Bordello Bar downtown Los Angeles cocktail and burlesque revue

July 9, 6:41 PMLA Cocktails ExaminerAaron Vanek

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Tank Girl on stage at the Bordello Bar in Los Angeles for the Supernova A-Go-Go burlesque revue

Bordello: 901 E. 1st St. LA, 90012   213-687-3766   Map

The Bordello Bar languorously reclines across the border between Little Tokyo and the urban hinterlands east of Alameda in downtown Los Angeles. The building shows no signage, and the street next to it has long been closed for road work. The immediate area prods you to lock your car door, but according to the LAPD Crime Map, it’s a pocket of relative safety in the city, probably because it’s frighteningly empty.

Bordello was reborn at the end of 2006 from the remains of Little Pedro’s, one of the oldest restaurants in Los Angeles. Now Lil’ Pedro’s website is an all-Japanese page about earthquake-predictive flowers. Prior to serving hot n’ spicy food as a Mexican cantina, the building served a different hot n’ spicy fare as a brothel. Now, although Little Pedro’s iconic stuffed polar bear is gone, the old sexy beast lives on inside this red-light bar, be-bop and burlesque theater.

Bordello’s owner, Tony Gower, designer Dana Hollister, and urban planner Elizabeth Peterson have brought the style of a New Orleans jazz club to a former Mexican eatery a stone’s throw away from a Japanese cultural center. I love Los Angeles.

From the Fleur de Lys hand stamps, overwhelming red everything, interior parlor dominated by a painting of a nude zaftig woman, side balcony hiding behind big devil head sculptures and the garishly ornate stage, everything suggests the tawdry decadence of an early 20th century cathouse. 

There’s no specialty cocktails at Bordello, but they have a full bar, and Nicole makes a fine Sidecar.

Sidecar: Hennessey cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice, circled by a sugar rim

It was sweet but not too – the booze nibbled the tongue, not chomped. I had another from a second bartender, but it didn’t seem as tasty.

The main event this evening was the Victory Variety Hour’s Supernova A-Go-Go nerd-themed comedy and burlesque revue: stripping Tank Girls, green Orion Slave Girls, Fifth Element’s Leela (didn’t have to take off much), three catfighting Princess Leias, a fanfic’s dream dance routine between Lt. Uhura and Mr. Spock, and much more. The sci-fi show happens once a month on some Wednesday night. Tonight’s show is “Wig Out” – wear a wig, get $2 off the cover charge (normally $10-$12). The Bordello Bar’s website hasn’t been updated in years, so call ahead to find out who’s dancing, playing, or both.

Bordello is open from 9pm-2am almost every night (a few Monday closings), and normally features either a floor show or live music. The Supernova A-Go-Go included a few male strippers as well (and one cross dresser with uncanny balance), and the audience included men and women of all sexual orientations enjoying the spectacle. There’s something for everyone at Bordello. And if not, there’s always the bar.

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