Bar Benjamin

Bar Benjamin opened in May 2025 on the second floor above The Benjamin Hollywood at 7174 Melrose Avenue, taking over the space that briefly held the Moon Room and, before that, Bathtub Gin. It comes from Ben Shenassafar, co-founder of the streetwear label The Hundreds, with partners Jared Meisler — known for The Roger Room and Bar Lubitsch — and culinary consultant Kate Burr. Time Out described an Art Deco-inspired room of low wood-panelled ceilings, mohair booths and custom carpeting, with a balcony bar looking out at the Hollywood Hills, entered under a glowing red neon BAR sign and rising into something more old-school elegance than influencer bait. The cocktail list was created by Jason Lee, of n/soto and Baroo, with beverage director Chad Austin, formerly of Bootlegger Tiki, and the kitchen runs bar food at a high specification: triple-fried Kennebec chips, deviled eggs with crispy capers, tuna toast with Castelvetrano olives, a wagyu pastrami sandwich on a house-baked rye bun, steak tartare with Calabrian chile, and chips with golden osetra caviar.

The zero-proof section exists because Austin needed it to. I'm five years sober, so I always pay close attention to NA menus when I'm out, he told Resy in January 2026 — and, he added, he often does not order, because the drinks feel like an afterthought. The four drinks on his own list are correspondingly dense. Bangkok Dangerous is the most ambitious: a smoky non-alcoholic spirit and Dr. Zero Amaro with peanut butter, red miso, gochujang, ginger lemongrass tea, honey, lime and fish sauce. Smiley Face works an agave non-alcoholic distillate with Wilderton Citrus Bitter, fermented mango, yellow bell pepper and acid-adjusted pineapple — savoury, smoky and bright, in Austin's description, familiar but totally new. Aura Farm combines a tequila alternative with St. Agrestis Phony Negroni, Bordelet pear cider, strawberry, gochujang and lemon, and Tepache Bird is Aplos Ease with Wilderton Red Bitter, tepache and lime. A taro milk punch built with hemp spirit, genmaicha, lemongrass and cinnamon has also appeared on the list. The bar does not print prices on its published menus. It opens at 6pm Tuesday to Saturday, to midnight midweek and 1am from Thursday, with reservations through Resy.