Tribute Hollywood: Old School Vibes, New School Drinks
Hollywood is a circus—bright lights, tour buses, costumed hustlers hustling harder than ever. Tourists shuffle from one star on the Walk of Fame to the next, clinging to false hopes of catching a glimpse of a celebrity. But among all that noise, there’s one bar that doesn’t cater to the madness. It belongs to the locals. Tribute Hollywood.
This place doesn’t pander, it remembers. The bones are heavy with history. The Silent Film Era flickered here. Later, Shelly’s Manne-Hole turned the space into a jazz sanctuary. Then Studio 3, where some of the greatest musicians of the 20th century laid down tracks that still live in your headphones. You feel it the moment you step in—the hum under your feet, the ghosts in the air.
When The Best Drink Ever stopped in, we weren’t just here for a cocktail—we came to drink the story. And to do it right, we teamed up with 1921 Tequila Cream and Maria Bonita Mezcal, giving Raul Pool free rein to do what he does best: turn history into flavor.
The Drinks, Inspired by Music
The cocktails at Tribute are old-school classics reimagined with a new-school vibe—familiar in structure, but sharper, bolder, built to surprise. Raul Pool, the original bar ninja, doesn’t just mix drinks, he reinvents them, pulling from the grit of 90s hip hop and the soul of 70s classic rock. Each cocktail lands like a track you’ve had on repeat your whole life—comforting, but never predictable.
Here’s just a taste of their greatest hits:
Light My Fire
Maria Bonita Mezcal, orgeat, cucumber, lime, chile de árbol, black pepper, mint. Smoke and heat cut by mint and cucumber. Sweet and sharp, like Morrison stumbling out of the desert at dawn.
When Doves Cry
Maria Bonita Mezcal, grapefruit, Mommenpop Blood Orange, lime agave, lime salt bubbles. Bright, bitter, dramatic. A Prince anthem in liquid form, complete with bubbles that pop like drum hits.
C.R.E.A.M.
1921 Tequila Cream, Kin A Peel banana liqueur, cold brew liqueur, toasted pecan bitters, nutmeg lemon twist. Rich, indulgent, unapologetic. Coffee, cream, banana, pecan—it’s dessert with rhythm. Wu-Tang in a glass.
Dreams
Maria Bonita Mezcal, Mommenpop Seville Orange, Combier Blue, pineapple, lime. A kaleidoscope of citrus and smoke. Tropical, strange, intoxicating. Fleetwood Mac turned liquid.
The Best Wings in the City
And it’s not just the drinks that keep people here longer than they planned. Tribute’s kitchen slings burgers with real taste—juicy, messy, mouthwatering, the kind you need two hands for and a stack of napkins. Then there are the wings—crispy, sauced just right, the kind of wings locals will argue (loudly) are the best in the city. It’s bar food elevated without ever losing its soul, made for late nights, loud conversations, and one more round.
The Scene
Tribute doesn’t chase trends—it creates them. Always has, always will. The walls here aren’t just holding up the ceiling; they’re still vibrating with the ghosts of jazz riffs, guitar solos, and the soundtrack of old Hollywood.
And the crowd? That’s the real secret. Locals leaning over mezcal, swapping stories. Musicians fresh off a gig, nursing beers and rewinding the night. Bartenders off the clock, finally drinking where they actually want to drink.
This isn’t Hollywood Boulevard with its watered-down daiquiris and neon tourist bait. This is the other Hollywood. The one with teeth. The one that refuses to die. At Tribute, cocktails and culture aren’t following anyone’s lead—they’re setting the pace.
Here, you don’t just sip a drink. You drink the city. You taste the music. You walk out with more than a buzz—you walk out knowing that, in a neighborhood drowning in gimmicks, the real thing still exists. And it’s called Tribute.