A New Level
Golden Hour is where you start your night at Level 8, said Angelenos Mark and Jonnie Houston of Houston Hospitality.
The twin brothers, behind No Vacancy and Black Rabbit Rose, introduce their newest concept: a 30,000- square-foot dining, drinking and entertainment experience on the eighth floor of the Yabu Pushelberg- designed Moxy & AC Hotel in downtown L. A.
“This project started almost five years ago,” said Jonnie. “It's an accumulation of Mark and I traveling around the world and kind of bottling up our wildest dreams of experiences that we wanted to recreate. This project was the perfect mashup to throw it all onto one floor.”
The brothers thought about what would draw their friends downtown. The beauty of Level 8 is finding different options in one place, they said.
“You can have appetizers here, dinner here, desserts there,” said Mark.
And then party.
There are eight venues, with Sinners y Santos standing out as an abandoned 19th-century cathedral turned wrestling ring (expect lucha libre fights as a DJ spins). In food, Ray Garcia's Qué Bábaro offers South American cuisine; there's teppanyaki at Joshua Gil's Maison Kasai, and shabu-shabu at Hisae Stuck's Lucky Mizu. Late nights will likely be at Mr Wanderlust, a piano bar and jazz lounge. While Golden Hour, a pool deck serving bites and cocktails, is open day and night.
“Come to Level 8 for happy hour at Golden Hour and spend the night,” said Jonnie. “For us, that's the perfect beginning to the Level 8 experience.”
It's a tropical ' 70s themed space, with a pool and cabanas. The pièce de résistance is a rotating carousel bar designed by Paul Basile of Basile Studio.
“We want it to look like the top of a pineapple,” said Mark.
The drinks mirror the setting, with a menu of tiki options. Mai tais are Trader Vic's original recipe, poured in its signature glassware.
“We're paying homage to one of the tiki trailblazers in the United States,” added Jonnie.
Food options include a golden burger, lemon pepper wings and variety of salads.
“Things people would want around a pool,” said Mark.