Next Monday December 15, Los Angeles travels back in time. Well, sort of.

The Varnish , the famed speakeasy hidden behind a secret door at the back of Cole’s French Dip , will be reconstituted for one night only as part of a special pop-up at Firstborn in Chinatown.

(Meanwhile, Cole's itself will be open through the holiday season, with its last night of regular service planned for December 31.)

The iconic bar, which shuttered in 2024 after a 15-year run, holds a special place for many Angelenos, who believe it's where L.A.’s modern cocktail revival truly began. The event reunites three bartenders who all came up through The Varnish’s famously exacting school of cocktail-making. Kenzo Han (recently named Esquire ’s Bartender of the Year ) cut his teeth there before mov

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