POT Lobby Bar

it’s a friggin lobby bar…
bunch of business people mostly.
i’d skip this place and either check out the small café across from it or hop up the elevator to Commissary instead if they’re open.

I’m no stranger to the Line Hotel (I love Commissary) and wanted to eat at POT. Roy Choi is such a genius and his menu speaks for itself. I went during happy hour to the lobby bar for a drink and some bar eats and chose a few to try. The bartender’s drink of the day (only $ 5!) was a «gold rush» and for food I ordered the notchos, BBQ spicy pork and vegetable pancake.
The notchos are done «Korean-​style» as there are no tortilla chips to speak of and have been replaced with coins of rice cakes. They’re covered in a rich sauce, veggies, shredded cheese, a fried egg and green onions. The rice cake «chips» add an interesting chewy texture and marry well with all the flavors of the ingredients. The BBQ spicy pork were perfectly cooked bites in a delicious spicy sauce. The vegetable pancake was a mix of shredded vegetables perfectly crisped in to a disk.
Everything was great and I will be coming back soon to try the rest of their menu!

Damn. Who knew there was a lobby with a bar in a Hotel that was so popping?! Came here on a Friday night and the place was packed. There was a DJ playing hip hop and EDM. The crowd was majority Asian so if you are into that come here on Friday night. Havent been here on Saturday but I am sure it gets packed as well. There are lots of couches for you wallflowers that do nothing too! A bit for everyone.

So I was only in the area for the Peruvian presidential elections and since I was waiting for the rest of my party so decided to grab a drink. Lucky for me happy hour was from 2:30−8PM and when I looked over their menu was surprised to see an Old Fashioned on tap. Had to try it since a big whiskey fan. Already knew it wasn’t going to be as strong as a normal old fashioned, but it was still pretty good. Lucky to have stumbled here just wish had more time to explore their drinks.

Pot Bar in The Line Hotel is great for happy hour. Turned me on to Pisco with their Pisco Sour cocktail. Sooo Good! Kimchi fried rice was pretty good, and a larger than expected portion for a happy hour appetizer.
Very diverse and friendly crowd.

HH drinks in the hotel bar. Not too bad as there were plenty of seats before 9. They move the tables after to make it like a club or bar like.
The specials til 8 was okay. I got a beer and my 2 friends got the house special and a pisco sour. The house special wasn’t strong, my friend said it tasted like juice. And the pisco sour didn’t taste like pisco… So not sure what it taste like.
Overall not too bad. Good stop for some drinks.

Happy hour review.
Happy hour is from 2:30−8PM daily.
They have select wines for $ 8, select cocktails for $ 7 – 8 and draft beer for $ 8. The ‘drank of the day’ is a good deal at $ 5 and is bartender’s choice. The HH cocktails are average. Service is friendly enough but forgettable.
The bar area is fairly compact. There is a fair amount of bar seating, but this place gets very busy. Luckily, there are surrounding tables and seating areas.
parking — metered or limited street parking

I’ve heard people say how much they enjoy going to party at The Line Hotel so I was kind of excited when a friend decided to go there for his bday celebration. We got there late (around midnight) so of course there was a HUGE line. One of our friends inside must have bribed someone who worked there because our friend told us to meet him at the front and he was there with some bouncer and they let us in right away. It was crowded but not overly crowded where you’re being bumped/​shoved every 5 seconds. It was perfect. Bartenders were fairly quick but they were kind of douchey. One of them must have got a little pissed when I ordered one last drink after he brought me the 3 I ordered because the last one (a jameson & ginger, just like all the other 3) he gave me was about 80% full and I just stood there looking at it waiting for him to fill it up but he never did… I saw him do the same pour to a few other people after me so that was the last time I ordered from him. Other than that, the music was decent (hip hop top 40) but I’m not sure if they play different music on other nights (it was a Saturday we went). Drink prices were average for LA ($ 12 — $ 15 each) but I honestly don’t see the hype/​appeal that I would hear about. The crowd was young (early 20s) and lots of Asians (shocker, I know.). Lots of good looking people but no dress code so you get a random mix of styles. There is no chance in hell I would come back here if I had to wait in that line I saw. If I knew someone there to get me in again or there was no line, I’d hit it up another time!

$ 9 for a 12oz bottle of Stone Ruination beer. Modern, trendy, good looking people and all the other things that people have said in their reviews. Lots of seating.

