Went there last night to support Drag Queen Bingo for my friend’s dog rescue«Watts Project.» «The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence» hosted, and we had so much fun. The staff at the bar was very friendly, had a «I’m happy and having fun» spirit, and attentive. The drink specials made the night affordable so we could buy more bingo cards and support the charity. Fundraiser or not, I would go back based on the service and the vibe and the location. Lots of good stuff happening on this block. Right across from Cole’s! Nice neighborhood feel.
Anthony S.
Place rating: 4 Ventura, CA
Had a great time. The bartenders were cute and sweet. The music was on point. Cazwell was the DJ and he did amazing. Definitely would come Back to burn off some steam.
Karl V.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Omg! What a great addition to DTLA. Redline is a friendly place & Elliott makes the best greyhounds. He’s cute too. He provided superior customer service during the holiday season. Thank you!
Brandon B.
Place rating: 2 Chicago, IL
Popped by after the horrid Moby Dick opera, while there were many a bookshelf in this fine establishment, I found nary another well coiffed gentleman. There were many a bad dancing go-go, cheap well drinks, illicit videos, and super loud music prohibiting civilized conversation. A saving grace was no active tobacco products. Observing the maddening crowds, i retreated to my residence to finish the illustrious novel.
Joshua J.
Place rating: 3 Los Angeles, CA
This bar /club is very small… And the DJ plays the music way too loud for such a small space. The loudness of the music prevents people from actually socializing and dancing. A small Moscow mule was $ 10 but tasted very good. Overall I was not impressed with the gay establishment. For locals I recommend it, but if your coming from anywhere in Los Angeles stay home or go to West Hollywood and get a decent TH…
Rev S.
Place rating: 2 Los Angeles, CA
The owners Zach and Oliver were super nice… But the head bartender Nick is rude and does not know how to serve customers and does not have the mental ability to remember whose been waiting the longest to get a drink. I give 2 stars because I like the bar and the owners.
Sheldon W.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
Went on a Wednesday night for the debut of Pandora Boxx’s Twisted Trivia and Dragalicious. My friend and I did not know what to expect, but ended up having a lot of fun. There was no cover for the event or a participation fee. Pandora was awesome and the categories/questions were hilariously on-brand. The owners were there — both very personable and involved. Everyone’s energy gave off the feeling of a neighborhood bar. As in, we actually chatted with our neighbors and the staff. The drinks did the trick and the 2 for 1 deal they had going for the event was much appreciated. We did not get a chance to try the food because the kitchen closed at 8. Will consider getting there earlier to try it next time. I have a feeling this event will pick up in popularity — I just hope it’s able to maintain it’s refreshing charm! Side note: Yes, the location is the epitome of gentrification — being downtown and right by skid row. After driving around the block to assess the situation, we paid for parking in the private lot which wasn’t terribly expensive. It is a bit jarring to look out the window and see the line of tents across the street, but neither of us ever felt unsafe throughout the entire experience. I definitely recommend checking it out and will be back for more twisted trivia!
Angelie D.
Place rating: 4 Arcadia, CA
LOVE: — Music selection on Friday and Saturday night! Old school hip hop and R&B always gets me grooving to the beat! — Crowd gets hype and can get pretty crowded — Girl’s bathroom is also short! Don’t LOVE:… but can suck it up because I’ve enjoyed it so much both times I was there! I do have to give it to the people I went with both times! — Drinks are not as strong as other gay bars I’ve been too — HOT … when there is a lot of people, it can get pretty WARM!
John S.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
Definitely my favorite bar downtown, gay or straight. Friendly staff and clientele, with reasonable drink prices and food that’s worth a visit even on its own.
Riley P.
Place rating: 5 Echo Park, Los Angeles, CA
Don’t pay attention to the negative reviews. This place is awesome! The staff is friendly and the owners are hands-on and very approachable. This bar has a neighborhood feel in an urban environment. It has large windows to view all aspects of city life while enjoying a libation, so you don’t need to «hide» in a dark cavernous room, you can be out and proud! I love this bar!
Gerard M.
Place rating: 3 Long Beach, CA
Good space with a good vibe. It’s one of the few gay bars where the bar staff is much friendlier than the crowd! You can get a well made drink at a decent price. Definitely a spot for the younger generation, but they don’t usually fill the place up until 11:00pm, so if you’re a «seasoned» gay man, you’re safe until then. The people are a mix of men and gay-loving women– there’s an LA vibe in the group, especially the more flamboyant set who work the room like they own it. Word of advice to this group– try venturing out of your comfort zone and make a new friend or two. It won’t hurt– when you grow up, you’ll find that kindness is something that doesn’t cost you anything and it can add to a much greater experience. Will I go back? Maybe not– although I appreciated how courteous the bar staff was, I just didn’t feel like it was a place I fit into. I’m glad it’s here though, and I hope it has a continued success. It’s moving in the right direction.
