Do All Angelenos Pay $18 For Cocktails? TripAdvisor Thinks So

Photo by Leslie Kalohi / nevercoolinschool.com via the LAist Featured Photos pool

This might come as no surprise, but Los Angeles has among the most expensive cocktails in the country, according to KCBS.

The info comes to us officially from TripAdvisor, which claims that the average price of a classic cocktail in our fair city is $18. That price is rivaled only by New York.

The finding was non-scientifically discovered by calculating the average price of a night out in 50 of the country's highest-profile cities for tourists, and it looks at hotels, drinks and cab rides.

Now, we know that most of you don't pay $18 for a cocktail. So how much do you pay? And where do you go for cheap drinks?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@laist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jessica Pauline Ogilvie in Food on July 21, 2011 4:40 PM

Comments [rss]

Paul Glaser

I'm pretty sure they had cops that do drug seizure valuations calculate that average.

jrb

Dublin's on 7th street in downtown L.A. you can choose from any of 100 beers on tap at $4 a pint. So basically a fiver with the tip.

(yea I know it's a beer not a cocktail, I'm a beer drinker)

Sullivan131

I just get semi-drunk at home then go bar hoping in downtown LA (with a designated driver of course)

JAY KRYMIS

Saint Felix in Hollywood on Cahuenga. Amazing $6 cocktails 5-8 everyday. Love that place.

PicoPhreako69

Eesh. Even for some of the most-involved products of the bartender's art, I cannot ever remember paying $18 at Seven Grand.
And of course, I'd guess the writer of the TripAdvisor article was probably on an expense account, too..... Grrr.

Angie O'Neal

If $18 is the average, what on earth were the costs at the high end of that range?!

imjeffro

$18 is the AVERAGE cost of a classic cocktail? whoever did the math on that was wasted.

westlafadeaway

Average? No way. I personally average under $10 at the couple dozen places I like in LA and even some of the nicer places like Red Medicine across from my work is only $10. I realize this isn't where Kanye goes when he's in town but we're talking average right?

Michael Plona

cheap drinks:

dive bar for $2-5 beer
house party for $0 mixed drinks
i can never justify paying that much for a drink, you can get a fifth or a case for that price. get two of those & invite people over, youll have more fun.

Steph Crawford

The most I've paid for a drink is $14 - where are these $18 drinks? Even then, those are special occasions. I pay anywhere from $9-$12/drink, and if I just want some crappy beer, make it $2-5.

Daisy Kwan

$9-$12 sounds about right for me. I make the most of happy hours, but I don't always make it.

msmerymac

I've paid $18 (maybe $19) at Sidecar at the Regent Wilshire Beverly Hills. I've paid less, though more than $14 I believe at the Library Room at the Roosevelt Hotel. Both are totally worth it. I'd rather those drinks that the water down happy hour well drinks you can get at a crappy dive. But I don't routinely pay that.

I don't drink cocktails that often, but you can't beat Tiki Ti. Around $10 and you only really need 1. Plus they're good.