Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Friday 13th: Drinking with the Spirits in Local Haunts

Gourmet-Ghosts

Author James T. Bartlett has written “Gourmet Ghosts-Los Angeles” a guide to some of the haunted hot-spots in our area where you can dine with the devils and drink with the spirits of ghosts long past.

Friday 13th is considered to be a bad day, but instead of avoiding black cats and ladders why not check out these bars and restaurants with spooky tales and haunted histories? The guide “Gourmet Ghosts – Los Angeles” (City Ghost Guides) will give you the scoop – and the numbers of some haunted booths or tables.

yamashiroYamashiro

Some 250 feet above Hollywood Boulevard, Yamashiro arguably has the best view in Los Angeles – and at 100 years old, it has the history to match. A fabulous Japanese-inspired “mountain palace,” its original owner Thomas O. Glover still walks the inner court (and why not? it’s where his ashes were laid to rest). Unsurprisingly, keeping nighttime security guards has always been difficult, and table 9 in one of the many dining areas is home to an unhappy lady spirit who is eternally waiting for her lost love.

1999 N. Sycamore Ave, Hollywood
www.yamashiroestaurant.com

 

frontAntonio’s

There’s maybe a lucky black cat here, as Antonio’s has long been a favorite for celebrities just before they went stellar. Owner Antonio Gutierrez bought this empty lot over 50 years ago, and discovered several unusual caskets in the ground during construction. He has spoken of lights going on and off and someone mysteriously ringing the kitchen bell, and though he keeps mum about who he thinks it might be, he notes that Frank Sinatra spent many nights here, and eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes even had his own phone installed – just ask for a peek.

7470 Melrose Ave.
www.antoniosonmelrose.com

 

El CoyoteEl Coyote

A local legend, El Coyote was opened by Blanche and George March on March 5, 1931 at 1st Street and La Brea, and moved a little further up the street to Beverly Boulevard some 20 years later. John Wayne often moseyed up to the bar and Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco once walked in unannounced, but their most unhappy guests were Sharon Tate and her friends, who dined here the night before the Manson Family tragedy in 1969. There have also been reports of a strange feeling about the back room…

7312 Beverly Blvd.
www.elcoyotecafe.com

 

originalfarmersmarketla_1Original Farmers Market

About to turn 80 years young, the outdoor Farmers Market has seen cattle, oil derricks, car racing, rodeos, wrestling, boxing, football, baseball and even a drive-in movie theatre on the surrounding land over the decades. It started as place to buy fruit and vegetables, and grew when a sharp-thinking woman named Blanche Magee began selling sandwiches to the hungry farmers. It’s always been owned by the Gilmore Family – whose adobe house is still on the property, behind Umami Burger – and many employees are certain that Arthur Gilmore or his son Earl are still there – and may even steal the odd cup of coffee…

6333 W. Third Street
www.farmersmarketla.com

 

Exterior of HMS BountyHMS Bounty

Docked for over 90 years now, the HMS Bounty pub is on the ground level of the Gaylord Apartments that were built by Henry Gaylord Wilshire (he of the famous Boulevard), and went through a few changes before becoming nautically-themed in 1962. There are rumors that a tunnel used to connect to the Ambassador Hotel, which was right opposite, while the apartments have been the scene of many suicides, and also a strange appearance on the 8th floor. A son asked his mother: “Who’s that lady by the elevator?” but when she looked down the corridor, there was no-one there.

3357 Wilshire Blvd
www.thehmsbounty.com

 

 

BBCAmerica pic James BartlettOriginally from London, James Bartlett has been living in Los Angeles since 2004 and has been a freelance journalist since 1999. He has been published in over 90 magazines and newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Angeleno, Los Angeles Magazine, LA Weekly, Westways, Hemispheres, Delta Sky, Thirsty? Los Angeles, Variety, Fortean Times and The Historian. “Gourmet Ghost-Los Angeles” is available at independent gift shops and bookstores in LA, and online at Amazon.com.

 

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