Edward M.
Place rating: 5 West Hollywood, CA
I recently heard DTLA has a new gay scene and my friends and I skipped WeHo for a Saturday night and were very pleasantly surprised!!! Redline reminded me of a new, mixed-crowd Revolver(WeHo) type bar. Everyone was friendly, the bartenders were nice and handsome(and remembered all 3 of our drinks each time we went back), and one of the partner/managers(Zack) came over and was bussing the table next to us working like he was a barback!!! He spoke with us after I told him I liked his Redline T-Shirt and he offered to give me one. He was very engaging and super kind. Zack said that he likes to dress down, clean up the bar and blend in so that he can talk to the patrons as a real person and get their take on what they like, don’t like and what they really feel. I am very excited about DTLA’s new scene and I will be frequenting the new Redline bar!!!
C R.
Place rating: 2 Manhattan, NY
I really wanted to give this place five stars but, I’m hoping this will encourage management to try a little harder… Went to Redline(first time) for happy hour in hopes of finding Downtown LAs next best gay bar, but was sadly disappointed! I’m sad to say the best(and most memorable) part of my visit was the guy who was checking IDs at the door! …he was very nice and professional. The décor is adequate but lacks any quality you’d expect from your local neighborhood bar. The ambience was more coffee shop than bar ! The view is crap so why accentuate it with huge open windows(blinds open) with full views of skid row and rush hour traffic. I love a little grit but not with my drink! I agree with a prior reviewer regarding the inexperienced bartender –nice guy but might need a little more training. There were two other guys standing around, but was confused what there function was??? My over all experience was a miss! … No ambience and poor service! I’d like to give Redline another chance but not until they figure out if they want to be a coffee shop or a gay bar!
Keyon I.
Place rating: 5 San Francisco, CA
Hey if you’re in Downtown or around and looking for a place to have a drink or two, go to Redline. Owners of this place are gorgeous! They are very nice and talkative. I love the location as its so different. Their happy hour is between 5pm and 8pm and their Buffalo Chicken Bites are soooo good. Made to order so let them cool off lol. I love this spot. 5 stars plus 1! :) Bartenders are great.
Chris L.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
Checked this place out on a Friday night. The security guard stationed at the door checks your ID as well as shoos away homeless people. Though we weren’t able to get in immediately since they had somehow reached max capacity. I guess the new bar was being cautious with regulation. The poverty/mental illness seen outside the large windows against well groomed yuppies having a drink is an alarmingly stark contrast. An in your face DTLA reality. My boyfriend describes this place as where you would START your night before going somewhere else. The $ 7 well drinks are nice. The bathroom is single stall which is silly. The vibe is your stereotypical yuppy gay bar with a clientele that’s diverse in dress style and skin color which I love. It was also amusing to watch extremely straight guys walking to bro-bars/dance clubs peering into Redline only to be greeted by bare gay ass projected on the large tvs hung on the walls. This is also a .5 mile walk to Precinct on Broadway which embraces and integrates the DTLA grit with energy and décor rather than pretending it doesn’t it exist like Redline. But I appreciate what Redline is trying to do.
Salvador M.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
I have been to many bars the past 5 months and since I am young and full of energy I tend not to enjoy bars as much as I enjoy clubs. However, since my best friend prefers bars over clubs we decided to do some bar hopping a week ago and this was our first stop since it was new and wanted to see what it was all about. We did not leave this bar all night. We enjoyed it, had a great time and don’t regret it. Ever since, we decided to make this bar, our bar. So far I have gone three times this past 2 weeks and plan on going often. The bartenders have not disappointed me in any way. On the contrary, I think they just keep getting nicer. The crowd itself is mixed in ages but I have seen more crowds of mid 20’s to mid 30s. Which is not bad. Considering that I feel uncomfortable every time I would go to a gay bar and find older guys in there and well, when you are as shy as me, you just don’t know how to act. Redline, like any other bar, has their crazy moments with drunk guys, but even when that happened, they just were very attentive that this person wouldn’t do any harm to anyone. Over all great place to try out. Their drinks are fairly priced and although parking may be a hassle, there are some parking lots that are less than $ 7.
