In Los Angeles, where outdoor dining is a year-round affair, there’s little that beats a rooftop cocktail above the traffic of Sunset Boulevard. The West Hollywood EDITION makes it even better, with a fresh cocktail program that mixes design, flavor, and atmosphere across three stylish spaces.
With the help of beverage consultant Nils Schabert, the hotel has unveiled three distinct bar concepts – each responding to the mood and materiality of its setting: Interlude at the Lobby Bar, Subtext at their restaurant Ardor, and Alta California & Agave Tradición on The Roof.
The Roof \\\ Photo: Nikolas Koenig
Across 29 cocktails and 7 zero-proof options, the program leans on culinary craft, using milk clarification, sous-vide infusions, foams, and pastry-driven garnishes to heighten the texture and detail of each drink. The menus are broad enough to invite exploration yet restrained enough to avoid menu anxiety. The inclusion of sophisticated non-alcoholic options reflects a generational shift, appealing to the under-30 crowd, who are increasingly deciding where to drink based on the availability of non-alcoholic options.
The Roof \\\ Photo: Nikolas Koenig
Arriving at the hotel, guests pass through an idyllic lush green sanctuary away from the buzz of the Strip. Beyond the massive Western Red Cedar doors, a three-story travertine lobby reveals California minimalism at its most composed.
The Roof is a study in contrasts with its open-air ease and layered craftsmanship. Bright cobalt textiles and neutral stone tables mirror the two complementary menus, Alta California and Agave Tradición, a nod to Southern California’s dialogue between coastal creativity and Mexican heritage. “The Roof’s atmosphere felt alive with light and energy,” Schabert says. “The menu evolves with that rhythm, shifting seamlessly into night.”
Penicilina – Código 1530 Reposado, Yellow Chartreuse, honey, vanilla, citrus, hibiscus mezcal float \\\ Bright, floral, and gently smoky – the perfect transition from sunlit afternoon to neon evening. \\\ Photo: Betty Yang
While on the roof, sip the Penicillin-inspired cocktail. Not only is it bright and floral, but it’s gently smoky hibiscus mezcal float adds both visual contrast and a layered finish.
Ardor \\\ Photo: Nikolas Koenig
Once the sun sets, make your way down to Ardor for dinner. Inside the greenery-filled restaurant, the Subtext cocktail list takes cues from the kitchen’s vegetable-forward menu. These cocktails are quietly confident and play with acidity, bitterness, and texture rather than overt sweetness. I highly recommend the Japanese-inspired milk bread with tomatoes to set the stage for the meal. It is warm, fluffy, and the perfect palate cleanser. Both the Brightwood and UME cocktails, evolve as the meal progresses. Brightwood’s safflower adorned foam slowly dissolves over time, and the UME plum garnish leaves a surprising brininess to the finishing sip.
Ardor \\\ Photo: Nikolas Koenig
“When I first came to Ardor, what struck me was how seamlessly the space blends nature and design,” Schabert says. “Subtext is a quiet dialogue with the kitchen – drinks that don’t compete, but complete, the experience.”
Brightwood – Bulleit Bourbon, passionfruit, cacao, lemon, clarified milk, sherry oak foam, safflower \\\ Photo: Betty Yang
Lobby Bar \\\ Photo: Nikolas Koenig
UME – Union Mezcal, plum, tarragon honey \\\ A grounded, aromatic mix of smoke, fruit, and herb \\\ Photo: Betty Yang
Concluding your evening with Interlude at The Lobby Bar, is a treat. Acting as West Hollywood’s communal living room, the Lobby Bar is equally suited for billiards, aperitifs, or an elegant nightcap. The new concept captures those in-between moments of arrival and departure, dusk and dark. Sterling Ruby’s monumental ceiling sculpture The Scale defines the balance of the space’s rhythm between the location’s gritty history of hair metal bands of yesteryear to the posh place it is now.
Lobby Bar \\\ Photo: Nikolas Koenig
“The concept came to life through time spent in the lobby,” Schabert says. “The cocktails mirror that effortless movement between calm and celebration – composed, intentional, quietly sculptural.”
From its cedar-clad entrance to its travertine interiors, The West Hollywood EDITION is a study in restraint and sensory contrast. Sterling Ruby’s The Scale anchors the lobby’s quiet drama, while Ardor’s garden-like dining room and The Roof’s landscaped terrace extend the hotel’s dialogue with California light and native flora.
Atrium Old Fashioned – Angel’s Envy Bourbon, maple, apricot kernels, cherry, topped with a maple-pecan brittle \\\ A pastry team triumph and a fitting finish to the evening. \\\ Photo: TJ Girard
The new cocktail program translates that architectural clarity into taste and texture. Each drink becomes a sensory extension of its space, crafted with precision, intention, and rhythm. Whether you’re watching the skyline ignite from above Sunset Boulevard, dining amid greenery, or pausing in the lobby before returning to the buzz of L.A., The EDITION invites you to savor more than a cocktail. It’s a moment of design you can actually taste.
For more information on The West Hollywood EDITION, please visit editionhotels.com.
Photography courtesy of The West Hollywood EDITION.