I’m shocked and appalled by the treatment my friends and I received coming here. The bouncer was extremely rude to us for no reason. Some of my best friends who I was with are lesbians and have informed me that this type of homophobic behavior is common wherever they go. One of my friends was in tears by the end of the ordeal and it ruined our night. All I could tell her was that there are ignorant and cruel people in this world and it couldn’t be helped.
I have decided to not spend a single penny here for the rest of my life. To anyone who cares about this kind of discrimination I suggest you take your hard earned money and spend it elsewhere. Unbelievable.

It’s hard to know which place to review – the lobby bar, the café or POT itself, since when you’re sitting in the lobby, you’re essentially, in a strange way, patronizing all three. But since the menu said «POT Lobby Bar» on it, POT Lobby Bar gets the review.
i dig this set up. A spacious lobby is dotted with cozy, retro round tables (each with the own individual outlets), free Wi-​Fi and thumping music. If you get there early, you can pick up breakfast or a cookie at the café. Get there after 2:30 though, and you can order happy hour from the bar.
Yeah, that’s right, happy hour is from 2:30 to 8:00, which is astounding! And unheard of!
That gets you $ 5 daily specials, $ 6 Hites, $ 7 wells and shots, $ 8 pisco sours and an array of discounted POT eats. Yesterday, when I asked the bartender what the drink of the day was, he was like, «hmmm, what do you like?» He ended up making me a bee’s knees, which was gin, honey and lemon juice – refreshing! I enjoy their piscos, too, and the food is A-​OK.
The lobby is fast becoming one of my favorite hangout spots around town. It’s a great place to work if you know you’re going to be there a while and you want something more substantial than coffee and a croissant, or when you want to transition from caffeine to booze.
They turn the lights down and the music up around 6:00. After that point, it definitely feels more clubby. If you want to come later in the evening, it can get a bit crowded, but it’s kind of a fun late-​night date spot.

This place is the awkward hybrid between a bar, lounge, and club. interesting.
Not really sure how to feel about it, but I’ll probably end up back there sooner than later hahah
Arrive early if you don’t want to spend half your night and kill your buzz in line alongside other impatient turn-​uppers. But thumbs up for no cover and relaxed dress code!
The bar is a little difficult to get to, but if you can maneuver your way around the dancing drunk girls and people who just like to lurk around the bar (and not order anything), then look ma, ya made it!
The drinks were a lot better than expected, and prices were just meh. I had gin & tonic, long island iced tea, and amf; all were worth it and good!
Side note: If you went to high school in the LA, Glendale, LCR area, prepare for a mini high school reunion on any given weekend haha

I don’t really know how I feel about this place.
It’s really weird because it’s a bar in LINE hotel’s lobby but it’s more like a dance club because the music is super loud and everyone is up and dancing but they can’t really move around because the chairs and tables are in the way.
There is always a long line – definitely come around 10 – 10:30 to avoid the line during the weekends.
The crowd that this place attracts is mainly Asians (Koreans specifically, duh) that are in their early to mid 20s. Hence, the vibe of this place is very energetic and people go pretty ham here: P POT bar is also more for groups of friends – if you’re here with just a girlfriend or two it might be awkward because everyone else around you most likely came with a big group of friends and it’s kind of clique-​y that way. But that’s what makes it fun because you’re here with your friends!
I’ve never tried the drinks here because I’ve never been able to get to the bar LOL they’re just so many people and honestly I don’t even think it’s possible to get to the bartender… but I heard the drinks are okay. I recommend drinking elsewhere before you come to avoid the hassle of ordering and then waiting forever for the drink to get to you.
For a bar this place is pretty awful and for a club this place is pretty awful as well… but it’s fun in a weird way and I definitely recommend checking this place out just because why not.

Total hot spot for happy hour! If you are into modern hotel lobby bar with cool décor and beautiful trendy people, hipster gathering then this is heaven send. can’t say about the happy hour food, I only shared fries with friends– spicy and addicting.
I had red wine on the happy hour menu, no good, so I asked for a cranberry Vodka, it was usual. I saw some interesting cocktail drinks on the menu, I will give a try next time.

