Long Beach cocktails and spirit choices—and its mocktail counterpart—have never been stronger, with bar managers and tenders creating a new era of hospitality and drinkability. Here are some of the best shining throughout the city.
Baby Gee Bar
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
Honestly, just one of the best.
There’s little question over the influence Baby Gee has had over the cocktail scene in its short, not-even-two-year existence. It goes beyond the fact that they’ve been recognized not just once but twice by the coveted and prestigious Spirited Awards. And yes, it goes beyond the fact that co-owner and lead bar maestro Gianna Johns scored recognition from the respected Star Chefs earlier this year.
When it comes down to it, they’re a Long Beach bar through and through that makes some of the region’s most distinct and exciting cocktails thanks to the leadership of Gianna Johns and Daniel Flores (who happen also to be opening a restaurant concept in the former Shady Grove Foods space next to Gusto down 4th Street).
From smoked sunchoke, shish, and salted watermelon to cashew, caraway, and cherry preserves… From poblano, peppercorn, and pickled strawberries to apricot, aperitifs, and amaros… There is no flavor—umami, savory, salty, sweet, bitter, sour—that Gianna and her crew won’t play with.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Baby Gee, click here.
Tokyo Noir (inside El Barrio Cantina)
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The speakeasy one with quite a show.
It was this space I was waiting for to complete this list. No joke: I had experienced Kevin Lee’s cocktails at both The Wolves in DTLA and at a preview where he was testing drinks before Tokyo Noir opened. Because despite how new this place is, it wouldn’t be complete without it.
Tokyo Noir is far more than a speakeasy concept from the crew behind El Barrio. Tucked into a space where one enters through the alley way of the popular 4th Street Mexican restaurant, it brings SoCal cocktail master Kevin back to his game in a stunningly beautiful way. And yes, it is also the most exciting cocktail concept to reach Long Beach since Spirited-recognized Baby Gee opened its doors down the street. And yes, it opens today, with seatings only available through Open Table.
The sounds of ice carving—be it into squares via serrated blades or into balls for Kevin’s wonderfully whiskey-forward Hibiki old fashioned—are the common. Throwing cocktails an art displayed on the regularly. ’90s hip-hop and R&B likely to be playing through the speakers. A perfectly restrained array of food offerings from Chef Ulises Pineda-Alfaro. (Get the fries.)
And then there’s the cocktails: Succulently subtle. Beautifully balanced. Thoroughly thoughtful. Deliciously diligent in execution. The inaugural cocktail menu from Tokyo Noir—which just opened in November—is a masterclass in restraint, focus, and innovation.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Tokyo Noir, click here.
Marlena
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one curated by a Long Beach bartending veteran.
Marlena, Long Beach’s rightfully lauded restaurant from newly minted restaurateur Robert Smith and Chef Michael Ryan, sits in the heart of the Naples neighborhood but just enough off of its 2nd Street main drag that it provides a sense of privacy along with introducing a style of Californian cuisine that is not just refreshing for the neighborhood but the entire city.
Before departing the (also stellar) Ordinarie mid-year in 2023, Marlena’s head barman David Castillo was creating drinks that spanned savory and sweet to fruity and funk-forward, while also piloting the best aspect of The Ordinarie’s cocktail program: A continual rotation of legacy cocktails, each noted with the bartender that created them and the year they were created.
Then, he had a brief stint at Michael’s under the oversight of its own masterful cocktail crafter, Jocelyn Jolley, whom Castillo credits for introducing Naples to “some really cool shit.” And with Marlena, he now has under his belt a deeply established, deeply respected cocktail program at The Ordinarie and a bit of knowledge about Naples with Michael’s—but was essentially working with an entirely blank slate: New patronage, new space, newly minted bar program—and it is one of the best in the city.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Marlena, click here.
Fairmont Breakers
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
Inside one of the state’s most beautiful hotels, a choose-your-own-adventure kinda cocktail.
Slabs of marble and onyx. Tiling that simultaneously acts as an ode to art deco while being utterly contemporary. Light fixtures that hold captivation worthy enough of its own essay. Make no mistake, Long Beach: We are now home to not just one of the most beautiful hotels in the region but the entirety of the West Coast thanks to the Fairmont Breakers.
And it comes with four—count ’em: four—drinking spaces, each with their own distinct vibe, cocktail menu, and purpose.
