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Mon-Sun. 7:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.
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It was so great it had to close down.
Here is to a great place that once was and is no more.
RIP
Why do the good die young?
Hot doorman that told us who our bartenders were for the night? - One star.
Gorgeous little chandeliers with different tones of crystals? - One star.
Delicious drinks made with talent and technique? - One star.
Lovely little back room with a fireplace and cozy banquette seating? - One star.
Getting to hang out with people I adore in more "LaLa" setting without feeling like we were out of place? - One star, but only because five is the limit. :)
The Sapphire is closed due to renovations...they're finally converting it into a pub.
Hopefully they don't fuck it up.
I love this place and you should definitely check it out if you're ever in Studio City, especially… Read more »
First the negative:
It's in the valley, that just kinda inherently sucks
The bouncers pulled some shady move on some guys telling them it was a five dollar cover if they didn't have a girl with them (there was no cover)
The back room which is smaller and quiter is not air conditioned (major faux pas in the valley)
Now onto the good:
Awesome rocking bartenders!
Eric the bartender introduced himself
Poured a good drink
Remembered my name (granted not difficult considering my name but still) remembered my drink even when the bar got mad crowded
Totally dug the vibe
I like bars that are a mix of people
There were old people, young people, gross people, hot people, me likey
I had a good time
But the point that would honestly really bring me back here?
How awesome the bartenders were
I love this place. It's great to go with friends or a date. The place is dark and hip and there is a small back room with a fireplace. Great for a little little kissing. :) Some people get a little out of hand though. It ain't a sex bar people!!
Their drinks are always good, and I just love the bartenders! They are always very friendly. They are talkative but not overbearing. They are NOT snobby and are very welcoming.
The seating is very comfortable and there is a lot of it for such a small place. If you are going on a date, get there early because it sometimes gets too loud with the jukebox.
I have been debating on how I wanted to write this review. Considering I have been here a few times. It is always cool and chill...
BUT I MUST say...I met the most amazing person here. The first time I came here, I met MARAL A. And my life has not been the same since.
I love you Buttercheeks!!
The bar is pretty cool, esp for the valley. :)
Really liked the place and the crowd. It's rare to be at a bar and be able to talk to random people without getting any weird looks. None of that... "Please don't talk to me, because I'm trying to look mysterious and unattainable by sitting by myself in the corner sipping on my martini."
The place itself is spacious and dark, with plenty of couches to sit down and relax on. There is a cool little room in the back with a fireplace, where you can enjoy a little privacy. (unless you're at a UYE... then no privacy for you) They have a great jukebox selection and it tends to get a bit loud. I love loud... it's just another excuse to sit closer to your girl and lean in really close just to talk to her. Perfect atmosphere for a date, if you ask me. The drinks are well made and strong. I don't remember the prices, but I do remember that the drinks were reasonably priced. I will definitely stop by here again.
What a great spot! I've driven by it with a curious arch of the eyebrow and wondered hmmm, but last night, hmmm became Oh Yeah!
Beautifully designed, intimately lit with the hey everyone looks 5 times hotter kind of lighting, a fireplace-cuddle-n-get your flirt on room in the back, comfy couches, beautiful wood walls (and this ain't your gramamamas wood paneling), sapphire jeweled chandeliers and a very cool cutie of a bartender named Shy. Definitely an excellent way to spend a Tuesday evening with friends, a date or your favorite pimp! :)
It gets all kinds of packedola on the weekends as it is located on the Studio City "I'm Single Let's Score" Strip of Ventura Blvd, but don't let that deter you from this gem(no Sapphire pun intended...or is it? Hmmm).
Not really a date bar I would say... It's pretty loud and crowded....so it's not really good for the one on one. This is however, a great place to get some drinks with friends. It's right on the Blvd....so parking can be a B* if you don't want to pay for Valet... Just hope the parking Fairies are with you that night!
There's a back room with a fireplace...btw.
