Like the sirens to Odysseus, the glowing red sign for this nautical pub sends a seductive call through Downtown.

The Redwood Bar, a hallowed Downtown institution once frequented by JFK and the Los Angeles Times staff (theres even a direct phone line from The Redwood to the Times offices), has been expanded into a full-fledged restaurant and bar. Jason Michaud of Cobras & Matadors gives the menu a European flair. Featured dishes such as cacciuco—clams, mussels, striped bass, and salmon with ovendried tomatoes—and grilled stuffed squid with mandorlatta sauce and Tuna Tartaaarr. For the more faint of palate, fish and chips is a safe order. Fred Sutherland, the design-savvy genius behind the comfortably classy Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce and Monroe's, has created a pirate ship in chic LA style—barrel-top tables, soft white booths, paintings of curvaceous half-naked mermaids. Even the drinks are nautical: The Rusty Nail, a mix of Johnny Walker Black label and Drambuie, is served in a bucket. On the weekends, The Redwood stays open til 4am for late-night dining: Who can resist sweet-potato fries so close to sunrise? Do your best pirate peg-leg move to funk music on the dance floor in the back.—Tara Tyson