12 New Venues in Los Angeles for Summer 2023 Meetings and Events

Located on the 34th floor of the new AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles is La Lo La Rooftop, a 4,000-square-foot, wraparound space designed by design studio Yabu Pushelberg. Opened in June, the space has a desert-inspired color palette of white, olive, and gray, plus a speckled terrazzo-clad bar and a stylish display of palms, cactuses, and succulents. The rooftop serves specialty cocktails and Spanish-style tapas, and offers a rotating program of live music and DJs—all set against a backdrop of 270-degree views of Los Angeles. It’s rentable for events as large as 250 people. Overall, the AC Hotel and its adjacent Moxy Downtown Los Angeles offer a combined 727 guest rooms, 12 dining and entertainment options, and more than 13,000 square feet of flexible event space under one roof.

Chef Evan Funke’s namesake restaurant, Funke, opened in Beverly Hills in May. A project five years in the making between the chef and co-owner Kurt Rappaport, the eatery is housed in a 1930s art deco-style building. Highlights include a 20-foot-tall pasta "lab," which the team likens to a Damien Hirst-inspired installation, plus 273 handblown Murano glass Fizi Ball modular lighting pendants along with imported stones, marble, and linen wallcoverings from Italy. The 180-seat restaurant has multiple spaces for private events, including the main dining room, a mezzanine dining area, a private dining room (pictured), and the Bar Funke rooftop bar.

BLACE, a female-founded space and vendor booking platform, recently expanded its platform to Los Angeles and has partnered with Century Park to exclusively book The Pavilion, a versatile indoor-outdoor event space located in the heart of Century City. The Pavilion, formerly the Annenberg Space for Photography, is a 15,000-square-foot venue ideal for gala dinners, networking events, film/TV/photo shoots, and brand activations. The interior, which holds 495 people, has floor-to-ceiling windows and warm white marble, plus movable glass walls that open to the lobby. The Pavilion also has kitchen and back-of-house spaces, plus an outdoor capacity of 800 people.

Citizen Public Market, a vibrant food hall in Culver City, originally opened in 2020. The property introduced three new culinary concepts this spring—Bang Bang Noodles, Uoichiba Temaki + Chirashi, and ILE Bistro—which complement its five existing eateries. And in August, the venue plans to double the size of its rooftop and add new furnishings, landscaping, lighting, and decor. All spaces on the property are bookable for events, from semiprivate gatherings on the back patio—which seats 60 or holds 90 for standing receptions—to a full buyout of the two-floor, indoor-outdoor space for up to 375 guests. The rooftop space (pictured) can host up to 90 guests standing or hold 60 for a seated meal; it can also be combined with the adjacent rooftop cocktail lounge to accommodate 125 people for receptions.

The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills recently debuted new offerings for press junkets and screenings. The hotel has doubled its junket suites and added new carpeting and drapery; there are now 32 suites, offering studios the option of hosting multiple junkets at the same time. The hotel’s on-site, 110-seat screening room (pictured) has also been updated with new technology and equipment like a new server and sound processor. The 226-room hotel can also host screenings and receptions in unique spots like the 400-person-capacity West End Rooftop and the 11,000-square-foot Penthouse, the largest hotel suite in Los Angeles. There’s also an outdoor courtyard that holds 220, a ballroom that holds 400, a rooftop pool area that holds 250, and more.

In April, the beachside Viceroy Santa Monica completed a $21 million, all-encompassing renovation led by design studio EDG. The property’s 169 guest rooms now have a beach-inspired design with natural textures; midcentury-style furnishings; and a color palette of aquamarines, sunny yellows, and neutral sand tones. The hotel’s public spaces, meanwhile—including the lobby, indoor lounge, outdoor patio, and pool area—have a new vibrant color palette and vintage furnishings. Sugar Palm, an indoor-outdoor dining concept, is the hotel’s new social hub; it comes complete with a wraparound bar, a large fire pit, and private dining cabanas that each seat four to six guests. There are also indoor lounge cabanas that each hold eight people.

Two-Michelin-starred fine dining institution Providence unveiled a brand-new look in May, following an extensive redesign ahead of its 18th anniversary. Helmed by celebrated chef-owner Michael Cimarusti, the restaurant is designed as a multisensory, seafood-forward dining experience. Creative design agency Bells + Whistles evoked simplicity in the design of the 1,828-square-foot space, which now features original works by globally renowned artists plus a handblown glass “Sea Clouds” installation overhead with 26 free-form globes. The renovation also extended the bar area and added a private chef’s table.

Aloft El Segundo - Los Angeles Airport completed a comprehensive renovation in July. Located just over a mile from the bustling LAX Airport, the property has a modern and stylish ambiance throughout its 249 guest rooms, which now feature state-of-the-art technology including large-screen TVs and high-speed internet access. The lobby (pictured) has been redesigned into a vibrant social hub with flexible seating arrangements, communal workspaces, and a bar that serves craft cocktails. There’s also an upgraded fitness center and an outdoor deck and backyard with a year-round heated pool. For events, there are five rooms totaling 3,299 square feet of space; the largest holds 70 people.

Opened in July, XUNTOS is a new tapas bar from chef-owner Sandra Cordero located in downtown Santa Monica. The venue’s name means “together” in Gallego (or Galician), and the space was designed to be a warm, fun environment across its two kitchens, two mezzanines, dining room, and roof bar. The pretty, event-friendly space features a bar sourced from the Iberian Peninsula, plus nods to the 1920s when the building was originally built. Electric touches include chandeliers that look like flapper dresses, plus a main dining room wall that features 3,000 scallop shells.

Gin Rummy, an island-inspired cocktail lounge from renowned bar proprietor Jared Meisler plus David and Patti Reiss of Reiss Co., opened in Marina Del Rey in May. Located adjacent to Meisler’s popular Little Friend, Gin Rummy took over the NUEVA space; it now has 200 seats set in a tropical paradise-inspired venue that pairs nautical and South Pacific themes with contemporary design. Highlights include vintage, island-themed pinball machines; giant redwood beams; native and tribal prints; mini palm trees; and lush tropical plants. An indoor-outdoor patio evokes a tropical sandy beach with natural oak tables that offer checker and backgammon games. The lounge can be rented for private gatherings and offers customized event planning services.

Santa Barbara-based wine label Tensley Wines opened its first-ever Tensley Tasting Room in Los Angeles in May. The Brentwood tasting room, set on the first floor of the popular Brentwood Gardens, offers guests a wine-tasting experience for $25 in addition to wines by the glass or bottles of select varietals, plus packaged gourmet snacks. The tasting room—which features art from American painter and independent curator Lawrence Gipe—can be reserved for groups as large as 34.

Looking to get out of the city? The highly anticipated Hyatt Regency Irvine is slated to open Aug. 15. Previously known as Hotel Irvine, the 516-room property had a $50 million transformation led by architectural design firms Gensler and DLR. The hotel will feature more than 50,000 square feet of flexible indoor-outdoor event space, including a sprawling outdoor lawn for 1,000 people and the 14,600-square-foot Regency Ballroom, which holds 2,100. Other bookable spaces include the 6,000-square-foot Pavilion; a 110-seat theater; and several smaller meeting rooms. All event space should be available for booking starting in September, while the hotel’s new signature restaurant and pool experiences will debut in spring 2024.