I was supposed to meet Erin and Nancy at Bar Nineteen12 in the Beverly Hills Hotel tonight. We had planned checking it out ever since we got wind of it from UrbanDaddy and Thrillist but it wasn’t until a couple of hours before our drinking date that I decided to actually do some quick research to see what I had to look forward to at the posh, new bar. So I checked out the cocktail menu supplied by Thrillist and… OK, I’m willing to splurge on the occasional $15 cocktail but $18 for a mai tai and, more laughable, $8 for a Budweiser?! Um, NOPE!
So I had to tell the girls that I’d catch them another time.
Listen, I’m all for a night of fancy and indulgence but I’d have to just been given a large raise to justify spending so much on one drink. And I know you’re probably asking, “Well, what did you expect, Caroline? It IS the Pink Palace.” But I honestly was surprised. I wonder if that’s the most a hotel bar in L.A. has ever charged for a cocktail.
Here’s just a sampling of the pricey list of drinks. There’s a nice mix of old school cocktails and intriguing exotic ones:
Classic Mai Tai, Beverly Hills Manhattan, Brandy Alexander, Mint Julep, Nineteen12 Old Fashioned — $18 each
Velvet Hammer ($18): Vodka, creme de cacao, cream
Between the Sheets ($18): Rum, cointreau, brandy, lemon
Prickly Pear Margarita ($18): Tequila, cointreau, margarita mix (?!), pear cactus puree
There are even sampler cocktails which come in the form of shots, sorbet, sips or popsicles, $25 a grouping. They sound yummy but paying $25 would make them hard to swallow.
And I wouldn’t even consider ordering appetizers there what with $18 for calamari and $26 for ahi tuna sashimi. Maybe when I strike it rich I’ll consider it.
Bar Nineteen12 at Beverly Hills Hotel
9641 Sunset Boulevard
Beverly Hills, California 90210 (map)
(310) 276-2251