Recently, one of my best friends who now lives in Washington state came to visit me with her boyfriend. We had many fun days and nights together, and it was such an amazing time! We had a jam-packed schedule.

One of the nights I wanted to take her out in Santa Monica, but I’ve only ever been to happy hour in SaMo (and the same…old…places). Luckily, my super-fun neighbor and her husband have been living here longer, and she knew of a great place to go.

Copa d’Oro has always received great reviews, and I pass it all the time in Downtown Santa Monica. However, I’ve always shied away from it because it was always called a”classy wine bar”. Don’t get me wrong, I love classy wine bars. But sitting around and drinking is NOT one of my favorite pastimes and I like a little more energy for a night out on the town.

We tried Copa d’Oro anyway, and it’s basically my new favorite place. It was dark inside, super small and very crowded. There was 80s and 90s hip-hop playing very loudly (my favorite kind of music). There weren’t very many people dancing, or room for a dance floor for that matter, but after a few glasses of wine at home we were all in the mood to get down. (Yes, I realize we were THOSE GIRLS).

The drinks were ok – not too pricey for LA – $10/cocktail and cheaper for beer. I think what is most intriguing about this bar is the atmosphere, the music, the crowd (20-30-year-old yuppie who works hard plays hard) and the location (Downtown Santa Monica, within walking distance of 50 other bars).

I had such a blast, I can’t wait to come back, try out more of the drinks and dance the night away!

Disclosure: This post is not associated with Copa d’Oro in any way. I received no compensation for this post.