Best Live Music Restaurants in Hollywood
5 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
El Compadre
A long-running Sunset institution known for flaming margaritas and big combo plates.
Notable Picks
#1
El Compadre
8.6
Vibes:
Birthday & Celebration Central
Group Dining Gatherings
Live Music Showtime
Trendy Table Hotspots
Since the mid-1970s, El Compadre’s Hollywood location has been the classic Sunset Blvd choice for combination plates, fajitas, and its signature flaming margaritas. Candlelit rooms, colorful tiles, and a lively bar make it a go-to for celebratory Mexican dinners that lean loud and festive.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fajitas, Enchiladas Verdes de Pollo, Carne Asada Plate
What Makes it Special: A long-running Sunset institution known for flaming margaritas and big combo plates.
#2
Iki Nori
8.5
Vibes:
Girls Night Out Approved
Live Music Showtime
Trendy Table Hotspots
Birthday & Celebration Central
Status Restaurant & Lounge brings a Caribbean lens to Hollywood dining, serving jerk chicken, curry shrimp, fried snapper, and crab alongside cocktails in an upscale lounge setting. It leans into nightlife energy, so seafood plates often share the table with bottle service, DJs, and a dressed-up crowd.
Must-Try Dishes:
Caribbean curry shrimp pasta, Fried or escovitch red snapper, Curry crab legs weekend specials
What Makes it Special: Caribbean restaurant-lounge where jerk meats and plated seafood share space with DJs and bottle service.
8.4
Members is a reservations-only Mediterranean restaurant and nightlife space where candlelit tables, DJ sets, and a sultry room blur the line between dinner and lounge. Couples start with mezze and cocktails before the lights dim and the energy shifts toward a late-night scene.
Must-Try Dishes:
Smoked Baba Ghanoush & Crudités, Dry-Aged Beef Tartare, Grilled Branzino
What Makes it Special: A moody, Mediterranean-leaning restaurant-club hybrid where dinner naturally runs into a night out.
8.2
Vibes:
Group Dining Gatherings
Live Music Showtime
Late Night Legends
Birthday & Celebration Central
Palms Thai is a sprawling Hollywood institution pairing a giant Thai menu with a lively, often late-night crowd. It’s where groups come for curries, noodles, and papaya salad at big round tables, sometimes with live music adding to the room’s energy.
Must-Try Dishes:
Green Papaya Salad, Pad Thai, Spicy Basil Chicken
What Makes it Special: A big, boisterous Thai dining room known for late hours, live entertainment, and crowd-pleasing flavors.
Worthy Picks
7.7
Desert 5 Spot is a 1970s desert motel-inspired rooftop bar and taco spot atop the tommie Hollywood hotel, with live country-leaning music and neon-lit views. The menu leans into margaritas, nachos, and tacos rather than full entrées, but it’s one of the more distinctive, music-forward rooftop hangs in 90028.
Must-Try Dishes:
Cowboy Nachos, Carne Asada Tacos, Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos
What Makes it Special: Rooftop honky-tonk with outlaw tacos, live bands, and Hollywood skyline views.