It was a pretty spontaneous decision to go to LA Live. I don’t often go to Downtown LA anymore, but someone invited me along and I figured, why not? I needed some nightlife lately.

A Mini-Guide to LA Live

What is LA Live?

I got asked this a couple of times after I told people I was going to attend. The name is a bit confusing because it sounds like an event, not a location. That’s exactly what some people thought. However, LA Live is a location, a centralized well-lit area for restaurants, bars, lounges, and clubs. On the other side of the pendulum, it also has the corporate offices for businesses like Herbalife. *shrug*

Where is it located?

Very near to the Staples Center in downtown LA. Not too long ago, this was a dead area that not many people would venture to aside from work or a commute stop. The biggest cross streets are Olympic & Figueroa.

From the freeway, this is easiest accessed by the 110 8th street exit.

By train, you would make your way to the Red Line and get off at 7th/Metro. From there, google maps will tell you to take the DASH shuttle, but it is easily walkable from the train stop.

However, in the later evenings, I don’t suggest walking around alone. But that’s anywhere.

What about parking?

There are a lot of surrounding parking structures and lots. It just depends on your level of comfort and budget. If you’re not familiar with the area, LA Live does have its own underground parking structure. If you wanna save a little bit of cash, sometimes the off-site parking lots are cheaper, especially during special events. Don’t let that confuse you with “cheap” however. On special events, I’ve sometimes caught the outer lots to still run around $20. Plan accordingly. Some days, the train might be the better option.

Now, What is LA Live Dark Nights?

Honestly, I’m not sure myself.

With a little bit of digging, I found a post from July 2017 that describes LA Live Dark Nights as a free community event that turns the location into one giant happy hour, with many local vendors offering $5 food and drink specials. They also regularly showcase cover bands, DJ’s, and street performers, along with pop up vendor shops.

They also regularly feature artists who do a live painting that you can take photos of or in front of after they’re finished. There’s a variety of styles, so you’re sure to find something that piques your interest.

Some Special 10th Birthday Features

Additionally, for their 10th anniversary, there was a sectioned off outdoor alcoholic drinks area, which we didn’t join in. I would have loved to, but I was hitting low blood sugar levels and I was desperately looking for food. There were a few bar setups and some tall tables to drink and chat at, but no seats.

There were also photo booths for those must-have Instagram shots, and confetti at the end of the night. I really wished I had stopped to take some photos there, but there was a line and I was damn near fainting.

The security guard informed me that I should be able to ask any of the restaurants for their $5 menu to see what they’re offering. We mistakenly understood it to be food trucks, not realizing the listed vendors were actually the surrounding restaurants. It was then we realized that they did have $5 menus posted at their front doors.

Happy Hour Deals

As mentioned above, many of the surrounding restaurants provide Happy Hour deals, making sure to feature these $5 menus right at their entrances. These include a small variety of food and drink. It’s a very small variety, but it can be quite enough to get you in the door and order some off-menu items. Some of the restaurants included Smash Burger, Rock’N Fish, Red Mango, Lawry’s, Wolfgang Puck, and Katsuya.

None of the other menus really enticed us, so we ended up going to Katsuya for a quick bite before heading home. Being on a budget, we stuck to the $5 menu.

We chose two orders of the Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna, California Roll, and Spicy Tuna Roll with a glass of house white wine. We ended up really like the Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna. The Spicy Tuna roll was about what you would and should expect. The California Roll was the order we regretted, not because it was terrible, but because it barely registered on the taste buds. We wished we ordered 4 Spicy Tunas. The House Wine was decent and was a nice way to end the night.

The Take-Away

Overall, it was a pretty fun experience. The event was really bright, lively, and entertaining. It can easily be a lot for the sense, but it’s an amazing way to spend the weekend for free. You can pretty much enjoy the whole night without spending a dime if you just came for the entertainment and photo-ops. I’d definitely recommend this for a cheap night out. As long as you’re careful not to fall in the spending traps and take advantage of using the Metro, the $5 menus, and are open to just hanging out and enjoying the sights, you can milk this experience all night long.

Going home by train at the end of the night was not terrible, either. It was very lively and we felt safe walking to the station together as two girls. Again, I would never recommend this alone as you hit some dim corners on the way. If anything, take Lyft to the station if you feel iffy.

The next time may not be as big of an event, but I’m sure it’ll be just as enjoyable. Let me know if you go! I might just be there, too.