The Mezz Bar

Price is to high for that place.

$ 16 for a Jack and Coke??? Are you out of your God damned MIND? Highway robbery!

It’s a great location, however it is definitely a hit or miss bar. My boyfriend and I have been here atleast 3 times in the past 3 years. Our first time was great they had an awesome band playing blues and it was a nice mix crowd. Second time we stopped by it was some band playing some real weird stuff so we walked out. haha! this last ime they had a gilr band which reminded me alot of The Runaways, that was pretty cool. It was a little sad to see only 15 people including 5 of us.
I can see big things happening here, but not any time soon.

Reading the reviews of the apartments makes me itchy. Fortunately, I only experienced the bar downstairs and there weren’t any bum fights. We headed straight there after driving down from SF to see a friend’s band play.
It’s a large space, with pool tables, a mug shot wall and an outdoor smoking area. The bands playing that night were pretty good. The bartender wanted nothing to do with me and the bathroom was not clean, but overall, it was a decent bar. Lots of face tattoos.

You have to go up the stairs to enter this place.
It’s really neat and you can definitely just have fun people watching.
This place sometimes has a cover which is something I could not actually see myself paying for regardless of how much it is – it’s principle!
I have been here on nights were bands from the Echo end up heading over to just dance, chill, or dj. So you never know what you will get here.
Awesome dirty city vibe. If you stand next to the window you will have people shouting at you from the street asking you how you got up there – it’s up to you if you want to tell them.

Stumbled across this little bar as we were walking down the street looking for bar/​club without a high cover charge.
It’s located in the Alexandria Hotel and is of decent size. They have a pool tables and a booths in the back. They even have an outdoor patio for all you smokers.
I love all the mug shots around the bar, and how we can take your own ;] I wouldn’t know how the drinks are, because I was the DD for the night, but from the looks of the other people it wasn’t bad. The DJ that night was spinning OLD SCHOOL songs – which I can’t complain But it was slow during some parts. He just need to learn how to mix better and learn how to drop the beat.
The dance floor is a little on the small size because of all the pool tables, but all the drunk girls don’t seem to mind. haha. Wouldn’t mind coming here again.

This is for the Bar… not the actual apartments.
When I checked in here I was looking at reviews and saw that this place was also an apartment complex?
That must suck, huh?
On top of that… apparently sleeping in these apartments makes you contract herpes.
Cool ass dive bar though. It’s not too over-​the-​top. It does fit the bill on filthy-​ness though.
There was a collection of pretty girls the night I was here so that’s always a good sign. There’s pictures of celebrity mug-​shots plastered all over the walls so that was a nice addition.
$ 3 Modelos when you’re ballin’ on a budget.
And the best part? There’s this little section with a brick wall like a line-​up photo-​op moment waiting to happen. Best believe I got my mugshot keep-​sake.
Sorry to everyone that lives here… if I lived here I’d spend more time at the bar than in my room.

I’ve been here twice, only during art walks, and i feel secret and cool when i come, even though it’s slammed-​ish. it’s hard to find (above gorbels). once it had eery music. that’s cuz it’s haunted. the other time it had raucous jazz. check out the bathroom. cash bar.

Came across this place while going bar hopping and that it was a unique spot to have events. No AC though so it gets super duper hot!
I came here for the ART walk and it was decent place lots of cool art and perhaps some of my favorite pieces on the walk was located here.

First I like this place … interesting people hanging out, music was great. Drinks are ok.
Now for the one star. Why? What happened?
The bartender, female blond with titties can’t make a Redbull + Vodka it tasted like shit. I won’t complaint if my Long Island taste like shit because you can screw it up but that bitch can’t make a Red bull Vodka… my 3 year old niece can make it!!!
I order another drink and politely told the guy bartender that the Red Bull + Vodka was messed up and I said, «I don’t want to complain but is there anyway you can compensate for this Red bull Vodka? «He thought about it and brought my beer back and said, «sorry, sometime my partner stiff drinks and not give you enough alcohol». I said, «is not even about the alcohol, this taste like shit, it got some weird citrus flavor in it.
I said forget it, told my girl let’s go home and I am never going back there again! My advice, be-​careful when you order drink, there’re so many bars in downtown LA that will take care of ya!

