Mandrake

"Culver City bar Mandrake closed on March 16 after 18 years of operation, according to the Los Angeles Times. Owners Flora Wiegmann, Drew Heitzler and Justin Beal cited life changes as the reason for closing, with Beal and Wiegman moving out of the state and Heitzler becoming a recent father. Mandrake represented the art scene in Culver City and greater Los Angeles, with a famous art curator coming up with the name for the bar." - Eater Staff

"Due to its industrial location that can best be described as “right by the 10 Freeway,” the Mandrake is one of the most overlooked bars in the city. The casual interior has a long bar that’s never crowded, plus a separate room in the back with big booths in case this is one of those friend meet-ups where you both lay horizontally and pout about your relationships. The cocktails are good (the horseradish-infused Mandrake Mary is always our order) and there’s a daily 5-8pm Happy Hour. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Team Infatuation

"While the rest of the city gets blacked-out with strangers, you and your high school clique prefer to do that amongst yourselves - and that’s why you’re going to The Mandrake. This neighborhood cocktail bar on La Cienega is the kind of place where you can take over a massive booth with your friends, watch old movies being projected on the wall, and cuddle up in each other’s laps while drinking heavily until the lights come on." - Brant Cox

"On an industrial stretch of La Cienega by the 405, Mandrake is one of the most underrated bars in Mid-City. While it definitely fills up during peak weekend hours, the crowd is more likely to have just come from work at an architecture firm than another club. The specialty cocktails are all reasonably priced (nothing costs more than $14), there’s a foosball table in the back, and old movies being projected onto the wall. If you get hungry, they have potato chips behind the bar - as should be required by law. " - Brant Cox

"On an industrial stretch of La Cienega by the 405, The Mandrake is one of the most underrated bars in central LA. While it definitely fills up during peak weekend hours, the crowd is always casual and more likely to have just come from work at an architecture firm down the street than another club. The specialty cocktails are all fairly priced (nothing costs more than $12), there’s a foosball table in the back, and they usually project old movies onto the wall." - Brant Cox