La Dolce Vita

If you have trouble catching your breath the first time you walk into La Dolce Vita, don’t be alarmed. That’s what happens when you enter a room humming with energy typically reserved for a winners-only Oscars’ afterparty. The newly reopened—and completely revitalized—La Dolce Vita might be located in Beverly Hills, but it’s really a pulse-raising portal to Old Hollywood set in a tiny, windowless room that exudes exclusivity. Celebrities, CEOs, and studio execs crowd the gold-tinted bar sipping tequila gimlets and some of the best martinis our livers have had the privilege of metabolizing. Other people with disposable incomes crowd into big leather booths surrounded by tableside caesars and juicy, bone-in veal parm. The leopard print carpet, illuminated horse busts, and lilac-hued brick walls are straight out of 1966—the year this classic Italian spot first opened—but the room feels entirely of the moment. For a glamorous, over-the-top night out filled with great food, excellent people-watching, and pure Hollywood escapism, La Dolce Vita nails every aspect of the assignment. Just book your table now, they’re going fast.