The King Cigar Lounge, DTLA: Noon Openings Near the Arena

The King Cigar Lounge, at 1117 S Hope Street in Downtown LA's South Park, is the closest place to sit down with a cigar after a Lakers, Clippers or Kings game. It sits two blocks from Crypto.com Arena and L.A. Live, opens at noon every day, and splits into a public room for walk-ins and a separate members-only lounge. Every staff member is a certified cigar sommelier, which makes it an easy room for a first-timer.

The lounge opened in August 2019. Cigar Aficionado's early 2020 visit credited owners Oscar Gutierrez and Junchen (Brian) Chen and described a room designed for the arena crowd, which still matches how the lounge sells itself: a place to come after dinner or after a game across the street.

Its timing was rough. Months after opening, the pandemic shut indoor lounges, and one guest review on the lounge's homepage remembers how quickly it reopened once that was allowed. The testimonials the lounge posts keep returning to the same three things: how clean the room is, how much choice the humidor offers at every price point, and how much the staff know.

Cigar Aficionado's 2020 visit counted 15 comfortable chairs in the public space with more on the patio, and that layout still frames the experience: a compact, well-kept room rather than a sprawling club.

Walk-in guests use the high-ceilinged public area, which holds the walk-in humidor, seating and a large flat screen for whatever game is on. The humidor is temperature-controlled, and the lounge claims the largest selection of cigar brands in Downtown Los Angeles, from famous names to harder-to-find exclusives.

Guests single out the Davidoff selection, and one reviewer credits the staff with introducing him to a double V-cut. There's also a patio for smoking in the open air when the weather is good, and the lounge stocks water, coffee and sugar-free cold drinks.

Every employee has been trained and certified as a cigar sommelier by the International Association of Cigar Sommeliers, and the lounge says staff will help you choose a cigar based on your preferences. Guests mention cigars being served and cut by the sommelier, so you don't need your own cutter or any expertise.

This is the room's main advantage over a self-serve humidor. Tell staff how long you have before tip-off or after the final buzzer and what you like to drink, and let them size the cigar to fit. As a rule of thumb, a robusto burns for roughly 45 minutes to an hour, while a churchill can stretch well past ninety, so match the vitola to your schedule.

Behind the public room is a large private area for members only. It has 100 cigar lockers, eight large flat-screen TVs and its own seating, so members can watch several games at once.

Membership is priced on request: fill in the form on the lounge's website and management will contact you. The posted benefits are access to the members' lounge, complimentary water and coffee, free entry to King Cigar Lounge events, 20 percent off full boxes and 10 percent off everything else. If you buy boxes regularly, ask for the price and do the math against those discounts.

Don't expect a cocktail list. The lounge's posted member benefits include complimentary water and coffee, and guest reviews mention water and sugar-free cold drinks for walk-ins. Back in 2020, Cigar Aficionado reported a liquor license was still pending and that soft drinks and Lavazza espresso were being served, and the current site doesn't advertise a bar, so plan on coffee or a soda with your cigar.

The same profile noted that cigarettes and marijuana aren't allowed, which keeps the air in the public room focused on cigars. Ask staff about the outside-cigar policy before you light anything you brought from home.

The lounge opens at noon every day, closes at 10 pm on Sunday and stays open until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Weekday afternoons, before the after-work crowd and well ahead of any game, are the best time for an unhurried conversation with the sommelier about what to try next. For an arena night, plan the cigar either before the doors open or as a nightcap afterward, since the lounge is only a few minutes' walk from the arena entrances.

The nearest rail stop is Pico Station on the A and E lines, at Pico Boulevard and Flower Street, a walk of a few blocks. That makes the lounge easy to reach from Long Beach, Pasadena or Santa Monica without driving downtown on a game night.

Drivers will find paid lots and garages around South Park. Cigar Aficionado's 2020 profile noted that the adjacent structure charged more on Staples Center game nights, and a guest review on the lounge's homepage calls parking easy. If you're heading to a game afterward, leaving the car in one arena-area garage for both stops saves a second fee.

Hope Street runs through the heart of South Park, Downtown's residential and entertainment district. Walk two blocks west and you reach Crypto.com Arena and L.A. Live, home to the Grammy Museum and a cluster of restaurants that suit a pre-cigar dinner. Head north along Hope Street to Grand Hope Park, a small green with shaded paths and a clock tower that is pleasant on a mild evening.

If you're staying downtown, Broadway's restored theater row is within a 15-minute walk, and one reviewer on the lounge's homepage found it walking distance from their hotel on a work trip. The Los Angeles Convention Center is a short walk too, handy if you're in town for a trade show.

Address: The King Cigar Lounge, 1117 S Hope Street, Los Angeles, CA 90015. Email: thekingcigarlounge@gmail.com.

Hours: opens at noon daily; Sunday closing is 10 pm and Friday and Saturday closing is midnight.

House setup: a public lounge for walk-ins and a members-only private area with lockers. Membership is priced on request, with 20 percent off boxes and 10 percent off other products for members.

Getting there: Pico Station on the Metro A and E lines is a few blocks away, and Crypto.com Arena and L.A. Live are two blocks from the door.