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    Rudolph's Bar & Tea

    4.2 (51 reviews)
    Closed Closed
    Updated 3 months ago

    Rudolph's Bar & Tea Photos

    RUDOLPH'S BAR & TEA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Touristy
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    Good for groups

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    Daily Punch. Changes daily!
    Tami N.

    Super cute bar located in the very hip Freehand DTLA hotel. Worth a visit! Not digging the hour wait at the Modern Times dojo, I decided to walk the block and check out Rudolph's and I am very glad I did so! Happy Hour is everyday from 2pm-7pm. Bartender was awesome, quick to help and answer any questions. So what I did drink? Daily Punch (5/5): Note that this changes daily. The one I had was delicious and the bartender was nice enough to give me a sample prior to purchasing. Ask to try it out! They're cool. This is DTLA, so parking will be rough. But this bar was so lovely to patron.

    Old fashioned/mrs Jones
    Mai L.

    I came here for a friend's birthday The bar is located in the lobby of a hotel. The decor is very nice and the place has a hip/trendy feel to it It's pretty cozy/a little dark, but a great place to grab a drink/hang out The cocktails are tea infused, which is what makes this place unique I tried the Mrs. Jones and it was pretty tasty; really light and refreshing I dig it

    Kathy T.

    This bar is actually located in the lobby area of the Freehand hotel. It's absolutely gorgeous inside, very trendy and hip decor. The bar itself is small with only maybe 6-8 seats, but there's plenty of seating area around it (couches and chairs). The tables say "reserved" but you can actually sit down (first come, first serve). But if you sit at a table, then you'll need to order from a server rather than from the bar. Once it starts to get busy and crowded, they get pretty strict about having to order from a server if you are sitting down at a table. I came here on a Saturday evening around 6:30pm and had the Mrs. Jones cocktail. I wanted some fruity and light, and that was the perfect drink! I had a sip of my friend's Albert Lombard Cocktail and that was really good. They infuse teas with their cocktails which is pretty unique. It's a must-try place for cocktails, even if cocktails aren't your thing. To be honest, I like sitting at the bar because the bartenders really know how to create an experience and provide exceptional service. Plus, if you're the kind of person who doesn't know what to order or has questions about different types of liquors, then they can answer all your questions and make the experience that much better. Ordering from a server could end up being a lot of back and forth communication because they won't know as much as the bartenders. Overall, I really loved the atmosphere and service here. It's a great place to grab drinks before dinner or just to lounge around. Will definitely be back! :)

    IPA and Hotel California
    Sara M.

    They have the best IPA and Hotel California. Yelp told me this review was too short, but that is what I wanted to say.

    Sunshine something, best drink ever!
    Dejah M.

    Best drinks in LA!! I had the most wonderful experience with the lovely bartender Sophia! I walked into the hotel and was greeted by friendly front desk staff. There was plenty of room to have a drink at the bar so I sat down and was greeted with a smile and an out of this world cocktail menu! I wasn't sure what to order so Sophia suggested this delicious sunshine martini (I forget the name of it). She said it tasted like "summertime in your mouth", and it totally did! Literally my fav cocktail now! The manager Dan came by to make sure everything was ok and suggested the crab fritters, to die for!! I also had the albacore tuna tartare and I wanted to lick the plate omg omg. Soooo freakin good! Great Vibes, great staff, I will definitely be back !

    Nadila F.

    This place has a great environment. Low key and good happy hour. My fiancé and I went for the happy hour and stayed for awhile to do some work. When we went (Saturday around 3:30pm) the waitress forgot about our cheese plate. When we got it, it was two cheese slices, of what they claimed was goat cheese but it was hard cheese that looked like Manchego. Mind you the cheese portion was soooo small for ten bucks! Then while eating it I noticed the cheese had mold on it and it went bad! There was fungus growing on it! They took it off our bill and we did not reorder it. Then the waitress, bartender, and manager came to apologize but no one compensated anything else on our bill, which was unfortunate. At the very least they should have given a drink on the house the the lateness of the cheese and then the mold. Overall, good ambiance, nice place to work, and good drinks.