Let’s start on the rooftop with Halo, a pink onyx-meets-green marble wonder that was once home to Cielo. Now, with an expanded patio (and the much anticipated opening of its westernmost second bar), this is where one will feel contemporary but elegant, young but not clubby. Just below is the Sky Room bar, facing north and welcoming patrons on a first-come-first-served basis; this is where you go for a martini while ordering oysters. Then there’s Alter Ego, the dark wooded, tropical floral space on the groundfloor whose main focus is whiskey; this is for the sippers of neat spirits. And lastly, La Sala, the groundfloor, facing-the-lobby-and-street bar that acts as both a quick cafe in the morning as well as a full bar.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Fairmont Breakers, click here.
Panxa Cocina
What kind of cocktail menu?
The true Southwestern one that remains an ode to a true Long Beach legend.
A passion fruit “flaquita” from Panxa Cocina. Photo by Brian Addison.
It is nearly impossible to mention Panxa without mentioning Chef Arthur Gonzalez, its patriarch and founder who died last year at his second home in Colorado. —but in all frankness, to not only better honor him but better honor the fact that Panxa remains alive and strong, one should make it impossible to mention Panxa without mentioning his wife, Vanessa Auclaire, who has boldly and fearlessly taken on a space where she is constantly reminded of her loss.
Surely, Panxa—the only ode to the Southwest between here and Phoenix—was the place that introduced Clasa Azul long before it became a tech bro’s Let’s-Get-A-Bottle flex. And surely, one can never tire of the space’s gorgeous interior and happily robust happy hour.
But with bar manager Bryce Kaesman at the helm, Panxa has become the epicenter of agave spirits in Long Beach. With over 100 bottles of tequila, mezcal, sotols, and more, you can either sip a nice one neat or dive into Bryce’s perpetually altering seasonal menus or just have one of the best damn margaritas in town.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Panxa, click here.
Viaje
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one honoring Mexico’s spirits—including the ones that go beyond agave.
Viaje in Belmont Shore serves as one of the most underrated spaces when it comes to the growing cocktail game, exploring with Mexican spirits and ingredients that honor and uplift our neighbor to the south.
Owner Julio Guitierrez had been running (the very-much missed) Baja Fish Tacos in Belmont Shore for years. The fast-casual joint that made an open shaming call toward the Rubio’s down the street—and by that, I mean it showcased how true Baja-style fish tacos should and could be represented Stateside. Back in early 2018, he saw a large shift in the way eateries present themselves in the neighborhood: With the success of more detailed-meets-elevated comfort food like Simmzy’s and Saint & Second, Guitierrez decided to entirely gut his space.
And while the loss of former head bartender Tiquio Serratos—the man who largely elevated the bar’s program—there is no question that Viaje is hoem to some of the city’s finest Mexican spirits.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Viaje’s cocktail program, click here.
The Ordinarie
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
Classic-meets-contemporary with taste.
With Kayla Bohner leading the way, The Ordinarie continues its legacy as one of the best cocktail programs in Long Beach. Always leaning on and toward the history of cocktail making, The Ordinarie has been home to some of our largest mixology talents: Seven Grand alumni David Saenz, David Castillo, Colby Sue, Jesse Rodriguez…
They were one of the first places to catalogue their drinks, where recipes were backlogged and each creator was given a credit along with the year they created it, allowing The Ordinarie to produce a Long Beach-centric cocktail database.
“Everyone knows a cocktail—no matter where you’re at—is a riff on a riff on a riff of something that was already created,” Bohner told me earlier this year after rediscovering a 65-year-old cocktail birthed in Long Beach. “It’s not necessarily entirely impossible to create something purely original but it is likely it will be something you’ve seen or tasted before—but we still want to acknowledge that Long Beach is home to some really great talent behind the bar. And we want to record and recognize that.”
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on The Ordinarie, click here.
The Attic on Broadway
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The perfect, any-time drinking menu.
Let’s not be shy: The Attic on Broadway’s longtime, heartwarming general manager, Iano Dovi, leads an absolutely stellar team with equally stellar hospitality, exuding the type of professionalism that more within the city could learn from. And that type of hospitality is in his blood: “How amazing is it that I’ve been able to not only witness this place grow but provide this type of service at this type of level in my city?” he once told me—and there was not a speck of forcefulness or performance in that sentiment; it was genuinely genuine.
