ONE Sunset is a restaurant & lounge located at 8730 Sunset Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069. Being that it is on Sunset, street parking is a joke, so expect to pay the $9 valet charge, or walk a mile.
We arrived pretty early, to avoid any potential of not getting in. It was around 10:30 p.m. when we got there, and the place was still in “restaurant” mode at that time (this will be explained later). You walk in and what you see is what you get. It is essentially just one really large room, with tons of tables, and two bar areas.
ONE Sunset - Who am I? What am I?
The bar areas could essentially be just one long bar, as they are on the same wall, but I guess they want the illusion of a different setting. How is this achieved? There is one step up-or-down you take, and about 5 feet of separation between “each” bar.
An hour into the experience, waiters start clearing out some tables, to make way for the pseudo dance floor. Hmm? People are finishing up their meals, while the mood is being set by louder music and even less lighting. More drinking occurs, and people start spontaneously dancing.
So I beg the question: what are you, ONE Sunset? Are you a bar? Are you a lounge? Are you a restaurant? Are you a club? Well, in my opinion, ONE Sunset wants to answer “yes” to all of the above. The problem with that, of course, is when you deviate from your main niche, you lose the ability to be great. Maybe this place could be a great restaurant…maybe it could be a great lounge…how would I know though? Trying to do everything usually doesn’t work out, and ONE Sunset does not prove me wrong.
I can’t say the drinks were expensive, considering it is a place in Hollywood, on Sunset – if you expect to not pay $10/drink (or more), then you better pregame it pretty thoroughly. Also, the people were what I expected them to be – Hollywood types. I hate Hollywood, and I hate the people that live there. That being said, I did chat up a couple attractive, and relatively down-to-Earth girls. One was there for her 30th birthday, and she was an absolute doll. The other was pretty cool, until she found out what I do for a living, and then she was “over it,” if you will.
If you feel like dressing up, and having a night out on the town, ONE Sunset can help. Expect to be confused, expect to pay a lot, and expect to find relatively few people of substance. If you are cruising for puss, it is not a bad place to do it…the music does get loud, so you better look good, or prepare to yell a lot.