Ant C.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
In the age of smartphones and cruising apps, gay bars close much faster than they open. Gays and allies — support this bar. It’s a good bar. It’s a young, gay-owned business and deserves to be nurtured. Don’t be a retarded, catty queen and dis it just because it’s not in suburbia. It’s located at the edge of Skid Row, and yes, you’re going to see people coming and going outside who are FAR less privileged than you. Be grateful for what you got. It’s lovely inside. Pros: big, open windows and lots of natural early evening light. Friendly security and staff. A diverse crowd in an urban scene. Decent snacks(but calm down, Redline, Brussels sprouts don’t make you a gastropub). Decent happy hour prices. Comfortable for women. Fresh flowers! Clean bathrooms. Not in stupid West Hollywood or Silver Lake. Cons: the canned, Euro gay bar music is atrocious.
Jerome W.
Place rating: 4 Costa Mesa, CA
Attention everyone, DTLA’s premier skid row gay bar just opened. Yeah, it’s a gay bar located in DTLA, and yeah, it’s right next to skid row. And yeah, parking is a nightmare. You can either park in a private pay lot of risk parking in front of a sea of tents and transients strolling the streets. The bar itself is not very big and it takes forever to get a drink there because they have more bar backs than actual bartenders. It wasn’t even that crowded and I stood there for 10 minutes before being acknowledged. UPDATE: I’m getting hate mail from angry gays calling me an «awful, shallow, sheltered suburbanite.» How dare they call me awful. UPDATE2: OK, maybe my first review was a bit harsh and definitely written by a shallow, sheltered suburbanite. I just went to King Eddy and must say Redline is looking quite swanky.
Howard-Paul S.
Place rating: 5 Los Angeles, CA
The Newest, Latest Bar In Downtown Los Angeles! Downtown Los Angeles is Changing and Booming All For The Better! This bar is fairly new and was Invented and Started Out by Oliver and Zachary and they just got their permits which took a while and they just had a Pre-Opening Last Night and it was a Success! They service primarily the brand new Downtown Los Angeles Business and Residential Crowd and their bar sits at the corner of 6th Street and Los Angeles Street just around the corner from my friend’s place. They are Not really a dance club, but more of a Social Club with a Pool Table and TV’s and I think they will do Quite Well for what they offer! Enclosed, please find several photos that I took of the bar both inside and out for your leisure. Enjoy!
Gary I.
Place rating: 4 Los Angeles, CA
Initial debut to announce the future opening of Redline DTLA’s Premier Bar & Lounge took place on Thursday, August 14th2014. Actually it was more of an art«happening» by a Graffitti artist, Aloy, who was spray painting on a huge wall space at the to be bar area with the theme of an homage to Downtown Los Angeles & the Gay Community. Many throughout the Gay community have trekked here to support a new renaissance back to a place that was our hunting ground before the 1970’s. Downtown used to have many Gay bars in the 1960’s & back as witnessed in John Rechy’s City of Night and Numbers as well as Gore Vidal’s Salt & the Pillar, but with LAPD harrassment & the rise of West Hollywood Gay establishments, which were under the less stringent administration by the LA County Sherrifs, the DTLA Gay bars slowly disappeared. The first two Gay bars in DTLA, that I remember were the Waldorf with tough, street smart drag queens & Harold’s that some say harbored«rough trade» who hung around the bar to get money from Johns who tried to curry special favors from the street smart boys. By the mid 1980’s both Harold’s & Waldorf, which were on 527&555 South Main Street, were considered by the city officials to be the center of vice and were condemned with parking structures taking their place. Other bulidings along that stretch of Main Steet were also condemned since they harboured the homeless. Sometime around the 1990’s, Score, a Gay bar, was located on 107 West 4th Street catering somewhat to businessmen in DTLA& the local Latino population living nearby. More recently, there is another Gay bar mostly patronized by a Latino crowd called Jalisco Bar on 245 South Main Street close to the old LA Times Mirror Building. With the new influx of Gays living in DTLA, two new places will be open in 2015: Redline at the corner of 6th& Los Angeles Streets, and The Precinct in the New Ace Hotel. I had talked to one of the employees of Redline, and he mentioned that the scheduled opening is for sometime in November of 2014. However, Redline as well as Precinct seems to be caught up in Los Angeles City regulations & building codes which is tripping up so many new businesses so that I have heard from a very reliable source that JULY2015 is the best time estimate for the opening of Redline. Good luck & good fortune for this new, and ambitious enterprise.