Head barman Nathaniel Ochoa is a part of that hospitality wonder, creating a revolving door of cocktails that embraces both the classic and contemporary. Can you get a nearly perfectly made dry martini? Yes, yes you can—and the olive are as quality as the drink. Can you also get the a choice of one of many Bloody Marys that made the space, well, that Instagrammable, hype food beast back in the day? Yes, yes, you can—just expect a little more taste with all the grandeur.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on The Attic’s cocktail program, click here.
Michael’s on Naples
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one with a fully-pampered negroni menu.
Much like The Attic, Long Beach could learn from Michael’s on Naples’s longtime, insanely-knowledgable general manager Massimo Aronne, an Italian native who began his hospitality in career in Italy before emigrating from Ligueria to here in Long Beach to open Michael’s 15 years ago.
And it isn’t just in his spectacular knowledge of wine or his perfectly polite, gloriously gregarious nature—it is the choice of team he chooses to invite into the Michael’s family. And head barwoman Jocelyn Jolly is just that.
Jocelyn has a touch toward a field that is overwhelmingly dominated men who dismiss vodka (rather than playing into its strengths) and avoid fruity concoctions in the fear of being called TGI Friday’s (rather than refining the endless iterations fruits and sugars can provide to cocktails). Jocelyn? Her creations embrace the basic and invert the presumptions surrounding “basic bitch” drinks—all the while having countering concoctions that solidify her menus as worthy of even the manliest of drinkers.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Michael on Naples’s cocktail program, click here.
The Social List
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The neighborhood staple kind.
It can be a special menu for Mardi Gras. Or a Valentine’s Day menu. Or it can be a Halloween menu for both last year and this year. The Social List has long been on to celebrate the holidays—so it should be no shock they are throwing down on an 11-cocktail menu thanks to Navarro Hospitality Group’s Beverage Director Erik Rios-Wentzky.
Erik’s ability to whip up balanced, thorough cocktail menus is one the mixologist’s most admirable characteristics. And this year’s holiday menu is no exception. It is also a larger reflection of what The Social List has become: A 10-year juggernaut that has survived shifts in menus, aesthetics, cocktails, decor—but also somehow managed to remain cohesive and relevant.
I have deep respect for places seeking no accolades or an attempt to reinvent the culinary wheel. And that very much includes The Social List.
For Brian Addison’s feature on The Social List’s 10-year anniversary, click here.
Selva
What kind of cocktail menu?
The colorful, Colombian-inspired one.
Mike Borowski is a man with a mission when it comes to making cocktails: Give the people what they want. There isn’t a bad order at Selva—food- or drink-wise. And that drink menu provides colorful, bold, not-so-subtle concoctions that pair rather well with Jurado’s colorful, bold, not-so-subtle food. In fact, the pair work side by side to ensure that cocktails pair well with the food. (Something every chef and mixologist should be doing.)
Witty takes on things like the pisco sour—where pineapple and apricot create a citrusy, stonefruit-centric cocktail that is delightfully dreamy—and Inca Collins—which somehow takes the incredibly sweet Inca Cola and melds into a Collins…. There’s the Brazilian batida—where cachaca meets a house-made coconut cream—create a playful and sexy menu. There’s an outright ode to the raspberry via the La Frambuesa and an ode to Colombia itself via a Colombian punch that, well, packs a sneaky punch.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Selva, click here.
Telefèric
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The Spanish proper ones—well, with a SoCal “Olé!”
Telefèric Long Beach—after announcing their plan to open a Long Beach location in October of 2023 and unveiled their inaugural menu earlier this year—highlights traditional Spanish cuisine. (And kindly serves as a reminder of the many gaps we have within our food scene.) And it isn’t soley for those seeking paella, aged-for-three-years jamón Ibérico, and croquetas. Because there are two things that are unskippable at Telefèric: yes, the tapas, but also, the cocktails.
Milk punches and plays on gin-and-tonics sit next to interpretations of margaritas and dazzlingly dreamy showmanship—as with their “La Flaca” drink, with a perfect bubble of smoke is happily popped before downing a mixture of mezcal, tequila, chile verde liqueur, prickly pear, and lime.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Telefèric, click here.
Port City Tavern
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one that’s basically in an art gallery.
Port City Tavern is that space that doesn’t take itself too seriously. After all, it inherented Iguana Kelly’s and all the attachments that came with it. It’s not permitted to take itself too seriously. But it does respect not just the idea of the cocktail but the creativity of its workers.
