TEN offers both: a long, high sushi bar where diners can watch the sushi being made and get a peek in the kitchen. The cocktail bar is a half-circle with a couple of TVs overhead.

The Varnish, the bar hidden behind an unmarked door inside the more-than-century-old sandwich shop Cole's French Dip, became the epicenter of L.A.'s burgeoning cocktail scene. It closes on July 3.