    HH from 3:30pm to 6pm. Shoestring Fries $6 with their Daily Special Punch $7: Chamomile Magarita, delicious snack and drink, woohoo!!!
    Kim T.

    Tea and Alcohol combined, yes, please! :) Parking: Street metered parking from 8am to 8pm in front of the hotel. I got lucky and snagged a spot right in front, yay!. There's also surrounding paid, public parking structures or metered parking too, but watch out for signs. This review is mainly for their Happy Hour Session from 3:30pm to 6pm. Combining my two loves with adorable, quirky cups and teapots, yup! Rudolph's Bar & Tea is located inside of the newly renovated Freehand Hotel (once known as the Commercial Exchange Building), I've met up with my Yelp Buddy Isobel L., for some yummy Happy Hour drinks and food. Also, we had dinner reservations at 7:30pm inside the hotel at The Exchange Restaurant, and so we both got here early to enjoy HH, do some catching up, and waited for our other Yelp Buddy, John L., to arrive. As soon as you enter the hotel, turn right, and the bar area is right there. A little dark when it comes to lighting, but that intimate lighting and ambience makes for a very chilled, relaxed and serene environment. Even though they recommend making a reservation for the bar area, reality is the tables and seating are actually based on first come, first serve. Best of all, if you're able to snag a seat on the couch, check underneath it - there are outlets to plug in your devices, woohoo!!! As for the food and drinks: DRINKS: Upon being seated, complimentary flat water is instantly served to you (room temperature). I didn't mind this time since the weather was getting cooler. However, after I finished my HH Drink, I'd poured the remaining flat water into my iced drink, and have the temperature room water refilled again, hehe! Our glasses were constantly refilled by the servers walking around. HH Drink Special: Isobel and I both got their Daily Special Punch Drink (changes daily) $7 - Chamomile Margarita - combination of chamomile tea and tequila. The presentation to this drink was adorable, pretty, and very aromatic with touches of chamomile flowers and a sprig of lavender inside. Even though it had tequila in it, this drink made me feel very relaxed, which I needed since I had a long day at work, lol! I dig it! We also splurged on they Tea & Alcohol Specialty Drinks after we saw a waitress bring over some to another table. We ended up getting the Sulgar Cobbler $25 for 2 people. The drink contains Amontillado Sherry, Olmeca Altos Reposado Tequila, Earl Grey Tea and Passiofruit. This was a tasty tea and alcohol combination, and definitely a lot stronger than the Chamomile Margarita drink. I tasted more of the Amontillado Sherry than the tequila and earl grey tea itself. Nonetheless, I've enjoyed it, and was able to get 2.5 cups of out it between Isobel and I. FOOD HH Food: $6 Shoestring Fries - sooo good!!! Generous and plentiful! The fries stayed crispy throughout the whole time we were eating it. Best of all, it wasn't greasy, and made for a great HH snack! Served with ketchup and cumin mixed mayo (my favorite!). I would definitely recommend getting this! Daily Spread with Three Artisanal Cheeses, Seasonal Condiments and Housemade Chips $16. This wasn't part of the HH menu, but we decided to get it since we still had an hour to kill before dinner, hehe! The cheeses were delicious! My favorite of the three was this soft, creamy wine soaked cheese (forgot the name). It spread onto the cracker with the greatest of ease! The other two cheese were gorgonzola (saltier version of Bleu Cheese), and manchego (thinly sliced, but the texture felt like paper, and the taste was alright). Served with slight sweetened roasted peanuts, and olive oil and tomatillo jelly sauce for dipping. The tomatillo jelly sauce was sweet and amazing (another favorite dipping sauce). The housemade crackers were light, and held up nicely when spreading the wine soaked cheese across it. Yummy!!! Restrooms: Located right next to the bar on the right side. The Women's Restroom is clean, spacious and fully stocked. Their hand soap smells divine! Grapefruit scented, hehe! Service: Friendly and attentive servers. The food and drinks came out promptly. There were three servers making their rounds around the lobby, ensuring all patrons were attended to, and service was great! Overall, I dig Rudolph's Bar & Tea. What a fabulous lobby to come and have drinks at, while hanging out with friends, or even enjoying the solo time. I would for sure come back here again, what a cool, quirky and eclectic place! :D

    Jesse C.