Owner Dylan Davis has largely permitted bar manager Bradley Eston to do as he wants with his creative will. And Bradley, in turn, has allowed his staff—with some obvious tweaking here and there with their concoctions—to do the same. The result? Cocktail menus that span from the favorite books of bartenders to Halloween spooks.
Even more, Port City Tavern is one of the most community-centric spaces on this list. Perpetually supporting causes—like their support of children cancer research during their stellar Oktoberfest event—while continually hosting events in their parking lot, they reflect what all businesses should do when they take over an existing business: Learn about its patrons and respect them but do not let them prevent you from innovating. Connect with your community beyod the cocktail; create events and spaces that aren’t just liquid-based. And, above all, own yourself.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Port City Tavern’s cocktail program, click here.
Chuntikis
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one that’s basically in an art gallery.
When it comes to Chuntikis—the cocktail popup from history-obsessed, immigrant-loving, all-around-beautiful human Julio Gutierrez—the most beautiful part of it all is how Gutierrez manages to mix cultural history with booze. Whether it’s a private party for Sonoratown’s opening or creating drinks for the last collaboration dinner Chef Arthur Gonzalez hosted before passing, Chuntikis is carved into the cocktail culture of culture in a way few are.
The results have been nothing short of wild, witty, and wonderfully out-of-the-box: A halo-halo cocktail at a Filipino collab dinner, honoring the famed dessert of the island nation. A drink that tells the story of how Maria Sabina introduced the world to medicinal mushrooms. Using chicatana ant bitters. Creating cocktails served in plastic bags, an ode to the Mexican tradition of exchanging the bottle (retornable, claro) in which your soda was in for a plastic bag and straw to sip out of (so the store can get the money back on the returned bottle, which they paid for).
¡Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa’ dentro!
Lola’s Mexican Cuisine
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one that’s basically in an art gallery.
The Stache bar might have introduced Hudson Baby Bourbon and single-rock whiskies to 4th Street, but it was Lola’s—whose tiny-but-mighty, pink-meets-tints of gold bar was one of the first to take advantage of Long Beach’s lift of its absurdly archaic law that halted the distribution of any new liquor permits into the city—who taught 4th Street the meaning of a well-made cocktail and the importance of Mexican spirits to the world of drinking.
Long, long, long before mezcal became the new tequila (and before tequila became the new whiskey), Lola’s was introducing people to then-basically-unknown bottles of Del Maguey—and not just the “Vida” bottles but their Tobalá and Chichicapa versions.
Come full circle today, owners Luis Navarro and Brenda Riviera host mezcal dinners from some of the most obscure mezcalerías, offer incredible concoctions like their insanely addicting guava-coconut margarita, and remain home to one of the city’s most underrated happy hours (which begins at 3PM on weekdays and, if you go on a Tuesday, ends just as Taco Tuesday begins).
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Lola’s, click here.
Beachwood Distilling
What kind of cocktail menu?
The one where nearly every ingredient in it is made in-house.
Beachwood Distilling might have overtaken the former Liberation Brewing Co. space in Bixby Knolls in 2022. And indeed, they served as an excellent taproom addition to a neighborhood already rife with solid beer. (Hey there, Ambitious Ales!) But what we’ve truly been waiting for is the culmination of their distilling process.
We’re talkin’ rums. Gins. Vodkas. And yes, way more than that as co-owner Gabe Gordon has decided to make everything in your glass in-house on every level the space is capable of.
Yes, that Negroni you’re sipping on? You’re not drinking a highly branded gin or Campari. You’re drinking Beachwood gin and, yes, Beachwood “Campari.” And don’t think Gabe and his crew didn’t dive into the absurd details of concocting this OG spirit. Campari—invented in 1860 by Gaspare Campari in Novara, Italy—and many other aperitivos get their distinctly beautiful red color from carmine dye, derived from crushed cochineal insects.
Tonics, liqueurs, cordials, bitters, syrups, and cold-pressed juices—Beachwood Distilling wants to create and control every step that goes into a cocktail made in-house. This has been a longtime reflection of Beachwood’s dedication to craft. And while not every aspect of the cocktails has yet to reach in-house standards, the whole point of the endeavor is to get there. And that is wildly admirable.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Beachwood Distilling, click here.
The Auld Dubliner
What kind of cocktail menu?
The City’s Largest Whiskey Selection kind.
