel’s from the 1973 coming-of-age classic “American Graffiti” or the HBO series “Entourage.”

Mutato Muzika

8760 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

This lime green, spaceship-like building is probably the most unusual on The Strip. It serves as the studios and offices of Mutato Muzika, the music production company founded by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo. They’ve produced soundtracks for movies like “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Rushmore” and “Bottle Rocket,” as well as TV shows like “Rugrats” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog.”

The Viper Room

8852 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

The Melody Room opened in 1951 as an intimate jazz club, though mobsters Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen had been using the site as a gambling den since the 1940s. In the decades that followed, it evolved through various incarnations before Johnny Depp purchased it in 1993 and renamed it The Viper Room. That same year, the club was the site of actor River Phoenix’s tragic drug overdose on Halloween night. Today, the Viper Room remains a gritty West Hollywood landmark where you can still hear rising rock bands.

Whisky a Go Go

8901 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Former Chicago policeman Elmer Valentine opened Whisky a Go Go in 1964, and the venue quickly became one of the most storied clubs in music history. Valentine introduced the world to go-go dancing, outfitting dancers in miniskirts and white boots and suspending the first female DJ in a glass cage above the dance floor. The Doors served as the house band in 1966 until Jim Morrison was famously fired after missing a set during an acid trip gone wrong. In the years that followed, everyone from Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix to The Who, The Byrds and Mötley Crüe tore up its stage. The Whisky endures as a top music venue and hallowed ground for rock fans.

The Roxy Theatre

9009 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

The Roxy opened on The Strip in 1973 and became a powerhouse venue almost overnight, hosting seminal shows by artists like Neil Young, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Bob Marley & The Wailers. In 1974, the venue hosted the first American run of The Rocky Horror Show on its stage. The astounded crowd gave owner Lou Adler the idea to turn the play into the movie we know and love today. The Roxy remains a beloved live music venue.

Rainbow Bar & Grill

9015 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Originally known as Villa Nova, this Italian eatery was the stars’ choice for romantic dates. Vincente Minnelli proposed to Judy Garland here in 1945, and Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio had their first blind date at the restaurant in 1952. In 1972, Mario Maglieri, Elmer Valentine and Phil Tanzini transformed the site into the Rainbow Bar & Grill — a hot spot for rock royalty throughout the ’70s and ’80s. Everyone from Guns N’ Roses to Alice Cooper, John Lennon, The Who and Led Zeppelin partied here, and in 1982, John Belushi ate his last meal of lentil soup before overdosing at the nearby Chateau Marmont. One of the Rainbow’s most legendary regulars was Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister, whose devotion to the bar is now honored with a bronze statue.

Gone, But Not Forgotten…

Certain establishments along the Sunset Strip may be gone, but their legacies still help shape the boulevard’s lore. Here are several bygone places along The Strip that are not marked by plaques — you simply have to know where to look.

Pandora’s Box

8118 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046

Originally a late-1950s jazz club — where a young John Phillips briefly played bongos before starting the Mamas and the Papas — Pandora’s Box was one of the hottest teen hangouts on The Strip by 1962. It later became the flashpoint of the 1966 Sunset Strip riots, when tensions over curfew laws reached a boil and inspired Buffalo Springfield’s hit “For What It’s Worth.” Torn down in 1967 amid further protests, the site is now a traffic island.

Garden of Allah

8150-8152 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood CA 90046

Whether or not Joni Mitchell wrote “Big Yellow Taxi” about this site almost doesn’t matter. That’s been the story for so long that whenever anyone hears those lines, “they paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” they instinctively think of the Garden of Allah. Actress Alla Nazimova bought the Sunset Boulevard estate in 1919 and by 1927, had expanded it into the Garden of Alla Hotel (later known as The Garden of Allah), adding 25 villas around her original mansion. The property became a magnet for Hollywood’s literary and entertainment elite, with residents and guests such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Robert Benchley. The hotel was torn down in 1959. Today, as we know, it is a parking lot and a strip mall.

Café Trocadero

8160 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046

Notorious gangsters Bugsy Siegel, Mickey Cohen, Willie Bioff, Johnny Roselli and Tony Comero made The Strip their territory as old Hollywood greats moved in. The group frequented Café Trocadero, a French-themed nightclub built in 1934, whose patrons included Fred Astaire, Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Bing Crosby and Lana Turner. The as-of-yet undiscovered Judy Garland and Jackie Gleason toured here for Amateur Hour, and high rollers played their hands at poker in the back room. The Trocadero closed in 1947.

Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Club

8560 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

In the mid-1960s, Hugh Hefner opened this four-story nightclub and lived in a penthouse above it, complete with a round bed and a fully stocked bar hidden behind a moving wall. Night after night, lines wrapped around the block as revelers poured in. The fabled club is long gone, replaced by a modern mixed-use building, but its place in Sunset Strip history will never be forgotten.

Spago 

1114 Horn Ave., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Beyond being one of the birthplaces of California cuisine, the original Spago opened by Wolfgang Puck in 1982 was the preeminent celebrity watering hole for almost two decades. For years, it hosted the famous Oscar night party held by super agent Swifty Lazar, and even after the new Spago opened in Beverly Hills in the late 1990s, the original location retained a lot of its mystique. The original Spago closed in March 2001, and the building sat unoccupied for years. It’s now inhabited by Shamrock Social Club, a fashion collective founded by tattoo artist Mark Mahoney. While Spago has moved on, Wolfgang Puck’s influence lives on at Merois inside The Sun Rose West Hollywood.

Tower Records

8801 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Now home to streetwear brand Supreme, this is the site of the famed Tower Records flagship store. Rock groups and performers popped in on the regular for impromptu concerts and autograph sessions. In 1997, Duran Duran staged a reunion concert in the parking lot. Aerosmith autographed albums a few days later. In 1998, Rod Stewart performed here, too. 

The London Fog

8919 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Located just a few doors down from the Whisky a Go Go, the London Fog was a happening 1960s nightclub, most notably known as the spot where The Doors had their first regular gigs. They played here frequently for several months in early 1966 before taking up residency at the Whisky. The place where The Lizard King once prowled is now a barbershop.

Sunset Office Tower

9000 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Many of LA’s influential music and PR firms had offices here in the ’60s and ’70s, and Jim Morrison once balanced on a rooftop railing while filming a scene for “HWY: An American Pastoral.” Today, the Sunset Office Tower is the tallest building on the Sunset Strip and is instantly recognizable for its enormous HBO billboard.

Sherry’s Restaurant & Gazzari’s

9039 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

Dating to the 1940s, Sherry’s Restaurant is best known as the site where Mickey Cohen was nearly killed in a drive-by shooting. The building was later home to Gazzari’s, a famous rock club that helped launch countless bands. Today, you can tear up the dance floor at Keys, one of LA’s premier nightclubs. 

Cock ‘N Bull

9170 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069

The Cock ’n Bull, an English-style pub that operated on the Sunset Strip from 1937 to 1987, was a beloved Hollywood hangout. It’s best known today as the birthplace of the Moscow mule, created there in the 1940s by owner Jack Morgan, spirits exec John G. Martin and bartender Wes Price. Across the street, the heralded Bar Next Door keeps the tradition alive, serving mules and specialty cocktails inspired by Sunset Strip legends such as the Garden of Allah and Ciro’s.

Chris Epting contributed to this article. Thanks to historian Jon Ponder for guidance on this tour.