Wack crowd.
Wack music.
Wack scene.
Save your money, stay home and rent a movie.
Last vist was 9/5/07 the fourth bar of the night but also the best...
love this place. I was here years ago and randomly ran into a friend I worked with years before...I think before when I was there they alowed smokeing in the bar...
great dark wooden dacor...
great place to talk to people...back room is cool and quite ....
last night I was there at 1 am and there was still 15-20 people there on a wendsday night...
I wish it was bigger...and yes some of the people are a liitle odd sometimes...and the back room can be both warm and fuzzy or chester molestor ish....
I don't really enjoy watching 1 couple make out in an empty bar at 8pm on a Thursday night. But that could just be me...
Cheers!
Low lights, loud music, expensive drinks and people standing around you that you have to feel their bodies to figure out if they are good looking much less if they are male or female. But that's pretty much what makes a club a club in this day and age?
I've been to this place twice. The first time it was on a weekend night and was packed. It was loud not only with people talking but with music playing. I feel if they had lowered the music a little bit, people would lower their voices as they wouldn't have to yell to get over all the other noise.
The second time it was on a weekday and was fairly close to 7pm (when they open). It was SO dark but it could have been that I was coming in from daylight and took longer for my eyes to adjust.
No matter when I've been there, there usually isn't a problem finding a seat and if you play your cards right you could sit on someone's lap and blame it on being so dark in there.
And when they tell you to get off of them, you can ignore them and blame it on the loud music as the reason why you didn't hear them.
It's what I do to get my cheap thrills! ;-)
This is the best place to drink in Studio City hands down! Bartenders are fantastic, the foods pretty good and I love the atmosphere! I love kicking back in the corner bar or in the back room by the fireplace with a martini in hand.
*************EDIT 4/23***************
I was here last night and was informed that Sapphire will close and be remodel into some stupid, Americanized, open window bar. I say if it's not broken, don't fix it. Sapphire is all about the atmosphere which the owners seem hell bent on destroying.
In conclusion, this place is going to suck more than anything that has ever sucked before.
Sapphire.. where to begin with this place.. I think I'll just do a list, k?
It's dark
but cozy once your eyes adjust
..If you have a place to sit, that is
Most of the bartenders are bad ass
Eric being the best of them
Top shelf scotch served up at $12 per single is damn nice
A lot of the women that haven't seen a mirror in a while - are not.
Apparently this place is finished~ I guess good bartenders alone aren't enough to keep a place up. We'll see what gets put in it's place.
I've been to this bar once and have been tempted to go back. However, there's just something about it that keeps me away. It's not quite posh but it's not quite low-key either.
But the jukebox is full of great music. And the fireplace was pretty cool. It was nice and dark, so i wasn't too bothered by some of the other patrons.
Yu Yup The World Famous Sapphire Ladies n Gentlemen! I love this place. It is definetely a place where everybody knows yer name! I used tocome here a lot ( i moved, argh). The bartenders are super friendly, Romero the barback is da man! The valet guy, Janero knows my car and me of course, and parks my car without a ticket. The doormen always get me in no prob. No I'm not saying I have mass pull anywhere I go in this town, well almost anywhere, but I guess when you venture these spots enough people to get to know your life story.
Forgive me, I digress.... the drinks are poured large, strong and I can't remember walking out of this place in a straight line. And no I don't drink n drive... I'll just have a friend drive or just cab it home... be smart!
I never thought that I'd be favorably reviewing anything in the Valley, but I really like this bar. Nice wood decor and plenty of plush leather sofa-style seats to sit on. The place is fairly large, with a nice room in back, so it's fairly easy to get a seat. The decor of this bar seems very out of place. It's fairly dark and the seats are comfortable, so I think it's a good date place. I've been there a few times, but will most likely never go there again, since I no longer have any partners in the 818.
However, minus one star because the clientele of the bar is very much not out of place.
