Oliver Hall discovers vibrant queer nightlife and rich LGBTQ+ history in Los Angeles’ most walkable and proudly defiant neighbourhood.
Los Angeles is vast — a sprawl of freeways, palm trees and possibility — but West Hollywood feels like its secret village. In just a few walkable blocks, you can move from world-class dining to queer nightlife, from rock ’n’ roll history to progressive art spaces, from late-night comedy to early-morning coffee without ordering an Uber.
WeHo is a gaybourhood where creativity and pride pulse through the streets, where drag queens, designers, activists and A-listers share the same pavements.
And right now, in a country led by a president that they did not vote for, gay villages like WeHo, and their queer businesses and communities, need to be supported by international gays and theys — not shunned. And as well as offering solidarity to our brothers and sisters, West Hollywood knows how to throw a party, and we’re all invited!
To Stay
Just steps from Melrose Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, Kimpton La Peer (lapeerhotel.com | @lapeerhotel) sits in the sweet spot between the Design District and the Rainbow District. All the nightlife is walkable — dangerously so — yet inside, it feels like a design sanctuary.
The lobby makes an immediate impression: grand ceilings, contemporary art climbing the walls, reception discreetly to one side, and an award-winning restaurant, Ladyhawk, to the other. We hear guests raving about their cocktails and snacks at ‘No Rose’, the bar tucked beside the intimate outdoor pool, as we head up to our room.
Rooms are unexpectedly spacious for such prime real estate, with an elegant, calm, neutral palette that nicely counterbalances WeHo’s neon nights.
Having dinner at Ladyhawk (ladyhawkrestaurant.com | @ladyhawkweho) is non-negotiable. Crowned LA Mag’s 2025 Best New Restaurant, Chef Charbel Hayek’s Eastern Mediterranean menu is theatre: freshly baked breads torn tableside, silky dips, mezze, rotisserie meats, wood-fired perfection. We recommend grabbing a bar seat and watching the open kitchen perform. This is one of the best hotel restaurants in all of LA.
To Dance
It bears repeating that the Kimpton La Peer is dangerously close to West Hollywood’s queer nightlife. Everywhere is walkable. Spill your drink in the wrong places and you can head back to the hotel for an outfit change and have rejoined your friends within 20 minutes. The closest bar is also the most legendary!
The Abbey (theabbeyweho.com | @theabbeyweho) is the original Pink Pony Club — twice crowned the Best Gay Bar in the World — and it wears that title well. Saturday night finds it heaving: locals, internationals, birthdays, breakups, all colliding beneath flashing lights and big beats.
Booths line the dance floor for those wanting table service and to be seen; everywhere else is sweaty, shirtless gay club nostalgia that feels gloriously early 2000s. Sunday brunch brings drag superstars to the stage from 1pm, because in WeHo, daytime is not downtime.
Next door, sister bar The Chapel (@thechapelweho) offers a more intimate and themed space, with wilder party nights that feel so 2026. Just last week, RuPaul’s Drag Race judge TS Madison officiated a night of queer weddings during a trans-themed ‘Paul’s Dolls’ party. You will never be bored here.
Just metres away are Mickey’s (mickeys.com), Mother Lode (motherlodela.com) and Revolver (revolverweho.com), each trying to outdo the other with celebrity appearances, Drag Race alumni and boatloads of sexy go-go boys. These dancers (not strippers) are a tradition that exploded in LA’s bars during the 1960s as part of the city’s liberated nightlife laws, with go-go girls in the straight bars and boys in the gay ones. Beyond entertainment, this was a declaration of sexual expression and liberation for gay men at a time when even gathering in public could be criminalised, which kind of makes it even sexier that they are still going strong today.
To Remember
With hungover heads, the next morning we visit the new West Hollywood AIDS Monument (aidsmonument.org), which opened in November. It sits in West Hollywood Park, near restaurants and bars — a deliberate reminder of the joy and grief that coexist.
The monument features 147 bronze pillars that glow like candlelight at night, engraved quotes and oral histories honouring those lost and those who fought back. It’s open to the public from 6am to midnight, and artist Daniel Tobin’s clever design means it looks different throughout the day as shadows fall and the lights come up.
We are guided through the space by Tony Valenzuela, Executive Director of America’s oldest active LGBTQ+ organisation, the One Institute, which puts on educational programmes, exhibitions and community initiatives to ensure LGBTQ+ histories are not forgotten. He tells us:
“For many queer men, HIV/AIDS was the defining event of our generation. The AIDS Monument represents my story and countless other stories of loss, grief, survival, community work and triumph. It educates the public about the terrifying and inspiring history of HIV/AIDS in West Hollywood, Los Angeles and beyond, and celebrates the hard-fought victories in science, politics and community that helped us to persevere.”
On the current political climate in the US, he says, “We’ll continue to educate about LGBTQ+ history and the immense contributions queer and trans folks have made to make our society better… We’ll continue to create spaces of support and reflection, reminding people we’ve been through dark times before. It’s important to remember that the 1980s and early 90s for our communities were far worse.”
To Forget
Within West Hollywood is the Emerald Village, a strip where cannabis consumption lounges have been permitted since 2018, and the jewel in the Emerald Village’s crown is The Woods (thewoodsweho.com / @thewoodsweho).
The Woods was founded by Hollywood actor Woody Harrelson, chat show host Bill Maher, tennis legend John McEnroe and acclaimed gay interior designer Thomas Schoos, and feels like an A-lister’s penthouse garden. It is truly one of the most unique spaces in all of WeHo.
