One by one, as the sunset slants into the handsome room's west-facing windows, after-work drop-ins of various ages take stools along the three sides of the triangle bar. Ten minutes later, each has greeted an arriving friend or lover and grabbed cocktails ($7 to $10), local craft drafts ($6 to $7) or glasses of wine ($7 to $9); some have migrated to the sofas and patio. Equidistant between Santa Monica and Inglewood, handy to the Marina and Culver City, the Alibi -- with its dive-bar past (and, hence, small parking lot) is also great for anyone desperate to take a break from the 405. There's nothing like it for miles around -- intimate, stylish, smoothly backgrounded with a tune-in, tune-out playlist of indies and cult classics. It's a place to focus on the one you're with. And maybe on some tasty, honest modern bar food such as the updated ham 'n' cheese sandwich (speck-mozzarella panini) or fresh hot fries.
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