On the electro-magnetic scale of "smoove" you have George Bush answering a non-preapproved question at one end and The Sapphire at the other.
Who knew the Valley could give good swank? It does...this is one of our favorite spots and we're not afraid to stand outside and wait for them to unlock the door so we can chill with the cool bartenders before the throng of entertainment hotties come rolling in...
Not every night there is a "Damn, I'm glad I'm wearing the Kango" night. But, if you're lucky to be there on a good night, once it gets going, it stays going...in a flirty, intimate atmosphere.
There are some lounges that are like that fickle girl in high school that gave you lots of innuendo but no play, then there are lounges like that girl who wanted to skip class to make out with you and shove her tongue deep in your ear. Bring a handkerchief to The Sapphire, because this girl smears the lipstick on a good night and brings one hell of a jukebox with her, too.
I love The Sapphire. The bartender is really cool and friendly. Good drinks, fast service. Be careful, it's dark in here and that makes everyone look better. Also, please don't make out in the back room.
drinks are reasonably priced, super stiff, the place is super dark and has couches and a few rooms to chill in. it is such a make out bar. i musta seen so many people making out, including my own buddy. i think the fact you can't see each other's faces helps with the making out. also the stiff drinks help, and the price helps you drink more.
so in conclusion, if you wanna meet a girl to make out with or more come here. see you guys at church!
Pretty nice. Good music, good bar and great crowd...too bad it closes down tomorrow -- only to turn into yet another UK Pub in Studio City.
Best place to drink in Studio City. Eric the bartender is a good guy, and always fun to talk to if you're seated at the bar. Grab a Newcastle (on tap) throw a few bucks into the well stocked jukebox, and pass the night away in a very low key neighborhood bar that manages to retain a hip vibe without the companion attitude that usually accompanies hip places - like Clear up the street. Happy drinking. Enjoy...................G
Cool little lounge to take a date or just hang out with friends. Great atmosphere and good crowd. I like the decor or the ambiance of the place. Drinks are quite strong so you get your moneys worth :) Overall very chill and nice.
What? WHAT?! I can't hear you, can you repeat that? I said, can you repeat that. C A N Y O U R E P E A T... aw F-it lets go.
I was really excited to check out the Sapphire last night because I'd read some great reviews here on Yelp and a trusted friend spoke highly of it too. I don't get to the Valley very often so this was a special adventure in honor of a bar that was supposedly worth the traffic.
When we first arrived the doorman was personable and even took the trouble to give us the names of our bartenders for the evening. I think it was Joe and Shauna. Pretty classy I thought and such a nice departure from the assholeitis most doorman are afflicted with.
When I first walked in I was shocked by how open the place was. Although I knew from the reviews it was dark and cozy and prone to causing spontaneous make-out sessions, I figured it would be more private or have partitions even, not a big ass living room with couches and ottomans. No matter though, it wasn't too crowded at 9:30, maybe 25 people, so we took a seat in a corner of the couch and ordered some drinks. Shauna was very nice and did something with her fingers that made me laugh pretty hard, so I was starting to really feel the love others had attributed to this bar.
Then it all came to a shrieking halt. In about 30 minutes the place was mobbed and so loud we couldn't even talk without shouting in one another's ear only inches away. Not so great on a date. We checked the back room to see if it was more private and it was totally crowded there too. It was even weirder being in there than out in the living room as the scene in there teleported me back to middle school when we'd invite a bunch of girls over to my buddy's basement and four or five of us would pair up and just start making out in front of each other because you didn't care, you were kissing a girl. Shit, the house could have been on fire and you wouldn't notice. There wasn't anyone going at it at this point in the evening, but that was only a matter of time and it wasn't something from my childhood I wanted to relive here. At my age I appreciate privacy and no longer am the 12 year old who needs the public acknowledgment that I can hook up.