    Do you drink tea? Cocktails? Then think of both of them fused together - what's there not to love about that? Rudolph's Bar & Tea is one of the food and drink providers, a small collection, found in the lobby of the newly opened Freehand Hotel. It is a shared space so there isn't much of a designated area for those enjoying a carefully crafted cocktail from Rudolph's. Hotel guests and other patrons all sort of combine together in the lobby area. A simple yet beautifully organized foyer; embellished with potted plants and other natural ornaments, it has some retro vibes to it. Certainly has the potential to provide serenity, if you're lucky enough to visit when there isn't much of a rush from guest check-ins or other cock(tea)l craving patrons. So that's the rundown on the space itself, it's quite marvelous. The one cocktail I had, Romance in Durango, which consists of tequila, mezcal, ginger and hibiscus tea among other flavors was a bit of a disappointment. Too sweet for my taste, despite having asked the server about the sweetness of the cocktail before I ordered. To which she answered something like "no, it's more on the smoky side". Perfect - I thought - but upon receiving the damn thing I knew it would be the complete opposite. I keep going against my better judgment when it comes to ordering cocktails, placing my faith in servers who's taste isn't similar to mine. So I did it to myself... It is after all a full bar, so there are classic options available and the drink list doesn't look all that bad. Especially for those who do enjoy some sweetness in their cocktails, but mainly those who enjoy different and delicate flavors. Based on the drink alone I would have gone with a three star rating, but the setting provides a very cool aesthetic to lounge in. I'll likely make a visit to grab a better cocktail and just hang out in there, plus check out Café Integral for you know what - COFFEE!!!

    Lovely atmosphere!
    Clara B.

    Loved our evening with yummy mixology cocktails created by Brian! Wish they had more appetizer selections, other than that really great atmosphere and perfect during the week! We went back on Friday night and it was really busy with many DTLA residents and travelers!

    Anthony N.

    My friends and I recently discovered Rudolph's Bar and Tea and we had a great time! It was a very great ambiance, the venue felt very cabinesque. The service was also great! The drinks and food were good and reasoably priced! I definitely plan on coming back.

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    9 months ago

    Great ambiance, live music was wonderful and the unique cocktails were fantastic! I definitely recommend Rudolph's!

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    4 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Rudolph's Bar & Tea

    Review Highlights - Rudolph's Bar & Tea

    Located inside the Freehand hotel, plenty of room to hang out with friends, and is decorated with plants and a vintage touch.

    Mentioned in 8 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    The Lucky Tiki