In stark contrast to the magnificent ballroom on the ground floor of the Alexandria which fills up with lurkers, gawkers, gropers, hustlers, playas, show-​offs, and understandably distracted otherwise art-​aficionados (guess which one i am, hehe) inspecting the wares of DTLA’s Artwalk once a month, the ballroom on the 2^nd floor which houses ‘The Mezz’ is a dark, decaying, low-​ceilinged mess-​terpiece conveying impending doom.
The good news is that its sinister, dangerous, decadent state of being makes for interesting party-​going. Depending upon which box of chocolates you stumble.
More likely than not, you’ll have your best taste of The Mezz on a non-​Artwalk nite. Granted, admission may not be free like it seemingly always is on Artwalk nites. And to compound issues, ya kinda need to be ‘in the know’ as to what’s actually going down on any given night, as the joint is not a truly functioning bar, and isn’t open daily. By this I mean, and as others have said, it’s essentially a ‘Pop-​Up Bar’, which i generally detest, espesh when you’re having to wade thru 3 – 4 peeps deep of frowny, unfriendly Hipsturds just to get a slightly overpriced drink.
And don’t expect to be any more ‘in the know’ once you visit their skeletal website

the schedule of events is not well updated, in any comprehensive or timely manner.
So why make the effort to piece together a clue here and there to solve the mystery of what goes on in this dastardly decrepit ballroom?
Sure, don’t try TOO hard, but it really is worth it. The occasional events sponsored by Nu-​Soul Magazine, with acts ranging from Neo-​soul, r&b, psychedeliky hip-​hop/​trip hop, etc, are solid… Though the soundsystem kinda blows, the acts are first rate, the joint has a much chiller vibe, and there’s plenty of time and space to enjoy this cavernous low-​slung art-​deco doom palace.
Enormous 20’s-30’s era frosted glass blown ‘chandeliers’ glow neon yellow and blue, also illuminating the clusters of dead insects that lurk inside. At the back wall, behind the stage, and in the ‘dance floor’ section of the joint, huge back-​in-​the-​day windows spread the width of the room, and vertically from floor to head, affording you excellent views of the street life percolating (and during art walk, exlpoding) at 5^th and Spring.
The dirty grey-​white concrete-​plaster Ceiling is an ornate nightmare which recalls the disturbed virtuosity of Hieronymous Bosch and the claustrophobic aesthetic from the ‘Being John Malkovich’ set, as much as it screams dirty snow (if you grew up in a cold, snowy climate you know what i mean), and moldy marshmallows. Claustrophobia in an expansive sprawling space? That be Da Mezz…
Immediately outside the main ballroom, you wind up and down grand staircases and get lost in random anterooms that falsely promise some further adventure, until a security bloke rouses you from such false mischievous pretenses.
Starting to get the idea that everything here is a seeming contradiction, an oxymoron of extremes?
Welcome to the nexus of the new and the old and the new (ab)normal which is Downtown LA, 2011… yo.
DONE.

Was here for Danceism on 3.5.11.
Event areas
+ Large and well-​ventilated
+ Beautiful light fixtures and chandeliers
+ Booming bass, solid sound system
Lounge area
+ Nice leather couches
+ Gorgeous and clean bathrooms
Ticketing & security guards
+ Polite and respectful (a rarity in the L.A. nightlife scene)
Great place to party, not so much somewhere to come home to everyday.

This is a strange bar/venue…could be the strangest one that i have ever been to.
it is on the second level of an apartment complex that resembles a 1920’s hotel. where every hallway looks like the ones from the movie «The Shining» (you know the part, with the twin girls)
i went to this bar/​venue to watch my friend’s band play and i must say, the make-​shift bar they have goin’ on in the back leaves a lot to be desired. yet, it serves it’s purpose of getting the audience intoxicated enough to cheer for a band that would otherwise be «boo’ed» or ignored if everyone was in a sober state.
the seating arrangment is sort of thrown together and the place more or less looks like a level of a warehouse that is used to store musical equipment because there is a grand piano in the back of the uncarpeted room and other such musical majiggs that i cannot think of at the moment.
either way. i gave this location 3 stars (instead of 1) because even though the bar menu is horrible and the whole place gives off a ‘weird vibe’…i am some-​what intrigued by that. this has got to be the only bar that i have ever been to where i am worried about «The Twins» coming after be if i am alone in the bathroom.