Whiskies have always been an epicenter of The Auld Dub’s culture and offerings. Photo by Brian Addison.
The Auld Dub is approaching 20 years serving the Long Beach community—and for those that don’t know its owner David Copley, he is one of the most community-centric, community-driven, and community-caring business owners.
He regularly hosts “Friday Night Flights,” an educationally-driven, whiskey-centric event that pairs three to four whiskeys with a small bite while Copley takes you on a trip as to how these whiskies were curated and produced. He takes an annual crew of worthy and loyal patrons to the Motherland of Ireland itself, showcasing not just where their experience comes from but to update the menu and vibe at The Dub in order to keep in pace with Ireland proper. And when it comes to The Auld Dubliner’s bar, there are many cool factors that put it on this list—the best pint of Guinness on the West Coast, the fact that the entire space was literally designed and crafted in Ireland before being shipped to Long Beach in pieces…—but it is one simple fact that needs no Prolix Addison-ness: It is home to the city’s largest whiskey selection,
What does that equate to, exactly? Over 270 whiskies. That was not a type.
I’ve long said and will continue to say that The Dub is a letter of love to Long Beach from Ireland—a point I hope no one easily dismisses.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on The Auld Dubliner, click here.
The Grasshopper
What kind of cocktail menu?
The one with the best music.
In all full admission, I know little about The Grasshopper. Taking over La Fiesta Bar—a bordering-paisa bar with low white ceilings, plenty of Cumbia, and the vibes that existed at at the bar down the street, The Hawk, before it became The Hawk—and providing a complete transformation, teh tiny-but-mighty bar has created a name for both its cocktails and music,.
Funk. Reggae (and reggaeton). Disco. Afrobeats. It’s nothing short of awesome.
The Wicked Wolf
What kind of cocktail menu?
The traipse-through-the-magical-woods type—whether you’re seeking a mocktail or a cocktail.
Wrigley’s favorite watering hole along its Pacific Avenue business corridor, The Wicked Wolf is fairy tale-meets-adult playground, where and husband-and-wife team Thea Mercouffer and George Wolfe managed to avoid theme park-ing the space while creating something enjoyably whimsical.
Through their journey across the past two years, The Wicked Wolf has been educational, offering up menus that explore the history of cocktails. They’ve been fundraisers, as they did with their wildly colorful and imaginative cocktail menu raising funds for the National Park Foundation. They’ve embraced the NA movement with respect and kindness, providing adults who don’t drink a space that is, well, for adults. And yes, that includes a recently minted tea time during earlier hours.
Like their counterparts over at Port City, they know how to do the community right—and that makes them an absolute gem.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on The Wicked Wolf, click here.
El Barrio Cantina
What kind of cocktail menu?
The one you find in the local barrio.
One of the most upfront facts about Chef Ulises Pineda-Alfaro’s El Barrio Cantina is that it comes from that all-too-old-school camp that food should speak for itself and for him, the reflections of his Mexican heritage, American upbringing, and mother’s influence shine perfectly bright on their own in his plates.
And like the Los Angeles he was born and raised in, his food mixes playfulness—odes to Taco Bell, plays on the humble fideo, creating chicharrón but with fish…—with serious culinary flare—his scallop crudo and mariscos in general are among the best in the city.
Their cocktail menu is no different: True to the restaurant’s character, accessible, and evolving, it is always a solid go-to.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on El Barrio, click here.
Wood & Salt Tavern
What kind of cocktail menu?
Elevated but approachable.
A lemon-basil libation at Wood & Salt Tavern. Photo by Brian Addison.
The cocktail program at Bixby Knolls’s best restaurant—one of the best in the city and headed by bar manager Gabriel Ducharme—is one that should not easily be dismissed, with cocktail dinners becoming more regular and a masterful, rotating cocktail list becoming the norm.
“Like to call myself a People’s Bartender more than a Mixologist’s Bartender,” Ducharme said, reflecting Wood & Salt’s mantra of being elevated but approachable. “I make drinks with depth and complexity, but I like to make drinks that are for everyone. I don’t mind recreating the wheel and being innovative, but I don’t think everyone is seeking that kind of drink.”
Ducharme’s entry into cocktails was anything but glamorous, having served as a barback at Long Beach’s Naples Rib Company and being thrown into the bartending position blindly one night. Though stressful, it inspired him to where he is today, with Wood & Salt’s cocktail menu having pineapple-basil lemon drops and strawberry-peach margaritas sitting next to vegan Oaxacan sours and in-house barrel-aged Manhattans.
