Townhouse Venice

Townhouse has been pouring drinks at 52 Windward Avenue since 1915, which makes it the oldest bar in Venice. The building opened as Menotti's Buffet, a bar and restaurant run by Italian immigrant Cesar Menotti, and when Prohibition arrived in 1920 he turned it into a speakeasy, moving liquor through Venice's steam pipe tunnels. The room downstairs still trades on that history rather than hiding it.

That downstairs room is the Del Monte Speakeasy, and it is where the music happens. DJs, live bands and comedy sets run on a small illuminated stage with a dance floor, a lighting rig and its own bar. Upstairs is the ground floor bar: dark wood, stools, booths, drink rails and a pool table, with a patio across the walkway that looks west toward the water. It is a small room, so you end up close to whoever is playing.

Hours run 5 PM to 2 AM on weekdays and from 3 PM on weekends, and happy hour is 5 to 7 PM daily. The bar sits half a block from the Venice boardwalk, which means parking is the usual Windward Avenue problem, so walking or a rideshare saves time. DJ nights and live shows are listed as 21 and over, and the venue books private events across all three spaces.