Love this place. I hang out a lot in downtown and go to Artwalk as often as I can, meaning I spend a lot of time hanging out at the Alexandria at times. The Alexandria itself is a Gem, it has seen a lot of Classic Hollywood acts come in and out and old Hollywood actors have even lived there!
Now, the Mezz Bar is located on the second level of the Alexandria, and they have amazing little shows in there. I have seen a jazz show during artwalk there and I have also been to a burlesque show there! The cover usually isn’t very much and it is free at times. The architecture itself is beautiful and it is such an inviting place. Also, acts are not limited to anything, there is burlesque, jazz, salsa, and other performances. It is diverse and it embraces the diversity of the city in which it resides.
It’s not the fanciest bar with taps and beers, but more of a make shift bar. But if you are looking for a bar like that, there are more in downtown Los Angeles. The Mezz works more as a performance bar, small and intimate, when I saw the burlesque show it felt almost like a speak easy.
So, if you’re looking for a little entertainment, and a fairly chill ambience, I say check it out. It’s an old hotel and it’s quite beautiful, so the ventilation can be a problem, but it’s a unique and interesting place to check out, especially since the festivities aren’t only on the weekends.

This place is a hidden gem! After checking out all the hip and trendy galleries at the Art Walk, my friend and I decided to look around for a place to grab a drink because we weren’t ready to call it a night. We wandered into the Alexandria Hotel and found The Mezz Bar hidden upstairs!
We walked in right as there was a bulesque-​type show going on and it was pretty interesting. I think they always have different types of shows on different nights. It’s a little dark inside but I loved the relaxed ambience nonetheless. Some people were watching the show, while others were standing around and chatting with their friends. My friend and I did a little bit of both.
Drinks are decently priced at about $ 5 — 6 per beer, which is pretty standard pricing for a bar. I’ll definitely be back the next time I visit the Art Walk!

Uh, what?
I have no idea why I had this place bookmarked because once I stepped inside the «bar» I was a little unsure of what exactly I had just gotten myself and my two girlfriends into. It was just an empty, unkempt ballroom looking space with a make-​shift bar in the back by the window. I shuffled my way that direction and asked the woman behind the bar where in the world was Carmen San Diego, the people, the rest of the bar, etc. She just shrugged off my insult and advised that it was a slow night but usually they are full of life with 3 different bar setups, etc. Clearly, this wasn’t a money-​making operation, just decent use of the space.
The DJ setup was in a sad state, but the DJ was bangin’ some sexy hits out, so the three of us ladies got our swagger on as we downed a bottle of beer and then headed out to see where the action was in DT.
I wouldn’t mind visiting again, but hopefully next time around it will offer a little more on the people watching/​meeting front!

This place was such a disappointment. It looked cool the month before when we poked our heads in, so we decided to end our night there this month at the Downtown Art Walk. Turned out the lighting was kind of bad, the music was worse (glitchy badly done trip hop), and no one seemed to be drinking. When I went to the bar I found out why. I asked for a jack and coke, and was served a sample size plastic cup. I laughed at the size, but alright. Then my mouth completely dropped open when she told me how much it was. $ 9. Yep, $ 9 for a drink the size of a dixie cup that you’d get from a water dispenser.
Now, I realize they have a cool space that’s in a prime location to capture the art walk crowd, but gouging people who may have later come back as regulars is just bad business and woefully short sighted. Get a clue.
Oh, and Alexandria Hotel needs to lose the bathroom attendant. No one wants to pay someone to hand them a paper towel.

I should come by during the week. It was pure hell fighting the bridge and tunnel crowd for parking in downtown tonight. Meh. Drinks are affordable, and the staff is a’friendly. I dug the church pews they had in the place. Nice seating!
But, I agree with Harrison G, this place has potential, but it’s not quite there yet. Not bad, but not great. That whole place is haunted as all get out, though. That’s pretty fun. :)

So, we’re on Spring and 5^th looking for The Mezz. Next thing you see is 10 cop cars, a few cops running down a suspect. We follow the chase. The suspect runs into the railing and falls flat on his face over a sign at The Alexandria. Ambulance comes and the rest is history. Cool, we’re where at the Mezz. Never realized, The Mezz, is located at The Alexandria Hotel which by the way looks like it has a ton of history back in the day. The Mezz is tucked in the second floor of the hotel. Looks like a banquet hall back in the hayday with ornate ceilings, however, the exposed fire sprinklers make me want to do some pull ups. Not the best set up inside as it looks like they’re still figuring stuff out. Spot is too large for the small crowd. Bar is tucked along the side of the hall. Didn’t come for drinks but came to listen to some good music. Very good, chill, and soulful music.

Hidden tucked away on the second floor of the Alexandria hotel, this is one of the new gem of downtown. If you are looking for a easy cheap wanna be hollywood type, this is definitely NOT your scene.
Instead, this place is filled with a cool local crowd and is not over the top.