    The Lucky Tiki

    4.4
    (55 reviews)
    5.7 mi

    The Lucky Tiki in Highland Park is the sister location of the original Lucky Tiki in West…read moreHollywood. This spot opened about a year ago, and has a cool speakeasy style entrance at the Highland Park Bowl bowling alley. It is a small space, and I would highly recommend making a reservation on Resy. You have 90 minutes to drink and dine. I parked behind the bowling alley where there is a medium sized pay parking lot. Park in a space, remember your space number painted on the ground, and go to the pay station at the end of the lot. I found the parking machine to be extremely finicky as did other people. After ten minutes of failure, I ended up moving my car to another space, and then it worked. This has nothing to do with the Lucky Tiki, but FYI if you park there. We walked around to the front of the bowling alley, and checked in. Seating options include at the bar, tiki hut booths, and high top tables. The décor inside is a tiki lovers paradise. The room has a high ceiling with many tiki lamps, floats, puffer fish, tiki huts, thatch, ropes, barrels, netting, carvings, a hanging canoe, and a large tiki right in the middle of the space. In addition to the great décor, when you order certain drinks, special effects are triggered. There was also great tiki music playing all evening. We sat at the bar since we always enjoy talking to the bartenders. We actually ran into Skipper Christian in the parking lot on the way in, and he ended up being our main bartender, with Nick and Jo also working behind the bar. We put in a food order right away. The chicken potstickers ($12) came with five tasty bites, and the garlic teriyaki dipping sauce was good. We also had the giant pretzel ($16) which comes with mustard, beer cheese, and ranch sauces. This was excellent, and the perfect filling snack before a bunch of drinks. My first drink was the Siren's Song (Flor de Cana Eco rum, lemon juice, cassis, Oloroso sherry, apricot foam topper, $19). This drink is served in a great mermaid with skull mug and triggers special sound effects and bubbles fill the air. Those bubbles on top of the drink had a great light citrusy apricot flavor, probably the best flavored bubbles I've ever had. The drink itself was very good and balanced with some complexity. She wasn't sure what to order at first, and Christian asked her what flavors she liked. He ended up making a spin on a Tradewinds with some mango and pineapple to go along with the apricot and coconut. It was nicely balanced and not too sweet, even with all that fruit in there. My second drink was the Sun of Suns (Tierra de Acre mezcal, coconut cream, Giffard mango liqueur, pineapple juice, lime juice, $17). This was coconut and pineapple forward with some good smokiness in the background. Her second drink was the Whatever Floats Your Boat (Ford's gin, lemon juice, velvet falernum, orgeat, passion fruit syrup, guava soda, topped with hazelnut passion fruit foam, $19). It is served in a cool boat mug, and triggers thunder sound effects and lighted mechanical Polynesian tiki characters paddling a canoe over the bar. This was another good balanced drink. It was a little gin forward and the passion fruit popped out, maybe from being both in the drink and the foam top. That creamy hazelnut passion fruit form on top is delicious. I'd happily have a glass of that on its own. We were still a little hungry so we ordered the Hawaiian pizza (marinara, diced pepperoni, red onion, pineapple chunks, hot capicola ham, $16). It was another good tasting, perfectly sized snack, and the crust was light and airy. We were already fifteen minutes over our time limit, but we got the green light to stay longer to order a third drink to share. We ordered the Tiki Diablo (Flor de Cana Eco rum, Worthy Park 109 rum, Alma Tepecha chile liqueur, orange juice, lime juice, mango syrup, guava soda, $24). This drink serves two people, is served in a cool volcano bowl with glowing red lava around it, and comes with a fire show. Unfortunately, right after it was served, the host came over and said we were over our time and had to leave shortly. Christian made up for it by giving us two tall pours to go enjoy in the bowling alley bar area which was fine. We were happy we got some extra time inside. The drink was also very good, balanced with a little complexity. We had a great time. There is so much great décor to look at. The drinks and food were very good, and some of the the drink presentations and special effects were the icing on the cake. All of the bartenders were very friendly and a lot of fun. We purchased up a few zombie glasses to take home as a souvenir. I'd definitely recommend visiting the Lucky Tiki in Highland Park!

    Adorable speakeasy with a fortune teller as a doorbell…read more Drinks 3/5 Painkiller $18 - This drink comes out with a show as they light a part of it on fire. I didn't fancy the flavor and this is a very popular drink so it stinks up the place every time it gets served to someone. Dark Magic $18 - Objectively not a bad drink but too tart for my partner and I didn't prefer the flavor. Service 5/5 Standard service. Our waitress got us some free shots, very kind. :) Ambiance 4/5 I love the vibes, the darkness, the decor. It's just too stinky and smokey whenever they serve the Painkiller.