Enter through a reclaimed-wood retail space resembling an upscale urban garden centre. Then the doors open to palatial outdoor gardens: towering monsteras, sparkling koi ponds and private cabanas tucked into greenery. We’re handed a jar of Sonoma Hills Farm’s Glitterbomb — hands down the most beautiful bud I’ve ever seen — and an ice-packed, crystal-clear glass bong that feels absurdly luxurious. As LA’s year-round sunshine is dappled through the lush green leaves, the Bee Gees’ More Than A Woman plays merrily over the sound system. There’s a bar that serves yummy non-alcoholic drinks. Everything about this moment feels utterly joyous.
“Medical cannabis essentially started in West Hollywood & San Francisco. When AIDS medications made people lose their appetites, they turned to cannabis to give them appetite and steroids to look healthier,” Scott Schmidt, the Executive Director of Emerald Village, tells us.
“This industry is built on the backs of us gays. Because of us there is legal cannabis in this world. We started this, we got it legalised and we should be the ambassadors for it,” he says proudly, adding that he believes WeHo is “the world’s best recreational weed destination.”
Green Qween (@shopgreenqween) founder Andrés Rigal agrees. Rigal worked in queer nightlife in Los Angeles for 20 years before creating dispensary Green Qween (located just steps from the Kimpton La Peer) as a space for our community to feel safe, visible and celebrated.
“West Hollywood is the epicentre of queer culture in Southern California, yet until now it didn’t have a queer-owned dispensary, which honestly felt like an oversight that needed to be corrected. When the opportunity arose to secure a retail licence in WeHo, it felt like a natural next step for Green Qween,” he says.
Green Qween spotlights queer-owned brands like Stone Road. “Our goal is to reclaim space and ensure queer leadership isn’t an afterthought in cannabis, but a permanent part of its future,” he tells us.
In WeHo, even escapism has legacy.
To Eat
Tonight we will head to the world-famous Comedy Store, and locals have recommended we try the nearby restaurant, Ka’Teen (@kateen_la), beforehand. Ka’Teen channels the lush spirit of Mexico’s Caribbean coast — think the Yucatán Peninsula’s jungles and seaside resorts — right on Sunset Boulevard. Its name means “afresh” in Mayan, and chef Wes Avila (of Guerilla Tacos fame) brings ancient Yucatán traditions to life with local Californian ingredients.
You step through a reed tunnel past palms and fire pits into a sprawling, mostly outdoor garden space that feels like a jungle retreat. With dark walls, warm lantern light and jungle textures — this is seriously sexy dining, ideal for a date night or a proposal. If someone brings you here on a first date, you’re absolutely going home with them, and it’s hands down the best meal we have in LA.
The menu celebrates bold Mexican flavours like cochinita pibil, grilled pescado zarandeado and lamb neck barbacoa, alongside fresh ceviche tostadas. The short rib was our favourite dish of the night, and for drinks don’t miss the piña colada to share, which arrives in a frozen pineapple.
To Laugh
Tonight’s main event is The Comedy Store (thecomedystore.com), a Sunset Strip institution that has shaped American stand-up since the 1970s. Legends like Robin Williams have tested material on this very stage, and you can feel that history in the low ceilings and packed rooms.
We book the late-night show — a gamble, as the line-up isn’t revealed until you arrive. An A4 sheet taped to the wall lists the names, including one mysterious “special guest” who turns out to be Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias.
We see a staggering 15 comedians perform that night. We didn’t plan to stay so late, but everyone was so good. Our favourites are Mary Lynn Rajskub, Steph Tolev and Don Barris, all of whom use sharp humour and clever crowd work, without punching down or any lazy homophobia or transphobia.
In a city that has produced some of the world’s most renowned performers, a visit to The Comedy Store feels like an essential pilgrimage.
To Shop
You can’t visit West Hollywood and not check out the shopping — though prepare for an experience that feels more like visiting an art museum. Browsing is educational and we rarely actually consider spending. These are pieces other people will own. We will enjoy the voyeurism.
Maxfield (maxfieldla.com) is the high temple of that philosophy — part boutique, part gallery, and a long-time haunt of Hollywood royalty. They, afford it. When we visit, The Art of Travel, an exhibition of historic luxury luggage, is on. It’s mind-blowing that this includes Louis Vuitton trunks dating back to the 1800s. I didn’t dare ask the price.
Down the road, Municipal (municipal.com) is an activewear brand co-founded by Mark Wahlberg. This is their first physical store and I predict the first of many. Designs are understated but effortlessly sexy, so much so that even I felt motivated to train harder.
A few blocks away, Meta Lab (meta.com/au/meta-lab/los-angeles) feels less like a shop and more like a glimpse into the future. The space is sleek and minimal. Staff guide you through hands-on demonstrations of AI-powered smart glasses and immersive VR headsets, reminding us that in WeHo, even shopping has stage presence.
To Hear
Live music is woven into West Hollywood’s identity. The Troubadour (troubadour.com), open since 1957, is where Elton John first conquered America and where generations of artists have sharpened their edge. We catch Matt Harkenrider & the Meltdowns, headlining on an all-queer bill — proof the venue still champions up-and-comers.
The Peppermint Club (peppermintclub.com) offers something more intimate. Art Deco details, low lighting and sound tuned for clarity rather than chaos make it feel like a glamorous house party renowned for being filled with music industry executives.
And then there’s Whisky A Go Go (whiskyagogo.com), the Sunset Strip’s rock cathedral since 1964. The Doors, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin — they’ve all passed through. Today’s line-up might be less legendary, but electricity still fills the atmosphere.
To Leave
Few places pack this much culture into a handful of walkable blocks — and even fewer do it with this much pride. West Hollywood isn’t just fun; it’s intentional. Nightlife here has history. The community is at the heart of its infrastructure.
It may only be 4.9 square kilometres, but West Hollywood plays on a global stage. Come for the party. Leave remembering why it matters.
For more information check out VisitWestHollywood.com, @westhollywood and @visitweho and book your flights at United.com.
