Bu Tea Den

Bu Tea Den opened May 1, 2025 as a two-month pop-up and never closed. It's a tea speakeasy and art lounge inside a converted downtown LA warehouse, run by two co-founders who kept their day jobs, so it only opens Fridays and weekends, and every visit is RSVP-only with the address revealed after you book. Roughly twenty seats sit under soft red Vietnamese lanterns, tea brews all night, and the room's signature pieces are the AFTMs: Automated Fortune Telling Machines built by co-founder Severin Sauliere from retired ATM shells, which print you a fortune ticket and a paisley energy portrait after a short quiz. Your portrait joins the projection wall, called the Aquarium, as the night goes on.

The calendar is its own genre of LA nightlife. Bu Tea Call, the Friday DJ series, has a 2-for-1 deal at $25 for two guests, and the rest of the month mixes sound baths, tea ceremonies, burlesque, trash-art workshops, art walks and DJ nights that lean underground house and broken beats, some running past 2 AM. It's alcohol-free: tea and non-alcoholic drinks only, with house Den Blend included in a reservation and a small menu of curated teas for purchase.

Night parties are 21 and over, and capacity is small enough that you should RSVP ahead rather than gamble on the door. Because the address is withheld until booking, read your confirmation email before you leave, plan a late ride home, and don't count on parking guidance; the venue doesn't publish any.