It should be called POS Lobby Bar in my opinion. Now you may be saying, that’s a bit harsh, but after I explain what I experienced on a Friday night, you may end up agreeing with me.
Let’s get this out of the way, my review has nothing to do with the quality of the drinks or the bartenders at all. The drinks are delicious & the bartenders are great at what they do. This review is more for the venue overall, the hype & the fact that they allow smoking outside (a LOT of smoking).
The venue has no stage, no formal DJ & not a lot of seating. It’s a large lobby of a hotel that is turned into a nighttime area where people can hang out & drink overpriced cocktails.
The outdoor patio is always inundated with people chainsmoking to their hearts’ desire. How does POT get away with this? If I want fresh air from the hot club inside, I can’t get any… I get emphysema instead. Not a fan.
Doubt I’ll be back anytime soon.

I came to POT Lobby Bar knowing it’s owned by Roy Choi, but that may be one of its only two redeeming features. The other is to experience the bizarre atmosphere — a mishmash between a hip bar (lines out the door by 10:00!) and an Asian club (sans dancing), all of which takes place in the lobby of a… hotel?
Beyond that, drinks are overpriced ($ 14 signature cocktails), not complex, and worst of all — weak pours. We had the Celery (mezcal, lime, vermouth, tonic) and the Bitter (scotch, cynar, grapefruit bitters). The best adjective I can come up with is that they were «drinkable» — but certainly not unique, not boozy, and certainly not worth the $ 14.
One visit to POT Lobby Bar was enough for me. I’m hoping that trying Roy Choi’s taco trucks will lead to some redemption.

This place is cool BUT the speakers aren’t good and the dJ is even worse! Line hotel turned their lobby into a bar/​hangout place. It’s a really cool idea. However, it gets really crowded. They need to fix the speakers and get a new DJ, please. We went on Saturday June 6, 2015.
You want to get there a little early to avoid the line to get in. My friends and I got there at around 10:45 — 11:00pm and the line wasn’t that bad yet. My
Other friend got there at 11:30pm and waited around 30 minutes to get in.
Also, keep in mind that this is in Koreatown and parking is CRAZY. They have valet parking in the hotel. $ 8 for three hours, just don’t forget to get it validated. The entrance to the valet is barely seen so just be a on the lookout.
Still had fun though! I like that you can sit down and chill.

Oh The DRANKSSSS — excellent. I was so surprised they could make cocktails that good. And i am picky as F* when it comes to cocktails that break the bank.
HIBISCUS COCKTAIL $ 14 — so gooooood — just git
PISCO SOUR $ 14 — I have had better, weak in flavor. Something was missing. Nice foam head
BASIL $ 13 — So refreshing, light yet strong.
Parking is fairly easy and free on weekday nights (metered, around the block), i wouldn’t go during weekends.

Cool bar at the line hotel. We came in the afternoon & the drinks are solid. The bartenders are really cool & friendly. I wanted to try the curry soju cocktail but they didn’t have any of the ingredients.
They also have old fashioned cocktails ON TAP. It tasted okay but it’s way too sweet for my liking.
Kimchi Soju Infused Sour — $ 14 — If you like Kimchi, try this out. If you don’t like kimchi avoid this at all costs. I’m a huge kimchi fan. Soju infused w/​Kimchi, sour, and egg white.
Old Fashioned — $ 14 — Solid
Off-​menu Gin /​Cucumber cocktail — $ 14 — Solid.
TIPS:
–The bar does turn into a club at night. I only checked it out for a little but but don’t expect high end drinks if you come here at night.
–They don’t serve Uni cocktail anymore.

What a fun koreatown addition. Though I’d stay far away on weekend nighttimes when the bouncers come out and it turns clubby, it was a wonderful place for a low-​key after work drink before dinner at Pot.
The bar is small but there are plenty of seats in the lobby (again, when it’s not party time), and the crowd is young and mixed — not everyone was Korean! There was even a guy visiting from Texas who had no idea he was in Koreatown.
The menu items are fun and unique. I went with a boring rosé, but my friend got something called a K-​Town Kamikaze, which was pink and punchy with a rim of sweet tarts. So fun! They’re definitely not cheap (I think my wine was $ 12 and the cocktail $ 11), but pretty on par with all of the other ridiculously overpriced hotel bars in this city.
The bartender wasn’t the friendliest, but overall the service in this hotel seems to be pretty good. If there were happy hour deals I’d like it even more!