We finally left because it was just so loud and getting worse. Bars are loud, I understand that, but all the reviews I read portrayed it as a cozy quaint place good for conversation. Not the case on this Thursday evening as the crowd was very young and very self-conscious as evidenced by the guys yelling to their boys across the bar, doing the shoulder hugs and crotch grabs desperately trying to get the attention of the small packs of girls who were more intent on convincing each other they look "so hot" than to notice the guys.
Very cozy, dim, and intimate. Great for when you want to just hang out somewhere cool and lounge with your friends or for a relaxing date spot where you can actually talk. None of the pretentiousness of Hollywood and trying to get in. They have a room in the back thats a little quieter and a lively bar scene. Granted the eye candy is not as nice as at a trendier spot but the drinks are reasonably priced (martinis are $9) and well made.
The Sapphire is not at all what I expected. I thought it would be a tiny, pretentious club, but it's actually a spacious and chill bar/lounge. How's that for not judging a book by its cover? It's a nice place to unwind and hang out without having to drive to Hollywood and waste half your night looking for parking. A bit dark and a bit loud, but I will gladly trade those for having a place like this a mile from my home.
This bar is a great place to come and chill with some friends, by the time the 3 drinks you ordered kick in, the place is crowded enough to enjoy people watching and dancing in place to your favorite song playing on the jukebox. They have a very small private room in the back that I think you can reserve for small parties/gatherings. The atmosphere is dark VERY dark, with blood red furnishings and dim lighting. Sometimes I can't see a damn thing in that place - seriously. The juke box varies from Johnny Cash to 50 Cent.
Love this bar! I usually end up in room in the back with the fireplace because it makes me feel like I'm drinking in someone's finished basement back in the midwest, where I grew up. Does no one have a basement here in LA? It's very cozy, and even when the main room is jam packed with people (weekends - the weeknights are usually pretty chill), the back room is not overcrowded.
I like this lounge a lot. Its nicely decorated and the bartenders are friendly. I personally like the back room with the fireplace because it's easy to talk to people without having to yell.
My first time in Sapphire was about 3 years ago, nice decor, mellow and unpretentious crowd. My "friend" and I had a great time. I think it's more of a couples' scene and you could really get cozy with a date. I then went back there recently and it was almost the same except for the people there. They just about let anyone get in there now (there were quite a number of unattractive and under dressed guys). Needles to say, I don't go there as much as I did before the change.
I would do 3 1/2 stars, but I'm generous. And the drinks were too. My Malibu & Diet Coke (please don't laugh) had me very happy. It's super-dark, but still a very chill and lovely atmosphere.
So this is my second favorite place to go in my hood - Studio City. The ambiance is awesome - beautiful decor plus low lighting (though the lighting is a little too low - seriously, it's dark in here!). Great low bench like seating abounds. Perfect place to go on a date to get cozy. But I usually come with my roommate, and we have a good time, unless it's too packed and we have no where to sit/be. But the few times we've been lucky enough to get a seat at the bar, we're in heaven. Especially b/c the bartenders there are super cool.
nice place with a good atmosphera
unfortunately it s small
and so it s not easy to find place in the couch :)
average price
this place reminds me of the chalet in eagle rock, which probably isn't surprising since it's owned by the same people. good drinks and great music selection on the jukebox. probably not the spot you want to hit if you're looking for a place where you can have a good conversation with someone, since it gets pretty loud. there is sometimes a line to get in on the weekends, but the wait isn't bad.
I went to this place for a friends birthday. It's way too dark, and it takes way too long to get a drink (and it is NOT worth the wait, too weak). It's really small so if it gets busy its hard to get through the crowd. I wouldn't want to go there again.
one of my favorite bars in the valley; dark woods, old-school vibe, great back room (with a fireplace!), cool bartenders, good prices, convenient valet (and street parking). Wish this place was in my neighborhood...
Thank goodness for this bar. Sapphire doesn't feel like LA to me. I think it might be a good idea to go on a week night when there are not a bunch of people there.
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