    Photos
    Tiki hut booth
    Tiki hut booth
    Sailor at the Bar Entrance
    Sailor at the Bar Entrance
    Hard carved and painted Giant Tiki at Lucky Tiki

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    Hard carved and painted Giant Tiki at Lucky Tiki
    The Mulberry

    The Mulberry

    4.0
    (127 reviews)
    10.8 mi

    I've taken too long to review this fine place!…read more I came here with my daughter in honor of Morher's Day. JM, the manager was super nice and helpful. He even surprised us with the delicious dessert. Elizabeth was so sweet and always on hand to make sure we were happy. The service was perfection and the food was in a class of its own. Do not hesitate and order their chicken! It's no wonder everyone keeps raving about it!

    Elevated Korean cuisine in a good way but the price is a bit higher than others in east la with the…read moresame concept. Perhaps this is the price for west la for lacking in korean notes. Vibes were DATE NIGHT. Parking is horrible. Space is tight. Cocktails - GOOD. The "banana milk" was a more slushy like banana makgeolli. I really liked Hailey's sikhye slushy super refreshing Food - well balanced, subtle rich tastes, only con is the spicy foods were not spicy???: -Kimchi pancake 7/10 thicker than regular, still very crispy. -Fried crispy chicken 7/10 regular -Spicy silken tofu skew 10/10 the broth was excellent rich zucchini/mushroom extract flavor, silken tofu & meat taste/texture were not muted vs standard bcd soondubu -Chilled acorn noodle 9/10 refreshing -Bluefin tuna bibimbap 8.5/10 this was good but tuna/fish roe bibimbap was nothing too special aside from putting $$$ ingredients. Can easily remake this at home -Stir fried hen of the woods mushroom 9.5/10 really good mushroom rice cake -Spicy braised black cod- fish was cooked well but nothing phenomenal. Ordered bc it sounded interesting with the ingredients but I couldn't taste the chrysanthemum or spice Desserts did not CALL for us. Bingsoo is from Korean ice co down the road, which personally I am not a huge fan of

    Photos
    The Mulberry
    Salad, had too much white lettuce which was very bitter 7/10
    Salad, had too much white lettuce which was very bitter 7/10
    Acorn noodles

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    Acorn noodles
    Thunderbolt

    Thunderbolt

    4.4
    (267 reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$

    Matt B. and I are living with my parents these days, and one of the benefits of this arrangement is…read morethat we can leave the house quite easily after the kids go to bed. We decided to get a drink to celebrate Father's Day, only to strike out at the first two bars we tried--I guess a lot of places are closed at 9:30 on a Sunday. This is how we ended up at Thunderbolt, a buzzy bar in Echo Park, just far enough away that we'd never made our way over. I loved it immediately. Thunderbolt has the friendly, comfortable atmosphere of a neighborhood bar and the hip aesthetic and high-level cocktails of a millennial boozer destination. (Not that young people can't or shouldn't hang out here, but it seems especially geared toward people like us, who drank at Walker Inn a decade ago.) We ended up sitting next to a guy who regularly drives up from Palos Verdes. I guess the place gets pretty busy, but it was ideal on a Sunday night. Happening but not crowded, with just enough space at the bar for us to grab two seats together. The bartender was great, super helpful and welcoming. He also made excellent drinks. Thunderbolt is one of those bars with an encyclopedic illustrated book for a menu. Not a long menu, just a detailed one, with a lot of information available about each drink. We got a Liquid Picnic and a Barcelonnette--just one round to close out the weekend. Both were delicious. The Liquid Picnic was a smooth, savory gin martini made with London dry gin, tomato, citron, vermouth, rosemary, and black pepper. I learned from the book that it used clarified tomato water. (There was also further reading about the clarification process.) The Barcelonnette was a mezcal sour with Suze, passionfruit, and lime, the foam made without egg white through some geeky mixologist process. Thunderbolt is not our neighborhood bar, but we plan to go back when we can to check out the rest of the menu. It's a wonderful place, well worth a jaunt on the freeway.

    Was charged three times, totaling hundreds of dollars, and waiting for the pending transactions to…read moredrop (or stay :/) in 3-5 business days is no fun. We can't all be made of money, but this shouldn't have happened.

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    Thunderbolt
    Thunderbolt
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    Rudolph's Bar & Tea - lounges - Updated August 2026

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