Restaurant Scion Bruce Bozzi Shares His Favorite Places to Eat and Drink in Los Angeles
The L.A. society legend gets into the spirits game — and shares the best spots in town to catch a buzz.
From left: ROZETTE RAGO/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; Courtesy of Sunset Tower Hotel
From left: Restaurant scion, podcaster, spirits entrepreneur, and man about town Bruce Bozzi; West Hollywood’s iconic Sunset Tower Hotel, one of Bozzi's favorite spots in Los Angeles.Bruce Bozzi is a 21st-century Renaissance man: he spent 35 years in leadership at The Palm, the restaurant group his great-grandfather cofounded in 1926. Then, while also caring for Ava, his teenage daughter with Hollywood-agent husband Bryan Lourd, he started a podcast, "Lunch with Bruce" — recently relaunched as "Table for Two" — to interview friends like Jennifer Aniston, Andy Cohen, and Daniel Craig.
Another new passion: the Japanese spirit shochu, which Bozzi was introduced to by friend and fellow Angeleno socialite Sondra Baker. The pair traveled to Japan to learn more, which eventually sparked the idea for their own line, Mujen, in consultation with Junko Tsutsumi — the fourth-generation CEO of Kyushu distillery Sengetsu Shuzo and one of the few women leaders in Japan’s shochu industry.
Here, Bozzi spotlights the best places to sample Mujen — along with a few more L.A. highlights.
Tower Bar
“This is one of the great rooms of Los Angeles: a city institution where I always run into a friend,” Bozzi says of the restaurant at the Sunset Tower Hotel. “We have a signature Mujen cocktail there called Gabé’s Witch’s Brew, named after the restaurant’s legendary maître d’, Gabé Doppelt. It’s made with our shochu, muddled blueberries, St.-Germain, lime, and club soda.”
San Vicente Bungalows
“In 2019, Sunset Tower hotelier Jeff Klein opened this private club in West Hollywood, which has a garden-like setting, great food, and its own Mujen cocktail — the SVB lemonade,” Bozzi says. Nonmembers can book a room at the adjacent Hotel 850 SVB to experience the vibe.
Laure Joliet/Courtesy of Hotel 850 SVB
The roof deck at 850 SVB, a hotel from Jeff Klein adjacent to the San Vicente Bungalows private club.Gigi's
“This is a beautifully designed new spot in Hollywood that’s small and unassuming, but serves exquisite food. For meat eaters, it’s the best — I order the rib eye steak and old-school hors d’oeuvres like pigs in a blanket. I threw Mujen’s launch party there with my stepdaughter, Billie Lourd.”
Spago
“To me, Wolfgang Puck is the king of restaurants. I grew up going to his places, including his Beverly Hills flagship, where I’ve been a regular since the 80s. He’s still all about elegance and quality, serving the best that California has to offer.”
The Abbey
“If you want to have a great time at a gay bar in L.A., then you have to go to The Abbey. Owner David Cooley is a community leader in West Hollywood — he has completely changed the scene in WeHo in the past three decades. Today it’s a place where people feel safe and included.”
A version of this story first appeared in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "The Toast of Hollywood."
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