Worth It … If You Can Get In
Hello again –
Well, I started off the year saying I was going to post more often even if they were shorter, and I’m still only managing something something like one post a month. Oh well. Doing my best here.
This is a quick one about a cool new bar that’s worth seeking out. It’s called Lock and Key.
Seeking out, you ask? What do you mean? Well, first, let’s start with the location: 3rd & Vermont. K-Town. Which is fine, but it’s next to a strip mall and across the street from a grocery store. This is one of those places to put the address into the GPS and then trust it. Why, you ask? Because this is what the outside looks like:
Right. Super obvious, right?
Now, second, why that headline – “If you can get in”? Loyal readers of this little vanity project know that I would NEVER promote a place that’s actually hard to get in or has some kind of BS door policy. But … once you traverse through the red door, you will find another door. This door is full of handles. Any one of which could be the handle that gets you into the actual bar (hence the name – Lock and Key. Get it?). Normally, I’m not a huge fan of gimmicks, but this one is fun – and it’s not THAT hard to get in. It looks like this, complete with the dude standing there:
Or, if you want a close up view, like this:
None of this would work if it wasn’t actually a cool place. Once you get in, you are greeted with this:
I know – pictures of an empty bar. But they gave the best sense of what the place looks like.
This being Koreatown, the vibe is super chill. In a good way. In a speakeasy kind of way. They’re doing good things with cocktails – not great, but good – and they’ve got the environment down just right.
This is an “up your Downtown cred” kind of place. No, it’s not Downtown. But if someone says “hey, where’s a cool spot to go Downtown?”, you can say “I know a place that’s just outside Downtown in a super random location, but it’s cool – trust me.” And, once they trust you, there’s no going back. You don’t even have to admit that you’ve once again cheated off of your loyal Enthusiast.
Happy travels.
239 S. Vermont (just north of 3rd)
213.389.5625