The Bamboo Club
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
Tiki, of course.
The Bamboo Club is unquestionably the epicenter of Long Beach’s love of tiki bars and drinks, echoing to a time when our city was flush with tiki concepts and spaces, from underground bars like The Outrigger that was once underneath The Lafayette to the famed Hawaiian that once graced Pacific Coast Highway from 1955 to 1969.
And as the space formally celebrates its fifth anniversary, it’s time for them to launch into their new brunch menu, reflect on the evolution of the space, and for us to uplift the restaurant and bar that brought full tiki right back to Long Beach. Operated by Jim Ritson, Bamboo passionately embodies tiki culture: The bar was designed by none other than Bamboo Ben, Huntington Beach’s third-generation tiki bar builder and the man behind everything from San Francisco’s Zombie Village to Kansas City’s TikiCat.
It took over what used to be the dilapidated, full-of-regrets space that was The Liquid Lounge, in which owner Rob McCarthy, in some vain attempt to overcome its reputation as a disaster zone, went on Spike TV’s “Bar Rescue” and converted it to the short-lived Tidal Bay bar. It was then that Gallo and Ritson—joined by bar masters Brian Noonan and Dustin Rodriguez, along with a then fairly unknown Chef Melissa Ortiz—truly had what could be considered a Long Beach dream team.
And to this day, Dustin heads the city’s best tiki program.
Roxanne’s / The Exhibition Room
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one with a speakeasy.
A tiki concoction is commonly found at Roxanne’s. Photo by Brian Addison.
I’ve long said Robert Molina, the guy behind the Latin American-spanning bar and grill that is Roxanne’s in Cal Heights, is a restless man.
He can largely be attributed as introducing the craft cocktail scene to Long Beach by way of Roxanne’s and, eventually growing a bit bored, created Long Beach’s first contemporary, proper speakeasy, which operates in the back of Roxanne’s, through a secret telephone booth entry. Then he made a tiki bar. Then he created a distillery. And then he is continually creating a seemingly endless amount of events dedicated to the almighty world of spirits, from Whiskey Wonderland to Gin & Juice.
So it only makes sense that Roxanne’s and its attached speakeasy are home to some of the city’s best alcoholic concoctions.
For Brian Addison’s latest feature on Roxanne’s, click here.
Union @ Compound
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one that’s basically in an art gallery.
Compound Long Beach is many, many things: Art exhibition space. Restaurant thanks to The Union. Community hub for everything from wellness seminars to mini-markets. But the thing that people should know first and foremost is that it’s a nonprofit—and with its foot firmly in the ground after a fairly uneven start, they are starting to shine with programming that makes it one of the most unique destinations in the city.
It was really Stephanie Butchko’s inaugural cocktail menu at Union—incorporating ingredients like pandan, Sichuan pepper, lemongrass, and tamarind—that set the tone for the future of the space. Now with brunch and dinner menus, the continual flow of cocktail creation has not slowed down. And it certainly offers up one of Long Beach’s most unique dining experiences.
For Brian Addison’s full feature on Union @ Compound, click here.
The Stache Bar
What kind of Long Beach cocktails?
The one that introduced good spirits to Long Beach.
I’ve already noted that flowers are given when flowers are due: Stache introduced Long Beach to good craft spirits and cocktails long ago. After all, many may not remember how The Stache altered Long Beach drinking. Opening over a decade ago, it was and remains a prime example of a Long Beach hidden gem, the kind of classy dive that Silver Lake hipsters wish they had back in the early 2010s. Full shelves of small-batch and rare liquors, giant spherical ice cubes, and skilled bartenders who know how to put it all together.
With owner Brett Gallo far more focused on Stache—as well as his vastly underrated, neighboring burger joint Sideburns—and head bar manager Priscilla In exploring the creativity her and her staff have, the tail-end of 2024 has proved to be the space’s most creative since its inception. Recognizing the growth of the cocktail culture here in the city, especially across the past four years, they’ve created some of the city’s best drinks.
From house-made pistachio orgeats and pandan syrups to just genuinely fun drinks that represent Long Beach’s love of drinking—like the mini-glass boot full of beer with your choice of a shot for the holiday season this year—Stache Bar is surely set to be the place where its at.
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